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

Sequence from this Tuesday's class

I am finally getting around to posting a video of a sequence from class this week. It is not earth-shattering or anything, but something mom wanted to think about, practice, and hopefully remember. Ok, first of all, imagine that the tire is a teeter and the jump/weaves in the background is the dogwalk (that's how it was set up in class). When everybody ran this, lots of dogs were turning wide after jump #2 (the teeter/tire is #1) and looking at the dogwalk. Most of the handlers were moving laterally after the teeter/tire and sending their dog to #2 and then front crossing close to #3 on the landing side. This was causing the dogs to turn wide and possibly even think that #3 was to be layered. So Jenn said for the handler to send the dog to #2 and move laterally and run close to the take-off side of #4 and do the front cross there (downstream). And Bingo! All of us dogs turned nice and tight and not one of us came through the gap between #2 and 3! I think this is a good skill to have and one that could be easily forgotten or overlooked by relative newbies like mom!

Did you all see me coming over the last jump and kind of swerving and aiming for the side of the jump to go over every time? Why do you think I am doing that?

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Tuesday's class

If you are checking in expecting to see our tRicky T-Day video, sorry but you'll have to wait until next week! LOL!

Before going camping the other day we went to our Tuesday class. It was all about the backy uppy versus the forward motion front cross. The backy uppy is one of the six recalls to heel in APHS. The backy uppy is executed by the handler on the take-off side of a jump (the handler does not go past the plane of the jump) and is used when the next obstacle in the sequence is also on the take-off side. A FMFC is executed on the landing side of a jump and is used when the next obstacle is also on the landing side. Both involve the handler using her outside arm. The backy uppy involves so many turning cues (shoulder rotation, outside arm, deceleration, turning and facing the dog) that it is imperative that the handler says"Jump!" as a forward motion cue to the dog (and takes a step backward in the direction of the jump). For me, mom has to wait until the last possible second to turn towards me - so her timing is very critical for our success.

Last week we were talking about a foundation exercise where the handler puts a treat in her outside hand and the dog learns to walk in a straight line next to her without going past her outside arm. We asked Jenn about it again to try to make sure we understood it and found out the handler also needs to turn her shoulders into the dog. (Mom was originally looking straight ahead while doing it.) Kathy wanted to see a video of the exercise - we tried and it's here in this video but we sure hope we're doing it right! Also in the video - the handler should be able to keep a dog from going straight ahead and jumping by bringing up her outside arm and turning her shoulders. We're not too great at it yet - as you will see. Then we threw in a backy uppy at the end (at least we think we were doing a backy uppy)!

Sorry for the poor video quality. The Flip takes great HD video but if we want to edit with titles and stuff, we have to convert the Mp4 to AVI to get WMM to accept it. And then there goes the HD quality! (Do you think whole conversations will soon consist of only abbreviations?)

Jenn is off on a seminar next week so we get a break from class.

Wow - only a few more days in this week. I hope we get our training challenge done!!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Tuesday's class

At least today's class started out better than last week's! Mom didn't have to get all mad at me because I was less sniffy and a little more focused. Was that because class was about forward motion front crosses? Who knows. We reviewed FMFC at the jump and on the flat.

Some random thoughts: beginning agility dogs need to be taught not to go past the handler's outside arm (inside arm sends forward but outside arm signals a turn). I was taught at first with a mish-mash of ideas so I never learned to not go behind mom or to turn with her outside arm. An exercise on the flat is to have your dog walk in a straight line next to you and you have a treat in your outside hand and the dog never goes past your outside hand. Also a handler needs to be very clear to always go past the plane of a jump to do a FMFC (the shoulder turn and the outside arm can begin on the take-off side of the jump but the cross is performed past the plane of the jump). This is important so that the dog does not confuse the FMFC with the backy uppy. With the backy uppy, the handler stays on the take-off side of the jump and motions the dog over the jump and back next to her. (confusing to write this out). And last, the shoulder turn is the most important part of the FMFC (even more than the outside arm).

(If anybody thinks we got any of this information wrong, please always let us know!)

We did a sequence where we had the aframe and then a jump almost straight ahead but we had to jump from the back side of it and that was tough! The handlers had to get ahead and keep an eye on the dog to call the dog around to the back with a FMFC on the flat and then over the jump.

Jenn put the chute out for me to practice before my trial this weekend. I am happy to report that I went through it all three times (the first time with a little hesitation and the second and third times no hesitation at all)! Jenn suggested that mom make the barrel part of my chute here at home look different. So we came home and mom really tried to disguise it - boxes, a chair, sandpaper in the barrel, my bath tub mat in the barrel(she thought that would scare me since I only see that mat at bath times), a dark sheet, a pool noodle - nothing she did affected me at all!

(Sorry about the poor video - mom even let the camera tilt down half-way through and cut off part of the picture. )

Any way, mom believes now that my problem is not the chute at all but just a lack of confidence at trials or in new environments. So we have to do more of our training challenges and just hope that our confidence grows!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Tuesday's class

Today's class started out horribly. It was mostly about rear crosses again, but we learned to differentiate between rear crosses where the handler uses lots of forward motion to cue the dog to keep going in a straight line (basically)(I think of these as extension rear crosses ) and a rear cross where the handler wants the dog to turn after the jump kind of tightly in one direction or another (I think of them as collection rear crosses).

So first thing we did was (out of the blue by itself) a rear cross at the aframe. I had to run (more like walk) to the aframe and mom was supporting me with forward motion until I committed to the aframe and then as I was going up it, mom snuck behind me to the other side (rear cross in a straight line). Well my commitment point for the aframe was so late that this didn't work very well for us. If you do rear an aframe (or dogwalk or teeter or weaves or straight tunnel), you have to make sure to indicate forward motion to the dog until commitment or you risk pulling your dog off the obstacle.

Then we tried a rear cross of the teeter with a few jumps before it - I got all sniffy and pokey slow and then I didn't want to do the teeter. Jenn had mom put me on the teeter a couple times without rear crossing to make sure I wasn't developing some teeter phobia. After that we were supposed to run a sequence and mom said "Ready, go!" and I veered off and sniffed something I was sure was food on the floor and that was it for mom. She was NOT happy. She picked me up and then tossed me over a jump and said to get going.

Things got better when there was about 20 minutes of class left and we did a couple longer sequences. Mom asked Jenn if she could start out running the outside and then get into position for the skill we were supposed to practice. And that worked. I rear crossed (at jumps and on the flat) like nobody's business. We even got a couple "beautifuls" from Jenn!

Before I forget - here are a couple things to remember when you are trying to do a rear cross with a tighter turn. If you want the turn, you use lateral motion in the direction opposite the one you want the dog to go - like if the dog is on your right, you move to the left before the jump and decel and the dog goes ahead, takes the jump and will turn to the right (putting him on your left). It's ok for the handler to start her lateral motion even if she is ahead of her dog. Another thing is consider how you use tunnels ( all the time, not just with rear crosses). But if you send your dog into a tunnel and want to rear cross the following jump with extension (like a straight line rear cross) stay back and meet your dog coming out of the tunnel so you can drive forward to the jump together. But if you need to turn your dog at the jump after the tunnel, run ahead of your dog and when he comes out of the tunnel show lateral motion and then deceleration to get him to rear and turn.

We tried to make a video to show a little bit of what we did in class (the general idea any way). Mom used just all regular jumps because she was too lazy to get anything else out. In the video we tried to describe what we were doing. Hope it all makes sense!

So even though class started off very poorly, we felt good at the end. Mom is hoping that there is a way to run the outside of the first few obstacles at our next trial - she wants to see if that will speed me up from the beginning. Only problem is that not all courses are set up to make that possible at the beginning. Guess we'll wait and see!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Monday's Class

Yesterday's class was about forward motion front crosses again and also something called a double front cross which we had never ever done before! Jenn sent a sub to teach the class and she did great! She's super nice and really knows her APHS!

One thing for the handler to remember about the double front - get both arms up and cueing! This is weird since sometimes inside arm is blended into outside arm but it's not usually BOTH arms at the same time. I guess a double front is when you move from one front cross into the next so seamlessly that it looks like one motion and not two separate front crosses. Of course this is impossible to visualize so we'll have to try a video - not sure we even know what we're doing but maybe you all can tell us if you see it and we are doing it wrong! (We had to wait all day yesterday and today for it to stop raining again so we could make a video! - Remember -we are new to this stuff and are just trying to learn it all so we don't claim to know what we are doing for sure but showing us trying in the video is easier than explaining in words!)

Jenn had the chute set up for me so I could try it and I refused! Typical, mom says. Mom is very frustrated by my chute/shoot performance or lack thereof. After begging me, I finally did do it and then did it lightning fast several times for big turkey pay-offs. I honestly don't know what my problem is - I am just playing around with mom's head (and it's working - LOL!).

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Monday Class

Today's class focused on the forward motion front cross(FMFC). We did pretty well with this skill since mom is almost always ahead of me and I like her to motivate me with motion. Here are some jumbled-up thoughts about it and a really not-very-good video to show you the basic idea of the one-jump drill (it's obvious that we have never practiced this drill).

With a FMFC, the handler passes the plane of a jump and starts to turn her shoulders and gets her outside arm up early to cue the turn. If the handler only moved forward (without the turning cues of the shoulder rotation and the outside arm, she would cue extension - the turning cues cue collection). The dog needs to commit to the jump before the handler fully rotates her shoulders or she may pull the dog off the jump. A FMFC is similar to the foundation recall to heel (RTH) and can be practiced with one jump. As with the RTH, the handler will end up on the landing side of the jump as far away from the jump as the bar is high (for us 12" ) - that cues true collection. The handler turns 90 away from the dog (not 180 - this is important because if the handler wanted to do a 180 at the jump it would be a forward send and not a FMFC). A RTH is done with the handler in the center of the jump but with a FMFC, the handler is on the left or the right (cueing the direction of the turn). You can add some lateral movement to a FMFC if the obstacle positioning allows it. A FMFC can be done on the flat also. And can be performed with no motion - if the handler is significantly ahead of a drivey dog (one that wouldn't mind if the handler were standing still - this is NOT me), she could get into place and perform the front cross as her dog was coming out of a tunnel for instance and the dog would be constantly moving. (Please let us know if we got any of this wrong!)

By far the best part of the class was that mom brought STEAK for me - I had never ever had STEAK before and boy was it good!!

We are planning to get 6 weave poles with a base - I need to practice real weave poles more often since all we have at home are stick-in-the-ground ones. We were looking at buying 3 sets of 2X2s so we would have more options in the future (plus they should be cheaper to ship). So far we are considering these from Max200 - any advice or opinions?

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Catching up

Mom has been busy working this week so I haven't had a chance to tell you anything that has been going on. Our yard is still completely snow-covered and mom made some trails for me so that I could run and play. Before that I couldn't go any where out there - the snow was just too deep. Yesterday and today we have had a little melting but the forecast is for MORE snow Sunday and all next week. Hard to believe.

On my birthday Monday we did get to go to class since it was in the morning. I think it would've been canceled had it been an evening class because we got tons of snow that day. Any way, the class was more a present for mom - there was a lot of talking and explaining and very little actual doing agility! Bummer for me. It was week 6 and we worked on backy-uppy's and extension recall to heel - so two more of the APHS recalls to heel. It was confusing to mom and she thinks she needs another lesson on both but especially the backy-uppy and we don't even think we can explain them to you. I know one thing we tried was a threadle using the backy-uppy. You know how we usually write out these long and drawn out recaps of class? Apparently not this week! LOL! Next week is our last class and we'll be running a course and trying to put some of our new knowledge to work! We did find out that Jenn found a new building to teach in so classes with her start again in April! WooHoo!

With mom working, we couldn't go to any practices this week but we're going twice next week! Here in the house we are working on learning a few new tricks and we apologize for not having a tRicky T-day video ready yesterday. Next Thursday we'll do something, I promise.

Today was actually sunny - probably the second sunny day of the entire month and we went for an awesome snowy walk at my favorite park. Then I got to go to Pet People and we bought more pumpkin and also my special bedtime-snack biscuit. And now I am trying to get some well-deserved rest:

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Handling Class Week 5

No real detailed description of this week's class this time (grandpa will be happy!). I wish we had taken a photo of the jump set up so we could share it with you and also remember it better. This week's class was on sends again - focusing this time on parallel sends. As baby dogs we practice "go around" and that is the basis for the parallel send. I still love the "go around" game but I didn't know I was really learning the send. Any way, the handler needs to keep her shoulders straight pointing ahead to the parallel jump until the dog commits and then she can move in the direction of the next jump. Many handlers forget to do this and either pull their dog off the jump or cause a refusal. We also practiced off-set 180 jumps and a wrap after the second jump. Jenn told mom to try to keep herself moving in the jumps and not to stand around (mom can stand and wait for me if I am in a tunnel or chute and can't see mom but she shouldn't stop moving in jump sequences).

Next week we don't have class (Jenn is probably traveling somewhere) and after that only two more classes to go. We just found out that Jenn is not teaching any more until summer so we're not sure what class we'll do for March and April (maybe May too). Mom is super disappointed because she was already counting on taking Jenn's class again. The training club where we go is closing in Dec. 2010 - we don't know all the details about why - and we're not sure why Jenn isn't teaching there any more after this. Probably there is a lot going on that we are not aware of.

In other training news, mom thinks she taught me to pivot using Marie's suggestions but she used a window blind rod instead of a dowel (I thought the dowel was like my cane and offered all my cane tricks) - with the window blind rod, mom sort of nudged my thigh (flank, rear) a little so I would move my rear end first. That didn't take long because it reminded me of my flip trick and also my backwards circle trick. Here it is:

Am I doing it? I still need to learn how to get into a better heel position and how to do it on the right side.

After a month of practicing every day, I had my first failure on the emergency whistle recall! Mom is really bummed out about it. She tried it out at my grandparents' house yesterday for the first time - I came on the first try but when she tried to surprise me the second time, I was way too engrossed in some exotic smell (they have a lot of deer in their yard at night) and I didn't even LOOK at mom let alone give her my usual whiplash head turn. She didn't blow twice - she just came over and got me and ran back to where she had tried to call me. Then she set me up on a wait and walked a little distance away and tried again and of course, this time I listened. So it showed mom that she has been too smug in thinking I had the recall down! It proves to her that I now need to practice in new areas other than my yard and the park. Recall bootcamp continues for me!

We are looking forward to milder temperatures this week (above freezing at least) and may get in some agility practice in the backyard even if it is a little muddy. Mom is itching to get out there and try some of the stuff we are learning in class. Only 48 days to Spring everybody!!!!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Handling Class Week 4

As promised we went back to learning more about turns in our handling class today. The entire class was about rear crosses! Not a strong point for me and mom as I tend to be behind her most of the time and you can't rear cross when the dog is behind the handler! LOL!

Jenn explained today that there is more to rear crosses than just changing sides behind the dog. She said she could lecture for days on rear crosses alone (thank goodness she didn't - :) ) For today we talked about two kinds of rear crosses - the first one is when you rear cross your dog and cue extension. So say you have two jumps in a row and then perpendicular and out a ways to the left, you have the third jump. You start with your dog on your left and drive toward the second jump and send the dog ahead and then the handler moves laterally to the left behind the second jump and behind the dog, cueing the dog with extension and then also to turn left. The handler might end up kind of close to the second jump.

The second kind of rear cross we talked about is a rear cross where you cue collection and a tight turn. Say you have the same two jumps in a row again but then off to the left side you need to kind of cut back and head at an angle to the aframe (so the aframe would be to the left and over a ways and behind the plane of the second jump). Dog on your left again. The handler needs to decelerate as she approaches the second jump and start to move laterally to the left to cue collection plus a left turn for the dog as the dog is sent ahead. If you do it correctly the dog will land with a tight turn and take the aframe instead of heading out and taking the original jump (farther out to the left and perpendicular) from the first exercise.

Jenn was telling us that the handler should be able to stand right up at a jump and call the dog to jump and cue the rear cross right there at the jump and the dog can learn to read the handler's motion at the last second. You wouldn't do the crosses like this but it is an exercise you can practice with one jump (in the bedroom like we do) to teach the motion to your dog. A handler can also do a rear cross running parallel to a jump but you have to dip your shoulder to cue the dog to take the jump or according to the rules of motion and body position, your dog should continue to run next to you and not take the jump because they are trained not to cross in front of the handler's body in that instance. Another important thing is that to do a rear cross a dog must have a send. Seems logical but Jenn said lots of people try to teach their dogs rear crosses before they ever teach sends and it needs to be the other way around.

I sure hope I am explaining all this ok - sorry if we get any of it wrong - we're just writing it down to the best of our ability and memory. It's all very interesting. Mom thought this class was completely over her head when Jenn started talking. But we actually did the sequences and exercises with the rear crosses! It wasn't the fastest way for us to do them, but Jenn was impressed that I read mom as well as I did and was able to go ahead of her and complete the crosses!

My neighbor gave mom the great idea of boiling ground turkey as a training treat - mom put a third of the package of ground turkey and a little garlic powder in water and boiled it until it was done. It breaks up into nice little bits for training but doesn't seem to get too crumbly. That's what we brought to class today and I give it two paws up! It's super easy and should be pretty healthy too.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Handling Class Week 3

(Disclaimer: This stuff is pretty boring and technical to read so we understand if you don't read! We're writing this down for us so we don't forget it).

Jenn was back to teach our class this week. Today was all about recalls to heel. We have not practiced this at all since mom never does a lead out with me. So it was very new for us. First we practiced a serpentine recall over one jump. Mom sat me parallel to the jump - close to the standard. Then she went to the landing side of the jump 12" from the bar (or whatever height you dog jumps) and kind of in line with the opposite standard on the other side. She turned her outside foot in the direction we were going to go and presented her inside leg and arm to me and said, "Jump" and cued me to jump with true collection and land right next to her inside hand. It's very difficult to describe - easier to see but we have no video. After you practice this (it is a learned skill for the dog), you can then use recall to heel in a serpentine - like the second jump of a serpentine - so instead of mom running to the take-off side of the second jump in a serpentine, she can stay on the landing side of the second jump and recall me over. So mom stays on the same side for all three jumps. We did well with this because I am pattern trained to do serpentines this way. Jenn told mom to be careful and try to find the tightest path for me so I don't have to cover more yardage than necessary. That is important and mom will have to try to remember that!! We also did a cool sequence where we did the first two jumps of a serpentine (with the recall to heel) and then a send into the tunnel - so the tunnel was the third obstacle in the serpentine.

Our second recall today was the foundation recall (all of this handling is based on Linda Mecklenberg's Awesome Paws handling system). I wait on the middle of the take-off side of the jump and mom goes to the middle of the landing side and faces me - again 12" from the bar - and this time she calls me over directly to her inside hand for true collection. If she stands farther back she can still do recall to heel but it would cue extension. Both are needed some times. Again all hard to explain and we hope we have it right in our minds. We did some sequences where mom did a two-jump lead out and then called to me. You can imagine that I was not super fast coming from the startline. But we were there to practice a new skill that who knows, someday we may need!

There are 6 positions of recall to heel and we are going to learn 4 of them. But Jenn says you can get super detailed about it all and she is just giving us the basic idea and then it's up for us to decide how much we want to do with them.

At the beginning of class I was very distracted by stuff that I could've swore was food on the floor! Jenn said she never realized how easily distracted I was - she told mom to try and get me to focus on her more. Well, that was great because it meant more chicken for me! The best thing about today's class though was Jenn noticing and saying I did a fast dogwalk! Hurray for me!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Handling Class Week 2

I didn't feel like going to class this morning. Mom told me what we were doing and got my harness (I got a Walkeez harness - I forgot to tell you - and I don't think it's all that great) and I ran in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, mom was having none of my antics. She says I should be darn lucky to get to go some where let alone an agility class!

By the time we got there I had kind of forgotten that I didn't want to go. Jenn is out of town this week so we had a substitute instructor. Today's class was all about sends - forward sends, parallel sends, and lateral sends. It was interesting and good for us to try all these sends - mom tends not to do them in trials or training since she is always trying to motivate me to go faster. But in this class we have to attempt stuff that is not our usual handling method. Mom says she is learning a lot. In the first sequence mom did a lead out and then sent me into a tunnel after a couple jumps. Not bad - I can do the send but mom has to go pretty close to the obstacle and support with her shoulders pointed straight. The parallel send was ok. We did the best with the lateral sends - like when you have a 180 and mom sends me over the first jump and then moves laterally in front of the landing side of the second jump and then she can front cross from there.

We got to do a few dogwalks today and I am getting faster (although I jumped the contact once today). Over all it was a good class - I don't think we messed up on any of the handling or the sequences - we just weren't as fast as we would've been with say forward motion front crosses and unconventional handling. I also want to mention that the people and dogs in my class are super nice - it is a very good environment! So far we are really loving it! And yes, I will admit I am glad mom made me go this morning!

In other news, I was out eating that dog delicacy - frozen bunny poop - and mom surprised me with a whistle recall! I immediately stopped what I was doing and flew into the house. It was a great move on my part because I got an even better surprise by running right in - chicken!! We are not really working on recalls outside of the house yet, but I guess mom couldn't help herself!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Handling Class

I really wanted to sleep on Monday and bask in the glory of my ribbon wall (sadly it's easy to tell the standard ribbon side from the jumpers :) )!

But resting wasn't an option because we went to my new handling class with Jenn. I had one class session with her last summer (and then her mom taught the rest of the classes - which was cool - we love Susan) but this is my first time signed up to take a seven week class with Jenn. She is a really good teacher - it goes without saying that she knows her stuff (she and Blaster got MACH 9 at the trial over the weekend!) but she also knows how to say things and what to say to each handler. She presents her thoughts in a very orderly fashion and has the 7 weeks planned out ahead of time so that it all makes sense. This class is handling so it's mostly jumping and not much contacts or weaves. And it's not a lot of running and exercise for me - it's a lot of exercise for mom's brain! Yesterday Jenn told us we are going to work on the basic turns (push, pull, rear cross, front cross), sends, and recalls. Each week we alternate - first week was turns - specifically rear cross on the flat and at a jump and forward motion front crosses - then next week will be sends, and turns will be the 4th week and then they will be more advanced. This gives you time to practice each skill before it comes up again in class. (Unfortunately with this winter weather it's kind of tough to practice much).

Class started out with a lecture about the turns and the two we would be working on. Then we got to try some sequences using just jumps and tunnels. First we tried a sequence with a rear cross on the flat before a tunnel. Rear crosses are difficult for us because mom is usually ahead of me. (We seem to do one at every trial somehow though). We did the cross on the flat but it was forced, unnatural and not at all flowing. Then we tried the rear cross before the jump in to the tunnel. That went better but still not our strong point. Finally then we got to work on front crosses - mom does those for me all the time - but we didn't realize we were doing forward motion front crosses. Say you have two jumps in a 180. Most people can send their dog over the first jump and move laterally to the landing side of the second jump and do the front cross there. But since I am usually behind, mom runs to the landing side of the first jump and does the front cross between the two jumps. Mom does this all the time - you can see one between jump 2 and 3 in our standard run from Sunday. But she didn't think about rotating her dog-side shoulder into me and then getting her outside arm ready (like a precue) in order to tell me more specifically where to go. The handler's motion is forward so it would be telling the dog to go forward and the dog needs the extra turning cues in order to know that a front cross is coming. This is especially true for fast dogs - you have to rotate your shoulder and get your outside arm ready before the dog even commits to the jump. This is a learned response for the dog (not a natural cue based on body motion). See - I told you it's a workout for mom's brain! Any way we did much better on the front cross exercises. Mom also needs to remember to pick me up coming out of tunnels so that I know where she is and where to go next. Lots of info for just one class! It was great!

Yesterday I also started my emergency recall lessons. Grandpa gave mom a whistle that he used when he was an air policeman in the air force when mom was a baby. She decided to use a whistle for the ER since she doesn't trust herself to be able to yell a word without panic in her voice. You are supposed to start in one room of the house and practice there for a whole week. The first time she blew the whistle I was standing right there - it's a small room and I knew she had turkey meatball in her pocket so I wasn't going any where - and I thought, "What the heck?" But as soon as I figured out I should look at her and then go running to her when I heard the sound, I loved the game!!! What could be an easier way to get meatball? So mom couldn't manage to stick to one room for even one session because she was sure after a few tries that I would come flying to her any where in the house when I heard the whistle. And I did! But we will not be moving outside or trying any distractions until after a week of practicing every day. In order for this to work, I have to automatically respond to the whistle - no thinking involved or necessary! So then if we ever need the ER, hopefully I will immediately stop what I am doing and just react to the sound!

Busy Monday, huh?

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Our not-so-exciting week

Now to tell you about our not-so-exciting week! On Monday mom took me to the schoolyard (an elementary school near our house where we walk sometimes) to try my new chute. It went well and I didn't have any problems doing the chute there.

Tuesday was supposed to be our handling class. We arrived at the class time (9:30AM) and the instructor told us class had been changed to 11:00 - lack of communication - since we live 40 minutes away, we couldn't just go home and come back later. So she said we could just practice on our own. It was fun to have the agility field to ourselves, but mom was sorry we missed the class. She likes structure and everything! We did some dogwalks - nothing spectacular there - and the chute - but I refused to do it the first time and mom was majorly bummed out. She got out our target and then I started doing the chute for the target. I did do it a few times without and then mom tried one last time and I refused it again. This chute problem is just crazy!!! We only stayed about 30 minutes because we both got worn out and hot.

On Wednesday and Thursday it rained almost non-stop! We tried some more free timing for Ludo's tricky t-day but had no luck. All I ever offer to mom is scratching at or licking the box. Like I said before, I am not clicker trained or used to shaping. I like to be shown or told what to do! So any way, we didn't make a trick video this week either. But we did practice weave entries with our plungers in the house and that was pretty fun!






On Friday we went to my favorite park and tried the chute there. Mom even took one of my jumps and so we did jump, chute or vice a versa. It went really well (except for when I ran off to greet a dog that was walking by - mom was not happy and I got in trouble for that!). I flew through the chute like I never have a problem. Now mom says she'll have to get creative and take me and my chute to places I have never been before.

Yesterday it rained most of the day again! The flowers and the grass really need the rain but staying inside all day is boring to me!

Have I told you that I have two domestic ducks as neighbors? The college kids who rent the house diagonally in back of us raised 6 ducks this spring. They kept two of them (we try not too think to much about where the other 4 went) and while we're pretty sure it is illegal to have ducks living in your backyard in the city, we have enjoyed having them around. They like people and dogs and if we go out into the backyard or if our neighbor and her dogs go out, the ducks start quacking and quacking and come to see us! Mom thinks it sounds like they are laughing. The sad part is - what's going to happen to them? You're not allowed to release domestic ducks into the wild and there aren't many people who want ducks. So we don't have much hope for them having a long and happy life. Poor ducks!

Well, guess that's about it for now! Today's weather is nice - no rain so far - so we had better get outside and enjoy it!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Private agility lesson

Today we had our private agility lesson with a new instructor! We started out with showing her a little of what we know. We did a few jumps and a front cross and a post turn. We did the dog walk (my first-ever full height walk!) and a good 2o2o contact. Then we tried the chute (our instructor knew about our problems with the chute). I went through it but only if it was held open a little at the end. Fortunately she said she's not worried about it. Guess she figures I'll get it eventually.

After that we started working with a single jump on mom's handling. We worked on front crosses - mom had to remember to support me over the jump with her arm and to bring me to her side after the jump. We also worked on collection over the jump - I was turning really wide - with the right cues from mom, I started to turn a lot tighter. We did a little work on rear crosses and 90 degree and 180 degree turns on the flat. We did some recalls over two jumps. Then we did some jump sequences to get me moving faster and more confidently and to get mom thinking more and practicing her front crosses closer to the jump I was heading for. Also mom has gotten into the habit of telling me "go, go" or "here", etc. and the instructor said mom should stick to using correct body language to tell me where to go and the name of the obstacle. Mom also has to work on getting the name of the obstacle out sooner.

At the very end of our lesson, I showed off my weaves - I did 12 entering from the right side and then 12 from the left side. My right side entries are better than my left although the instructor said from the left is easier because you can wrap around the first pole. She said we should practice lots of entries and also tunnel - weaves and jump - weaves. I had a good time with her - she gave me lots of treats and I followed her and did some more difficult weave entries - if I missed a pole, she got me all excited about trying it again. That's something that mom needs to figure out - better motivation for me.

So it was all in all a very good lesson. The instructor says I am cautious about what I am doing and that mom is a little too reserved - so I need to be more bold and fast and mom needs to be more exciting, I guess! We're not sure what we are going to do next - there is a regular class that starts the first week of September. Also there is a possibility of getting into another class that is already in progress. Or more private lessons. We'll have to see what we can afford to do. At least we have a lot of serious stuff to work on and a new, more focused and detailed way of thinking about what we need to do.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky