Monday Roofus went to a rally class at Anything Goes for Dogs. He's enrolled in the next class, next year, but she wanted to make sure that we were familiar with all level 1 signs first, because the next class focuses on level 2.
First, I was uber impressed at the new facility. SO much bigger! She even has a separate area for crating and "massage." It's like a doggie heaven! I went ahead and made a private lesson after our next class for Popper. He's ready to return to agility (Thank God!) and I really needed somewhere, supervised, to do it. A nice gentle reintroduction after his, what, seven week hiatus? It's only a half hour, which should be perfect.
Roofus was great at Rally. He really, really likes it. He is probably the most eager to please dog I've ever seen, and definitely the most ETP dog I own! Once he understands what I want, he is happy to do it. He's such a goofball. :) There were a couple new signs that we didn't know, but Roo handled them very well! We need to work on 90 degree left pivots, though. Nobody could do those - they're super hard!
Today, I set up a series of three jumps in the backyard for Popper, and ran him over them a few times. He was so, SO happy that I was letting him do agility. I thought that he was handling no agility pretty well, and then I saw how excited he was to be running again - an expression of pure bliss! We started off rocky, because he would do a jump and run straight back to me and sit, waiting for a treat. After he got comfy again, he was amazing. I'd point and tell him to go away from me (VERY hard for Popper!) and he'd zoom away like a pro. On our last run (I kept it very short since he hasn't done it in a while, and the ground is frozen solid), I threw in all kinds of crosses and directions and he was PERFECT. I can't WAIT to get back into the agility ring with him!
Showing posts with label rally. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rally. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 16
Thursday, November 5
Rally and Agility
Roofus had a daytime rally class this morning. It went even better than the last one! He seems to be picking things up very quickly (unusual for him), which is no doubt because he is extremely eager to please. The only problem is that I have to have a treat in my hand the whole time, because he is very easily distracted at this stage. He saw we were being followed by a "judge," and proceeded to go visit her and root through her pockets looking for treats, LOL. He also doesn't like the door opening and closing at the building... He has a very strong flock guardian instinct, and he constantly has to know where everyone is. When people come or go, he feels like he needs to bark at them. I figure he's a bit annoyed that they didn't announce their plans to him beforehand.
One of the teachers told me Roofus is an awesome working dog and that he's going to do really well in Rally. I think he is too. :D In January, I'm going to sign up for Rally classes with Kym at Anything Goes for Dogs in addition to the informal classes at BRAG. She has such a positive, upbeat training style and Roofus responds really well to it!
Last night was week three of Popper and Merlin's agility classes, and they swapped good nights again. I'd love to have a good night with both of them, but apparently that's not to be. Last night was Merlin's great night. He had a crappy contact on the a-frame, but he did really, really well overall. Several instructors told me I need to trust Merlin more and give him some space. I'm really working on it, and I know I CAN trust Merlin, but I don't have quite the same relationship with Merlin that I do with Popper, so it will take some time on my part. I've also got to remember that while Popper may like me super close while he runs, Merlin would prefer I just let him do it without breathing down his neck. It's kind of hard to have dogs with such differences!
Popper's night was almost miserable. The highlight of his class was his beautiful rear crosses into tunnels. He used to be absolutely terrified of them, but I took a private lesson with Kym at Anything Goes for Dogs and we drilled them with tons of treats. I practiced big time at home, and they're just gorgeous now. He has no hesitation at all. However, that's pretty much the only time we can do a rear cross. I'd say 75% of the time, he's very scared if I try such a manuever with him. He'll stop running, put his ears down, tuck his tail, and look for all the world like I just beat my dog. Everyone tells me that with time he'll gain confidence and those reactions will fade. I sure hope so.
Popper also completely died on the weave poles. We've been having this problem, with 12 poles specifically, where he will speed up towards the end, and end up skipping poles. I've been working with him, but I can't seem to fix it. We got to class last night, and he did the poles once and absolutely refused to do them again. One of the instructors told me to reteach the weave poles, that it happens to everybody at some point. Sigh... I wish I had twelve poles of a matching set. Right now I have 2 sets of six - one is a very nice channel weave set, the other is a cheapo PVC set that doesn't channel, but bends. So I can't run 12 channeled poles at once, they have to be straight. And I think that's what I really need to do. I also wonder if having some word I can say while he is weaving would keep his spirit up and keep driving him. He has to CONSTANTLY be reassured and complimented while we run, or he loses interest and starts sniffing. Disengages. I think 12 poles may be too long for his beagley mind to go without something from me.
So, to sum up - Merlin's doing great, Popper's having some setbacks, and Roofus loves Rally. :)
One of the teachers told me Roofus is an awesome working dog and that he's going to do really well in Rally. I think he is too. :D In January, I'm going to sign up for Rally classes with Kym at Anything Goes for Dogs in addition to the informal classes at BRAG. She has such a positive, upbeat training style and Roofus responds really well to it!
Last night was week three of Popper and Merlin's agility classes, and they swapped good nights again. I'd love to have a good night with both of them, but apparently that's not to be. Last night was Merlin's great night. He had a crappy contact on the a-frame, but he did really, really well overall. Several instructors told me I need to trust Merlin more and give him some space. I'm really working on it, and I know I CAN trust Merlin, but I don't have quite the same relationship with Merlin that I do with Popper, so it will take some time on my part. I've also got to remember that while Popper may like me super close while he runs, Merlin would prefer I just let him do it without breathing down his neck. It's kind of hard to have dogs with such differences!
Popper's night was almost miserable. The highlight of his class was his beautiful rear crosses into tunnels. He used to be absolutely terrified of them, but I took a private lesson with Kym at Anything Goes for Dogs and we drilled them with tons of treats. I practiced big time at home, and they're just gorgeous now. He has no hesitation at all. However, that's pretty much the only time we can do a rear cross. I'd say 75% of the time, he's very scared if I try such a manuever with him. He'll stop running, put his ears down, tuck his tail, and look for all the world like I just beat my dog. Everyone tells me that with time he'll gain confidence and those reactions will fade. I sure hope so.
Popper also completely died on the weave poles. We've been having this problem, with 12 poles specifically, where he will speed up towards the end, and end up skipping poles. I've been working with him, but I can't seem to fix it. We got to class last night, and he did the poles once and absolutely refused to do them again. One of the instructors told me to reteach the weave poles, that it happens to everybody at some point. Sigh... I wish I had twelve poles of a matching set. Right now I have 2 sets of six - one is a very nice channel weave set, the other is a cheapo PVC set that doesn't channel, but bends. So I can't run 12 channeled poles at once, they have to be straight. And I think that's what I really need to do. I also wonder if having some word I can say while he is weaving would keep his spirit up and keep driving him. He has to CONSTANTLY be reassured and complimented while we run, or he loses interest and starts sniffing. Disengages. I think 12 poles may be too long for his beagley mind to go without something from me.
So, to sum up - Merlin's doing great, Popper's having some setbacks, and Roofus loves Rally. :)
Monday, October 26
Rally Class
BRAG recently started offering an informal Rally class (that's rally obedience, if you prefer), and yesterday, Roofus went to his first one. It was a bit disorganized at first - the first half hour we pretty much just stood around and watched the instructors' dogs do the signs. After that, though, they gained momentum as they fell into a stride, and we practiced several signs. The last hour was spent doing a run-through, which was a new experience for me.
Roofus did a Rally Workshop at Anything Goes for Dogs, and we loved it, but the facility was a little far away. She's now moved quite a bit closer, so we are looking into classes there for the new year. It's been a while since I've done a dog class with Roo (shame on me!), and I'd forgotten what it was like to work with a giant breed dog. While Popper may be able to spin on a dime in agility, Roofus needs quite a bit more room to turn around. Popper is at my side leaping into the air as we run, Roofus pokes my shoulder with his chin!
So it was good to get out there again and get Roofus involved. He had a really fun time (but honestly, he has an awesome time doing ANYTHING - he's an Old English Sheepdog, after all!), and I even began to hope that maybe we could compete early next year, just to see how he does. One problem we have to really work on is moving downs. He just doesn't get it. Another OES issue. Once he figures out what I want, though, he'll never forget it. Another OES thing, and thank goodness, a positive trait! :D
Roofus did a Rally Workshop at Anything Goes for Dogs, and we loved it, but the facility was a little far away. She's now moved quite a bit closer, so we are looking into classes there for the new year. It's been a while since I've done a dog class with Roo (shame on me!), and I'd forgotten what it was like to work with a giant breed dog. While Popper may be able to spin on a dime in agility, Roofus needs quite a bit more room to turn around. Popper is at my side leaping into the air as we run, Roofus pokes my shoulder with his chin!
So it was good to get out there again and get Roofus involved. He had a really fun time (but honestly, he has an awesome time doing ANYTHING - he's an Old English Sheepdog, after all!), and I even began to hope that maybe we could compete early next year, just to see how he does. One problem we have to really work on is moving downs. He just doesn't get it. Another OES issue. Once he figures out what I want, though, he'll never forget it. Another OES thing, and thank goodness, a positive trait! :D
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