Can My Dog Do Agility, Too?

Can My Dog Do Agility, Too?

We Qualified!

Our first competition was back in October, and it was very successful. We qualified in our regular course, and we also qualified in our jumpers course! It was very exciting, and extra nice because my parents, brother, sister-in-law, niece, nephew, and boyfriend all came along for the fun. I was SUPER nervous for the first course, just horrible! Plus it seemed like everybody there knew each other and I didnt know anybody. I plotted the course in my head, then we were able to walk it and I walked it as much as we were allowed. Tried to remember to put in front crosses where they were needed, etc. Mocca did a really great job! I was afraid she was going to go dash out and greet everybody she could in the ring, or sniff the ground the entire time, but to my great surprise, she was quite focused on me! She did everything I told her. Right off the bat I had to pump her up a little to get her attention, but after that she was perfect.

For the jumpers course I was much less nervous, thankfully. Plus, Mocca likes a jumpers course better than a regular agility course so not as much stuff to be nervous about. But more complicated runs and front crosses. I thought I had the course walked perfectly, then when we were watching the people ahead of us I realized I had missed an entire jump when walking the course!!!! I couldnt believe it. We were able to make it work though, as it was in a pretty easy location. Mocca again did great.

My sister-in-law video'd both our runs, and sent me the DVD afterwards. It was really helpful to see what I was doing right and wrong. One obvious thing to work on is MY speed. Mocca is half the time way ahead of me and was waiting too much for me.

Overall it was a great experience and I am looking forward to going to our next competition, but it may not be until Spring, as training is done now for the winter as we do not have an indoor facility. Ugh! There are competitions in the winter, but I am not willing to spend the money to enter and go to them for "practice".

Update!

Havent updated this in a year or more. We have been busy doing Agility every week during the spring/summer/fall months. We werent able to have class this year during the winter. Maybe this year!

Good news - we are signing up for our first competition. It is mid-september and I hope to have fun, and learn a lot. Mocca is doing fantastic, and I feel good about learning the courses. The biggest problem we have is ME! But we need to get into competing to really step things up a notch I think. This weeks class was good as we ran longer courses that were pretty complicated. I still enjoy the jumpers courses the best, as does Mocca I think.

Compete?

I havent posted in almost a year. Sorry. We hope to compete soon! Enough said!

Gamblers & Snookers

This week in class we did a round each of 2 games that are often played in Agility competitions. They are called Gamblers & Snookers.

Gamblers is a timed event where you have 30 seconds to run whatever course you want - each obstacle is worth a certain amount of points, so you try to do the obstacles that are worth the most points. You can only do each obstacle twice. After the 30 seconds, you have 15 seconds to run the "Gamble" where you send your dog through a set course of maybe 3 obstacles, but have to stay a distance away from your pet - which is what makes it a gamble whether you dog will do your commands with you so far away from them. Easier done with some dogs than others! If you get the gamble you get a bunch of extra points.

Mocca & I actually did fairly well with this! We even got our gamble, although I probably wasnt standing as far away as I was supposed to, but I was trying to stay away. We did a couple rounds on the A-frame & Tunnels which helped our points b/c they are worth more, and managed to get in the weaves at the end which is worth the most points. We were really excited to have accomplished this well! We actually did the best in class that night.

Snookers is a little different - you can run your own course, but have to hit 3 specific red jumps in order. You do red jump, obstacle, red jump, obstacle, red jump, obstacle - once you have completed this then you run your 2nd half of Snookers which is a set course. Again, obstacles during the first part have certain point values to them. This one is tricky b/c you have to plan a smooth course while hitting the red jumps, and trying to accumulate points with difficult obstacles. And then being near the start of the 2nd portion when you finish the last red jump - obstacle!

We didnt do too bad on this one either, though we were slower than we should be b/c of some mis-steps. Also Mocca did one jump that she wasnt supposed to so we were knocked back for that. It was fun though.

Last in class that night we ran a REALLY complicated 13 obstacle course that was super tough. The challenge of it was fun though, and I seemed to do better with my hand signals during this than I have been so I was happy about that.

Motivation Update

Using the toy for motivation is definately proving a winner. She seems to do a lot better now keeping her focus on the course & me, rather than what all else is out there. Biggest challenge now is for me to get my directional commands out quicker - or that is, say them period! I tend to not say them, and Mocca does know what they mean and the DO work on the odd occasion I get an "out" command out of my mouth during the course. Have to realy try hard to work those in. Our other biggest challenge (mine) is just confidence. Mocca has confidence out there, but I lack it - I think it goes back to high school sports. Agility is really a sport, and somehow or another all the high school sport trauma is in with Agility leaving me with not much confidence. We will work on it though!

Fun Match

Last thursday was our last night in the latest series of 6 classes so we had a "match" with both of the competitive classes attending. This week for the first time ever we had the course numbered, which proved to be horribly easy. I think I actually like it better w/o numbers & the challenge of memorizing. Seems like I worked harder trying to figure out how to run it when I had to memorize it. Because the obstacles were numbered, I think she made the course tougher than normal though!

We started out pretty well - Mocca had a few instances of dawdling off course a bit sniffing for treats, but I managed to get her attention back more quickly and get on course w/o much hassle. We had a few minor handler-errors, and then there was a nice trap set up that Mocca just wouldnt do correctly. She was to go over the plank, but a tunnel was set up next to the plank - to "trap" the dogs into going into the tunnel instead of the plank. Well, Mocca LOVES a good tunnel and went for it about 3 times before we just had to skip the plant & continue on. Overall I was fairly happy with our performance. It wasnt perfect, but it was better than our last match, and we did the weaves 100% perfect and the majority of the course went pretty good as well.

I posted a picture of the course, of a dog actually doing the plank obstacle!

Hot class & Toy motivation

Last week it was in the mid-80's for class so it was a hot one! This time at class we used Mocca's pink squeaky nubby ball for motivation. She dearly loves this ball. So when it was our turn to run the course I took it out of my pouch & showed it to her then put it away. I have to say she ran pretty well!!! We had some tough courses going on, and most mistakes were just on my part - but she did not take off to some other part of the arena or stop mid-course to find some stray treat on the ground. We even successfuly did the weaves TWICE. A little slow, but we did every single one of them! So I think we will continue with the toy motivation.

Next week is our "last" class of this 6 week run so we are having a "match" where both competitive classes will run a real course and be timed & everything. Sorta like what we did the other week for the open house. I am hoping for much better results this time around!

Open House - Agility "Fun" Match

Today was the yearly Open House that Northwoods K9 Sports puts on. It was an exceptionally nice day, though I have to say it was too warm! The "fun" match was at noon and we had about 8 dogs from class come. We got our course map & it was quite a challenge to learn!! 18 obstacles!!! We have only really been running half courses at class so this was a lot to take in. And, it wasnt an easy circle or anything either. Deb likes to keep us all on our toes I think. And then of course we were drawn to go SECOND!! Cripes. I was nervous. I had what I felt to be extra-good treats (steak nuked with lots of garlic) and off we went. She did pretty good at the start - jump, plank - but missed her contact on the way down - then she was off to the other side of the arena, nose down & an occasional greeting of some random person! I had a squeeky toy in my pouch which did eventually get her attention and back on course but it sucked noneltheless. So then it was jump, front cross, jump, tunnel, jump, jump, a-frame (missed another contact, my fault for not saying wait or target), jump, tunnel, jump, table (try to catch breath), jump, tunnel, jump, tunnel - mocca stays in tunnel. Doesnt come out - is fervently sniffing in there apparently there is something good IN the tunnel. Finally comes out WRONG END, I try to get her to go back...repeat...repeat. This illicited LOTS of laughter, so at least we can be comic relief, right? Well she did FINALLY go in the tunnel the right way then jump, and WEAVES! And thankfully, she did at least do all 12 weaves. She was by no means fast, and seemed QUITE unenthusied, but when she finished I rewarded her with the toy.

We got lots of applause - I think because they felt bad I had to work so hard! The dog who went first was REALLY good and I think competes so not really fair! The other dogs were all currrent competing dogs as well, except Brisby the Corgi, who finishe things off in his calm, cool & collected way.

Looking forward to class this week to try more work with the toy as motivation instead of treats. I am POOPED. So is Mocca - we were out there for about 3 hours with all the stuff going on. We DID win 3rd in the "Obedience" trials, and 2nd (though we should have been first, I have NO clue how Rupert could have won with his lame tricks - I mean, NOBODY marched like we did or even did a bow - do they have any idea how hard that is to learn? Roll-over and play dead were Rupert's tricks - how original is that?).

:-)

Open House Coming Up

Class was cancelled thursday due to stormy weather - of course by the time class time rolled around it was sunny & quite nice, though a bit breezy! Go figure.

The open house is sunday. We are having an agility fun match at noon. We'll see how it goes - with all the people around, I dont expect Mocca to focus much on me, but I will have the good treats, and hope to not let anybody give her treats until after we do our run.

There is also a bunch of other stuff going on, so it should be a fun day, and the weather looks clear! Wish us luck...

Motivation

Purchased some pre-chopped up (was labled for chop suey) beef tonight at the grocery store. I will nuke some of it for agility class this week & see if our motivation level increases!

Spring Classes Start

We've been into spring classes for 4 nights so far. Things are going pretty well, but we are having a problem with Mocca's motivation. I am going to try a few new things - one the trainer thought I should try is using toy motivation instead of treats. Last week I spent half the night hollaring at Mocca to get back over to me as she was off sniffing far corners of the field! It was terribly frustrating. The last course we ran I tried using a toy - I showed her the toy before we started, and then put it away in my pouch. Then we ran the course, and after she completed it successfully, she got the toy. It seemed to work well, but it was just the first time, and the last run of the evening - and she always pays more attention the last run! I also think if I have a better treat she will work better, so we are going to try to get something really yummy for next week.

3 weeks ago I purchased a set of 12 weave poles from Drs. Foster & Smith Pet Supplies. We practice them every night - We just run them once each way because I dont want to overdo it at all. We struggled for awhile trying to figure the best way to practice the weaves at home, and seem to have settled for showing her the toy, putting it up where she cant get it, and then show her I have a treat. I put the treat away, and we run the weaves and then at the last pole I toss the treat out so she gains more speed & is excited to have completed the weaves. Then we get the toy & give it a few tosses. This seems to be working well because this week at class we completed a full set of weave poles THREE times without a problem! She still relies on me heavily being right next to her & doing a push-pull with my hand, but we will try to move away from this slowly. I tried earlier to quickly, and it didnt go well so we have to go slow. I would rather her do the poles perfectly with me right next to her than not do them.

I'll post about Gamblers & Snookers from last week next.

Winter Wrap-Up Agility Classes

I didnt post all winter about classes, so here is a wrap up.

Classes were held in a barn for the winter on sunday afternoons. We opted not to do Flyball anymore because I dont feel Mocca enjoys it as much as she should. The barn was very clean and well-kept, and could b emostly enclosed so it didnt get too terribly cold in there, but nonetheless each sunday afternoon I was frozen to the bone after class. Hint: use those little handwarmer things they sell in the winter. 1 in each pocket does wonders in between runs.

We had a tough time in the barn because Mocca is a scavenger, and dearly loves horse poop. And as clean as this barn was, there was still nice bite-size chunks of horse poop here & there. It took quite a lot to get her interest part of the time. She seemed to get better focused on me after about 30 minutes. It was a constant battle and I was glad when spring rolled around.

A few times I brought Mocca leftover steak from the night before, and I truly believe this helped her focus. Let's see...horse poop...of Filet?

One big accomplishment however was that Mocca finally "got" the weaves. We really started to do well with the weaves and we then graduated to the intermediate class early-winter. Yay!

So overall, winter classes were a lot of work, cold, and very tiring. But we were glad to graduate to intermediate and it was nice to have an activity to do with Mocca once a week. We've been out of the barn for 6 or more weeks now and back to the outside ring. I'll post about our new round of classes next!

Don't forget to check out DrsFosterSmith.com Pet Supplies!

Last sessions of the year

Tonight was our last sessions for the year. We are taking a break for the holidays and will start back up in January. Thankfully we ended all on a positive note!

Flyball tonight Mocca did great! I didnt have to run up & down all night long and she only missed a few here & there. I made the choice to bring treats into flyball tonight & would give her one when she would run the full course correctly. THis seemed to work, so I think I will continue to bring treats & use them for that purpose -whatever works! I still am not sure we will continue with Flyball though. Especially in winter. 2+ hours in the cold gets to be pretty cold!

Agility went very well also! We triumphed over the teeter! We even did a few rounds of the weave poles, and although she doesnt yet know which side to start or what "weave" really means - once we get going through them she is very good. It's just the starting out we need to work on. Weaves are always in the middle of a course so your dog will always be on the run when they encounter them. So while we seemed to have them mastered pretty well at a sit position, it is an entirely different matter at a run or walk. Aside from that everything went very well and one of the trainers was asking if she though I would be competing with Mocca at all! I said well we'll just see! It is fun and Mocca really does enjoy it.

So this will be my last post for awhile. It's been a fun year!

Update

It has been awhile since I posted. We are continuing our Flyball and Agility classes. We are just about done with our 3rd round now on both.

Flyball: Okay so she didnt quite get it. Or, maybe she got it so well she got bored? Mocca ran the flyball course like a pro for about 3 weeks straight and then (my theory here) got bored I think. She figured it out, did it....and got just plain bored. So now it is much more fun FOR HER. For me it is an entirely different thing. I now am forced to RUN up and down the course with her. She still gets that she has to run down over the jumps to get the ball - it is the coming back part that she gets bored with. She's much happier making up her own course, or running off to visit some stray person on the other side of the field. Or doing 1 jump and then not the rest. At one point we had THREE people lined up along the course, and me, running up and down. We even tried to get treats involved but that was a diasaster. She would just run as fast as possible to the person who gave her the treat the next time, regardless of ball. We did do a bit better this week, but I am getting very tired of this new sprinting class! I am not sure we will re-up on flyball.

Agility: This has been going very well. I am doing much better at getting the commands out right away for her so it is going very smooth sometimes. We still need to work lots on the weaaves, and the teeter but little by little. In this 3rd set we have been learning several games that are played at competitions and it has been a lot of fun. We get to kinda make up our own course and whoever gets the most obstacles done in 30 seconds wins. Or there is one called, "The Gambler" where you send your dog over a jump, and then stop & try to get your dog to then go through a tunnel ahead of you and then over another jump on the other side of you. It really shows you how your dog is so used to having you right next to them in the course! The las game we have learned is called, "Snookers" and it is another where you kinda run your own course but it is more complicated in that you have to hit certain obstacles at certain points in the course.

This week our classes move to a barn for the winter. It sure has been cold out the last couple of weeks for class. I will try to update this more often. And of course, dont forget about all the wonderful dog supplies at Drs. Foster & Smith!

The Bulb Goes On

Flyball on Tuesday: she did it! We did it! Something just clicked, and Mocca ran the course 100% and did a fantastic job! We started slow, with just 2 and she did okay, so we bumped up to 3, and she did okay, so we said, hey lets go for it! ALL FOUR JUMP! DOWN & BACK! I think it was just that she finally understood the goal is to get the ball - and run back as quick as possible to me. And we finally figured out I need to stay in a straight line from the jumps calling her back. THEN she comes back in a straight line over the jumps. We were all so excited! She really flew over them, too! AND she did it about 4 times in a row! It was so great to see her finally get the whole course. It has been quite a challenge, but I am glad we stuck with it.

Agility: It was a bit of a hectic evening. Tanja (Mocca's 1st mom & my sister-in-law) came down with my mom & my 3 year old neice, Katie. Mocca was wound up by the time we got to class from running around the yard at home with Katie, and was a bit distracted with having them at class, but we did pretty good! It was really great that Tanja was able to make it down & see Mocca in action.

We did however, clue in on one good thing at class. I had been obsessed by calling mocca over to me, "come...come...here...here.." to get her going where I wanted, but one of the trainers kept telling me over & over that I needed to just tell Mocca the COMMAND of the next obstacle. Well, I finally got it this time! Sure enough, when I started just yelling the next command after she did the last, Mocca knew more where to go & what to do! Before we did a lot of running around haphazardly - Mocca trying her best to figure out where she was supposed to be. When I finally started getting those commands out right away, things went a whole lot smoother!

All in all it was a fantastic week. Tanja got some photos of us at Agility which I'll try to get posted. We'll be off now for a couple weeks due to vacation, etc.

Pet Supplies at Drs. Foster & Smith

Update

Sorry it has been awhile! Agility this week was cancelled due to rain but I still need to recap from the week before anyway. :-)

First - Flyball. Last week things went pretty well. We had a revalation where we realized Mocca would be more apt to run back over the jumps after she got the ball if I stayed back at the other end & called her, and fake ran away. This seemed to work MUCH better than me going down to where she was after she gets the ball & telling her to jump. I think we even got 3 jumps in. She definately has the going down over the jumps to get the ball. She gets very focused when we start off at the other end and you can tell she is just thinking in her little head how she needs to get down there real quick & get that ball out of the box! It's cute.

This week in flyball was different. First of all we got there early & were invited in to try the disc dog (otherwise known as Frisbee). I knew Mocca would excel at this, so figured why not? I gave it a few tosses, a couple which were actually decent and Mocca did her thing - race & leap, and catch! She makes it look so easy. Then you should have seen her prancing & running back all smug & happy. The people at disc dog (the same people who do flyball) were just grinning like mad and one of the trainers commented on how happy Mocca was doing that! Then we let the other dogs have their turns - however...I had to literally SIT on the ground & HOLD Mocca there as she was just dying to go get that frisbee! I have never seen her so worked up! She was even crying & BARKING (which she generally doesnt do except at squirrels). It was astonishing. We are thinking about doing the disc dog, but I am not sure. My problem is that she KNOWS how to do that, and Flyball is more of a challenge - but it is quite obvious her interest in the frisbee FAR outweighs the flyball. We'll see.

Agility: Last week's class was pretty good except I made a fatal error: I let one of the trainers & other people pass out treats to Mocca before class. I must remember to never do this again! Mocca did not want to focus on me at all, and wanted to go to everybody else in case they would give her treats. When we first started out on the first course she just went running around the arena saying hello to whoever she felt like it. It was pretty amusing actually. She finally settled down and things went better evenutally. We did several walks over the teeter totter, and she insists on hopping off the ends & missing the target. We will need to work on that for sure. Hopefully next week will be a good one!

Classes Continue

Flyball on Tuesday went well. We started off right away with a solid 2 jumps down & 2 jumps back! Everybody was very excited. So then we started on 3 jumps. She goes down the jumps fine & gets the ball no problem - we definately have that figured out - it's the coming back part that is the problem. I think we'll get it next week though. It just takes a bit of practice on our part. Mocca is still the "slow" dog of the group. The other dogs do all 4 jumps no problem. Mocca isnt quite as motivated & excited about Flyball as they are, but we're working up to it.

Agility also went well! We had a bit of an issue with several areas on the arena where there MUST have been some treats on the ground because Mocca was not paying much attention me in those areas. She was also being a stinker on the plank & leaping from the ground to half way up the plank and missing the target on that end, PLUS, jumping off before reaching the target on the other end! That I'm sure was because there was a tunnel under the plank on that end. Aside from that things went very good. She continues to zip pretty quickly through the weave poles. This week we also worked a bit more on the teeter totter & it was the first time she went over it without anybody holding onto the teeter when it "tottered". She seemed a little surprised, but hopped off & then did it again no problem.

There were LOTS of dogs at agility this week. We had 2 groups of 4, and then a third group with just 2 who I guess are starting a beginning course. Surprisingly enough, there was a Schiperkee in that group! An older one at that! I guess we'll see if she comes back next week.

We decided to continue with Flyball because I would like to see Mocca finish all 4 jumps. I dont want to quit it when we havent mastered it just at the lowest level!

2nd Intermediate Agility Class

Hello! Our class last night went pretty well. It started out a little slow. First we only had 5 dogs, so we split up into 3 & 2, but then just as we were about to start our 6th dog showed up. So, I volunteered to go to the group with the latecomer as nobody else did. However, we had to wait...because the latecomer first brought out the dog she just got & had to get him all situated. THEN she finally brought out Lucy (fluffy little white dog). So we finally were able to start after quite some time. We were only able to run ONE sequence with the first trainer due to the lateness, and then Lucy was not behaving very well. She cant really be let off lead yet. So finally, we moved on to the 2nd trainer. THat went much better as Lucy was kept on lead.

Things went well with us though I am moving too slow for Mocca. I need to go faster & give her commands much in advance than I am now. When I did that we did well. We did a lot more practice with sequences that involve us having to do special crosses behind our dog or in front of the dog. At one point we had to do some fancy pivot thingy to get the dog going in the right direction and I ACTUALLY did it correctly. Lucy's mom said I looked like a ballerina out there with Mocca! LOL

You should see Mocca go through the weave poles. Each week she gets better and this week was no different! She is really zipping through them with less & less of my lead. We can even do them pretty well w/o a treat in my hand and we are working on me being on the left side - it easy with me on the right side because your dog pretty much has to go to the left & start the poles. When you are on the left side, the right is wide open & they quite often will skip the first pole or 2. We're working on that.

We had some issues with the "Tire" jump. I believe Mocca just didnt remember what Tire meant. I'm sure if I said "Jump" she'd just jump through it - but we are supposed to use distinct commands for obstacles that are different & a tire jump IS different from a normal jump. We practiced "tire" several times at the end of class & she was doing very well.

At the end of class one of the trainers asked me if I was thinking about trying agility competively with Mocca! She was just going on & on about how well Mocca is doing & how much she loves it. I said that we'd see! I'm sure it would be fun but we definately have a LONG way to go!

Hopefully Flyball wont get rained out AGAIN this week. Wish us luck!!

Our 1st Intermediate Agility Class

Wow! Our Intermediate class is a bit different than the begginer's class. This is much more structured - all 3 trainers are involved & they each have a set pattern for us to do. In this class there was 7 dogs I think. Rupert the Viszla, Lucy the Fluffy White Dog, and Foxy the Lumbering Lab Mix were there from our 1st class. There was a person with 2 Golden Retrievers & somebody with a Boston Terrier also.

We split up into 3 groups and there was an initial squabble initiated by Foxy with the Golden Retriever pair however everybody was unharmed but feathers were ruffled! Foxy sat out for awhile.

Our first sequence was TOUGH! It was a tunnel, table, weave, jump, jump, jump, climb, tunnel! Very difficult. We did alright but had issues with the last tunnel and Mocca being too focused on the treat in my hand. I had to NOT have a treat through the sequence, except for the weave poles. We did it a few times & boy Mocca was flying through the weave poles in the end really well!! At first I was going too slow, and then I think we found a happy medium. One of the challenges of this sequence was for us to do a crossover move after the last jump to send the dog in the proper direction so we are on the correct side when we get to the tunnel. We had to be really quick doing this because it was after the last jump and the dogs go pretty fast over them.

The next sequence was something with the weave poles some more & jumps but it involved us giving the dogs more hand signals & teaching them the "out" command which is for them to go away from us towards another obstacle instead of staying near us. It is hard to get all the commands as it seems like the dogs go faster than there is time to say everything! Mocca! Jump! Out! Jump! Out! Jump! Jump! And also trying to remember which way you are supposed to go complicates things greatly!

Our last sequence involved the teeter at one point and Mocca raced across it of course. We have to pretty much just grab her & make her stop on it so she feels it "teeter". Hopefully this will come with time! We learned another kind of handling where we put the dog in a sit/wait & then go out past the first jump. We call them & then as the jump over, we sorta pivot around so we are in front of the dog and then we direct them the proper way. This is useful for when there are "trick" obstacles in the sequence that the dog will assume they are to do so you need to be in the right spot to point them in the other direction. We also did some work on the plank - Mocca likes to stick near me so as she is going over the plank (with no problems) - the minute I move away because there is a tunnel under one end of the plank she hops off to be by me! LOL. We'll have to work on that also. :-)

Pretty hot & sweaty as usual after class - though this time I was wise enough to bring a bottle of water for myself! The dogs have several water bowls around, it's the humans who need it more though - Mocca hardly ever drinks even though she is panting like mad. I think she doesnt want to miss out on any good action while drinking. :-)

Hopefully Flyball class will be on tuesday - we got rained out this week.

We Graduated!

Tonight was our last class for our beginner agility - and we definately signed up for the next level.

Things went quite well tonight but boy did the trainer work us hard! It must have been 90 out there in the sun today - I was dripping sweat & extremely hot by the end of class. We started right off doing the Tetter-Totter. Mocca does this well, but the problem is she just bolts over it as quick as she can and at some point it is going to "teeter" when she doesnt expect it. So we worked very hard on making her SLOW DOWN going over & stop at the point it goes down. Finally we did one pretty well.

Next we moved on to a rather large sequence - Tunnel, jump, jump, jump, climb(a-frame), jump, jump, climb (plank). It was REALLY HARD. Mocca was FLYING through everything and going way to fast for me to keep up. THen when we got to the plank at the end she flew across it as fast as she could up jumped off then ending missing her target at the end that she has to hit. We had to do this several times to get her to do it right finally. Then we ran through again & did much better but I was out of breath by then!

We tried out the weave poles a few times - all 12 and did well so started on another complex sequence of all kinds of jumps, the chute, and the weave poles. The twist was that we had to go in a fairly tight circle with the jumps and go around the correct side of the chute otherwise you wind up running around the LONG way which you dont want to do (but I did repeatedly!). We did finally get it going pretty well though! Mocca was doing excellent at the poles by this point.

Because both Mocca and Koa were doing so well with the poles we moved over to the REAL set of 12 that dont have guides along the sides. Mocca zipped right through! Weave! Weave! Weave! Weave! She did great & our trainer complimented her on the weave poles.

We tried another complicate sequence and by then we were all exhausted. Our trainer was chuckling at us running around all over trying to get the dogs to go in the right spot & she told us how finally at one point it will just "click" with you and your dog & you will be able to just point & say the command & your dog will know where to go. She said she could stand in one spot & have her dog do an entire sequence without moving an inch whereas we were out of breath & exhausted from running around. That was very helpful to hear!

I think this week I finally figured out how to get Mocca to go a little slower. If I slow down, she slows down. We were getting much better at being more controlled at commands rather than frantic calling & running around.

Excited to start round 2! We get a new trainer next week and I wonder how many of these dogs will be in that class also.

Roo roo!

5th Flyball Class

Hello! We had our 5th Flyball class last night. Boy was Mocca excited (do I say that every time?). This time though, she was even more excited when we went out to the field & started watching the other dogs. Everybody likes to bark a lot during flyball, or while waiting for their turn and this was the first time Mocca really took to this as well. She contributed with her "roo roo" and several real barks which are rare from her. She was REALLY excited watching those other dogs! The most ever!! She dragged me over to the flyball course when it was her turn!! Dragged!! Then I positioned her at 2 jumps out & asked her if she was ready...Oh boy was she! She went tearing off over the 2 jumps, got that ball quick as could be & we even managed to get 1 jump on the route back.

She tends to swerve off after the 1st jump, but with a little help we did get 2 jumps back at the very end. But we are just so happy that she is starting to really get into it like the other dogs that we dont want to push it. We tried starting off with 3 jumps & she didnt do as well so we are going to stay with 2 for awhile longer & see if we can get a consistent 2 there & 2 back.

Next week is our last flyball class & I am thinking about taking a 2nd class though not sure as it gets to be a bit much having class twice a week, but we'll see! I would like to see her get all 6 jumps going.

Last agility class coming up (last week's was cancelled due to the 95degree weather)

6th Agility Class - Postponed

Class was postponed until next week due to warm weather! It was 90 at class time so that was a good call.

Mocca's 4th Flyball Class

Hello! Our 4th flyball class went MUCH better than the last one. In the previous class Mocca wanted pretty much nothing to do with the flyball box so we had to just work on getting her comfortable near the box. THIS TIME though she went right up to, smacked her paw on the box & snagged the ball & took off running! It was a miracle. She was into the whole night & we managed to start over 1 jump, get the ball & come back over 1 jump. 3 more jumps to go!! Hopefully her attitude will continue next week. She was SOOO excited this night. Roo-rooo'ing at everyone & making a spectacle of herself. Everybody was very happy Mocca turned the corner. Looking forward to our last agility class tonight.

Mocca's 5th Agility Class

Last night's class went really well. We had all 6 dogs back again for class so we had split into our groups of 3 & 3. Our 3rd dog is a little white fluffy thing named Lucy who has enough energy for 5 or 6 dogs.

Lucy's owner had also recently adopted a black chinese crested dog (with hair, not the hairless kind) who was exceptionally cute with this head of hair he looks like a little person. He was a barker though. This was cured with a citronella bark control collar. I have never seen one of those in action but it worked perfectly!

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=728

I also discovered Koa's owner also works at Drs. Foster & Smith but in the call center, which is why I wouldnt know she worked in the same company as I do. :-)

Mocca was so excited when we got to class that when we got out of the car & started walking over to the arena she was all jumping & tugging at her leash (which she does when she is SUPER excited). It was cute.

We started out with our normal warm-up jumps, then progressed to the plank a few times & then the a-frame a few times. Next we did a sequence of Jump - plank - jump - jump - big jump. After we did that we threw in a twist by adding the tunnel right after the first jump. This was exceptionally difficult as it turns out I had to be in JUST the right spot at the right time to keep mocca from going up the plank first, and then when we did get through the tunnel, it wrapped UNDER the plank so I had to lead her completely around to go up the plank. It took a few tries but we did it finally. Turns out agility isnt all about the dog! We did much better this week and I was using the "here" command better and it works very well with Mocca in her quest for food. Still the biggest challenge is that she is much faster than I am.

After that we did a few more simple sequences and then moved onto the teeter totter again. This time it went almost to the ground, but about 1 foot up instead of 3 off the ground. Mocca goes across it SO quickly I am afraid it's going to startle her at one point but there isnt too much I can do to slow her down. At this point she doesnt care what she has to go over to get to the treat whatsoever so maybe it doesnt matter.

Last we worked on a couple more sequences which included the weave poles. We are still doing the set of 6 but this week Mocca did VERY well - a few times she just zipped right through those perfectly!! It was great to see. Seems like the weave poles have just finally "clicked" with her. I cant wait to see her do more.

So next week is our last class & we get to "graduate". We we definately sign up for the next class. Stay tuned for flyball report next tuesday!

Oops! Dont forget to check out DrsFosterSmith.com Pet Supplies for our super duper Summer Red Tag Sale! There are LOTS of really good sales - I'm not kidding you!

Pet Supplies at DrsFosterSmith.com

Mocca's 4th Agility Class

At tonight's class we only had 4 dogs which was nice. We started out doing some jumps to warm up as usual then went over & practiced the A-Frame multiple times. Mocca RUNS over & up this thing which is where the "Target" practice comes in handy. At the top of the a-frame I tell her "TARGET" & she knows to slow down because there is a treat at the bottom. This way we make sure to hit all the contacts at the end of the A-frame.

Next we moved onto a sequence. We did 2 jumps with a lead out (me in front while Mocca sits behind the first jump), and then onto the plank & then over 3 more(1 big jump) jumps - all around in a large circle so we end up back where we started. It was exhausting!!! Mocca flies through things so quickly I have to run to keep up with her & stay ahead of the game. I have to be ahead to direct her where to go. I am POOPED. But we did really well & ran 1 whole sequence flawlessly. We still have that problem with her running off with her nose down to find stray treats but it is getting better.

Then we learned the Teeter Totter! This is one of the most challenging tasks because it moves when they walk over it & can be very frightening. We started out with a table on the other end so the tetter totter doesnt go all the way to the ground & is less scary. We lead the dog over slowly & Try to get them to slow down at the crest so when it tips they are ready - then there is a plate with cheese whiz on it for reward. Very fun. Mocca of course runs across without a thought except that there is cheese whiz to be had. All the dogs did it very well. Next week we will use a table that isnt as tall & then the last week it will go all the way to the ground.

Next we did some practice with the weave poles - Mocca is getting better & better at them. We are doing 6 now instead of 4 & she is finally starting to learn to turn her body around the poles & I think learn what "weave" means. We ran a sequence that was jump, big jump, tunnel & weave. We did quite well.

Last we learned a new game to play at home which I thought was a really good thing to learn & everyone should try it. It's called "1-2-3". What you do really is say "1" and give your dog a treat in an excited tone...do the same with "2"...and then at "3" you get REALLY EXCITED & dash off in the other direction so your dog will follow & then when they do you give them the treat. The goal is then that your dog learns that 1-2-3 means come run after you! It is very good training really & the trainer said she's heard of more than 1 story where this has saved a dog's life running out into traffic or something. They hear "1-2-3" and come running because they know it is SO EXCITING! and they will get rewarded.

Looking forward to next week!!

3rd Flyball Class

We had our 3rd Flyball class last night. We were very excited because we had been practicing at home with our handy styrofoam box. The trainer asked us to practice using a cardboard box with a hold cut in the center where I would then sit on the ground & put the ball in the hole & get Mocca to use her paw on the box & then I am to toss the ball. Well, Mocca is so enthusiastic she just crams her nose into the hole, digs, and makes a wreck of the box. So, we moved to a very sturdy 1" thick styrofoam box. This has worked perfectly, and Mocca has been using her paw all the time now!

There are 5 dogs in flyball class - there are 3 black & white little border collies & a sheltie. Then there is Mocca. She sure stands out! LOL. Everyone loves her though. When it was our turn to get the ball out of the box she did okay, but wasnt too thrilled. The next time it got worse, and she didnt want to even go by the box. We have decided she must be either startled by the noise the box makes when the ball pops out, or just stressed & confused with the other dogs around. We worked more around the box just trying to get her interested in it & see that the BALL pops right out of there!! She LOVES the ball so much! Near the end of class she was doing a little better. We just need to go much slower with her I guess! All the other dogs are getting the ball & running back over a jump or 2 so we are kinda the "slow ones" but that's okay. We're having fun!

We'll try to get out to the practice on sunday & maybe during agility the trainer will let me walk Mocca over to the flyball box & practice a little.

3rd Agility Class Recap

I'm pooped. I swear it was cold outside, but the minute we got to class the sun came out & it was 80. I was seating buckets - and as you know, I really dont care to sweat. I even had a baseball cap on to keep the sun out of my eyes.

Mocca was so thrilled to be going, she "roo-roooo'd" about every 3 minutes on the way to class. It is about a 15 minute drive.

There were only 5 dogs tonight (usually 6), and my group was with only us & another dog. It is a miniature australian shep with markings quite like Mocca. A funny group with Mocca & a mini version of her w/o a tail! His name was Koa. We had quite a lot of fun! First we warmed up on a few jumps to get into the swing of things. Then we went over to the tunnel & did a few turns in that. We hit the tire jump, and then the table & it was time for a new item.

We learned "climb" up a very tall (taller than me at the peak) A-Frame. Mocca dashed right up w/o a thought whatsoever & hit her target w/no problem. A "Target" is a top to a plastic butter dish that a treat sits on. It is to train the dogs to slow down & stop at certain points by saying "target". On the things like A-Frames there are yellow portions on the start & finish that the dog must be sure the make contact with. Target is a way to help train them to do that. Mocca has noooo problem with that. We ran that several times w/o any trouble, and were even able to run it off lead.

Next we did a great big long raised plank. It is about 24 feet? long & raised up above the ground to about my shoulder. 12 of the feet are straight across & the other parts are up & down. Again Mocca had no trouble. In a matter of minutes she was running across & hitting that target perfectly. Lots of dogs had problems with this one as it is scary to some dogs, especially younger ones (Mocca is the old lady of this class at 6. Most of the other dogs are 2 yrs or not even).

We mastered the plank & then went on to do some sequences. We did a couple jump, jump, tunnel, tires. ANd then a sequence of jump, chute, weave, jump! We also learned how to do lead outs. THis is where the dog sits & stays at the beginning of the sequence & the person goes about after the first item & leads the dog out over it. Supposed to cut back on the effort on my part. I dont know - We were both panting & pooped afterwards!!!

Looking forward to Flyball class on tuesday now.

Mocca's Agility Classes

Mocca is anxiously awaiting her 3rd agility class tonight. They are at 530 on thursdays.

Tonight we hope to learn something new & challenging. So far things are pretty easy.

We do jumps, a ramp ("over"), a plank ("plank"), a chute ("chute"), a tunnel ("tunnel"), ring jump, weave poles (very tough) and a table ("table"). Mocca's favorite is the table! She loves to jump up on it, perhaps because she has her very own table at home where she sits most of the day?

We are learning more & more to guide with the hand closest to the dog. Mocca did very well with this last week - she was always looking over to the hand I guided with for a treat. The trainer gave us some praise on that! Our biggest problem is off lead, Mocca's head goes down to act as vaccum cleaner for any dropped treats.

You can see some of the equipment we are using at drs foster & Smith:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com

This is Cam's fault

This blog is Cam's fault. He made me post about his gorgeous paintings & I couldnt without signing up!