Basement training

I know a lot of people do it, but today was a first for me. There was snow on the ground and the wind was chiiillllyyyy. Normally I am a hardy soul, but I forgot my gloves and that seemed like the last straw to dealing with the wind. I took a few jumps and cones down to the basement and trained all three dogs.

Last night I took the dogs to a fun run and Tip was dropping bars all over the place. Now yes, I was pushing her and when that happens jumps go flyin'. But this was worse that usual. So, in the basement Tip and I worked on jump grids. She was AMAZING! (Maybe I will put carpet on the agility field) Not a single bar went down. I even raised the height of the jumps to 22 inches to see how she would do. I know that people view these exercises as cruel and unusual punishment, but for Tip I think it helps put the focus on a careful jump (ie, stop knocking bars).

Split and I worked some outside on his contacts. I once again tried the manners minder, but he will have nothing to do with it. It is different, makes noise, and doesn't dispense a Frisbee. I will keep trying because it would be handy for some of his 'drive away from mom' work. He was being funky on the contacts, probably because of the wind so I didn't work them that much. Wasn't our day I guess.

Tangle and I worked a little outside, but not much. I really don't want him running too much on the snow. Regular playing in the snow is fine. But when he is still growing and figuring out his body I don't want him turning tight on slippery surfaces.

We moved the practice inside. We worked on rear crossed which he is beginning to get the hang of and ME TOO! I am trying to perfect a tight rear cross (me, not with my dog). A NADAC rear cross is fairly easy! Tangle and I then played a game of puppy snooker. We worked on our flatwork around the jump uprights and cones. Only when I give him a cue is he allowed to take the obstacle. Tangle offers a lot of behaviors and tends to offer obstacles without permission. I KNOW that this will be a bad thing at some point. So, we are working on permission to take the obstacle. I don't overwork this game, but I do play it about once a week.