It was another double training sunday!!
Flyball this morning:
Elliot:
We loaded the box for the first time today as the new box is working!!:) After stumbling a bit the first couple of times he was then doing perfect four footed turns with full runs as well, just got to get him to realise he is now running back to his tuggy and not to a ball being thrown. As usual his run backs/changes were fine, he is now going from 40ft, can't wait till his first starters in May!!
Jemma:
Hmmm, not a great day for her. She was quite distracted in the run backs and so didn't do many proper changes, although she did only have one real paddy where she wouldn't look at me. Her box work was brilliant, she did two/three perfect runs with perfect box turns but then decided to go back to her old trick of over one jump and then over to play with the other dogs but she then got shut in the car and didn't get to have another go and I brought her back in two dogs later and just did one one jump and box which was perfect. We shall just have to see if this has an effect next time at training!!
Agility this afternoon:
Jemma:
Wow, what a mammoth session!! We started with some jumping but my trainer and I had a little bit of a disagreement with the handling method but eventually came to some kinda of agreement, I think!! Weaves were amazing - she even managed to do them on her bad side once we put a wire in, she was really nicely wrapping round the first pole. After doing a lot of work on the four poles and her only getting it wrong about 3 times we tried her on 8 all together and she was a hell of a lot better but not brilliant so we did four then break then four and she was amazing at that too!! we then tried four with me running along side of her and it all went to pot but after tying her up twice (maybe three times) she did it really nicely 4 times with me running. We then finished with some a-frame and found the best way to get her to go faster over the a-frame was treats rather than her ball but her ball is good for "teasing" her and making sure she stays on the contact and doesn't come off when she feels like it.
Elliot:
Did some wide channel weaves and started doing them at angles which he didn't like much to start with but then he got the hang of it! :) We also did quite a lot of jumping work, mainly on some long straight lines which he was quite good at, although we had to do a bit of work on a long lead out as he kept running round the first jump. Also included the tunnel being at an angle away from the jump and me getting in the right place to send him over it, and a tight turn back towards me. We then did some dog walk and he was REALLY good today, at one point stopping so fast he nearly went head over heels (the polite version as my mum occ. reads this!!).
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Saturday, 14 March 2009
Our First KC Agility competition!!
Well today Jemma and I had our first KC agility competition, and here is how we got on:
Agility; sadly it was jump then weaves to start and bless jem she did the weaves (right to the end of the eight) but went in on the wrong side so I decided to make her do them again (in hindsight I would have let her carry on in this stage of her training with the weaves!!) and then she got all confused and silly but as they were so early in the course i decided to carry on (sorry char!!) and she only dropped a pole and that was because I was too lazy and didn't go close enough to one jump and turned too early!!
Helter Skelter; No weaves or contacts - my little star went clear!!! and not only that, (out of the 20+ dogs that went clear & 100+ in the class) she came 3rd!!!!!!!!!!! That made me a VERY proud mummy!!
Jumping; Jem knocked a pole because I turned too early and got a refusal because i stopped too soon to do a turn and so she slammed the breaks on just before the jump and then ran past the jump a little bit. We then had to do a pull through into the weaves - sadly jem just wouldn't see the weaves so after three attempts we left the ring (there was only one jump left)
Here is hoping to us having learnt to do the weaves by the end of the season!! :)
Agility; sadly it was jump then weaves to start and bless jem she did the weaves (right to the end of the eight) but went in on the wrong side so I decided to make her do them again (in hindsight I would have let her carry on in this stage of her training with the weaves!!) and then she got all confused and silly but as they were so early in the course i decided to carry on (sorry char!!) and she only dropped a pole and that was because I was too lazy and didn't go close enough to one jump and turned too early!!
Helter Skelter; No weaves or contacts - my little star went clear!!! and not only that, (out of the 20+ dogs that went clear & 100+ in the class) she came 3rd!!!!!!!!!!! That made me a VERY proud mummy!!
Jumping; Jem knocked a pole because I turned too early and got a refusal because i stopped too soon to do a turn and so she slammed the breaks on just before the jump and then ran past the jump a little bit. We then had to do a pull through into the weaves - sadly jem just wouldn't see the weaves so after three attempts we left the ring (there was only one jump left)
Here is hoping to us having learnt to do the weaves by the end of the season!! :)
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Naughty Jemma
Well tonight was obedience training;
Elliot:
He seemed a bit over excited to do his heelwork properly although I am floudering a bit with him at the moment and need some help from my wonderful friend Sarah to get a push in the right direction!! We did some of the exercises where you leave them in a sit/down/stand and walk past them and he did them all really well, even the stand which he had never done before. The static exersises we did he did well although he did keep over shooting a bit on the right turns, however he seems to be finally getting the hang of his left turns :) We also did some control exercises and he did well in those, just struggled with the stand but we havn't done much of that. His recalls were also off tonight, he kept coming in and sitting sideways, not a problem I have had before with him but I think it might be because I have worked on his heelwork during the week and not done any recalls so he had forgotten what he was supposed to do. He also got up on one of them but then that was because he had an itch bless him. In the stay, he did a good sit until Jem broke hers and i returned to her (he just got up to say hello to me). He broke his down but it was after a long time which was hard for him so i will forgive him, and he only broke it the once.
Jemma:
Whilst tied up during Elliots class she managed to get hold of someones treats they had left on the stage and ate the whole bag (I was v embarrassed!!). She broke her sit stay but again after quite a while so she did well for her. Her down stay was brill as always :) I wasn't overly pleased with her heelwork, she wasn't really with me, after lagging behind in training at home she decided to go ahead of me but also away from me and was a bit all over the place (she did however stay down on the a-recall!!). She also did a very nice present in her novice recall. Her about turns are getting better, but her lefts weren't very good in the big bit of heelwork we did, she wasn't sending her bum all the way round - again I think we are well over due a session with Sarah, hopefully this will be rectified next week!! :)
Elliot:
He seemed a bit over excited to do his heelwork properly although I am floudering a bit with him at the moment and need some help from my wonderful friend Sarah to get a push in the right direction!! We did some of the exercises where you leave them in a sit/down/stand and walk past them and he did them all really well, even the stand which he had never done before. The static exersises we did he did well although he did keep over shooting a bit on the right turns, however he seems to be finally getting the hang of his left turns :) We also did some control exercises and he did well in those, just struggled with the stand but we havn't done much of that. His recalls were also off tonight, he kept coming in and sitting sideways, not a problem I have had before with him but I think it might be because I have worked on his heelwork during the week and not done any recalls so he had forgotten what he was supposed to do. He also got up on one of them but then that was because he had an itch bless him. In the stay, he did a good sit until Jem broke hers and i returned to her (he just got up to say hello to me). He broke his down but it was after a long time which was hard for him so i will forgive him, and he only broke it the once.
Jemma:
Whilst tied up during Elliots class she managed to get hold of someones treats they had left on the stage and ate the whole bag (I was v embarrassed!!). She broke her sit stay but again after quite a while so she did well for her. Her down stay was brill as always :) I wasn't overly pleased with her heelwork, she wasn't really with me, after lagging behind in training at home she decided to go ahead of me but also away from me and was a bit all over the place (she did however stay down on the a-recall!!). She also did a very nice present in her novice recall. Her about turns are getting better, but her lefts weren't very good in the big bit of heelwork we did, she wasn't sending her bum all the way round - again I think we are well over due a session with Sarah, hopefully this will be rectified next week!! :)
Sunday, 8 March 2009
A busy dog day!!
I have just realised I didn't fill my blog in after obedience training on tuesday and now I can't really remember what happened. I think Elliot needs to work more on his turns in heelwork, especially the left, and in his retrieve at not mouthing the dumbell and bringing it back really close. They both did their stays :) Jemma managed to do a recall from a sit and from what I remember did some nice heelwork apart from her about turns which are our biggest problem, but i think this may be because if i do a tight about turn with my feet i have a tendency to fall over (something i clearly need to work on!!)!! Anyway, now on to training today (in a bit more detail).
Flyball this morning:
Jemma:
Wow - the only word I can think of using for her turns on the box, they were amazing today, I was really pleased with her. I also managed to do four jumps upto the box and only once did she get a little side-tracked between the last jump and the box and had a look at the other dogs. In the power training, well she was good overall although at one point decided she would rather have a go at another dog (tyne) and run to me, but she did eventually refocus herself. :)
Elliot:
Definately a little star in the making here, he did some proper change overs and just kept running in a straight line, didn't waiver at all!! :) We managed to get him doing four jumps before the box but it took a little while, he didn't have much confidence to run that far away from me whilst not chacing a ball or anything but once Nat went up the box end as well and gave him some really loud calls he got the idea bless him!!The only problem I have with him really is that once he has his ball he isn't overly interested in his tuggy, but i am thinking of ways of working on this!!
Agility this afternoon:
Jemma:
Well her weaves have certainly improved, she spent very little time in "chill out" whilst we were doing them from straight on and to the right of them but as soon as we started doing them at angle from the left she got in a tizz, she is trying to do it the same as she does on the right and go between the first two poles but of course this means she is entering on the wrong side. She did however 90% of the time then go on to complete all four weaves which is good for her, she would normally not bother if she has gone wrong. She just needs to learn that she has to wrap around the first pole but that will come with practice I am sure, at least there is now most definately light at the end of the tunnel and we can see we are getting somewhere!! :) On her dog walk we realised that actually she needs to go back to basics and have the target at the end as she doesn't stop 2o2o if I continue running but as soon as the target is back she does. Therefore I am going to work on her with the target and cut it down a little bit each time to try and fade it out. Her seesaw was good but she did have a tendancy after touching the target to wander over to my trainer as she was the one rewarding her-cheeky monkey!! The same really applies on the a-frame although with this she really needs the drive to get to the bottom and to stay there, if her ball was put out a bit in front of the a-frame but out of ehr reach she would just continue running for it!! But all in all it was a good session!!
Elliot:
He did some beautilful straight line work and some turns/cross-behinds, if I get the handling right he makes it all look so easy bless him!! We then did some work on the dog walk and he doesn't really get the idea that he has to stay on the dog walk until i release him no matter where I am, as soon as I move away from him he wanders off, so i need to work on moving away and then when he touches returning to him to reward him, this will be a little tricky as the hallway at the bottom of the stairs in my flats is tiny, but I am sure we will find a way. His a-frame was better but he still likes to stop slightly sideways. We then finished with some very wide channels weaves which we did at a straight angle and he did every time!! :) I get the feeling he is going to be a little star at this as well!! :D
Flyball this morning:
Jemma:
Wow - the only word I can think of using for her turns on the box, they were amazing today, I was really pleased with her. I also managed to do four jumps upto the box and only once did she get a little side-tracked between the last jump and the box and had a look at the other dogs. In the power training, well she was good overall although at one point decided she would rather have a go at another dog (tyne) and run to me, but she did eventually refocus herself. :)
Elliot:
Definately a little star in the making here, he did some proper change overs and just kept running in a straight line, didn't waiver at all!! :) We managed to get him doing four jumps before the box but it took a little while, he didn't have much confidence to run that far away from me whilst not chacing a ball or anything but once Nat went up the box end as well and gave him some really loud calls he got the idea bless him!!The only problem I have with him really is that once he has his ball he isn't overly interested in his tuggy, but i am thinking of ways of working on this!!
Agility this afternoon:
Jemma:
Well her weaves have certainly improved, she spent very little time in "chill out" whilst we were doing them from straight on and to the right of them but as soon as we started doing them at angle from the left she got in a tizz, she is trying to do it the same as she does on the right and go between the first two poles but of course this means she is entering on the wrong side. She did however 90% of the time then go on to complete all four weaves which is good for her, she would normally not bother if she has gone wrong. She just needs to learn that she has to wrap around the first pole but that will come with practice I am sure, at least there is now most definately light at the end of the tunnel and we can see we are getting somewhere!! :) On her dog walk we realised that actually she needs to go back to basics and have the target at the end as she doesn't stop 2o2o if I continue running but as soon as the target is back she does. Therefore I am going to work on her with the target and cut it down a little bit each time to try and fade it out. Her seesaw was good but she did have a tendancy after touching the target to wander over to my trainer as she was the one rewarding her-cheeky monkey!! The same really applies on the a-frame although with this she really needs the drive to get to the bottom and to stay there, if her ball was put out a bit in front of the a-frame but out of ehr reach she would just continue running for it!! But all in all it was a good session!!
Elliot:
He did some beautilful straight line work and some turns/cross-behinds, if I get the handling right he makes it all look so easy bless him!! We then did some work on the dog walk and he doesn't really get the idea that he has to stay on the dog walk until i release him no matter where I am, as soon as I move away from him he wanders off, so i need to work on moving away and then when he touches returning to him to reward him, this will be a little tricky as the hallway at the bottom of the stairs in my flats is tiny, but I am sure we will find a way. His a-frame was better but he still likes to stop slightly sideways. We then finished with some very wide channels weaves which we did at a straight angle and he did every time!! :) I get the feeling he is going to be a little star at this as well!! :D
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Sorry, its a long one!!
I apologise if this bores you, I am just trying to keep an accurate record for myself of how my two are getting on.
Firstly, I have now added the videos of Jem at the agility nuts comp to that thread!!
Secondly I have spent the past 3 days working on Jems weaves and yesterday managed to have a really good session, with her having a success rate of over 80% doing four weaves from a distance of about 10 foot. Still in a straight line but next time we might try to start doing it at a little angle, depending on if she remembers it all!!
So now for the stuff we have done today:
Flyball
Jemma:
Well she was still having a bit of a look at the dogs running out to her so wasn't doing full change overs but like I have said before that is not as much of a worry as she will just have to be start dog. But what made me really happy was that on the box section she did four jumps up and back with only netting between the final jump and the box and she didn't even bat an eyelid at the other dogs racing in the lanes which is amazing for her, especially after last time bless her!! Lets just hope she does the same next week!! Her box was pretty good too, still had nat in to really call her and drive her to the box but she only stumbled over a couple of them, the rest were four feeters, and the full run was with the new box, still not loaded yet though!! :)
Elliot:
Well what can I say - he is a little star!! On his box he had no natalie and did two jumps then box (but then running back over all four with me running too!!) on the old box, although he got a little oncfused when I first did two jump as he had never done it from that far back before. We then the same on the new box with no faulters, all four feeters too :) With his lane runbacks he got on fine, ran without netting, did change overs and everything - even nearly came level with asher (well almost nearly - was about a jump behind him) !!! :)
Agility
The club I train at was one dog short for their league match so I got a call and decided to give it a go, the more practise I get for Jem the better!!
So...
Agility
I forgot to say steady on the seesaw so Jem slipped of sort of mid air bless her as she tried to stop at the end!! Then we had 8 left handed weaves (straight entry and exit), I didn't call her off them or anything and she found the entrance straight away and did 6 perfect weaves, sadly for fear of making her speed up and pull out i had hung back a bit too much I think but anyway we then had another few goes at them but she was being silly and getting in a state so we left the ring!! She only missed out on a couple of jumps and a-frame.
Jumping
Again there were 8 weaves but this time right handed but in the same arrangement as before. The first time she just walked down the side of them in the way she does, second time she walked down the side and went in between 6&7. Was going to walk out the ring but gave her one last chance, made her sit and then told her weave and she did them bless her, I was then so pleased that I forgot where I was going but only for a split second. So apart from the weaves she did the rest of the course brilliantly bless her!!
Steeplechase
There were no weaves or contacts in this and she went clear so that was a good round bless her!! :)
Her wait at the start line for all three was brill, not even any twitching seen!!:)
So as I already know it is her weaves letting us down so once we have cracked them first places here we come...well maybe!!
Firstly, I have now added the videos of Jem at the agility nuts comp to that thread!!
Secondly I have spent the past 3 days working on Jems weaves and yesterday managed to have a really good session, with her having a success rate of over 80% doing four weaves from a distance of about 10 foot. Still in a straight line but next time we might try to start doing it at a little angle, depending on if she remembers it all!!
So now for the stuff we have done today:
Flyball
Jemma:
Well she was still having a bit of a look at the dogs running out to her so wasn't doing full change overs but like I have said before that is not as much of a worry as she will just have to be start dog. But what made me really happy was that on the box section she did four jumps up and back with only netting between the final jump and the box and she didn't even bat an eyelid at the other dogs racing in the lanes which is amazing for her, especially after last time bless her!! Lets just hope she does the same next week!! Her box was pretty good too, still had nat in to really call her and drive her to the box but she only stumbled over a couple of them, the rest were four feeters, and the full run was with the new box, still not loaded yet though!! :)
Elliot:
Well what can I say - he is a little star!! On his box he had no natalie and did two jumps then box (but then running back over all four with me running too!!) on the old box, although he got a little oncfused when I first did two jump as he had never done it from that far back before. We then the same on the new box with no faulters, all four feeters too :) With his lane runbacks he got on fine, ran without netting, did change overs and everything - even nearly came level with asher (well almost nearly - was about a jump behind him) !!! :)
Agility
The club I train at was one dog short for their league match so I got a call and decided to give it a go, the more practise I get for Jem the better!!
So...
Agility
I forgot to say steady on the seesaw so Jem slipped of sort of mid air bless her as she tried to stop at the end!! Then we had 8 left handed weaves (straight entry and exit), I didn't call her off them or anything and she found the entrance straight away and did 6 perfect weaves, sadly for fear of making her speed up and pull out i had hung back a bit too much I think but anyway we then had another few goes at them but she was being silly and getting in a state so we left the ring!! She only missed out on a couple of jumps and a-frame.
Jumping
Again there were 8 weaves but this time right handed but in the same arrangement as before. The first time she just walked down the side of them in the way she does, second time she walked down the side and went in between 6&7. Was going to walk out the ring but gave her one last chance, made her sit and then told her weave and she did them bless her, I was then so pleased that I forgot where I was going but only for a split second. So apart from the weaves she did the rest of the course brilliantly bless her!!
Steeplechase
There were no weaves or contacts in this and she went clear so that was a good round bless her!! :)
Her wait at the start line for all three was brill, not even any twitching seen!!:)
So as I already know it is her weaves letting us down so once we have cracked them first places here we come...well maybe!!
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