Videos From Thrusday's Lesson

Two videos from our lesson on Thursday with Loretta. Lots of fun :) I like how happy Tibby looks playing on the dogwalk. She loves RC training. I was so happy to see that she did understand what we wanted and she would try hard to hit the contact, if she missed it the first time.

Manipulation

We had a really good lesson with Loretta today.  Usually I spend the 2 hour drive home thinking about all the different things I wish I had said or done differently.  But this time I didn't even think about it.  It was a good lesson and I wouldn't change anything.

Tibby worked hard for a long time.  She had a few moments when she needed a time out in the crate, but then she would come back ready to work.

There was one funny moment when she decided to try hiding out in the black (previously) 'scary' tunnel to avoid working in the newly 'scary' corner of the building.  Hence the title of this post.  She isn't actually scared of these things, but boy have I taught her well that acting 'scared' gets you lots of treats and you can avoid doing whatever I want.  You would have to be there and work with Tibby for a little while to understand this.  Even Loretta didn't believe me when I first told her that I felt like Tibby was 'playing me'.  I think she believes me now :P

She was SO tired by the end of the hour, but she kept trying for me and did what I asked her to do.

I've said it before, but my favorite part of lessons is having someone watch what we are doing and tell me/explain to me/translate what is going on.  It's also nice to have someone to talk through things and tell you what you're doing is OK! 

Loretta is a really great teacher!

I learned today that Tibby actually does understand the criteria of running contacts.  I've been thinking that she doesn't get it - it seems like I'm rewarding everything, so how could she figure it out.

Really neat to see her thinking and trying different things out.

When she missed leapt and didn't get rewarded, she would come back and run through the contact the next time. 

Good girl!

Running Contact Training - Up Ramp Is On

This running contact thing just keeps getting more and more complicated!  But I like it!  And so does Tibby :)  She LoVeS it!
So we raised the board up to 8 inches.  Then I was supposed to look for and jackpot only the deeper hits.  BUT all the hits looked the same to me.  I was very confused.  Best thing to do when you are confused?  Ask for help.


So I taped a session and sent it to Silvia.  She explained, "Now that she is jumping so high, jumping on it determines her stride, that’s why they look the same… It’s also starting to get a bit dangerous jumping on a narrow plank like that… I think a table would make it safer + would give you deeper hits."

Oooooo I can see it now.  That's why all the hits looked the same.  Tibby can only jump on to the board one way, so duh' her striding will be the same every time.



I do not have a table.  I know I should make one, but I haven't gotten around to it in the last 8 months.  I do have this handy rocker board - that we have used only once when Tibby was a little bitty baby.  It was one of the first (agility) things I bought - before we had ever taken a class or I knew what I was doing.  Next time I would just make a wobble board. 
BUT it works for this step of RC!!

 Silvia said, "I like that you’re getting a nicer variety now, some high hits, some deep hits (those that you marked with jackpot? are all nice and deep yes) and some leaps. I think that’s a good learning situation, better as just getting the same stride pattern every time. However, as you raise it some more, that up ramp will get a bit too short/steep, so if you have another somewhat longer (not 12′, just somewhat longer as that one) plank, maybe switch to that next."

And guess what? I have a baby teeter that we don't use too.  Guess we will try that for the next step!  Pretty soon I'll have to move this all outside.....hurry up spring!!!

RC - The Beat Goes On

So Tibby is doing really, really well with the RC.  We were having a ton of misses, so I took a few days off.  Then the Tibb-ster started begging to do the plank (she really likes it), so we tried again.  I did a couple thinking that we would have the same old problem - but she was perfect!  So I grabbed the camera and filmed our session.  ALL JACKPOTS!!! Plus Full Speed!

Ok on to the nity-grity.  Silvia said the LAST one was the best.  So I had to have her explain a little, because I didn't understand why???

She said, "the best tries are “safe” tries. That last try was safe because if her stride was somewhat longer, she would still hit with front feet and if it was somewhat shorter, she would hit with hind feet. In most other tries, if her stride was somewhat shorter, she would miss it (especially on a shorter contact – I think yours is AKC length?). From the same reason, very low front foot only hits are not so good: a little longer stride and it’s a miss."

I can understand this. 

However, then couldn't I just change the length of the board to get perfect hits every time?  I asked this question.....just waiting for Silvia's response.  Shouldn't take too long - she responds really fast.

Oh yeah and the board is at 6 inches.  I think the hardest part for Tibby to get was: run full speed, but now (I think/hope) she gets it.  Also, she has learned to fetch!  Thank you running contacts for teaching my dog to fetch. 
(sometimes Tibby wants to see if she really has to bring the ball all the way back - yes, yes you do)

EDITED TO ADD: Silvia said, "actually, if your board was shorter, she would have deeper hits… And longer board would give you misses. The striding gets very predictable once you raise the board as raising it creates a kind of a stride regulator (the dog has to hit it with front feet first, always), so yes, using a shorter or a longer board can produce you hits, but of course, at that point or another, they need to be able to hit it no matter what, so after the helping phase, there must come challenges too."

I was (am?) confused about the stride thing.  Also, we were rewarding for front feet hits AND rear feet hits, so the dogs would realized that sometimes they can use front feet too - if it works better.  I think that confused me. 

Running Contacts Practice - Flat Board

We are starting over with our running contacts - now that we are in the RC class!  So we did the rug for a few sessions and now we are using a plank.  It took me longer than I expected to get the board all painted and sanded, but now it is perfect!  I may have an addiction to silky yellow and blue oil paint.  It's fun to paint with.

So Tibby is having fun!  She loves her plank.  She would rather run on a plank than on the ground or carpet. 

Silvia said, "Very cool, she sure is running! You rewarded o.k. The best hit would be 20. 11 was great too, but not full reach forward and on 17, her hind feet are not fully separated. I wouldn’t reward 4 or 5, but would reward 6. Don’t worry about the overreach and she is also not airy. She is just not fully extended every time, but is doing perfectly fine when she is really running, so you could actually soon raise the plank some."

Yay!  We can raise the plank soon!  If it would stop snowing I might try hauling the plank outside....soon.

I'm calling the dogwalk (right now just a plank) superman!  I figure if when she does miss her contact, people will just think it was planned! :)  Superman!  It's fun to say too.

Training Videos and PJs

I think this is lesson 5 for the ST foundation class? I can't remember. BUT I DO KNOW THAT IT WAS REALLY REALLY COLD (ok you get it) outside when we made this video. And this was actually a warm day - it has gotten colder. So training is stopping.....LOL!! I mean outside training is stopping for a little while. The back of my car is full of a tunnel, jumps and a long rolled up strip of rugs, just waiting for warmer weather. Silvia said I should use a different hand to cue the serps. vs the threadles (or however you spell them). kewl. right. I'll do that as soon as my legs defrost. Anyway....what was I saying? Sorry, I'm a little dehydrated from being SUPER sick on Tues. night. Like the sickest I have been in years, 'cause I don't get sick. The last time I was sick? 2 years ago. I had a fever. It was bad. When I get sick I pack a year of sick into 24 hours. Anyway.....Tibby was a wonderful nurse. She surprised me. She would rest her head on my arm or leg and look at me like, "It's Ok." She doesn't normally do that. Usually she tries to eat my pants or something. It was nice. And she protected me from Catty's incessant kneading. Not something you want when you are sick and in pain. thanks Catty. Ow.

This is how it happened.
Catty (paws on my stomach): knead. knead. knead.
Me: Ow! Ow! Get off Catty.
Catty: knead?
Me: Ow!
Catty: keandkneadkneadkneadknead
Me: OWW!
Tibby: Grrrrrr
Catty (one paw): KNEAD KNEAD
Tibby: Rawrbark!BarkGRRRRR!
Catty: la la la I think I'll sleep over here instead. Oh, look! A blanket to knead! Perfect. Purrrrrrrrrr

Anyway.......fun night. I even called in sick to work on Wed. I think that is the 3 sick day I have ever taken. But I was really sick. So anyway.

So too recap (can you tell I have a little cabin fever????): It is cold. My computer is broken. I am bored. And I was sick. Now better. Still bored. No computer. Freezing outside.

*sigh*

Oh yeah. And Tibby is very cute and super shiny. New shampoo! I recommend it! Chris Christensen Gold on Gold and White on White. She soooo pretty.  No pictures (see above about brokeny computery)

We also got a surprise package of treats from a company. So far Tibby won't eat them. shhhhh! Don't tell! Now to find dogs that will eat them :) I was going to give some to Loretta for her dogs, at our lesson tomorrow, but it's too cold for a lesson. boo. They are very good treats too. Not sure why Tibby won't eat them. They look good to me. Well...whatever.

Let's get to the PJs part of our program. See below. Cute Tibby running and me in PJs. Oh! Sorry! Were you hoping it was Tibby in PJs??? he he he
 P. S. I throw the ball too late 99% of the time.

Running Contacts - Lesson ONE

I debated back and forth if I wanted to sign up for Silvia's Running Contacts course. In the end I signed up at the last minute, before the class started. After taking an online class from someone else...I have realized that I like the way Silvia teaches, you get a LOT of personal interaction/feed back from her. She watches your videos and gives you feedback. The website is set up, so it is easy to follow along with your classmates and the class. There are a LIMITED number of people in the class, which develops a class 'bond', as much as you can in an online class. She does NOT try to up sell you on her courses. This is a big PLUS for me. I HATE to be upsold. If I have already paid for a class - why are you trying to squeeze more money out of me? Oh, yeah... because you can. Silvia DOES NOT DO THAT!!! In fact she gives things away! Everyone that takes the puppy/tricks class gets a free download of one of her videos.

Soooo that's my rant on that. I have MUCH more I could say, but it's not worth it. Let's just say Silvia's classes are awesome and she is a great PATIENT teacher. She is nice. At least I think so :)

That's the reason I signed up for the RC course. Tibby loves to run on her plank and we have fun training. I learn something new in every class we take, so why not take another one?



The first part of the first lesson was to tape the dog running at full speed. After last week-end, when Tibby ran away from me, I wasn't sure if we were even going to be able to do the first part of the first lesson!! BUT it turned out to be really good for us.

I took Tibby to a baseball field. She had her long line on and we were able to practice. I think she had fun! I had a ton of fun, but my legs were so sore today!! It was really hard to run on the grass. Today I ran on the gravel/sand and it was so much easier! But it was also easier for Tibby to run faster than me.

Today we went back to the park again and worked on call once games. Tibby did OK, but she gets busy sniffing and ignores me sometimes. I'm not sure EXACTLY how to fix this. She did try to leave the fenced in area once. She was following a scent and found an opening in the fence, BUT the long line stopped her.

Yesterday I was impressed with her focus. I'm not sure if it was the hotdogs or the chasing games, but she did better yesterday than today.  Although, today there were 2 dogs in another baseball field (it's a complex of 8 or 9 fenced in fields) and she did a good job of ignoring them or at least turning back to me after looking over at their field when they were barking.

Yesterday she did pretty good waiting for a release when I walked away from her. It was like a start line stay, but with just running.

Edited to add:  I forgot to say at the end of the video I included some funny clips.  Like for example....Tibby's Superman impression.  Poor Catty........  AND the first time ever I have been able to tape Tibby barking.  That's not even as mean as she can sound.  She's scary!!

Dog Walks, Running Contacts and Advice Oh My!

So, I have a few questions for the agility people. Dog walks. I want one. But I have questions. I've been shopping for 1/2 a year and I still haven't made up my mind.
Here are my requirements for a dog walk -
1 - Rubber contacts
2 - Either adjustable OR the legs come off, so I can set it down at a lower height
3- The planks have to be easy to take apart and put back together again
4- I will be moving it by myself, so weight is an issue - or is it? So confused....

Yeah I think that's it.
So here are my questions:
What's the difference between a steel and aluminum dog walk?
Fiberglass? Wood? Aluminum? Alumaskin? What should the planks be made out of?

Ok so that's about it. Unless you can think of something else?
I like the Max 200 adjustable dog walk/rubber/aluminum frame/alumiskin planks.

Here is Tibby's latest with the RC. I have the plank up to 17 inches. It was 15 inches at our last lesson with Loretta. My steps are 17 inches tall, soooo RC plank is at 17 inches. Tibby started to offer running up the plank on to the deck, turning around and running down the plank. Yay! Except that my camera had fallen over and I didn't get any of that taped :( She was really running fast when she could get a little distance.

Here is what Silvia said, "Just two concerns: could you cut the supporting planks some at the end (diagonally) – so that the plank comes all the way to the ground. Edges like that really makes me worry about their feet… Not so nice if they step on that edge… And second… – any possibility of a set up that would give her more starting speed? Like two planks, forming some kind of mini A-frame for now or 2/3 of DW so that she can start further from the down plank."

Tibby's First A-Frame

Tibby's first time on the A-frame.  Not a great idea!  She decides to check out the mountain on her own.  Funny puppy!

I'm Waiting

Tibby likes her RC board.  See.  She really likes it.  Especially the yellow part.  Remember when I couldn't get her to stay on it?  Not a problem anymore.

Now getting her off of it.........

Foundations Class Lesson 2 Week 2

I said, " I think we are getting better! We are having fun, so that makes me happy I tried a couple of times to get Tibby to do 2 things in a row - cik and then the tunnel, but she isn’t ready yet. She also doesn’t think it is necessary to do mutiwraps! She told me off - shook her head and then took the tunnel. It was really funny She has her own mind about things!
I split the vid in 2 - for some reason I can’t upload any video longer than 4 mins."

Silvia said, " Cool! She is so cute playing at the beginning of the video! And so fast when she is doing her zoomies! GREAT that she comes in to you in between, so try to just reward that by running away with her toy and having her chase you – don’t stop it by grabbing her collar! That’s contra productive: you come and you get grabbed. It should be you come and we play together! Anyway, she seems to like all the new toys! On the plank, you can start clicking as she is running at the end of it. If you don’t have a wider plank, make some kind of a channel (poles or cones or you could even use a tunnel as a barrier to keep her on) – it’s really just a waste of time to try to teach her to stay on. It’s better to focus on just running and having fun. Well, you’re definitely on the way there! Great job, was fun to watch Tibby so happy!"

Tunnel and RC Practice

My parents came over yesterday and I had them help me with Tibby's "tunnel trouble". My Mom restrained Tibby once and then Tibby had the tunnel figured out. My Mom kept saying, "What was the problem? She goes through the tunnel just fine." Then I showed her the previous video with Tibby going in and out of the tunnel, but not through. She thought it was funny.
Then we had a little 'discussion' about how Tibby is not a border collie. Yes Mom.  I've noticed that. LOL!
My Mom doesn't think any other dogs besides border collies can do agility. She thinks they are just naturally better at it and Tibby is a Tibetan Terrier, so she won't get it. Can you imagine how upset I get when she tells me that? Really upset.
This has been an issue every since I started playing around with Tibby and agility. My Mom thinks it's a waste of time and 'not fair to make Tibby do something she doesn't understand'. No matter how many times I explain that it takes lots and lots of time to train a dog for agility - she just doesn't believe me. She always ends up saying, "But she's not a border collie." Really?
So we don't talk about agility/training Tibby very much. Ah! Silly Mom! It's Ok she's my Mom and I'm used to her. :-)

Anyway.....about this video. It was hot and there were fireworks going off in the neighborhood, but i think Tibby did pretty well. I think she likes an audience. ;)
Also, we did a little running on a plank, but Tibby had to go potty and I didn't realize that that was the issue until we were done. So she walked a few instead of running. It was fun running around for a few minutes. But so HUMID! Bleh!

Tibby's 2on2off - So Proud!

Part of our homework this week for the Silvia Trkman puppy class is 2on2off. I want to train Tibby to do stopped contacts anyway. This is Tibby's very first time doing 2on2off. We tried one time on our steps at home, but I didn't understand what was going on, so it didn't really work. At our lesson Michelle showed me one way to teach 2on2off (plunk dog in position), but I like this method better. My dog is so smart!!! Sorry! Tibby just makes me so proud! (sometimes hee hee)