Novice Standard
I was interested to see what she'd do with the new contact equipment. Would she decide to be worried or would she think it was no big deal? As I was expecting, it was no big deal. With the exception of the weaves, she handled this course very well. She nailed her contacts, although she got distracted by some dog's spit coming down the A frame -- never know when someone might leave a cookie! She also handled a rear cross into a tunnel, basically a serpentine, very well.
I was complemented by a fellow exhibitor on how well I supported her teeter performance and made sure to praise her. I asked if this person knew Devon's history with the teeter, and she didn't. It was nice without that knowledge to have my handling and support of my dog recognized.
Novice JWW
This was also a very lovely run. I really drove her off the line, and she responded by picking up speed. After two long, long days, she was sluggish at the start. I was able to get two front crosses in before and after the pinwheel; and contrary to yesterday, she didn't even blink at the ring crew today. While the first front cross wasn't as good as the one on Saturday, she read it and we didn't get a refusal or knocked bar. The second one was really in flow, and she had to really read what I was doing an not push off the jump. I was so proud of her for that one! You can hear my, "YES!" on the tape!
About those darned weaves
Well, clicking entrances has worked at home, but it has not transferred to a class or trial situation. In class this week, she was nailing her performance on 12 poles, but not getting the turn to pole 2 and going from 1 to 3 then weaving out. I believe that when that got her no rewards, the result was the stress in the trial.
I've decided to give her 2-3 weeks off with no weave work. I'm hoping this break will relieve the pressure. Then I'm going to retrain weaves with the 2x2 weave pole method from Susan Garrett. There are several folks here locally that have used this method and really liked it. I reviewed the DVD last night (thanks to Agile Gold for letting us borrow their copy) up to the point of 4 poles. This method is different enough, that I think it will do the trick for Devon.
I clearly need to do something different. What I have been doing isn't communicating to Devon either what she's doing wrong or how to fix it. She's frustrated and so am I. Based on past experience, I just need to change my method a little, and I'm sure she'll have the light bulb moment.
The very good news is that Devon still thinks she's "all that." I was pretty sure based on her lower stress level today that she wasn't souring on the game of agility. Susan confirmed that for us during her massage session at the end of the day. The princess reigned from the massage table looking beautiful and endearing with her new purple octopus in her mouth (courtesy of ACI). I don't know how she does it, but everyone who walks by must stop and come back to the doorway and smile and comment how beautiful she is. She knows how to work a crowd! Silly me for worrying about her frame of mind!
No comments:
Post a Comment