I just realized, literally as I was typing it, that the phrase "where's the fire" can have two different, opposite meanings. It's probably most typically used when someone is going really, really fast. As in, "whoa, where's the fire"? But I typed the subject line because I thought Shasta was a little flat last night in class and wondered "where's the fire"?
OK, here are the excuses. It was her first time jumping 24-inch in every sequence in class. Our winter venue is an arena with slightly loose dirt. Logical or not, I've always thought a dog was probably having to give the effort of jumping 25 inches to clear 24 in the dirt. It was day one of a cold for me so I didn't have any fire myself. All excuses though.
She did a lot of good things in class. Mostly, she did everything without hesitation. Weaves, teeter, dogwalk. Even her first triple. But it was, in my opinion, methodical. Not a big deal at this point, just an observation. It might signify that I've added too much stuff too quickly of late. It's something for me to keep my eye on and be ready to adjust if I need to.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Those Other Obstacles
For a long lunch yesterday I met Kris up at On The Run for some open ring time. The focus was to see how she did her obstacles in another new place. I was especially curious about the teeter since it's again inside on mats.
Dogwalk, teeter, aframe and weaves all were just fine. Weave poles were even quite fast her first attempt at them then slowed down on subsequent weaves. She is also still being careful on the dogwalk but that doesn't bother me at all at this point.
We decided since we were there and things were going well we should introduce the jumps she hasn't yet seen. Out came the double jump and the panel. I tried them both at full height first. She came to a dead stop at both of them on first approach. We brought the panel down to 16 and she did it fine, brought it to 20 and did it fine, then brought it to 24 and did it fine going forward. On the double we brought it down to 20. She still balked at it first time, we approached it again with a little more momentum and she took it. A few more at 20 went fine. We went up to 24 and she was willing and cleared it but it was a little "spikey". So we have some work to do there.
Then out came the broad jump. This time we tried it first at about 16 (32) inches and she, not surprisingly had no clue. She walked over the boards. A few more tries and no success. We put up a wingless single jump in the middle of the broad jump and she cleared it. Did a few of those and it she was jumping it. Took the jump out and she went back to walking on the boards. Next we set the bar on the boards without the uprights and she jumped it a few times. We left it there so, again, we have some work to do.
Again she showed what I think is unbelievable "focus stamina" by working this entire time. Probably about 25 minutes when all was said and done. It might be her trait that I am most impressed with so far.
With Kris' help at least we thought to work on the "other" jumps. It's so easy to forget all about them, especially the broad jump.
Dogwalk, teeter, aframe and weaves all were just fine. Weave poles were even quite fast her first attempt at them then slowed down on subsequent weaves. She is also still being careful on the dogwalk but that doesn't bother me at all at this point.
We decided since we were there and things were going well we should introduce the jumps she hasn't yet seen. Out came the double jump and the panel. I tried them both at full height first. She came to a dead stop at both of them on first approach. We brought the panel down to 16 and she did it fine, brought it to 20 and did it fine, then brought it to 24 and did it fine going forward. On the double we brought it down to 20. She still balked at it first time, we approached it again with a little more momentum and she took it. A few more at 20 went fine. We went up to 24 and she was willing and cleared it but it was a little "spikey". So we have some work to do there.
Then out came the broad jump. This time we tried it first at about 16 (32) inches and she, not surprisingly had no clue. She walked over the boards. A few more tries and no success. We put up a wingless single jump in the middle of the broad jump and she cleared it. Did a few of those and it she was jumping it. Took the jump out and she went back to walking on the boards. Next we set the bar on the boards without the uprights and she jumped it a few times. We left it there so, again, we have some work to do.
Again she showed what I think is unbelievable "focus stamina" by working this entire time. Probably about 25 minutes when all was said and done. It might be her trait that I am most impressed with so far.
With Kris' help at least we thought to work on the "other" jumps. It's so easy to forget all about them, especially the broad jump.
Weaves, Jumps, Teeters and Class
From where I left off the last post (I decided to break it up because the one post was getting way too long). We did class on more time and the weaves went great in that she did them from tough entries and did all 12 every time. Methodically. I swear I can watch her think. I know it will speed up, how much remains to be seen.
I continued to jump her in the dirt at 20 inch although twice the jumps were already at 24 and I did a sequence at it each time. She did them very well including a couple where I assumed it too much, she almost went past them to come to me and jumped them at the last second when I pushed into her. I've also done 24 inch a tiny bit at home in the pole barn.
We realized that Shasta has never done a teeter on mats/concrete where the teeter can be loud and vibrate even more. Kris and I went up to the Inn this last Saturday specifically to address it. On to the teeter we went, first time with no hesitation of course. I thought I did see her ears flick on the bang. Second time she did it a little slower and definitely flicked her ears a bit. One or two more times she seemed a little worried about it but did them solidly. After that she seemed comfortable again for a few more.
We also did weaves and a few 24 inch jumps. The weaves went great. Again, a new place. Quiet, just us. Still she did them first time and every time. Any angle, me ahead, me behind, me front crossing. The jumps went quite well although she froze two times at a wingless jump. Same jump both times. She did the same jump fine other times. Not sure what that was about. Hopefully I can figure out what if it happens again.
I continued to jump her in the dirt at 20 inch although twice the jumps were already at 24 and I did a sequence at it each time. She did them very well including a couple where I assumed it too much, she almost went past them to come to me and jumped them at the last second when I pushed into her. I've also done 24 inch a tiny bit at home in the pole barn.
We realized that Shasta has never done a teeter on mats/concrete where the teeter can be loud and vibrate even more. Kris and I went up to the Inn this last Saturday specifically to address it. On to the teeter we went, first time with no hesitation of course. I thought I did see her ears flick on the bang. Second time she did it a little slower and definitely flicked her ears a bit. One or two more times she seemed a little worried about it but did them solidly. After that she seemed comfortable again for a few more.
We also did weaves and a few 24 inch jumps. The weaves went great. Again, a new place. Quiet, just us. Still she did them first time and every time. Any angle, me ahead, me behind, me front crossing. The jumps went quite well although she froze two times at a wingless jump. Same jump both times. She did the same jump fine other times. Not sure what that was about. Hopefully I can figure out what if it happens again.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Weave Update
I am upset. Really quite upset. With training? No. With the blog. The idea of this blog was that I wanted my training steps documented for future dogs. And more than anything, the steps in teaching weaves. I used the "channel 4" method with Roxy and Sonic and they both have what I consider awesome weaves. But it's all off of memory. So what did I do? Trained Shasta's weaves and I didn't keep up with the blog. Ugh! I know I don't remember all the steps as well as I would have hoped.
Here are Shasta's weaves from last Sunday, 15 days after we started training weaves:
That's the bad news. The good news? The weaves are going great. We did, however, have some "bumps" along the way. In retrospect very minor although I wasn't sure at the time.
Here are Shasta's weaves from last Sunday, 15 days after we started training weaves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaWyFjoQH-w
Here is what I do recall. It looks like my last blog was when I first went to 8 poles and struggled a bit. I did the weaves at 8 with a tiny gap for part of a session and they went well. I decided to go to 12 poles with the slight gap rather than try to go to 8 straight up. That transition from 8 to 12 went fairly well.
Next session we worked our way up to 12 poles straight up. Well, as straight as the adjustable weaves get. Again, she made the step fine but was being very, very methodical.
With success at 12 poles "adjustable" straight up, I went to 6 weave poles, truly straight up on the non-adjustable set. As I write this, I'm not sure why I felt the need to move through the steps as quickly as I did given her speed. I guess my thought was the speed will pick up as soon as she gets confident and she might as well get to 12 straight up fairly quickly so she can gain confidence at it.
Next we went to 12 non-adjusted straight up. She made each of these last three or four transitions with very little trouble. A few pops of the weaves here and there. For the most part, very solid. Sure enough, on the next night, she attacked the weaves, all 12 straight up, with quite a bit of speed. Look at her go! And...... she slips at about pole 8, hits pole 9 on the shoulder and pops out. Now to her credit, she didn't choose to avoid the weaves but she went back, understandably, to very thoughtful on them.
The next night was class. I had no intention of even trying the weaves but when I tried to call her off of them she entered and as I changed and went with her, she did all 12!! First time, in a place she hadn't done weaves before. I couldn't believe she generalized them that well. I tried two more time in that class and she popped at 10 both times but I was still impressed by the one good set.
Since then we've been working on speed and continuing the tougher weaves. Her speed is increasing and really is not bad at this point (per the youtube video). Kris says I don't know what berner speed weaves are any more after training and showing Sonic!
Here is what I do recall. It looks like my last blog was when I first went to 8 poles and struggled a bit. I did the weaves at 8 with a tiny gap for part of a session and they went well. I decided to go to 12 poles with the slight gap rather than try to go to 8 straight up. That transition from 8 to 12 went fairly well.
Next session we worked our way up to 12 poles straight up. Well, as straight as the adjustable weaves get. Again, she made the step fine but was being very, very methodical.
With success at 12 poles "adjustable" straight up, I went to 6 weave poles, truly straight up on the non-adjustable set. As I write this, I'm not sure why I felt the need to move through the steps as quickly as I did given her speed. I guess my thought was the speed will pick up as soon as she gets confident and she might as well get to 12 straight up fairly quickly so she can gain confidence at it.
Next we went to 12 non-adjusted straight up. She made each of these last three or four transitions with very little trouble. A few pops of the weaves here and there. For the most part, very solid. Sure enough, on the next night, she attacked the weaves, all 12 straight up, with quite a bit of speed. Look at her go! And...... she slips at about pole 8, hits pole 9 on the shoulder and pops out. Now to her credit, she didn't choose to avoid the weaves but she went back, understandably, to very thoughtful on them.
The next night was class. I had no intention of even trying the weaves but when I tried to call her off of them she entered and as I changed and went with her, she did all 12!! First time, in a place she hadn't done weaves before. I couldn't believe she generalized them that well. I tried two more time in that class and she popped at 10 both times but I was still impressed by the one good set.
Since then we've been working on speed and continuing the tougher weaves. Her speed is increasing and really is not bad at this point (per the youtube video). Kris says I don't know what berner speed weaves are any more after training and showing Sonic!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Class and our First Weave Bump
Last night was class again, first time since before the trip. Shasta did lots of good stuff. Again, stayed focused. Did all her obstacles without issue including the dog walk (still slow and methodical but she is doing it) and the teeter (it's the aluminum one that worries many dogs). Good bottoms on all of them. She also did well at doing a down stay while I walked parts of the sequences.
I jumped her at 20 inch in class. She was going fine until she really crashed about the 8th jump. Classmate said she was looking at me, saw jump at last instant and tried to take it but barely lifted off the ground when she crashed the bar with her chest. Poor girl. It was going to happen but I would have liked it to be after more success. She recovered quite well from it except for that specific jump she wouldn't do. Interesting reaction.
Tonight it was back home and training weaves. We hit our first "bump". Which is actually probably too strong a word. Today was the first time, with weaves, that I increased the criteria and she struggled. First, she was doing the four poles straight up (again, as straight as these adjustable weaves get which isn't completely straight) with confidence and from any entry angle. Even a few shallow angles of both wraps and non-wrap. She missed a few on the extreme angles but none of the other angles and distances.
Next step was to add four more poles. That is where she struggled. She did more like 1,2,3,4,7,8. She got it right a couple of times but never twice in a row. OK, time to step back. I decided to move the adjustable poles slightly. It was still hit and miss. I added a little more gap, back to the poles being a sliver of a "channel". At that point we got back to pretty good success but she had lost confidence so they were methodical. This is where I will start the next chance I get, it will be interesting to see how it goes.
The great news? I had suddenly realized we had been at it for 30 minutes. 30 minutes of just basically weaves (with a tunnel or jump thrown in periodically). She is barely a year old and she was willing to try for 30 minutes on something as boring as weaves! Never lost interest, never went to sniff around. She got confused and lost confidence but she wanted to be right and she was willing to try and try again. Impressive.
I jumped her at 20 inch in class. She was going fine until she really crashed about the 8th jump. Classmate said she was looking at me, saw jump at last instant and tried to take it but barely lifted off the ground when she crashed the bar with her chest. Poor girl. It was going to happen but I would have liked it to be after more success. She recovered quite well from it except for that specific jump she wouldn't do. Interesting reaction.
Tonight it was back home and training weaves. We hit our first "bump". Which is actually probably too strong a word. Today was the first time, with weaves, that I increased the criteria and she struggled. First, she was doing the four poles straight up (again, as straight as these adjustable weaves get which isn't completely straight) with confidence and from any entry angle. Even a few shallow angles of both wraps and non-wrap. She missed a few on the extreme angles but none of the other angles and distances.
Next step was to add four more poles. That is where she struggled. She did more like 1,2,3,4,7,8. She got it right a couple of times but never twice in a row. OK, time to step back. I decided to move the adjustable poles slightly. It was still hit and miss. I added a little more gap, back to the poles being a sliver of a "channel". At that point we got back to pretty good success but she had lost confidence so they were methodical. This is where I will start the next chance I get, it will be interesting to see how it goes.
The great news? I had suddenly realized we had been at it for 30 minutes. 30 minutes of just basically weaves (with a tunnel or jump thrown in periodically). She is barely a year old and she was willing to try for 30 minutes on something as boring as weaves! Never lost interest, never went to sniff around. She got confused and lost confidence but she wanted to be right and she was willing to try and try again. Impressive.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
The "Come and See This" Phenomenon
Maybe it's just us or maybe it's the way of training dogs. But it's always been true when Kris or I approach the other one excited about what our dog has learned and proclaim "you should come see this", we go and see.... absolutely nothing new. Every time.
Shasta's weaves continue to progress fabulously in my opinion. I kept the weaves at the space they were at thinking I would be at it for a while and by the end of one session she was nailing the entry from anywhere but the most extreme angles. I moved the poles so they were now just barely apart. Essentially the side of one pole was lining up with the opposite side of the next pole. So no "channel" at all any more but not completely together. She went through the more narrow spacing with a straight entry first time, no problem. I started moving the angles of the entries and she continued to enter and do the four poles great. I am as far as 10-12 feet from her on most of these entries and she is seeking them, determining where to enter and doing all four. I was very impressed.
I was so impressed, I felt confident we could overcome the "Kris, come and see this" phenomenon. Later last night down to the pole barn came Kris and I sent Shasta to a nice, straight, easy entry. And she ran right by them. No problem, she just needs a reminder. We did straight again and... she ran right by them. One more try and she finally did them. I started adding angles and she was doing some, missing many others, hitting the entries maybe 30% of the time. Amazing.
Amazing. But not at all demoralizing or disappointing. It's just the way that has always worked for us and she was still doing great. Back we went to it tonight and she was back to being great. Again, all but the most extreme entries, from as much distance as I can get in the pole barn. From a tunnel, from a jump, from my side.
I did move the poles even closer at the end. They are now basically together but because they are adjustable, there is a bit of leaning to the poles. It's actually a nice training step to be able to do in training weaves. Together but not completely together near the top of the poles. She did those right away too. We did just a few with easy entries and called it a night.
Shasta's weaves continue to progress fabulously in my opinion. I kept the weaves at the space they were at thinking I would be at it for a while and by the end of one session she was nailing the entry from anywhere but the most extreme angles. I moved the poles so they were now just barely apart. Essentially the side of one pole was lining up with the opposite side of the next pole. So no "channel" at all any more but not completely together. She went through the more narrow spacing with a straight entry first time, no problem. I started moving the angles of the entries and she continued to enter and do the four poles great. I am as far as 10-12 feet from her on most of these entries and she is seeking them, determining where to enter and doing all four. I was very impressed.
I was so impressed, I felt confident we could overcome the "Kris, come and see this" phenomenon. Later last night down to the pole barn came Kris and I sent Shasta to a nice, straight, easy entry. And she ran right by them. No problem, she just needs a reminder. We did straight again and... she ran right by them. One more try and she finally did them. I started adding angles and she was doing some, missing many others, hitting the entries maybe 30% of the time. Amazing.
Amazing. But not at all demoralizing or disappointing. It's just the way that has always worked for us and she was still doing great. Back we went to it tonight and she was back to being great. Again, all but the most extreme entries, from as much distance as I can get in the pole barn. From a tunnel, from a jump, from my side.
I did move the poles even closer at the end. They are now basically together but because they are adjustable, there is a bit of leaning to the poles. It's actually a nice training step to be able to do in training weaves. Together but not completely together near the top of the poles. She did those right away too. We did just a few with easy entries and called it a night.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Shasta's A Big Dog (Walk)
Today we went to train at the arena with Jess, Toni and Kris. It was our chance to introduce the full-size dogwalk. Last summer, each time I raised the height of the dogwalk, Shasta would run by it a time or two. I expected quite a bit of concern by Shasta. But that was not the case. First approach, she put her head down and did it slow but steady. Second time the same. A number more times the same, with a tiny increase in speed. About the sixth one or so, she did fall/jump off from the top, shortly after being on the top board. She landed pretty softly. Perhaps our early training where I tried to show her jumping off was ok to do paid off. Now, what would be her reaction? Seemingly no reaction, right back to the dogwalk, same methodical approach and across a few times. We not only introduced the full-size dogwalk but also introduced our first fall/jump with no negative reaction (at least not today). All good!
We also had two more sessions with the weave poles. They also went really well. First session she was better than yesterday right from the start. By the end she was really good at three of the four approaches. In the second session, awesome at those three approaches and very good with the fourth approach. It's going perfectly at this point.
I wrote yesterday that I was going to keep at this spacing until I have all of our entries from all angles but I have now decided to adjust that some. Looking at the poles, I think they are a little too far apart, that the entry look is not going to be enough like the final product to drill the entries. Shoot, I was I had notes on my training of either Roxy or Sonic so I knew what I did with them. I love the complete independence in weaves (entries and weaving) that I had with both of them. Anyway, next time with Shasta we will do a few more where it is and if she continues to be good from all four entries I will attempt to bring the poles in closer.
We also had two more sessions with the weave poles. They also went really well. First session she was better than yesterday right from the start. By the end she was really good at three of the four approaches. In the second session, awesome at those three approaches and very good with the fourth approach. It's going perfectly at this point.
I wrote yesterday that I was going to keep at this spacing until I have all of our entries from all angles but I have now decided to adjust that some. Looking at the poles, I think they are a little too far apart, that the entry look is not going to be enough like the final product to drill the entries. Shoot, I was I had notes on my training of either Roxy or Sonic so I knew what I did with them. I love the complete independence in weaves (entries and weaving) that I had with both of them. Anyway, next time with Shasta we will do a few more where it is and if she continues to be good from all four entries I will attempt to bring the poles in closer.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Weaves: Day 1
I am very pleased with how day 1 went. First, she was happy to be in our pole barn. Sounds simple but she hasn't been in there much and Roxy didn't love the building and I think it was Shimmer that really didn't. Or maybe Tori. Whatever, Shasta was happy in there.
As I have with Roxy and Sonic, I am using my own weave system. I use a set of four channel weaves and teach pretty much everything on that before going to 8 and 12 weaves. I set the four out with the poles spread about 10-12 inches, where Shasta could easily go down the middle without them hitting her. She went straight down the middle first try, no guiding. Good deal.
I then brought the weaves in some, still going down channel easy, no guiding. I brought it in to the point where the width of the channel was about the same as Shasta. She didn't need to weave any but did need to have poles touch her some. Still, no issue. Alright, this is cool.
I brought them in a tiny bit more so she actually had to weave a little. First time, did it perfect. Really? What a dog. But then she ran by the next few times. OK, that makes more sense. So we tried some more with hit and miss success, I guided a couple of times. When I was done with session 1 she was doing it really well with some distance on my left side, struggling with the "wrap" entry.
Oops, that's not right
Went down for session 2 in the late afternoon. She did at least as well if not a little better. I brought the weaves in a tiny bit more, maybe down to a 4-5" gap and she took a tiny step back. Again, tried with hit and miss success. Guided a few times. I guided to get some success back when she knew she was confused and decided easiest was to run by. Never guided more than once in a row.
By the end of session two, she was awesome with one of the four entries. When she was on my left going from the door side to the other side of barn, she was awesome entering from any distance and somewhat tough angles. Left sided toward the door I needed to set her up straight. Right sided either way she didn't understand how to enter.
I think this is the spacing of the weaves I want to work with. I think we can improve without bringing them farther apart. And I think it's at this spacing that I will wait until I have all four entries from any distance and almost any angle.
I am very happy with day one.
As I have with Roxy and Sonic, I am using my own weave system. I use a set of four channel weaves and teach pretty much everything on that before going to 8 and 12 weaves. I set the four out with the poles spread about 10-12 inches, where Shasta could easily go down the middle without them hitting her. She went straight down the middle first try, no guiding. Good deal.
I then brought the weaves in some, still going down channel easy, no guiding. I brought it in to the point where the width of the channel was about the same as Shasta. She didn't need to weave any but did need to have poles touch her some. Still, no issue. Alright, this is cool.
I brought them in a tiny bit more so she actually had to weave a little. First time, did it perfect. Really? What a dog. But then she ran by the next few times. OK, that makes more sense. So we tried some more with hit and miss success, I guided a couple of times. When I was done with session 1 she was doing it really well with some distance on my left side, struggling with the "wrap" entry.
Oops, that's not right
Went down for session 2 in the late afternoon. She did at least as well if not a little better. I brought the weaves in a tiny bit more, maybe down to a 4-5" gap and she took a tiny step back. Again, tried with hit and miss success. Guided a few times. I guided to get some success back when she knew she was confused and decided easiest was to run by. Never guided more than once in a row.
By the end of session two, she was awesome with one of the four entries. When she was on my left going from the door side to the other side of barn, she was awesome entering from any distance and somewhat tough angles. Left sided toward the door I needed to set her up straight. Right sided either way she didn't understand how to enter.
It's right but take it easy girl
One thing I really like seeing was when she didn't know what to do to be right, she would run by rather than enter but then would go stand in the poles. Showing me that she was comfortable in the poles and wanted to be right, just didn't know how.
There we go!
I am very happy with day one.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Coming Saturday: Weaves!
Shasta has done really well with her spay. Kris put a t-shirt on Shasta while she had stitches You can see photos of it at http://shastaaday.blogspot.com/. Whether it was the shirt, the fact that she was unsupervised only a few hours or just Shasta's personality, she never bothered or tried to bother her stitches. I felt guilty doing so little with her yet she seemed to handle that well too. She did a five minute "butt run" in the house her first day without stitches but that's about it for a release. We did play some ball outside with Sonic and Zenna on Tuesday.
Two more days and it's full steam ahead in training weaves. We are going to give it a few more days before I start with jumping.
I did do a tiny bit of.... obedience tonight. That's three times in three months. It may not be our strong suit at that rate. She does very well with attention. Really, really well. But I am having troubles keeping her from flaring out to look at me from in front. And I've tried all three nights to shape her into getting into heel position all on her own with very little progress. But, oh well. If I work on obedience, she is showing positive signs there too.
Two more days and it's full steam ahead in training weaves. We are going to give it a few more days before I start with jumping.
I did do a tiny bit of.... obedience tonight. That's three times in three months. It may not be our strong suit at that rate. She does very well with attention. Really, really well. But I am having troubles keeping her from flaring out to look at me from in front. And I've tried all three nights to shape her into getting into heel position all on her own with very little progress. But, oh well. If I work on obedience, she is showing positive signs there too.
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