Saturday, November 29, 2008

Go Outs Versus Drop On Recall

I was thinking that Wyatt may be getting the sit part of the go out and the drop on recall confused. That may be why he downs on the "sit" part of the utility go out. I did notice that this happens more when I am a long distance away, which resembles the drop on recall.

Go Outs

I am going back to practicing more utility obedience and also taking a break from agility. Wyatt seems to need that break every winter for his back to stay healthy. Go outs are going well but Wyatt does a down sometimes. Not sure why.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Open A Results Today From A Friend

Here's the breakdown from your run today:
Heel free 12pts off
Drop on Recall NQ
Retrieve on Flat 5pts off
Retrieve over High Jump 1.5pts off
Broad Jump 1.5pts off
Long sit Perfect!
Long down Perfect!

I'm so happy that he held his stays today....yay!
Keep at it....you'll get there I can just feel it.

NQ but Great Sits and Downs

I was very pleased today that Wyatt had perfect sits and downs. Another almost Q. This time, he did not come on the initial part of the drop on recall. He was more nervous in the ring today though his heeling was better; he seemed afraid of the judge - big guy. The judge moved towards him quickly at the start and caused some kind of reaction. The judge also stood very close for the drop and it was in the very corner of ring. 3 dogs in a row missed the initial come part of the drop (Wyatt was one.) That seems to be a fluke. I am feeling pretty confident that we can qualify and title in open though it won't be in the 3 next attempts. Will continue to fine tune; continue to work on the sits including more proofing, and try to proof for the "big guys."

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Results

A friend checked my scores after the trial...

Here's the scoop on your score:

Heel free / figure 8 had 11 pts off
Drop on Recall had 1.5 off
Retrieve on Flat had 1 pt off
Retrieve over Jump had .5 pt off
Broad Jump had .5 pt off
Sit stay was NQ
Down stay was perfect
Total points off was 14.5 which would have been 185.5 score which is really good!
Once you get the sit/stay solidified you're going to right up there in the placings.
I didn't see any of your heeling pattern, just from the figure 8 on.....everything I saw looked really nice!

So Close!

We had a great run today at our Open A Obedience trial. There was a real crooked sits and some lags and out of positions at first in heeling but then we clicked and he finished great. The drop, retrives, and broad jump were really nice with no or minimal points off. He went down at 25 second on the long down and did great on the long sit. I was happy he did so well in our first outing. Definately need to proof the sit more. He has been doing well at home unless I go and do other stuff. He will then go lay on the couch. We would have been in the 190s I think if we made the long sit. We will see what happens tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Update

I backed off the treat and praise reduction plan a bit since it seems to be stressful for Wyatt. At run thrus last week, the lack of treats and reduced communication did not seem to affect him. Perhaps, he now knows and contextualized the fact that treats come later when we are at an agility/obedience trial but not at home. We had a good run thru. His drop was slow so I gave a second command but it turned out he was dropping so I should have just waited. Sits were difficult for both dogs today but Wyatt has been good at home. I do need to proof the sits more at home and away from home.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Things Fall Apart Before Trial

Not unexpectedly, things are falling apart a little before our first open obedience trial. I have been weaning Wyatt off treats and lots of verbal praise in anticipation of our upcoming Open A obedience trials. For whatever reason - probably the weaning off of treats and verbals but also possibly in my tone of voice or stress level - Wyatt is having trouble with heeling of all things, which has been very solid for at least a year. I am seeing lagging, not going with me on the heel command, and no sits. I am going to back up and give more treats or verbals if he seems stressed and also back up to 2 exercizes and then a treat.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Prep for Open A Obedience

I am excited about entered Open A Obedience for the first time in a few weeks. Unlike Novice, I am genuinely looking forward to it and I am not feeling nervous. My confidence in the sits and downs is not high but I know about the problem. In preparation, I am doing lots of run thrus in the basement and changing the treat schedule so that treats are after a number of exercises, gradually moving to one big treat at the end. I am also doing either a sit OR a down after the regular exercises. Wyatt has been very good with his sits and down at home and at least at our last few classes, so you never know! We may have to trial quite a bit to get get the sits and downs done however.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Running Around Jumps

I am worried Wyatt's back problems are cropping up again. He seems to be running around jumps, especially at the end of jumpers courses. This is very uncharacteristic although I do have to remember to maintain contact with him for all jumps, even if it seems like straight line. While it could be a handling issue, it would be wise to check for physical issues. I pulled him from an upcoming CPE trial and entered open obedience at the cluster instead. I am trying to get him into our local sports vet, Julie Roos.

We only got 2 Qs this weekend though one as our first Elite Touch and Go Q. Contacts continue to much improved. We had a lot of almost Qs - .5 second over in tunnelers, one dropped bar in regular on an otherwise awesome run, getting a very difficult gamble in Chances but missing some easy stuff. Oh, well!