Agility Training Talk Thread

[Tiggy]

Tater the SBT. I love watching this dog . He's Banjo's agility hero .

http://www.youtube.com/user/Tiggy3010#p/a/f/2/kldy66xBUdk

[The Spotted Devil]

We had such fun tonight We have joined a new club (closer to home) and were able to slot into the trialling class even though we are a pair of novices with most of our theory crammed into a couple of private lessons. There has been no training for several weeks due to the state of the grounds and it was still too muddy for contacts or weavers. Ziggy was fantastic - tried his Spotted heart out and did his absolute best to follow my (sometimes poorly timed) cues and keep the jumps up. He tugged with enthusiasm for the first half hour and I switched 100% to food when I could see he was over it. In between sequences he sniffed and marked and scraped but switched back on when I asked although it was a very different environment. I learned SO much - the instructors were fantastic. Just hope I retained some of the info

[ness]

I have an agility training question - Kenz has started cutting behind me when we run (mostly into tunnels) but also behind me to take the occasional off course jump. I set her up this morning to do some flat recall work to a tug and she also managed to come to the wrong side once. Does anybody have any suggestions other than just not rewarding it and doing more flat work with her?

I posted this in another thread but in this clip she does it twice - once into the tunnel and then once to take a jump on me - http://www.youtube.com/user/ness#p/a/u/0/o_O-l8V0Y7w.

[Tiggy]

ness you must have been up early training

TSD sounds like you've found a club that's a good fit . I started at a new club to and love it but couldn't go last night because it was too wet .

[ness]

Whatcha mean early Tiggy it was 7:45 which is the time I usually run my morning training session before I head into Uni . I think thats relatively late in the scheme of things LOL.

[Tiggy]

Whatcha mean early Tiggy it was 7:45 which is the time I usually run my morning training session before I head into Uni . I think thats relatively late in the scheme of things LOL.

Oh yeah I forgot time difference .

[Kavik]

Does she cut behind you when doing circle work on the flat?

[Agility Dogs]

I have an agility training question - Kenz has started cutting behind me when we run (mostly into tunnels) but also behind me to take the occasional off course jump. I set her up this morning to do some flat recall work to a tug and she also managed to come to the wrong side once. Does anybody have any suggestions other than just not rewarding it and doing more flat work with her?

I posted this in another thread but in this clip she does it twice - once into the tunnel and then once to take a jump on me - http://www.youtube.com/user/ness#p/a/u/0/o_O-l8V0Y7w.

Hi,

I would be doing heaps of circle work with her as well as shadow handling on the ground (run a course in your mind, but do it on the flat rewarding every time you turn and then occasionally on the straights). She just needs to have more value on staying on the correct side rather than the value you have put on tunnels and jumps.

The other thing is eye contact. I didn't notice it before, but both times she did it to you you had lost eye contact with her - impossible to have it all the time, but.........

cheers

Tony

[ness]

Its interesting we spend more time running flatwork then we do on equipment but yep will certainly do some more with her. And in answer to Kavik no she doesn't tend to cut behind when doing circle work, but she can try and dictate the circle though (if that makes sense). Interesting about the loss of eye contact bit. Didn't even see that either.

We do play games of me sending her around objects and either having her stay the same side around the outside of 2 objects or me crossing and having her run across the diagonal. She never ends up on the wrong side when we play that game.

Edited July 13, 2010 by ness

[Staff'n'Toller]

I just started watching Contacts 360 disc 2 and at the beginning she covers two good games for working on blind crosses when you don't want them.

[GoldenGirl85]

AD I was told about a training seminar I think your club is hosting? have you got any info on that?

[ness]

Will have to have a watch then won't I SnT . I think I got as far as the end of disc 1 LOL.

[Agility Dogs]

AD I was told about a training seminar I think your club is hosting? have you got any info on that?

We aren't hosting it, but it is an ADAA event at our grounds.

The info isn't up on the website just yet, but in short:

When - August 22 all day.

Where - South Brisbane Softball Club, Preston Road, Carina. (Doubles as BAD's home grounds.)

What: Full day beginners (incl puppies) to intermediate seminar. Your dog will need some foundation skills for the day to be worthwhile. For some classes beginners will be fine, for others you need a starters level title. There is a mix of levels in each session throughout the day. Session range from walking and running full courses to rear end awareness exercises and crate training/crate games.

How much - I forget, somewhere between $50 and $80 for the day I think, but will update when I have a chance to check.

Who: Instructors from all SEQ clubs will be there on the day.

What else - atendees need to be members of ADAA (not just an ADAA club). ADAA membership is $15 for 3 years.

Hope that helps for the minute, but keep an eye on the ADAA events calendar for the registration forms.

Cheers

Tony

[Tiggy]

After five minutes of flatwork training today I've come to the conclusion that Banjo and I need to get fitter . We were both puffing but at least he got to go in the river afterwards . Training was good though, he still has a tendency to pop behind me when he's on my right(evil obedience is to blame ) but other than that he's coming along really well.

[ness]

We just went out in the rain and did some circle work, sending around object work, get out work, front cross work and then some startline proofing. I am buggered, dog has only just warmed up .

[Tiggy]

We just went out in the rain and did some circle work, sending around object work, get out work, front cross work and then some startline proofing. I am buggered, dog has only just warmed up .

That's Border Collies for you

I think I have more energy than Banjo :D but he's actually quite fast, it just comes in short bursts

[Staff'n'Toller]

That's what I love about Staffies, after some work they just want to curl up on the couch with you for the rest of the evening. :D

[GoldenGirl85]

AD I was told about a training seminar I think your club is hosting? have you got any info on that?

We aren't hosting it, but it is an ADAA event at our grounds.

The info isn't up on the website just yet, but in short:

When - August 22 all day.

Where - South Brisbane Softball Club, Preston Road, Carina. (Doubles as BAD's home grounds.)

What: Full day beginners (incl puppies) to intermediate seminar. Your dog will need some foundation skills for the day to be worthwhile. For some classes beginners will be fine, for others you need a starters level title. There is a mix of levels in each session throughout the day. Session range from walking and running full courses to rear end awareness exercises and crate training/crate games.

How much - I forget, somewhere between $50 and $80 for the day I think, but will update when I have a chance to check.

Who: Instructors from all SEQ clubs will be there on the day.

What else - atendees need to be members of ADAA (not just an ADAA club). ADAA membership is $15 for 3 years.

Hope that helps for the minute, but keep an eye on the ADAA events calendar for the registration forms.

Cheers

Tony

Awesome thanks for that...Id better join ADAA lol

[pie]

Well the wheels seem to be falling off for me and my boy Kyzer :D , the last few agility trials have been a mess and he hasn't been paying attention / running around jumps / jumping over contacts / running off. I know he can do it, he is consistent and enthusiastic at training, but at trials he is switching off and I want to nip it in the bud now.

I want to work on improving our bond, I'm pretty sure he doesn't really care if he is with me or not, would rather do his own thing, doesn't care much for praise, which I think may be part of the problem.

It has already been suggested that I hand feed him all his meals or his meals come out of my pocket and are given as reward for training.

So I'm after any ideas on how to improve our relationship, also any other suggestions from more experienced people who have had similar issues would be appreciated. He is the first dog I have trained and it's really frustrating me! Even if this isn't the issue here our relationship could do with some work anyway.

Thanks in advance.

[The Spotted Devil]

amypie - hand feeding meals as training was incredibly effective for us. Making focus work really fun and rewarding also helped.....steady feet game (in a sit) with added eye contact has given Zig a solid, focussed start line stay that sets us up for success on the course. He eyeballs me, coiled like a spring until I move my arm out and point to the first obstacle. I also try to break down and test and reinforce every part of the exercise. At training, doing very short sequences and rewarding tight turns or fast lines or obstacle discrimination. Also have a look at what your body language is telling your dog in a trial....shoulders, eye contact etc. I notice some people give up on their dog psychologically and it is really reflected in their own body language. Then the dog picks up on this, blows off the handler and does its own thing. I hope that helps.