Agility Training

Tail Tales

2012-01-31T12:12:00.000-08:00

PDFA was Guy's first Excellent Jumpers course. At this jump, I thought he knocked the bar with his foot and the bar came down. Now that I finally got the photos, I see that he actually cut the corner too close, clipped the jump upright and that caused the bar to fall out. You can see the side's feet going up and the wing, too.

Hmmm. Probably my fault for doing my front cross in the wrong place!

Check out Guy's tail position. It's either off to the side, but this was straight up! Maybe to propel him over all three bars of the triple?? :-)

Tail up and off to the side again...and the flying ears. Gotta love him, he's trying!

Words To Live By...

2012-01-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

"We have all had days when we felt we let our dogs down in competition, but our dogs don't care about winning and losing ........... The only day you truly let your dog down is the day you put your ego first, instead of thanking your dog for the privilege of his effort."

Exit Flying

2011-11-26T08:19:00.001-08:00

Check out Guy's feet in this photo....all four feet off the ground at a TROT!

Can't decide if he was switching from a gallop to a trot and that's why all four are off the ground or if he's showing GSDs how it's done! LOL! ( In case you aren't a student of dog movement - when a dog trots normally there are two feet striking the ground and two feet in the air.)

Photo by Michael Loftis at the Swamp Dog Agility Trial in Oct. 2011

Wow! Titles!

2011-11-10T05:09:00.000-08:00

I was looking at my NADAC sheet and realized my dogs have more titles than I thought.

Guy is UKC Ch Mwamba of Kalahari NP, NFP, NJP, OAC, OJC, TN-N, TG-N, WV-N, HP-N.

Darla is AKC Ch Kalahari Zarina Maleka NA, NAJ, NAP, NJP, OAC, NJC, HP-N. ( I should try for her NFP title.)

Prize is just starting out, so hopefully we'll get some titles on her at the Feb NADAC trial.

NADAC - Nov 2011

2011-11-06T14:53:00.000-08:00

Had a blast at the NADAC trials, hosted by the Gulf Coast Chihuahua Club, over in Vancleave, MS this past weekend. I always get so excited, enter a bunch of classes, but my enthusiasm is larger than my physical abilities! I should know better.... heck, so I creak around for a few days afterward, so what. It's fun and the dogs and I love it.

Guy is finally coming together and not spacey like he use to be. He only had one moment in the ring when he spied a small black dog zooming around just outside the ring and he briefly thought it might be a squirrel! He is a hound dog remember! To be fair, several dogs did the same thing until we went and asked the lady to play with him over on the other side. Guy finished his Open Jumpers title, too.

Guy had 10 runs over the 3 days and Q'd 6, including his first go at Novice Chances and it was a doozie! I was walking the course and suddenly thought "I'm in the wrong run....This must be Open!". Nope, it was Novice and a wicked send out and around to a hoop. Heck! I just consoled myself that we were never gonna get it anyway, so I might as well practice this handling maneuver I've seen on a distance handling blog. IT WORKED! Who knew??? The lady sitting next to me told me she was jealous because her AKC MACH dog failed that send.

Prize was up for her second attempt at NADAC. Last year, she wouldn't have anything to do with their contact equipment...It's covered in black rubber, including the contact points at the bottom. That was just too weird for her... Nope, not going up that, it's the wrong color. Some RRs are very color oriented and she apparently is one of them.

So, I put her in the Touch N Go, had Darla run first and make a big celebration about it. Prize is jealous. She can't stand for me to be praising another dog, her attitude is "Hmp, you think that's something, watch this!" Her best runs were her TnG class! Go figure.

She also had 10 runs over the weekend and she Q'd 4 of them. She's still green and gets distracted, but she's better than Guy at that age! She provided the comedy of the weekend, by running over to the judge, who was sitting down. She runs and sits next to him, then leans her head and neck over to rest on his chest.... Save me! Finally, comes back and finishes the course...over time tho....

Darla had 5 runs and Q'd 2, but to be fair, two of those runs, I let a friend run her and let's say they had a wonderful time making up courses.

All in all, it was a good work out for the dogs, Prize gained some experience and a good time was had by all.

New Title!

2011-10-23T13:09:00.001-07:00

This weekend was the Swamp Dog trial over in Kiln, MS. Since Guy can "fade" after the first day, I thought I'd try just entering him on Friday, skip Saturday and go Sunday. In reality, I don't think it made a difference. I think the key is keeping the temperature around 50 degrees! The colder the better he does!

It was very cool on Friday and he flew across the dog walk, with us nearly colliding at the end because I had decided to do a front cross to the jump and no way did I expect to find Guy barreling down the ramp just as I got there! (There will be an embarrassing photo of that incidence on Michael Loftis' site.)

Today, he was more his usual self, which is to say, his brains were leaking because his nose was stuck to various areas of the ground. He did it though! Not pretty, but good enough. So now, he's an "Open" dog.

Got his Novice Standard Preferred title today and his second Open Jumpers Preferred leg.

So now he is UKC Ch Mwamba of Kalahari NP, NJP, NFP, NJC, WV-N, OAC, HP-N, TN-N, TG-N....Now that's a mouthful!

Guy CAN Weave - At Home.

2011-09-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

Despite his failure to weave at AKC trials, unless I use the ugly voice ( and still not well), Guy really can weave....and he does: at home, at class, at NADAC trials...but at AKC trials, he forgets.

I know it's a stress thing. So, once it's getting just a bit cooler, we are hauling those weaves all over creation and letting him have a go at them in as many different places as possible. Hopefully, that'll do it.

New Title For Guy

2011-08-22T17:27:00.001-07:00

At the BARK AKC trial in Hattiesburg, MS, this past weekend, Guy finished his Novice FAST Preferred title with a second place! Yea!

Open JWW, not so good...did everything well but the weaves...just blew me off the first day. Second day, the weaves were the second thing...he should have gotten that with no problem. Nope. Got the entrance, then went trotting right on by like they didn't exist. Grrrr.

I was determined, if we didn't do anything else and got the whistle, that we were going to get through them. Pulled him back, gave it a second go...he started in well, then slowed down and started sniffing. Cripes!

Pulled him back, used my low ugly voice and said "Guy. Weave"... Ooops! He looked up...Uh, oh...the Boss ain't happy....okay, he sails through them and the rest of the course is smooth as butter.

As soon as it's half way cooler, I'm taking those darned weaves all over the town and he's gonna do them!

Ms Prize did well in her first Novice JWW course... the handler could have been better , but she passed in spite of me and got her first leg and first place!

Second day, she had a tummy ache and didn't want to eat that morning, but we went. She had a melt down and tried to get in the bar setter lady's lap. Finally, came back to me, did HER weaves perfectly...then knocked a bar, wouldn't go thru the tunnel, so we asked to be excused. Ah, baby dogs....

Yea Amber and Bruce!!

2011-08-07T08:02:00.000-07:00

Got this from Bruce this morning:

Amber showed at the Clarksville Agility trial today and did with good 2Qs and 2 titles so Amber is now Ch Kalahari's Uzuri at Windridge RE, AX, AXJ, AXP, AXJP. Going to work on that REA next.

There were two other RR's at the show, it's so nice to see other RR at agility trials and be able to talk to them and swap stories.

Bruce Plaiss

Bonus!

2011-07-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

I bought a new set of 24" weaves...my others were 22"... and I discovered ( much to my delight!) they were not in 3 pole lengths, but in 2s! I got 2 by 2s so now I can train Magic using a different method. Hopefully, demolition dog will not be knocking these every which way once I get them staked down. I bought them from Affordable Agility.

I was so excited, I called a fellow RR friend, but she'd never heard of this 2 by 2 business when she was training. Keep in mind that there is more to it than just showing the channel part....So here it is in photos.:-)

The wide open channel...

Squished in a bit...

Even more squished..

Darla decided to demo this time..

Really squished in... yes, those that look close are really 24" apart..

Put them in a straight line... Guy wanted to be the model this time. They aren't staked down yet and I moved back and to the other side to see if I could get a better photo...

Guy decides he's gonna do the weaves! Go, boy! He's knocked them all out alignment.

Look at him go and I'm still standing way back...

...and he finished all twelve of them by himself! Yea! What a GOOD BOY!

Now if that just would happen at a trial..... :-)

Volunteer!

2011-06-28T04:34:00.000-07:00

Do you volunteer to help out at agility trials? I hope you do. If not, give it a try, it's fun! It let's you experience another level of camardiity with your fellow exhibitors and clubs really appreciate the help. The more, the merrier!

Volunteers to help set bars, leash runners and course setters are the unsung heros of trials. By volunteering to help out in a couple of classes a day, it frees up others to walk their dogs and makes it more enjoyable for everyone. The time goes by faster, too!

I enjoy bar setting. It's the best seat in the house to watch dogs run and observe handling techniques. I can scribe, too, which is very helpful to the club members, but you must keep your eye on the judge and I SO want to watch the dogs!

Most clubs around here have a volunteer sheet sent with the premium list so you can sign up at the same time you send in your entries. They also have a sign up board where you can help fill in or give someone else a break.

Great way to meet nice folks and create goodwill.

Matrix In B'Ham

2011-06-20T13:41:00.000-07:00

Jennifer sent me these photos of Matrix competing at the Birmingham agility trial. So much about him reminds me of Diva.

Both Matrix and Diva throw their feet out in front and really fly over a jump. Matrix's sisters both tuck and fold their front feet.

I just like this one showing Jennifer doing a back cross and Matrix barreling on ahead.

You gotta love a dog that races full tilt across that narrow dog walk - no fear! Wish he could give Guy a little of that courage.

Early Call For Agility Training

2011-05-29T17:29:00.000-07:00

This morning, I struggled up at 4:30 AM, got all my stuff together and headed out at 5:30 AM to meet Jennifer at the Ocean Springs, MS exit to go over to Abita Springs, LA to have a practice with her training group.

Prize desperately needs to practice in different places and on different equipment so she won't become "fixed" on just the club's training field. She did have a fun time and had no problem with their red obstacles. She did have an issue with the triple jump, but I think it was because so many people were standing there. She'd cut behind me and go over the double. It's like they were in her "bubble" and she didn't like it. Ah, green dogs.... ya gotta figure out what makes them tick.

Rebecca's Lab patiently waits her turn for a go. Look at that face...isn't she a sweetie?

Prize waiting for her turn again.

Taylor's Border Collie looks like he's waving his paw and saying "Is it my turn yet?"

Matrix cutting it close over a jump.

A final shot - the "ends"...and check out Jennifer...she's really lost the pounds and is looking GOOD!

Matrix Open Standard Run

2011-04-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kkI75sau1M

Still a small issue with the weaves, but overall, what a great run. Jenn and Matrix will get those poles yet and then - watch out world!

Rockin' Run

2011-03-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

Matrix, Jennifer's Diva son, shows how it's done in his open Jumpers with weaves run at the MBDTC trial on Friday. ( Matrix is being handled by Julie Hill for Jennifer, who had to work.)

Atta boy!

Guy Goes to MBDTC 2011

2011-03-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

Guy had to run with Lisa because I was unable to run after pulling a calf muscle the day before.... He's a good boy to do this cold for someone else! He only had one "where's mama" moment.

He also got 2 Novice FAST legs before I hurt myself.

Christening Heather's New Equipment

2011-02-21T07:23:00.000-08:00

Heather's new equipment finally came and I told her I'd help put it together. By the time I got there, she'd got the A Frame open and up... it was already assembled, you just stood it up. Neat!

We got the dog walk up and in place.... Dice and Ellie couldn't wait to try it out.

Hadley gives the A frame a go..

Ellie likes that dog walk!

Guy checks out the A frame.

Ellie rides the end of the teeter down - cool photo!

Great two on, two off, Ellie!

Dice speeds over the A frame.

Dice on the teeter...

Prize likes the A frame, too.

After figuring out that she'd get Cesar treats at the end, Prize sped across the dog walk several times!

Oh, boy - goodies!

February NADAC - Vancleave, MS

2011-02-08T06:20:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was the NADAC trial in Vancleave, MS. Friday was miserable! Cold, rainy, windy...a day for survival of the fittest! Saturday was better and Sunday was cool, but pleasant.

We survived and had some great runs, too! Guy got his first Elite Standard leg - NADAC is about speed and it was so cold - he was flying!

Prize speeds through the hoops

Unfortunately, speed kills, too. Hoopers was a bust for both Guy and Prize - her first time ever in the ring - for they were speeding around more than paying attention to my directions. They had a ball though and that's important.

Guy does gang busters through hoops, too

Prize also did a few "bonus" jumps in Jumpers, but Guy got a leg in Open Jumpers.

Guy finished his Novice Tunneler's and Novice Touch'N Go titles - Yay!

Prize did well in Weavers, too... but she missed a jump.. oh, well.

All wasn't lost on Prize - she got her first Novice Tunneler's leg and a third place! It was so much fun running lickety split through all those tunnels!

If you remember that a trial is simply an event you enter to find out what else you need to train for, you will have a better outlook on your results...or lack of. I found out that Ms Prize needs to go over a lot more A Frames and dogwalks in different places so she'll understand that it's okay and fun and not all obstacles look the same.

Prize: Oh, no, this doesn't look right at all.. I'm scared.

Now, if only my aching muscles will let me walk again....

Hoopers!

2010-11-09T13:48:00.000-08:00

NADAC Hoopers is a lot of FUN! It's a bit confusing, too! Both Guy and Darla have Novice Hoopers titles, but I left them in because I'm not sure what I should be doing.

For Novice, you have to go through a minimum of 3 hoops in the center line. Then there are various "challenges" that you can select...in other words, you make up your own run. For novice, you do 3 hoops, then one challenge, then 2 hoops and another challenge and run like mad for the exit.

In this one, I did the same for both Guy and Darla.... 3 center hoops, then a wide arc through hoops with orange bows on them. Then 2 hoops and a shorter version of the arc.

Actually, since Darla goes through the first hoop, I only needed for her to go through the second one and I could have begun the short arc....again, it's me that's not sure of where and what I'm doing out there! :-D

Guy is so interested in the judge and the scribe that he wanders around, but he did it..he was allowed to go backwards through the exit hoop.

Darla is so happy, she's bounding and frolicking.... so funny looking! She was still bouncing around in Open Jumpers... I left that one off.... Oh, well, they are having fun and that's what counts.

New NADAC Titles

2010-11-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

Guy in Touch'n Go

Yea! Guy finished his Novice Weavers title and his Novice Jumpers title this past weekend at the NADAC trial in Vancleave, MS. Boy! Was that fun!

I left both Guy and Darla in lower standard classes as they've been having issues with the weaves in AKC classes. I hoped they'd get more confidence with their weave entrances and I think they did. We have been trying out a new signal, so this was a good test.

Trying new hand signal with Darla

Darla did her standard run weaves well, but just couldn't get the Weavers class down..she'd bobble the entry or pop out at the end. (I enter Veteran Handler, so my dogs only have to jump 12". They don't seem to notice and cover the jumps with room to spare!)

On the upside, she was very happy...sometimes too happy... like in the Touch N Go class where she was bounding along and just jumped clear over the down contacts. .

Darla makes one contact!

I entered Guy in Tunnelers for the first time. I practically have to stuff him in a tunnel at AKC, but he flew through the NADAC tunnels like he loved them. Same size, but usually straighter lines for Tunnelers....and really, really fast. He got his first leg on Sunday.... so I'm looking forward to getting his title next Feb when they have another trial.

Guy struts his stuff out of a tunnel

Where There's A Will...

2010-09-06T05:16:00.000-07:00

Never complain about your limitations, think about this fella and his dog first:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIx5uasaCj0

BARK Brags

2010-08-22T06:26:00.000-07:00

Darla completed her NAP and NJP with double Qs, three days in a row at the BARK trial in Hattiesburg! Slow, but dependable....that's my girl!

Guy got two legs on his NJP with one first and one second place....We won't discuss his apparent wrackspurt infestation that occurred the first day. :-D

Googility

2010-08-16T14:18:00.001-07:00

Add your club or group and also find groups, clubs and trainers near you. Agility Nerd's new Googility. Just put in your address and the nearby clubs, trainers or suppliers will show up.

New Title!

2010-08-07T17:59:00.001-07:00

From Bruce Plaiss ( who is owned and loved by Ch Amber OA, OAJ, RN):

Amber has a new title: OAJ and needs one more Std to finish her OA title. This happened Friday, two one hundred scores, a second place (JWW) and a third place (Std). Both runs were under time. WE rested to-day and go back for Sundays action. Susan, my middle daughter showed her (She was going to fly to Ca. to show her in Agility but that's another story.) I was so happy that I could cry, but yet heart broken that she got out there and did so good with Susan.

Wish us Luck for Sunday

Bruce

** Amber couldn't be shown at the specialty in CA, because I co own Amber and I'm judging the conformation classes and the agility is considered a part of the specialty.

*** As you might have noticed it is no longer NA it's OA. Got the last OA this PM. Second place no less. Bombed out on the EX JWW course, about 15 minutes between the runs on a long hot day. I would say that Amber had a good weekend three of four Q's and three placements, plus the two titles.

Bruce

Good Speed Exercise

2010-06-27T12:53:00.001-07:00

If you didn't see this on RR Folk, this lady posted a training
exercise for speed...Looks like a handy exercise..Gonna try it with my
bunch....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nd6yTmTtQo

Sunday Morning Practice

2010-05-30T08:26:00.001-07:00

This morning, Lisa and Heather came over and ran the fun course I had set up in the front yard. I ran Darla as a try out.....Man! That was way too far apart, so I just finished tweaking it, cutting down the distance between jumps, when they arrived. There were several ways to run it so each time you could do something else.

Lisa and Cinnie ran first...

Lots of leg room on this course....we sure got our exercise!

Heather and Dice...

Dice gets a reward...

Gimme more!

Nice, Dice!
Ellie through the weaves...
......and over the jump....great distance handling, Heather!
As a challenge, Lisa and Heather ran Guy...

He's a lot faster than he looks...Gave them a good work out..

Prize, the lap dog, gets some attention from Lisa.

While taking a breather, we noticed we had a visitor checking us out...

We were dripping wet when we finished....Just in time, too. It came up a thrunderstorm about a half hour later!

Jump, Amber, Jump!

2010-05-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

Bruce's Amber running with his daughter, Susan, in Open Jumpers for her first leg and third place. WaaHoo....way to go!

New Ridgeback Agility Email Group

2010-04-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

I'm still learning about agility and the challenges of doing that with Ridgebacks, so I'm always interested in what others are doing, motivating my dogs, what worked for others, their successes and their "don't do this" list.

If you'd like to join our list and you have Ridgebacks, then go to our Google Group home page and apply to join!

Ridgeback Agility

Videos!

2010-04-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

Guy's Novice Weavers run at the February NADAC trial in VanCleave, MS.Really good weaves for a Ridgeback!

Darla's Open Standard run:Slower weaves, but she hit her entrance! Yea!

Guy's Novice Touch N'Go run at the NADAC trial.

Big thanks to Lisa for taking the videos!

I'm entered in Veteran Handler, so my dogs take a 4" cut in height and since it's Skilled ( max of 16") they only have to jump 12".

Ouch!

2010-03-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

A bit over two weeks ago, at agility practice, Prize and I had a "directional mishap" which left me with badly sprained calf muscles in one leg and absolutely nothing wrong with her.

So for two weeks - RIGHT BEFORE THE MBDTC AGILITY TRIAL - I could do nothing but elevate my leg, hobble around and hope for the best that I could at least run a bit at the trial.....never mind that my dog would be getting NO training!

And so it came to pass that the trial came and my dog apparently forgot how to weave in two weeks. Friday there were no weaves, fast or slow, at all, just a nod to the poles as she passed them by - occasionally going between one or two.

Saturday was better though. She finally did weave in Jumpers, was so pleased with herself that she took an extra couple of jumps just for fun - wrong course, of course, but she had fun.

Sunday she did her weaves in standard, but took the A frame instead of that darned pink tunnel. Her jumpers course had the world's slowest weaves, BUT it was good enough and she got a leg and first place!

And now a rant about AKC agility courses - I'm very disappointed in the sharp directional changes they are allowing now. They might be fine for dogs jumping 16" or less, but a spread jump, a 90 degree turn to the tire is a bit much for a 24" dog. That's a recipe for sprains or worse....considering the tire is the most dangerous obstacle on the AKC course. They need to allow break away tires for the safety of the dogs.

I just decided that if I ran anymore AKC trials, my dogs would be in preferred so they wouldn't have to jump more than 20 ". It also reminded me how much my dogs and I enjoy NADAC!

Working On New Things

2010-02-16T04:10:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, our club hosted an agility seminar with Stuart Mah. Although Stuart competes with Border Collies, I learned some new skills to try with my dogs - ie, teach the dog to "find" the obstacle without backing up or turning around so they will learn to go on ahead of you.

Now, if you have Ridgebacks and run agility, you know that many of them have to be "tended" over every obstacle. That might be okay when you're young and agile yourself, but these old bones are looking for some distance and a remote control!

Here's one of our practice runs: This is Prize, she is just over a year old, hence the low jump heights, and she was the youngest pupil with the least amount of experience. I think I see the beginnings of a fast and willing competitor in her - if I can just get her to understand and look for the next jump instead of the treats that MIGHT be in my hand!

Lots of new ideas to try!

I'm A Proud G'Ma

2010-02-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

My other furry grandchild, Matrix, was at the NADAC trials on Saturday and Sunday and had some great runs. His Novice Jumpers on Saturday was fabulous. Luckly, Lisa got it on camera and up loaded it on YouTube:

Matrix's lucky owner is Jennifer Pryde, who has done a marvelous job of training and running him.

....and, Lordy, Matrix does Tunnelers super - especially for a big dog slamming into a 24" tube! Here's his run on Saturday:

Great Fun at the NADAC Trial!

2010-02-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

Yipee! Both Guy and Darla got their Novice Hoopers title today at the NADAC trials in VanCleave, MS. We had so much fun!

Darla also got her Open Regular title... She was so good, she hit those weaves and stayed in all twelve...'course she could have been faster, but we are NOT complaining!

Both dogs also got a leg in Novice Weavers - one more to go for their titles and Darla got 2 legs in Open Jumpers, Guy got 2 legs in Novice Jumpers, and Guy got his second leg in Novice Touch N'Go.

It was nice on Friday, and just right weather-wise on Saturday morning - until someone turned on the north wind and VanCleave became Ice Berg, MS! Lordy, it was cold! Cold again this morning, but we dressed for it and then after noon, it warmed up.

If you haven't tried NADAC - it's a blast!

Girl Dogs Good, Boy Dogs -Weird!

2009-12-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

Just when you think you've got things worked out .....Note to self: NEVER get cocky about a run with a BOY DOG.

Guy and I went to the Five Flags Agility Trial.... gonna try standard for the first time. Hey, after his qualifying and moving up to Elite in NADAC, should be a slam dunk - right? WRONG! Silly BOY DOGS!

We start out okay, but the table surface didn't impress him, so he decided to just sit and slap at me with alternating front feet. >:-/

We go on and do everything until the broad jump... which he steps in. Not his fault, MY fault for not practicing that. Throws him off the weaves, he goes back and does them... then the dreaded chute... goes through. Then (Flash back to the Swamp Dog Debacle) and there's the panel jump. NOPE, not gonna do that, tried 3 times.... NOPE, NADA, ZIP. Might attack him, not going to risk it. :-(

Okay, when we get home, I'm going to make all the jumps in my yard a solid jump!

Go over to Jumpers... nice course. Starts with tunnel, Guy's all happy. Goes in tunnel, must have met the boogey man in there, 'cause he comes out and now he's acting all scared. Refuses to jump.... is frozen solid. What the?????

Next morning, I cover all the jumps with towels, tarps, etc. Guy clears them with ease. We go over to Animal Barn, drag out the panel jump, he clears it with ease, no hesitation.

Okay, we'll go back to Pensacola and give it another try.

Not to bore you, but the short story is another non-jumping debacle, but HE DID DO THE PANEL JUMP - thank you JUDGE!

After thinking on this awhile, Guy did better in the first ring, but was petrified in the second ring. All I can figure is the scribe's table was not against the ring ropes, rather out in the ring. We had to walk around it. Guy turned and looked at the timer and the scribe, tail tucked. I think he is still worried about people in the ring who might yell at him... like at the agility match. He does freak out if someone is standing at the side of the ring, but doesn't seem to mind the judge.

Oh, lordy. Something else to try and figure out the answer and get through it.

NADAC Trial - November

2009-11-23T04:58:00.000-08:00

Success! This weekend at the NADAC trials in Vancleave, Darla got her Jumpers title, a leg on her Novice Weavers title (and 4th place) and two Hoopers legs!

This was our first try at Hoopers.... I'm sure they both would have done better if their handler had more experience! Bless their hearts, they followed my strange commands anyway. Maybe next time we'll get better times because I've figured out what I'm suppose to be doing. Sure was fun though!

Guy moved up to Open Standard and got his title with three first places. We still have a bugaboo with tunnels under the dog walk, but he did his obstacle discrimination and hit those weaves like a real agility dog!

Guy also got a leg in Weavers with a 2nd place and a leg in Hoopers.

Can't wait for the next trial in February. This is a great venue - worth more than a hundred training classes because you are in a trial atmosphere and you can help them through a problem.

Now, if I could just walk......soooooo sore this morning from all that running. Not only did I run my two SIX runs, I ran Jennifer's Matrix TWICE. Eight runs was a bit much for these old bones!

Since I entered as a Veteran handler, in Skilled, my dogs only had to jump 12". As you can see, they can clear well over a foot! Guy does his jump....

.........Darla does her "high" jump.

Guy in Weavers......

Matrix at the start of his second Novice Standard run....cool picture!

TOO MUCH FUN!

2009-11-01T10:57:00.000-08:00

OMG! NADAC is what agility should be all about - fun for both dog and handler!

I took just Guy on Friday.... it was our first NADAC trial and we didn't know what all those classes were or the rules , so I thought I'd just stick to standard and jumpers. The courses were just so much fun - wide open running, great for a green dog.

Guy Q'd in both his Standard runs. They run it one way in round 1, then backwards in round 2. He knocked a bar on his second round but still got 5 out of the 10 pts possible and no disqualifying faults. You need 30 pts to get a Nov title.

Guy backjumped in Jumpers, so not Q, but was very fast and had a ball.

It was so much fun, I brought Darla on Sat. Unlike AKC, you can enter the day of the show - which is fantastic!

Darla Q's all three of her runs - 2 standard course for 20 pts and one jumpers for 10 pts. Her jumpers course time was amazing....5.38 yards per second! Me, I was gasping for breath!

Here a video of her run... She took off so fast, I thought "Holy Crap, whose dog is this!"

Today (Sunday), Darla Q'd her first round for 10 pts and her NAC title! Second round was wild and she just started bouncing around the ring, over to the scrib table...having a ball... not like her at all, but she was having FUN!

Guy had a wrong course first round, but came back in the second round for a Q and 10 pts to finish his NAC title!

I watched all the other classes.... looked like so much fun, too. They are having another trial in November and we are GOING! Gonna enter all those other classes too, this time!

Trying A New Venue

2009-10-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I've got Guy entered in three days of NADAC trials. Never tried it before and was only brave enough to enter Standard and Jumpers. I want to see what the others are before I try it. The good news is you can enter the day of trial, so if Touch and Go and Hoopers looks like fun, then I can enter him one of the other days.

I'll be videoing a run or two... I always have high hopes for the perfect run, but with Guy, who knows?? It could turn out to be an episode of America's Funniest Home Videos!

Swamp Dog Debacle

2009-10-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

This Friday and Sat, we went over to Kiln, MS to the Swamp Dog's Trial. Again, I had them in Novice FAST. It was a HARD send bonus... teeter to the off side tunnel. First a deceleration obstacle - the teeter, handler had no choice but to be to the left of the teeter at around 7 ft...no way were mine going to go away from me to the other end of the tunnel... about another 5 feet!

Okay, I know they are going to drift to me, no chance of a Q here, so I'll try Guy over the A frame. He has started sightseeing at the top at class, so we'll see what happens....Guy also drifted, went in the wrong end and I sent him up the A frame. Once at the top, he came to a dead stop and just took it all in... ...thought he'd never get all the way down!

Sightseeing

Darla does everything but the bonus...she drifted to me and went in the wrong end of the tunnel.... but I told her she was brilliant and she was happy.

My good girl, Darla

Saturday was another hard bonus, another deceleration obstacle for my dogs - the chute to a panel jump. I knew Darla would get through the chute, but would drift back to me... you are 12 ft from them when they come out of the chute and 9 ft from the panel... so I just ran in and directed her over the panel, losing the bonus. She did everything else I asked of her, was brilliant and quite happy with herself.

Guy was another story and provided the comedy spot of the day. First, he's not been good with the chute, except at home with my short chute...BUT he did go in and didn't back out. Success! Once in the chute, a snail could have gone faster, but, bless his little heart, he did it! I told him to jump, he trotted over to the panel, stopped, looked over it...........

Hmmm, should I jump this?

....then the crazy dog decides to take a shortcut through the wing bars!

A Ridgeback does not fit through the wing bars. His head and shoulders went through then hung up on his butt! A look of horror crossed his face when he realized the wing was stuck on his hinny and was following him. He took off bucking, jumping and panicked - OMG, the jump has attacked me!!!! The whole panel jump crashed along behind him until he finally twisted out of it...

Poor baby....but it was so funny, it was hard to control my laughter. He went over to the rails looking for someone to save him from the big, bad jump. I called him, told him he was alright....He came with the look of "Mama, save me" on his face. Then I asked him to go over some jumps and do the teeter and by the time he crossed the finish line, he was back to his happy self.

Guess the lesson here is we don't take shortcuts through wings anymore!

Learning Lessons

2009-10-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

An Agility Trial is nothing more than an event to tell you what else you need to train for. Once you figure that out, you will no longer be worried about Q'ing and if you do, it's just icing on the cake.

4 weeks ago, Darla, Guy and I went over to the Mississippi Mavericks trial in Gulfport. (It was hot, hot, hot!) I just had them in Novice FAST, since Darla isn't ready for Open weaves and Guy isn't ready for Novice standard class. Since FAST has elements of standard, ie some contacts, I thought it would be good practice. I wasn't going to enter anything else, because I was afraid it would be hot. My dogs don't like being hot and I certainly don't!

Darla at the start

Once we got into the arena, their noses were glued to the dirt. I don't know what it was but it completely overwhelmed Guy. Darla was distracted and would have gotten her first leg, but she was hampered by a handler who didn't keep up with the time! Had I not opted for one last tunnel, she would have made it with 51 points. Instead, I sent her to a dark red tunnel... she doesn't like red tunnels - don't ask me why... so it took her too long in there and she crossed the line after the buzzer and had lost 3 points... one under a Q score. Great dog....shame about the handler! :-/

Darla at the finish

Guy's brain was over come by the smell and he just couldn't get going, but did manage the send bonus, after which, the rest of his brains fell out and I took him off the course. :-/

Okay, lesson here is we must work on "Leave it" and more focus on me. Second lesson is play to your dog's strengths when figuring out your course!

2009-10-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get a practice tunnel to use here at home. I went to Affordable Agility and checked their sales pages... I wound up with 2 tunnels, each 9 ft long, extra large - great for training puppies! The bonus is they can join together, via extra material and velcro pads to make an 18 ft tunnel. They also have their own velco straps, are lightweight and so easy to transport.

I also bought a practice chute. It's got it's own pop up barrel and a short chute that has elastic and velcro pads to attach to the barrel. The barrel has it's own tie downs and pins for stabilizing on the ground. It's really been helpful to get Guy to do the chute.... that's been a bugaboo for us. It, too, is handy to pack and carry along.

These two items are so easy to pack and go. We just used them at an agility demo we did at a Pets In The Park event this past weekend.

I highly recommend the site and I'm happy with my purchases! Check'em out through this link:

BARK AKC Agility, Aug 13-16,2009

2009-08-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

Thursday at the BARK trial, Darla finished her Novice Standard title! It wasn't pretty, but it was good enough and second place. Watch it on YouTube.

Guy got his first leg on his Novice Jumpers title with a first place! Yea!

Friday: I moved Darla up to Open...she's not ready as she doesn't do the weaves well, but I decided to go ahead. As expected, she didn't do all the weaves, and I made a handling mistake at the tunnel....but other than that she was BRILLIANT!

Guy's run was quite good...fast until we got to the weaves.... lo and behold, there was a bar sitter right there in front of him...been our problem...so he botched his entry, but came right back and finished it up... went smoothly until the second to last jump and he knocked a bar off... I am VERY HAPPY to see that the bar setter didn't have the appeal they use to for Guy. We are gaining focus!!

Saturday: Uggghhhh! Anyone want a male Ridgeback cheap? Honestly, boy dogs can do the wackiest things! Once we got into the ring, Guy's brain had a major glitch... He wouldn't pay attention to sit, finally sat, I left him on a stay, went to my call out spot, said "Okay!".... He stands up, sniffs the ground and MARKS! Out we go... coulda murdered him on the spot. Geez, something else to work on...

Darla gave me a great Open standard run, sans weaves (which I knew she wasn't going to do..my fautlt for not working her more on it). I'm gonna get on that though, because she's running well otherwise.

Planning on going to a NADAC trial next!

Starting Weave Pole Training

2009-06-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

Here's the secret to success in off set weave pole training - a long handled spoon, Cheez Whiz and Cesar's dog food! It's like doggy crack - they love it! I like to use this particular purple top one. It's more squished together. Some is not.

To get started you'll need a long handled spoon like the one in the photo. That's to keep the messy ( and fragrant) Cheez Whiz and Cesar's out in front of your dog, at the dog's eye level, and so you can hang on to the collar and have them drive into the poles. I put the Cheez Whiz on first and embed the Cesar. Here's what it looks like "loaded".

At first, getting the dog through the poles will be a train wreck, because the dog is only interested in the food. At this point, you are building muscle memory in the dog. It will get easier and the dog will stop crashing about, sending the parts of the weaves willy nilly. ( I don't glue the base together, it's less damaging to the dog's shoulders if the weaves come apart. If you use schedule 40 pvc, the poles won't fly apart as much.)

Eventually, the dog will begin bending around the poles and stepping one side to the other - at least the big dogs will. Some smaller dogs will still be in the galloping mode.

I've created a short training demo so you can get the idea. Yes, there is a lot more to it, but you'll be encouraged to see what practice for a few times a day will do. With Guy, it took about 6 months for him to really catch on and so I could send him to the weaves without leading him with treats.

Many thanks to Lisa for helping with the dogs and videoing us!

****It dawned on me that I should have the post on "How to build off set weaves " with this, so here it is:

Although I've tried another style of off set weaves, this set has been the best for teaching my Ridgebacks to weave fast and for setting muscle memory.

I have used 1 inch PVC, but you can use 3/4 inch PVC pipe if you like. I also put caps on all open ends to keep out trash and water. It's best to use Schedule 40 PVC, it won't fall apart as easy.

You'll need nine 3-way connectors and three 4-way connectors to make a six pole set. The height of the upright poles on mine are 30 inches. I find it's easier to use when you are guiding with treats and you can eventually run your hand down the tops without the dog having to look up and lose concentration.

Bottom spacer bars are all 22 inches. Use the 3-ways for the "in line" uprights and a 4-way for the off-set connectors.

Another advantage of these off sets is they teach the dog to always enter correctly on the right side between the first and second poles.

The distance between the "channel" is about 1.5 to 2" depending on your connecting piece at the off set link.

Once my dog learned the weaves without my leading him and I could send him to the poles, I then transitioned him to the regulation weaves without a problem. We still do the offsets for fun and for conditioning and reinforcing the muscle memory.

I took these photos at practice. This is Freccia, a Border Collie, owned by fellow club member, Roberta. Medium sized dogs and smaller dogs often "gallop" through the weaves and it works well for them. Follow the sequence and you'll see both her front feet are landing: first on one side, then the other.

With larger dogs, like Ridgebacks, the galloping style tends to slow them down, as the size of the dog doesn't always fit in that 21 inch slot. I'm looking to teach the dog to step right, then left with the front foot as they go down the weave. The off sets are terrific for helping the dog learn this style.

Check Guy's footfall as he " weaves" the poles.

What a good boy!

Pet Palooza Agility

2009-06-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

My dog club participated in the Maddie's Fund Pet Palooza Adoption event, here in Mobile, on Saturday. It was a terrific training opportunity with all the barking dogs, the crowds and the cats meowing!

Here's Guy taking his turn around one of the courses and doing his wonderful weaves!

Love that foot fall!

Love the fluid bending around the poles..

....most of all - Love that happy look on his face!

In addition to agility demos, we also had some obedience exercises and we each were to teach our dog a trick to perform for the crowd. Some did the distance sits and downs... some did jumping for bouncing balls....

Guy jumped through a hoop!

I started teaching him the hoop less than 2 weeks prior. He has been having a problem understanding the tire jump.

He would go between the tire and the side of the side of the upright....

...or if it were up to his height, he'd duck under it...

I would have to block off the bottom and the side for him to go through the center.

Finally, another trainer suggested I teach him to jump through a free hoop, so he'd understand the concept that he was supposed to jump through the "round thing".

I began by luring him through with treats, then added the clicker, then a voice command, then voice and hand signals. It worked! Since our club could not wash the mats before our trial, we did not use food in the ring, but could use items like tennis balls, tug toys, etc. Guy hasn't been into those since he hit puberty, so we just used good old praise!

He was the crowd favorite....must be something about the big dog jumping through a hoop!
Best of all, when we ran the course, he took the tire each time without a hitch! Woo hoo.... nothing like success!

Ch Amber NA, NAJ

2009-05-04T07:50:00.001-07:00

From Bruce: Amber competed May 3, got her second leg and 2nd place, then completed her NAJ title on May 4th with another 2 nd place! Now she's Ch Amber NAJ. Way to go Bruce and Amber!

Amber is an Ozzie X Diva daughter... a littermate to Matrix NA, NAJ and full sister to Darla, NAJ ( who needs one more leg for her NA.).

***Update,.... Amber gets her NA with 2 first place wins! Go Amber and Bruce!

Building Off Set Weaves

2009-04-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

Although I've tried another style of off set weaves, this set has been the best for teaching my Ridgebacks to weave fast and for setting muscle memory.

I have used 1 inch PVC, but you can use 3/4 inch PVC pipe if you like. I also put caps on all open ends to keep out trash and water. It's best to use Schedule 40 PVC, it won't fall apart as easy.

You'll need nine 3-way connectors and three 4-way connectors to make a six pole set. The height of the upright poles on mine are 30 inches. I find it's easier to use when you are guiding with treats and you can eventually run your hand down the tops without the dog having to look up and lose concentration.

Bottom spacer bars are all 22 inches. Use the 3-ways for the "in line" uprights and a 4-way for the off-set connectors.

Another advantage of these off sets is they teach the dog to always enter correctly on the right side between the first and second poles.

The distance between the "channel" is about 1.5 to 2" depending on your connecting piece at the off set link.

Once my dog learned the weaves without my leading him and I could send him to the poles, I then transitioned him to the regulation weaves without a problem. We still do the offsets for fun and for conditioning and reinforcing the muscle memory.

I took these photos at practice. This is Freccia, a Border Collie, owned by fellow club member, Roberta. Medium sized dogs and smaller dogs often "gallop" through the weaves and it works well for them. Follow the sequence and you'll see both her front feet are landing: first on one side, then the other.

With larger dogs, like Ridgebacks, the galloping style tends to slow them down, as the size of the dog doesn't always fit in that 21 inch slot. I'm looking to teach the dog to step right, then left with the front foot as they go down the weave. The off sets are terrific for helping the dog learn this style.

Check Guy's footfall as he " weaves" the poles.

What a good boy!

MBDTC Agility Trial is History

2009-03-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

Darla got a leg in Novice Standard and first place on Saturday.....and Guy showed flashes of brilliance and had a REALLY GOOD TIME!

Guy...with ears a flying..

If it weren't for all those lovely people, like the judge and the barsetters, to visit, Guy might have qualified.... but, social butterfly that he is, he just had to visit them and let them know how much he loved seeing them.... Gotta work on focus, focus, focus.

Darla...pretty over pink

Don'cha just love those flying Ridgeback ears? There's got to be a good caption for these two pictures.

Another Leg for Darla

2009-03-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

An agility leg, that is!

Darla qualified and got first place in Novice Standard on Saturday at the MBDTC trial in Mobile. Handler error caused her to NQ on Sunday.... bad Momma!

Guy had flashes of brilliance in his runs.... but his love of people - any people : bar setters, the judge - and having to visit them, costs us time, wrong courses, etc.... but he had a GREAT TIME! Things to work on.....

New Title for Diva and a "Leg" for Darla

2009-01-04T14:32:00.001-08:00

Darla does the weaves

I had Diva and Darla entered in just Novice Standard at the Pensacola Dog Fanciers Agility, Obedience and Rally Trial this weekend. Sadly, I had only practiced with Diva once in the month of December and with Darla twice....Why?? Well, because about the second week in December I threw my back outta wack and could barely move.

But, off we went to the trial.....hoping for the best.

On Saturday, Diva was so wound up that she jumped the down contact on the A frame...She NEVER does that! She bobbled the weaves, but did them...not her best obstacle, but other than that she did fine...NQ because of the down contact, but overall not bad for one practice this past Monday.

Darla flies over the panel jump

Darla did wonderful and got her first Novice Agility leg with a clean run and first place!

Sunday, Darla was like dead in the ring... missed a jump, was slow, didn't want to down on the table, didn't want to weave, went over time...blah, blah, blah. Turns out she had an upset stomach, so I guess I can understand not feeling well. I love her still and think she's brillant.

Diva blazed through her course....only stopping to check out some mallets someone left in the ring...she is so curious. She had a clean run and got first place! I didn't realize until I got home that her qualifying run was for her title, too! She can now have NAP behind her name! Go, Diva!

Tji-Wara's Kalahari Safari NAJ, NAP, NJP

For some great treats, gear and training tips, click on the image below!

Easy Jumps To Build

2008-10-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

A fellow club member and I built her some jumps the other day, so I thought I'd share the do-it-yourself steps. These are light weight and you can break them down easily for transport. Here's a photo with the measurements:

We used 3/4 inch PVC pipe. You'll also need four 3/4 inch, 3-way connectors for the base and brace. As you can see, the base and jump bar are 47 inches each. The uprights are 41 inches and the 4 brace pieces are 12 inches each. To connect the 3 way connectors together, I cut a small piece 1 1/2 - 2 inches in length.

If your dog is bad about knocking the bar off, you can get two caps for the bar and add sand in it to make it more substantial. If you do that you might have to cut 1/2 to 1 inch off the jump. Just try it and see before you make a cut!

I bought a tool called a Ratcheting PVC Cutter and it was well worth it. Not expensive, but makes square cuts and is easy to use.

For the cup clips, I ordered the 3/4 inch ones from Clean Run's store. There's ten in a package.

I also bought some colorful electrician's tape to put on the jump bar.

As I was rearranging my jumps to practice treadles, I noticed something on one of the uprights.....

A Praying Mantis was perched up there....

He (She?) was keeping a eye on me...

....so I decided to leave that jump for awhile..... Didn't want to disturb my little friend's hunting spot.
For some great treats, gear and training tips, click on the image below!

WooHoo! Agility Class Starts Back Tonight!

2008-10-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks to cooler weather, my club is starting up it's agility classes tonight. Think I'm just going to take Ms Darla tonight as I don't think I'm up to taking 2 to class. I'll take Mr Guy over in the morning to practice the exercises we do tonight..... plus he won't be so distracted over all the dogs that will be out.

Too Darn Hot!

2008-06-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

Summer in Mobile is always hot, but we've had about 2 weeks of usually hot days for June. So far, all the action the agility field has seen lately is grass mowing. Plus I have a singleton pup that is more trouble than a whole pack o'pups. .... The little guy doesn't have a play pal and so that falls to me, his Mom and Guy.... who tries, but doesn't really know how to play with a 4.5 week old. ... in other words, we are busy with other stuff right now.

Maybe next week I'll feel like putting out a new jump configuration and doing something.... even the club members have been lax at going out on Wed nights... still hot at 6:30 PM.

Agility Foundation Class Graduation

2008-05-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

We had our class graduation last night and each of us went through a course. I'm really pleased with Guy. He's gone from totally gaga out with seeing all those potential playmates and people to sorta paying attention to me. We have a long way to go, but we're getting there.

Here's the video of our run last night:(Try not to laugh real hard....)

We're Getting Better - I think!

2008-05-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

Last lesson, it seemed to me that Guy was finally paying a bit more attention to me during class.... could have been my imagination or it could have been that Todd the Boxer was being usually naughty and just made Guy seem dull by comparison! (I feel for Todd's Mama... I know how that feels!)

Oh, he's still quite vocal.... that seems to be a given, but he is really getting the hang of the contacts! He's trotting over the dog walk - big improvement! Charging up the A frame and over the teeter, too.

We had a class to help desensitize them to the ring crew... the bar setters in their chairs, the judge walking around them, etc. Guy totally ignored the ring crew sitting at the base of the A frame and on the other side, paid no attention to the judge while on the table or on the downside of the dog walk..... uh, the jumps were something else though. Although the folks in the chairs were supposed to ignore the dogs if they came over to them, it was kinda hard to ignore a 90 pound dog getting in your lap and covering your face with kisses. :-D

Monkey see, Monkey do..

2008-05-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

This morning I took Diva and Guy over to the AB agility field to let Guy see what fun Diva has on the equipment. We played on the dog walk - which he has gotten spooked on - Diva would lead and he would follow with lots of treats and laughter at the end. He'll never be a speed demon, but he did manage a fast walk, maybe a hint of a trot, across the top, but a definite trot on the up and down ramps. I'd call that a success!

Apparently, he had so much fun on the dog walk ramps, before I could get to him, he charged up the teeter... and it went down...he didn't fly off, but was startled, so I ran over with Diva and she climbed on and off, up and down, lots of treats and laughter and he joined in. Nothing like a little "monkey see, monkey do" to cancel out a bad experience.

We ran and jumped, went up the A frame, did some weaves and just let them have a play time feel to the session.
For some great treats, gear and training tips, click on the image below!

A New Agility Training Site

2008-05-11T07:15:00.001-07:00

Another post about an interesting agility site from Heather:

Here's another interesting agility site with lots and lots of training info, but the best part is the "Success in Agility in 10 Paragraphs" - click on the training link. The lady who owns this site is from Slovenia. Some of her methods are quite a bit different from what we typically see in the US. Happy reading.

http://www.silvia.trkman.net/

For some great treats, gear and training tips, click on the image below!

Jungle Gym Helps!

2008-05-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

Last night at class, Guy and I first played at the spot/clicker board, then transferred the board to the end of the dog walk and played at it for a bit. Then I removed it and let him "spot" on the down ramp,clicking for a touch, then tossing treats behind him.

Then I let him get more feet on and tossed food behind him so he'd have to jump off.You might think that's a bad idea, but he got spooked about the dog walk one day when he was going up the dog walk. One of the AB's dogs suddenly came roaring up to the fence and Guy whipped around startled and his foot slipped off the edge. Since then, he's scared of crossing the top.

After playing... getting on, jumping off, higher and higher, he went up and across... not fast, but FASTER! I think it occurred to him that he could just jump off if he wanted and he could do it without getting hurt. It's a start.

He still gets brain freeze with all those other dogs around and forgets I'm there, but at least he's paying a bit more attention - I think. At home, he's doing great with extension and collection around jumps - not so at class... too many smells, too many potential playmates. Weaves are awesome though!

Great Agility Articles On Line

2008-05-06T15:19:00.001-07:00

Club member, Heather, sent this great site for teaching some basic agility skills that will help a dog to overcome fear of the teeter and other obstacles. I especially like the exercises in "Jungle Gym Teeter".

http://www.awesomepaws.us/referencearticles.htm

For some great treats, gear and training tips, click on the image below!

A long class

2008-05-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

Last night was our second foundations class. It lasts about an hour and a half, the first 45 minutes consisted of Guy doing his "Name that tune" show, ignoring treats and me having to constantly retrieve him from visiting other dogs..... basically his usual "my brains fall out with so many other potential playmates around". I keep telling myself that this is just what he needs to learn to focus - I sure hope I'm right!

Finally, he gets a bit tired and I'm MORE tired and we break into smaller groups and go through our stations doing practices. The good news is he's learning to "spot" on the touch board, did a 3 jump send away, did the tire and tunnel send and likes to jump on the table. It's a start.

Weave Pole Transitioning

2008-04-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

Guy has practiced his weaves in the side yard very well and is doing great. Going over to Animal Barn, with the barking dogs and other distractions.... not so well. However, today we met up with a fellow club member, Lisa, and her dog, Kier and Lisa videoed Guy making the transition to regulation weaves.

Don't know if anyone else is impressed, but I am! We had already been doing the A frame, the dog walk and a couple of jumps. It was getting a bit warm, but for a Ridgeback, I think he's looking great! Check out our video.

A Continous Learning Experience

2008-04-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

I'm working three dogs in agility. Diva, Darla and Guy. Unfortunately for me, I knew NOTHING when I started with Diva...... and it shows in her performances. Darla came to me later in life, but knowing sits and downs - but not how to down in a good agility way - so I've gone back and begun a retraining.

Retraining is never as good as starting off right, but when that's all you've got, you work with it.

I'm determined to give Guy, the newest trainee, the benefit of what I've learned NOT TO DO.

I've started "spot" training on a board, got some off set weave poles to begin weave training, a couple of jumps, etc. We have recently enrolled in a foundations class. This has been most helpful as Guy's brains tend to fall out when he gets around strange dogs. The first part of our first class was mainly composed of me retrieving him from visiting anyone or any dog near to him that looked halfway like it would play with him.

The latter part, he was better - or tired, or I would like to believe he started paying some attention. We will persevere though!