DW and Pinwheel

We set up my dogwalk several weeks ago for the first time in months. I had a blast with it! We taped this a few weeks ago and just got around to editing out the boring parts. We later changed the pinwheel to a serpentine and that went well too. The first time through on the video is my fastest run. Mom thinks I am jumping faster than ever and have more enthusiasm for the game than before.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Tuesday's Class

We're behind in posting this week - today should be tricky but it's going to be about my class instead. Our skills drill this week was about how to teach your dog to get on the dogwalk safely. We were supposed to practice wrapping around a jump standard and then a cone for homework the week before. We warmed up with that and then Jenn put first a wing gate, then a jump standard and then a cone right next to the side of the up ramp. We had to jump and then walk it. We tried it on both ends of the dogwalk (so from both sides) and with just a pull and then with a rear cross.

With the sequences, the handler was supposed to come up with their own plan for their own dog. Most of the time Jenn has a specific skill in mind and will discuss a sequence and encourage the handler to use her handling plan. Any way, mom did come up with pretty good ideas for us for each sequence. On one part though, there ended up being many options and Jenn did explain them. We made the video to show you the approximate layout for the jumps and to give you some of the handling options. (there is not enough room in our yard to get the distances right).

There are 6 jumps and then a tunnel. The first 4 are self-explanatory. The action happens after 4 and between 5 and 6.

1. FC after #4 and serp recall over #6

2. Same thing but fail on the serp recall - LOL!

3. Dog on same side the entire time - push to #6

4. RC before #5

5. RC on the flat between #5 and 6 and then backy uppy fail at #6 - :)

About the past few wordless Wednesdays - since they are wordless, we couldn't explain anything - LOL! Mom thought the photos of me with the daffodils last week were funny - it's true that the daffodils were beautiful and so was I, but she thought it was so funny that for photo after photo, I would just NOT look at her. The first one of me running in the grass from yesterday was taken a couple weeks ago when we did have spring-like weather but I was looking at CARS that were on a road probably a half a mile away! Mom also thought this was funny as here we were in the pretty spot on a trail and having a great walk and I had to go an notice cars going by so far away! Well, duh! And as for the snow photos from yesterday afternoon, well, mom didn't think those were funny at all! HeHe!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Spring Dogwalk Practice

We set up the dogwalk the other day and got in some fun practice! We're using those clip and go contact hoops to keep me from being tempted to jump off the side of the board (especially when mom moves laterally). I think I am getting faster!

It sure is nice to be able to practice in our own backyard again!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Tuesday's class

Today was the last class for this session so we ran a course! It started out double, tunnel (tunnel, dogwalk discrimination). Mom did a lead out and was easily able to show me the tunnel. I ran like a pro! No sniffing. No problems. When we were done, Jenn said she hadn't seen me move like that in a long time! :)

We worked on several tricky sections of the course and tried running them with different handling options. That's fun because it makes you try out things you probably wouldn't do in a trial. We got advice on how to see angles between jumps to make turns tighter, how to move laterally away from the weaves and keep the dogs in the poles, how to work on the tunnel/DW discrimination at the beginning of the course, and how to decide between front cross or rear cross. I did everything well until the end of class when we ran the course again. When mom lead out this time, I stopped to sniff something before taking the first jump. Then I left the table before the 5 seconds was up ( a first for me and it made mom smile) and then I skipped the aframe because mom didn't say "frame". She was testing to see if I would just take it as the next obstacle and I didn't!

At the end of class, mom asked some questions about discrimination. Remember last week we talked about calling the obvious end of the tunnel "tunnel" and saying "Ricky" for the less obvious entrance? Well, Jenn said a head check from the dog when you say his name is perfectly normal and what you will get in the beginning. Eventually the dog won't look at the handler in that situation and just know he is to go to the other end. Also for tunnel and dogwalk discrimination, Jenn says teach "tunnel" as the most important verbal and it can actually be the only obstacle the dog knows on a verbal. So then if the dog hears "tunnel" he had better take the tunnel. Then you can put a jump and then the DW and run and have the dog do the DW based on your full out running (to beat him to the other end) and later add the tunnel (at a distance first and then move it closer to the DW) and when you say tunnel, you also usually run slower and the dog learns the difference. Make sense? Don't look for a video of us demonstrating this any time soon - we have to learn it first! LOL!

Next week we have a break from classes and they start again on August 10. Mom and I can't wait because we are learning so much and really understanding more and more every time. It's very fun!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Fun with Discriminations

We will post a little recap about today's class but we wanted to include a video. We haven't made it yet because it has been raining almost non-stop since we got home. So maybe we'll get to it tomorrow!

Yesterday we practiced some dogwalk/tunnel verbal discriminations. It had been awhile and so we videoed it for fun! Some times I get it and some times I don't. We are still using a hoopy thing at the end of the DW so that I run right off the edge. Mom took it away to see what would happen and I jumped from way above the yellow. So far on real DWs at classes and trials, I run all the way to the end. It could be that the angle of the ramps on mine at home is too steep or maybe I am just not confident enough to jump at a trial.

I have been meaning to tell you all and just keep forgetting - at my last trial I earned my first 2 MACH points with my JWW Q! Can you believe it - I was actually 2 whole seconds under SCT! So only 20 double Qs and 748 more points to go!! LOL!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Dogwalk Disaster

Well, the other day - Thursday to be exact - mom and I were out practicing agility in my backyard and mom sent me up the dogwalk with a very bad approach. I tried to do it any way, but I didn't get myself centered on the up ramp and had to scrabble to run and hang on to the board. By the time I got to the top, I couldn't hang on any more and I jumped off. Mom tried not to panic because she thought I seemed ok. She gave me treats and sent me back over the DW. Then we did a little more agility and all seemed fine. BUT later that same afternoon we wanted to make a video of a trick and it involved me putting my feet on mom's feet and I wouldn't do it. Then at dinner time I limped a little bit. Mom rested me all night and Friday morning I woke up and stretched normally and ran downstairs normally and mom thought all was good but didn't do any jumping with me yesterday. No limping, I was playing like usual and chasing cars, squirrels and motorcycles. So today mom tried a little agility after my morning walk (all looked good on the walk). I did jump and weave but I was very slow. So we stopped. I kept acting like I wanted to play tug, but each time mom got out the toy, I decided I didn't want to. And I only ran a couple steps after a motorcycle this morning and then stopped myself. Mom gave me a bath this afternoon and I got my typical after-bath zoomies and then limped a little. I am not really limping much. But I can't tug and I can't do tricks like under arrest and put my feet up on mom and cop cop (walk on her feet) but I can bow and stretch like that. Mom felt all over my front legs and checked range of motion (to the best of her ability) and I don't seem to have major problems that she can tell.

So - we don't want to panic. Has anyone ever had a similar experience on the dogwalk or similar movement restrictions? Could I just be sore and need a few days to feel better? I am not taking any medications (mom isn't sure what I could take with my sensitive stomach) and I haven't been to the vet yet. We are of course hoping that a little restriction in activity and a little more rest will heal me. I have one day of a trial a week from today, but mom is more than willing to pull me out of it. I am pretty good about showing mom that I don't feel 100% - like I don't want to play or run like usual. We're thinking of just waiting a little while longer to see.....but we realize there is a certain amount of risk of making something that wasn't serious more serious.

Tomorrow we go to grandpa and grandma's for Easter! Wilson and his family will be there. Guess I won't get to play my fetch and chase game with Wilson. Bummer! But I hope you all have a Happy Easter!

Gotta rest now.....

Ricky

The Proof!

Sorry, no tRicky T-Day video today! We are working hard on a few new tricks, but they are still not ready for primetime!

However, we went to our agility class last night and our instructor was nice enough to video us! Only two dogs showed up for the class - not sure where everyone was. It was ok with me though - we got to run the course twice and also practice hard parts of it. I'll let the video speak for itself:

This weekend is the AKC Invitationals out in Long Beach, CA. Once again this year my favorite trainer Deb and her Russell Terrier Bug are competing in agility and my grandma Catherine Zinsky and her Border Collie Kyle are competing in obedience (hoping to top their fourth place finish from last year). We wish them and all the other competitors the best!

I am busy working on my holiday video - it was going well until mom screwed up and deleted part of it! I am hoping to have it done in the next week so stay tuned!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

tRicky T-Day! and Last Night's Class Saga

Sara, Oreo and Misty are always so consistent with learning and videoing their tricks for Tricky T-Day - they inspire us to keep posting our trick attempts! Right now we have several tricks in the works but they just aren't ready for video yet! However we read Amanda's post from over at manymuddypaws the other day and she mentioned that her dogs know the "chin" trick - sounded cute so we learned that this week. Also in this month's Clean Run magazine, Sassie Joiris showed her method of training handstand. As you know, we have been working on this for a long, long time using the books up against the wall method. I can get my back feet up on a pretty tall stack of books now but one problem is the books are too deep (far from the wall) so I am not leaning against the wall. Also I get frustrated if the books are too high and I think I can't get my little legs up there. So Sassie graduates the dog to using a plank-like thingy against the wall that starts at an angle and then can basically be put flat against the wall and then removed and the dog can use the wall only. Brilliant! So as an added bonus to this week's tRicky T-Day chin trick, we added our very first attempts at using a plank-like thingy - in our case the lid to a storage container. Mom uses her leg and the couch to keep it from moving. It is a little too slippery and we need to use something else but I think my first tries went well and we can see some real potential. (We're still a LONG way off from being able to do a real handstand though)!

Ok, now for the saga from last night! It was pouring down rain when it was close to the time we leave for our Wednesday evening class - class starts at 6:30 but we leave around 5:30/5:40 because of rush hour traffic. Without traffic the trip would take 20 minutes. So because people in Central Ohio can't drive in rain (not even snow, just rain), we left earlier - 5:20 - and what a nightmare! We live right near a major highway - got on the road and it was bumper to bumper/stop and go from the minute we started out. Mom decided to abandon the highway when it took 15 minutes to go maybe 4 miles. We got off and took a parallel road to downtown and then tried to get on the highway again. After waiting 10 minutes at a stop light to turn left, we finally got on and we were immediately completely at a standstill. Once again we got off the highway and just headed in the general direction we needed to go. Mom doesn't know that area of town very well. So she called grandpa and he interrupted his dinner and got a map and talked mom through a very convoluted route that finally - 65 minutes later - got us to the class! You might be wondering why we didn't just turn around and go home - well the traffic was just as bad in the opposite direction. There was just no where to go! We feel very lucky that we got there safely and with a couple minutes to spare!

And mom is very happy we persevered because only two other people came to class and we got to run lots of sequences without feeling rushed and I did great! Maybe sitting in a car for an hour agrees with me? I did the chute fast (we got to practice it a little too) and mom put a piece of chicken as a target at the end of the dogwalk and I literally flew over it - proved that I can RUN the dogwalk with the right motivation (too bad we can't put food in strategic places all over an agility course at a trial!). I got some difficult weave entries and did some fancy jumping. All in all the torturous drive was worth it. Already they are predicting rain for next Wednesday - what time do you think we will need to leave the house?

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Backyard Practice

I've had my dogwalk for a week now and I am loving it! On Sunday mom set up a little course with jumps, weaves, and tunnel/dogwalk discrimination. We made a video focused mostly on the dogwalk, so we did some stuff off-camera that you can't see and also edited the video a lot. Hope you enjoy it though and agree with me that I am making some dogwalk progress and my enthusiasm for it is affecting the other obstacles too!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

What we've been doing since Thursday!

Guess what? We built a dogwalk!!! On Thursday morning mom and I met grandpa at a building supply store and we went in and got materials to start building my new dogwalk! We decided to build it using sawhorses as the base and 8ft. x 12in. boards as the planks. Luckily for us grandpa had some old sawhorses he wasn't going to use any more and we cut those down to fit. We spent most of the day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday over at grandpa and grandma's building and then painting. It was exhausting but grandma gave me lots of treat (like fresh veggies from their garden) and she made lots of good meals to keep mom, grandpa, and herself going.

Here is the end of the first day:

On the second day we finished the building part and primed the boards for painting:
This is some time in the middle of Saturday (the third day):
Here we are at the end of the day on Saturday:
And finally - on Sunday - we were finished painting and we put on the hinges and set it up:
Mom made me pose - I couldn't actually try running the dogwalk yet because mom still needed to put the non-slip coat of paint with sand in it on:
Grandpa loaded everything in his truck and we all brought the dogwalk over to my house on Sunday afternoon. Mom finished the painting with the sand in our garage.

Today it took forever before I was allowed to try my new dogwalk. First of all mom made turkey meatballs using Sara, Oreo and Misty's recipe - they smelled so good I could hardly stand it! I thought, "What am I going to have to do to get one of those?" Then mom told me she wanted to mow the grass before setting up the DW. It was at least 2:00PM before mom was ready and I got to try it out!

First of all, let me say those meatballs are heavenly! I swear I would do anything for a bite of one! I think I ran pretty fast for my first tries at the DW. (At the beginning of the video, the first three runs are my very first three runs across that dogwalk ever!) But even though mom was happy and rewarding me, she did notice that I was totally jumping the yellow contact on the way down. So she tried putting up this hoopy thing we used with my little DW. This didn't work either because I am so small I could still jump. It's hard to see in the video if maybe occasionally I touched the yellow? After mom put away the camcorder, she remembered something Nat from DreamDogz was saying about using a pool noodle. Mom and I checked on Nat's YouTube channel and found some videos showing how to use the pool noodle as a stride regulator. We tried it (sorry no video of that right now) and it worked great! Thanks Nat for the idea! Hopefully I will develop the muscle memory to stride into the yellow if we use that noodle for awhile!

Any way, we are really excited to see if having our own version of a DW will help me when I get on the full-size DW in classes and at trials. It was worth it to give it a try. Mom and I couldn't have begun to do it without grandpa and grandma! We really appreciate all their hard work, support, and willingness to help, and we are so lucky to have parents/grandparents like them!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

PS. We sort of followed this plan when making the DW (in case any one is interested in making one too!).

Still practicing

Yesterday we set up our "dogwalk" - it's the up plank and middle part to a very mini-dogwalk and then our 8' teeter board with a hoop-type thing at the end to make me stay on the plank instead of jumping off. First we ran the DW with a target about 3' from the end. Then we did it without a target. Then we added a jump before and after the DW but keeping a straight line off the DW. We took video (9 minutes of it) and mom tried to edit it in WMM. The WMM froze and she lost all the editing work she had done so NO VIDEO!! Here are some snapshots we took from the video so you can see the set up. Does anyone think this "dogwalk" bares enough resemblance to the real thing to be helpful to us? I ran it quite fast.

Today we went to our 5th handling class. I haven't been posting much about this class. It is good and mom learns something every time we go, but for me the sequences or drills are mostly too short and I don't get going enough. However today we worked on front crosses (always good at motivating me) so the jumping part of class went well. Below is a photo of the set up for the drill:

I wish you could see the colors of the jumps so that I could explain the drill more easily to you. (maybe if you bigify?) I'll try any way. Start with the orange jump in the bottom left-hand corner of the photo then do the yellow jump right above it then take the 180 to the right and front cross in front of the red jump between the two people and then back to the orange (first jump). All of the drills start with the same three jumps - orange, yellow, 180 to red and then always front cross after red but then second time take the purple jump (to the right of the orange) and third time take the blue jump (closest to the right side of the photo) and last time take the teal jump (farthest away in the photo to the right of the instructor). So the point is to place your front crosses where it is best to get the tightest turn to lead your dog to the next jump. It was pretty fun and we set it up in our backyard to try tomorrow. If we can we'll post a video.

The rest of the class wasn't too great. My DW was still so slow (even with the work we have been doing), and much to mom's dismay, I wouldn't go through the chute at all. There was no wind blowing it open today and I just didn't want to run through that shiny, hot nylon material. Now mom is saying she may have to buy me a real chute. Has anyone bought one?

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

PS. Ok, that's good - at least you can bigify these photos and kind of make out the jump colors. I wasn't sure how it would work because we used Flip video and made snapshots from the video. Seems to work pretty well!

Tricky T-Day and Dogwalks

Another Tricky Thursday already - summer is flying by. July 4th is this weekend - where is the time going?

These are easy tricks but mom thought I looked cute doing them.

Yesterday we went to agility practice at the club - haven't been there in a very long time. It was fun to see everybody and fun to practice on real equipment. We set up the dogwalk and ran it a few times. Then mom decided to try a target - she put some chicken at the one end and showed me that it was there and then led me away to the opposite end and said "walk it!" - Well, I RAN it! My fastest dogwalk ever. (Still not Miley or Sizzle fast). We tried it several times and it worked really well. (Mom had her Flip camera with her but forgot to ask someone to tape us! Silly mom!) So now mom is all excited and can't wait to try again. Next time we'll start putting a jump after the dogwalk with the chicken on the other side of the jump. Guess that's the way to progress? We know that I have to get faster or we'll never make it through an excellent course within the time allowed. We rigged up a "dogwalk" in the backyard and we're trying a hoop at the end to get me to understand that I need to run all the way to the end of the board. Today we'll try it with a target too.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

More agility

Sorry we forgot that it was Tricky T-Day today so we'll try to remember to play on the other T-Day in the week!

Since it's more or less summertime now, we spend far less time in the house and at the computer than we used to. So we get really behind at sharing our activites with all our blogging friends. We've been on some great walks - including a brand new place for me - a huge park about 45 minutes from here. We've been practicing a lot of backyard agility - working on running the down plank of the dog walk using my teeter board on a cement block (in my novice comp. class last Wednesday night, I jumped off the side of the down plank above the yellow twice! - mom was turning and trying to get me to go faster - so I did! - but now we have to work on making sure I know to go all the way to the end), practicing serpentines with two jumps and the tire, and throwing a food container (that bolt holder thingy that Sara told us about once - I can't remember what it was called) out ahead so that I run faster forward through the weaves or over jumps or down the dogwalk board. It works really well, but mom's not sure how that eventually translates into making me faster when she doesn't throw it. We'll make a video soon so you all can see.

Today we started a new class called handling drills and skills and it's held outdoors at the instructor's house at 9:30 in the morning. We had a great time! I was a little distracted when we first got there but I was soon able to focus better. There are only four dogs in the class - and they are all tri-colors! Two Berners and two Shelties! The small class size is wonderful but there are three jump heights so we are constantly running around changing the bars. Today's class was taught by Jenn Crank (her mom Susan is going to teach the rest of the time). It was very exciting to have a USA World Team member as our instructor. She is really good - and nice too. In this class we focused on forward sends and parallel sends. It's hard for me to get motivated to jump when we are drilling the two sends and mom is standing pretty close to the jump - I did ok but not great. I sped up some once we started trying to incorporate those moves into longer sequences. We also talked a lot about turning cues - like deceleration - we are never supposed to use "come," "here," or the dog's name as cues to turn. It should be all body language. The last sequence of the morning was the best for us - Jenn said mom's handling was excellent on that one!!! We are really looking forward to next week's class! (Our Wed. night class overlaps with our new class for two weeks - so we have class twice this week and next).

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Agility Level 1 Class 4

Last night was our 4th level 1 agility class. Mom and I went a little early so we could try the chute on our own before it got noisy and crazy in the room. We rolled up the chute material so I could try just going through the barrel part. After a little coaxing, I did it. But when mom fixed the material so that it was just a tiny bit out of the barrel and just a tiny bit obscuring the opening, I didn't want to go in there. With lots of encouragement, I finally went through and we decided that was enough for the evening. Mom is trying to figure me out - am I afraid of the blue nylon material - does it feel funny or smell funny? Because I don't have any problem going right through our chute at home that is made out of an old vinyl shower curtain. So I do know what it's like to push through material and come out the other end. Hmmm..... Later in the class while we were waiting to do another obstacle, mom had me touch the chute material with my nose (I didn't want to at first) and then she had me walk on top of it. Not so bad.

When we started the actual class, the instructor that was working with our side of the room said, "Ok we are going to start with the chute." Mom calmly said that she wasn't going to have me do it any more at the moment, so we started with jumps. Last night we did our first curvy tunnel and our first real dogwalk (lower one than the regulation one.) Still it was my first time to go across a real dogwalk! It was awesome because there was a Zuke's mini on the target at the other end and you know I love Zuke's! So I am doing great with all the obstacles except the chute and also the broad jump! I just don't get it - why should I jump the broad jump when it looks like a board that I should just walk across? I mean, we don't jump the dogwalk, do we? Mom is going to make a broad jump-type jump for me to practice on at home. That should help me out a lot.

Oh, we found out that the agility building is not air conditioned! We are having a heat wave in Ohio now and it was so hot in there last night! Great - I am not a fan of running and jumping when I am hot. It may be difficult to learn agility in that building this summer.

There are only 3 more classes to go and then hopefully we'll be promoted to level 2 (as long as they don't hold the chute against me). We won't learn the teeter until level 2 and then they start out with it not teetering at all. Crazy how slowly all of this goes. I have been doing my teeter at home for several months. You may be wondering why we don't go to a different training facility. Well, if you are a member of our dog club (pay membership dues of $85 once a year), you can take as many classes as you want for free. So even though mom is less than thrilled with the agility program so far, we are going to try to stick with it for the obvious financial reasons.

Gotta zoom,

Ricky

Agility Level 1 Class 3

Last night's agility class did not go well. It started out kind of ok. The class was split into larger dogs and smaller dogs again (about 6 dogs per group). The smaller dog group went to one side of the room and practiced jumps. Three of the dogs are repeating level 1 so the instructor always has them go first - like they are the demo dogs or something. But they are not very good. So it means a lot of waiting around for my turn while these dogs repeat their exercise. First we did straight tunnel and then a three-jump chute. That went ok for me. Then we tried it tunnel, jump, jump, post turn, tire. I kept blowing mom off and taking the third jump by myself. Maybe mom was cueing me to turn too late but sometimes I think she said "here" at the right time and I just wanted to take the third jump any way. We also practiced this with going to the table and then the broad jump. Here our troubles continued because even though I jumped the broad jump last week, this week I decided to walk over it. Finally with a big running start, I jumped it. Also kind of funny, but mom tried to be quieter and not yell so loudly (since Deb suggested that the other night) and the instructor told her she need to get her commands out louder and get excited, etc. Go figure.

After about 40 minutes it was the small dogs' turn to go to the other side of the room. Here's where things got ugly. The instructor introduced us to the chute for the first time. Now at home we have a chute made out of a shower curtain - it is a light color (so not very dark inside) and not as long as a real chute. But I have done it successfully many times. So mom thought the real chute wouldn't be much of a problem for me. One instructor rolled it up and held it open for the first few times so it just looked like a tunnel. When it was my turn, mom said "go chute" and started running and I refused to go in and went around. After a few tries, I did go through. But the instructor kept having us go again and again (at this point only the three dogs who had never done the chute before were working on it). There was barely time to catch your breath or get some praise and a treat before it was time to go again. I didn't like the noise of everybody yelling, I didn't like it when dogs came out of nowhere near me because their owners were not able to control them, I didn't like the instructor holding me at one end so mom could call me through at the other end, I didn't like the constant repetition...... The instructor said she wanted all dogs to go through with the chute completely on the ground before we could move on to the dog walk. Mom tried to tell them we had had enough but she wasn't firm enough about it. Basically it ended up with trying to shove me into the chute and I got bummed out and was not having fun (and needless to say, neither was mom)! Finally the instructor said that was enough for now. This was like after our 25 try! I went on to do really well on the dog walk - last night it was set up with the ramps on a table. And I did great on the a-frame.

Mom was really disappointed with herself for not putting a stop to the frantic chute training. We are so new to all of this - agility and dog training in general - and sometimes it's difficult because you are trying to follow the instructors' directions - I mean they are the instructors after all! And it's funny because they are always saying stuff like you don't want to scare your dog or turn your dog off, etc. Then they go and do something like this with the chute last night. We don't know why it was so important to try to progress to having the chute all the way on the ground in one session when they teach everything else in maddingly slow increments! But mom and I learned an important lesson and in the future mom will be much quicker to question what is going on and to stand up for me.

This morning we did some fun jumps and weaves and later mom is planning on getting out our chute and trying to erase the bad memories of last night. Wish us luck!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky