From the trial videos you'll see that weaves have become quite an issue for Lexi. Clearly, she isn't collecting, and sees no value in the first couple poles. So, on the recommendation of several of my friends, we've decided to use Susan Garrett's 2x2 weave training. Luckily, a friend offered to lend me her DVD.
I'm taking videos sporadically, so please remember that what you're seeing is not the entire process. We started 7/6 (Wednesday) and work Lexi several short sessions a day. Luckily, I've found a toy that she does enjoy working for, so it's made the process a bit easier. I tried originally throwing treats, but they would get lost and she would spend too much time looking for them in the grass, and then being distracted by the smell at the next session. So, I pulled out a toy that we had used with Bentley in the years past (he never got the hang of it) and filled it with my husband's sock, Lexi's favorite toy that she's not allowed to have! It has worked really well. (You can get it at Clean Run for $15)
The first day is spent teaching the dog to value the first two poles. You work on sending the dog through the poles, and rewarding ahead (to keep the dog focused ahead). Lexi didn't have any trouble with this, so the next day we moved to the next step, which was to work the entries of the poles from different angles. It took Lexi a bit more time to realize that we weren't going to throw it if she just ran in the general direction of the poles, but several sessions later she seemed to understand. In the video you'll see that she is still spending some time looking back at me, or barking at me to throw the toy rather than interacting with the poles. We made sure that she was moving quickly ahead before moving to Day 3. Here's a quick clip of some of our earlier reps at this step:
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