Agility Training Talk Thread

[Staff'n'Toller]

Ooh thanks for the heads up Perdy.

[GoldenGirl85]

FYI, Kmart have 33cm balance discs advertised on sale for $8 each at the moment. They come with a pump too! I bought 4, and when it came time to pay they were only $5 - gotta love it when that happens!

Really? I was just in Kmart the other day and decided to see if they stock these...couldnt find any though

[RubyStar]

Oohh myyy gawwwd. 2x2 weave training with Millie is sending me round the bend. She’s as dopey as they come! I just don’t think this method is cut out for all dogs (especially when you’re nothing like SG!!) It worked for Ruby, not so much for Millie. It’s an agonisingly slow process with Miss Moo. And she can’t help but do a victory lap with her toy once she gets it right, adding to my frustration!

We are very slowly progressing, and are up to 4 straight poles. She has her entries from the right, and even entering from the right she did 6 straight poles a couple of times (I was more testing than anything so dropped back to 4). She is now getting better with her entries from the left, however, she thinks it’s a whole ‘nuther set of criteria when she enters from that direction! She will weave into the first and out again, but refuses to re-enter the last one sending from this angle. She stands there before the last weave just staring, waiting for the ball to be thrown. Whenever she sticks her head or body slightly past the poles I throw the ball which makes her go all the way through, but if she hasn’t gone part way through and is just standing there, I ignore her or NRM her, call her back and ask her to try again. I know throwing it when she hasn't gone all the way through is probably adding to her confusion, but I'm not sure how else to entice her to go all the way through. Waiting it out isn't working!

I thought it might be the position I’m standing, but nope, sending her from the right and then rear crossing her over to the left, she still goes through them properly. It is really doing my head in why she is failing to continue when entering from this direction! Opening the poles again, she still kinda just stands there before the last one. This only really started once the poles were closed.

I know once/if we work through this problem, I am going to struggle to get her to go through 6 poles, and so on. We have been stuck at 4 poles for so long that it is going to be hard to break that habit with her. But I couldn’t progress any sooner because she isn’t being consistent enough to show me she actually understands to up the criteria.

Not sure I’m writing this for suggestions (but they are more than welcome), I’m more writing it just to share my frustration! I am thinking I may try another method with her, but as I have only ever taught Ruby to weave and it was using 2x2 (and she’s still not 100% reliable, we’re working on it!), I’m not sure how else to teach it. Clearly my 2x2 teaching skills are no Susan Garrett!! And I don’t have the time to do 3 sessions a day, every day, like SG does in the DVD. I am doing one or two sessions a day, about 4 times a week on a good week (and I did less with Ruby). After watching Millie progress, I honestly don’t think 3 sessions a day, every day, will do much to help her either. I think my weaving goal by mid January is out

Edited December 22, 2010 by RubyStar

[sheena]

Probably throwing the ball before she completes the weaves would only be rewarding her for popping out. Using the ball as a reward can sometimes cause them to lift their head to look at you & they pop out before completion. Use a marker word like "yes" as soon as she enters the right way, but don't reward her unless she completes the weave.

[megan_]

Have you tried the slanty pole method (I don't know the technical name for it!)

[RubyStar]

Probably throwing the ball before she completes the weaves would only be rewarding her for popping out. Using the ball as a reward can sometimes cause them to lift their head to look at you & they pop out before completion. Use a marker word like "yes" as soon as she enters the right way, but don't reward her unless she completes the weave.

Thanks. She's not popping out as such, just stopping short. If I use a marker word as she enters she will look at me and stop what she's doing! Unfortunately, the ball and variations of such toys (ie. ball on a rope, kong wubba) are all I have that will provide her motivation to work (and I make sure I rotate these toys so she doesn't become dependant on one to work). I don't like to use food for teaching this, too much repetition would see me going through truck loads of food and she isn't interested in the slightest in tuggy games.

Edited December 22, 2010 by RubyStar

[RubyStar]

Have you tried the slanty pole method (I don't know the technical name for it!)

Thinking I might try this next. My club has these weavomatic thingies where the poles are slanted, so might try that next year when we start training at club again. I will perservere with the 2x2 over the club training break though, I might have a breakthrough! Or a breakdown

[TerraNik]

I feel your frustration RS!!

Jedi is going really well with the 2x2 - he's up to a jump + 4 straight poles and I'm about to add another set of poles. No worries!

Soaks on the other hand was driving me bonkers! I ended up going back to the beginning with her and since I did that, she has been going much better! I just lowered my expectations of her and decided that she can go at her own pace (as I should have allowed her in the beginning!!!). She's now up to 2 sets of poles and we're slowly closing them. I'm making sure that her entries are perfect before they are fully closed - this was my mistake last time and it got her unstuck. She has the opposite problem though - entries from the left are great! The easy ones (from the right) are harder for her

[RubyStar]

I feel your frustration RS!!

Jedi is going really well with the 2x2 - he's up to a jump + 4 straight poles and I'm about to add another set of poles. No worries!

Soaks on the other hand was driving me bonkers! I ended up going back to the beginning with her and since I did that, she has been going much better! I just lowered my expectations of her and decided that she can go at her own pace (as I should have allowed her in the beginning!!!). She's now up to 2 sets of poles and we're slowly closing them. I'm making sure that her entries are perfect before they are fully closed - this was my mistake last time and it got her unstuck. She has the opposite problem though - entries from the left are great! The easy ones (from the right) are harder for her

Same with Ruby

I have progressed so slowly with Millie that any slower and I will be in my 90's before we get to 6 poles! I fear that going back to 2 poles will just confirm for her that she should be stopping short after the first 2! But the bit that baffles me is she goes through all 4 straight poles fine when entering from the right, but it's just entering even slightly to the left and she suddenly thinks the second set are optional!!

[Tay.]

Have you tried the slanty pole method (I don't know the technical name for it!)

Thinking I might try this next. My club has these weavomatic thingies where the poles are slanted, so might try that next year when we start training at club again. I will perservere with the 2x2 over the club training break though, I might have a breakthrough! Or a breakdown

Have you thought about the channel method, RS?

I trained Bailey to weave using it and I'm sure he'd be a lot more dopey then Millie!

[Vickie]

I just lowered my expectations of her and decided that she can go at her own pace (as I should have allowed her in the beginning!!!).

This is really good advice! It makes it so hard when you have 2 different dogs who learn & progress at different rates.

Lowering expectations about speed of progress while maintaining criteria of exactly what you want will work. It may not happen overnight, but it will happen .

[TerraNik]

I just lowered my expectations of her and decided that she can go at her own pace (as I should have allowed her in the beginning!!!).

This is really good advice! It makes it so hard when you have 2 different dogs who learn & progress at different rates.

Lowering expectations about speed of progress while maintaining criteria of exactly what you want will work. It may not happen overnight, but it will happen .

Absolutely! Soaks learns so differently to Jedi... She "needs" a lightbulb moment, whereas Jedi just gets it from the start. He's a bit of a freak So I'm thankful for Soaks, because she really does challenge me as a trainer.

[Vickie]

Speaking of frustrations...I just set up a big loop for Trim & Shine of jumps, a tunnel & weaves. They did about 4 runs each & we only managed ONE run of 8 without a bar going down . Worst thing was, it wasn't always the same bar.

[RubyStar]

I just lowered my expectations of her and decided that she can go at her own pace (as I should have allowed her in the beginning!!!).

This is really good advice! It makes it so hard when you have 2 different dogs who learn & progress at different rates.

Lowering expectations about speed of progress while maintaining criteria of exactly what you want will work. ;) It may not happen overnight, but it will happen .

While good advice, my expectations of Millie's progress were already lowered because I know she can't shape as well as Ruby. I have been progressing slowly with her and just don't know what to do to get her over this hurdle! Think all I really can do is go away and do even more shaping games, but I don't see it fixing our little problem It's not that she isn't understanding the concept at all, she's understanding what side to enter from and to keep weaving on one side, it's just the other side is a problem area for her I might try to get it on video and demonstrate what I mean.

[Vickie]

Using the whole of my backyard...just to make RS & TN extra jealous

complete with my naughty bar knockers! back to grids for us for a little while

[TerraNik]

Gah! I wish I had that much space!!!!!!!!

[RubyStar]

I didn't see any bars knocked with Shine! Unless it was the one behind the A-Frame?

And yes, totally jealous over the backyard!

[pie]

I'm dreaming of wide open spaces too!!! in 2-3 years hopefully...

I've gone to 4 poles for Trixie's 2x2 and I'm finding the same thing where if she needs to wrap the pole to enter (from the left) she's fine but from the right she's shocking!

[caffy]

Using the whole of my backyard...just to make RS & TN extra jealous

complete with my naughty bar knockers! back to grids for us for a little while

LOL...Snazzy has his moments like this. I did a lot of work of jump to tunnel..put the jump up to 600 and as a spread...he'd just flatten into a tunnel which I guess you can't blame them for especially when my verbal tunnel cue seemed to cause half the problem.

Same with my yelling "weaves" too...he had to learn to do his job of keeping the bar up with my early obstacle cue. It's always ongoing work for him..he's just too keen

[TerraNik]

Speaking of 2x2... Guess who is doing 6 poles and a jump! So proud of Jed! I'm excited to be taking the dogs to my parents place over Christmas - new places to proof their weaving!

Edited December 22, 2010 by TerraNik