The Spotted Devil

I would say latent learning :)

Well said Vickie. I feel exactly the same way :)

Glad to be of help :) The blind cue is an interesting one because you name the behaviour before you've got it perfect which goes against the grain. Try and get a rhythm going - heel, blind, yes, send. That seems to help too - and it's when Em started to break that I knew she understood - the anticipation and the excitement just got to her. And you really have to build value for the blind because of the lack of movement and chase. Even working Labs need to switch between marks and blinds to increase motivation so try that also. Hot blinds are known blinds and are really about setting the dog up for success - so in a novel environment we might walk the dog out on the exact line we want the dog to take, place dummy/game, walk the dog back and send as if it were a cold (unknown) blind. I do this at every trial with Em after competition has finished - I use a run from Restricted as the judges set some interesting challenges. The other thing we do is set up the same blinds in exactly the same place every day and rotate though them until the dog is really smooth. Move them and start again. The other benefit is that the dogs take the same line but under different weather conditions so they learn to run into the wind, for example, which they are not fussed on. You can have a pile of dummies and send the dog out to the pile repeatedly.....increasing the distance you send from each time. You can throw a mark, send the dog, take a break and send to the same place as a blind. Lots of different ways of reinforcing the same concept. You don't ever want a young dog coming back without a dummy in training - they need to succeed so we use a helper to toss another dummy in the same area or call the dog into the area. Some people also train blinds using a flag and then make it smaller and smaller until it's gone - not my preference but it does suit some dogs/trainers. I don't have a link to the lining drill but I've always meant to do another video - when I get back from O/S!

bedazzledx2 - teaching a blind is often underestimated I suspect. I think it's a pretty tough concept but it's awesome when the penny drops! I suggested to Leopuppy04 to start with a simple wagon wheel exercise to build confidence - I was able to show her in person which helps but the idea is to start with 4 items at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock. Work on heeling the dog in a tight circle to pick up each item. Repeat turning the other way. Then you can tighten the angles. Then work on distance and add sighted vs unsighted. The thing is, we do heaps of sighted blinds and hot blinds first which helps pattern the dog I guess and teach them that there is always a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Does that help? Also try to ensure head and shoulders are square to the retrieve - I know you can't adjust in a trial (hence SH's use of the hand to direct) but it would probably help in training. When the dog starts to understand they will "lock on" to the retrieve. Unmistakeable when you see it. Sorry more thoughts - when I started I'd walk out with Em, drop a dummy, say "blind", walk back, set her up, say "blind", mark "yes" for locking on, line with the hand and send. Lots of repetition. This is all before wagon wheels. There's a great lining drill that helped her understanding - place around half a dozen dummies in a straight line - white, white, orange, white, orange, white and send the dog out so they pick up one after the other, going further out each time. The white ones draw them out and they "fall over" the unseen orange ones - good for building concept.

Fantastic fetchin' Well done! Just arrived in Vienna - trying to stay awake to sort my body clock out! In Europe for 3 weeks (conference plus holiday) then on to USA for about a month (work). Will try not to miss the menagerie too much - I know they are in excellent hands :)

Good luck with the event - hope you get a good turn out. This thread has gone very quiet lately! I'm not doing much with Em as I leave on Sunday and won't be home for nearly 2 months....poor Mr TSD

Interesting. I don't have enough experience to comment on that - look forward to other opinions.

I think, in terms of stepping, the dogs choose the system that suits them best. Ziggy single steps and you can see he is really comfortable with it. I think Em bounces through and, again, that suits her body shape. They were both trained using 2x2 method. I do prefer to see the dogs carrying their head down lower - placement of reward is pretty important when training but I would imagine it would be a difficult habit to break if holding their head up has become a patterned behaviour.

sheena - also get some video of training sessions and of trials. I was just looking at a video of me running my dogs....what was I thinking??????

My youngster is slower and much more hesitant in her weaves at trials - at home and at the club she is like a little dynamo. In her case I suspect she finds the trialling environment quite overwhelming - she can keep an eye on all the activity around her when she's jumping but the weaves require absolute focus. I notice she has a quick look around at the top of the A-frame as well. Her attitude on other equipment is awesome and she is getting faster as her confidence improves. I am starting to ask much more of her at home in terms of distractions and will undertake an "on-the-road weaves program" when I return from overseas. Ziggy can now weave at home with some pretty heavy distractions (e.g. calling and shaking his tug toy off to the side and running in the opposite direction) and it has made a world of difference to his weaves at trialling - he nailed a tough entry coming out of an Open Jumping distance challenge on Saturday so it's really paying off.

My two are polar opposites in every way...looks, activity levels, training style, snuggle factor, playing style and off switch (the busy Springer has the best one). They get on very well and I love working and living with their differences.

Yes! That's the one! I passed their gazebo with Em's prizes on the way back to my set up and they were so excited to see that she'd won it :laugh: Really nice people and seemed to know their stuff.

kallistar, do you mean the fit ball type things? I Em won one at the Agility Nationals - it was donated by a local company - can try and find out the name if you like. Clean Run is pretty quick with their orders but postage can be a killer unless it's a free postage deal.

Nice to meet you yesterday BBJ!

Oh I'm sorry to hear that sad news SwaY 20 months is too young.

I use Cottage Kennels in Plenty, which is quite handy as it's on the way to the airport. I'm heading O/S in a few weeks but will drop them off the day before we leave as they don't open on Sundays. Very secure kennels and plenty of time in the outdoor runs, particularly in off-peak, which is when I try to go away. My 2 have stayed there once before - obviously they were pleased to be home but they hadn't lost or put on weight, were very clean and quite fit. I really liked the fact that when I emailed and asked how they were going they responded very honestly - the Dally was great with people but very slow to eat whilst the Springer was very shy and quiet but was wolfing her food down. That's exactly the behaviour I would have expected from both dogs in such a novel environment so the fact that they were aware of it was great. I also send Zig's food along (for health reasons) and they were happy to feed it. Plus 2 coats as he feels the cold and they came back washed as well.

That is no mean feat PME - congratulations on all your hard work A mighty achievement!!!

That's fantastic TO - see you Saturday I imagine! ness - congratulations - the old girl's got a bit more to give I reckon Thanks Tassie - slacked off after the nationals so didn't expect a lot. I'm going to miss training and trialling soooo much!

We just arrived home from a lovely day of agility trialling in Bendigo - I drove there last night and camped as I couldn't face driving 2.5 hours this morning! Well run trial, a few catalogue hiccups but that was all fixed with a smile - great team of stewards Ziggy ran beautifully all day - I feel very spoilt. He tugged before and after every run, even in the presence of awesome jackpots, until he was released. A qually in each of Masters Jumping and Masters Agility plus a 2nd place qually in Open Jumping. Another ripper Open Agility run but he must have just missed the A-frame contact. Miss Em ran with more and more confidence and speed as the day progressed. I have held off tugging at trials but she let me know she was ready today by pinching Zig's tug and shaking the sh!t out of it :laugh: AD and JDX courses were really tough - no quallies for Em but she still picked up a 1st place and 2nd place. Some really nice work but a tipped bar here and there makes all the difference!

Great! Sounds you have heaps of help anyway

RS and MG - I'm assuming you've worked through backchaining the retrieve?

I made the most of Clean Run's free shipping last Christmas.....it's very light which suits me as I have to train at the oval. I bought enough so I could do double box work - uprights for jumps (doubles as weaves), jump bars, jump cups, a set of screw in the ground weaving poles plus a big bag. Really cheap and great quality.

RS - really hope your girl is on the mend soon. Sounds like you have plenty of help for the bird chomping issues too so keep the faith!

Wonderful weekend for you fetchin' - congratulations Em had a role in a short film over the weekend - a very different experience for her but I broke up her time in front of the camera under hot lights with retrieving drills on the lawn. She just loved it and they really helped shake off the pressure of doing each scene over and over and over and over and..... :laugh:

Wow Tassie! I'm so thrilled for you What wonderfully consistently brilliant dogs you have there!!!! Congratulations