Ptolomy

gloves is a stupid exercise.....gloves is a stupid exercise.....gloves is a stupid exercise........gloves is a stupid exercise....... Translated means I need to train gloves better......I need to train gloves better......I need to TRAIN GLOVES!!!!!! Beans has been in a mental meltdown all week - it seems to happen with all my kids at some point in their training - all the messages become scrambled and even the simplist of tasks become a mountain. Training this week has been a case of patch and repair, lower the criteria, and in the end reward for anything :D Tonight was our last trial of the year and Beans is entered in UD - this was her second outing so in view of the weeks meltdown I go in with the view to use it as a training round and help her out where necessary and if it all goes really pearshaped then to pull out. Well, sit in the box becomes an optional extra - so we get pinged a substantial x 2. She doesn't sit when returning with the first scent article - so another substantial - but she is hanging in there. Her heel work in signals is not as pushy as usual but we get through it, leaving us still on a pass JUST with just the gloves exercise left - we get glove # 1 - so trying to help her out I underturn, give her direction and send her - she heads towards the glove, gets half way there, sights glove # 2 and then veers right, and brings that one back. ARGH BUT boy am I happy with this little Beans - she has come a long way in the last 12 months and I still say she will be my best trialling dog Goodonya Beans and Scoota you better watch out - Beans is coming out to get ya.

LOL - do I get to vet it first????? and do we call it the Bloopers by the 3 stoogers

BUT Leopuppy you left out the most important bit....... What did you wear????? BIG Congratulations on the agility passes The sequencing issues in UD is a novice dog thing, hopefully with some training over the summer he will come out firing in 2010 - Well done on your years results

Nice work Pax How old is your dog and do you train with Steve Davies??

Hmm maybe vetting should not be the the dog, but rather what the handler is wearing

UM dare I ask what you will be wearing

The Associates rule is a fairly new one, so there may still be unsteralised associate dogs competing.

And you forgot to mention that she also did stays as well and didn't move a muscle when I walked past :p

Yes vetting is only for bitches - but you have to collect your numbers before close of vetting.

Talk about a great year - you would have had to take out a second mortgage to pay for all those titles Well done on your weekend results (I love the brag about on 2 DQ's out of 8 ;) )

I would guess that she is not vocal in training because the training reinforcement rate is still very high and everything is new and fun. I also tend to only get her out for a few minutes each session and there is not a lot of down time - so she tends to be very focused and we finished while she still wants more. Over the weekend I have introduced her to sitting in the hoop and I did wait her out a couple of times and still no noise - so fingers crossed the noise factor does have an on off switch.

Tiggy has Banjo always been vocal? My new baby is a screamer in day to day life, but so far it hasn't carried over into training.

Tiggy - out of interest does he whine during other exercises or between exercises? Do you think it is related to nothing happening, you leaving him, or the other dogs?

So your training sessions last less than 30 seconds and consist of you putting a start peg out, walking her up to the start peg remvoing the lead, getting the attention and jackpotting...... training session over - or go and work on sendaways, or dumbbell or scent....

If you are using food as a reward, is it possible that she has learnt that start peg = no treats? If so, then practising in a mock trial situation with a start peg and where you can reward with food may help overcome the problem. You may also need to enlist the help of a mock judge giving commands to make it sufficiently realistic. IMO Very possible gundoglover Training is probably the better place to start - aiming for attention every time they line up at the start post

Firstly - goodonya for getting back into the ring - were you nervous??? At what point in setting up for the COP did you realise that your head turn was causing the issue? I am guessing people watching from outside the ring would have wondered what the hell you were doing - linning your dog up again and again. How will you deal with the judge standing to the side next trial? Nice fast recall Where's the heelwork???? and yes put a new camera on your Xmas wishlist

and he survived to tell the story And yet another question..... Does your dog actually know what a jackpot is - how do they react when you say the word??? and looking at Rivsky's post is there an age/stage/training level that you introduce a jackpot????

Another Question........ mostly to those who do not carry jackpot containers on you. If you are getting some nice work - do you say jackpot and then run off to the container, or do you make you way over to where the container is and then say jackpot and give the reward? Has anybody, other than me, had a dog run off to the car in anticipation of a jackpot? Or in Scoota's case - thrown a glove at me in a trial (twice) in anticipation of running off for his jackpot?

A question for everybody - if using food in training - do you have it in your hand (right or left) or pocket right or left, or in a container and why? Me - I have food in my left pocket only (as my dogs can crab and I find it worse if I carry food and reward from my right hand side and often carry a jackpot container in my right pocket.

I agree dogdude the heeling is lovely as is the attention. However, I have to say that we have far more distractions in our trialling venues than there was in this clip

I have to be honest and say that training twice a week is not enough to get the sort of work I am looking for. Is there any way you can get up 5 minutes earlier and 5 do minutes of indoor training before you go to work - working on things like linning up and multiple rewarding when you get a good one, straight presents and finishes, COP, hand touches, you can even play games like find a teddy in the house. My kids all love these 5 minutes sessions, and the first at the gate at the moment is baby Cider. There is no way she is missing out What do others think?

I have to agree with TSD - I think we are all getting something out of this discussion - it great to be able to share points of view without it getting into a bun fight. I still believe that everybody has something to offer

OK a question to those who use prey drive and other drive training. My dogs would do anything for food (and I openly admit that I wouldn't have a hope in hell of ever doing food refusal) - but if I am to rev them up with food like you all seem to be doing eg getting them to chase food in your hand etc then I would get very untidy over the top performance which I would continually be correcting or giving NRM for. Although this over the top behaviour is a dream to work with - it is not going to get a 200. So how would you deal with this???

Goodonya Natsu Chan - most dogs seem to love seekback. Even if you never get into UD - its still fun to teach them new things Now have you tried dog in the box yet - or an alternative - dog in the hula hoop?

Dogdude - are you happy to share some suggestions on training motivation and focus? :p