My Favorite...

I totally love watching Marley when she the lightbulb goes off.  Her eyes brighten, her grin gets huge and her whole body wiggles. Those moments are my reward.

The whole body wiggles started during weave training (I didn't want to write about weaving but I just can't help myself).  We were working the arch around two poles.  She skipped the poles and ran to the robot.  She looked around wondering why there were no treats.  Upon noticing the poles, I saw her eyes brighten as she scampered through the poles.  Of course she went in the wrong direction but I somehow managed restrained myself and wait.  She looked around and realized she was in the wrong spot so she turned around and went through the poles the correctly.  The robot rewarded her and I started jumping up and down in excitement.  She rewarded me with the grin and whole body wiggles. 

Yesterday, we were working on combining two sets of poles and she kept skipping the first set on the right side.  After analyzing my set-up I realized it may be confusing and I decided to slightly change the angle of the first set of poles. The angle made it easier for her to see the direction she needed to run and she rewarded me with a huge grin and whole body wiggles.

I hope everybody gets those magic moments from their dog.  It totally fills my heart with joy!

Weave Trama

We have the best Agility Trainer!

A couple of weeks ago she said, "Next week we'll weave."

I became a bit apprehensiveness because we are not actually weaving yet.  We are at the 2 sets of poles about 3 meters apart section.  I thought about it a bit and decided if Susan Garrett believes weaving can be taught in 21 days, we can totally weave in a week.

It seems I may have forgotten to inform Marley we were going to weave like the big dogs. I started by moving the two sets about a meter apart and I figured within a couple of days we should be weaving.  The closer I set the poles the more Marley missed the second set.

I ended up sending our instructor an email confessing that not only were we not weaving but now Marley was skipping poles.  At this point I figured I was going to start at the beginning again and try to retrain the poles. By the time we got to class I was on the verge of tears.

Our instructor asked me to show her what I was doing and I sniffled the entire time as I showed her what we had worked on and the distance between poles.  Of course Marley didn't miss any poles and we actually impressed her with Marley's entrances.  She basically reassured me that we were fine and we should continue at our pace until we can weave.

I have to keep reminding myself this is a team sport and Marley is not capable of cramming for a test.

For our non-agility friends here is a brief synopsis:  weave training using the 2x2 method requires two sets of poles.  You begin with one set and build value for the dog for going through the poles.  Then you add the second set about 3-4 meters away and build value for the dog for going through both sets of poles.  Once the dog sees value in running through both sets you begin to shorten the distance between the two sets of poles until they are close enough.  I highly recommend the video.

Jo Sermon Seminar

Last week I attended a seminar on Extension and Collection.  I learned a lot about jumping.  Actually, I'm a bit overwhelmed by how much I don't know and didn't know I needed to know.  Jo Sermon is a fabulous instructor, both funny and informative.

Some of the things I found amazing:

• Dogs are taught Left and Right.  Good Grief, I forget which way is left and  which way is right, how do people teach this fabulous skill?  I suspect, I'll be the dorky person with the letters L and R on my shoes.
• A lot of dogs in the seminar know Turn as a cue.  Amazing, I didn't even know I needed a cue for turning.
• Jumping can be a dangerous activity.  Allowing your dog to jump incorrectly can cause long term damage to their bodies.  After learning this I started to panic, I've only focused on getting my dog to jump on cue never thinking about how she is jumping.  

After the seminar I must have looked a bit shell-shocked because our instructor came up to me and reassured me Marley was doing fine.

Odd things I've noticed:  

• Is there an unspoken rule that all dog trainers are blond?  Our obedience instructor, our current agility instructor, Jo Sermon, Jen Pinder, Nancy Gyes, Susan Garrett...
• Whenever I'm around somebody from England for more than a couple of hours, it rains.

My Biggest Dog Training Mistake

I've spent most of my life reading dog training books and I know how to approach a training session.  I've always made it a point to use a clear and positive tone in my voice when talking to Marley. While training I've worked very hard at not reprimanding her and keeping everything pleasant and fun.

The other day I loaded up the car with agility equipment and drove to the park.  Soccer players were using our favorite field, baseball players were using the remaining fields and after driving around I finally found a spot that met our training criteria (flat, shady, close to parking and not close to a major road).  I unloaded and set up all of our equipment and then I noticed a huge dog lunging on his leash staring at Marley. The woman at the end of the leash wasn't paying attention to her dog.  At this point, I decided it would behoove us to find a new training spot.

I drove around for a little longer and found a reasonable spot.  By now I'm hot and frustrated and a totally envious of everybody with a back yard. I set out our jumps and took a deep breath and called Marley.

Marley looked at me and jumped into the front seat.  I called her and she peered over the seat and refused to move.  I took another deep breath and made sure my tone was totally pleasant and upbeat and called her again.  She peered at me and curled up in the front seat and refused to look in my direction.

At this point I begin to wonder how we were ever going to progress if my dog refused to leave the car.  I packed up all my stuff into the car and cried while driving home.  I started to think Agility was a big waste of time if Marley didn't want to play.

Once I cooled down and reviewed our "training session" I realized my error.  While my voice and words were pleasant and positive my body language was tense and upset.

What Marley saw at the park.

I've made a the following changes to our training routine to ensure this never happens again.

• I started by scoping out multiple places where I can train that meet my criteria.  
• I plan our activity and I also plan a back-up activity that doesn't require equipment.  
• After I set-up I spend five minutes breathing (its too short to call it meditation). 
• If the session is not going according to plan, I've decided it is perfectly acceptable to stop. 
• Finally, I end my training journal with a note on Marley's emotional state. 

Since this episode our training sessions have been great and we have actually progressed faster than I expected.

Agility Update - sequencing

I have to admit I tend to fret and watching Marley jump off the top of the A-frame totally made wonder if she was retaining anything from class.  I started to worry our jumps were horrible and we would never learn to weave properly.

Our instructor gave us the following sequence in class:  Tunnel - Jump - Jump - Jump - A-frame - Jump

Well, my silly dog ran into the Tunnel and rolled in the middle.  Yes she plopped down and rolled around like it was grass and refused to come out.  Ugh

Once I finally convinced her to leave the tunnel rest of the sequence went smoothly, so smoothly the entire class stood up and clapped for Marley.

Marley ate it up...I'm thinking there is hope for us!

Agility Update

Before our agility break Marley was doing very well on contacts. She didn't hesitate and ran right through the yellow each and every time. I was very pleased with her behavior.

Since our break she has started to jump off the equipment. Not like jump off the yellow section, but jumping off the top of the A-Frame. I'm a bit flabergasted and terrified. I'm not sure why she is jumping off; she doesn't look scared or upset. Actually she looks rather pleased with herself. I'm terrified she'll hurt herself; I don't even allow her to jump out of the car.

This means we need to spend some time retraining all the contact equipment. It seems everytime we make strides in one direction we slip in another.

Agility Our 2x2 experience

I am a totally dorky student. I'm the student who sits in the front row with my clip board, pen, pencil and highlighter. I also have no qualms about asking questions for clarification. Even if the topic doesn't pertain to my dog, if I don't understand I'll still ask. I always expect a pop quiz and I fear I won't be prepared.

This means prior to any training class I have my dog walker walk her during the day and I make sure Marley has a brief walk before class. This means when class starts Marley is ready to learn, in essence she has her highlighter ready to note anything important.

Our trainer has only seen us when we are both calm and ready to learn. She has recently discovered our hidden slacker. Yes, we totally dropped the ball.

I took a private lesson to figure out why we were not getting the 2x2 weave method. Our trainer watched us for 2 tries and then told me I had to "get Marley excited" about the activity. So she offers to show me and I hand her our toy. She is getting Marley excited and then she says, "GO."

Marley takes off missing the poles and runs circles around us for about 4 laps, while my trainer's face becomes more and more horror stricken. She finally asks in a small voice, "Does Marley do this often?"

My face is trying to look horrified and smirk at the same time, I'm sure this isn't a good look for anybody. I indicate yes, Marley does have a tendency to run circles around me when she is excited. Around Marley's fifth lap I call her back and we work at a more sedate pace.

It seems our cover is blown and she'll probably never call Marley a great little dog with a ton of agility potential. On the positive note I did learn we can't work the 2x2 method until I learn how to throw a toy.

Agility Update

We took a brief agility break and we both feel refreshed and excited to be back in class. Um, let me rephrase that, I'm excited to be in class while Marley wants to be inside where it is cool.

Our first activity was jumping in a circular pattern leading to a tunnel. No problem, I thought we like jumps. I failed to take into account these specific jumps all had wings. Yes, I crashed into each and every wing.

I regrouped and settled Marley at the first jump and I lead out a bit. Upon releasing her I noticed she looked at me and took off to her crate. It seems she was totally embarrassed by my klutzy behavior. I suspect she wants a new handler.

I've discovered if I spend some time thinking about what our results should be and I notify my feet and shoulders we do great.

We've started training the weave poles using the 2x2 method. So far we are progressing nicely.

Jen Pinder Seminar

I just audited a Jen Pinder Seminar for Novice dogs. It was fabulous, I learned a lot and I have a couple of pages of notes and tips.

The oddest thing ever was many of my fellow classmates received the same advice from Jen Pinder as from our instructor. If our instructor mentions you need to work on your recall, why does it take so much more importance when Jen brings it up as a necessary skill?

It was great and Jen Pinder was hilarious, I highly recommend attending one of her seminars.

Agility Update

Marley and I are progressing nicely. I may have resolved my front/rear cross issue; It turns out I know how do do them but I get the terms mixed up. The dog walk and tunnel are looking good.

We are adding the front cross to the jump and it makes so much sense. We have also started working on the serpentine. Everything seems to be going well, except I just discovered a new distraction.

MY SHADOW

I discovered this quite by accident, I rented the training yard to work on some equipment and we were out there around 11 a.m. It was a glorious January day, cool yet sunny. The tunnel was in a U shape and I sent Marley to the tunnel. She was doing great and I started to add more distance. We were about 5 meters away from the entrance and I started to move towards the other end after sending Marley. As she was running to the tunnel she noticed my shadow moving towards the other end and she turned to enter at our exit.

This means I will have to spend some time in the sun going through all the equipment to ensure my shadow stops being a distraction. Unfortunately, both Marley and I dislike working in the sun. What are the odds all of our trials will be held on overcast days?

Frisbee Training

I have not given up on having a dog that fetches. Since Marley refuses to retrieve tennis balls, I've decided to try something different. I got her a Chewber and we started the following training regimen.

• I stored the Chewber in a container of kibble for about a month.
  
• I started to use it as a food bowl.
• After dinner I would hold it and ask her to "take it" and when she gently took it out of my hand I would praise her and give her a treat.
• I started to gently roll it about a foot and I would ask her to "get it."
• Once she figured out if she returned the Chewber she would be rewarded with a treat I started to gently throw it a couple of feet.
• As she became better at bringing it back I started to feel excited about my future disc dog.

Today, I decided to see if we could translate our Chewber success to our Hurl a Squirrel. I was pleasantly surprised to discover Marley was just as excited about bringing back the Hurl a Squirrel.

At this point I still need to try this in a different location and I need to start withholding some treats. I'm still not sure how to encourage her to focus on the toy and not on the treats.

I welcome any advice or suggestions.

Jump...what jump?

Marley has been doing great with jumps. At every class session she takes the jumps with out any problems, send aways are fine, multiple jumps are fine and recalls over jumps are fine. Distractions around jumps have not been a problem and broad jumps have been easy.

Until this week!

We get to class and our instructor gave us a pop quiz on pinwheels. (Yes, we have exams in agility class...doesn't everybody?) I'm not concerned because Marley has been doing so well on jumps. When it is our turn she looks around and sits instead of going towards the jump. I walk her towards the jump and she runs around the jump. I restart the exercise and she jumps over one jump and runs around the next.

Our instructor totally gave me the "you haven't been doing your homework" look and nicely suggested we increase homework time on jumps.

The only good thing about class is I may have finally mastered the rear cross.

What a difference

I feel like a real agility trainer!

I finally broke down and rented a training yard for an hour of training. This allows us to practice on equipment I do not own and this small change has really helped me focus on agility. I also think Marley is having fun.

I still have a few concerns and we will probably wing it a bit until I've found a good course of action. We only have the space for an hour and I'm worried about pushing Marley too far before she is ready. I'm also worried about making the activity boring by doing too many drills in too short of a time.

So far I've done the following:

• I've planned out our activities. For this session we were working on the teeter and the tunnel.
• I alternated between both activities. For example we worked on driving to the tunnel about 5 times and then we went to the teeter and worked on that for about 5 times. We repeated each set about three times.
• We took a break and I threw her favorite toy for a few times. I tried her special agility tuggy, except she wasn't interested.
• I made sure we took water breaks, while the temperature was mild the sun was pretty hot.
• We also worked on a self control exercise. We walked around the equipment and we worked on keeping her from taking off and running to the equipment.
  

I'm pleased with our first session in the training yard. I'm not sure if I'm working enough or if I should increase the number of drills on the equipment. I'm hope it falls together now that I feel like a real agility trainer.

Wanted...New Agility Mom

Marley is doing great in Agility and until today we were great partners. Today, I totally embarrassed my dog. I strongly suspect she wanted to leave with some of the real trainers in our class.

It seems the following behavior is embarrassing for Marley:

• It seems to embarrass my dog that I can't figure out a rear cross. I keep tripping over my feet and falling or tripping over my dog. After a couple of months I should have figured this out, unfortunately I had to ask for a refresher.
• Marley enjoys being sent away to do something and she thinks I'm really slow. She totally showed attitude while waiting for me on the pause table.
• While doing send aways she was totally squirmy, probably because I was slow and I picked her up to restart the exercise. Picking her up seems to calm her down, probably because she doesn't like it very much. This part not only embarrassed Marley but our trainer chastised me, I need to allow Marley the dignity of walking.
• Instead of treats I brought our agility tuggy to a few activities. Marley doesn't believe in toys during agility and she was totally unhappy by my insistence on playing with toys when she could have treats instead.

Hopefully our class will be better next week and Marley will not stow away with a different trainer.

Doors and Doorways

I have always insisted Marley wait for permission before crossing a doorway. Living in a city it is extremely dangerous for a pet or child to run outside. I'm especially strict about her waiting for permission before exiting the car.

This was fairly easy to teach, this is what I did:

• First we learned stay and wait in obedience class.
  
• Each time we encountered a door leading outside I asked her to sit/wait. I then open the door and invite her outside.
• Once outside I asked her to sit while I locked my door.
• If we were returning from our walk we repeat the process.

This ensures she will sit and wait nicely while I juggle all my stuff while closing the door. I don't know about most people but leaving the house involves a lot of juggling of purse, leash, beverage, book and snack. Having my dog wait just ensures I don't drop anything.

I am extremely concerned about Marley jumping out of the car to chase squirrels. For this activity I enlisted the help of Marley's favorite people.

• I waited until I knew she could wait and understood sit/wait at doors in my home.
• I started to ask her to wait while I stood in front of the door (basically using my body as an obstacle).
• Once she didn't try to jump out, I started moving slightly to one side (basically creating a situation where there was a slight opening).
• I waited until there was enough opening for Marley to jump out if she chose, pretty much the entire door width.
  
• I then enlisted Marley's friends and asked them to call her name and basically entice her to leave the car. We started with me blocking the door and reminding her to wait.
  
• She was pretty good about it until I moved to the side of the door and she jumped out, thankfully she was wearing her leash.
• I picked her up and put her back in the car and repeated the command wait.
• I kept the sessions really short and we repeated this each and every time we were at the car.
  

This took a long time for her to learn this to my satisfaction. At this point I trust her to stay in the car while I walk around the car. She is very good about waiting for permission to leave the car; however, I will never try this anywhere near a road.

Edits:

• This was posted at the request of Bruiser's mom; I would strongly suggest completing an obedience class before trying this.
  
• This is what I do every time we leave the house or leave the car. If for any reason Marley doesn't wait, we start over at the beginning.
  
• We had to start at the beginning when we moved. Marley stayed on a leash until I had time to begin teaching her the rules applied to our new home.
• I do not put her in situations where she can fail; therefore, I will never do this anywhere near a busy road.