Tuesday's class

I did GREAT in today's class! We started off with a deceleration dogwalk drill - Jenn had our treat and acted as a target and each dog ran the DW to her when it was their turn. We did it about four times, and each time the handler was supposed to stop running farther back from the end of the DW (you know so that eventually the handler can decel and move into position for the next obstacle and the dog would continue and finish the DW on their own). Well, I could've cared less what mom was doing once I knew that my treat was waiting at the end of the DW! I love my targets! I could hardly wait for my turn and kept wanting to take off when the dog before me in line was told to "Walk it!" Mom had to laugh!

After that we practiced some 270 recalls to heel with one jump because the theme of the class was 270s. We were once again glad we had been reviewing recalls to heel - mom knew what to do and how to set me up, etc.

Then we started doing sequences with 270s. First we did the 270 with a pull (no side change). This does not use the recall to heel position. There are 3 parts to the handling of a 270 - first is a forward send to the first jump. The handler should decelerate to indicate a turn but should not move laterally and should not move past the plane of the jumps (see the photo below - the jump bars on the ground indicate the plane the handler should not cross). Dog sends over the first jump then second the handler turns and runs (walks) towards the second jump and this motion pushes the dog around to the back of the second jump, and third - the handler pulls the dog over. Make sense?

The other way to do a 270 is with a front cross (when a side change is necessary) and with a front cross, the handler does use the recall to heel. Everything is the same as above but as the dog comes around the back of the second jump, the handler gets her outside arm up and begins rotating for the FC. When doing a 270 with FC, the handler should not move past the middle of the second jump when she sends her dog to the first jump or she will be out of position for the FC.

Ok, we tried to show you with this video. First we do a couple 270 recalls to heel with one jump. Mom does not like her footwork and wishes she were making her inside leg more obvious to me and making sure she was at a 90 degree angle to the jump. After that, 2 tries at the 270 with a pull - I am such a good demo dog - I do things slowly enough so that you all can see! LOL! And finally we do a couple tries of the 270 with a front cross. Hope we did well enough for you to get and idea. We should've put a jump in at the beginning to possibly increase my speed though.

Mom wasn't sure I would be able to do the 270s with the jumps so far apart but I surprised her and did them all! I got every 270 today and did great dogwalks and aframes and weaves! I jumped 12" and I did the double a few times just for practice and had no trouble with it. Mom is keeping her fingers crossed that I am feeling better finally!!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Training Challenge #10 and Recalls to Heel

This week we went back to the site of training challenge #1 - Antrim Lake. We couldn't believe that it had already been two months since we were there. We had been meaning to repeat this challenge much sooner. And we should have - I was a B-A-D dog! I did much better the last time we were there. This time I lunged and barked and whined at cars. I told mom what could she expect - I had been resting my back for two weeks and I needed to release some of that pent up energy! So I pulled and barked my way along the path near the highway. Then when we got to the backside of the lake and I was allowed to drag my leash, I did a little better. We went down on the footpath in the woods that parallels the main path (that's where the wordless Wednesday photos came from) and I wanted back up on the main path so badly - every time there was an access, I either ran half-way up it or looked pleadingly at mom - when it finally came time to get back up there, I flew up and scared the poop out of a jogger! Mom apologized and felt bad for the girl. See - I had absolutely no manners out there.

We know we need to repeat all of the training challenges we have done this summer. It was good to get out there and try new things each week but one time didn't solve any of my issues.

Any way, how do all of you who are participating in the training challenge feel about ending the challenge for now and picking it up again in the Spring? We are really impressed by everyone's results this summer! I think we all got out there and got out of our comfort zones and learned a lot! We appreciate all of your support and encouragement! I feel like the training challenge was a huge success thanks to all of you!

I am slowly getting back into agility. Mom has been very careful with me this week. We have been doing warm-up exercises like the ones in Clean Run this month. And we are doing the stretching exercises shown in this Agility Nerd post. I have also been doing a little ball work. I have been jumping one jump and occasionally two and then yesterday I got to do 6 weaves twice! While I was injured we worked on recalls to heel on the flat. Now we are adding a jump. I think I am looking pretty good but mom still wishes I would blast off the startline. She is happy that I seem to be more focused and happy to be working. We made a video - nothing very exciting. First foundation RTH. Then extension RTH. Then backy-uppy RTH. These are the ones we were doing on the flat. The foundation one is the most important one, I think.

My class starts up again on Tuesday. We'll see how I do. I have one day of a trial scheduled for Friday and mom is not sure she wants me to go. That is my last trial until New Year's Day. So either we go and try it or we cancel and give me two more months off from trialing. If I look good in my class, maybe we'll go?

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 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