Monday Night Class

It's over! I think I was more tense about this class than I was about Baxter's first ever trial! Tonight I brought Spencer to agility class with Baxter.

I've had some major ups and downs with Spencer. Sometimes he does well in new environments and sometimes he just shuts down. We can usually bounce back out of a shut down with some time and effort, but I'm always concerned in the back of my mind that maybe Spencer can't handle this. Maybe he doesn't want to and I am just pushing him too much because I would really, really like him to be able to do something that is just beyond him.

Agility has helped a LOT with Baxter and his self confidence, I think it could help with Spencer too. We just need to get to the point where he has some self confidence.

Last weekend at Wet Creek he did alright, but he was nervous and obviously not having the best of times, despite some awesome encounters like Matt Bonner sitting down in the dirt with him feeding him cookies. So I worry about my little dog.

He's had a couple of  encounters that have thrown him in classes too. In Novice Rally O a large dog barked at him during the "quick" heeling station and he shut down for the remaining 2 classes. Then another time when I brought him to a agility class in a different barn, he got jumped on by a enthusiastic, large dog when I was playing tug with him (not a great way to build tug drive btw!)

So I *might* have been just a little tense about tonight. He did really well! I had my silly, happy, bouncy little dog the whole class. He doesn't have contacts quite yet so "running the course" was a little laughable. I'm working on component games and the end targeting behavior so he'll have them eventually. I'm not in any drastic hurry since he's just a baby and not quite 18 months yet.  BUT he did all 12 weave poles. Did I mention that I LOVE Susan Garrett's 2x2 weaves?!? He's only been doing 12 poles for 2 days now. I was super impressed he got them after we've only had 1 day practicing in different locations (bad trainer!)

So today was a good day. One I'll have to remember to look back on when we have a bad day. Days like today make me think that this isn't just all in my mind and he does really enjoy the game. I just have to figure out what I need to do so he keeps having fun!

Sometimes it's just about clearing that one obstacle

Replacement Baxter

When Baxter came to live with me, my parents had to get a replacement new puppy - meet Sidney! She's a Bichon Shih Tzu thing. Yes, that's a technical term. She's not even a "pure bred" Bichon Shih Tzu thing. She's got super thin Yorkie fur and the woman who bred her did that 3 way cross too - however she guarantees that there is only Bichon and Shih Tzu in Sid (uh huh.)

Sid's a little special, but Baxter plays nice with her. It's like how he plays with his squeaky toys by himself, rolling around on them!

Usually Sidney goes to my sisters house for "baby sitting" when someone can't get home on time (we all live pretty close together.) However the other day she got to come home with me. She thought it was great until she saw the cat. Who admittedly is a rotten cat, but he's dog friendly. If 8 lb Penny can push him around 15 lb Sidney should be fine, right? Not quite.

Couch snipers - they miss nothing!

Sid ended up following Penny around hiding from the cat, in sneaky places like on the back of the couch. Watching for things to bark at out the window distracted her from the impending doom of death by kitty.

Sebastian was distracted too. He was busy trying to get into the pantry. Did I mention that he is all kinds of trouble?

If you want a calm, quiet cat - do not get a Devon Rex. I can't sit down to eat without a purring white fluff (fungus?!) trying to attach itself to my shoulder. He is so food obsessed that I really should clicker train him to do something, but as soon as I pull the clicker and food out I have 3 other hopeful faces looking for a handout opportunity to earn cookies.

He's a big dog now

Well, we did it. Baxter finally got a Masters AAC title. He's all grown up and is a big agility dog now! We got our Master Jumpers Dog of Canada (MJDC) title on the weekend.

Why do you pose me with these things?!

I'm very happy with the weekend. Regardless of Q's etc, it was a success. He did great in his masters standard runs. He was happy to be out there with me, which is what I wanted! They were LONG courses too, 200+ yards for the 4 standard courses but he was coming in under SCT. Maybe 200+ is normal for master standard courses (I'm not quite sure?) but he's not really built for speed over a distance and he was doing very good.

Flippy ears! Photo by Jay Collins

His handler on the other hand was a complete noob and mis-handled some (maybe more than some) stuff. But we were happy and positive and I think that's what counts. It's different handling a course in training vs in a trial situation, and I just need to relax and make sure that I handle the course how I walked it (and not forget those pesky crosses where I was going to do them!) I'm slowly learning how to fix things on the fly, which is a steep learning curve.

It was a really nice relaxed trial, which I wasn't expecting. I'm so glad it was, it makes it a little easier when you're out there walking the masters courses with the masses of "big kids" for the first time.

This was a incredible trial for people just being positive. Being supportive of each other and just saying something about a good run, finding something positive in a run that didn't go as planned,  how well a dog is doing or just how much something has improved. We all have to work pretty hard to "fix" things, it's really nice when someone other than you notices or comments on the success of all your hard work. So many people who have been struggling a little with their dogs got titles, or had other successes that honestly feel as big or bigger than that title run.

It was a fantastic long weekend and makes me really enjoy the sport =D

Handsome Baxter, Photo by Jay Collins

Reving Up

It's very strange looking forward to Mondays. Really, Monday is not a day I look forward to, except we've got agility class on Monday now! This is our last chance to practice on a full course before the 2x4 trial this weekend at Wet Creek.

Since Baxter is my first agility dog, it goes without saying that he's unfortunately my guinea pig as well. He runs, but there could be more drive for the game. He loves his jackpot rewards at the end, but that doesn't help me in the middle of the course with the tricky handling when I'm trying to get some speed back after that serp/backside combo of doom or to speed him up through the weaves so I get a qualifying run in that Steeplechase round. So we're working on it. Focus for work, increasing toy and tug drive, rewarding after short sequences to build value, more building value and building positive triggers that get him hyper and over the top (or in his case, at least up.)

I want this kind of enthusiasm!

I don't have any particular goals this weekend besides enthusiasm. He's a steady little dog, I just want to see if I can get more excitement for me/the game. This is the first time Baxter will be in Master Standard. Times are tighter and no more screw ups allowed on the weaves. It's also a "prep-for-Regionals" type trial with only standard, jumpers and gamblers rounds. I'm going to assume it's going to be a little intense with the people who are actually going to Regionals. I want to handle the course right. I want him to be enthusiastic about the game and get his weave entries.

I'm hoping for a good weekend. Our last 2x4 weekend trial (back in Dec) was fantastic so it'd be awesome if we rock it again =) Baxter could potentially get 3 titles this trial, but rather than obsess and stress on that I just want to have fun and have him more in tune with playing with me and not just being a cookie-devouring-monster!

2, 4, 6, Weave

Gimmie dat toy!

I've started weave pole work with Spencer, since they're a stumbling block with Baxter. Baxter is a little lower drive and he learned weaves initially with channel set poles and then did some re-training, or attempted retraining using Susan Garrett's 2x2 method. It is hard to get motivation for the weaves with Baxter. I'm toying with the idea to start Baxter over from the beginning and work him though with Spencer. Using jealousy to help motivate and just working on building more drive ... but I digress, that's another topic! Spencer is being trained via the 2x2 method exclusively.

I am super impressed using this method with a dog from the beginning. Spencer has been working on this for about a month now - I don't train it every day or even every other day, he'll see the 2x2's maybe once or twice a week for short sessions of  3-5 min max before we work on something else. Since he's up to 2 sets of 2x2's (4 poles now) I have to train outside - there is no non-slip space large enough in the house. All the rain we've gotten lately is dictating when I will (or rather will not) be working on this!

See look, weave poles somewhere in this picture

In about 6 sessions over those 4 weeks Spencer is to the point where the 4 poles are nearly straight and the behavior we're practicing almost LOOKS like weaving. He can find some pretty nasty weave entries from on and off-side - which in itself is impressive since (due to the obedience work he's done) he was sure that standing on my right was going to result in some horrific doggie torture and would cross behind to my left at every opportunity.

As soft as Spencer is, even when he gets a entry wrong I can resend him multiple times and he will figure it out because of the toy drive. For now with only 4 poles I don't use a NRM (non reward marker) I just recall and send again, no reward is pretty obvious as his toy is still in my hand. Once we're up to more poles I'm not certain what I will do. The "pro-NRM" for weaves camp has a point - the weaves can be self-reinforcing, so you want to stop the reinforcement/reward if the behavior is not correct. The "anti-NRM" camp has also got a good point, that stopping motion and calling the dog off the obstacle for incorrect performance (both handler and dog error) can cause anxiety issues, stress and shut down behaviors. That'll be a bridge I will have to cross when I get there.

For not being a very confident dog I love having a training method that he has enough fun with and enjoyment in (or at least enjoyment in getting his ball reward at the end!)  that he can keep working at something in order to get it right, instead of shutting down. It makes it so much easier to train and I enjoy the process a whole lot more.

I has toy!

The Baby Dog

Spencer. He's a little difficult, but I LOVE the drive of this little dog! He's fearful and reactive, but once you get his focus he is so much fun. He's very soft and sensitive so dealing with him and his issues is really helping me grow to be a better trainer/handler as well.

I had no idea that my cute little, "bunchy" puppy would turn into this leggy, gangly dog. As a puppy he looked very similar (body wise) to Penny, I was expecting him to look similar as a adult.

Priceless little face and floppy ears!

Baby Spencer

Now, not so very similar ... he's taller with much longer legs, a finer head/face and a long neck. He grew into his eyes as well, so they don't point in opposite directions anymore (he looked a little "special" as a puppy.) He's got the Boston's legs and build, minus the bulk you see on mature males. He might bulk up a little, but he was neutered very early so he may not.

What is fantastic about him though, is his toy drive. He LIVES to play with his ball which has let me transfer that value to other toys and activities - like tug! I can get play/tug in most situations now, including at a pet store and at a agility trial using a hol-ee roller toy with his ball stuck it in. (JW brand toys are fantastic the dogs LOVE them - iSqueak Balls and OtherCuz toys are nearly indestructible and the squeakers last forever!)

With his prized "yellow ball"

Snorkeling for yellow ball - one of the first times hes played in water!

At home yellow ball is saved for training, so he finds another other toy on the ground and attempts to solicit a game of tug or fetch every time you look at him. Right now we're working on building value for laying in his bed when people are sitting quietly.

How about this one?!?!