Agility Training Talk Thread

[murve]

Hi guys just wondering if anybody has any tips for a newbie , my daughter & her near 12month old pup has a assessment night coming up to join a Agility club.

Only 10 dogs will be sucsessful

She has been doing some training with our club & really enjoys it, her pup is like velco with her, so recall is great, been working on his wait, he is starting to get the message.

thanks in advance

[**Super_Dogs**]

They are straight (I am guessing mine are the same as Aussielover's).

The plastic base does give more than metal base, so I have noticed she is alittle slower than at home. I am pretty sure the spacing is right.

But I am problem with her entry, like she is not recognising they are weaves. At home her entries are great, from all angles and distances. At training I have to walk her into the entry.

Could it be the colour? I am seriously consider buying a can of white spary paint

This is our problem too! Though even if I walk her into the entry she still seems unsure of what to do and will pop out.

Maybe it is the colour then?

My girls also pops out. While she is weaving I can see on her face she is just not sure. It is really frustraing as at home she is doing so great!

I would love to hear anything you try and how it goes.

I am going to try painting the poles white - it can't hurt to try Latter this year I am going to buy weaves with a metal base. I personally find weaves it what I need the most practice.

[wuffles]

My dog is just learning the weaves too and she also does much better at home (well, at the local oval). When I train at home, I start out with slightly slanted poles so that she is getting confidence and speed, before going to the straight poles which she then does nicely. If I go straight to the straight poles she seems to think too much and misses poles or does two then looks back at me

It doesn't bother me because I know that I need to do more foundation work on entries and confidence and accuracy and speed before I expect her to "get it" completely. I am doing a bunch of work with two poles for entries and I am sure she will get better as time goes on.

[Vickie]

Weaves in the backyard are often a different exercise than weaves at training. Some reasons:

Different spacing, different base, different flexibility based on poles/base etc

Different number ie 6 at home, 12 at training

Lots more distractions at training

Handler approaches them differently at training, eg moves more/less confidently or stands closer/further away, verbalizes more/less at training etc

There are often obstacles before & after weaves at training vs a stand alone exercise at home

If you build enough value for weaving, all of the above should become irrelevant. If your performance is unreliable at home, deviation in any of the above is likely to create a dog who looks like it doesn't really understand the exercise. I probably wouldnt ask my dog to weave at training until I know it totally gets the exercise at home.

This is one of the reasons I like to start with 3 poles. It allows me to do everything I need to build value & proof at home & I can easily take them to training and build value & proof there as well. Once 3 is perfect, I can move to 5, then straight to 12.

Edited August 17, 2011 by Vickie

[aussielover]

Hi guys just wondering if anybody has any tips for a newbie , my daughter & her near 12month old pup has a assessment night coming up to join a Agility club.

Only 10 dogs will be sucsessful

She has been doing some training with our club & really enjoys it, her pup is like velco with her, so recall is great, been working on his wait, he is starting to get the message.

thanks in advance

Why only 10 dogs?

I would suggest making sure your dog has an excellent recall, works well under distraction, a good wait (although this isn't overly important to start with), works well on both sides, you have a strong reinforcement history and a reward your dog goes crazy for (or works really well for).

These things are the minimum I would suggest so your dog can get maximum benefit from training.

Additionally a No Reward Marker can be useful as well as teaching your dog to target.

Do you know what the assessment is and what they are after?

Honestly I think if you just want to do agility for fun then all you need to have is a good recall, good reward and a dog that wants to work with you.

Its no fun if you're dog is constantly trying to run off and agility training really needs to be done off lead.

[megan_]

Hi Murve,

This is for Action Dogs? They usually send a list of what the assessment entails. From memory, sit/stay, recall, show a trick (can be very basic, I did targeting my hand with his nose), walking past other dogs at close range and playing with the owner (it is okay if your dog isn't tug or toy obsessed though). They also send the dogs through a small tunnel to see if the dog is fearful etc.

Tell her not to worry! I was so nervous that I send all sorts of vibes to my poor dog but we still got through.

aussielover - they only take 10 dogs so that people can get adequate training time and help.

[**Super_Dogs**]

Weaves in the backyard are often a different exercise than weaves at training. Some reasons:

Different spacing, different base, different flexibility based on poles/base etc

Different number ie 6 at home, 12 at training

Lots more distractions at training

Handler approaches them differently at training, eg moves more/less confidently or stands closer/further away, verbalizes more/less at training etc

There are often obstacles before & after weaves at training vs a stand alone exercise at home

If you build enough value for weaving, all of the above should become irrelevant. If your performance is unreliable at home, deviation in any of the above is likely to create a dog who looks like it doesn't really understand the exercise. I probably wouldnt ask my dog to weave at training until I know it totally gets the exercise at home.

This is one of the reasons I like to start with 3 poles. It allows me to do everything I need to build value & proof at home & I can easily take them to training and build value & proof there as well. Once 3 is perfect, I can move to 5, then straight to 12.

Thanks Vickie. I am sure I have something to do with it. I have to pay more attention to what I do/say at home and mirror that at training.

[krustie22]

We have only just learnt weaving. It was our final challenge lol. I thought we would never understand it. We tried a few different methods, but when we came across the 2x2 method, it clicked. we used 2 x 10 min sessions 3 times a week, and within 8 sessions (4 days - not consecutive) we were weaving 8 poles, with a mixture of metal and plastic base.

I think once you have built enough value for the obstacle in enough environments, colour and material will not make a difference. If you are having trouble with entries and drive, i suggest Susan Garrett's 2x2 method!!

EDIT: I should add, 2 of our 2x2 sessions were at the training fields on our normal training night, again with a different set of poles. Best of luck!

Edited August 17, 2011 by krustie22

[murve]

Hi Murve,

This is for Action Dogs? They usually send a list of what the assessment entails. From memory, sit/stay, recall, show a trick (can be very basic, I did targeting my hand with his nose), walking past other dogs at close range and playing with the owner (it is okay if your dog isn't tug or toy obsessed though). They also send the dogs through a small tunnel to see if the dog is fearful etc.

Tell her not to worry! I was so nervous that I send all sorts of vibes to my poor dog but we still got through.

aussielover - they only take 10 dogs so that people can get adequate training time and help.

Thank you megan yes it is with Action Dogs, Michelle sent us the info this morning, my daughter's pup has a brilliant recall with her, she has been teaching him a couple of tricks, he knows the table, he's quite good walking past other dogs except GSD's tuggy toy he loves, going through tunnels not a problem now, still working on his Stays like I said earlier he is like velco to her

I dont think it her that is nevous its Me

[ness]

Forgot about this website for tug leads - Australia based and just saw it listed on Agility Australia.

http://statikpaws.weebly.com/our-products.html

[krustie22]

Forgot about this website for tug leads - Australia based and just saw it listed on Agility Australia.

http://statikpaws.weebly.com/our-products.html

We have a martingale one from Statik Paws that we LOVE and it is the first thing we have been able to get consistent tugs on!

EDIT: oops meant to add piccy of it lol

Edited August 17, 2011 by krustie22

[**Super_Dogs**]

Forgot about this website for tug leads - Australia based and just saw it listed on Agility Australia.

http://statikpaws.weebly.com/our-products.html

Am loving these leads My girl is not a tugger - but I still want one as they are so beautiful.

[pie]

amypie,

I have only worked on dog walk approaches once or twice, we used a pole for them to wrap around (we used the poles from the broad jump). You would want to fade the pole eventually, we didn't get that far, only a couple of times at training.

Thanks Kavik, I'll try that tomorrow. She runs.. weird.. in big wide circles with a lot of momentum, hard to explain, hopefully this will work with her We'll see how we go.

I've been watching other MTs on Youtube who have the same running style but have very good deceleration which Trixie doesn't really have at the moment - might work on that a bit too. Example of what I mean:

[ness]

Hmmm the Teeter from Start to Finish has a section on teaching the dog to square up for the approach. Maybe you could use the same method on the dogwalk .

[pie]

Probably Ness, is that a DVD? she does the same thing with the see saw too really but hasn't fallen off yet (apart from the odd flyoff when first learning, doesn't really happen now).

[ness]

Yep I think its Wendy Pape's.

[koalathebear]

Regarding weaving, Elbie seems the opposite of everyone else's dog! He is fine at the club - in fact the weavers seem to 'focus' him better than any of the other apparatus and he does fine on the slanted poles and last week wove on the 8 straight poles without any problems. I almost died of shock given that he's really only practised during clsas - but was so happy with him.

He did not like the weave poles I put in the backyard AT ALL and while he was weaving, he went through at a snail's pace and looked as though he was being tortured :p I really don't think he liked having weave poles spring up suddenly in the backyard. I have stopped trying to make him weave in the backyard for now.

By contrast, I put some 2x2s in the loungeroom (the Murray Tyler weavers recommended by ness previously) and he seems very happy with those. I've been able to get him to weave while I'm on his right, on his left, behind him and also ahead of him. For some reason he is just not happy weaving in the backyard ... absolutely no idea why ...

Edited August 17, 2011 by koalathebear

[aussielover]

Hi Murve,

This is for Action Dogs? They usually send a list of what the assessment entails. From memory, sit/stay, recall, show a trick (can be very basic, I did targeting my hand with his nose), walking past other dogs at close range and playing with the owner (it is okay if your dog isn't tug or toy obsessed though). They also send the dogs through a small tunnel to see if the dog is fearful etc.

Tell her not to worry! I was so nervous that I send all sorts of vibes to my poor dog but we still got through.

aussielover - they only take 10 dogs so that people can get adequate training time and help.

Thats a good idea!

I think a basic assessment before starting agility is a good idea. Just to make sure the dogs are under control etc. Our club has no assessment or standard you have to achieve before starting and some people really do struggle keeping their dogs focussed on them and not running away.

Thanks for the weaving ideas guys, I think I'll go back to basics with this!

[Vickie]

She runs.. weird.. in big wide circles with a lot of momentum, hard to explain, hopefully this will work with her We'll see how we go.

Our Peppi is a bit like this. My suggestion would be to get her turning tight on the flat first before you ask for it on the dw. A good way to do this is to teach her to run around a pole, or a tree. Increase the distance till she is running fast towards it, turns tight & accelerates out of the turn. Once her line is basically straight, you know you have success.

Another thing about entries to dog walks, seesaws & even weaves is that people often try to make the entries easier but actually make them harder. By running right up to an angled entry, we are often actually asking the dog to move laterally across the front of it. Many dogs struggle with the turn b/c our body language is actually asking them to go straight ahead. I try to look for commitment from the dog to the obstacle, one I see it, I make my turn & I'm off. Often they do a much better job of the entry without our "help". Not sure if I have explained this well... I know what I mean lol.

I've been watching other MTs on Youtube who have the same running style but have very good deceleration which Trixie doesn't really have at the moment - might work on that a bit too. Example of what I mean:

What an awesome team!

Edited August 17, 2011 by Vickie

[Tassie]

You're absolutely right, Vickie - definitely the case for my girl with awkward LH weave entries - she's so much better if I just "unleash the beast" and trust her, and keep out of her way - which I think is what you're meaning (assuming the dog knows what s/he's doing :D ).