Seesaw Progression - Agility

[Kavik]

Thanks Vickie

I was hoping you'd pop in and give criticism.

Yes he is still a bit hesitant and still a bit too focussed on me. He doesn't go ahead as well as I would like - If I send most likely he would stop at some point on the seesaw to look back at me - will try to convince OH to do another video so you can see. I have been working a lot on getting him to send forward to contact positions but still not as good as I would like. I will put arms away no problem I have a tunnel, will give that a go as well.

[Vickie]

I was hoping you'd pop in and give criticism.

:D Sometimes I am just so bloody analytical & have no tact whatsoever. Please tell everyone that I am really not that critical and that in real life I try to give constructive criticism. . I am still trying to train my perfect seesaw...certainly not there yet!

Yes he is still a bit hesitant and still a bit too focussed on me. He doesn't go ahead as well as I would like - If I send most likely he would stop at some point on the seesaw to look back at me

That is certainly not unusual. It is a VERY VERY hard thing to train to get full drive forward when you stop on any contact obstacle.

I will put arms away no problem I have a tunnel, will give that a go as well.

Putting your arms away will help, as will running forward & not turning in to him.

I just did a quick video to show you what I mean with the tunnel. Shine has done a heap of training today so she was a bit buggered, but sending her through a tunnel before helps me to be running when she comes out & releasing her to obstacles helps too. As you can see I am nowhere near her & I don't stop running, so she is not reliant on my position to get hers.

Stuff like this will also decrease their hesitation (providing it is not fear based) as they will be rushing to get to you.

Edited September 14, 2009 by Vickie

[Vickie]

Trim has always had a crappy seesaw. She was hesitant right from the beginning & used to crawl along on her belly. She is a lot better than she was, it's more of a quick shuffle than a crawl. We still have work to do, she is striding at the start a lot more confidently and every now & then she nails the whole thing & we reward big time. The thing I hate about seesaws in Australia is that they are all different lengths & weights . It makes it so hard for your dog to develop a consistent stride on them & it is hard to keep their trust. Just last week she left a ss early in a trial, the bloody thing was so heavy it wouldn't tip...seemed like she was right on the end for over a second before it dropped. Then the next one will be so light that using the same stride she will only be 3/4 of the way along.

Since she was screaming her head off while I ran Shine, I popped her on the SS as well this afternoon. you've got to love her, she tried so hard to keep her back feet on in the 2nd run.

Edited September 14, 2009 by Vickie

[Kavik]

I was being honest - I really was hoping you would you post criticism so I could figure out what I need to improve and how to improve it - I didn't mean it in a bad way

It is hard to get constructive criticism of individual obstacle performances at training Normally there is a lot of focus on handling and sequences at training and not so much on obstacle performance.

Shine's seesaw looks awesome!

I think we are doing pretty well considering it is the first time I have tried to train this properly. Yep need to work on my body language too - turning in on him wouldn't help and I do it without thinking I am better at training I think than in the yard when it comes to that. Maybe I will try to get someone to video me at training - he seems to like the one at training and gives a good perfomance on it.

ETA: Michelle is doing a great job with Anna's contacts and I am learning a lot watching their progress :D

Edited September 14, 2009 by Kavik

[Vickie]

I was being honest - I really was hoping you would you post criticism so I could figure out what I need to improve and how to improve it - I didn't mean it in a bad way ;)

;) that's b/c you know me...I knew you'd take it the right way, I just felt I sounded a bit harsh for anyone else reading.

I think we are doing pretty well considering it is the first time I have tried to train this properly.

Definitely, you are doing a great job with him, he is a very powerful dog & that can certainly present challenges.

he seems to like the one at training and gives a good perfomance on it.

you will probably find that both of you have more adrenalin at training which will help. Both my dogs still only ever go 3/4 speed at home, I am still working on closing the gap between training & trialling. I will probably never get the same but I am always aiming for closer.

Michelle is doing a great job with Anna's contacts and I am learning a lot watching their progress

Michelle is an excellent trainer & handler, we can all learn a lot from her.