huski Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 Thanks TSD thats awesome! I just ordered a small sheepy tug and a bunny Tug. Daisy does like to tug with her toys at home, but only sometimes and food is definitely her dominant drive. Will see how she goes with these new toys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHRP Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 (edited) Hello all agility training folk! Can I send you a feral brown dog to train for me, pretty please?? I fear I have created/encouraged/enabled a monster. Polo is now 3.5 years old and becoming more feral with each agility run. At this age my Vizsla had his Masters titles but Polo can't even weave consistently Of course the dog is not to blame, his agility "training" didn't start until he was much older than Rogan as we were concentrating on "gundoggy" stuff and Polo being a big dog with very little self control or regard for his body, I wanted him phyiscally mature before any real equipment work. Polo has plenty of speed, he does nothing in life at half speed, but he doesn't have obstacle focus The further he gets around a course, the worse he gets, usually high pitch screaming by the 7-8th obstacle. It amuses the judges and crowd no end, and if I hear "he's enthusiastic" once more I might scream too If only I could harness some of that enthusiasm for myself to actually train him! Yes, I know I need to pull him from trials and do some serious training, I know we're just rehearsing poor performance now. He is just so different to what I've trained before!! So if anyone wanted a challenge..... ;) Edited November 17, 2010 by FHRP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 Thanks TSD thats awesome! I just ordered a small sheepy tug and a bunny Tug. Daisy does like to tug with her toys at home, but only sometimes and food is definitely her dominant drive. Will see how she goes with these new toys Sorry if you already know this but make sure she is tugging like a fiend at home (or at least chasing them for the food) before you try it in public. You can shut them down so quickly if you try to tug or play with toys "in public" too soon. I tend to wait until Zig is really revved up, then open the toy and fill it with food in front of him and put it back in the training bag - it's a really nice way to watch his response without putting it in his face and annoying the cr@p out of him He gets all excited, sticks his head in the bag and tries to pinch it - then I get it out, have a quick play (a real "come get me" with lots of silliness from me!) and put it away. At a trial I still use the tug sparingly - especially if it's a warm day and he is getting a bit tired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 Hello all agility training folk! Can I send you a feral brown dog to train for me, pretty please??I fear I have created/encouraged/enabled a monster. Polo is now 3.5 years old and becoming more feral with each agility run. At this age my Vizsla had his Masters titles but Polo can't even weave consistently Of course the dog is not to blame, his agility "training" didn't start until he was much older than Rogan as we were concentrating on "gundoggy" stuff and being a big dog with very little self control or regard for his body, I wanted him phyiscally mature before any real equipment work. Polo has plenty of speed, he does nothing in life at half speed, but he doesn't have obstacle focus ;) The further he gets around a course, the worse he gets, usually high pitch screaming by the 7-8th obstacle. It amuses the judges and crowd no end, and if I hear "he's enthusiastic" once more I might scream too If only I could harness some of that enthusiasm for myself to actually train him! Yes, I know I need to pull him from trials and do some serious training, I know we're just rehearsing poor performance now. He is just so different to what I've trained before!! So if anyone wanted a challenge..... ;) Oh my - he sounds like a blast Sounds odd but have you tried anything like t-touch? I've been participating in a few sessions/workshops with my lot with some interesting outcomes. It's very gentle and teaches them self-awareness, control etc. Was amazing on Monday to have my whole crew (3 cats, dog and pup) at a workshop being practiced/demonstrated on. BTW, have you seen what's in my avatar FHRP? Damn Lablover got me addicted to retrieving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHRP Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 (edited) Oh my - he sounds like a blast Sounds odd but have you tried anything like t-touch? I've been participating in a few sessions/workshops with my lot with some interesting outcomes. It's very gentle and teaches them self-awareness, control etc. Was amazing on Monday to have my whole crew (3 cats, dog and pup) at a workshop being practiced/demonstrated on. BTW, have you seen what's in my avatar FHRP? Damn Lablover got me addicted to retrieving I have done a T-Touch workshop before TSD, good thinking! I might have to pull my notes out. A mallet was suggested last night for controlling his "enthusiasm" And yes, definitely noticed your avatar, I've been stalking you in the Springer & Dally thread looking at pics ;) Can't wait to hear how you get on in Retrieving with her! I really, really like the breed. I was lucky enough to get to a Retriever & Spaniel Field trial this year and saw some lovely working Springers. I certainly could be tempted one day!! Edited November 17, 2010 by FHRP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 Thanks TSD thats awesome! I just ordered a small sheepy tug and a bunny Tug. Daisy does like to tug with her toys at home, but only sometimes and food is definitely her dominant drive. Will see how she goes with these new toys Sorry if you already know this but make sure she is tugging like a fiend at home (or at least chasing them for the food) before you try it in public. You can shut them down so quickly if you try to tug or play with toys "in public" too soon. I tend to wait until Zig is really revved up, then open the toy and fill it with food in front of him and put it back in the training bag - it's a really nice way to watch his response without putting it in his face and annoying the cr@p out of him He gets all excited, sticks his head in the bag and tries to pinch it - then I get it out, have a quick play (a real "come get me" with lots of silliness from me!) and put it away. At a trial I still use the tug sparingly - especially if it's a warm day and he is getting a bit tired. Yeah definitely TSD, I was planning to do it that way but always good to have a reminder and hear how others do it too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 I just got back from the Susan Garrett 5 day seminar - it was AWESOME! I have so much information to process though and about a million new things to train She is a fantastic speaker and presenter and the time just went so fast. It was great having 5 days to concentrate soley on dog training and taking the dog for walks and swims. Even if we did get weather than alternated between very hot and raining Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tay. Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 (edited) Didn't really want to start a new thread for this question, so I'll pop in here Does anyone know what the competition length/height of the see-saw is?? I'm going to try and make one over the summer (or I should say, get my dad too :D) ETA -- never mind! I found it :D Edited November 18, 2010 by DogSportObsessed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 I think I have broken Ruby's dogwalk again :D I'm SUCH a bad mum! :D I called her away from the see-saw, saw her coming towards me, turned my back on her momentarily and there she was, flying up the see-saw proud as punch until BAM, the ground fell from beneath her. My heart jumped into my throat and I'm still upset over it. I am such a bad mother for taking my eyes off her. I haved worked the past 6 months so hard in getting her confidence back on the dogwalk which she lost after she went over the BABY see-saw in class, and here she went flying over a full competition height one without any training After the initial look of horror on her face (and mine!), she came bounding over to me tail wagging like she had a blast and was eager to chase her ball some more and do some more jumps. She did manage to go over the dogwalk again afterwards, once at normal speed, next at full speed which had people cheering, then she refused to do it So I got a plank out and placed it on a table and worked on that with her which she was ok with. I remember doing that the first time she had a dogwalk meltdown and even that was enough to scare her. So with any luck, I haven't completely broken it, but I think we've gone back a step or two. Ruby, I am so sorry for turning my back on you I let you down and hope you can forgive me and let me help you gain your confidence again! Meanwhile, Millie's my little dogwalk machine And not concerned in the slightest about the see-saw in training. Keeps it interesting I guess when different dogs present different challenges to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 RubyStar maybe you should play some of the bang game with Ruby. I did a lot of that with Kenz on a baby see-saw prior to even introducing a dogwalk. That way I wasn't too worried if she decided to go up a see-saw if there should be one out. She did race up the end of it full speed and came straight off the end of the see-saw but it was no big deal she knew she could jump all over it and there was nothing to be worried about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted November 18, 2010 Author Share Posted November 18, 2010 RS, I would stop & teach her the seesaw. Problem is, the more DW training you do, telling her it's safe & doesn't move, the more you will diminish her trust in you once she does start the seesaw. I always teach the seesaw before the DW. The girls breeder also taught me to teach my dogs to jump off the DW when we started it. Lots of dogs who are worried about the DW, are worried b/c they are unsure of what will happen if they fall off. By teaching them to jump off, the fear of the unknown is taken away, sicne they know it's no big deal & they learn it in a controlled rather than panickd state. It was a great lesson & one I will use forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 RubyStar maybe you should play some of the bang game with Ruby. I did a lot of that with Kenz on a baby see-saw prior to even introducing a dogwalk. That way I wasn't too worried if she decided to go up a see-saw if there should be one out. She did race up the end of it full speed and came straight off the end of the see-saw but it was no big deal she knew she could jump all over it and there was nothing to be worried about. She loves the bang game, that's the bit I can't figure out! I've asked her to bang on the end of a see-saw and she thinks it's an absolute hoot!! But it was then going over a baby dogwalk in the same session as the bang game that made her crap herself Gosh my heart leapt last night, it was like watching your child step out in front of a car and knowing you can't do anything about it cos you won't be there in time to save them!! Slighty dramatic I know, but it's how I felt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 RubyStar maybe you should play some of the bang game with Ruby. I did a lot of that with Kenz on a baby see-saw prior to even introducing a dogwalk. That way I wasn't too worried if she decided to go up a see-saw if there should be one out. She did race up the end of it full speed and came straight off the end of the see-saw but it was no big deal she knew she could jump all over it and there was nothing to be worried about. She loves the bang game, that's the bit I can't figure out! I've asked her to bang on the end of a see-saw and she thinks it's an absolute hoot!! But it was then going over a baby dogwalk in the same session as the bang game that made her crap herself Gosh my heart leapt last night, it was like watching your child step out in front of a car and knowing you can't do anything about it cos you won't be there in time to save them!! Slighty dramatic I know, but it's how I felt I heard the gasp - but didn't know what had happened Vickie - you didn't find your girls jumped off the dog walk excessively after showing them they could?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 RS,I would stop & teach her the seesaw. Problem is, the more DW training you do, telling her it's safe & doesn't move, the more you will diminish her trust in you once she does start the seesaw. I always teach the seesaw before the DW. The girls breeder also taught me to teach my dogs to jump off the DW when we started it. Lots of dogs who are worried about the DW, are worried b/c they are unsure of what will happen if they fall off. By teaching them to jump off, the fear of the unknown is taken away, sicne they know it's no big deal & they learn it in a controlled rather than panickd state. It was a great lesson & one I will use forever. Vickie, I'm starting to agree with you in regards to maybe I should actually teach the see-saw before going back to the dogwalk. I still do classes with Ruby so I will ask my instructor what she thinks (but her opinion to date has been don't even go near a see-saw for the time being until her DW confidence is back, and she too is a great agility trainer so I respect her opinion - but I respect yours too!!) Going back to the see-saw will delay our agility debut by a long time, but it will be worth it. I want to get it right, even if it takes her ages to get confidence on both and even though she won't need seesaw til Excellent! I remember your tip about teaching the dog to jump off the DW when I raised Ruby's DW phobia on here earlier in the year, and I've done some of that If she gets halfway up and frets, she jumps off. But I'm afraid of her jumping off at the full height, she just doesn't have the right "body" for it. She's quite a lean Lab, but I still fear Lab bodies aren't designed for that kind of impact Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 I heard the gasp - but didn't know what had happened I saw her face change from "Weeeeeeeee!! Look at me go, Mum, look look!" to that of horror as she came crashing towards the ground! She jumped off as it started to move underneath her.... but then she ran over to me all happy By this stage I was on the ground ready to cry, but her continued exuberance after her scare stopped me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 (edited) Not Vickie Ptolomy but I taught Kenz she could jump on and off the dogwalk and I didn't find that she would do it excessively. After you have taught them to jump on and off then what I did was start back chaining the contact position. Dog is only getting rewarded for stopping in position so why would they continue to jump on and off . The behavior isn't rewarded so it extinguishes. Edited November 19, 2010 by ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 (edited) I wish I had access to a baby seesaw on Thursday nights where we just do our own thing (no class). I only have access to it on Tuesday nights in class. Thursday nights there is only the fullsize one. But I think we're getting one made soon for this club, fingers crossed! Edited November 19, 2010 by RubyStar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 RubyStar if you have access to a table you can always prop up the down end of the see-saw and rest it on that and then you can still C/T the dog for the bang game off the table . I have also held a full height see-saw so its lower once the dog understands what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 RubyStar if you have access to a table you can always prop up the down end of the see-saw and rest it on that and then you can still C/T the dog for the bang game off the table . I have also held a full height see-saw so its lower once the dog understands what you want. Very true, however, Thursday night training is the "seniors" night, I just gatecrash So I can't see me being able to get the chance to steal the see-saw to do this. I will see, though! I'm sure the gals wouldn't mind me having it for 10 minutes, some may even help me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pie Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 There was a chair under one end of the see saw last night for someone who was teaching their dog to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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