Saturday, Merlin had a CPE Games Workshop held at BRAG, the local agility club. We were in for six runs: Fullhouse, Jackpot, Nontraditional Jackpot, Colors, Wildcard, and Snooker. I had taken the class last February with Popper, but desperately needed to work on handling skills with Merlin, so we signed up.
Merlin was amazing! I got compliments from many folks on his stamina (all six runs full throttle), focus, and drive. Popper didn't get a single "fake Q" when we participated previously, but Merlin Q'd in every run except the two Jackpots. The second Jackpot Q was my fault when I picked a poor path, but the first one was Merlin's obsession with the a-frame and running to it when not directed to (repeatedly), and on the Gamble, the jump bars weren't set for his run. At all. So he ran around them (he's weird like that). Oh well, no biggie. :) I was very pleased with Merlin's performance! He had some awesome entries into the weave poles, something Popper has still never pulled off in a trial-like atmosphere. It's hard for me to run Merlin because he has an extremely different running style than my other dog, Popper. Basically, everything he does is opposite - he wants a lot of distance from me, he wants to go at the speed of light, and if I'm slow to make a decision, he'll go on and perform without me. Popper likes me close, tends to not run as fast as doggly possible, and if I slow down or stop, he'll turn around and start sniffing everything. Popper also needs constant interaction, eye contact and attention throughout the run, or his attention drifts. Merlin has a great work ethic and doesn't need the "good boy, yes, great" throughout the whole run.
Popper's main action of the weekend is that he is getting crated from now on when I leave the house, even for a few minutes. I'd noticed that things I'd put on the stove would mysteriously end up on the floor. The last straw was yesterday when I took Roofus for a quick walk. I had a small bag of pumpkin muffins that I set on the back of the stove, and when I came home, there was just an empty bag shredded on the floor. He would have had to jump ONTO the stove to get those muffins! I've also noticed small doggie footprints in the dust on my piano. He apparently walks on my piano when I'm not at home. So Popper clearly cannot be trusted to be loose in the house when there is no one to supervise, so back to the crate for him. He actually really does love the crate; I stopped using it years ago because he became quite aggressive about anyone near "his" crate, whether he was in it or not. The crate is in my SO's room, and his door is always shut, so it's not a concern now.
Last night, I was cutting away a clump of fur from Roofus when I discovered that underneath it was an open wound, roughly the size and depth of a small dog tooth. After shaving the area, cleaning it, and applying antibiotics, I believe it was an injury sustained a few days ago when Merlin got super excited when Roofus ran out of the kitchen suddenly. He attacked Roofus, and Popper got into the fray as well. I'm pretty sure one of the two sunk a tooth into him (grr!). I had assumed it was another hot spot and did not put two and two together until I saw the wound. It's looking much better this morning, although Roofus is pretty sad in an e-collar.
A lot of dog action this weekend at my house! I'm counting the days until I can take Popper on a three mile trek, run Merlin in a real agility trial, and take the stupid e-collar off my poor sheepdog!
Showing posts with label dog agility class. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dog agility class. Show all posts
Monday, November 23
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. :)
Thursday, July 16
Private Agility Lesson
I had a private lesson in dog agility at Kym Jarvis's Anything Goes for Dogs yesterday morning. I was a bit sore from having a horrible stomach problem the day before (possibly an ulcer?) but I sucked it up and learned a lot!
I took both Popper and Merlin, though when I scheduled the lesson I had really intended it for just Popper. I wanted to work on distance, rear crosses, and general handling. I will tell you right now, the biggest problem for me is handling. I have two left feet and my arms just sort of wave all over the place. I am not a coordinated person and I doubt I ever will be.
It was pretty hot, so it worked out very nicely that I brought two dogs so I could trade them off. Merlin is an extremely green dog, having not trialed yet, so I wanted to give him the opportunity to perform in a different setting. At first, he was heavily distracted by everything, and I couldn't hold his attention for very long at all. But towards the end he started behaving more like the awesome agility dog that I KNOW is lurking inside him! Popper also did marvelously; he was not as distracted as Merlin, but it was too hot for him and I spent a lot of time wetting him down and trying to keep his enthusiasm up.
Kym showed me a way to start making Popper deal with rear crosses into tunnels. A horrible thing about having a separation anxiety dog, when you're doing agility, is that they don't want to let you out of their sight. Popper was particularly freaked out with me rear crossing him into a tunnel, and then being on the side he didn't expect me on. He'd go 1/3 of the way in, and pop back out to see where I was. Front crosses were fine - rear crosses were evil. Well, we worked on it, and he's improved 200%! He even seems to really like tunnels now - he started getting "sucked" into them whenever he was walking by one. :)
Overall, it was a great lesson and I'm glad I took it. I feel better prepared for the upcoming Flash Point trial, and I understand what I need to do to correct some issues we've been having.
I took both Popper and Merlin, though when I scheduled the lesson I had really intended it for just Popper. I wanted to work on distance, rear crosses, and general handling. I will tell you right now, the biggest problem for me is handling. I have two left feet and my arms just sort of wave all over the place. I am not a coordinated person and I doubt I ever will be.
It was pretty hot, so it worked out very nicely that I brought two dogs so I could trade them off. Merlin is an extremely green dog, having not trialed yet, so I wanted to give him the opportunity to perform in a different setting. At first, he was heavily distracted by everything, and I couldn't hold his attention for very long at all. But towards the end he started behaving more like the awesome agility dog that I KNOW is lurking inside him! Popper also did marvelously; he was not as distracted as Merlin, but it was too hot for him and I spent a lot of time wetting him down and trying to keep his enthusiasm up.
Kym showed me a way to start making Popper deal with rear crosses into tunnels. A horrible thing about having a separation anxiety dog, when you're doing agility, is that they don't want to let you out of their sight. Popper was particularly freaked out with me rear crossing him into a tunnel, and then being on the side he didn't expect me on. He'd go 1/3 of the way in, and pop back out to see where I was. Front crosses were fine - rear crosses were evil. Well, we worked on it, and he's improved 200%! He even seems to really like tunnels now - he started getting "sucked" into them whenever he was walking by one. :)
Overall, it was a great lesson and I'm glad I took it. I feel better prepared for the upcoming Flash Point trial, and I understand what I need to do to correct some issues we've been having.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
