Agility Training Talk Thread

[dotdashdot]

Finally got back to training tonight after missing 2 weeks, thought i'd be heaps behind but we weren't. The only new thing that we missed was a curved tunnel in an actual run, which Cleo struggled with at first (ran in, i'm waiting at the other end, she ran back out the entrance) but our instructor helped me show her how to do it, then we tried the whole run again and she did it all! A broad jump, curved tunnel, jump and tyre jump. So proud :D

Also realized, coz I took her to work today, we spent 11 hours joined together today, apart from my toilet break.

[sheena]

Sounds like she is having fun DTD. We didn't have our class tonight as we were all too bug***rd after the weekend trail. Did you get to come & watch ??

[dotdashdot]

We're both having a ball :D yea, our class got pulled forward but I didn't realise why until we got there. I didn't know the trial was on! I was working anyway, but would have loved to have come down after work yesterday. A few in my class had been there though, and were all tired!

How did your guys go?

[sheena]

We're both having a ball :D yea, our class got pulled forward but I didn't realise why until we got there. I didn't know the trial was on! I was working anyway, but would have loved to have come down after work yesterday. A few in my class had been there though, and were all tired!

How did your guys go?

My masters dog (Bindi) did her best but handler error meant that she didn't get any Q's. But my young dog Cricket, first run back after a long break from trials & he got his first ever Q in Agility. We did it in 35 seconds including the table. We had 72 seconds to do it in, so he did it in less than half the time First place of course, by a mile. All the other events he went in we only made one mistake (mine every time). But he is such fun to run & I am very proud of them both. I had 12 runs all together on the Saturday, so I was really knakered & had a giant blister by bed time & on the Sunday we had to pull out of all our runs as both OH & I had to run the Gamblers ring & we were a bit short handed The four of us were going to run Pairs together...but ..oh well there is always a next time.

[dotdashdot]

We're both having a ball :D yea, our class got pulled forward but I didn't realise why until we got there. I didn't know the trial was on! I was working anyway, but would have loved to have come down after work yesterday. A few in my class had been there though, and were all tired!

How did your guys go?

My masters dog (Bindi) did her best but handler error meant that she didn't get any Q's. But my young dog Cricket, first run back after a long break from trials & he got his first ever Q in Agility. We did it in 35 seconds including the table. We had 72 seconds to do it in, so he did it in less than half the time First place of course, by a mile. All the other events he went in we only made one mistake (mine every time). But he is such fun to run & I am very proud of them both. I had 12 runs all together on the Saturday, so I was really knakered & had a giant blister by bed time & on the Sunday we had to pull out of all our runs as both OH & I had to run the Gamblers ring & we were a bit short handed The four of us were going to run Pairs together...but ..oh well there is always a next time.

Well done! Totally understand being knackered, I still don't know exactly how a trial works (I'll just learn how to handle first, then I'll start learning about competing!) but that sounds super busy. No good that you didn't get to run on Sunday. Hopefully next time I am able to come along and watch and help out.

[Elise+Hudson]

Well Hudson and I have been making huge leaps and bounds in the past few weeks! Finally starting to get his attention, at the same time he is really starting to understand what he is doing.. and we are having SO much fun!! So many people helping us out along the way, but we went to our first trial last weekend, had a run in agility which was a huge learning experience, then a few not for competition runs which helped his concentration and made it so much more fun for him in the ring.

Training again yesterday and I am hoping this has caused a permanent change in his behaviour in the ring, because he was so focussed and we even got to try a few new things into sequences which was so much fun!

First time taking a tunnel from the opposite end to where I was, which was so great for a dog that is a bit 'meh' about tunnels. Multiple rear crosses!!! (first time trying these mid run as opposed to training them) and also the first backsides in a sequence.

Heading to another trial tomorrow hoping to get some not for competition runs in with a two ring format and getting him to stay with me :) That is the aim anyway! Will try and get some video and hopefully I will get some photos of some other runs too and test out the new camera.

[Agility Dogs]

Well Hudson and I have been making huge leaps and bounds in the past few weeks! Finally starting to get his attention, at the same time he is really starting to understand what he is doing.. and we are having SO much fun!! So many people helping us out along the way, but we went to our first trial last weekend, had a run in agility which was a huge learning experience, then a few not for competition runs which helped his concentration and made it so much more fun for him in the ring.

Training again yesterday and I am hoping this has caused a permanent change in his behaviour in the ring, because he was so focussed and we even got to try a few new things into sequences which was so much fun!

First time taking a tunnel from the opposite end to where I was, which was so great for a dog that is a bit 'meh' about tunnels. Multiple rear crosses!!! (first time trying these mid run as opposed to training them) and also the first backsides in a sequence.

Heading to another trial tomorrow hoping to get some not for competition runs in with a two ring format and getting him to stay with me :) That is the aim anyway! Will try and get some video and hopefully I will get some photos of some other runs too and test out the new camera.

you guys are doing a great job!!

Grab me at the trial if you want a hand coming up with a plan for your NFC's. :)

[Elise+Hudson]

Will certainly take you up on that, thankyou :) You were such a great help last weekend, gave me hope!

Can't wait to watch the advanced/open runs today

[The Spotted Devil]

Lovely to hear E+H! Keep it up!

One lesson and half a week of training in the new SG method and I'm really enjoying it and feeling less of a klutz than I expected. Seems to suit Em really well (have never seen her enjoy agility quite so much) and I've started with Zig too. I have some home made wing jumps that are doing the job. Can't wait until out next lesson on Tuesday!

[Agility Dogs]

Will certainly take you up on that, thankyou :) You were such a great help last weekend, gave me hope!

Can't wait to watch the advanced/open runs today

You guys did a brilliant job. I can't believe what a short time you've been doing it for. GREAT STUFF!!

[Tassie]

Lovely to hear E+H! Keep it up!

One lesson and half a week of training in the new SG method and I'm really enjoying it and feeling less of a klutz than I expected. Seems to suit Em really well (have never seen her enjoy agility quite so much) and I've started with Zig too. I have some home made wing jumps that are doing the job. Can't wait until out next lesson on Tuesday!

Colour me jealous. :laugh: My misguided missile and I so need some training. He's coming along - but we'd both do so much better with access to regular training.

[The Spotted Devil]

Lovely to hear E+H! Keep it up!

One lesson and half a week of training in the new SG method and I'm really enjoying it and feeling less of a klutz than I expected. Seems to suit Em really well (have never seen her enjoy agility quite so much) and I've started with Zig too. I have some home made wing jumps that are doing the job. Can't wait until out next lesson on Tuesday!

Colour me jealous. :laugh: My misguided missile and I so need some training. He's coming along - but we'd both do so much better with access to regular training.

I'm sure you're traveling and exhausted but how was your Nationals weekend Tassie? I couldn't make it as I had a retrieving trial.

Em and I are SOLD on SG after 2 weeks. She is faster and more confident than I have ever seen. And it has translated to weaves and contacts (although I spent a LOT of time retraining the latter). She is also knocking bars much less often - I suspect because I am giving her much more timely information. My dogs both have very solid start line stays so I have also changed the release word to the name of the obstacle. Think I will do this coming off contacts as well. I expect we will have a bit of a rocky trialling time as we push through the transition but I'm more than happy to cop that if I get anywhere near the enthusiasm we're getting in training.

[Tassie]

Sounds like you're getting heaps out of the SG course..others are saying the same. I just couldn't fit it in, but hoping some crumbs will be passed down. :-)

BC National was amazing! So many wonderful dogs doing various disciplines. No Qs for us, but both did some nice stuff...although the high/low light was the missile deciding on the very last run of the day to try to retrieve the tyre..right in front of official videographer LOL. I was actually pleased with how well he coped with the environment of the biggest trial he's seen. Kirra's best effort was a clear in her 4th run..JDM ... But we were 4.5 seconds over. Still not bad for team Geri(atric) ;-).

The missile held his SLS, and nailed all his contacts .. including the extra DW that he just couldn't resist ..just couldn't turn him tight enough to avoid it.

We also competed in rally (both),DWD (both), obedience and conformation (Rory) ..both qd in Freestyle Novice, and Rory in Rally and Hhelwork to Music Novice. He also won 3rd place in Best Headed Dog.

Edited April 1, 2014 by Tassie

[aussielover]

I'm in a bit of a training rut at the moment and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions.

I've moved to canberra and unfortunately the clubs training times here don't fit in with my work schedule- they all seem to start quite early presumably due to the cold!

I've previously been lucky enough to train with Vickie (who is awesome) and felt we were making great progress- we went from no titles at the start of last year to ADX, JDX, GDX, SD and SPD and AAD titles by the end of the year!

Now I'm not really doing much training and going to trials only 1-2 times per month. Being in Masters now is quite challenging for me- I feel like i'm out my depth and don't really know what I'm doing a lot of the time. Half the time I'm so amazed we've got through a hard section I stuff up the easy part or forget where we are going...

I'm finding it difficult to train at home. We don't have any contacts but we now have 4 jumps and a full set of weave poles and a tunnel. The yard isn't big enough to accommodate all that though so we are limited to doing short sequences of 3-4 obstacles. I also find it hard to motivate myself to train as I don't really have any idea of what im doing or what to do...

Sometimes I take her to a park that has agility stuff to let her practice the dog walk for contacts. But the other stuff is concrete so I don't like her doing jumps or tunnels there because she knows what she is doing she goes quite fast and im worried about her smashing into it. Also it seems stupid to have concrete agility obstacles because dogs that don't know what they are doing can crash into it as well when playing.

ANy tips appreciated

[Agility Dogs]

I'm in a bit of a training rut at the moment and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions.

I've moved to canberra and unfortunately the clubs training times here don't fit in with my work schedule- they all seem to start quite early presumably due to the cold!

I've previously been lucky enough to train with Vickie (who is awesome) and felt we were making great progress- we went from no titles at the start of last year to ADX, JDX, GDX, SD and SPD and AAD titles by the end of the year!

Now I'm not really doing much training and going to trials only 1-2 times per month. Being in Masters now is quite challenging for me- I feel like i'm out my depth and don't really know what I'm doing a lot of the time. Half the time I'm so amazed we've got through a hard section I stuff up the easy part or forget where we are going...

I'm finding it difficult to train at home. We don't have any contacts but we now have 4 jumps and a full set of weave poles and a tunnel. The yard isn't big enough to accommodate all that though so we are limited to doing short sequences of 3-4 obstacles. I also find it hard to motivate myself to train as I don't really have any idea of what im doing or what to do...

Sometimes I take her to a park that has agility stuff to let her practice the dog walk for contacts. But the other stuff is concrete so I don't like her doing jumps or tunnels there because she knows what she is doing she goes quite fast and im worried about her smashing into it. Also it seems stupid to have concrete agility obstacles because dogs that don't know what they are doing can crash into it as well when playing.

ANy tips appreciated

First of all - well done, that's an amazing first year. And....WELL DONE on not going near that horrid agility equipment in the dog park. I HATE it with a passion - anything that doesn't move has no place near quick dogs going through or over it. (Or any dogs.)

First thing is - don't beat yourself up. It's a massive jump from Excellent to Masters. I can remember going 9 months without a card when I went from intermediate to Open at ADAA which is pretty much the same thing.

There are two things to think about IMO. The first is how you walk the course. 'Stuff up the easy part......' I can't tell you how many times I did this over about a 2 or 3 year period. Then a friend gave me a really good tip. when you walk a course - just walk it and see where it goes. Don't worry about your handling. Then the second time walk it again with your handling in it. The third time...(This is the cool bit) start at number 20 (or whatever the last obstacle is), then walk the second last and last number, then walk the third last, second last and last. (All with your handling and verbals or whatever you use.) The point of this is that the further you get into a course the more tired you will be and the more liklely you are to forget things. If you've walked the ending 20 times that's got to be better than walking the whole thing 5 or 6 times. (How often do you forget the first 4 jumps?)

The other thing with walking that I find useful is to try and break it down into logical sequences so I'm not trying to remember the whole thing at once.

Then once you have walked it go off the the side and walk it again in your head. (This takes practice, but is AWESOME!)

(If you can get to ADAA trials you can also do Not for Competition rounds where you can practice small parts of the course without the pressure of being 'in the ring'.)

Then there is the training at home. It's hard with a small back yard, but not impossible.

We have a yard that sounds like it might be similar sized to yours. I do a lot of work with pool noodles and just one or two jumps. Really hard stuff, but with the focus on fun and excitement. That way when we transfer it onto a course we have far fewer hassles with the tricky stuff and we can just focus on having fun.

Pick something you though you could have done better on the weekend and work on that for the week. Susan Garrett's one jump DVD is great for this sort of thing. Just getting out and building your relationship works wonders for how you go at trials.

Contacts - did you learn using a contact plank? My dogs run over a jump and then have to stop on a contact plank on their line (appropriately spaced). Between that and lots of rear end awareness they have pretty good contacts (if they are not too high in the ring LOL.)

Hope that kind of helps - just try and enjoy getting out and not worry about the results so much and magically the results seem to flow.

[aussielover]

Thanks AD.

I like the tip about course walking. Being a slower dog (lab) I am finding in masters one little mistake on my part puts us just overtime (in jumping anyway). I'd like to work on speed and drive, I get she will never be fast like a border but id like to get a little more speed where possible.

She also has a difficult habit of being slow during training and quite fast in trials so it's hard to know what to do.

Any suggestions for books etc? I've heard there's an alphabet drill book for jumping? Not sure where to get it from though?

[pie]

You can get Alphabet Drills here: http://www.gameondogs.com.au/books-and-dvd/alphabet-drills.html

Great book

[Agility Dogs]

You can get Alphabet Drills here: http://www.gameondogs.com.au/books-and-dvd/alphabet-drills.html

Great book

It's a great book.

On the drive thing.......

Not all borders are fast. My younger girl used to consistently run 6 to 8 seconds over course time. She's now 10 to 12 seconds under it - not quick, but no longer in the painfully slow category. To build this up it's been all about FUN for us, but it also started by making sure we NEVER practice rubbish. (harsh - sorry - we never practice anything we don't want.) If she comes out at a trial and isnt' the dog I want on the start line we do something fast and fun and out of there. (It's taken me a while to get to the point where I was frustrated enough to throw away $5 or $7 on a nothing or NFC run, but I can now see it is money well spend.) If she is a bit dull at home (rare these days) then we don't train what I had in mind and do something I KNOW will get her up - I would rather speed than work on more skills.

At home we started by only training for 15 seconds (literally) and then putting her back in her crate, then out again, then 15 seconds. It's taken about 2 years of this, but I'm now to the pont where she can work for about 2 minutes before she starts to slow down.

I'm proud to say that last night she was driving really nicely, almost as quick as my other dogs and with potential to go faster still. :)

She is the second dog I've done this with. The first was her half brother who had different issues, but suffice to say it's made a world of difference to him and we can now work for as long as we want without him slowing down. (As long as the environment doesn't freak him LOL.)

If you can get a tunnel that will also help build drive. :) Pool noodles are brilliant as well......

This is my boy playing at home. The pool noodles build into a fantastic game. :)

[Sayreovi]

I am feeling the same Aussielover.

The difference from going from excellent to masters was such a big jump for us, we lost motivation trying to do all these moves that even the more experience dogs and handlers struggled with

Doesn't help that I can't get to training regulary....well ever, we haven't been able to train for 6 months!

I've been taking advantage of the NFC runs that are being offered to bring the fun back into it for me.

We haven't trialled since I think November last year (she came into season early this year), first trial back this weekend so will see how we go :laugh: Should be interesting!

[Podengo]

I've lost motivation a bit having just gone up a level, we've had some almost clear rounds, but keep stuffing up quite easy bits too... Or messing up weave entries! Bane of my life!