I have not posted lately on contact issues. Wyatt continues to do generally perfect contacts at home and in class and to be much more inconsistent at trials. After some recent trials, I have the following working theory.
1) I believe I have eliminated most of my ring nerve issues. I still need to run deliberately more slowly and not be "jerky". I also center him by doing a sit stay at the start line. I can usually read him now so that I can tell what kind of run we are going to have.
2) I believe the most important factor is Wyatt's overstimulation around lots of and certain kinds of dogs. I need to manage this by having him focus on me before the run especially if there is some manic GSD or BC running before us. I also need to get him used to the arena area and have him sit on my lap at times during the trial. I have been running him after manic BCs and GSDs in class.
What is good is that the teeter and dogwalk have been pretty darn good at trials (maybe 95%). The A-frame, I hope, is just the last one to get fixed. This issue also manifests as weave entry issues and weaves have been very good at trials. I still have to restart him sometimes on the on-side weaves.
We are trialing this weekend and there is a run through the night before where I can practice A-frames. This seems to help a lot. I hope everyone has a good weekend and gets lots of Qs and has lots of fun!
1 comment:
Great to hear that the contacts are better and you are getting over your ring nerves. Do you have any secrets or tips when it comes to the nerves? What do you find works for you?
Thanks!
Lisa and Capercaillie
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