Bentley and Lexi

WW

2012-02-29T08:47:00.003-08:00

Insanity is...cik & cap!

2012-02-28T06:19:00.005-08:00

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" -Albert Einstein

I can't help but think of this quote when I'm trying to work on cik & cap with Bentley and Lexi. From my previous videos you'll see that both dogs have a preferred side. Lexi prefers to turn with her left shoulder to the pole, and Bentley with his right. Within a day, I had great turns from both dogs going the way that they chose. Silvia recommends teaching both ways at the same time...but it's so hard! I've been working on the dogs' weak sides (Bentley L and Lexi R). It was a tough process for them, but last night I finally broke through and was getting turns on the dogs' weak sides. Hooray!

But, I was feeling guilty because I was only working one side--and Silvia made it a point to say that you should work both at the same time. So, I took a little break and then decided to work Lexi's strong side again. Nothing doing. All I could think about was the aforementioned quote from Einstein.

I'm not sure I understand the logic behind working both at the same time. Obviously at some point I'll reward turns either way, and then add the words, but right now...I am not changing any cues (because the only cues the dogs have to work off of are my body language and the "obstacle") but expecting different criteria. Isn't that like me holding a cookie in my hand (the signal for sit) and expecting a down? I finally gave up and just allowed Lexi to work her weak side, because her turns were looking really nice. So now both dogs only want to turn to their weak side (Lexi L Bentley R)

Any suggestions?

And here are a few short sequences (my husband never remembers to record me!) from yesterday. We've had a stretch of a couple nice sunny days so I wanted to take advantage of it. It stinks because by the time I get home from work, we only have about 30 minutes of daylight. Also, there are less afternoon videos of Bentley because our neighbors leave their fence-chasing dogs out all evening. They don't bother Lexi, but Bentley goes crazy and we can't get any work done.

Mishmash Monday

2012-02-27T06:42:00.002-08:00

Bentley is enjoying the sun (I think he's thinking that we sure don't get as much here as we did in South Carolina!)

More Cik & Cap

2012-02-24T03:52:00.001-08:00

A couple days ago we worked on cik & cap some more, and it's not as easy as it looks! I thought, sure I'll teach Lexi to circle around a cone. Easy! Not! Anyways, she can circle one way fairly well, but the other way, not at all! She doesn't want to do anything the other way, just maybe take one step.

Bentley is getting the hang of it as well, even though I don't think he'll really need it on course.

After the above video a friend pointed out that I was only clicking at the same place--when the dog had almost completed the turn and was back looking at me. Oops! She also forced me to try to get Lexi to turn the other way. I'm a pushover, I start to feel bad when Lexi gets frustrated!

So here is session 4, where I attempted to rectify the aforementioned problems. Lexi still doesn't want to turn the other way, but it's getting better bit by bit. Her turns the one way are great. Bentley is the same--has one way down pat!

WW: Blast from the Past

2012-02-22T04:04:00.000-08:00

Cik & Cap challenges, and day 2 video

2012-02-21T04:42:00.000-08:00

After my first video (which I felt was successful) I had a lot of trouble asking for the next step from Lexi on her cik & cap work. I just could not get her to make that turn all the way around the pole. Diana gave me some great advice about rewarding and the placement of my hands but I was really struggling with the concept! Who knew I'd already be challenged at Day 2?

Poor Lexi was trying everything, but she just wasn't getting it. It was like she didn't want to let my hands out of her sight. I could get her to make the turn by luring her, but it was clear to me that when I was luring, she was just watching my hands, and not paying attention to what she was doing (so not really learning).

Here's the first video from day 2:

You can hear me talking to Jonathan trying so hard to figure out how to get my hands in the right place to reward Lexi completing the circle. No such luck. I even ended up accidentally rewarding her the wrong way in my attempts.

Then I decided to try a smaller object. I thought if I could reach over the pole it might help my hands. I didn't have a cone, and tried a number of household objects before I stumbled upon a wine bottle holder and bottle of wine (haha!) Anyways, DING DING DING! It helped tremendously.

We just did a short session last night, and I was already getting more of a turn than previously. I'm hoping that I'll start with this, and then be able to work up to something that I don't have to reach over once she gets the idea.

I'm still luring her more than I'd like, but I'm sort of treating this as day 1 again, now that we have the right plan in motion, I can hopefully fade any luring. I also received a suggestion to already start getting her to go a bit faster, and drive out of it, and I will work on that (I hope it will come with confidence). But, I'm in no hurry, and I think this is one of those foundation skills that can't be overworked.

Mishmash Monday

2012-02-20T04:39:00.001-08:00

I'm not so good at participating in these day-themed posts (I can hardly remember to post anything at all!) but I'll give this one a try.

Mishmash Monday is where you post photos that didn't quite turn out the way you wanted.

This picture is from February of last year. It's probably one my favorite pictures of Lexi, but it's too dark! I tried to fix it in PS, but even after changing the exposure it's still dark and pretty noisy. Darn.

Inside/Outside turn comparisons

2012-02-19T14:37:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago in class we did an interesting exercise. We were presented with a few tough sequences from some "famous" courses, and were asked to perform them two ways. Once, turning the dog to the outside, and once turning them to the inside. Prior to running, we were asked to guess which way the dog would be faster.

As a key to the worksheets, the circled answer (where it says "fastest") was our guess. The times written were the actual times for each sequence. (Note: click on photo to see them larger)

Bentley p.2:

Lexi p. 2:

A few observations:
Not surprisingly, Lexi was faster to the outside every time. I was 3/4 in guessing correctly.

I was surprised, however, to see that Bentley was faster to the outside a couple times. We have a tendency to turn inside with him much more often, but I'll definitely be rethinking that. I'm guessing it's because it's harder for him to speed up again once he slows down and collects for turns.

Lexi starts Cik and Cap

2012-02-18T14:46:00.000-08:00

So, for a long time I've admired Silvia Trkman. We even mistakenly tried to teach her running contacts before any of her online videos, etc...were available.

That being said, I've been intrigued by her concept and cik and cap, and have been wanting to give it a shot with Lexi. Unfortunately I can't afford the class, but we were able to get the DVD and decided to try it out. Sure, there's a chance I'll mess it up, but it can't hurt, right? I'm hoping that it will at the very least make her a bit more aware of where her body is when she starts to make turns. I'm anticipating that it will be very difficult to accomplish at speed, but it will be a fun endeavor nonetheless and regardless of the outcome.

I've taken a few notes from the DVD and hope to post a few takeaways here when I post corresponding videos. Here are my notes from the beginning of the video (the why!) and a few notes on the very beginning stages of teaching (the how):

Reasons to use cik & cap:

1. Improvescourse times

2. Makeshandling and timing much easier

3. Takesstress off the dog's joints

4. Teachesobstacle focus, distance skills and sends

5. Makes it less frustrating for the handler since they don’t have to be everywhere for thedog—more fun for handler and dog since the dog can run full speed

Random notes:

Changing direction (180) is harder than threadle

Cik/cap doesn’t mean come to me, just means to collect andjump in the right direction

How:

Step 1: Going around a pole or cone. Can reward either direction. Reward close tothe pole going in the right direction

Pay attention to the rear and jackpot if the rear comes with the front when coming around the turn.

This video is from her second session--I kept them both short and just used the clicker to shape the turn (though I guess I lured a bit when I rewarded). I worked her a third session outside and she really seems to get it.

I will note that I am struggling to see whether or not Lexi's rear is moving with her front. It seems to me that it is, but it's hard for me to tell.

WW

2012-02-15T04:18:00.001-08:00

Letter L, and Bentley is sick

2012-02-13T09:50:00.000-08:00

Friday we came home and Bentley had gotten really sick. He was sick all day and night Friday and Saturday. We took him to the vet Saturday because I was worried that he might have another obstruction (for those who don't remember, he ate a bunch of leather in August and had to have surgery). The vet felt that it was most likely a bug (she said those have been going around) and gave us some medicine to help.

He seems to be feeling much better, and hasn't been sick since Saturday night. I even went home at lunch today and check on him and he seemed fine. I'll feel better once he's back on kibble (I'm feeding him chicken and rice) and things are back to normal. Poor little guy.

The weirdest thing is that Lexi is really upset about something. Either she doesn't feel good (I hope that's not the case!) or she is worried because she knows something is up.

She is really sensitive, and we've obviously been acting differently (sitting with Bentley on the floor in the kitchen, the living room is completely gated off since we had to steam clean the carpets) but she won't leave us alone. She keeps asking to be held (even when we're walking around), and wants to be in my lap all the time.

Jonathan and I were taking turns sitting in the kitchen with Bentley (didn't want him on the carpet) and Lexi was so worried that she insisted on sitting on our laps as we watched Bentley (he's on the floor behind the chair napping!)

I also need to catch up with some of the videos I've recorded, so here's one from last week where we practice the letter L Alphabet Drill with Lexi. I thought some of her turns were pretty nice!

Lexi's handstand

2012-02-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

A work in process...I just had to share this video, though... It was originally about 3 minutes long, but Bimmer decided he had had enough, and just sat right in front of the camera for all but the first 30 seconds. Ha! Typical cat.

Random post

2012-02-09T04:52:00.000-08:00

Nope, still haven't gotten my act together to post about the many things running through my mind. So I'll settle for just a few random thoughts.

1. Jonathan and I decided to try to concentrate more on one dog each. We think that will be particularly beneficial to me and Lexi since the hardest part is working on timing. I will still run Bentley at times, and he will still run Lexi. But we're going to try to do more 75/25 rather than 50/50.

2. Tuesday night in class was a great night. This class has had some pretty challenging sequences which can leave me feeling just a tiny bit defeated. Despite all that, I have learned a lot and I know that the dogs have too! We wouldn't grow as a team if we never worked on things that were hard for us.

That being said, I love those classes where the progress that has been made is almost tangible. I remember when we first were introduced to the recall to heel positions how Lexi had absolutely no desire to come in on the serpentine recall to heel position. It required collection and convergence--two things that Lexi knew (or cared) little about. The class focused on this skill, and Lexi was stellar! Of course there were mistakes made, but when I did things right on my end, Lexi responded accordingly. I just remember thinking that these RTH positions were too hard...and now look at us!

3. I am trying to teach Lexi to do a handstand against the wall. She's at the point where we have a couch cushion almost parallel against the wall, but not yet. As soon as I make it parallel, it's like she doesn't trust her feet to be able to grip and back up. Not sure how to fix it. Maybe try a more "sticky" material to help her grip?

I also wanted to try to teach her to lift her back leg (one at a time), and Lian kindly suggested that I touch her leg to get her to lift it up, and then click. Good idea in theory...but Lexi is too busy throwing herself around trying things for me to capture a mere leg lift! I will try to get a video to show what I mean. I even tried to get my husband to sort of hold her still (she is shifting, backing up, moving sideways, barking all at once!) but she just seemed confused!

WW

2012-02-08T04:22:00.001-08:00

Forward motion--lightbulb!

2012-02-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

I've been pretty lax in updating the blog with agility related stuff...but it's (again) been pretty rainy here so we haven't gotten out as much as I'd like.

But, in class the other day our instructor said something that made so much sense to me. It sounds obvious, but I just never considered it.

Lexi needs very little forward motion cues. The less, the better. If you take one step too many forward, she races out and we get wide turns, off courses, and I'm playing catch up.

I know it makes sense, but I never though about it in such simple terms. This afternoon (sunny weather, yay!) we went out and worked more alphabet drills. I focused my handling so much on minimal forward motion--or at least being conscious of when I was using that as a cue. And it made such a difference. In a 20 minute session I probably got 4 amazing, jackpot turns (meaning tight and lots of rewarding). I was so impressed and as usual, Lexi had a good time! :)

Dogs in the snow/sleet of Canada

2012-02-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

Just a quick video of the rough weather we had on our first full day in Canada. Needless to say the dogs didn't go out much!

(Sorry for my dorky comments-ha!)

WW: Canada Edition

2012-02-01T04:12:00.001-08:00

WW

2012-01-25T04:51:00.000-08:00

Quick videos

2012-01-24T04:30:00.000-08:00

Just a couple videos with courses from Stuart.

This was the first one--and the "easiest"! I'll try to post another one in a few days. There is one that I just could NOT get with Lexi. I'll have to remember to post it to see what everyone else thinks.

Here's the first one:

Just a few training videos

2012-01-19T05:02:00.000-08:00

I'm behind on my videos (uploading to youtube takes FOREVER!) so I'm just going to lump a couple together from last month in this post.

The first is more alphabet drills. Have I mentioned I love this book? This is letter "R". I'm always surprised at how well Lexi handles some of the more difficult sequences. Of course, it's a whole different monster when she's coming at this technical sequences at full speed (instead of in a "vacuum" in the backyard where she can't get a head of steam). I should also point out that we are working really hard to stay "up" the whole time and add tugging as much as we can. Lexi seems much happier (though she always seems happy...she is less frustrated)

As usual with Bentley the issue isn't staying close and making tight turns, it's when it's time to let him loose to drive ahead.

One thing I still need to work on is not bending over. When I'm focusing on making clear cues, I bend over! Ugh!

The second video is from our training session at the club (we rent it out a couple times a month). We are lucky enough to be able to train with a friend, and she has Stuart Mah create some courses for us. Of course, this one is one of the "easier" ones-ha!

Bentley had some issues with the weaves--so we definitely need to work independence. Of course that's hard when the yard is a mud pit! He did have a very nice forward send in this video.

I was pretty proud of how Lexi handled the sequence off of the dogwalk. Coming out of the tunnel at the end I lost her, and wasn't able to decel enough to cue a tight turn (and with the weaves out there she went very wide). But very proud of both pups!

WW Snow

2012-01-18T04:19:00.001-08:00

Trial, Teeter, and Other Random Musings...

2012-01-16T18:40:00.000-08:00

Sunday we took Lexi to a local indoor trial. As I've mentioned a few times, neither of my dogs are particularly successful on rubber matting, but it's so hard to resist a USDAA trial that is so close to home (it's about 25 minutes away).

Since the building is very small, they can only do Starters and Advanced, so Bentley stayed home. Because of the flooring (and lack of expectations) we only entered Lexi in the last 3 classes of the day; Standard, Gamblers and Snooker. I figured we'd see what she did on the teeter, and I figured it was worth a shot to finish her Advanced Gamblers and Advanced Snooker titles.

First I have to mention that the day took forever. We arrived a little after 9am. The order for the day was Jumpers, Steeplechase Finals, and then Standard, Gamblers and Snooker. Keep in mind that it was Starters and Advanced only, and there was no more than a page each for Championship and Performance in each event. We didn't run (there were only 2 events before Standard) until 1pm. The building is super small so we crated in the car, but it was really cold, so we had to leave the car on and just sat in the car for 4 hours. Not fun. And Lexi was not amused (Jonathan and I brought books, guess Lex forgot hers at home).

Advanced Standard: It went okay. It only took Lexi one extra try to get on the teeter, and I think that honestly it was due to the fact that she was unsure on the floor (you can see her slip multiple times in the video) and she would have had to change leads to get on the first time, and just opted to run past. I definitely think that's an improvement. She also had an off course, but that was more because Jonathan stopped and praised her after the teeter and didn't give her great cues when he released. She also slipped right when she got on the table and banged her face on it--poor thing! But, I was happy that she got on and didn't bounce off (something we've been working on at home inside). And her weave entry was nice!

Advanced Gamblers went very well. Lexi knocked a bar, but I think it's a combination of the flooring and her extended jumping style. One odd thing was that she wasn't getting into her 2o2o on the dogwalk without a lot of prompting. That is very unusual. I think it's because ALL we've worked in the past week or more is her 4-on on the teeter. So she was getting into a 4-on position on the dogwalk. I'm not sure what to do about that. Am I confusing her by asking for two separate criteria? Should I switch to a 2o2o on the teeter?

Lexi had no issue with the gamble, though I have to admit that my foot went across the line. I was feeling pretty guilty about it, but at least I know that Lexi would have done it regardless of where I was placed. I just looked down and realized I was on the line and got away from it as soon as I could. I got lucky that I was given a Q.

Advanced Snooker: A little ugly as far as connecting when it came to cues, collecting, and deceleration (I can say that because my husband doesn't read my blog-ha!) And unfortunately despite calling her off a couple off courses, she knocked a bar in the closing that prevented her from qualifying. Again, she rarely knocks bars so I attribute this mostly to the flooring.

It was a long day (3 runs in 8 hours!), but we still had a good time.

So my big question is this...should we change her teeter criteria to 2o2o to match her dogwalk and a-frame? Are we confusing her by teaching both? Or, is it just because we've focused so much on the teeter that she's gotten confused and once we even out our training (using all contacts) the confusion will disappear?

A Fun Post, and very very brief Teeter Update

2012-01-12T04:35:00.000-08:00

First, the teeter update. Apparently turkey is all it took. Lexi is doing the teeter in the living room every which way she can think of (it's currently at around 18" high). She'll jump on one end, get into position. She'll even turn around and go right back to the other end (though I try not to encourage that!) Anyways, this is the Lexi that I know, whose motto is "the world is my playground!" And that's exactly how I want her to feel about the teeter. Next steps are to raise it to full height (probably in a day or two) and then sloooowly start to alter the tipping point using weights.

And since we don't have any tricks on video, I thought I'd share this fun one from November. I got this little robot hamster for Christmas the year before and have discovered that the dogs (mostly Lexi) hate it! Bentley just loves any excuse to bark!

WW: Bimmer Edition

2012-01-11T04:49:00.001-08:00

Alphabet Drills and a Teeter Update

2012-01-10T19:57:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I got the Nancy Gyes Alphabet Drills book. It is AWESOME. I will never be looking for sequences to practice ever again. Just one letter can keep you busy for weeks. I love that each set up is simple and small enough for a medium-sized yard. I should also point out that the first thing that Bentley did was eat the packaging around the DVD and ruined it. Nice.

Anyways, here's a quick video of letter A, AKA box drills (I'm behind on videos, and this one was taken right after Christmas)

Thought I'd give a quick teeter update. This evening we lowered the teeter and tried to work more independent driving. Jonathan reported that she would do it if he amped her up, ran with her, or encouraged her, but was less likely to do so if he just stood there, even with cheese on the end. I decided to see if she would push herself more for turkey, and that's what we used this evening (just a note that each session is very short, maybe 10 reps?) She had no issue going to the end. A couple times I held the teeter in place and let her eat turkey out of my hand as I held it, and then dropped it as she continued to eat. She had no issue with that (too busy eating to notice, I think!)

In class tonight she did the teeter on the first pass (and off of a forward send, which has been a scenario where she's opted to go around before). I filled our trainer in on the issue and she felt that we were doing the right thing, just that I pushed her too hard by holding it immediately. She recommended changing it just slightly every other day or so (by 1-2 lbs of weight). I didn't think of it, but she made the point that if the teeter usually starts to tip right before she steps in the yellow, and I held it until she got to the end, I essentially changed the tipping point by 36" (the size of the contact zone). That's a HUGE change.

Diana (my favorite blogging friend over at http://4dogcraziness.blogspot.com/) recommended that we try the two table method, and I like that idea. But, we don't have two tables here...in fact we don't even have one! But, I'm going to try to set this up during our building rentals this month to change up our methods a little bit.

Thanks to those that have contacted me with suggestions!

Teeter Boot Camp

2012-01-10T04:29:00.000-08:00

Well, this isn't going to be as easy as I thought!

Lexi has had a teeter issue for several trials now. Sometimes she does it, sometimes she doesn't. She's had this issue since as far back as I can remember. We've retrained the teeter probably 3 times (basically just starting over and rebuilding confidence) and we're still not progressing. It seems like 1 step forward 2 steps back.

It's clearly a confidence issue. She knows the end criteria and I don't even remember EVER having to correct her for coming off the teeter, or flying off, or somehow or other not making her criteria (which is 4-on). But, when a teeter doesn't do what she expects (typically it's when she finds a really heavy teeter that doesn't drop when she immediately gets to the end, or even vice versa), she freaks out and avoids it for the next who knows how long.

We've been teaching her the teeter using Wendy Pape's method (breaking it down into its components, bang, height, position, release, etc...) I'm not sure if that was a contributing factor or not because the issue didn't show up until she was spooked for a reason, or even no reason.

I think I knew all along what needed to be done, but it doesn't sound like much fun. Stuart confirmed my suspicions, and we were off to teeter boot camp. We borrowed a teeter from a friend and it now resides in our living room (oh if my non-dog friends could see me now!) and Lexi is going to learn to get into position at different tipping points using weights.

I thought it would be easy. But on the first attempt, she was weirded out by equipment in the house, and we had to start with just the bang and getting into position just on the down side. Well, we moved on past that pretty quickly (I should also note it is not at full height) and went on to doing the whole thing. When we originally retrained Stuart told us to not encourage her, but to allow her to find the tipping point on her own. That is VERY hard to do as she'll go halfway up, decide it's not doing what she wants, and come back and get into position on the side that's already on the ground. I'm trying not to lure her as I want her to think about it, but I keep thinking that if I lure her, maybe she'll realize it's not so scary.

She did it fine last night, and so this morning I decided to up the criteria and sometimes hold the teeter so she would have to run to the end before it moved. SETBACK! After I did that once, she didn't want to do it again. I resorted to luring, and she still wasn't interested. If my girl isn't interested in squeeze cheese, then I know I've pushed her too far (bad mom!) so we took a break and did something fun for cheese. When Jonathan gets home we're going to have to lower the teeter even more and work on going to the end.

I guess I'm just not sure how to fix this if she's going to get worried every time she gets to the end and it doesn't move and we have to start over...any advice?

Inconspicuous, isn't it? :)

Lexi's new trick

2012-01-06T04:02:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by Ricky's great tricks and Chewy and Oreo, too to try this one. Of course if it involved treats and jumping, Lexi was all for it!

St. Louis Trial: Bentley

2012-01-05T04:42:00.000-08:00

Finally--Bentley gets his trial update!

As always, Bentley's goals are a bit different than Lexi's. We've been working really hard on his 2o2o on the dogwalk, and I'm always anxious to put it to the test in a high-energy trial environment. Needless to say, he passed with flying colors! He went 3 for 3 in dogwalk contacts! What a good boy!

Day 1:

Masters Gamblers: Gamblers just isn't his thing! He only has 1 Masters Gamblers Q, and hasn't really come close to any of the others. But that's okay--it's a skill that honestly got skipped when we were learning about agility, and handler focus became Bentley's major strength. Some day I think we'll have to drop everything and teach Bentley to work away, but for now we'll just understand that this is a skill that he is missing. I was hoping that he would at least turn to the teeter (the gamble was jump, right to teeter, left to a jump directly behind the teeter, back over the first jump and then a second jump beyond that), but it wasn't meant to be. Also, we learned that his a-frame contact is NOT there yet!

Masters Standard: Bentley hasn't gotten a standard Q in a year. A whole year! It's something we expected and actually pulled him from standard in many trials as we re-worked his contacts. I was very, very proud of this run as the only mistake he made was in the weaves. His weaves were off all weekend, which I think was a combination of lack of practice on 12 poles, and possibly him being pretty out chiropractically. (Also, I think we better work on laying down faster on the table-ha!) But on the VERY positive side, we got a couple nice forward sends, a beautiful dogwalk contact, and a very nice threadle!

Grand Prix: In our lives, we've never gotten a Grand Prix Q! Of course we haven't entered it that many times (either we felt Bentley wasn't ready for that level of difficulty or we were retraining contacts), but still. Anyways, another nice run that we were proud of. Good dogwalk, just a mistake in the weaves (hard to tell but he pops out at the end). You'll notice a theme of mistakes right after the a-frame, that's because he's supposed to stop, and when he doesn't we're scrambling to adjust!

Masters Jumpers Q: I felt like this was a nice run. I felt very in tune with Bentley, and he was really going out and looking for obstacles--good boy! Watching the video I definitely felt that I ran pretty passively, but I was glad that we qualified as we've been pretty close in jumpers in some of our last runs.

Masters Pairs: I won't say too much about these runs, just a mistake in the weaves again. He didn't run clean in his run that counted, but did run clean when he ran to accomodate the other 16" dog to help that dog Q.

Day 2:

Masters Gamblers: This one we knew he had no chance in from the beginning. His weaves were off all day the day before, and since his surgery we really haven't worked independent weaves. What followed was nothing short of hilarious. Jonathan and I talked the whole time we were watching others run how important it was to get the dog in obstacle focus before sending them to the weaves. Let's just say, that didn't happen. Unfortunately I was laughing so hard that you can't really see what happens in the video. Bentley kept jumping up on Jonathan's leg and grabbing his pants (something he does when he gets frustrated). Jonathan couldn't get him to let go and send him to the weaves. I haven't seen him melt down in the ring like that in a long time. But, we still had a good time!

Masters Standard Q: Bentley's first Q in Masters Standard, and first Standard Q in exactly 1 year! So happy for my boy, and the effort and work that he has offered to us as we worked on his contacts. I could have cried! To point out a couple highlights--loved his push to the teeter, and his recall to heel prior to the weaves (bad camera work by me!) And to point out the bad...naughty Jonathan EARLY released his dogwalk! I called him out on it and he said "I was so worried that we would mess it up that I got nervous and released him!" Hope that doesn't confuse Bentley!

WW

2012-01-04T15:56:00.001-08:00

Chiropractor and Patella Issue

2012-01-03T16:43:00.000-08:00

I know, today should be Bentley's day to shine. I do have all his videos on youtube and need to do a write up here, but I'm worried about something else and wanted to post about it.
Tonight we took the dogs to the chiropractor for the first time. I admit that the first time I heard about it I thought it was a little odd, but decided that a qualified person's hands on my dog couldn't be a bad thing. We decided on a chiropractor that was also a vet, as that made me feel reassured.

Anyways, Bentley was out in all kinds of places. She said he was very out--she specifically mentioned his sacrum and pelvis. She said it could have affected his weaves this past weekend. I'm not one to write off all mistakes as being related to his chiropractic health, but it's something to consider.

Lexi was only a little out (surprising since she is always throwing herself at everything as fast and furious as possible), but the woman did give us some interesting information. She said that she felt Lexi's left patella pop. She asked if I had heard any popping or seen any limping, skipping or favoring that side--and I haven't. She said it could be very mild and never be an issue, but it felt like it luxated slightly. Of course being me, I became very worried. I know this is not necessarily a career-ending injury, but it still scares me.

I have reached out to all kinds of resources (friends that are vets, friends with experience, serious agility competitors who have been through this, sheltie-informed friends, etc...) and will be making an appointment with a vet soon. I am trying to decide if we should see our regular vet or make an appointment with someone else who might have a little more agility experience.

I am praying that it's nothing serious--my little girl loves to run and play!

St. Louis Trial: Lexi

2012-01-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

As previously posted, this weekend we went to St. Louis for a trial. To sum it up, it was a great finish to 2011 and an awesome start to 2012!

The first thing I want to say is how much better the entire trial felt mentally. I think the two contributor to that were the mantra I wrote on my hand (see previous post), and something we made sure to do this trial. Before every one of Lexi's runs, the person running her went outside and threw the toy with her (even when it was freezing and windy!) for at least 5-10 minutes each time. Not only did it put Lexi in the right place, but it calmed my nerves SO much. It was just a very good feeling. I was happy no matter what happened!

Day 1:

Advanced Jumpers Q: I had to call her off the tunnel (bad mom!) and see some places where I could have been clearer, but Lexi did really well. Her FCs were really nice, and she converged really well. I stopped and waited for her a couple times (most notably out of the tunnel) and I'm really trying to break that habit! But this was her third Q and therefore her Advanced Jumpers (AJ) title!

Advanced Gamblers: The gamble was the teeter and I knew that it probably would be an issue. As I've documented, Lexi has a weird teeter issue and it has flared up again since what happened at LCDA back in November. I decided to try and test the teeter beforehand (since I knew I couldn't Q anyways if she wouldn't get on) and sure enough...she was having none of it. The scary teeter monster strikes again! Her avoiding the DW the first time is similar--maybe she thinks it's the teeter at first?

Advanced Snooker Q: A little "fast and loose" in this run, but it was a Q, and Lexi did eventually get on the teeter. I had high hopes that after she got on the teeter in this run that she would realize it wasn't so bad...but unfortunately the issue continued.

Advanced Standard: Teeter monster strikes again! So you'll see that she is still weirded out by the teeter here. On the plus side, she did eventually get on. Also, Jonathan didn't cue deceleration for the table, and that's an obstacle that we honestly don't train enough (Lexi looks unsure what to do!) And we have learned that Lexi prefers any obstacle over a contact, so we can't get lazy and expect her to make a turn to a contact (here you see she takes the tunnel instead of the a-frame). She nailed her weaves, though, and I was quite happy as we've worked that a lot!

Steeplechase Q: My baby's first tournament qualifying leg! Lexi was great. The only issues in this run were mine (didn't cue turns fast enough)...but Lex was perfect. Great weave entry, great FC in a place where I was concerned that she'd go wide (at 11 seconds) and get an off course. But I made it a point to keep moving and she followed! She even came in first--woohoo!

Day 2:

Advanced Gamblers Q: Wanted to try the teeter again...but nothing doing! Luckily I planned it out so that we would have enough points even if she didn't do the teeter. I was very impressed with her distance with the RC to the DW. What a good girl! And she even held her 2o2o ALL weekend!

Advanced Snooker Q: In order to Q we knew Lexi would have to do the teeter, and luckily, she did! I don't know if she preferred the teeter in this ring, or what, but it seemed like she would at least eventually get on for Jonathan! They even did all 7s together. Anyways, I liked Lexi's recall at the beginning--she didn't even think about taking anything on her way to Jonathan!

Advanced Standard: Again, the teeter monster strikes. Other than that, a nice run! RTH before the weaves could have been better, but Lexi didn't cut behind and eventually got on the right side. Also, awesome DW contact!

Masters Standard Q: This run almost made me cry. What a good girl Lexi was! A few months ago I would have never imagined she could Q in Masters Jumpers. She even saved my butt a few times when I forgot where I was! The end was a bit choppy when I realized I couldn't get the FC in I was hoping for (you see me waiting to make the RC), but still, excellent! Lexi had the best time (23.6) out of all the Championship dogs--including some very well known BCs! She would have been even faster if I had done a better job at the end. What an excellent girl! (Also, notice a tiny bit of collection around 25 seconds--hooray!)

Steeplechase Finals 2nd: We decided to stick around for finals to see if we could make a little money :) And we did! In fact, Lexi almost came in first INCLUDING her 5 pt. fault at the broad jump. I was worried, but luckily she just sort of ticked it with one foot. This was the first time I used a blind cross in competition, and Lexi, like a good girl, didn't break. She also nailed her weaves. She did miss my FC at the beginning, but I wasn't quick enough to signal it because I was worried she might push to the a-frame. Perfect RC to the tunnel, though!

All in all, an awesome showing for the baby. Now we have to think of the best way to address her teeter issue! Looking for any suggestions!

(Bentley's post to come...this was a long write up!)

A Trial Reminder

2011-12-31T15:34:00.001-08:00

Today was a great day More to come when the weekend is over...but I took a cue from the Obay Shelties blog and wrote a little reminder on my hand.

WW (post Christmas edition)

2011-12-28T18:07:00.001-08:00

Intro trial

2011-12-27T19:02:00.000-08:00

This weekend we're going to St. Louis for a big trial (it's about 6 hours from here). I thought it would be a good opportunity to see a city we've never seen before, and get some trialing in!

So today our club put on an intro trial so they can get sanctioned to host regular USDAA trials in the future. I wasn't sure if we'd be able to make it, but I ended up leaving work early so we could go to get in a "practice" run before this weekend.

Since the club hadn't put on a USDAA trial before, Jonathan and I were helping out a lot. It was also snowing out, and we crated out of the car. I say all of that to say that the dogs got almost no attention until it was their turn to run. There was nowhere to exercise the dogs (it was snowing and VERY muddy, also dark outside) and I guess that was just too much for Lexi. She got out and was just crazy! I tried getting her to focus before we went into the ring, but it was very busy (since the building was small) and she was just all over the place.

Well, I should have seen the writing on the wall. We got into the ring and it was a mess. Now I know I've been hard on her before, so let me say that I was NOT mad at her. It was totally my fault for not getting her some exercise before going into the ring. It was a little embarrassing since everyone likes to talk about how great she is and then she blew it-oh well.

She bounced off the table, then did her "teeter monster" thing (that's what I call it when she refuses the teeter a couple times because she has that weird issue). After the third attempt, she got on. She also missed the weave entry because it was coming right out of curved, short tunnel and she didn't slow down enough to get in. But, on the bright side, when she did get on the teeter, it was lovely. And her a-frames were both nice. She also had a nice forward send where she didn't go too wide.

Bentley, on the other hand, ran clean. Woohoo! Since he's already titled in USDAA he didn't technically Q (it's just for FEO for any dog with a previous USDAA title), but I was still proud. He got his 2o2o on the a-frame the first go around, and at least briefly considered it the second time (there were 2 a-frames and no dogwalk).

I'm just hoping that Lexi got her craziness out of the way--we'll be sure to exercise her well before the trial this weekend! :)

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T14:32:00.000-08:00

Skipped clicker training

2011-12-20T04:25:00.000-08:00

I never really clicker trained my dogs. They both know what the clicker is (mostly to mark a correct behavior), but I never spent a lot of time using it. Now that I know what I know, I wish I had.

When we first got Bentley he was 7 months old. I don't think he first saw the clicker until he was over 1. At that time, he was already a slower thinker, and I remember sitting and waiting him out to try to get him to just move his leg one little muscle (we were trying to teach a high five using the clicker). It took so long! He would literally just sit there and not move for minutes on end. Then, once he (sort of) understood offering behaviors, he would offer stays. So he would try a couple things, then lay down and not move a muscle. Hard to mark something when he thinks he's in a stay! At the time I thought "he doesn't get it, this isn't for him", and we sort of gave up. Little did I know that I think it would have really helped him if I had continued to wait it out.

Lexi, on the other hand, used to offer me behaviors constantly. If we were at the agility field waiting our turn and I even so much as made eye contact, she would sit, down, spin, etc...waiting for her cookie. I was scared of asking and rewarding her for offering behaviors since it was already becoming a nuisance.

I do still use the clicker occasionally, but my dogs' thinking isn't the same. Bentley still isn't very creative, and usually tries a couple things before he gets frustrated (looks at me, lays down and whines). And Lexi is so busy throwing herself every which way that it becomes hard for me to mark the "right" thing--and I'm sure just as hard for her to understand which of her offerings was marked.

I just clicker trained them to offer getting into a box. I started with a big shoe box--not too bad. Then I changed it to their smaller toy box--not too bad (though much slower than your typical clicker trained dog). And I just changed it to a tupperware bowl to see if I could get them to even put 2 feet in. It was hard work! I quit our short session this morning with Lexi putting 1 foot in (I was quite busy chasing the bowl around as she kept pawing at it), and Bentley touching it with his foot.

So because of my lack of clicker training, my dogs know very few tricks. I don't feel guilty, per se, but do wish I had done more when they were puppies.

Clicker training is hard. I give up. Zzzzz...

Present!

2011-12-16T04:45:00.001-08:00

Our friend Sharon sent us a present in the mail yesterday. So exciting! (Don't we look thrilled?)

We Love Christmas!

2011-12-11T13:10:00.001-08:00

Last night we started wrapping Christmas presents for friends and family, and Lexi thought it was a very fun game! She kept climbing on top of all the presents as we were wrapping them. Not sure if she wanted attention, or thought it was a shaping game or like her balance ball training. It was too cute!

Here's a quick video of her enjoying herself (and I had to ask for a down to see if she would fit, ha!)

I also grabbed a couple quick photos, I think the one of both dogs will make the Christmas card this year!

Videos from Tuesday's class

2011-12-08T16:51:00.001-08:00

I remembered that I took a couple short videos of Lexi from our last class. (The reason I'm never in any videos is because I'm the only one who ever remembers to videotape!)

Here's one of Jonathan running half of the course with her. You can see him getting frustrated. Being there I felt Jonathan's frustration, but in watching the video, Lexi really had some nice moments! I will say that the beginning was much cleaner the first time he ran. This time, he pushed her out way too far and RFPd to the weaves, when he really shouldn't have had he cued a turn from the beginning.

Here's a video of our trainer using Lexi as an example to show us how to properly cue not only the threadle but the push to a forward send at the end as well.

Is winter here yet? WW

2011-12-07T04:10:00.001-08:00

(Last year's photo)

Good and needs to improve!

2011-12-06T19:47:00.001-08:00

We've had so much rain the past week or so that outdoor training has been tough. So, I'll just give a quick update.

Hopefully my last post wasn't too intense. I certainly didn't want to convey arrogance or put any pressure on myself or Lexi. I am just proud of her accomplishments and love for the sport, and want to invest in that! If she never makes it out of Advanced, so be it, as long as we keep improving and keep enjoying ourselves.

Tonight we ran a tough course. Jonathan ran Lexi and I ran Bentley. Poor Jonathan and Lexi had a tough night. I could see him getting frustrated as he was having to do portions of the course over and over again. The course was set to practice the different sends and recalls that we've been taught over the past few classes. When we left class, I made us both make a list of 3 things that each dog did well (to remember the good!) and 2 things that they needed improved upon. Here are the lists we came up with:

Lexi:
Good:
1. Serpentine recall to heel to the weaves. Didn't over jump either 2 or 3, and nailed the weave entry every time!

2. Directed jumping was excellent! She didn't cross behind between 3 and 4 but moved quickly to the next obstacle while we were able to direct her over 3 and then move to 4.

3. Weave entries every time, and when cued correctly, understood the behavior at the threadle.

To improve:
1. Lexi was feeling VERY pushy this evening and broke her 2o2o regularly. She would get into position, but then break quickly thereafter.
2. Timing on our end--making sure that we're cuing at the right times to give Lexi the time to react (especially true at the threadle)

Bentley:
Good:
1. Directed jumping (in the second sequence listed above). The first time he took the back side of 2, but that was entirely my fault as I stood too close to 3 when cuing the directed jumping.

2. Dogwalk contact. Though it wasn't always quick, he got into his 2o2o position both times and waited! He also didn't really creep, just came to the bottom and took a second to get both front feet off. Thrilled!

3. Connection. Bentley and I stayed connected the entire night. He has had a tendency to lose connection with me and cut behind me, run ahead of me, or go away from me to grab what he thinks is the next obstacle. Tonight we were connected on the entire course! For the directed jumping section I made sure to make eye contact and cue him to stay on my right side, and he did. I was also a bit concerned that he would skip the 3rd jump in the first sequence, but I said his name and made eye contact and he did really well.

To improve:
1. 270 recall to heel. I placed Bentley on the table and then lead out to a jump and asked for him to collect over the bar (I was reaching over the bar), however he chose to come around the wrong side of the jump.
2. A-frame when excited. He jumped the contact (though still touched the yellow) both times in sequence. It was good, though, since the course simulated a trial-like environment and I marked the mistake and put him back on (he got into his 2o2o position the second time).

50mm lens

2011-12-03T16:49:00.001-08:00

I got a new lens for Christmas, and finally got to try it out outside today. Love it! Sorry to those who want to read about our agility exploits, I want to share pictures instead :)

Putting all our eggs in one basket

2011-12-02T15:43:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted in a while for a couple reasons. Firstly, we've had a lot of rain and it has made training pretty difficult. Also, it's hard for me to come home and train the dogs at all since it's dark by the time I walk in.

Secondly, I've had a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head and I haven't been sure the best way to share them.

I guess I'll start by saying that we've decided to put all of our eggs in one basket, so to speak. I've had multiple top-level agility competitors and instructors tell me that Lexi has incredible potential. By incredible I mean that they've told me that with continued instruction she has a good chance at placing at nationals. I've always known that my little girl is very special, but hearing it from multiple people whose opinion I respect is incredibly inspiring.

When we went to Louisville to watch USDAA Nationals I was struck by the fact that my girl is faster than most of the dogs out there. Of course, speed isn't everything, but she has shown such improvement just in the 6 months that we have been in Ohio that I can only hope that she continues to improve thus allowing her to be competitive at the highest level.

My husband and I had previously decided that we would likely get a third dog some time in the next year. The thought was that agility is just a past time for Bentley, and hopefully a lifestyle for both Lexi and the new puppy.

But I've come to the conclusion (or perhaps I'm just allowing myself to say it out loud) that Lexi is my once in a lifetime dog. I would hate to look back on our relationship (both on and off course) and think that we hadn't helped Lexi reach her full potential. So, adding a third dog to our family wouldn't be fair to her (at least not right now).

That may sound like I am putting a lot of pressure on her (and us) to be successful, but I would not be disappointed if we never truly competed at a national level. I would only be disappointed if I felt like we didn't do all that we could to improve and enjoy ourselves every day as a team.

On the other hand, I think this knowledge is why I often get frustrated with our performance. I know what kind of performance dog she can be, and I can get frustrated when we don't always do our very best. I think that comes from me being very competitive (I've always been that way). So it's something that I need to keep in mind every day, and just enjoy the ride and my amazing little girl that wants to play with me as often as I let her! My goal is to be more like her. She is always happy to play with me, and no matter what the outcome she plays her heart out!

WW

2011-11-29T16:19:00.001-08:00

South Carolina

2011-11-27T17:53:00.001-08:00

Tough night

2011-11-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

Not a great night in class tonight. The dogs were off last week since we were out of town, and they haven't done any work this week since it has been raining all week...tonight we had class and I ran Lexi the whole time. It went poorly. And it wasn't her fault.

I know that the sequences are meant to be challenging, but I can't help but feel like I am failing in my training. Lexi made multiple mistakes on every sequence, and they were all my fault.

I felt like no matter what I did, I couldn't get her to get it right until the 3rd try. I would accelerate to push her to a jump (that was out at an angle), and then from that jump to another with a forward send, but she wouldn't read it because of all the acceleration from the earlier push. But if I didn't accelerate, I'd miss the push to the first jump!

Or I'd have to accelerate to get ahead of her so she could read my deceleration, but then she would decelerate before the obstacle and miss it altogether. Everyone says that when running a fast dog, timing is critical, but I'm starting to feel like timing is impossible.

I'm feeling like I'll never get it right! I've been wanting a third dog, but really, I can't even handle the ones I have!

Homecoming! LCDA Trial--Lexi

2011-11-16T18:33:00.001-08:00

Lexi had a great weekend. She seemed happy to be outside with her friends and doing her favorite thing!

Lexi Advanced Jumpers--Q!

Jumpers has been fairly difficult for Lexi, but we've seen great improvement in her attention to us over the past few months. We were anxious to see whether or not it would pay off, and I think that it has! Although her turns were wide, she was very aware of where I was, and what I was asking her to do. She did skip the tunnel at the end because it was "too hard" something that Stuart clued us in to months ago. The tunnel entrance was at an angle (hard to tell in the video) and making it in would have required Lexi to slow down, and she preferred to keep going fast and go around.

Lexi Advanced Pairs--Q!

Another really nice run for Lex. I thought her push from the weaves to the tunnel was excellent. What a good girl! Note here that her teeter is fine...more on that later.

Lexi Advanced Gamblers--Q!

I changed my plan at the last minute (bad handler!) and because of it my cues through the middle of the field were muddled, but other than that, she did excellent. No problems on the gamble, my little gamblers girl! (Again, no problem with the teeter)

Lexi Advanced Standard

Well, here the wheels sort of fell off. My biggest concern is what happened on the teeter. We've had a lot of issues with Lexi on the teeter where she'll have some incident (or not even have one) and decide that she doesn't like the teeter anymore. I was so worried that this was another one of those. She obviously just got really worried (this teeter tipped a lot slower than the one she's been practicing on) and just made it worse for herself.

After the trial we tried to put Lexi back on the teeter and she wouldn't get on. She refused it, and wouldn't even bang it. I was so upset. We worked so hard to get her back to where she is totally confident on the teeter now. Well, we went back the next day and I lowered the teeter really far down. I was afraid we'd have to start all over again (we lower it and let her find the tipping point at a height/bang sound where she is comfortable). She got on it immediately! I raised it inch by inch and she was perfectly fine. Let's hope that holds true from here on out!

Homecoming! LCDA Trial--Bentley

2011-11-16T17:48:00.001-08:00

Had a great weekend this past weekend. We were in Charleston for a long weekend as Jonathan had an interview (yes, we could be moving back) there. Of course, we had to cram in at least one day of agility while there, and it proved to be very much worth it.

I'll start with Bentley's weekend. To sum it up...he was very happy to be out there! He was excited, and had a blast. He did his thing where he totally ignored me to grab off courses, though, so now that he's healthy we're going to have to work on it. Not sure what he's thinking! Also, our teamwork was a bit off, but I think it's just because we're rusty.

Bentley Masters Jumpers

I debated the whole time if I should lead out push or keep him on my left and RC, but I was afraid that he might take the tunnel. Clearly my choice was not a good one! Then he read my moving FC as a go, and took the double off course--what a weirdo! The end was nice.

Bentley Masters Pairs

Bummed because with Bentley's one mistake, we ended up over course time. Weirdly enough, we were right at SCT (not including the mistake). I didn't think either dog was that slow, so I guess the SCTs were tight. Bentley's weave entries were off all weekend--just needs a bit more practice since he's had so much time off. I should also point out that Bentley slowed down on the DW, but then jumped when I encouraged him to come down into his 2o2o. Naughty! But, I expected some of that.

Bentley Masters Gamblers

Not a great run...again, we haven't really been in sync with Bentley since he has had so much time off. Gamblers is just not his thing...but that's something to work on for another day.

Bentley Masters Standard

Wait for it...wait for it...HE GOT HIS DOGWALK! 2o2o! I could have cried! He jumped his teeter contact, but the teeter was very different from the ones we've been working on. It tips a lot slower. He stopped where the teeter started to move, so he just hopped right off. Usually he is in the yellow when he stops. Definitely his best run of the weekend. Oh, and he did miss his a-frame (judge didn't call it), but I definitely expected that. We need to do a LOT more work on that.

The next day I dropped by the field, and Bentley nailed his 2o2o on the dogwalk and the a-frame each time. So clearly now we need to work on his position when he's excited.

Lexi learning to pay attention

2011-11-10T17:32:00.001-08:00

WW

2011-11-09T03:42:00.000-08:00

Bentley's dogwalk progress

2011-11-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update on Bentley's dogwalk. He's doing really well. It's clear that he is cuing off of our forward motion to get into position, but right now, it's still huge progress. We need to continue to use target plates to keep him driving regardless of our position, but my first priority is to wean him off of target plates all the time. In other words, I want him to be successful at a trial, even if that means he doesn't immediately get into position. I am also comforted by the fact that he does eventually get into position.

Get on the Ball--the end (for now)

2011-11-08T03:22:00.000-08:00

This weekend we are traveling to Charleston and will be returning our friend's "Get on the Ball" products. I've really enjoyed using them with the dogs, and once we're making a bit more money will definitely be looking into purchasing at least one balance ball (my favorite was the balance disc--the one in the video-- because it's not too huge, and easier to use) for the dogs.

I think they really helped Bentley regain his strength, and REALLY improved Lexi's rear end strength.

Of interest to me, as usual, was the difference in how my dogs approached the balls. You can even see in the video how hesitant Bentley is. Even after using the ball for a few months (and yes, I admit we were not as diligent as we should have been) he is hesitant to jump on, and still isn't comfortable getting into a sitting position.

Lexi, on the other hand, would just throw herself on and hang on for dear life. Most of the time she managed to hang on (giving herself a great work out in the mean time!) but she kept the disc rocking quite a bit. Despite the motion, you could tell that she was very much aware and in control of her weight distribution and easily progressed to being able to do "dog pushups" on the ball. If I had it for longer, I would eventually get her to sit up as well, but that would take a bit more work. Even though she is moving the ball more as she is on there, her legs rarely shake (as opposed to Bentley's), and every time we take the disc out she jumps right on it! I was also able to get her to rotate around on the ball without too much trouble.

Monday morning happy

2011-11-07T03:20:00.000-08:00

Anyone else feeling bummed about going to work this morning? I am!

Here's something that will make you smile:

This is Lexi and her absolute favorite toy, BRB (Big Red Ball)!

Indoor BRAG trial

2011-10-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

We competed in our first indoor trial on Saturday. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I expected. It was certainly the best Lexi has looked indoors.

If I remember I'll try to post the course map for Steeplechase (there were none for Adv. Standard...which is sort of annoying since they didn't have any at the last trial either) if I remember.

It was also a tough trial because we only had the dogs entered in a couple things, but we didn't want to get their too late. There was no masters (due to the rule regarding size of ring, they can't hold it indoors at this venue) but there was only one ring so it went really slowly.

First up was Lexi and Advanced Standard. I'm one that loves to agonize over the course maps, so I felt a little off when I just had to walk the course to see the numbers. It was probably the toughest Adv. Standard course I've seen. That is not an excuse--they are definitely skills Lexi should have! She just doesn't :) At one point there was a 3-way discrimination between an a-frame, a jump, and the teeter. I made eye contact, but dropped too soon and she took the a-frame. The second time we came around she didn't take the teeter. But other than that, I saw some really nice stuff! No insanely wide turns, and she was one of the few dogs that got into the correct end of the yellow tunnel. Oh, and how about that weave entry?!?! We've been working on them, and I was so proud! (I should note that no dogs Qd on this course).

Next up was Jonathan running Lexi in Steeplechase. Again, I feel like steeplechase courses are getting more technical, but Lexi was up to the challenge! Just one mistake at the end (darn those tunnels!) I think that if she had been on grass she wouldn't have gone out so wide coming over the jump at the end and would have made the turn. The same I think is true for the weave entry. I saw a lot of dogs miss that entry or not be able to hold onto it coming around that turn.

And lastly was Bentley's steeplechase run. I wasn't sure what to expect since he hasn't run in over 3 months! But, he ran pretty well. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get at least one 2o2o, but his contacts were much better. The second time he even slowed down coming down, just couldn't quite figure out the correct position. Definitely more work to do, but at least he is aware that there is something he should be doing there! :) And he took that off course because I accelerated over the broad. He has a tendency to nick the broad (or tumble over it!) so I wanted to push him over, and I pushed him too far. Darn!

Lexi's worrying patterns; flyball version

2011-10-25T19:50:00.000-07:00

We've had a tough couple weeks the last two times we went to flyball.

Basically Lexi's turns at home are great. I took her to class and even without the ball, and without the trigger, she just doesn't want to put 4 feet on the box. I'd get 2, or 3 (with the third way down at the bottom). I don't think she put 4 on a SINGLE time. I had her out there with treats and she just wasn't doing it. She was revved up and excited, I tried running with her, sending her, etc...nothing doing.

So, I decided to work on something else. I started with triggering the box myself and throwing treats out. Lexi did not appear worried about the noise at all, and was very excited about the sound since it would immediately lead to treats. So, I started having her trigger the box and I would throw a ball--awesome, no trouble (she was just pushing with two feet, but I figured that was okay since I was just working the noise/feel). Then I had her actually triggering the box to get the ball. She did it about 3-5 times, was excited, up, happy, etc...and then all of a sudden, she wanted nothing to do with it. She went from triggering the box and fetching the ball to refusing to put any feet on the box at all.

We took a long break, then I went back just a few more times and had her trigger the box for a cookie, and we called it a night.

This reminds me of what she did with the teeter. No issues that we could see, but one day she would just refuse it. We must have retrained it 3 times. Looks like a similar pattern with the box.

Lexi's flyballs turns

2011-10-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

Have been working Lexi's turns this week. They aren't half bad! I hope she's able to make them translate to the box with a ball.

The hardest part for her I think is going to be the noise of the box. She tried it last week, took the ball off three times when it triggered, and the third time she decided it was scary and didn't even want to put one foot on it. So I put her back on it without triggering it until she was jumping on it again, and then just triggered it and threw food at Lexi so she wouldn't be worried about it.

Rubber matting

2011-10-20T04:13:00.000-07:00

I think I've talked before about how poorly our dogs perform on rubber matting. I created a little video of Lexi slipping on the rubber matting at our Stuart seminar.

I guess I should point out that my handling stinks (I was being lazy, and was upset after a pretty frustrating day) so that accounts for a good portion of her wide turns...but she goes wide, slips, and goes out even wider. It's like she tries to control herself, finds it too difficult, and floats out as she slips.

We are trialing indoors at the end of the month, but the dogs are only entered in Steeplechase, and Lexi is in Standard, too, and just on one day. I was thinking of trying some of the spray or wax to help with slipping, but I may just not worry about it.

I was feeling really frustrated in the video because of Lexi's performance...she has gotten SO much better in terms of turns and collection, and we've gotten better in terms of cuing her, but we were just terrible at the seminar. I'm a bit emotional in general, but at the end of the day I thought I was going to cry because it seemed like we hadn't made any progress at all.

My thought is that we've worked so hard to get tighter turns and collection on grass (we're getting there...sort of), and then we go on rubber and it's a whole different beast...I almost want to say why bother? And just not trial indoors. I know we're limiting ourselves, but we're just a bad team indoors and it's demoralizing.

Also keep in mind that during this run I was told to run the perfect dog, so I wasn't supposed to go back and get her, or correct her, just keep going. I was also being given some instructions as I ran. Basically, don't get hung up on the handling, it sucks. Just check out Lexi's slipping.

WW--Louisville

2011-10-19T04:39:00.000-07:00

Awesome night!

2011-10-12T03:40:00.000-07:00

I am going to preface this by saying that I had just typed up an entire post and it got deleted.

But anyways, we had an awesome night last night. Bentley got his contacts. I couldn't believe it! This was his first time on the equipment since his surgery, and he was awesome! I know they aren't perfect, and we have a long way to go, but I am so proud. We've been waiting on this moment for two years!

And secondly, Lexi was invited to play at flyball with some other club members last night. We had a blast!

I warmed her up by just practicing turns (no ball). They were okay. I think we got two feet about 75% of the time, and some ugly variation of four feet the other 25%. At least she didn't seem scared, she didn't hesitate, and hit the box confidently in some fashion every time.

Then the three other people there lined up and worked in one lane, and we worked Lexi in the lane next to them to see how she would do. We started just by doing restrained recalls. I thought she would be worried, but she ran back and forth to my husband and me with no issues at all. I eventually started sending her to get the ball and she only got worried when one dog came into her lane.

Lastly, we put her into the end of the "rotation" (after the other three dogs). She didn't do any passes, and she didn't trigger the box (we just set the ball on it). But she did great! The first time she had to check out the box loaded (though the box loader did admit to saying her name, so maybe that distracted her?), the second time she dropped the ball, but the third time she was awesome!

The way dogs learn (2o2o)

2011-10-11T04:07:00.000-07:00

I've posted before about how interesting I find it that dogs learn differently.

My two, for example, are night and day when it comes to training and learning.

I remembered a perfect example yesterday.

Lexi misses contacts for one reason, and one alone. She's excited and going too fast and either doesn't slow down, or doesn't slow down in time. When she misses in training, she gets a marker "what happened?" and she does the obstacle again. If she does it correctly, she gets a more positive marker "that's it!" but no treat. She does it a third time, and receives a reward if she does it correctly, and at this point, she always does.

[Background: This entire blog was started to track Bentley's contact progress. I don't have the time (or the patience!) to list the things that we tried and the mistakes that we made, but we have finally settled on re-teaching the 2o2o and were in the early stages when Bentley had his surgery. We are just now getting back into training, and we have him on the down side of a dogwalk plank, and a low a-frame. He's still using targets for some of the time, but we're working on fading them.]

That being said, yesterday we took Bentley out to work on the a-frame. He did well, and we put him back inside to work Lexi. We brought him back out and immediately put him on the a-frame with NO target. You can see in the video what happens, but I knew that as soon as my husband started to do it that it was a bad idea...Bentley missed his contact, though you can see that he stops himself and tries to figure out what he is supposed to be doing (he lays down!). My husband makes him do it again, and Bentley gets his 2o2o. I would have rewarded that, but my husband used Lexi's method, and just gave him a verbal marker, and then asked for it the 3rd time. The 3rd time Bentley jumped. As if he was saying "well, I didn't get it the first 2 times, I should try something else". So, lesson learned. At least until he is more comfortable with the position, he should get rewarded for the correct position, no matter how many attempts.

Sorry about the bad camera work...I was holding Lexi and she was not happy!

Here is a video where in the beginning Lexi comes off her contact. You can see how Jonathan marks it, she does it again, he marks it more positively, and then she does it a 3rd time for a treat.

(Warning: turn your volume down...lots of barking in this one!)In this video I am holding Bentley and he is barking and growling, and an ice cream truck is parked right outside our house playing kids' songs and Christmas Carols!

!

Happy Fall!

2011-10-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

Backyard handling

2011-10-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

I wanted to work on some handling with both dogs. Lexi always needs work, especially on the more technical stuff, and Bentley is rusty so I wanted to see where we stood.

Both dogs did well..though Bentley was a bit rusty (both his fault and ours!) as expected.

We set up this short sequence based on a steeplechase course that we ran back in August.

Here's the video of both dogs, alternating dogs and trying different handling.

Lexi is a few seconds (2-3) faster than Bentley. But the interesting thing was that her run with the FC is much faster (2-3 seconds) than her run with the RC. Definitely a reminder to keep moving. Lateral motion really helps her get her job done.

Also, you can see our outtakes where we just couldn't figure out the timing for Bentley to commit to the jump with a RC. Always a weakness of his, it's gotten worse since we've spent all this time running Lexi.

The other night Lexi got to work on gambles. We rarely work that with her because her default is to work away and grab whatever...but it was her birthday so we let her choose ;)

Here she is doing a masters gamble from a course map that I had. I thought it would be easy, but she really wanted to come out and take that jump across from the tunnel (jump 1) rather than make that turn. We had to work on it!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Lexi!

2011-10-05T17:54:00.000-07:00

Then...

And now...

I love you baby girl!

Flyball introduction to the moving box

2011-10-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight was another good night. I made sure to warm Lexi up first by just doing some up close stuff. We moved back slowly. She did great!

All night she never dropped the ball once. The only issue she had was that if I didn't put the ball she had just brought back into the bucket or in my pocket, she wanted to go get that one rather than the one on the box.

I also made sure to not run with her, but to rev her up (she already knows the get excited command since I use the same one at agility...it gets her spinning and crazy...I say "reeeeeeeeeeeeady!?!?!") and send her.

We did introduce her to a real box. That was interesting. She didn't really like it much even though we didn't actually load the ball (just set it on there). She didn't seem to worry about it or anything, just only wanted to put 2 feet on instead of the 4. So, I put the ball away and just worked with shaping a turn (just like I did at the beginning with cookies). If she put 2 on and turned, small cookie, then I upped the criteria and after just a few tries she was putting 4 feet on again. The turns weren't beautiful, but I was glad she figured it out so quickly, but they were fast and hard (not hesitant or worried) and we ended on that note.

Oh, and tomorrow Lexi turns 2 so we brought cookies to agility class. Our instructor said, "I keep forgetting how young she is. She's still a baby! You guys have tons of time to keep working with her. She's doing great for a 2 year old." I'm reminded how young she is all the time...but it's easy to forget because of how often we work with her.

Bentley's back! Earns a blue ribbon, and DH joins the dark side!

2011-10-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

Here's an update on Lexi's rear end awareness/using her back legs to rotate around a target trick. She's quite good at going this way (not so much the other way!)

And because I can't leave him out anymore, Bentley is back! We have been doing a lot of the ball work, and walking, and slowly allowing him to do longer and longer sequences. It has now been 2 months since his surgery and he's doing great! He does seem to get tired a bit faster, but it's an endurance thing that we are building on. Here's a video of the most he's done in awhile, and he was so happy about it!

I should also add a few other notes here. This past weekend there was a local pet expo where some of our friends were doing a demonstration. We went for fun (it was a lovely fall day) and the dogs really enjoyed it (though they were bummed that they couldn't participate in the agility demo!!)

Jonathan was asked to run our instructor's dog since she was injured, and here he is "joining the dark side"!!

Also, our babies were so well behaved! Bentley won the "Simon Says" contest. Really, it was just a competition of what dogs could do what tricks. Lexi was eliminated because we never taught her to shake. Here are a few pics of Bentley's big win! :)

Flyball fun

2011-09-28T06:20:00.000-07:00

Last night after agility class we had our 15 minute flyball class. I think we're going to try to work in some private lessons next session since they scheduled the only flyball class at the same time as the agility class both dogs are in.

We did do our first full run to the box (it's just a hit it board, still no moving/noisy box), but I was still proud.

We even worked some passing, though in its simplest form. We started with passing recalls, but no real passing, just recalls in quick succession. Lexi had no issue with that, but she didn't want to go get the ball with any other dogs around (hence why in the video she gets really distracted. Prior to the video camera coming out she was the only dog out and was doing great).

Awesome evening!

2011-09-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

I feel like I usually blog negative things...so tonight, a positive post! Lexi had a GREAT night in class!

She nailed every. single. one. of her weave entries (and we did quite a bit of weaving)! She even hit one at a 90 degree angle, with a RC right on top of the weaves. It was a thing of beauty.

Then, our instructor for the night (who doesn't know us as well as our usual instructor) said that since Lexi was more "experienced" and "reliable" that we could try to make the entries a bit harder. I looked at Jonathan like maybe she was talking about a different Lexi!!!

Lexi weaving video

2011-09-26T19:37:00.001-07:00

Here's a video to prove that she's making progress! She would never have made some of these weave entries a month ago...

Weaving issues

2011-09-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

I'm sure I've mentioned this in many other posts, as it has been an ongoing issue with little miss speed demon...she has had a lot of trouble with weave entries. But, it's not as if she doesn't know the entry, or misses the entry. She just blows by them.

My initial thought was that she didn't have enough value for the entrance/poles. So, we worked 2x2s. But, as soon as we got back up to speed, we had a similar problem.

So, then I started thinking that it was collection. She wasn't getting on her rear and collecting to get into the poles. So, we started working on collection and rear end awareness. But, then we started our Contacts & Weaves class, and noticed that she DOES collect and get on her rear for her entry.

I pulled our trainer aside to ask why she felt that Lexi was having this problem, because I wasn't sure what else to do. She suggested that we create a negative consequence for Lexi missing the poles. And by that she suggested maybe pulling her out and marking it, or putting her in a down stay, or even putting her in the crate for a minute to make her think about her mistakes. Her thought was that Lexi doesn't care enough about getting it right. Her reward is agility. So when she makes a mistake, she just gets to go again, which she loves. So she is essentially rewarded for messing up. I think that sort of makes sense, because Lexi does love agility. She would do it for no treats...she clearly just loves to run and do the equipment.

I was a little skeptical about the negative consequence because Lexi, at home, can be quite sensitive. Once my husband yelled at her while they were upstairs, and Lexi went downstairs and refused to come up and just watched him from a distance for the rest of the evening. But on the other hand, when Lexi does agility, she is a different dog. She is happy, confident, and crazy! And clearly, what we're doing is not working. It's clear that Lexi doesn't care if she does it correctly or not.

Well, we tried it one evening. We just started marking her misses a bit more negatively (we used to say "what happened?" in a friendly voice, and we started being a bit more negative) and it was a huge failure. Lexi started to worry. I saw it right away. I felt HORRIBLE. She started to hesitate at the weaves. She might get in, and then start walking. Or she might miss, and just stop and stand there. It was really hard to watch. I know it's a fine line, but I couldn't watch my happy, confident dog start to worry. And maybe I've created this happy, fun-loving monster, but I'd rather that than a dog who second guesses herself. So, we ruled out that approach.

A few weekends ago we drove up to Cleveland for a Stuart Mah seminar. Stuart knows us (and our dogs!) very well. I will try to do a write up of the seminar soon, but we mentioned Lexi's issues to Stuart, and I think he pinpointed it right away. It ties in with everything he has been telling us about her from day 1. She doesn't care about the details. It's too hard to slow down and make an entrance, so she doesn't bother. The harder part is figuring out how to address this. If we were training with Stuart every day, it would be easy...but we're not (see this post to see his previous comments about Lexi's issue with details).

Basically, we're going to try to reward her for coming in and making turns. So for example, if she misses a turn to the weaves, we mark it, then try again but have a cookie out and feed her correctly in line with the weaves (but before them). Easier to see than explain, and also easier to do when Stuart is there!

We'll see how it goes...I think she's doing better already.

More flyball practice

2011-09-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

We went to agility the other night, and followed it up with some flyball. Lexi did fairly well once she knew what to do. We weren't getting any turns on the box, really (just jumping up and getting the ball), and she would only do it from about 2 jumps back, but I'm still proud of her. I think it was difficult for her because she didn't realize that the ball would be there (at home, she sees me put the ball on the box before I send her).

So today we practiced her getting the ball from farther away, and with my husband reloading the box.

A day late...

2011-09-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from our second trip to the park...

Flyball?

2011-09-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

I like to joke that if we had started as a puppy, Lexi would have been better at flyball. She has drive, she loves to go fast, and it doesn't require nearly as much focus (or deceleration!) I'm certainly not saying flyball is easy, but it seems to play more to Lexi's strengths.

Anyways, a friend of ours is a flyball instructor and let us borrow a hit board for fun. I don't think we'll ever seriously compete or anything, but I think Lexi would enjoy it, and it gives us something to practice in the house when it's raining!

Here's a video of her first couple tries on the hit board.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

Contact Proofing (and more ball work)

2011-09-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

As usual, I'm behind on my posts. Did I mention that I just started working again?

Anyways, I did say before that we had started a new class on contacts and weaves. I was pleased with Lexi's work in class, though she did break a few times (when we ran past her, when we FCd the first time) but she quickly learned the drill and seems to be doing much better.

Here's a quick list of some of the things we did in class to practice proofing:

-Run past, FC, BC, RC, throw a treat on the ground, do jumping jacks, say words that sound like the release word, etc..
-Test the dog's recognition of its release word by not moving your body at all, but saying your cue (no problem for Lexi, "okay!" is her favorite word!)

A couple things I tend to forget:

1. Remember, no reinforcement (or even a NRM) if the dog misses and has to be placed back on or has to try again. You can give a marker at that point "Yes, that's it!" but no reward.
2. Always reward the dog looking ahead with a low topline. You can work this my having the dog stretch and reach for the treat a bit. The dog should scoot its front legs to reach.

An interesting thing that I learned (that makes sense) is that dogs are usually more likely to break a 2o2o when the handler uses a front cross versus using a blind cross. This is because a FC puts pressure on the dog, but when you release the pressure (complete the cross), the pressure is released and the dog responds to the release of pressure by breaking. A blind cross never puts pressure on to begin with. Obviously not advocating one over the other, just something to think about (and train for!)

Here's a video of Lexi at home working on some of the things we practiced:

We also worked weaves in class and Lexi did great. Of course, we were only doing straight approaches, but that's when our instructor said that Lexi slowed down, collected, and go on her rear (HOORAY!).

A drill that I found particularly helpful was where you put your dog in a stay and lead out farther and farther into the weaves until eventually you can stand at the end of the weaves, then release your dog and they are to find the entrance and weave entirely on their own. The reason that this is helpful is that it teaches your dog to ignore your motion in the weaves. The weaves are the only obstacle where we want them to do that.

Here's more of Lexi's ball work:

College football

2011-09-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

I love college football. I always have! I grew up an Ohio State fan (my parents both lived in Ohio, my mom was born there), and I went to South Carolina, so I'm also a huge Gamecocks fan.

Anyways, our Saturday game watching has become quite the event. We're loud, tense, and excited...and so are the dogs! If we so much as groan, sigh, stand up, move the edge of our seats, the dogs go crazy! So you can imagine what happens when we actually stand up and cheer and clap and scream.

Here's a video of my husband and the pups cheering after USC beat Georgia yesterday.

Good signs!

2011-09-09T21:28:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind in posting about our daily activities...but having a job is much more tiring than I remembered!

Anyways, just a quick little update. Hopefully this weekend I'll have more time.

Tuesday we started a new class with Lexi (we didn't enter Bentley this session because he isn't ready yet physically) about contacts and weaves. She needs a lot of handling work, but we can't afford more than one class, and Jonathan and I have committed to working on all the RTH positions with her during the week on our own.

I will post more about the class another time, but I had to say that our instructor actually used Lexi as an example while we were doing fast, straight weave approaches, and said "see how Lexi rocked back onto her rear and collected into the weaves?" I thought I would cry. I couldn't believe it! I guess our work is paying off!

And then, another moment of Zen on Bentley's part. As many of you know, we've struggled consistently with his contacts. As a quick recap, we started with 2o2o but he was unmotivated, lacked confidence, and crept down the down side of the equipment. It would take him 10 seconds to come down the a-frame some times! And then, he would creep and jump off and STILL miss the contact. So, we switched to running. It did wonders for his confidence, but then he got too confident and starting jumping (which was partially our fault as we started rewarding jumps by accident) off too early. Now, we're back to 2o2o because it's the only thing holding him back from Standard success!

Anyways, my little boy just doesn't learn quickly or generalize well. He never seemed to get the position, and often just seemed confused despite our best efforts. We had recently started retraining just with a target on the flat, or with little incline. Tonight we took him outside (after over a month off due to his surgery) on the lowered a-frame and he got into position like a champ! He showed true understanding of his job because when he missed it, he slowed down, but couldn't hold it, and got back into position moving his back legs. What a good boy!

Lexi gets on the ball

2011-09-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

A very good friend of mine was kind enough to send us her dog's "rehab kit" to help when Bentley was ready to start working towards agility again. As a quick update, he is doing really well! We are taking him on walks (we started slowly and have increased the duration) and he's doing great! He has shown zero indication of any kind of fatigue or pain, so I think we're doing the right thing by taking it slow and being careful.

Anyways, the kit included everything one might need to start working on Debbie Gross Saunders' "Get on the Ball" system. To quote from her website, " Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner who has focused her career on on the recognition and treatment of injuries in dogs. Her experience led to the creation of the original "Get On The Ball" DVD providing instruction to owners for building strength, balance, flexibility, tone, and endurance in their dogs with an easy to use exercise program." (http://wizofpaws.net/)

The kit included:

--Get on the Ball I and II DVDs
--Egg shaped ball
--2 balance discs (one small one medium)

Bentley was not ready to start working his core when we received the package, so Lexi got to test the equipment out first. I'm very proud of her as she showed no fear or hesitation about working on the ball. For her, we'll work her core a bit, but also use a regular sized exercise ball to build her rear end awareness (see my previous post where we decided she needs to build her rear end strength).

Here's a video of the first time Lexi got on the ball. I was still trying to figure out how to best hold her/support her, so it's a bit shaky! But, she did fine. We've been doing this maybe twice a week, and she is jumping on with confidence (anything for a cookie!)

Bentley, on the other hand, is not so sure. I just started him slowly by putting him on and bouncing him for a few seconds, etc... Though he has been on a handful of times, he still seems worried and uncomfortable. In the stretching exercises he has trouble relaxing and allowing me to stretch him out. But, this is NOT a result of his surgery. He has always been this way--not flexible. It just goes to show how much it helps to get your dog on a variety of surfaces (especially moving ones like the boggle board) at a young age. Lexi definitely benefited from that whereas Bentley is worried and cautious.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

BRAG Trial 8/27-8/29, Lexi only

2011-08-31T12:14:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had another trial here in Columbus. Unfortunately I did not feel comfortable enough with Bentley's recovery to enter him (it hadn't even been a month since his surgery), so he stayed at home while Lexi competed. This was her first trial competing in all advanced classes (she had only been in advanced gamblers before).

First up was Advanced Gamblers. I was feeling pretty confident because this is Lexi's best event. The gamble was tougher than usual (essentially, a very tight pinwheel...but the gamble tape made it really tough). The key, for Lexi at least, was for me to run her towards it, and front cross to send her out through the pinwheel on her own. I knew that if she was on the wrong side, I would have to use too much lateral movement and she would come back across jump 1. Well, halfway through the run I strained a muscle in my quad (not horribly, just enough to totally throw me off) and I couldn't get there to get the front cross in, and as predicted, Lexi didn't make the turn around the pinwheel.

Second was Advanced Standard. Lexi did fairly well, but we definitely noticed a few things (trends as the weekend progressed) that needed work. First of all, she refused the a-frame, which is a fault in advanced. She also dropped a bar (not sure why), and didn't hold her teeter or dogwalk contact. Naughty girl! You can also see her thinking really hard on the table trying to remember what to do...you can tell that we haven't practice the table in MONTHS! Despite that, Jonathan got a nice lateral send at the beginning, and a RC in to the weaves.

The following run was Advanced Jumpers. I didn't run because my leg was feeling really sore, so Jonathan ran Lexi...and Qd! But, the Q isn't what amazed me...I was amazed because of Lexi's progress. She listened, didn't go of course, and gave Jonathan some nice turns. She also ran 6 YPS--amazing! It's runs like these that remind me why we work so hard...baby girl has so much potential!

The final run of the first day was Steeplechase. Encouragingly, the course did not look too technically challenging, and my leg was feeling better so we gave it a shot. Sure, it wasn't clean, but again, I saw some great things out of Lexi. I got a nice lateral send at jump 3 (she didn't even look at the jump after that one...progress!) She did refuse the a-frame again, and missed her weave entry. She got an off-course, but it was my mistake. I pushed her out too far and didn't decelerate enough. But at the end, we got some awesome distance as Lexi totally out paced me and accelerated through the end as I told her to go on.

The following day we started with Jumpers. Lexi had another great run. At the end I hesitated a bit (couldn't decide whether or not I needed to rear cross) and Lexi hesitated, and missed the second to last jump. Totally handler error. So again, I was very proud of her efforts! She also flying during this run. I pulled her off of the jump after the tunnel, too (I was worried I'd push too far, and over compensated). But again, saw some really nice stuff!

Lexi's following two runs don't even deserve video evidence, but not because of her. In Standard Jonathan held her attention too long and set her off course on the third obstacle. Then, she pulled off of her contact on the a-frame and Jonathan (possibly inadvertently?) backed up and she got back into her 2o2o. He was excused for training in the ring.

The second mishap was in Snooker. Jonathan had a good plan, and was executing it well. Lexi dropped a red, so Jonathan headed to another red to make up for it. However, he was whistled. Apparently this course's rules were to attempt ONLY 3 reds (Lexi dropped one, and Jonathan went and attempted a fourth). However, the judge didn't mention it in the briefing, and the club did not have enough maps for everyone, and we ended up not getting one (we looked at it afterwards and it said "Attempt 3 of 4 reds"...why the judge didn't mention it in the briefing is beyond me). Again, not Lexi's fault, and pretty frustrating.

We did end the weekend on a good note. Lexi ran with her "friend" Drew, the corgi, and our friend Becky Dean. Although not the prettiest run (I gave Lexi NO information on a rear cross), I was pleased because I got semi-collection at the beginning when I asked for her to do a foundation RTH after the first jump.

Rear end strength

2011-08-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

You'll remember that we had been trying the 2x2 weave method with Lexi. I think the method itself did help her to see the weaves, but she was still was having trouble making tougher entries, and just didn't seem able to hang on if she did get them.

After speaking with our instructor, she confirmed what I've suspected is the issue...Lexi doesn't know how to use her rear to slow down and collect/shift her body weight. So, we've started addressing this issue on the flat to build rear strength AND awareness.

In the past week or so, I've been working with Lexi to teach her to back up and to teach her to rotate around a target with her back legs. I'm very pleased with the results so far, and documented our week in a few short videos (these videos are not all of our sessions, but the majority of them).

Backing up:

I need to continue to work her backing up to add more distance, and I'd eventually like to teach her to back up steps.

Rotating:

As for the rotation, I am only able to get her to rotate one way...I'm not sure why. I have tried and tried but can't get her to turn the opposite direction.

Disappointing Final Class

2011-08-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

Last night we had our final class. The set up was a full course (jumpers with DW) with multiple sends and recalls to be identified and then performed. I have been working on these with Lexi for the past few weeks. Clearly she hasn't mastered them, but she did not run one segment of course correctly. She cut behind us multiple times, failed to read our body language, etc... It was really frustrating. I expressed that I was frustrated because I felt that as handlers, we had broken a dog with a lot of potential. Unfortunately, I think our instructor agreed (not that Lexi was broken, but that she could be really good with the correct instruction.) She even said, "I really like her..and I don't normally like dogs other than my own". Sigh.

I asked her if she thought Lexi had improved over the 7 week course. She said yes. But, she said that she felt like we as handlers had improved more than Lexi has as far as getting her the correct information. I guess that's good. We can't teach her if we don't know what we're doing, so we'll have to keep working on it.

I'll post the "course map" with analysis another time.

I am attaching 2 videos from a segment some friends of mine are calling "How would you handle this?" My friend went to a Daisy Peel seminar, and was presented with some tough sequences.

Here is how I would handle them...

Apparently I misread both course maps, so here are the "actual" sequences, and how I would handle them.

Recall to heel video

2011-08-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is a video with a short clip of each recall to heel position. Remember that Lexi has by no means perfected this (in fact, her collection still isn't what I want) but you get the idea!

BRAG Trial 7/29-7/30 Tournament Trial

2011-08-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

I have been procrastinating sharing this video for a number of reasons. First and foremost after the second day of the trial we lost a friend, Dave Seeger. Dave was a USDAA judge whom we had met previously at a trial in Charleston. He was super friendly, and my husband and I had the privilege to take him out to dinner--and we thoroughly enjoyed his company. He encouraged us to give him a call as soon as we moved to Columbus, and we did.

After our move he was extremely welcoming, and offered to be our third teammate on our DAM team. Saturday evening he went home and had a heart attack. Though I would not say that Dave and I were close, it was extremely sad, and incomprehensible.

Dave clearly loved the sport, and inspired a sense of fun and camaraderie in everyone he met. Needless to say the outcome of the weekend became completely secondary, though we went on to run Sunday in his honor.

Completely tertiary were the extremely difficult courses (had I known I would not have entered the baby dog) and poor handling on my behalf as a handler.

Nevertheless, I created this blog to track our progress, so here are the runs from the day. I made one video for both dogs since they ran the same courses.

Bentley's Surgery

2011-08-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

I thought I would do a quick post regarding Bentley's health.

As some of you may know, Bentley ate part of an antique leather box while we were in Virginia visiting family (a whirlwind trip for my grandmother's funeral). The box wasn't big, but the leather expanded in Bentley's stomach and caused an obstruction.

The day after surgery:

He underwent surgery a little over a week ago (8/8). Luckily for all of us it did not progress to his intestines, and the surgery was not as bad as it could have been. The vet told us that it took them 30 minutes to remove all the leather.

Gross! This is only a portion of what they removed.

He is already doing much better, and has had no issues now that we are transitioning him back to dry food. (We were feeding wet, prescription food). However, he is still (obviously) on crate rest, and has been basically living in an x-pen ever since. Now that he is feeling better he thinks that he is fully capable of doing things like chasing the cat and jumping on the couch.

"Let me out!"

He will have his staples removed Monday (14 days after surgery). We will start rehab (slowly!) at that time. He will not be on any agility equipment for at least 2 months.

Staples:

RTH Positions

2011-08-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

I'm sort of disappointed with myself because after several classes (and new positions learned) I was feeling confused and a bit frustrated. I wanted to be able to express myself on here regarding some of the positions...but I didn't. So, I'm going to try to keep up from now on.

More RTH Positions:

Directed Jumping:
Drills: Set dog up off center from jump (not directly in front of). Handler lines up across from dog (again, not parallel with jump). Handler’s arm is out (towards the jump) and “directs” the dog over the jump, though the handler never crosses the plane of the jump themselves.

270:
Drill: Set dog up parallel to jump bar (near foot of jump). Handler lines up in center of jump, across from the dog (landing side). The handler can reach of the jump and call the dog as the handler turns. The dog has to get on their rear to jump to the owner’s leg.

Serpentine:
Drill: Dog is set parallel to jump bar. Handler pushes the dog over the jump, shoulders facing forward and rewards as the dog jumps diagonally over the jump and lands parallel to the bar with no change in direction.

Notes: This was particularly difficult for Lexi. So, I took some time and practiced at home using two jumps (a bit more "realistic", but we did start with 1 jump). After several repetitions, she has figured it out. This one was actually easier for her to pick up on than it seemed. This video was our first "successful" attempt, so it's a bit dirty, and you can see me stop and wait for her, etc...

Backy Uppy:
Drill: Handler remains on takeoff side of jump. Facing the dog, legs apart. Again asking for true collection. The handler steps back with the leg near the dog (but does not cross the plane of the jump). The handler opens up and uses their arm, then feeds at the heel position. If you do not open up enough, the dog does not technically have “permission” to take the jump since the dog shouldn’t technically ever cross behind you. This handling move is often incorrectly used. In reality it is rarely used.

Extension:
Drill: Place dog farther from the jump. The handler faces forward (again, farther from the jump). The handler is asking for extension—the only of the positions where that is the case. The handler puts the recall leg backwards and looks over that shoulder. The handler lowers the hand on that side and rewards the dog for coming to the hand. Although we are asking for extension, the dog still needs to collect at the handler’s side and not swing out or pass the handler.

Here are some notes that might make more sense.

2x2 Weaves Compilation

2011-08-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

We decided to go back to some of the earlier steps in the 2x2 weave method. Lexi was still not getting her entries at certain angles. Here is a video documenting her re-training of the beginning few steps.

You'll notice that she still has trouble if she is on our left circling around to get the entry. She almost always goes in at the second pole.

When training this, it's like she doesn't seem to realize that she has missed it. She will do this over and over and over again. Once she gets it, and gets her reward, I'm still not sure that she understands why she was rewarded this time and not the time before.

Now that we are on a full set, I'm seeing MUCH better entries all around, but her entries from the left side from an arc are still 50/50 at best. I'm not sure what to do about that. I may go back to the channel method and open up the second pole.

Recall to heel (foundation)

2011-08-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

6 Recall Positions:
1. Foundation Recall to Heel (RTH)
2. Directed Jumping
3. 270
4. Extension
5. Serpentine
6. Backy up

Foundation RTH:

Drills: The dog is placed in a stay in front of a jump (though this is just the RTH in its most basic form, it can be used when the dog is moving), the handler moves across the jump facing the dog, and turns the outside leg sideways (the inside foot is facing the dog/jump). The idea is to get close to true collection. True collection is when the dog takes off for the jump at the jump’s height, and lands at the jump’s height’s distance away from the jump. So for our dogs, the dog jumps at around 16” from the jump, over the 16” jump, and lands 16” from the jump. The idea is that the handler lines up around 16” beyond the jump to force collection.

Two problems are often seen when working this drill.
1. Swinging: The dog aims for your back leg and swings itself over the bar.
2. Diving: The dog aims for your front leg and pivots into position.

In other words, the dogs attempt to use their athleticism to get into place.
To fix the aforementioned issues, try first working this drill on the flat.
a) First, recall and feed when the dog is facing you
b) Then, shorten the distance

To stop diving, the handler can move to the side (rather than the center). Sometimes you can correct one issue and create the other.

These drills are designed to help the handler know their footwork and also to build the dog’s jumping skills.

System Recap

2011-07-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

5 Different Motion Cues:
1. No motion
2. Forward (Accel)
3. Deceleration
4. Lateral
5. Backwards

What type of motion is used for a forward send? Deceleration

What type of motion is used for a lateral send? Lateral

When executing a forward or lateral send, a t what point relative to a jump must you begin your motion as a turning cue? Prior to the point of commitment

Why does the dog not refuse the jump? Because of the balance of additional forward cues: Shoulders forward, verbal cue, hand motion, eyes, etc…

The timing of the motion cue is more important than the location cue.

6 Cues to provide the dog with information:
1. Motion
2. Location
3. Shoulders
4. Eye contact
5. Hand
6. Verbal

When handling, your job is to create a balance of cues telling the dog where to go in a timely manner.

What is the balance of forward cues and turning cues for each skill?
Skill: Forward Send

Turning Cues:
1. Motion (Deceleration)
2. Location (Handler stays on take off side of jump)
Forward Cues:
1. Shoulders (Facing forward)
2. Hand signal
3. Eyes
4. Verbal

Skill: Lateral Send
Same as Forward

More LM information

2011-07-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

Sends & Recalls
1. Lateral Sends: Lateral movement cues the dog
a. Keep your shoulders square to the jump until the dog commits

2. Drills:
a. One jump drills
i. Set the dog up 8’-10’ in a stay. Stand so that you can touch the jump (on the dog’s side). Release the dog at the same time as you step laterally (side stepping). As the dog commits to the jump, turn 90 degrees and step forward, and reward the dog at your side

5 Motion Cues:
1. Forward/Acceleration
2. Deceleration
3. No Motion
4. Backwards
5. Lateral

Tips for Lexi and Bentley:
a. When making a turn, keep eye contact while moving forward
b. Use arms earlier to signal that a turn (or cross) is coming

2x2 Weaves Continued

2011-07-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

We have continued to work Lexi on Susan Garrett's 2x2 Weave Pole system. I already have a complaint about it...it's billed as "12 Poles in 12 Days" and that is SO unrealistic for the average dog/handler. The idea is that you work several short sessions per day, but I find that we are having to stay at certain "Days" longer than others.

We've been on Day 4 now for about 4 days! This is the day where the second set of two poles comes into play, and comes closer and closer to the first set of 2, until they are weaving a straight set of four poles. We made it there, but I wasn't getting the entries I was hoping for (the whole reason that we're doing this!) I think we need to take a step back. Today and tomorrow I plan on working on some of the harder entries. I'll start by going back to two poles only, and working tough entries keeping my reward line consistent. I'll also go ahead and add the second set (keeping the first angled) and reward for the entry of the first set. Then, I'll move the two sets close together, but keep the first set angled so Lexi can be successful getting her entry into the four. Hopefully that will keep her learning. She did see a couple sets of 6 and 12 last night in our practice, and I felt like she was hitting entries more frequently, but still missing the majority of the time when we were coming at any angle at all.

Here's the video of a few sessions in the past few days:

The Linda Mecklenburg Experiment Begins

2011-07-11T20:08:00.000-07:00

This week Jonathan and I started classes at a new facility. I will be honest in saying that I have been skeptical, and hesitant to start classes at this facility because they are serious Linda Mecklenburg followers. For those who know me know that I don't follow a handling system. We have worked closely with Stuart Mah, but to say he has a system isn't entirely correct. In fact, I have almost felt opposed to using a system because I don't like the idea of there being only one way to do things. I also like using verbal commands, while LM emphasis positioning very heavility. I also don't like what I see when many LM followers seem to use a lot of FCs and their dogs run slowly rather than driving ahead (this is NOT entirely accurate, just some of the negatives that I have seen in some dogs).

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed our classes tonight. I learned a lot in those two classes, and a lot more about the fundamentals of dog training than I have in quite some time.

I have decided to use this blog to outline the things that we learn, not only as a journal, but also as a resource for me. I am learning, but I don't just want to "monkey see monkey do". I want to read through the information, understand the reasoning, and compare processes.

Without further ado, here are my notes from the two classes. (Note: Sends & Recalls is Lexi's class, and Competition Silver is Bentley's class):

The Linda Mecklenburg Experiment:

Sends & Recalls:
1.) Sends: Not a “distance” thing, but asking the dog to take a jump in front of them.
a. Forward and Lateral Sends
b. Decelerate early. Decelerating indicates a turn, not a shoulder turn. The shoulders remain facing the jump until the dog has committed. A dog’s natural tendency is to turn into you when you decelerate as long as there is no lateral movement.
c. Leading out off of a contact only allows you to accelerate. Going from stopped to moving is always acceleration. Better to hang back and show actual deceleration.

2.) Drills:
a. One jump drills using both forward and lateral sends.
a. For lateral sends, place the jump in a corner which forces the dog to curl tightly around the jump.
b. For forward sends, place the dog in a stay and back up behind the dog. Start running (motion) and release the dog as you begin to decelerate (stop before they commit).

Comp Silver:
1.) 4 Different Kinds of Rear Crosses
a. Forward Moving: Maintain forward acceleration beyond the obstacle, driving to the next. The handler needs to keep pace with the dog (rather than accelerating past, or pushing the dog ahead) to allow acceleration.
b. Lateral Movement: Lateral movement is what shows a dog that you are rear crossing to a particular side.
c. Deceleration: Handler drives ahead of the dog, then forward sends the dog (see previous) to cue a turn. Then the lateral motion indicates the direction of the turn.
d. No motion: Similar to a decelerating rear cross, but when the handler is way ahead of the dog.

The instructor remarked that Bentley does not seem to know the difference between the 4 mentioned rear crosses. This is likely true. We worked so hard to get Bentley to move ahead and away from us, that rear crosses were taught (and performed) in the most basic of ways.

2x2 Weaves

2011-07-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

I am finally starting to catch up on the videos that I have.

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:

Lexi: Handler/Obstacle Focus and a Clicker Challenge

2011-07-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

The dogs enjoy a trip to Schiller Park in German Village.

I think I mentioned this, but since I'm behind I'm just mass-dumping the videos that I have on my computer from the past couple months. Here's a quick one of Lexi in the yard working on turns from the tunnel.

And, here's another one of me teaching Lexi to put herself into a box. She's a little unsure, and clearly doesn't know much about her back legs. So, it was definitely a good exercise. After this, I tried to get her to do it again, and she didn't get it. So it's a work in progress. I want to teach her to stand on something, and pivot with her back feet (great for rear end awareness!) so this was sort of the foundation for that. (I should also point out that Lexi is not really clicker trained. This was her first time using the clicker for shaping a behavior. She definitely is not afraid of offering!)

Collection exercises

2011-07-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

Everyone loves to tell us that Lexi needs to learn to collect. Unfortunately, being novice handlers, it's something that we're still learning how to do. This started with one of our lessons with Stuart where we learned that Lexi is always jumping in extension, and it causes her to take wide turns, and sometimes knock bars.

Unfortunately, an hour with Stuart isn't enough to fix the issue, it's something that takes constant work. I could list the things that we've done with Lex to work on this, but I don't think there's enough room (or time) on this blog! Jump grids have played a big role, as have jump boxes, working on tight turns, turns out of tunnels, using a command to indicate a change ("shhh"), but nothing has shown us a great deal of success. But! We aren't giving up.

I spoke with a friend of ours who recommended working on the flat some to reward staying with us and reading speed changes. Lexi read our speed changes very well. It's almost like when she sees the obstacles, she loses her mind. But, I've come to find that a great deal of it is because of my poor timing, so I'm trying to improve as well.

This issue also pops up when working weaves. You may have noticed that at our last trials, the weaves have been an issue. Lexi consistently goes wide and misses her entrance. It isn't because she doesn't know how to enter (she does), it's because entering from an angle often forces her to slow down, and she chooses not to. So she swings out wide, and enters when it's easier for her. So, we're working on that as well. I think the future holds some 2x2 weave training to help with that.

Here are a few drills that we worked on last month:

Okay, I forgot that YouTube doesn't show my captions. Here is what we worked on, in order:
1-- Circle work, rewarding for attention to speed changes
2--Circle work, including crosses
3--Circle work, then a send, rewarding a tight turn
4--Collection with jumps, rewarding collection
5--Collection prior to the weaves
6--Big scary neighbor dog comes out, forcing us to stop. Also, forces us to put up a fence.

Trial: BRAG Bentley

2011-07-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

Alright, here are Bentley's videos from the same weekend...

Bentley: Masters Snooker Q
Woohoo--Bentley is a Snooker Champion now! He got his 10th Masters Snooker Q with another Super Q (he didn't need it!)

Bentley: Steeplechase Q
Darn that a-frame...but still a Q!

Bentley: Masters Gamblers
Well, we all knew gamblers was not his thing! The weaves were just too far out there, and the "corrected" teeter prior to the send just didn't set him in the right mentality.

Bentley: Masters Jumpers
Bentley handled really nicely here. I ended up on the wrong side, and mishandled my RC which caused him to refuse the jump. But other than that, he was moving nicely and I felt like our crosses were nicely timed.

Bentley: Masters Standard
A good run...I was proud because you can see that he tries to slow down at the bottom of the contact, but he slips and jumps off the side. I'll take that over a flying leap, which is what we had been getting. (This is his first time on rubberized contacts)

Bentley: Masters Standard (Day 2)
Ugly. Missed both A-frame and dogwalk, then headed back to the table in a tricky section towards the weaves (Jonathan's fault as he's opened up to the table completely). Then he turned too soon off a cross and missed a jump.

Bentley: Steeplechase Finals ($22!)

And I won't post it, but I got lost on the Masters Pairs course and cost our team a Q (DUH). Can you tell I was exhausted? I've never done that before! Sorry, partner!

Trial: BRAG, Lexi

2011-07-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

The first weekend in June was our first trial in Columbus, only a week after moving in. In retrospect, I think the dogs were a little overwhelmed by so many new things in a short time, but I was proud of the focus that they showed (some of the time!) Even I must have been tired because I actually forgot the course in Masters Pairs, costing us a Q (sorry partner!)

Originally, I didn't upload several of the videos because they were so bad...but I guess I better share the good AND the ugly. This time, I created different videos for different runs. Enjoy.

Lexi: Starters Jumpers Q

Jumpers is one of the toughest events for Lexi and me. I actually had another competitor tell me that that is normal for a dog like her (fast and obstacle focused). I am constantly "managing" her, and I think that can be frustrating. That being said, this was her best run all weekend. She listened!

Lexi: Steeplechase
If it weren't for the trouble at the weaves, she would have Qd! She handled nicely for Jonathan. We are going to retrain weaves using 2x2 to teach her to slow for her entries. She also dropped a bar at the end. The bar drop added 5 seconds to her time, and if I remember correctly, she

Lexi: Starters Jumpers
The beginning was ugly, but there was some nice parts (her getting out to those pinwheels).

Lexi: Advanced Gamblers
I'm proud of my girl for this run. It was her first Advanced level run, and she did well. In fact, if it hadn't been for the dogwalk mishaps, it would have been a Q! This was her first time on rubberized contacts, and I think the grip was different from what she was expecting, and she couldn't hang on. She was a brave girl and tried a couple times until I stopped asking her. She got the gamble (which I thought was hard--the far end of the tunnel) just didn't have the points.

Lexi: Starters Standard
Started off on a bad note when she dropped the first bar. Jonathan babysat the entrance to the dogwalk because of her issues in gamblers, and it caused her to drop the bar. Then he was late on the RC, and it just didn't go well! I'm not too upset about the teeter because this teeter is really heavy, so it takes a long time to fall. Lexi has been trained to run down the teeter until it falls...which she did! She just ended up all the way at the end before it started to fall.

Lexi: Starters Standard Q
Thank goodness for loooong course times in starters! This was a bad run as well, but because she somehow made it under time, it was enough for a Q and her AD title. Notice she has another issue with the dogwalk here. The slats are under the rubber coating, which I think made her think it was the teeter (especially after what happened on the teeter the day before). I think she slowed at the top, expecting it to drop.

Lexi: Starters Snooker
After Lexi got her AD title, any starters events were moot (just for fun) since she would be moving up afterwards. For some reason my husband decided it would be fun to try something more difficult. Didn't go so well! Our obstacle focused girl proved true to form and just picked the closest obstacles each time.

Lexi: Starters Pairs Q
Another issue with the weave entries, but other than that she did fine. I forgot the course for a brief second, so was lucky that we didn't get an off course.

Obstacle v. Handler Focus

2011-07-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

I love the Backyard Dogs drills found in Clean Run. Here's one by Stuart Mah that we found was really great for our dogs. Not too hard to set up (or remember!) and great for both dogs, though each have different skills to work on.

One thing that we found is that Lexi responds a bit too much to pressure. Specifically, at 1:07, she pushes out to the far jump only because Jonathan is turning, and therefore opened up a little bit to the far jump. I'm not sure how to fix this, because if I add a command for close (we use "here") then am I just babying her incorrect tendencies? Shouldn't it be the opposite...that she only goes out if I say "out", but naturally stays with us? I'm not sure. The same holds true at 4:45 (Sequence 5).

I've also noticed, from watching a lot of these, is that our timing as handlers really needs work. For Lexi, we're too slow and she turns and responds well, but we need to make sure we are asking for turns sooner. For Bentley, we tend to stomp on the brakes, and that causes him to pull in.

A bit behind! May LCDA Trial

2011-07-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

We've moved (from SC to OH!), so I've fallen very behind in my blogging. I'm going to slowly update.

In May we participated in our very last agility trial at Low Country Dog Agility. I will definitely miss all of our friends. It was so nice to be surrounded by a group of people that have been with us since the beginning of our agility journey.

Bentley:
Bentley had a nice weekend. He (finally!) got his Jumpers Master title with his 5th Masters Jumpers Q, and his Snooker Champion (10 Masters Snooker Qs which includes 3 SuperQs). He also got a Masters Pairs Q. Oh! And even better...in Masters Standard he only had 1 refusal one day! It wasn't pretty by any means, but he did get both contacts. Hooray.

When we move he is going to contact boot camp (in the yard!)

Lexi:
In the end, Lexi got her Starters Gamblers title with her 3rd Q, and she also got Qs in Starters Pairs, Starters Standard, and Starters Snooker. She now just needs 1 more Standard Q to get her AD (Agility Dog) title. And she was SO close this weekend...she misjudged a jump completely and the bar dropped.

Obviously she has some collection issues, but she honestly did great for a baby dog and I couldn't be more proud!

Ketschker's turn

2011-04-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

After reading about Ketschker's turns online I decided to give them a shot with our dogs.

First of all, the best way to describe a Ketschker is to say that it is a combination of a front cross followed by a blind cross. You set it up by starting to front cross but you don't complete it and instead finish with a blind cross. But, you don't actually switch sides of your dog.

Sounds confusing...it makes more sense to see it.

I had heard that it really benefits dogs with longer strides, which surprisingly is true of my Lexi. It is said to make turns more efficient and to increase acceleration out of the turn.

Here were our first attempts with both dogs (suffice to say that we won't be using this with Bentley--but it was fun to try!):

April LCDA Trial

2011-04-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

This time I made one video for each dog (not sure if that's better than 1 video per run?) so there are little comments before each one.

Here is Bentley's:

I was incredibly happy that he got a Steeplechase Q (it was ugly, but there was only one other dog that didn't get eliminated!), and a Masters Jumpers Q. He now only needs 1 more for his Jumpers Master. He also got 2 of 3 dogwalk contacts this weekend--wow! Of course the one he didn't get was the important one (Standard), but oh well. So proud. He finished the weekend with a Steeplechase Q, a Steeplechase Finals win (made $12!), a Masters Jumpers Q, and a Masters Pairs Q.

And here are Lexi's:

Lexi was great. Her attention and contacts deteriorated as the days went on, but I expected that. She still didn't miss a contact, so that's great. We can always go back to targets and holding her 2o2o in practice. She also had weave pole issues occasionally, but I expected that too. The only run that was truly ugly was her Steeplechase run, but I think it was just too much for her (wide turns, anyone?) She was such a good girl. She finished the weekend with two Starters Gamblers Qs, a Starters Standard Q, a Starters Pairs Q, and a Starters Jumpers Q.