You have to work hard for what you want

Agility is a blast, if it weren't, a lot of us would be doing something else!

But let's face it, when there is something that you really want in agility, it is a lot of hard work!  Really hard work!  Most goals in life are that way.  If it were easy, you would already have it right?

You have to really, really want it.  You have to keep your focus on it and your commitment toward that goal.  Some days it is easy because you make progress and some days are exhausting and hard and uphill!

The first such "project" that I had in agility was with Tip, when I finally realized that if I let her run a muck on the agility course I will never, ever accomplish anything.  So, the process of learning to handle and getting the mess under control was huge.  It was partially huge because I didn't know how to do it so the journey was a lot of uphill climbs.

The second project, getting Tangle JAZZED to play agility and not to worry was both physically demanding and mentally challenging.  I worked physically hard to get that boy to just love tug!  And to be honest, now I am a bit afraid each time I tug with him.  He is so strong and not gentle AT ALL!  Mentally, I had to stay engaged with him always, be cheerful, and be jazzed for him.  If you have ever had to do this, then you know, you are mentally exhausted by the process.  But, in the end, it is worth it and Tangle takes very little effort to get him jazzed.  I had to really want this transformation in our relationship.

My current project, changing my handling style is hard every day right now.  In the beginning, the project was driven by Hoot, who is a combo of a flying monkey and Ferrari.  I have to be on my game or it will not end well.  But now, the project has other drivers and Tangle is benefiting from it in spades.  I know all the hard work will be worth it.




This project take changes in how I physically and mentally run.  I watch video of myself EVERY DAY!  I am on a constant quest for exercises that will test and challenge what I am trying to do, I check my decisions every day to make sure they are in line with my goals.  I never take my eye off the ball.   This takes devotion and time.

Every day I am physically sore, I am mentally exhausted, but some days I get to be really proud of what I am accomplishing!  It will be worth it!

So, if you have something you really, really want--commit to it. Find those few people who will support you and be honest with you, and never let you settle even when you are down, sore, or discouraged.  It will be worth it!

Be THE FUN for your dog

In a nut shell, you must be "the fun" for your dog! You must be the leader of the fun, the initiator of "it's time to play", and the one who can play through any kind of situation or stress (even if you can't).

 Also subtitled "Leave your baggage at the door".

If your dog won't play, it is your job to teach them.

This blog entry was really hard to write. Mostly because there is so much to say on this topic and it is so important and fundamental to our success as a team. All kinds of teams deal with issues around this topic. Daisy Peel eluded to this (http://www.daisypeel.com/blog/the-brass-ring/) when saying that she had to be a certain person for Frodo, I have to be a certain person for all my dogs and different for all of them, but then again I have to be a certain person for my husband too.

They should adore you!

I am not being who I am not, I am recognizing that I have certain personality traits that should probably be kept in check (or come out) for this person or dog.

I have had a number of students lately that are having trouble with their dogs. Either the dog is shutting down or getting wound out of control, both can be stress behaviors. There is a reason we use dogs as therapy animals. They are very sensitive to our emotions and issues! We need to remember that.  We, as their human partners need to recognize, honor and respect that.

There are some dogs that can power through our stress and brush it off, but in my experience, the majority will react somehow.

If your dog wouldn't say that you are the funnest person on earth, you are missing HUGE opportunities with that dog. Why would they want to give everything they have (energy-wise) to someone who is boring, neutral, stressed, ie...not fun. So, the real trick for us is identifying what the stress is, admitting it, and letting it go (at least for the moments you are with your dog).

It doesn't matter what the stress is: are they going to weave, will they take all 18 obstacles twice (yes, I have had that happen), will they leave the ring, will they shut down at the startline, I hate work....you need to leave it behind.

Find the method that works for you: write each problem on a piece of paper and put them into a Tupperware so that you can leave them behind, or breath deep and think of the beach, or run a mile.. I leave my troubles at the door by remembering how amazing my canine partners are, and what they do for me everyday.

I remember that every problem is a training challenge and I bring the ones that stress me to the top of list.

Having The Guts To Change!

There is a ton of conversation about One Mind Dogs, both pro and con.  I guess the way that I look at it, they provide me more tools in my toolbox.  I have enough experience to recognize when something is conflicting with my handling style, and keep what enhances it.  I try on a lot of things to see what fits or doesn't.

OMD in principal is nothing different, but the details underneath the covers are what makes all the difference in the world.  It is not about the fancy moves.  Key details are where you look, and when you look.

I have had a ton of fun this week!  I took the OMD Course 2 and immersed myself in learning and challenging myself in the way I was running my dogs.  Really living with the details of this course, analyzing why things worked or why they didn't work.  Watching video of the experts running the course.

If I had not watched their video of how they ran this course, I never would have run it this way.  I never would have thought to put blinds where they did.  Best of all, I saw it could be done and it gave me the motivation and guts to do it!

Here is Tangle running the course.

To run the course this way took no extra training for Tangle.  But for me, it took the commitment to always be ahead which was no easy task on this course.  For Split, there was just a bit of coaching to come in to me, but really it was about me having better control of his head (more than I need to with Tangle).  Once again, once I get trained, my dogs are going to be fantastic!  :)

Here is my practice session with Split.  I guess I post this to show some of the challenges on this course.  Split is a great dog, but doesn't have the mileage and detail in the foundation that Tangle had.



Look forward to challenging myself more!

Out of the comfort zone!

One of the things that I learned as a musician was that if you want to improve you have to practice at the extremes of your ability.

I am not the person who sits in her comfort zone for too long.

The day has come when I have decided to step COMPLETELY outside my comfort zone and do something in agility to really push myself.  I am going to try out for AKC's European Open World Team with Tangle (now 2.5 years old).  I am going this year as a demo dog which means that I have zero chance of making the team, but for me this year isn't about making the team.  It is about pushing myself to improve and this is an experience that will do that.  It is about learning to play successfully with the "big boys".

This already has been a totally new experience for me and will continue to be for months to come. 

How do you prepare yourself and your dog for this challenge?  I have thought about physical preparation for both of us, and mental preparation for both of us. 

Physically - Tangle normally jumps 22", I have to move him up to 26", and get the muscles built.  Along the way, I have been working to keep his confidence intact (he is only 2) and increase the fun factor for him.  I have had adjustments in my timing and how much space to physically allow him on course.  I have to enter him in some competitions at the new jump height.

For myself, I am working hard to get my pulled muscles recovered, keep from pulling more and just develop a solid base condition.

Mentally - It is very important to me that Tangle enjoys this experience.  Sure, he loves running the courses, but there is so much more.  Tangle stresses when he is surrounded by stressed people/dogs.  Hum, there might be a couple of those (including me) at this competition.  I am working hard at training all sorts of "fun" tricks that we can pull out of our bag when the need arises.  I don't want to push myself at the expense of my dog.  It is a journey for both of us.  One of my goals is to keep Tangle's stress at a minimum.

For me, I need to remain mentally attuned to the challenges that each moment will bring.  What are my measurable goals for this trial?  When we have our "practice" run what will my objective be?  How do I use my time now to sharpen my mental game?  As a demo dog, I will be the first in the running order, I want to come to the start line with the confidence that I have in a local trial, how do I do that?  I have so little time to prepare (made my decision to go late), how do I prioritize and make the most of my time?  Don't let your confidence get shaken by those around you.

I have read the rules and know the specifications for the equipment.  I am not normally a rule reader I just follow the customs around me.  But, this is so different. 

There are several pieces of equipment Tangle hasn't seen before--wall jump and the "Euro" double (two singles placed 18-22" apart in ascending order).  Made those and trained on those.

I am studying course maps.  Lots of the obstacles are the same, but the approaches that they give you to those obstacles are totally different than what we encounter at any US venue.  Setting up exercises that allow us to practice those items.

Lessons learned so far:
Prepare your family, this will be an obsessive effort and will invade life as you know it.
It takes more than a month to prepare for this type of competition (given my experience base)
Talk to everyone you can who has actually done what you are going to do to limit the surprises along the way.
When the weather doesn't cooperate, you have to still figure out how to be productive

So, for me, this is a fairly steep hill to climb: really young, but talented dog, physical and mental preparedness, building my team, making equipment, researching courses, connecting with people, etc.

I know, you say "dah?" of course you have to do all this.  I would too if this was actually a goal of mine 3 months ago!

Practice April 9th! - Restrained sends to a tunnel

P.S. of course this is the spring where it has to snow every 4 days as well!  Thankful for the water, but it isn't helping my preparedness :)

I have trained in some crazy places!

Bloggers unite to talk about Backyard Training. 

When I think of backyard training what typically comes to mind is: training alone, working on very targeted skills, and working in smaller spaces in my backyard.  What kinds of courses and skills can you train in small places?

Then I really started to think about my "training program" (I will call it that so it sounds really official) and it occurred to me that I have done some things that people might perceive as crazy and I have trained my dog in places (and people probably did perceive me as crazy).  Really the whole world is your backyard and you can use it to learn/train/proof fundamental skills.  You just have to have a little crazy in you :)

First, let me say, I am an introvert.  Not just a little bit introverted, but a lot!!  But the thing that I have going for myself is I get possessed by my goals.  That possession/obsession tends to carry me through some things that I would otherwise find painful--like training in crazy places.

I find that the thing that drives me to do crazy things is proofing some kind of skill with my dogs.  Tangle has been the victim of this most often, but all three of my dogs are not strangers to the oddity of my ways.  With all of my dogs I am trying to bridge the gap between "he does it perfect in the backyard" and "he can do it perfectly in a trial".  Right?  The holy grail of agility dog training.

Does your dogs have a brilliant stay at the start line, but could not, for even a second stay in the kitchen? The skill hasn't been proofed in all sorts of placed or in all sorts of ways.

When I was trying to get Tip to have more independent weave poles I loaded a set of six in the car (now I would probably load 2 sets of 2x2's).  We went to a quiet park, to a noisy park with lots of people (where we gathered a nice audience), to a horse barn at the fairgrounds (while throwing tug toys at her), etc..You get the idea.  Tip does have very independent weave poles now, BTW.



I have a plank (not painted or anything fancy).  Tangle I practiced his 2o2o in many different places.  In the front yard, back yard, at a trial, at a construction site.  You get the idea.  He can do his 2o2o with amazing distractions now.  And really, distractions are what is going on at a trial.

Tangle Tug Tour #3

One of my more recent "tours" was in the name of getting Tangle comfortable playing in strange places.  He was very good at playing at home (you know because you just play in your backyard and don't get the dog out).  He would NOT tug any place but home.  Tugging is essential to getting him warmed up and ready to drive through an agility course. So, I loaded my dog and a few of his favorite tug toys into the car.  We tugged at a quiet park, at the bank and Starbucks, at REI, and at 13,000 on top of a mountain.  Any place I don't normally play with my dog.  I wanted him to know that playing is important.

I proof start line stays on a soccer field.  No equipment, just me and the dogs.  I train it in a pack.  All three dogs are in a sit/stay, I start running, I call one of their names and give the release word "OK". The others must stay until their name is called.  There is motion, I throw toys, I use the other dogs as distractions.  Yes, I must ultimately proof in the agility ring, but if I can get close before I get there I am happy.  Agility rings at trials aren't frequent enough, are expensive, and you only get a few shots!  (Tip can do this skill hands down, but can't stay in the ring--why, because I didn't proof it there--ops).

So, really my point is that we are only limited by how we define "backyard".  Don't be confined by what is simply behind your house.  It is probably better for the dog in the long run anyway.

It's Your Choice in the Real World

When I got Tangle I decided that I would be very committed to foundation skills with him. Teaching them from the beginning and reviewing often. Tangle and I worked on the It's Your Choice (IYC) game again today. I have to admit this was part of a class assignment and at the beginning of today I didn't really understand how it completely applied to agility. But, being the good student and wanting to participate fully in the learning process we did IYC today. Last week we did the traditional food in hand IYC that is so famous (Susan Garrett and Mary Ellen Barry). Then we did IYC with food on the ground and walking past it on leash so that I could control his access should he decide to be naughty. He did great. I break up the self-control with bouts of tug to help get his stimulated and happy again. Having control all the time isn't much fun is it and is easier if you aren't very stimulated.


Let me note that the only videos that I have seen on IYC involved the food in hand, food on the paw, food on the nose, food in a bowl, they all kind of fit into the pet trick category to me. Makes you wonder what does this have to do with agility. Sure, it teaches self control, but how do the dog generalize this skill to the agility field. Read on... Today's session was out on the agility field with toys and distractions. Our assignment was to continue to progress with this game and make it real world. So, I gathered all the toys from the toy box, stuffed them in a bag. Brought the other two dogs into the yard just beyond the agility field (Tangle has trouble ignoring them). My objective was to walk back and forth, drop toys, have Tangle ignore the toys and dog and when he did he would get rewarded. Again, how does this relate to the real world?


For some odd reason it suddenly hit me. The assignment is to make it more and more real world. That is, bring the distractions and choices into his working life. For instance, we have been working on a very short sequence where Tangle has to follow me and ignore his favorite obstacle the A-Frame. THAT is the real work of IYC. Choose to follow me because the reward is greater in the long run, or self gratify with the AF (and no reward from me). Or, a Tunnel/Dog Walk discrimination, choice the obstacle that is cued rather than the favorite obstacle. Or, proofing weaves by throwing toys at the dog while he weaves. He chooses to continue the weaves for the big reward rather than self-graitfy with various toys. I went back and reviewed our standard run from this weekend. Just in off courses alone Tangle had 5 opportunities to make choices. It was his choice to stay on course or follow me :)

A week of learning

Last week was a week!  Every single day of it was filled with learning experiences both personally and professionally. 

The agility aspect of the week has been awesome.  I watched inspiring video, took a class that was just FULL of nuggets, and did exercises that were super challenging.






First, Mary Ellen Barry Video, a friend sent me this video of Mary Ellen Barry running Maizy and E-Z in Steeplechase.  It hit me almost immediately this is by far the best example I have seen of a couple of different things 1) Cue and Go  2) The value of independent performance of obstacles.  I am not a stranger to either of these concepts, but it is so valuable to me to have these visual examples of what I can achieve when I push the envelope of both of these concepts.  Inspired to once again to push the envelope. I think that my dogs have these skills, but since I rarely test it to this extreme I am going to work on it this week.

Second, Tangle and I took a class last week that was full of nuggets. Several things that I already knew, but it was great to hear again. New reasoning put to proven concepts, ingrains the concepts that much more. And lastly, new ideas. What I realized last week, Tangle is getting to a transition point. That point where agility is beginning to seep into his bones. It seems that when they just start out in agility, all the behaviors are fresh and the pups try really hard to keep doing the right thing. Then, sometimes fast and sometimes slowly, agility seeps into their bones and the behaviors begin to change. The beautiful startline is corrupted with anticipation, the contact behavior lines begin to blur because they know what is next, and the speed and confidence begin to change the picture. Tangle has arrived and I am thrilled. It is time to "Train to Maintain". The little nuggets and reminders that we picked up this week are:

• Always mark behaviors good and bad.  Contrast them well, party when they are perfect, and mark when they are not desired.  I will be setting up really short (3 obstacle drills) to mark dropped bars, this doesn't apply to Tangle, but to Tip.  Although Tangle will do the same drill to maintain his beautiful performance.  Low confident dogs almost need this more because of the parties when they do the right thing, this applies to Split.
• A better strategy of cue and go to get the tight turn that I want, but loose any babysitting behavior. Mark the spot of the bar that you want the dog to turn on and get the heck out of there. This works beautifully, although it is hard to appreciate because you are not there to spectate :)
• Push and trust your dog in class. It is the perfect time. You have teachers and students who will tell you when something happened. A great example of this is, blind crossing the end of the weaves. I can't see that my dog finished them, but others can and quickly so the behavior can be marked.

Lastly, we did an exercise from the World Agility Open (WAO) E-Book, www.waoteamusa.com. I won't post the exercise, but the E-Book, well worth the money. But, it was an International Drills exercise by Blake Stafford, page 119. Great exercises to twist your mind and figure out how to get the job done!

Retraining an AFrame

More than anything I wanted to put these thoughts down for myself.  One, to remember what I have done, and two, it helps me solidify my thoughts on this topic.

I decided about a year and a half ago (maybe more) that I needed to retrain Split from a 2o2o AFrame (AF) to a running AF.  He clearly didn't like the pressure on his shoulders and after 5 or so reps he would start limping on the front-end.  Plus, I just really like the fluidity that it gives my runs.

I tried many things and some I believe contributed to the solution and some didn't.

Split is a boy that wants to do the right thing, is very sensitive, and is a little (a lot) Velcro.   His personality is key in how I trained things.  It is hard to work with sometimes and almost always I have to adjust my plan.

The first thing I needed to do was "break" the 2o2o and have him run his AF.  I put the AF  down low so that it would appear different to him.  It took me about a week of practice every day to get him to start running it without hesitation (see doesn't take long to ruin criteria does it?).  When it was down low he would run it without a leap.  Once I started to move it up, he began to leap (it was probably less than 5 feet high).  I tried marking the correct behavior, but things didn't really improve.  He enjoyed leaping and sometimes would creep to make me happy.  He just didn't get it.

Frustration and many weeks later...

OK, so now he is leaping.  I decided to train him to hit a box on the ground, similar to Rachel Sanders box method.  I trained Split so he would run away from me, intentionally hit the box and keep running (to catch a ball or something).  Although I don't remember exactly, I think this probably took several weeks to get the behavior that I was happy with.  Once I had this I put the box on the AF. 

Fast forward many months...

When the box was on the AF he would hit it.  Trying to fade the box was murder!  Also, a gnawing feeling in me just knew he didn't really "understand" the criteria.  After all, how do you explain that to a dog.  Really, this is about muscle memory to a degree.

Frustration again, and a break from training this (after all, I wasn't getting a reward)...

While re-training Split on the AFI began to train Tangle on a running DW .  Let me just say, everyone should train a running dogwalk.  Not to get the end behavior, but because it teaches you and your dog so many valuable things (maybe I will blog on this some day).  Seriously, this is a fabulous experience but it does take diligence.

The training of the running dogwalk gave me a much deeper understanding of how to teach a dog to run a contact.  I learned details on how to progress through the process that I never would have learned retraining Splitty.  So, I put Split through running AF 101 school which Tangle was doing running DW 101.  I didn't want to retrain Split's dogwalk, just too much.  But, fundamentally all the principals that I learned with Tangle applied to Split and his AF.

AF went down low again, clicker came out, and the treat-n-train.  Another obstacle to overcome with Split!  Some days he would be afraid of the clicker sound and almost always the treat-n-train.  Back to the tennis ball!

In order to not make this a novel, basically I followed many of the steps that Sylvia uses for training a running DW.  Low obstacle, very little stimulation, low motion, lots of repetition, gradually increase all of those.  Always, jackpot and high reward for getting it right.  Training the AF was now Split's favorite game!

Again, once I raised it to about 5 feet he began to leap.  Frustration set in!  This is when I began to put a stride regulator on AF between the change of color.  There are two things that this did   1) Split's stride would ALWAYS hit the yellow 2) it allowed me to get his performance on a higher AF to the point of frequent reward--key!!!  I ran the AF this way for probably a month.  Slowly adding more motion and other obstacles.

When I took the stride regulator off I had leaping back again.  Another round of frustration! 

But once I sat back and thought of everything I learned with Tangle and running DW the emotion wained and some constructive thoughts set in (I learned this process from training Tangle's running DW).  I removed my motion, stimulation and obstacles and left the AF high.  I began to reward Split for successes and not reward for failure.  Presto, I was beginning to get different results!

To me, the key was teaching him what success was (the look, sound, and my reaction).  That is, when he did something right what would happen and when he did something wrong what DIDN'T happen.  When Split got his AF right I would throw a huge party (not too much happy sounds because he is emotion sensitive I had to increment into this), throw the ball, and give a boat load of praise.  When he didn't get it right, there was no reaction, just walk back and try it again.

Within days I began to see Split adjust his stride to "get it right"! 

So, we are now several months into this break through.  We have done a couple of trials without any AF calls.  I still work the AF 4-5 times a week in a training mode.  Each session starts with little motion and increments into full motion and obstacles.

Can I call him "retrained"?  Nope, not yet!  But have we hit a major success milestone? Yep, we have!

P.S. There are a ton of thoughts out there on what the "proper" running AF performance looks like.  Leaping over the apex, almost touching their belly over the apex, only one stride on the downside, two strides on the downside and on and on.  I now have three dogs with a running AF.  Each performance is slightly different.  The answer is "it depends" and ultimately what can your dog do confidently and reliably matters!

Split's progress to date, http://youtu.be/vZiwfyocu2Y



Split and Tangle with stride regulator, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGrB8XgXS_Y

If I knew then...nuggets along the way

 

As a part of the agility blog day we are all reflecting on "If I knew then what I know now"! I have had a month or so to think about this topic and all sorts of thoughts have gone through my head.   What should I focus on: handling, training tips, trialing, the journey, attitude. Really I could go so many places with this topic. 

For me, no matter which topic I choose, many of the nuggets that I cherish can only be acquired on the journey.  That is, they don't have the deep meaning if someone just tells you.  You have to live and experience the issue, problem, or the success.  So I will tell you "If I knew then what I know now",... knowing that perhaps the "tip" reminds you of something you have already learned or perhaps just holds a place in your mind, that when you encounter an experience it rings true as something you should remember.

Training
Train every skill in small increments, break it down as far as you can. Then break it down more.  You will get to the final behavior  so much faster.  This goes for young and experienced dogs.  It is especially true when you are retraining (fixing) a skill.

Handling
Learn to drive your dog, you are in charge, be ahead.  Train the skills that allow you to get to where you need to be.
 
Trialing
Be kind to those just starting out in agility.  The sport is very humbling, we all need support to get through the first several years (and longer).  
 
Attitude

• Never sacrifice what you love. Remember always what drew you to agility and be true to that love
• Success can and should be measured in ways other than a "Q".
• Never let success get to your head, and never let failure get to your heart
• Laughter is the best medicine for stress.

Most of all, don't forget to enjoy the journey! 
 
 

Value of the blog

This morning I woke up reflecting on my weekend trial. I don't really focus on the exact run or the result too much, I tend to focus on what we did well and what we need to work on next. The results (Q's and placements) tend to come as a result of good training.

Also, I went back and read many of my blog entries regarding Split. I had written so many times about my challenges with him being a soft and velcro dog. He has been hard to train at times (because I didn't have the skills as a trainer that he needed). My frustrations are apparent in these blog entries! The height of those frustrations seemed like they came last winter. Then, came his injury and many, many months off for him.

Fast forward...I trialed with both Tip and Split this weekend. Split was a different dog! A very different dog! The amount of confidence that he displayed was on paralle with Tip's confidence (which is really saying something). Split ran every course this weekend with his head straight ahead, spotting his lines and driving to the obstacles like a mad man! He was a blazing fast, confident boy!

I am thankful that as a dog trainer I realized this change in behavior and rewarded profusely! I have been trying to follow the advice of Mary Ellen Barry and reward improvement! With Split's run, they weren't even close to perfect but it was HUGE movement in the right direction! Reward, Reward, Reward!!

I am really glad at this moment that I have taken the time to blog about my challenges with Split. It helps me appreciate this improvement! It helps me love the problem that I have now :)

So, back to my morning thoughts about the trial specifically...

What Split did great--driving through the course with independance, not requiring that I was right at this side, if I didn't cue it on time, he made a decision and stuck to it!

Now of course this change doesn't come without problems :) Split ran his dogwalk contact, he was so confident and fast that his lines were way less than perfect and he was a little slow (ok, a lot sometimes) to respond to some cues!

I will take this problem and be very happy with it!! I KNOW how to train this type of confident dog!!!

P.S. I strongly suspect that the time off for Split was the best trainer of all!

What Makes a Champion

I read this article yesterday What Makes a Champion?. I really like the point of the article. I am a competitive person, more with myself than with other people. I always expect the most and best out of myself and when I don't meet my expectations I have to pick myself back up from disappointment.

For me agility is doubly hard since I have lofty expectations for myself and for my dog. I do know that ultimately how the dog performs comes back to "me" and my training ability.

For me I loved the fact that the people that ultimately succeed are those that don't give up! I don't give up! Sometimes I should, ya know when you point out to yourself what is the point of accomplishing that anyway? For instance, pursuing something at work when it was just driven by politics and you can't influence that process. Spend your energy elsewhere!

But in agility, I don't give up! Frequently, I pause, feel like I have given up, but then develop a plan and get back on the horse. I heard something recently (from Mary Ellen Barry) that I just loved "Realize that failure *is* part of the process.", "The more times you do something, the more you will fail at it (Daisy Peel)". I am now a believer that failure is a part of the process, I have to get better at that and learn to embrace it's lessons quicker.

The other thing that spoke to me about this article was the triangle of: persistence, timing, and talent! Two out of the three have to be true to succeed. This applys to agility as well. In my previous post, ya know the one that I was commenting on Timing. So true! The hard part is that timing isn't a constant in most fields. That is, once you have it down you are good. Timing is changing and evolving, very true in agility! So really, to me, the talent is adaptation of timing to be more precise.

On another note, Tangle and I had an amazing practice this morning! I decided not to bring the camera out, but I really wish that I had. We worked on several things, proofing 12 poles, contacts in sequences, jumping. He was just amazing with his ability to stick with the game! Enjoy it tremendously. I am very commit ed to keeping practices short, but when you are on a roll, it is really hard!

A game of chase is all it took!

Tangle is a thinker when it comes to agility. He does not like to fail and sometimes over thinks a problem. These kind of dogs are great to have, but you have to be really careful in a couple of ways with them. 1) Don't let them fail too many times. If they can't get it on the first couple of tries, break down the task. (good practice anyway) 2) If they start loosing interest you can almost be guaranteed they are thinking too much and the fun factor has to be ramped up! Don't let them think too hard!!

Compare this with Tip, who is a do'er! I don't think Tip has ever shut down on me. She is ALWAYS game to play and then play more. She would work until she drops dead. BUT, it is harder to get her into a place where she is thinking "hum, what does she really want". I have to control Tip's excitement level a lot more when training something new. Food when she is learning something new, toys only when she has got it down cold.

So, I introduced Tangle to channel weaves this morning. He has been taught to weave six poles with 2x2 weaves. The channels were a completely different obstacle to him and it was NOT obvious what he needed to do to perform them properly. I noticed very quickly that he was thinking too hard and beginning to shut down. Well I believe strongly in ending on a positive note and it became apparent this was not going to happen.

Stop, breath, and think "how do I end this on a happy note"? C H A S E!!!!

Tangle's favorite obstacle right now is the AFrame. So, I incorporated the AFrame into a game of chance to just get him "do" and not "think" any more. It turned out to be a great decision. I ran him over the AFrame (favorite obstacle), threw the squirrel Frisbee (favorite toy) and while he was getting that, I ran in the different direction and hide behind the shed (chase, favorite game). I had a completely different dog on my hands!!! The speed, intensity, and joy out of Tangle was amazing.

After I had him completely engaged again, we went back to the weaves. First time ran all the way through the channels--we ended there, on a positive note!

Now, I will say as I write this I realize my mistake in introducing the channel weaves. I had them slightly open and I think that is what confused him. I should have started with them closed and then opened them as he gained confidence on another set of weaves. First time I have trained weaves this way and we all live and learn.

Split's rehab helps all the dogs

Training a puppy and rehabing a dog have some commonality!

Split was taken out of agility Mid-January due to a Hip Flexor pull. He was allowed to jog on leash with me, but really not much else. We gave him 8 weeks of rest and then began to work him back really, really slowly. I guess the nature of this injury is that the dog can re-injure it fairly easily.

First I started with really low jumps, about 8 inches, 4 jumps in a row. We would do that 4-5 times and that was the sum total of his agility. Gradually we worked the jumps up higher and added another repetition. I have gradually worked in other equipment as time has gone on. Maybe one rep of the weaves, a couple tunnels, low teeters, low dog walks and now a low AFrame.

Since all the equipment was low for Tangle, it was perfect to work Split and Tip got to come along for the ride.

It has helped Split gain his confidence back (from the injury) and the performance hasn't been a strain on him. I even sort of think that this has helped Tip, but I am not clear why. For our past two trials her contacts have been stellar (it has been a life time challenge). Her teeter has been amazing, her dog walk 2o2o is worlds better. I might play with this concept more because it intrigues me!

Also, I have had the 2 by 2 weaves out working entrances with Tangle. So, I started working those with Split has well. When he was injured he was avoiding the weaves as a part of the injury. The 2 by 2's have helped work on his entrances and get those back in shape, but has kept the strain of doing a full set to a minimum.

I am really liking this synergy between the rehab and puppy training!

I started training Tangle on jumps by doing single jump work. I decided to do this with Split as well. It helps build his muscle in his rear and build back the confidence when nothing hurts!!

This morning Split got his hardest workout since January and his jumping was amazing! He had really nice collection, tight turns, and confidence back. I am thrilled.

I am re-thinking how I keep my adult dogs in shape and well trained. Stay tuned.

As a side note, Split is jumping 18 inches and doing really well with that height!

A weekend with Mary Ellen Barry and Jen Crank

Just got finished with a 4 day seminar and I am trying to boil down everything I heard and put all the pieces in their respective places: action plans, changes in philosophy, tweaking of how I approach training, great ideas, and many many more...

The seminar was great as usual and had a chance to work on everything from puppy agility (Tangle) to World Team difficult courses (Tip). Before I go into all the things that I need to improve, I will say that I definitely had moments that I was proud of! Tip and I ran some very, very difficult sequences this weekend. We held our own and did well. I am proud once again on how far we have come. Tangle did an excellent job this weekend of being well behaved and never got out of control. Anytime that he would begin to go over-the-top, I would ask him to work doing something simple and he was always able to work!

Little light bulb factoids

• In determining what your end behavior will look like, find an example that you think is awesome and don't stop until your dog's behavior looks like that one (probably blog on this idea more)
• In terms of training, if I don't have an example, I need to keep asking myself "could this be better"
• Use immediate feedback on behaviors. Change intonation between a great behavior and a poor behavior. I am NOT consistent on this, but trying to get better.
• It is appropriate to use your outside arm to show the dog the "wall that they can not pass" when doing running on the flat.
• Smooth things out (my last blog explains this)

I brought home pieces of knowledge to help me with all three dogs, but interestingly enough, I learned more things that will help me with Split (the dog that I didn't have at the seminar--he is injured). From the 4 days I have a better understanding of what I did right with Split and where I feel short on his training. Also places where I realize my criteria is not what it needs to be for him.

Split was my first dog that I tried to follow APHS for foundation and handling. His foundation was light years ahead of Tip's. But, now that I know more, I can spot the holes in the training. All a part of the learning process. So, this weekend I came home with some ideas to clean up some of his foundation holes.

Forward motion cued from behind - Split still does not read well forward motion from behind. Although it is not my ideal handling position by any means, he does need to understand it.

Tight turns - I have let Split get away with not turning tight. I have some ideas on how to clear up some of that. Cone work, have him turn around and around a cone. Or send to the cone, rotate fully around, and then continue on forward motion in the same direction as he entered. The full rotation will be him tighter. I need to do these with Tangle as well.

Split
Help Split with his softness - keep shaping things with him, it teaches a dog how to be wrong and just try another idea, rather than shut down.

Run the path you want the dog to be on - when I can start running Split again I need to pay attention to this with him. He can skip obstacles, but this might be why.

Weave poles - do the "poles" game. Restrained recall, say "weaves", and he should look at this first pole. A way to get them super high before they hit the poles, it is a way to proof, certainly not to first learn.

Taking food as a reward - I need to go back and improve this

Tangle
I will admit, everything that I need to improve with Tangle are all skills that are not fun for me to do! There, I said it!! Mary Ellen was very good at pointing out reasons this weekend why you want to put the work into these skills and what the pay off will be.

Part of my learning process is understanding WHY I want to do something. I know, I am one of those pain in the ass students, but truly, I was raised to always ask why if I didn't understand and now it is hard for me to just blindly follow the advice and do it without understanding WHY!

So, my home work with Tangle and I am very committed to this!!

• Go back and review all my turns on the flat and get them to where they are fluid for me. Then begin to apply motion to those turns.
• Clean up his one cone work and then I can begin to apply more cones to the equation.
• Continue my shaping work
• His right turns are tighter than his left turns, even this out.

Progress on the dropped bars?

We did a USDAA trial this weekend. Out of 9 runs Tip only dropped 1 bar and that was totally my fault. To me, that is a dramatic improvement over most of the trials this summer. Sure enough, when we don't drop bars we take 1st in everything we do!

I looked back on my last post about working the jumping skills. After those drills I dragged out my Linda Mechlenberg jumping skills book. I decided to start from the beginning of her advanced grids and work my way through all the skills again (urging from a friend).

Before this trial we had gotten through the three jumps in a row, the pin wheel sort of jump drill. These drills were really hard for Tip. I filmed each series and could tell at the beginning she was really working her muscles. Toward the end, her skills seemed more effortless. With each exercise I didn't move on until I saw that effortless performance. In general I would say that we worked them for several weeks a piece.

She nor Split are particularlly trilled with the exercises, but to their credit they both do what I ask of them.

Here is a link to Split doing the pin wheel grid. He showed little effort when doing these and had a nice jump style IMO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJFWbdrpXd0

Back from vacation...

We are back from vacation! In that week I decided not to think about two agility problems that I have been dealing with, one for each dog. Sometimes when I let problems sit for a while the solution comes easier.

I have been wanting to watch the Amanda Shyne video on contacts (http://www.agilityvision.com/dvd-contacts-360-amanda-shyne) to see if I could ferret out some ideas for Split's A-Frame. He is a long strided dog and will either jump over the contact or touch it with his back feet. The back feet are perfectly legal, but judges don't always catch that he touched the yellow. I haven't gotten any new ideas for Split, which is leading me to believe that a 2o2o might be the only answer right now. I am not a fan of 2o2o on the A-Frame because I think it is hard on their shoulders if they are speedy (yes, I am aware of the methods that people teach so that the shoulders don't get pounded). I have complete faith that if Split understood what I was asking he would do it. He is very biddable.

Incidentally, Amanda touched on dropped bars and gave me some ideas for Tip's issue of dropping bars. Amanda does jump circles with her dog Dilly. She runs them from the very center where she does not have to move that much. Then she runs them very close to the jumps, this creates more motion on her part which is what the dogs have trouble handling. This is true for Tip as well. In thinking through this it makes sense. Once the dog runs clean, you move a jump. It helps them gain experience in different jump lengths which can also create dropped bars.

I will begin to incorporate this into my training plan.

It is always the simpliest thing...

I am a programmer and have come up with a saying that seems to be true more times than not. "It is always the hardest problems to find that end up being the one line fixes". Translated, the problems that are the hardest to diagnose, can be the quickest to fix.

I have been working on serpentines for way too long with both of my dogs. I am trying to teach them the Linda M. way of doing serps. Well, it was pointed out to me this week (thank you Lori) that I was saying 'come'. What does 'come' mean to my dogs? Come to me without taking any obsticles--not the serpentine performance I wanted.

Today I tried using the work 'jump' with Split. Hum...he took the jumps. Good Boy!

Maintaining Criteria

I went to a fun run last night with both dogs. The course was challenging, but very fair (explain that later). Both dogs did great, but one of the first lessons was re-taught to me. I realized that I had not been maintaining criteria on the contacts. I am fairly consistent in the back yard, but once we get on a 'real course' I allow behaviors outside my criteria.

This concept is really hard for me. I am not a follow the rules kind of person in life. All rules are guidelines. When it comes to running a full course my goals are not in line with maintaining criteria on contacts. I want to run the course fast and good enough (to Q in a trial). I need to shift my goals in non-trial situations so that I can meet my goals in a trial (to Q).

In a fun run they give me 90 seconds to run the course and work on what ever I need too. My goal should be to run the course in 90 seconds. That is, have the dog hold the contact for 5 seconds, run past the dog and see if he/she holds the contact, be out in front when calling the dog over the teeter (I can usually bait the dog and get a fly off), lead off a ridiculous amount from the table, etc.

So, next time I am at a fun run (this weekend) I am going to see how well I can meet my new goal for my runs.

P.S. a fair course to me is when there is a way to handle the course and keep the dog from doing maneuvers that would add to injury. I am game for extremely hard courses and I have seen some that are very fair and VERY hard. They don't have to be too tight, 90 degree kind of courses to be challenging.