Balance

We had a great, great, great lesson today.  Tibby has progressed so much!  I love having someone that sees us every week and can see that we are getting better.  So encouraging! Yes!  Tibby is doing wonderfully (I'm running out of positive adjectives!) with following me.  She stuck with me. 

Let's see....just trying to remember everything we did.

We did a little pinwheel exercise.  Loretta shaped Tibby to go over the jump, because Tibby wasn't comfortable with jumping the pinwheel.  There was a funny moment when Tibby bulldozed the bar down.  My FAVORITE thing is seeing Tibby thinking.  I can actually see her processing everything.  It's amazing. 

After she understood that we wanted her to jump the jump - we did a jump-wrap exercises.  Eventually we are going to do jump/wrap/tunnel.  So excited!  Like real agility! 

Also her little jumps are too cute!  Ah, I love her!

Anyway.... Tibby got to do one of those exercises off leash (otherwise she was on her flexilead) just to see if she would zoomie.  So Tibby got the ball, but she wouldn't bring it back, so I walked away (reminder to self - walk not run - keep calm), she chased me, but ran past me.  I turned and walked away - repeat a few times. Tibby's run pasts get shorter and shorter.  I get the ball.  The End.  No endless zoomie spiral of death!! Yay!  Maybe she thinks I'm fun to be with after all?

Then we worked on prey drive and getting Tibby to be rude and obnoxious with a toy.  :)

I don't think it will be long before she is jumping all over me to get the toy.  Which is good.

Also, I have a plan of the ultimate Tibby toy to make her.  I'm starting on it tonight.  It will be a combination of her 3 favorite things - jingle ball, tug and fleece.

Then we worked on the running plank.  Tibby's first time across it was so pretty.  I restrained her with her harness, Loretta had the toy and then I released Tibby to the toy.  It's sounds simple, but it was really nice. 

Then Tibby got to work on her 'freak-out-when-I-see-another-dog-want-to-PLAY!!!' issue.  After seeing what Loretta did I think I could get Lucy and do the same thing.  The dogs didn't interact at all (good 'cause Lucy doesn't play well with others) and just walked along or stood.  When Tibby stopped flipping out and looked at me she got a treat.  Then Loretta took her dog out on the agility field to see if Tibby could watch another dog running around.  Mmmm, not yet.  She got too excited to eat treats.  Loretta had me walk Tibby away and then back to see when she was calm enough to eat treats.  She said we could do this at the dog park, which is a great idea.  Unfortunately our dog park is stupid.  You have to pay $3.17 per dog per visit to use the park, so no one uses it.  It's owned by a private business and it is 20 miles out of town.  If it were closer I could just drive by- dogs in the park?  stop with Tibby and work outside the fence.  Also, to see the park you have to walk all the way around the park owner's business and their home.  It's a weird dog park.

So, Tibby is doing great.  Me learning too! :)  I love private lessons!  It's so nice having someone tell me what to do.  Ahhh. Relaxing.  Someone that says this is the next step - do this and this and this.  We are building our little agility ladder - someday we will get to do a full course!  If we get all the little parts together.  I also like it when someone thinks my dog is smart!  LOL!  I'm her momma, so of course I think she is brilliant, but it's nice when someone else thinks it too :)

Notes From First Private Lesson

This post is all notes from our first private lesson.  I will do another post with just pictures and the video of our lesson.  I know training posts don't make very interesting reading.

Anyway.  We left at 9:30am, drove to Canine On the Run and got there an hour early.  Good.  Plenty of time to have Tibby go potty and I didn't have to stress about being late.  Our instructor's name is Michelle.  My notes are kind of a mess (I was horrible at note taking in school!), so I'm trying to type everything out before I forget it.

  She gave us a lot of stuff to work on, but nothing that I don't think Tibby can get.  One thing - the main thing - she said I NEED to develop a better relationship with Tibby.  Where I am fun to work with and Tibby wants to work with me and not go off sniffing everything.  True and I knew it, but without someone actually saying it to me I don't think it would have ever occurred to me to do something - work on it!  Also, gotta work on recalls.  She suggested the Susan Garret online recall course.  I thought about it, but didn't sign up for it - too expensive, but I can afford some DVDs.  So that is on the list to work on too.

Also, I brought the wrong treats.  Last time we went to the Puppy Boot Camp and I brought steak, fish and bratwurst.  Tibby gets full very quickly and she got sick of these treats.  This time I brought her normal training treats - kibble mixed with hot dog.  I needed higher value treats.  Oops!
Good thing - Tibby LOVES to work for other people.  I have always been worried about this, because there isn't anyone around to train her besides me.  Whenever the opportunity is available I try to get other people to 'train' Tibby - ask her to do her tricks, but that has only happened a few times.  Tibby really liked Michelle.  A lot.  She was offering behaviors to Michelle all the time - doing her wave and peekaboo trick.  It was cute.

My scatter brained notes:

She showed me some jump grids I can set up at home.  And how I can get Tibby to wrap around the jump to a toy.  Also, I can throw out the treats and have Tibby go through the jump uprights to get the treat.  I treat when she looks forward.  Eventually - Want her to curve over jump, drop treat close to jump to get curve.  Jump height eventually 12".  Practice MAX of 5 times, 3 times a week.  Count out treats!
Recall work -  drag long line.  Recalls between legs one way - throw out treat - comes back between legs treat - throw out treat - repeat.  Eventually transfer to 2 toys. 
Do collar grabs.  pull = cookie

Above is my sad drawing.

Ideally using 5 jumps.  I can start out with them close together.  Tibby will learn to go through all the jump uprights and then get a treat.  Go around get a treat.  Go around get a treat.  Eventually - Spread them out into a square shape.  Note:  Need to buy more jumps.

Another sad drawing.  You might have to click on it to see what I drew (poorly).  This is a rear cross.  I'm pretty sure that's what she said.  Tibby wraps around the jump upright and I step behind and give her a treat.  So she gets used to going around and coming back into me?  I think.
Really wish I could have another lesson next week and ask about this one.

Next get a raised 12" max board and work on 2 on and 2off or a stair or anything raised.  Plunk her (Michelle's words hee hee) on the board in position.  Treat.  I need to be squared off  - straight forward.  NEED TO WORK ON THIS!!!  I tend to go in front of Tibby, because (I think) we have done so much trick training.  Eventually I should be able to move around and Tibby will stay in position on the plank until I release her. 

Another thing I (me, my problem!) need to work on is feed from the side straight down - not crossing over my body or letting my shoulder drop down or back.  Also I really need to work more on BOTH sides of the body.  Somehow (not through too much obedience training I know that for sure!) Tibby has started always going to my left side to be treated or get her toy.  She refused to go to the right during restrained recalls.  :(

This next part I will write exactly as it is in my notebook (hee hee) I was tired by this point.

Crate Games 
Drive building and relationship
Mat - give job
toy on string
short times
rum  (?!?!  What!?!) I think this is supposed to be run.  I can't remember why I wrote that.

Anyway.  Those were my notes.  Zoe's Mom was nice enough to go along with me today.  She wanted to see the facility.   *WARNING RANT AHEAD* 
She was super nice and video taped and took a few pics of us during our lesson.  However, she said a few things that really ticked me off.  We have been friends for a long time, however............  When we got to the facility for our lesson there was someone else having a lesson ahead of us.  The dog went through the weave poles a few times and Zoe's Mom said, "Wow, how do you get a dog to do that?"  She has never seen agility before.  I said, "If I keep training her, Tibby will do that someday - hopefully."  She said, "Ha, Tibby will never do that."  *grrrrrrrr*
 Later on the ride home she said, "I bet Zoe could do that whole agility stuff (jumps, contacts,tunnels) without any training.  She can jump pretty high.  She jumps up onto my bed." 
I said, "Well, there are rules to do the 'agility stuff'."
 She said, "Yeah, well once I knew the rules she could do the whole thing."
 I said, "Well, why don't you train her?" 
She said, "Well, she's not my dog!  She's my sister's dog.  I'm not going to waste my time on her dog!  When I get my German Shepard then I'll train it."
Agh!  I have been trying to get her to train Zoe since they bought her.  She's just a couple of months older than Tibby, but no one wants to train her!  She doesn't know anything - not sit, not down, not to bite people when they reach for their dog's tennis ball that she has stolen.
 She has tons of drive and she doesn't run away.
  Unlike Tibby.  Because I am a boring cookie.