caffy

To keep this on topic for brags, my tiny brag is I am a few sessions in on Millie's 2x2 weaving and today I broke out the 2 sets of poles at an angle and she was going through them working the arc

...and Millie did nice heelwork today

Our first night trial since March tomorrow night! I'm excited, love night trials! Though we have a few killer moths around at the moment, great when you have a moth obsessed terrier

I saw some mighty fine flying terriers last night....I think you'll do fine! ;)

Here's a question.

For those of you who watch international agility clips on youtube, there is a definite difference between the speed of their fast dogs & the speed of our fast dogs.

What do you think the reasons are for this?

Genetics?

Training methods?

Handling skills?

Different types of courses?

Much higher numbers of dogs?

I think it's possibly a combination of all of these but the training methods account for the majority of it.

Yes, Training methods and probably access to individual trainers.

It's interesting that Silas Boogk has recently done seminars in the US and Linda Mecklenburg had a working spot...her reasonings for bringing Silas to the US ..

While he's probably best known for his use of blind crosses, I want to bring him over to the USA to inspire us to get more out of our dogs. He doesn't run clean every time (I don't believe that's possible if you are always pushing the envelope), but I can't remember a time when I saw him run clean that he didn't win the round.

So I guess even the top competitors want to improve.

Any tips on how to teach a good stand in a little dog (11 inches tall)? I've read about putting your hand under their tummy or other various places but to do that, I need to basically kneel on the ground, which totally throws us off in heeling...

He's 16 months old and definitely capable of learning a good stand, at the moment he has a vague idea and will sometimes stay in a kind of stand if I get my hand in front of his face and click quickly enough but then he'll drift into a sit, and usually he goes straight into a sit when I stop because he thinks that's what he's meant to do (he has a very good automatic sit on halt ). He's good with drop, as long as I get my timing right with the command and the hand signal, but I just can't get stand to work!

I know it's nothing to do with his abilities, it's just that I didn't teach him stand when I was teaching sit and drop so now he's confused

So, any particular tips? Do I lure him from a sit to a stand, then click, then repeat, until he gets it without worrying about the heeling for now, or will that make it harder to get him to do it when heeling?

Thanks in advance

Can you teach your positions with the little guy on a table??

agreed!

We're busy trying to fix the things we stuffed up last weekend in preparation for this weekend

Are you hiding your lead??

Won't spoil the brag but way to go Ptolomy and Soggy . You deserve all the success you are having with her and she certainly has a bright and exciting Obedience career ahead of her.

Awesome work Ptolomy

Fantastic score ;) Cider is a little superstar!

Well done to bedazzled who has 3 BIG brags from tonight's WA State obedience trial.

Winner of UD, Open AND Winner of Winners

Glad to see she could walk a straight line in Winner of Winners after the celebratory bubbly

There was some lovely work in all the rings from everyone with just some bad luck in the stays.

I hate when you have a bad run and the judge and anyone watching think that you are a crap trainer and/or your dog is poorly trained. I always end up wanting to explain that my dog isn't normally total crap, that it was all handler error

At the end of the day, do you really know what people are thinking?? They are probably wondering what they are going to have for dinner that night

We all know the pitfalls of trialling...even the best trainers have had bad days in the ring...they take that experience and find solutions to their poor performance. Embrace what you learn in a poor trial and don't worry about those outside the ring...use that energy on you and your dog and things that you can control

I had an average day in the ring yesterday...all my fault and I know where I let my dog down...had a Royal crowd watching...I have no idea what they were all thinking and I don't really care...am I going back tomorrow?? Sure am

Woo Hoo !!! Well done Abby and TerraNik!!!

Did I miss yours and Ptolomy's brags from today??????????????????

Some good results over the weekend - well done Terranik, Smisch and Kavik.

I'm going to place a brag for my mate Bedazzled who is on her way back from a country trial. Yesterday Brooklyn won Masters Jumping GO THE OBEDIENCE DOGS .

To top the weekend off - Brookie also won open obedience and on Saturday took out open and UD both with 196 - well done mate :D

Sweet!!

Well done Bedazzled

Mum's attempt to video Strauss yesterday Note to Caffy more Alex tendencies right at the end

You'll learn to toller proof things! :D

well done to you and the kids. Nothing like picking a BIG trial for you debut - bedazzled and I had this discussion during the week ;)

works for me :D

Nothing like a trial in good company ;). Hehe - it never really botheres me what trial I go to though Glad the kiddis pulled it off... heres' the vid, but the sound has gone on holidays not sure what happened there, but the comments by the videographer were quite amusing....

Please don't pick on me too much

ETA - is the video in slo mo or is it just my computer?!?! Really not working for me tonight

No video for Kinta as we were all one after the other ;)

Nice!

well done to you and the kids. Nothing like picking a BIG trial for you debut - bedazzled and I had this discussion during the week :D

works for me

A couple of thoughts watching that, valleyCBR. As far as tomorrow goes - band-aid needed for your nerves - swift, stiff drink? or Rescue Remedy?

Longer term, the other thing that struck me was that I'd be wanting to do a lot more interative rewarding and revving up with Toby - the isqueak is great, and he likes it, but he just sort of goes off and amuses himself while you're fixing jumps. Does he tug? I'd be throwing a tug toy and then encouraging him to come back to you and have a game of tug before I did anything else. (We had a private lesson with a trainer/friend a couple of months ago when she was over, and she had us doing a 10 second jump exercise, and then tug for a whole minute - she timed it! That's a lot of tugging with a 15 kg dog!)

And maybe setting him up with some revving like "Ready, ready ready" --- (mind you, this is coming from someone with a broken SLS - well, to be honest, it's mostly been non-existent - my bad for inconsistent training).

So if you get really excited and exciting in training, that would help you and him in trials, I think.

He is a lovely dog!

Tassie, you hit the nail on the head!!

Here's a quote from Nancy Gyes from the TeamSmallDog Blog...

Dump the attitude, get rid of corrections, make your teammate your best friend with lots of play. If your dog will play with you in some way, engage and look you in the eye with a smile on her face then you are half way there. Play does not need to be tugging with a toy, that's an easy way to play but there are lots of others as well. You should be able to get down on the ground and roll around with your dog and just have fun making physical contact with each other. End quote.

I don't doubt that you guys play a lot, I just noticed a disconnection when you threw your toy...your turning of your back ends the play connection. You could throw your toy and then run in and play with lots of physical contact. More play

We had luck with our retrieves tonight! She's been doing them over the jump quite well lately too, not 100% reliable though - sometimes she looks at me confused like 'you want me to do what now?' because she hasn't been watching where I throw the dumbell. Anyway here is a quick vid;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwbCS2_ttpg

And an attempt at doing some distraction work;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUBpWzoUix8

I don't trust Daisy with open containers of food just yet LOL! But just having them there is a major distraction for her. She will spot a container of cooked liver a mile away and will go absolutely nuts insane trying to get to it. We had the platform and dumbell down there as she loves to get on it/pick it up and will sometimes do it from eagerness instead of when I have commanded her to :/ Lots of work to do and you can see scents on the ground is still her number one distraction, she lost it a bit but I got her focus back which was good

Nice distraction work ...but you didn't reward her at any stage??? She tried very hard to maintain focus...I was doing some work with the UD dog last night next to the neighbour's dog and was absolutely shovelling in the food when he chose to focus on me.

OK so I understand the gist of a 2o2o contact, and thought I knew what a running contact meant but from the posts here, apparently not

Can someone please explain the difference between a true running contact and a dog just running through its contact?

Thanks

This is video of someone who re trained from a 2on/2off dw to a running dw.

Cosmolo I was considering teaching running contacts, but you have to have your own, full size equipment. Silvia Turkjman (I think, i can't google at work ) a famous Slovenian with world champ dogs teaches them and explains her method on her website.

Perth is hosting Daisy Peel in May next year.

She has a successful running contact and will be covering running contacts at her seminar.

http://www.daisypeel.com/?page_id=172

Here are more details for Daisy's seminar.

Follow the link..

http://www.agilityclubwa.com/

Thanks everyone for your congrats! Yep Ptolomy....pink bubbles on me Cake at training on Wednesday assuming its not raining!

Lemon syrup cake!!

Very interesting Caffy! I wonder how many people will change to running contacts then. I'd be interested in going to that.

I can't see me changing to running as I don't have my own gear, but that won't stop me from learning the method especially in person...just something else for the toolbox

Cosmolo I was considering teaching running contacts, but you have to have your own, full size equipment. Silvia Turkjman (I think, i can't google at work ) a famous Slovenian with world champ dogs teaches them and explains her method on her website.

Perth is hosting Daisy Peel in May next year.

She has a successful running contact and will be covering running contacts at her seminar.

http://www.daisypeel.com/?page_id=172

Have to have a little brag.... I checked the mail today and have just received official notification from Dogs West that Brooklyn has won Top Obedience Dog of the Year. Thrilled with this achievement as its a big ask in very good competition.

Only a little brag??

Congratulations Deb and Brookie..very well deserved

Ptolomy Have you taken a close look at today's catalogue? Apparently you own a flock of "Nova Scotia Duck Trolling Retrievers" ;)

No, that's me

Millie had her 2nd CCD trial today, 2 for 2 so far ;) She walked away with the trophy again 1 more pass to go

Go Millie

Good boy Brookie!!!! He won the double Open and UD at the German Shepherd trial today. Open was lovely and he scored 197 for the win in a class of very good dogs Celebrating with a nice drop.....hic!

Well done Brookie ;)

We had a good day there yesterday too. Must be the company I keep

Used the dogscouts methods and verbally marked the right article with a "yes". I still occasionally in training mark an article when she's picked it up and let her have the reward just to keep it random for her. I give her a NRM if she gets it wrong.

Seita - where exactly did you put the "yes" as she was picking it up perhaps????

when I was training it I would mark right article as soon as she indicated it, as she got better at it I'd wait til she'd picked it up.

and I think this is where your problem originated as she has become unsure she is waiting for you to indicate yes that is the correct article hence why even when she finds the correct one she will pick it up and put it down and move onto the rest of the pack.

You really need to go back to basics as if she doesn't know the exercise at all, but you should be able to build it up quite quickly, once she has learnt to find the article herself without your help and to trust her judgement. If you want to give her feedback make sure it is in different spots on her way back or when she has presented, or even after you have taken the article.

I agree with Ptolomy which is why i asked if you verbally indicated the correct article in training.

Remember also that slight movements such as a hand towards a pocket or a slight turn to throw a toy will become physical markers for your dog and also something she will look for when working the pile.