Jemma:
Combined 1-2 Jumping
She knocked a pole in this on the middle pole of a 3 point star, I then sent her in the wrong end of the tunnel because I wasn't concentrating, however, she did do 12 weaves, first time, after a three point star (with a steady command though), so I was pleased with this round :)
Graded 1-2 Agility
This was the most disappointing round of the day for us - clear apart from the weaves!!!! There were only six but they were at a slight angle from the jump before but quite a big gap, however because of this I had decided not to steady her and maybe she needed it, or maybe I left her to find the weaves by herself too much, it did however take three attempts to do them, and that was only after I sat her down!!!!
Combined 1-7 Jumping
Another beautiful round until we reached the weaves, took two attempts despite there only being 6 and it being bend and me saying steady!!! She then knocked a pole in the rest of the course but it was nice!
Graded 1-2 Jumping
This time it was me that lost us the clear, I pulled away from a jump too early because I was worrying too much about the next long straight line and so Jem also pulled of it and so came round it! I then just ran, really fast and so so did she and she knocked a pole! She did however do 6 weaves first time - they were after a tunnel but at 90 degrees so I was facing her as she came out and then turned her on to them but this slowed her down enough that she could do them!!
Elliot
First Practise Ring Visit
We just did weaves this visit, we did 12 of them and he did them right first time!!!! The only time he didn't do it right was when we did four jumps and then a sit, but he got them right second time :)
Combined 1-2 Jumping
He knocked a pole (can't remember why) but then bless him, he fell over in the tunnel and came out sideways and so completely crashed the jump after it! BUT....he did TWELVE weaves first time!!!!!!!!!!!!! Admitedly with a sit before them but hey it was twelve weaves in a course!!! I was very very pleased with him!!!!
Graded 1-2 Agility
The most AMAZING course of the day!!!!!! - he went CLEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The important bits went: aframe, weaves, dogwalk, seesaw!!! On the a-frame he came down really slowly but I made sure I just walked along side it and said stop really clearly but I was really naughty and said go as soon as his feet hit the floor - I could tell he wasn't going to actually stop and so if I didn't say go he would have anyway and then I would have had to put him back and I didn't want to have to correct him when he had done it so much better than normal!! I then sat him before the weaves again but he did the six of them soooooooo fast it took me a while to realise he had actually done them right!!! The dog walk, again he crept down it but I did make him pause for a bit longer on the bottom, still not as long as I should have!!! The seesaw was the one I held him on least time for because it was only two obstacles from the end and I couldn't believe he was clear so far!!!! He did still go right to the bottom and wait for it to hit the floor before I told him go!! He also never went before I told him go, it was just I was saying go early!!! He finished 8th!!! with a time of 34.246 -7.18 seconds behind the winner, I would have thought most of this time was spent sitting before the weaves!!!! This is why I desperately want Jem to get the win she deserves soon otherwise it will be Elliot that wins us out of Grade 1!!!
Combined 1-7 Jumping
He was a naughty boy in this class and went under the first jump and into the tunnel so we restarted and he went really nicely until the weaves, it took us three attempts this time to do the six - they were right handed and the other two sets had been left! he then proceeded to knock the two poles after the tunnel becuase I was running too fast I think - I was conscious of how long we had been in the ring!!
Graded 1-2 Jumping
Sadly he knocked a pole in this and then took two attempts on the weaves but it was a nice course - lots of running and shouting "go" for me but he loved it!!!
Second Practise Ring Visit
We did contacts this time, he crept down the aframe but then ran off, after a reminder he did some really nice stops, he then also did some lovely dogwalks straight off, he decided though that doing four jumps before the aframe was too much and he ran off it, I just had time to put him back before time was up!! I shall try to go back in here before our class tomorrow!!
So all in all a bit of a frustrating day for Jemma but a really good day for Elliot :) Hopefully Jem will have a better day tomorrow and Elliot will have just as good day!! :)
Saturday, 29 May 2010
Friday, 28 May 2010
Running mummy = Running contacts
Jemma:
She was really good today, OK, it took two attempts at the weaves but then she did the rest of the course really nicely, only knocking one pole when I got in her way!! We then worked on tightening some bits of it up though and tried it again, sadly this time the weaves took us LOTs of attempts!! So then we finished on some weave work, and she is getting better, it is all now down to my timing with the steady and then commanding her to weave too!! Her contacts were all really nice, until the end when she started dawdling down the dog walk for some reason, but her seesaw and a-frame were beautiful all session - fingers crossed she works like this is weekend, but manages the weaves first time too!!
Elliot:
We started on contacts today and he was good when I stopped at the bottom and didn't race him too much (what I will do in competition) but then we started pushing him and I raced alongside the contact and past the end without stopping - this did the trick of increasing his excitement and consequently he ran off the end, he did however not do jumping, just running off!! This meant we could correct him and show him what we wanted and it worked, by the end he was doing nice contacts, clever boy :) We then moved on to weaves and he did twelve really nicely without a jump, but with the jump we cut it down to 10 but he is still struggling with the second gap, we did get one nice one though and then we finished on a little course and then me stopping him before the weaves and then doing them and he did them beautifully - this will be the plan this weekend. We did some see-saws to finish and he did them all very nicely, although I can't guarantee he would in the ring, we shall just see what happens this weekend!!
She was really good today, OK, it took two attempts at the weaves but then she did the rest of the course really nicely, only knocking one pole when I got in her way!! We then worked on tightening some bits of it up though and tried it again, sadly this time the weaves took us LOTs of attempts!! So then we finished on some weave work, and she is getting better, it is all now down to my timing with the steady and then commanding her to weave too!! Her contacts were all really nice, until the end when she started dawdling down the dog walk for some reason, but her seesaw and a-frame were beautiful all session - fingers crossed she works like this is weekend, but manages the weaves first time too!!
Elliot:
We started on contacts today and he was good when I stopped at the bottom and didn't race him too much (what I will do in competition) but then we started pushing him and I raced alongside the contact and past the end without stopping - this did the trick of increasing his excitement and consequently he ran off the end, he did however not do jumping, just running off!! This meant we could correct him and show him what we wanted and it worked, by the end he was doing nice contacts, clever boy :) We then moved on to weaves and he did twelve really nicely without a jump, but with the jump we cut it down to 10 but he is still struggling with the second gap, we did get one nice one though and then we finished on a little course and then me stopping him before the weaves and then doing them and he did them beautifully - this will be the plan this weekend. We did some see-saws to finish and he did them all very nicely, although I can't guarantee he would in the ring, we shall just see what happens this weekend!!
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Weaves, Contacts, Pull Throughs and Wing Wraps
Elliot:
He got his go first today because Jane kindly stayed for a few minutes and brought Welly in to bark at Elliot when doing his contacts to try and get him wound up a bit - it worked, he came off the end of the contact a couple of times but apart from that did them really nice and really fast :) We then worked on our weaves, he did 10 with me on the right and left and a jump before and he only got them wrong once or twice! We then tried 4 jumps into the weaves to see what he did and he tried really hard but just missed the second weave so we moved on to 12 weaves with no jump and he did them on left and right, and finished on a nice set with a jump :) We then did some jump work, with contacts in the sequence too and he was being a bit lazy to start as I think he was tired (it even took Lesley a few times to get it right) but he then got better and finished quite nicely :) All in all a good lesson for him - I also found out today that SWAT has a practise ring at the weekend so we shall be using that to practise our contacts in the competition environment!
Jemma:
Well she was a bit of a nutter when she came out and wouldn't concentrate as she doesn't like having her lesson second!! She did do the course quite nicely though :) We worked on weaves and still had some issues when she was coming at speed, however she is steadying well I tell her so it is all down to my timing with the command, however we ended up doing a sequence before the weaves that involved a pull through which I kept messing up and we consequently spent longer doing this than we would have liked!! We did a few seesaws to remind her she needs to stop at the bottom and not just near the bottom!! We finished on some wing wraps, where I realised if I used the command I taught her "back" she does them much tighter and is much happier and goes faster as she knows where she is going :) Lots for mummy to learn from todays lesson and lots of improvements made to us both! :)
He got his go first today because Jane kindly stayed for a few minutes and brought Welly in to bark at Elliot when doing his contacts to try and get him wound up a bit - it worked, he came off the end of the contact a couple of times but apart from that did them really nice and really fast :) We then worked on our weaves, he did 10 with me on the right and left and a jump before and he only got them wrong once or twice! We then tried 4 jumps into the weaves to see what he did and he tried really hard but just missed the second weave so we moved on to 12 weaves with no jump and he did them on left and right, and finished on a nice set with a jump :) We then did some jump work, with contacts in the sequence too and he was being a bit lazy to start as I think he was tired (it even took Lesley a few times to get it right) but he then got better and finished quite nicely :) All in all a good lesson for him - I also found out today that SWAT has a practise ring at the weekend so we shall be using that to practise our contacts in the competition environment!
Jemma:
Well she was a bit of a nutter when she came out and wouldn't concentrate as she doesn't like having her lesson second!! She did do the course quite nicely though :) We worked on weaves and still had some issues when she was coming at speed, however she is steadying well I tell her so it is all down to my timing with the command, however we ended up doing a sequence before the weaves that involved a pull through which I kept messing up and we consequently spent longer doing this than we would have liked!! We did a few seesaws to remind her she needs to stop at the bottom and not just near the bottom!! We finished on some wing wraps, where I realised if I used the command I taught her "back" she does them much tighter and is much happier and goes faster as she knows where she is going :) Lots for mummy to learn from todays lesson and lots of improvements made to us both! :)
Sunday, 23 May 2010
Alpha Dogz Flyball
Both dogs did really well today in the heat, Jem ran in all the legs in our two blue lane races and Elliot swapped in and out, but did run alot, with him being run by me, Nat and Carol and going first and third bless him!! However, I was crap today, don't know what was wrong with me, I had about 4 false starts with Jem, 3 with Elliot and most of my changeovers were really late!! I think it is me that needs training more than them!! We ended up finishing 2nd in the division, the one race we lost was tight anyway but was the one where I kept doing late changeovers, don't know if they were enough to loose us the race but I feel bad anyway!! At least we still got a rosette and the rest of the team were good :) Elliot also got his Flyball Dog Award today which was a nice surprise as last time I checked the points hadn't been put on the website! :D I have just checked and Jem is currently on 195!!! points and Elliot is on 330!!! The last Acremead comp hasn't been put on yet so Jem will have her Flyball Dog by the time that is put on - that means I can retire her now and be happy :P
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Phoenix UKA
Here is the vid of todays runs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgK19cj9pyg
Jemma
Agility
I was really pleased with her a-frame contact :) Her dog walk wasn't great but I did slow down a lot when I got there, I think she also released herself a tad early but I cant be sure, I obviously didn't run fast enought alongside the cloth tunnel, I think it was because I didn't want her rushing off to the weaves, she then dropped the pole because I told her steady too early-doh! As for the seesaw, she is stubborn on this one, although watching it back she did start move down it more as I went towards her, on the whole though I was really pleased with how she worked in this :)
Jumping
I was really pleased with the top bit in this as I wasn't sure i would manage to get the front cross in but I was really pleased with how she worked this. I think the jump before the tunnel came down because she took the jump sideways, although why she did this I can't be sure. I don't know if I pulled away too early on the bit after the tunnel and that is why she came towards me. Anyway, I was really really pleased with the weaves - I got my steady in the right place and she listened and it was lovely to handle, he even kept going when I ran on :)
Steeplechase
What a shame about the pole, I think she took off too early, althought it was her back legs that brought it down, the rest was really nice though, although she did stutter when I stopped on the tight turn because I think she lost her confidence, again was nice to work :)
Elliot
Agility
OMG!!! His contacts were appalling, I was so disappointed in him! Him coming off the a-frame I could kind of understand as the tunnel was infront of him bute didn't even stop when I put him back on the a-frame, sadly the judge wouldn't let me send him back over the whole thing! :( I had predicted he would go under the next jump, because he was so focused on the tunnel and at the bottom of the a-frame, but then with the dog walk there was no excuse, I made sure I didn't panic because of what had happened on the a-frame and felt I worked it the same as I had in training, at least he stopped second time, even if he did then go carering through the jump! The weaves however I was really pleased with, the fact they were on the right and he only missed the last one I think because I moved off at an angle too soon. As for the seesaw, I can't watch this without cringing, sadly we then ran out of course time so were asked to leave :( I think I might need to try and take him to some group lessons, or do something to try and get his excitment up in training so we can practise them when he is in this frame of mind!
Jumping
I wasn't sure if he would take the tyre or not, hence why I had hung back, but he was a good boy and so then I was miles behind him!! With the front cross I think I just waited until I was in the right position before turning instead of turning when he needed to turn - more my fault than his I think! I then got all mixed up and confused but we sorted it out and then I discovered that he understands the meaning of the word "go" as I was so far behind him I just had to keep shouting it and it worked to get him going on nicely :) Not sure why he knocked the pole before the tunnel, he looked like he tried to kangaroo it a bit too much. Well, the weaves, I think he forgot first time what he was doing but then after the little bit of encouragment he remembered :) I let him off the end few as we have only done 10 for the first time yesterday! I think the main problem I am going to have with getting him to do weaves in competition is the fact that he is so fast and I will struggle to be there with him first time round!!
Steeplechase
What a naughty boy, I don't know where he was off to start with. After that it was so beautiful and lovely to work with him :) It was such a shame he went under that jump, I think he was jsut gradually getting closer and closer to them and so just couldn't get up enough to get over it, made me feel a bit better about putting him back at the start though!!
Jemma
Agility
I was really pleased with her a-frame contact :) Her dog walk wasn't great but I did slow down a lot when I got there, I think she also released herself a tad early but I cant be sure, I obviously didn't run fast enought alongside the cloth tunnel, I think it was because I didn't want her rushing off to the weaves, she then dropped the pole because I told her steady too early-doh! As for the seesaw, she is stubborn on this one, although watching it back she did start move down it more as I went towards her, on the whole though I was really pleased with how she worked in this :)
Jumping
I was really pleased with the top bit in this as I wasn't sure i would manage to get the front cross in but I was really pleased with how she worked this. I think the jump before the tunnel came down because she took the jump sideways, although why she did this I can't be sure. I don't know if I pulled away too early on the bit after the tunnel and that is why she came towards me. Anyway, I was really really pleased with the weaves - I got my steady in the right place and she listened and it was lovely to handle, he even kept going when I ran on :)
Steeplechase
What a shame about the pole, I think she took off too early, althought it was her back legs that brought it down, the rest was really nice though, although she did stutter when I stopped on the tight turn because I think she lost her confidence, again was nice to work :)
Elliot
Agility
OMG!!! His contacts were appalling, I was so disappointed in him! Him coming off the a-frame I could kind of understand as the tunnel was infront of him bute didn't even stop when I put him back on the a-frame, sadly the judge wouldn't let me send him back over the whole thing! :( I had predicted he would go under the next jump, because he was so focused on the tunnel and at the bottom of the a-frame, but then with the dog walk there was no excuse, I made sure I didn't panic because of what had happened on the a-frame and felt I worked it the same as I had in training, at least he stopped second time, even if he did then go carering through the jump! The weaves however I was really pleased with, the fact they were on the right and he only missed the last one I think because I moved off at an angle too soon. As for the seesaw, I can't watch this without cringing, sadly we then ran out of course time so were asked to leave :( I think I might need to try and take him to some group lessons, or do something to try and get his excitment up in training so we can practise them when he is in this frame of mind!
Jumping
I wasn't sure if he would take the tyre or not, hence why I had hung back, but he was a good boy and so then I was miles behind him!! With the front cross I think I just waited until I was in the right position before turning instead of turning when he needed to turn - more my fault than his I think! I then got all mixed up and confused but we sorted it out and then I discovered that he understands the meaning of the word "go" as I was so far behind him I just had to keep shouting it and it worked to get him going on nicely :) Not sure why he knocked the pole before the tunnel, he looked like he tried to kangaroo it a bit too much. Well, the weaves, I think he forgot first time what he was doing but then after the little bit of encouragment he remembered :) I let him off the end few as we have only done 10 for the first time yesterday! I think the main problem I am going to have with getting him to do weaves in competition is the fact that he is so fast and I will struggle to be there with him first time round!!
Steeplechase
What a naughty boy, I don't know where he was off to start with. After that it was so beautiful and lovely to work with him :) It was such a shame he went under that jump, I think he was jsut gradually getting closer and closer to them and so just couldn't get up enough to get over it, made me feel a bit better about putting him back at the start though!!
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