RÄveâs first running contact puppy foundation session: Platform Training.
He caught on quickly đ
Footage from my foundation skills sessions with Grin:) this week. Since I was sore from a fall I took on Tuesday, it was fun to ease up on my run training for a day and work some skill basics: Teeter bang games, mat flatwork, dogwalk close to the wall (which he isnât fond of), backside threadle wraps, threadle slices, and extreme weave entry sends off a contact.
Some fun training today with verbal discriminations (minimal to no handling) on tunnel and adding a jump (âcloseâ, âtunnelâ, âbackâ and âinâ).
Grin:) worked hard to listen and not guess. Good boy đ
13 Trail Weekends - 40 Qâs - 8 Titles
21 First Places - 11 Second Places
âŠand a few Tournament Qs too!
Our agility debut and fall trial campaign has come to a close. At just 2 years old, I couldnât be more proud of my goodest boy Grin:) and our teamwork. I am also quite impressed and inspired by my new knees!
My left total knee replacement was only 19 weeks old and right total knee replacement was 12 weeks on our debut weekend. I clearly remember that very first trial morning, struggling to get my legs out of my car after the 1.5 hour commute to the show site. At that time, that was the longest drive I had made since the surgeries. Today my left knee is 33 weeks old and my right knee is 26 weeks. What a difference 14 weeks made!
Hereâs a video of our very last run from this weekend. We needed one more Q to get out of Open Jumpers. Last weekend at the Cluster we just couldnât get it done as the weave pole base extenders (see comments for photo) created a bit of a problem for Grin:). So we only had this weekend to finish up the Open Jumpers title before our winter break.
Saturday we had a fantastic run going and suddenly the dreaded âOpen Curseâ took hold and Grin:) took a totally random off course jump 6 obstacles from the end. Urgh⊠sooooo close! So Sunday was the last chance we would have for a few months⊠no pressure đ
Goodest Boy didnât let me down, and even held it together when I had to layer the Judge on the way to the weaves. One thing we have mastered in our short time showing is incredible distance control!
We are taking off from trialing for a few months to focus on our training. Now that I can run faster and be ahead more often, we need to practice our timing and understanding of more complex cues with me being ahead.
Great way to end our fall campaign! It will be nice to come back to AKC competing in Masters and Excellent in all classes.
Winner of the Bowling Game this week!!!
This dog wins the most progress award in class today! Were on week 2 of FTBT Level I class and this little rescue BC just learned how to "push" and object last week! This is the first step in our "Bowling" game. We use this game to teach dogs the behavior of "push", which can then be used to teach the dogs to navigate an agility chute obstacle (especially when the material is wet from rain). The next progression of this game is to push the ball into bowling pins and the dogs learn to knock the pins over. This game is what we use to desensitize dogs to things falling (like jump bars, which can be a leading cause of jumping anxiety and inappropriate take off positions). We then take the game in the Level II class and move on to the sport of "Treibball" where the dogs herd exercise balls into a goal. A really fun game that dogs of all breeds and sizes can play.