What is this "touch" you speak of?

I haven't had any agility trials since early October and my next one isn't until the weekend after Thanksgiving, and add to that a vacation last month, and there hasn't been much to write about.

The Thanksgiving trial is a 3 day AKC event where Skye is going to earn his last few points he needs to qualify for Nationals in March.

Our vacation to Florida preempted my thoughts on going to the Cynosport games, USDAA's Championship event. Skye is fully qualified and I had intentions on going, but due to the expense and vacation time used for our Florida trip, it will have to wait until next year (unless USDAA does actually move the event to the east coast). Instead I will follow along online and I wish everyone the best in their runs!

So, an update on Mr Rip's flying contacts. Ok, I admit defeat, at least for a little while. Though Rip has been hitting his AFrames in competition and in practice, he has YET to actually hit the yellow on a dogwalk in competition (though he's only done about 4 trials). I can also get Mr Confidence to leap at the halfway point of the down ramp in practice.

Now, I am happy with his speed and enthusiasm in running his dogwalk, but rather than tightening up his stride and getting more consistent with the contacts, he has been extending out and seriously jumping, flying well over the contact. Because of this, I have started teaching him a 2o2o position with a "touch" command. It's not something he has learned before, because right from the start, he only understood that you run on the board. He's starting to get the point, and I will be working in this Stop on the dogwalk for the foreseeable future. When he gets the complete understanding and can do the stop reliably, I expect I will transition that to a quick-release. At some point, I will come back to running his dogwalks, but for now he just doesnt get the point of the contact zone.

Rip is also entered in the Thanksgiving AKC trial, and unfortunately we cannot "train" in the AKC ring, so if he misses, then he misses. Its not really his fault, so I don't expect I will down him or carry him off. Likely I will just verbally mark the miss with an "Uh Oh" and pause our progress, then finish the course.

Rip has been learning some new tricks like "spread em" where he stands up against a wall while he gets "frisked", and I have been trying to teach him to stand on his hind legs and walk forward. These have the benefit of strengthening his back and back legs too!

Rip training update.

Rip and I have been in our "Young Guns" training class - this is the class for up-and-coming fast, young dogs and handlers who care about the details.
This week we did some jump grids and Rip did a great job adjusting to the spacing of the jumps, as well as his timing to bounce through them.
Rip seems much faster than Skye to me, which, of course, I am happy about. As he gets more confident, he is getting faster. It's going to be great to run this boy in an actual trial.

Since I was so busy last week with my parent's visit and our trial preparations and such, I hadn't had much time to train Rip. I need to keep doing more repetitions with his weaves, as in class he skipped a pole one time and he also came out early. I have to watch the pop-outs, and recently I have made sure to not reward immediately after the weaves, but make him do another obstacle after weaving before rewarding.

Other than working on tightening up Rip's wide turns, my other main concern is to focus on contact performance. I've been using the "box" for training a running contact with his DW and AF, and about 75% of the time his performance is spot-on, however... as Mr Rip is getting quite full of himself and confident, I have been getting some leaping of the contacts. His teeter is great and I haven't had any issue there.

Lets see if it holds up...

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement and nice comments on Skye's failed NQ weekend. It's appreciated!

Because of the contact issues I have mentioned in my previous posts, I have gone back to a 2on 2off for Skye's dogwalk (at least for now!). We have been practicing it this week, and I have an AKC trial this weekend, so I'll see if it holds up.
In practice, when I tell him Touch, he does a nice job of sticking it.

Up until probably 5 or 6 months ago, we would train a 2o2o in practice, but I would let him early release at a trial, since I could never get the correct 2o2o behavior in a trial. I know that its my fault, for not enforcing it during a run, probably because of the adrenaline of the run, wanting to finish it, the money it costs (especially for AKC), etc. I've decided that if he launches the dogwalk, I will down him and we will end the run. But... will I do it...
If he hits the yellow, who am I kidding, I will just continue, even if it looked a bit "launchy".

Though I really dont do much NADAC or DOCNA, those venues are really great for letting you go back and train an obstacle like the Dogwalk, but since I prefer the tighter, more handling intensive courses from AKC and USDAA, I don't want to get Skye used to the wide open running found in the NADAC and DOCNA courses.

Our club is hosting a DOCNA trial on Memorial day weekend, so I intend to take that opportunity to do some contact training in a trial environment if he doesn't meet criteria. There is a NADAC trial locally in June in a nice park that may be worth entering for some ring training as well.

Skye contacts training

It seems that Contacts is the subject of interest lately, and why not, as they are often an area of contention for many.
At Skye's last 2 trials, he's missed quite a number of contacts. I decided to film him to evaluate his performance and see if I can make some adjustments to our training to make his contacts more successful. As you will see in the video, his dogwalk contact was looking great with the stride regulator in place. This is the first time I have tried this "crutch" with him, but since he is responding very well to it, I will continue to try and build some "muscle memory". His Aframe is OK, and typically we are not called for an Aframe contact unless I frontcross in front of the frame. It does seem that he is only using the top 6 or 8 inches of the AF contact zone, which is fine for AKC, but in USDAA it makes for a very close call. I may try adding a stride regulator here too and see if it causes him to adjust his steps.


Note that today I did do more contact training and he again hit all his dogwalk contacts with the stride regulator in place. I did not add one to the AFrame though, and his performance was consistent with what we have had in the past.

Where did my contacts go?

Yes, I figured it was going to happen, but I hoped that it would not. I have been training Rip to use the "box" to do running contacts on his Aframe and Dogwalk. Initially I taught him contact position, where he would do a 2on 2off for me, so I knew he had some understanding of the position, and I transitioned to having him run through the box on the ground, and then moved the boxes to the equipment, and had him do contact positions in the box. All's well... Then he was doing full height equipment with the box and the boy would hit his contact nicely every time, just stride right down into them. Every time!

Now, he didn't have a lot of speed doing this, but he wasnt on a liesurely stroll either. As time goes on, he is getting more comfortable running on the equipment and his speed is ever increasing. Now I am finding that he's started leaping. Damnit all, it couldnt be easy, could it? No, turn into a leaper just like every other dog out there training for running contacts.
So now the wife has some ideas for us to work on to get him striding back through again. I havent given up on the box yet, but why cant this just be easy... why cant we tell them what we want, and they just do it?

New Rip Weaves video!

Here's a video of Rip's weave progress - he's doing great, getting faster. I know I rewarded a miss on the first try, but what can ya do...

Make sure to watch in HD (click the HD button on the video)

Rip Training Update.

I don't have any video to share this time, but thought I would recap training progress on my Rip boy (who is usually called "Rippers"). I'll just break down his performance and what we are doing with each obstacle. Rip is a very soft dog that I need to be careful to not shut down - he wants to be right, and will try to correct something when I don't give him a "yes" but instead an "oops", but if he doesnt get it right after two or three tries, he will just lay down and not respond. He will think that he's in trouble when he is not, so everything has to be extra upbeat with him.

Contacts:

• A Frame - we are using the "box" method to achieve a running contact. At this point Rip is successful probably 90% of the time. I will have to watch this as his training continues and he gains more & more confidence
• Dogwalk - like the Aframe, we are using the "box" method here too. We are training for USDAA contact sizes as they are the most restrictive. Rip is probably 80 - 90% successful on his dogwalks as well. He does understand contact position, as shown by sometimes volunteering a contact by walking up a little, turning around, and standing in the "zone".
• Teeter - I use just one word for the teeter performance "teeter". I just expect him to run up and when it bangs, go. I dont tell him to touch or anything other than "teeter". He does well and I have not seen any flyoffs.

Jumps:

• We work a lot of single-jump exercises including figure 8's, both front cross and rear cross style (though he's still wide on the RC's).
  
• We have been working wrapping, signalling with the offhand. He is still not collecting as I'd like consistently, so more work here.
• Distance - I've been working on sends to a single jump. This is going well, and my send distance is about 20 feet.
• Jump grids -we have done some jump grids and he's been doing well. I want to make sure he single strides to the next jump when he can make it, and can read when the jumps are at varying distances. Still plenty of work to do here.
• Box drills - we havent done too much here. This is better done outside, so need some snow to melt again.
• Pinwheels - have done a little bit here with 3 jump pinwheels. Havent done any 4 jump pinwheels.

Weaves

• Since we got to 12 poles with the 2x2 method, I've been working on building drive (using some open channels and 2x2's offset), as well as changing the environment for weaves. I have used upright weave-a-matics indoors, channels and standard weaves in the training building with the rubber mulch flooring, and outdoors on 2 different sets.
• Need to continue working various entries. Thus far I have worked jump-into-weaves about 90% of the time. Need to include tunnel to weaves as well to proof collection.
• I will work on more distance from the weaves / send to weaves.
• Continue to work crosses before and after weaves. Rip hasnt been phased by any crosses I have done - it doesnt pull him out or cause him to miss entries so far.
• On occasion he will miss, either by not collecting after hitting the entry, or a couple times he has entered at pole 2 though this doesnt appear to be a problem.
• Need to watch the 2x2 DVD again for more proofing thoughts, and drive building thoughts.
  

Chute

• We haven't worked on the chute much at all, mostly because its a 2 person training obstacle and Rip really doesnt care for it, so I have to do some coaxing. I really need to build his confidence with the stinking chute, as we will see it everywhere.

Tunnels / Tire

• No real issues here - just continue to do them including various crosses before and after.

Startline Stay

• Rip does really well staying when I tell him to. I havent tested to see how far away I can get, but its been at least a couple obstacles, and seldom would I ever need much more than that, especially on a green dog.
• He will take the obstacle in front of him when released from a stay, but I havent tried to see if he will take the obstacles if I am off to the side when he is released - need to work this.

Table

• No issues. He seems to like the table, probably because we did a lot of play training on the table.
• He's a softie, so he downs when I tell him down, and sits when I tell him sit. I have tried getting a little distance with him on the table, but need to work this more.

Squeaky Tennis Ball

• He has love for all things round and squeaky! He reallllly wants to play when I grab this toy and its worked quite well for me in getting this boy trained.
  

Rip 2x2 weaves update, 12 Poles!

Rip 2x2 weaves update again

No video to show for now, but we've been working at getting drive out of the 6 poles.
I've done a number of "easy" straight on entries with a set of 6 straight poles, along with doing some fast-drive work through 6 offset 2x2's to build up more speed. I want Rip to be confident and fast when he sees the weaves, and though I would like to move to 12 poles faster, I dont want 12 slow or methodical poles, so its time for more drive.

We are still working two sets of 6 with about 6 feet separating them. I want to get to the point where he is always looking for the second set of 6 poles after coming out of the first set before squeezing them together. When I tried a couple times on a full set, it just seemed overwhelming to him, as he was missing entries and would come out half way.

We have also been working on changing up the location quite a bit. We are fortunate enough to have many different sets of weaves here, so he's got a set of 2x2's in the front yard, a full set of 12 in the front yard that I separate for him, and we have two more sets of 12, one separated and one whole in the agility field.

I've also been making sure to hit weaves both indoors and outdoors.

So this is probably sessions 23 ,24 and 25.

Rip 2x2 weaves, day 22. Six times Two.

We're working on two sets of 6 poles now. He's starting to get the hang of this...

Rip 2x2 weaves, day 20?

Just a quick update (I have video from this weekend, but havent edited it yet)

Rip is working well with 6 poles, and though I have had him miss a couple times, he is generally hitting them correctly. I have two jumps that we're using to test entries, one onside, and the other offside.

Over the weekend I went out to do some weaves with him, and just as we got there, the neighbor two houses over started shooting shotguns (at what, I dont know). Now, we're on 40 acres, so its not like they were in my yard, but still quite a distraction that would send many dogs running (matter of fact, I saw someone's German Shepherd bolting for the back 40, hope they came back). Rip did very well with the shooting going on, though he wasn't very focused.

For onside entries, when I get Rip going fast over the jump into the weaves, he isn't collecting as much as needed to get into poles 2/3, so I need to work this more and maybe rotate the second set a little to make sure he gets it.

I did take him out today, and we worked them for maybe 2 minutes at most. He seemed tired, as he'd been very busy today, so as I wasn't getting the energy out of him that I wanted, I stopped after hitting the poles about 3 times.

I am not that happy with his speed in the poles, but he seems more concerned about accuracy than speed right now, and I know with confidence he will get faster. I haven't yet introduced the 2nd set of 6 poles, but I plan to do that this week.

Rip 2x2 weaves update

After getting to 6 poles the other day, I decided to give him a day off from practice. Today I had moved the poles to a new location to make it easier to have jumps on either side, and just to mix it up a bit for him and make sure to take location out of the picture.

We have this little ritual we do before practicing weaves. I get the squeaky tennis ball, and we head out the back door. Rip then zooms over to the training building, and we play ball for a few minutes in the building first. Then we go out the back door of the building, and lately he runs to the weaves and hits them for his ball reward. Today I took him out and we played, and then he ran out the back and looked around for his weaves. It was pretty funny - he's all "hey, where did they go??". Then I showed him their new location and he hit them without issue.

As it was cold and windy today, I only had him do a couple jumps into the weaves. Probably twice from on-side, and once from off-side, but all were 100% successful!

Its supposed to be nice out this weekend so I expect to get out there again and probably film it.

Rip 2x2 weaves, day 19, 6 Poles!

We are now doing 6 inline poles! The interesting thing is, Susan Garrett suggests that when introducing the last set of 2, that they should be setup offset at the beginning or the end of the 4 straight poles. I was finding that with them offset, Rip would hit the entry, and then skip by the other poles and suck into the offset poles. He did this a couple times. I then just put them straight and he hit them every try.

We will now work on entries over a jump around the arc. I need to pull the anchors out and move the poles over so I have equal room for both side when incorporating the jump, and so Rip gets a different look, facing a different direction just to make sure they are proofed and he can hit them wherever I put them. Soon enough, I will look to introduce the next set of 6 poles as suggested by the DVD.

Rip 2x2 weaves, day 18

I took Rip out today sans camera again, to play and do some 2x2's. Before we went out, I had moved the poles straight (I didn't tell him I was doing this)

He ran out and hit those just like before and didn't notice the difference! He was 100% on the 4 straight poles - such a good boy! We did probably 6 repetitions and I didn't see the need to do more as he was hitting them.

So now I will add a jump into the poles to make sure he's OK with hitting the entry after another obstacle. He doesnt seem fazed by my running beside him or crossing behind, so I dont suspect adding a jump will cause any issues.

I look forward to adding the last set of 2 poles into the mix!!

Rip 2x2 weaves, day 17

No video today, and just a very short session. When I grab the squeaky tennis ball, Rip gets all excited and will race out to the training field ahead of me. Today when we got within sight of the weaves, he went right for them at a 90 degree angle, collected and did his 4 poles. He did a great job. I then had him do the poles 5 more times, including running with him, and rear crossing him, and he was 100% today, so I need to move the poles to the straight position now.

Next session will be with 4 poles straight, then introduce a jump into the weaves, then it will be to add poles 5&6 to the mix.

Rip 2x2 weaves, day 16

As I mention in the video, I was able to get the stakes out of the ground to move the 2x2's closer. They are only offset by the width of the base now, maybe 2 inches.
At first, Rip didn't know what to do, but then he figured it out and hit maybe 50% of his attempts. Once I can move them together, which I expect to do this week, I will add in a jump into the weaves before adding the last set of 2 poles.

Rip 2x2 weaves, not much to say

The cold weather has frozen the ground, and with it, the anchors I used to hold the 2x2 weaves in place. When we had the spell of 60 and 70 degree days a week ago, the ground was accommodating and let me pound in the 8" spikes to hold the weaves. Now the ground wont let go, and I cant adjust the poles to a straighter position!

At this point, Rip is hitting almost 100% from onside entries. I haven't been doing many offside, as rather than frustrate him, I am doing offside with just a set of 2 poles in the training building so that he gets the point of them again. He is doing great with the 2 poles, and they are basically turned straight, maybe close to the 1&7 position, but he gets it with 2.

The weather hasnt been very cooperative, with cold and constant gusty winds making training outside less than enjoyable. At least the little bit of snow we got was gone the next day. We're getting a small amount of snow again tonight, but I doubt it will be enough to worry about, though it probably wont get above freezing to melt it until Sunday.

This weekend Skye and I are doing 2 days of the 4 day AKC trial at the Denver Stockshow location. They have a lot going on there, with conformation, obedience and agility. There should be lots of vendors - I may pick up a new collar for Rip. He chewed up his nice brown one that matched the leash I bought him - "brother" Ice took the collar off him, and then Rip decided to chew it in half.

Rip 2x2 weaves, day 15

After being away for 4 days, I was curious to see how Rip would do on his weaves today. A camera malfunction prevented me from getting the session on tape unfortunately. He did really great for his on-side weaves, and probably hit 6 out of 7.

On the other hand, he again really struggled with the offside entries. He got maybe 1 of 6. I felt really bad because his energy level dropped as the misses piled up. Instead of continuing to push it, I played ball with him and got him excited to play indoors. Then I took out a single set of 2x2's and had him hit those about 4 times indoors and he got them no problem.

For his misses, he is just not collecting and seeking out the first poles. He is running around them and going to the second set and looking for the ball throw. So, I will probably have to reinforce the offside entries with the 2 poles a couple more days until I ask him for them again on the 4 poles. For onside, I will let him do those as he is really getting it.

Rip 2x2 weaves, day 14

Rip 2x2 weaves, day 13

Today I moved the poles back outside, as I had been working them in the training building the last 2 times. I moved out because I was needing to stake down the poles so Rip wouldn't move them. Since he was doing well, I rotated them a bit more, close to 4 straight poles.

As I mention in the video, he was at a 50% success rate after a couple minutes. We then hit a series of misses from the offside and he seemed to be getting a little frustrated, looking around and driving less, so I waited for him to hit it right once more and we finished with some fun tennis ball play in the building.

This session I also mistakenly rewarded a miss, and though I was upset with myself for doing it, I figure it was going to happen at some point! Its tough to time the reward correctly!

I'll do another session tomorrow with the poles in the same place, and will continue with the same positioning until I see at least 80% success. Then, Thursday we head for a USDAA trial in Kansas, so there won't be any weave training until Monday next week.