A great day of training

Yesterday the girls and I headed to the kennel club for training. Over the last 10 days, Page has accomplished not only a full-height teeter, but also a full-height dogwalk. Putting the dogwalk in my small building has been tight, and it takes up at least half of the building. My primary goal with this training trip was to see how Page's teeter and dogwalk held up in a new location.

My secondary goal was to see what I had from Devon. A week into her heat cycle, Devon suddenly stopped working. She didn't want any part of training agility or obedience at the kennel club or here at home. First we took a trip to the vet to make sure all was progressing fine with her heat cycle (which it was). Then she was seen by two different massage therapists. She was tight through the neck and shoulders, which was part of the problem. Finally, it was decided that this heat cycle was different than her past cycles and she just didn't want to work through this one. So she got two weeks off.

On Monday I noticed a change in Devon's attitude. I cannot tell you what was different about her, it just seemed like she was happier; and not so coincidentally she was finished with her heat cycle. Devon's change in attitude prompted our woods walk on Monday. On Tuesday, Devon pushed Page out of the way in the expen and wanted to work; so I worked her. She was absolutely back to normal wanting to work. She's trained obedience all week here at home, looking like she hasn't missed a beat. So my second goal for this training session was to see if Devon's training held up away from home, including agility.

Page's dogwalk

This was the first time I asked for full-height equipment away from home. I suspected Page wouldn't have any problems with the transition, but you never know. We started with the dogwalk. I asked Page to hop up on the downside of the ramp and give me her contact performance (2 on 2 off with a chin touch). She did this a couple of times without any problem.

Since she knew what was expected of her and had probably figured out which piece of equipment she was on, I turned her and asked for the complete dogwalk, and she performed it fine. The only difference in her performance at first was to walk or trot across the top of the dogwalk; she continued to canter the ups and downs.

Below is a clip from her second training session on the dogwalk. You'll see at the end of the clip one back foot slips as she gets to the top of the up ramp, but it didn't bother her. I gave her a third session on the dogwalk before we left just to make sure she was fine with the equipment, and she never showed any hesitation on it.

Page's teeter

Next we moved to the teeter. Again, I "introduced" it to her before asking for the full obstacle. I lowered the up end so she could grab it and bang it down and do her contact performance. After this, she turned and grabbed the board before it could go back up, banged it down and went up and over it (banging it again) and did the contact performance on the down side. After she was so confident doing this, I knew she was ready for the full piece of equipment.

Below is Page's second session on the teeter.

The A frame

Now if you're thinking, "Deb never mentioned she'd worked Page on the A frame," you would be right. The only time Page has ever seen an A frame (other than when she's watching other dogs run agility) was when she was about 10 weeks old. We put her over the contact equipment when she was very young when she knew her proprioception and knew her edges and ledges. This is done because we want to introduce them to everything they will do in their life (as appropriate) before they are 16 weeks old. If you look back at the clip, you'll see she was well supervised on her trips across the equipment.

You will also see by reading that clip that Page volunteered a full A frame before I could stop her. Well, yesterday after we finished the dogwalk and teeter, we were walking by the A frame and Page turned and took two acceleration steps toward it. The A Frame was lowered to 5 feet, and I had planned to start her on an even lower A frame and work her contacts. However, if she wanted to volunteer it, I wasn't going to stop her.

I said, "You want to run it?" And took a couple of steps that way, which was all she needed. In a flash Page was up and over the A frame no problem! As her Aunt Marcy said, "See wood, get rewards!" Yes, this girl has had lots of rewards for contacts lately and since she's so confident, she was just thrilled to find something else she might get treats for!

Below is her second session on the A frame. As you can see her contact performance transfered over without a problem. I didn't even have the plastic runners I've been using to keep her straight since I hadn't planned on her going over the A frame the first time. This proved to me she no longer needed those runners, so I've removed them totally now.

Page's jumping

I just started Page jumping in the middle of the week. This was only her forth day of jumping, so I knew I was pushing it a little to do it in a new place. We need more work and confidence in her job, because Page does like to limbo under the bar. The problem is she's so stinking flexible she usually doesn't touch the bar when she limbos! Below is her jumping and limboing!

In all I couldn't be more pleased with what Page gave me yesterday. She was in a familiar location but had never worked on the contact equipment in this building. Her contact performance was solid, even on a contact she'd never done before. On the dogwalk and the A frame she was consistently hitting the last slat or below with her rear feet. She's a little higher up on the teeter, but that's ok for controlling the board.

Her jumping could use work, but I knew that. In addition, she was doing very nice sends to a curved dark tunnel and looking for me on the exit. She also did a lot of nice table work. Page does need work on staying in position as I move when she's on the table. I've taught her an automatic down on the table, just as I did Devon. I decided to move forward with the automatic down even though there are agility rule changes under consideration with AKC that call for a positionless table. The automatic down will still be needed in USDAA if I trial her there, and it's a good thing for AKC even if it's just to keep her on the table regardless of position.

I'll probably put her over the dogwalk one more time in my building and then take it down. The building just isn't functional with the dogwalk up, and I need more room to train obedience with Devon. From here forward, I'll train contacts at the kennel club when I can until we get rid of this snow and I can get the contacts outside.

And now for Devon

Devon had a fantastic day of training. I warmed her up really well before we started working. I only asked for 3 obstacles in sequence at first, and she was very confident. Her weaves looked amazing, and I could hear her digging with her rear legs to power herself through them. One thing I've realized some time back and confirmed yesterday is that Devon works better for toys in agility than treats. I always carry treats with me, but she really enjoys the toys more.

We took a break and let someone else use the equipment while I worked Devon in obedience. Her heeling skills, as well as fronts and finishes, are really looking incredibly sharp. Devon makes me enjoy working obedience because she loves it so much.

To end the day, I wanted to get some video of Devon's weaves. For the second set, she ran a line of three jumps and the tire to get speed entering the weaves. I was really happy with how far in front of me she was and how much distance I got on the weaves. And yes, that's Page you hear in the background protesting it wasn't her out in the ring!

Free Friday training

The kennel club offers free member training on a couple of Fridays a month. Today was one of those days. I was able to go up early in the day, and I had the building to myself for 2 hours. What a great way to spend a Friday afternoon!

After I ran the boys, I brought Devon in for a couple of agility sequences. The course that was set up was the same one she ran this week in class, so I did some sequences that we didn't do earlier this week. Devon was very strong in her weaves, and I was pleased with her work.

After I ran Devon, I let her stay crated in the building while I trained Page. I have done some work with Page putting her through standards here at home, so I thought I'd do that in a new place. They also had the 8 inch table out, so I thought I'd play with that, too.

Devon has an automatic down on the table, and I really like it. I've been planning to teach Page the same thing, but she was slower in learning the down than Devon was. But now that the down is coming along very well, I decided to try the table today. Yes, I know I should really teach things at home first, but why worry about silly things like that!

The clip below is the second session that day on the table. You can see she picked up the concept in no time; she's very smart. I pushed the session way too long; but she was so stinking cute, I couldn't help it. This pup just makes me laugh all the time! BTW, the protesting in the background is Devon. She is jealous when her sister works!

Next we worked sending Page through the standards. I was really glad to work this here on different jumps and with the cone and other distractions. The next time I'm able to work in the building, I'll add in the wings on the jumps. I'm very proud of her work here. And as a side note, I set the camera on the 16 inch table, and Page jumped up on that one to do her automatic down, too!

The final agility exercise I worked on with Page was a tunnel. Once again I should probably introduce these things at my place first, but the tunnel was handy and she volunteered to go through it! The next time someone comes here to the house, I'm going to have to have them help me put Page into my tunnels.

Page also went into the obedience practice ring to work her walking on a loose leash, sit, down, and leave it. She's finally getting the leave it concept, which is good.

After Page's session, I brought Devon back out for some obedience work. I think her obedience is coming along very well. She still sits a little wide from me, but she's very straight and her gait changes are beautiful. Below are two clips from her obedience session. The first is her "get close" where I'm asking her to work close beside me in heel. The second is just some heeling practice.

I had four tired but happy pups on the way home!

Memorial Day training

We spent Memorial Day training and relaxing with friends. Before breakfast, we had an early morning training session in the building with Page and Devon. Then we hit the road (the girls were really voting for breakfast) for a short tracking session with Page and some more obedience work for Devon. We were trying to beat a thunderstorm rolling in from the south. 

More on Page's track in the next post, but Devon's obedience session was fantastic. She's changing speed extremely well, and we're really together on cuing sits. We're working on getting finishes to the right and the left with both hand signal and verbal, and those are also coming together very well. Now it's down to refining the little things, like pivots and other fine heeling skills. I've never had a dog that loves obedience as much as Devon, and she's really making me enjoy it, too!

We just beat the rain, and after the dogs ate a late breakfast they napped as the temperatures actually dropped and I pulled a sweatshirt on. In spite of the rain, we spent the afternoon at K9 Athletes having a cookout/pitch-in and spending time with training friends. It was a great afternoon. 

The rain eventually went away for Devon to play on the agility equipment. She did a very nice job on all the equipment, including the teeter. She did bail off the first time but got right back on and was solid every other sequence. Her weaves are very accurate; and although they aren't fast, I'll take accurate right now.

I think Devon's favorite part of the day was getting pets from her friends. She especially liked one little boy and would have sat with him all day for pets! Page also got her socialization time. She enjoyed eating grass clods from the mower and meeting new people. Page also tried her very best to convince Dr. Bonnie that she needed to share everything on her plate. She should know by now Dr. Bonnie is no push over! And she wanted to follow Mike anywhere he was going when he walked past with a pan full of hot dogs! This girl is her mother's daughter all right!

On the way home, it looked like it was done raining for the day, so I chanced laying three VST starts for Devon. Remember I said that was on our agenda! I have the map here, but it's very hard to see because the last satellite image is from a couple of years ago during construction of this building.

The first start was 50 yards in lush lawn with a right turn across a drive, up and over a mulch island, across another parking lot entrance and a leather article at the end of another mulched island under a bush. I didn't lay any chalk or extra scent. The first start was 3.5 hours old when we ran it, and all of the tracks were approximately 100 yards.

Devon did a picture perfect start, but I did give her a straight on approach to the track. She only circled once on this start and tracked very strong. She did 2-3 circles on the turn, but that's because the track transitioned onto the non-veg in less than 10 yards; I think she was truly working the transition and not the turn. Once into the drive area, she tracked straight as an arrow to the glove.

The second start was 35 yards of short, patchy grass to a mulched bed, across a drive to another mulched island, across a parking lot to a gravel divider strip/island and her leather article was in the gravel island under a rock. I gave Devon an 90 approach to the flag, and this time she worked the start much harder. She circled a couple of times before committing to the start, but once committed she was on it and pulling strong. 

Devon made short work of the rest of the track. She does work her first transition to non-veg pretty well before committing. However once she was out there, she worked the islands and pavement very well, tracking straight to her article.

The third track started again on lush lawn. It was a 32 yard start with a right turn and 15 yards later a mulch bed into a parking lot. She then had to angle across the lot, across the gravel divider, across another lot to a mulch island where her article was hidden beside a light post. 

I again brought Devon into the start at a 90 degree angle, this time with the start to her right instead of her left. She's stronger when the track goes left, and I think we've worked more of these types of starts. Devon struggled more with this start, circling several times and back tracking the start. Again, once she committed, she did a good job and got into the track. 

I can also say Devon was getting tired at this point, too. She'd had a long day with little nap time, and this was now the third "sport" she'd trained today. She worked the first turn several times and then committed into the mulch bed and then the parking lot. She worked well to the gravel island, but once she got past it, she stalled. After circling in the same area three times, I called her in for a rescent. This did the trick and she dropped her nose and tracked directly to the article. 

I was very pleased with this session. Devon's last two VST sessions have been short yardage, but I believe we've gotten a lot of good training in. Her next track might have to be a little longer, but we'll see how the weather holds out this week.

Busy day

Today was another busy day of training for Devon and Page. We started with a morning training session in the building. These sessions include obedience and agility foundation and tricks for Page and obedience for Devon. 

Page is really doing a nice job in her training, and we'll get video soon. Devon's obedience is also very nice. We're still perfecting her heeling, fronts and finishes, as well as teaching the Open exercises. 

Today we had an extra added distraction in the building. I know I have a small mouse issue in the building, and I recently cleaned up the building and put training toys in plastic bins. The building isn't totally critter proof, so I'm never going to eliminate mice, but I'd like to control them. 

This morning, halfway through Page's session, a mouse darted out from behind a piece of equipment leaning against the wall and ran along a side rail to a hiding place behind a post. It caught my eye and I watched it until it stopped. Then I looked over to the expen, and Devon saw it, too! We both watched it's progress to the back corner of the building, then along the back wall. 

I put Page up and got Devon out. She really wanted to go find that mouse but worked with me anyway. This was actually really good distraction training for her. When the mouse made its way along the opposite wall, Page saw him, too. Even though I appreciated the distraction training today, I guess we need to get some bait out there.

The dogs napped after their breakfast while I attended my Pilate's class. Then it was home to change clothes and the girls and I were off again. Devon did a wagon wheel drill while Page commentated then watched quietly from her crate in the van. After realizing this was Devon's time, when I looked back, Page was sitting intently watching. 

After Devon's drill, it was Page's turn. Page did a 55 yard track which included a two-lane blacktop driveway. Page really likes the tracking game, but I can't say she really understands what she's doing yet. She does understand once she has her harness on what she's going to do and she looks for the start flag. When she sees it, she races to it and pounces on her start article. Today she even gave me a down on the start article!

This was the third time Page has been asked to do non-veg. The first time shouldn't even really count because I had to abandon the track before we got to the non veg. Page wasn't tracking that day. Her second non veg was a one lane gravel driveway. This was difficult for her and I had to remove three rocks from her mouth as she made her way across. 

Today's non veg was much better. Page was tracking pretty well when she got to the curb. She found the piece of food on the curb and then did classic back and forth transition scenting along the curb. It was so interesting to see Page work the curb just like a big dog would. However, because of her inexperience she never ventured out into the pavement. I finally pointed to the pavement and she started transitioning again. After helping her once more, she finally went across the pavement into the grass where she found her glove.

After our "work," we went to check out a woods we'd been given permission to use. It was a little walk back to the woods; unfortunately it was too wet for us to walk in. On the way back, I let both girls off leash to run and have some fun. Then it was back into the van to the park.

I knew going to the park around noon would be risky since it was Saturday and there would be more people out (and dogs aren't supposed to be off leash). But it was cloudy and drizzling, and I hoped it would keep people away. We were able to get a 15 minute woods walk in, which was good enough. Both girls had a good romp and were tired and happy when they got into the van.

Back at home, I made lunch and Page looked tired hanging around the kitchen. Finally, she got up and stood in front of her crate in the kitchen. I opened the door for her, and she went inside and laid down. This was a first! She actually asked to go into her crate, yippee!! I was so excited I took a photo, which made her sit up to look pretty. Oh well, at least she got in by herself!

We had one more training session in the building (without mouse distractions) before dinner. Then we called it an evening for snuggling with mom on the sofa (for Devon and Connor) and chewing on bones for Page. I think Page is now dreaming of what she's going to do tomorrow, and Devon's trying to find that mouse!

Page's first trial and kudos for Devon

Because Page's birthday is two days before Devon's, she is having some "hand-me-down" experiences. I can already see many of Page's firsts will really be repeats of what Devon did three years before. I'm sure as the girls get older, Page will chart her own path. But in our first 16 weeks, Page is taking the road first traveled by her big sister. 

This weekend is the White River Golden Retriever Club's Specialty. I'm the Rally Chairman for the Specialty, so last night I set up two crates in the obedience/rally building for the girls. I really didn't expect Ms. Page to last very long in the building. You know these Game Birds have a reputation for expressing themselves, and LOUDLY! 

Our morning started out in the usual way with a training session before breakfast. Page is learning some new things, like sitting up (beg/sit pretty) and spinning. She's also working on sitting at my left side and touching a target. Devon's training session included Excellent Rally exercises ... that's foreshadowing of things to come! Much to my surprise, she knew how to do the Halt, come front, finish signs. I wonder when she learned that? And with only two tries I taught her a rough moving stand, which was enough for me to do a walk around.

Upon arriving at the fairgrounds, the girls took a quick tour of the Indiana Collie Club Agility trial to say good morning to friends before we headed to the building. Page was elected "marketing specialist" for Rachel's tug toy business, and she headed out with a puppy tug in her mouth. Devon of course had to "help" with the puppy tug and the marketing.

In the obedience/rally building, I included Page's towel, bone and "Raspberry dog" toy in her crate. Page settled in and watched the activity around her. Pretty soon, she snuggled up with "Raspberry dog" and fell asleep. You can see a photo of the girls in their crates at the trial at the top of this entry (Page was asleep until I got the camera out).

Just like in their puppy pen, Page loves to have an extra large stuffed toy in her crate to sleep on. She has "Raspberry dog," a large children's toy made of chenille with Raspberry colored ears and feet in her traveling crate. This toy helped her make the journey to Indiana. And in her crate in the bedroom she has a bright green alien toy.

I was so impressed with Page! At 11 weeks, she was content in her crate in the obedience building from 10:45 a.m. to after 4 p.m. Devon came out to work at least three times, and Page never made a sound - even when Devon was in the ring! This is much better than when we're working in our own training building!

Devon was not entered in today's trial. However, it crossed my mind earlier this week that we only had one Excellent Rally entry. Someone would need to honor and run the course for that dog. I put it out of my mind until last night, when I got to thinking of the folks who would be around the trial and helping. Unfortunately there was only one other person who had worked their dog at the Excellent level. After we talked this morning, we decided even though Devon had never done an Advanced or Excellent class, she'd probably be the better dog to run.

I told the judge I had a dog to run, and she was fine with that. I didn't mention that the dog only had an RN and had never been off leash in the competition ring before - details! I knew my dog and trusted her. I was able to warm up with all the signs we'd be using, and Devon did very well. I also took high value treats (steak) for the pre-ring warm up. Sure enough, she was blowing spit bubbles and prancing like a reindeer! Devon was ready!

I am so proud of Devon. She handled the ring experience very well. She has never done a sit/stay on leash, but she made it most of the way through the honor sit before going down just seconds before the working dog finished. Out of the ring, I grabbed 3 pieces of steak and used them on the way to the start gate. We were in the ring, leash off and the judge asking us if we were ready before I even had time to think about being nervous. 

Devon just nailed this rally course. Did I mention that she'd never been off leash in the rally ring or jumped in rally? She was complete control after the second jump into beautiful prancing heeling. The last sign was the moving stand, walk around your dog. I taught her this sign this morning. She walked one step forward before stopping, but she held her ground for the complete exercise. 

I asked the judge later if she scored me. She laughed and said she had a clipboard but didn't have any paper on it. She knew because she "went to the board" on me and marked on her clipboard. She then paused and said she went to her board three times. Since I didn't have any handler errors or repeated signs, that would have been 3 points off total. With the failed honor station, Devon would have had an 87 and won the class. Did I mention I was really proud of her?

Page had several "out" times to work, too! She went through her "tricks" of sitting, moving into heel position and sitting, standing, spinning and hand touching. I was even able to get her to touch the target. Page also remembered that she must sit until released in a crate, even when her leash is being put on. Page did a better job than most of the dogs at this, and many nearby exhibitors noticed (thank you Crate Games)!

Page's favorite "out" time was a rough and tumble play session with Luna, the Pequeno Portuguese Podengo. Luna is 10 months old, and she was great fun for Page to play with! If you ever get the chance to meet a Podengo, they are really fun! Luna is full of life! She and Page had a grand game of bitey face, puppy wrestling and chase! 

But the BEST game was when Page grabbed Luna's leash and started tugging on her! Luna had no idea how to get out of that, and since Page was bigger and the floors slick, Luna couldn't do a thing about it! Page knew she'd won this battle of puppy wills. Susan, Luna's mom, even wondered if Page could come home with them to keep tabs on Luna. Hummmm, I'm not sure if Susan knew what she was asking for, and I could tell she thought better of that suggestion later! 

Page got to watch the final runs of the Indiana Collie Club agility trial and meet a really nice Portuguese Water Dog named Whoopsie. I really like Whoopsie, and she sent a litter of puppies home a couple of weeks before Page came home. Whoopsie was all too ready to tell Page you don't nip Portie noses! What a good momma dog!

After the agility trial, Page got to get up on Dr. Bonnie's treatment table. Dr. Bonnie is great fun, and has really yummy salmon treats! However, Dr. Bonnie's no push over! Talk about maintaining criteria! Page could tell Dr. Bonnie wasn't a novice. She really made Page push to earn her rewards for "touch." And Dr. Bonnie got Page to do a fold back down ... that little trick is worth a tracking outing or two with Skye!

After Dr. Bonnie pronounced Page a "really nice puppy," we had one more training session to tackle: HORSES! We have a busy fairgrounds on the Saturday before Mother's Day. There is a Golden Retriever Specialty, an all-breed agility trial, a goat show and a horse show! I didn't get Page over to see the goats, but there was several horses still around, so we took yummy treats and headed their way. 

Page was interested in the horses and gave them long looks, especially with they turned and eyed her. But every time she stopped and looked at them, she got a yummy treat. Hey, when mom is offering treats, the world is a great place! 

Finally, after one more lap with Luna and Sheltie Beep, we headed home. You would think that Page has slept all evening. Well, you'd be wrong! After some cat naps on the way home, a quick stop at my parents and a romp with Reece, Page has been going full steam since 6 p.m. and it's now 9 p.m. She's been pulling on the daybed quilts, chewing on my chair and wrestling with Connor; she's wandering around trying not to fall asleep! I think she'll sleep well tonight!

Homecoming of a wild goose

On Wednesday, we were up and out of the hotel early, headed to HYBAR for an obedience lesson with both girls. Before we headed out, Page made me laugh by sitting in front of the TV and watching the Weather Channel. She was probably hoping for an end to our rain! 

At HYBAR, Devon spent an hour working on open and utility exercises, with Linda showing me the progressions so I could work ahead at home. I can't wait to continue working Devon's heeling, fronts and finishes and moving on to some additional exercises. After an hour, it was Page's turn.

Luckily we could skip the proprioception exercises since I already know how to do them from agility. We did go over a useful "settle" command that will translate well into any venue. We then went right to learning proper ways to sit, down, and stand for the obedience ring. I also learned how to teach her puppy go outs, puppy recalls, foundation for heads up heeling, finishes, and fronts. We also talked about starting scent articles now, before she does pile work for field. Pile work is one of the few things that contradicts her obedience work, since in pile work the dog just needs to bring back any bumper and with scent articles they need to search the pile for the right article. 

After 50 minutes, we called it a session. I was really proud of this little one working so hard with me, when she had only been with me less than 48 hours. We have a lot to work on over the coming weeks!

And after all the driving the day before, both girls got back in the SUV and fell fast sleep as we headed toward Columbus. The photo at the top of the post is what Page looked like during most of her time in the SUV! After a stop for gas and a stop to visit "Uncle Dave," we were finally headed home. I told Linda this poor puppy probably thought she'd been placed with a homeless woman who just drove around all day and slept in hotel rooms!

Finally we arrived home! The girls had a grand time in the back yard, then they watched as I unloaded the SUV. After looking at this video, I have a feeling I'll get questioned if these two are mother/daughter!

Outside, Page showed what a great job Lise and Gayle did with teaching them proprioception. How many other 9 week old Goldens are this good with stairs?

Devon took the time to show Page where the toys where after the house was cleaned. Devon's such a good big sister!

 

And then it was time for dinner before she met the boys.

I decided to introduce Page to the boys on fairly neutral territory, at my parent's place. I got the added bonus of having Reece around to meet her too. As expected, Connor thought she was pretty neat on first inspection. He didn't play right away with her, but he did like her. Next, I brought out Reece. He is really great with puppies. And remembering Devon's reaction to seeing a black dog with pointy ears for the first time, I thought I'd get Page introduced to him before Ian. As the clip below shows, Reece really liked Page!

Finally, I held Page on my lap as I sat in a chair and we let Ian out. I was most interested/concerned about Ian's reaction to Page. When I introduced him to Devon, I expected him to be thrilled with a girl in the house. Instead he was terrified of her, and Devon quickly learned he'd run from her. Being chased by this strange creature Ian terrified him more, so they had to be separated for several weeks. 

However, I was pleased with Ian's initial reaction. He remembered what puppies where from his terror 3 years ago, and he had his ears up and tail wagging as he met her. He danced away and didn't want to stay long, but it was a much better interaction than his first meeting with Devon!

We ended our Wednesday with me cutting and repackaging Bravo in approximately 1 pound chunks for easy feeding. Page watched and commentated from her crate in the kitchen as I talked with Kathy of Agile Gold and updated her on our trip home. Kathy can testify to the tenacity of this litter to BARK! 

There's nothing like hearing a puppy bark for most of 90 minutes to make you thankful for a good night's sleep. It must have been the barking that wore her out, because Page slept from 10:15 p.m. to 5 a.m. this morning. Aaaaaahhhhh! The benefits and joys of sleep are never overrated!

A good attitude leads to success

Last night we went to the kennel club for agility class. I got there early so Devon and I could practice obedience in the practice ring before the class I help with. Devon did a great job. She was prancing in her heeling and really having fun. I switched treats last night and used small pieces of string cheeset, and she really loved it. 

Since things were going so well, I decided to ask Devon to "smack" the wall (this is an intermediate step in teaching a go-out). She has really struggled to foot touch things, and I finally realized why last night. I believe this goes back to the very first time she put her foot on the teeter board (low) and it moved and banged. That really frightened her, and she doesn't like to foot touch anything that might move. The wall has been hard when she sees my shadow moving on it.

But now, Devon has figured out the foot smack on the wall. In fact, she climbs up the wall with her front feet she's so proud of herself. I was sending her to the wall and she was climbing up it and I was giggling at her. She just thought she was so funny to make me laugh, I'm not sure she really needed any treats. 

She "smacked" several walls and then we called it a session. She went into a crate while I helped with the intermediate agility class. An hour later she came out and did her novice agility class. The first thing we worked on was a sequence involving the weaves. It was jump, chute, 12 weaves. I was sure she could do it and she did! She flew through those weaves to a big reward. Everyone was proud of her since they knew we'd been struggling with weaves.

We repeated the sequence, this time with a rear cross at the weaves. Devon handled this just fine, but she popped out at 10 when I got too far ahead of her. I told her she was silly and she must do all 12 poles, and we repeated them with the rear cross. This time she was successful. She was strong all the way through all three times at the poles and just looked fantastic.

The rest of the class went really well for Devon. She never hesitated at the teeter which was surprising since she had trouble with it the previous two weeks. This was my first clue that being successful was leading to more confidence to be successful. 

Toward the end of class we were sitting in the observation area while the 24 inch dogs were sequencing. I had asked Devon to lay down and relax, but she kept getting up. Finally, I realized she was "shaping" me to be responsible for her position. I decided to turn the tables on her. I just looked at her and waited her out, and pretty soon she realized she was supposed to lay down and that would earn her a treat. 

Well, Devon has this shaping thing well in mind. Hummm, if I offer more behaviors, I might get more treats. She backed up, and I ignored it. She got up and went to the back of the metal chair I was sitting in. As I turned my head out of the corner of my eye I saw her foot touch the chair. I started smiling! She wanted that cheese in my pocket so badly, she was giving me her toughest shaping behavior! 

I asked her what she was doing, and she heard the smile in my voice. She gave me a foot touch of the chair, and I gave her cheese! Then I decided if she was still going strong after 45 minutes of agility class, we'd see what she could really do. I got the clicker and more cheese (this got her attention), and I went to the ring gates near the practice ring. It was quiet over here and I knew I could shape her. 

She gave me a nose touch of the ring gates and got thing. Then she reached forward and smacked her foot on the ground below the ring gates. That earned her a piece of cheese. A second foot smack just under the gates earned her another piece of cheese; but then I upped the requirement. The next foot smack on the ground didn't get her anything. Hummmmm ... and the foot went out and barely tapped the gates - jackpot! She gave me several more foot touches of the ring gates, and I laughed and gave her cheese and told her how brilliant she was on each one. What a girl!

Last night reminded me that you can either spiral up with your dog or down. If you're in a rotten mood, the training session tends to go badly and everything starts to spiral to the bad. Last night, I just enjoyed my dog. I had fun training and she made me laugh. This set the mood for the whole evening. It led to our confidence and success in the weaves and on the teeter, and eventually to the success of the foot touch of the ring gates.

Attitude is everything, and you must have a positive outlook on each and every training session. You choose your attitude. I heard in a sermon one time about a man who said he didn't think he loved his wife anymore. A counselor told him every day to do something for his wife as if they were newlyweds and act like he was in love with her again. This man brought home flowers for her, did chores around the house, spent time listening to her, etc. After a couple of weeks, his attitude changed and he fell in love with his wife again. His attitude and feelings followed his actions even if his heart wasn't in it at first.

This story has stuck with me, because I think it is a good parallel to our training. Do I always want to train? Not really. But if I act out a positive attitude in my training session, my session will be successful and positive - and fun. If I continue to tell my dog he or she is brilliant and smart, the dog will act that way. 

Today's weave training and other adventures

Devon discovered exactly what happens when she shows too much energy in the morning - she gets to go work! I got home from my exercise class and Devon was wound. A great time to get in a weave session before training later this afternoon! So out to the agility yard we went.

I put two sets of 2 poles first, then a set of 6 then the last set of 2 poles. This was a little tricky since the bases are quite different. I angled the first base so the first two poles were easier for Devon. I wanted to work those tough right entrances. 

Devon was ready to go and she nailed the first attempt from a low challenge area very well. As we moved down the entry arc to the higher challenge entries, Devon started occasionally entering with the first pole on the right. Just when she got the entry correct, she'd pop out at pole 10. I couldn't reward that! 

I'm sure the reason she popped out here was the difference in the weave bases since she hasn't shown this behavior before. After this happened the second time, I removed the 6 pole base and just worked these tough weave entrances on three sets of 2 pole bases. There was no reason to fight two battles, and what I wanted to work on was her entrances! Although I totally believe in teaching the dogs on 12 poles and moving to 12 poles as soon as possible, I see no reason to work 12 poles if you're having an entry problem. As this session demonstrated, there are other problems that crop up on 12 poles, so why battle two separate issues and end up not being able to reward at all?

OK, off my soap box and back to her session. Devon worked very hard on these right hand entrances. She was close to an 80% success rate, and she was able to get an 8:30 entrance (if the first pole was in the middle of the clock and the poles ran to 12) successfully. Although she didn't want to come back to me very quickly when she failed, she was pulling to get back to the poles and try again. I was really pleased with her work ethic.

This afternoon, I headed to the kennel club for members' training. I was able to have the building to myself since I went so early. A full 1.5 hours to work all three dogs in that building is priceless to me; well worth the price of the membership! 

I decided to work Devon on the 12 poles for the first time in this building. Based on her success on Tuesday with 6 poles and her success yesterday on 12, I was sure she could do it. I first asked for the weaves alone, and she was strong and confident on 12 poles. Then I asked for one jump to the weaves. It was a right hand entrance on the edge between a low challenge and moving into the high challenge. She missed the second attempt but came back strong.

Next I back chained two jumps to the weaves. Devon was very successful, so I asked her to take one jump after the weaves before her reward. Next I asked for a three jump pinwheel before entering the weaves with a low challenge left entry. Success! Then I turned the pinwheel around so she had a high challenge left entry; again we had success! Finally, I worked the first two jumps again to the weaves, but ran it on the left and then with a rear cross; these were also successful, including when I front crossed coming out of the weaves. 

To end the session, I did a sequence with two jumps to the weaves, front cross at the end of the poles (and I purposely front crossed early so she'd see my rotation while she was in the poles), pinwheel to the teeter and three jumps back out. Her weaves were perfect. I could not have been more pleased with her success on these sequences! 

She also worked through her teeter issue and was very strong working it today. In fact, she kept volunteering the teeter and I had a hard time getting her back to working other equipment! After a short break where I worked Ian and then let Connor have some fun, Devon came back out to work another set of sequences which included the A frame and dogwalk. 

I set a nice flowing course that included a "backy-uppy" out of the tunnel over a jump before racing to the A frame. I worked the backy-uppy separately, which was no problem for Devon with her one-jump, recall to heel foundation (Ian had a little more work to do before he read it). Then I back chained it with the tunnel before having Devon do the sequence leading up to the backy-uppy. I rewarded her and then put it all together. 

Devon handled this section equally well, and she stuck all her contacts. She had a very successful agility training session. I gave her another break and then worked on some obedience in the small training ring. She did a lovely job heeling and working fronts. It's nice to have mirrors to see her progress! 

And not to leave Ian out. He also had a great agility session. It's incredible how much faster he is when there's no one around. He's a different dog! He was moving so fast, I was running as hard as I could to keep up with him. It was such fun to let loose and really work him. At this point, I was very glad for my exercise class that I've been taking for a month. The muscle tone and flexibility I've gained saved me today.

Connor also had his big adventure today. I took him out on the floor with me as I was resetting bars from 24 back down to 20 for Devon. Just like last week when I let him into the barn at Pawsitive Energy, he ran around like a crazy puppy. He wagged and ran. In fact, once he jumped over a bar still set at 24 inches. He still has beautiful jumping form. He sailed through a tunnel and up the A frame all on his own, but he put on the brakes when he saw the 24 inch double. He looked back at me as if to say, "Hey mom, can you get over here and fix this? It broke my flow!" Funny how being 9 years old suddenly makes the yellow contact zone on the A frame more appealing! 

The only down side of our training session came when Devon had an accident before she started her second agility session. She likes to "boing" or jump straight in the air from a stand when she's excited. It looks something like what an Aussie or Border Collie would do, and she jumps so high she can look you in the eye or give you a kiss on the cheek (and I'm 5'6"). 

Devon was so excited to come out of the crate the second time to work (after watching both her brothers work), that she was boinging. On the third jump, she hit a table behind her with her behind, about three inches below her tail. Luckily her tail was tucked or it would have been very bad; however it was bad all the same. When she landed, her legs crumpled under her and she landed pretty hard. She kept her tail tucked when she got up and you could tell it hurt. I let her walk it out and moved her to the padded agility flooring and walked her out to make sure she didn't have an injury. As she moved, she recovered and actually volunteered obstacles, so I continued training. 

Tonight she got a traumeel, because I'm sure she's sore. I'm going to walk her out and stretch her very good before we do any training tomorrow. I'm sure there's another appointment with Dr. Bonnie in her future! She's exhausted after two good agility sessions and "helping" this afternoon with equipment. As usual, I'm sure she'll sleep well tonight. She deserves it after the great training day she had.

A bit about obedience

Devon really enjoys obedience. We had another private lesson this week with Linda, and Devon did surprisingly well. I still have to work harder on set ups, but the "get close" work we were doing on her left turns was really nice. She also surprised both Linda and me with her fronts. I've not really worked them, and we had her doing side step and step back fronts within a minute. She is going to be a fantastic heeling dog.

Our only struggle in obedience has been the foot touch to the wall. This is a part of how Linda and Mike teach the go out. Unfortunately, Devon hasn't liked the foot touch. She'll do it at their training facility, but when I get home after a couple of successful attempts, she runs away very stressed. This time I've stuck with it, and I've seen some improvement. I started sitting on the floor and asking her for the behavior with lots of good treats. This is really helping. I'm also changing the word to "Smack." I think this will also help solidify the behavior as a happy one for her. Thursday night we were able to get her to touch three different posts at Pawsitive.

Devon is a really flashy obedience dog. I can't wait to see how her skills will continue to develop! 

Devon’s obedience training

I haven’t posted yet about Devon’s obedience training. We started with a new private trainer in Ohio, Linda MacDonald. I’ve known Linda for years through the One Ash Kennel and obedience training. Since I’m taking privates with other trainers in Ohio, might as well throw one more in! Plus I’ve heard great things from my friends who train with her.

Devon is eating up this obedience training. She’s naturally good at it, and luckily the moving heeling I’ve worked on with her was solid so we could build on it and not start over (Whew!). Linda liked Devon a lot on our first visit. Of course Devon walked into the building with a bumper in her mouth talking away not knowing who she would find in this building but thinking it had possibilities! Linda said she naturally wanted to work with me, so weaning her off food wouldn’t be a problem. We worked my pace in heeling, right turns and about turns.

Linda also told me how to start scent articles. I’ve been working this process in the early morning up in the bonus room. While Devon’s not getting it as quickly as I expected her to with all her tracking work, I can see the wheels turning and she’s giving me her best. Even better is the look on her face as we’re working. She’s sitting at attention with bright sparkling eyes as though if she stared at me long enough she could just figure it out. Even funnier is when I say, “Hide your eyes” and I put my hand over her eyes, she waits patiently and doesn’t struggle to see what I’m going to present her with. It’s just too cute!

We’re also starting to teach her a focus word for go-outs, which she loves. Hey, tell her to look at food and then she runs to get it? She’s all about that!

So even though she’s doing four sports right now – tracking, field, agility and obedience – she’s really having a ball. I’m glad that Devon is in various stages of the four sports, doing advanced learning in field and tracking, firming up foundation in agility and doing fundamentals in obedience. All Devon knows is that she gets to have fun playing games with mom, and she loves it!