I can't believe that there is only one more class left in this round! I feel like we have come so far in this time. Mostly, I am really proud of Duncan. For such a little dog, he has gained so much confidence. I'm sure I'll have more to say about this next week. Let's get to the good stuff.

Class went really well. I had JUST explained to one of the instructors that I thought Duncan might need some more contact work when he surprised me. After luring him over the A-frame once, he got it! I think he realized that if he flew over it, it wasn't all that bad. The instructor wanted us to attempt 2o2o (two on, two off). I keep bouncing between wanting to do this and not liking it. I'm going to rig something to practice it at home.



Notes:

It was obvious to me and everyone there - Duncan loves to run. He can't wait to get started. When he gets past a certain threshold, he can't sit for the start and I have to work with what I've got. I varied a few running starts with the waits. I think a Sit-Wait will be our goal. When I felt he wasn't giving me good focus, I walked around the obstacle (well, was instructed to!) and came back to him. I liked this approach. Since Duncan really wants to rrruuuunnn, I think he will quickly get the point that focus and a good wait get him what he wants.

2o2o - ugh. If you watch the very last run, we had a blast and no danger of jumping off the contact zone. Should I just watch it and risk having to re-train? Or should I put in the effort now so that later I am grateful? There is one clip where you can hear Thane say "fault" as Duncan clearly goes well into the contact zone. We had to watch it together to settle that! Too funny.

After a certain point, Duncan turns in to Mr. Barkerson. I ignore the best I can. The little happy barks are completely different and so, so very cute. Mr. Barkerson, however, doesn't listen or watch. He just hops around yelling about my bad handling.

Teeter - We need a trotting start for him to really get the feel. Also, I think we estimated the tip point too close to the fulcrum, when it needs to be out a bit more. Each time was a little worse because we went slower and slower.

The chute was a huge success. We finally got that one down pat. Yay for Duncan!

Can you say velcro dog? On the list to work with on the field: go, out, left, and right.

Overall, I was extremely happy with my Duncan. We have a long way to go, but man it was great to feel like we were getting somewhere! On of the instructors came up to me at the end of class and said, "You have an agility dog now."

The heat and rain has not let up a bit, but we've still managed some practice.

Our most notable foray was with astounding amounts of distractions. My backyard is actually communal between all the neighbors and many of them have the fishing bug. So, when I set up the equipment and Thane brought out his fishing pole, there was a high level of interest. The tug was simply not enough to lure Duncan away from the people, fish smells, and bait.

Between breaks where I brought out Pierre and Abbie (Duncan's rescue Sheltie sister) for socialization where Duncan got to cool off in the A/C, we did quite a bit. We started with weaves. This is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Duncan starts to pop out if I move the poles too fast, so I am having to show major restraint and just inch those poles in sloooowly. Then, we did weaves and the plank to get Duncan re-familiar with contacts. I really wish I had an actual contact to work with, not just a plank. Then we did weaves, tunnel, plank. At first, Duncan got barky with the combo but soon had the drive to power to the end - many times ahead of me (if I remembered to ask him to!). Gosh, he loves that tunnel now!

I felt like Duncan was tiring of the weaves, so I traded them out for a jump. I worked with the jump significantly to the left and right of the tunnel and worked him through both directions. Honestly, I feel like I learned more about where I need to place myself in order for Duncan to have the most successes. I very much want to work on directionals, but I'm not exactly sure how. Wouldn't you just call the obstacle name? If Duncan were to go over the jump and the tunnel was to the left and the weave to the right, I think it would matter more that I said "tunnel" if he needed to go left. Things to ask my instructor!

Overall, we are making steady progress with the equipment we have at our disposal. If our club allowed you to come practice on the equipment between classes, I could easily see myself there 2-3 times a week other than class night.

Yay - videos! All are shot by a neighbor's very young daughter. Her comments are interspersed and pretty cute. Oh, and it was about 96 degrees F outside.



This first video shows some of the jumps. They are set just under 8 inches, as Duncan is still young. First jump, Duncan had a nice wait and no hesitation. I upped the ante the second time, asking for a figure eight. He hesitated on the second loop, but got it. I thought I'd try the sequence again. He did nicely.

I need to learn to click better! Should I click as he jumps or as he lands? I think as he jumps, but I have a delayed reaction. Also, I need to consistently say "Over"... I said 'up' a time or two. Goal - distance work!



The second video shows contact work. The shots are a little everywhere, but Duncan is really getting this. I didn't add the PVC today, as he isn't fully confident with it. I am thinking I will work on sending him over the plank before creating a new monster. A few times you can see me trying to get Duncan on my left. I feel more confident with him there, which means I need to work the other side, too.



The last video isn't a good representation of our Flyball work. It LOOKS like just fetch, but the ball actually stops for a moment before I release Duncan to get it. Duncan is tired from all the training and had just completed some beautiful runs with as much at a 10 second wait before lunging to get it. I'm trying to work up to having him go get a ball that magically appears (I need a second person and more balls for this), rather than run after a ball. Maybe next time!

All of our work is in the early stages, but I feel like there is a lot of good happening. If you have tips or comments, feel free.

Targeting - Duncan is getting very good at running to a target. I have the issue of him looking right back at me once he hits it and coming to me. I think putting the treat on the target will solve this problem.

Plank (the 1" x 12" x 6' variety)- When we've got speed, we can fly over it perfectly. If I give him time to think about it, Duncan will side-step the plank entirely. I made the mistake of putting a PVC pipe under the plank too soon. He was wary, but I removed it and now he's fine. I'm doing slow introductions to the addition of the PVC... won't attempt to cross it until he's willing to get on it.

Flyball work - Duncan is about 70% awesome at bringing the ball back to me if I toss it while holding him back by the harness, revving him up, and releasing after it has stopped. When he doesn't bring it back, I'm trying to ignore it as best as possible, start over, and throw a shorter distance.

Goals:

Distance on targeting. Confidence on contacts. Me finding the right time to click. Getting Duncan to go for the ball without me having to throw it first.