Good Whippet

Blog Moving

2011-01-05T02:45:00.001-08:00

After writing about dogs and dog training (which is really people training) here for many years, I am consolidating all my blogs and web sites to http://www.jheffernan.com/ See you there and thanks for reading this blog...

Patriot Obedience Practice

2010-12-10T16:08:00.000-08:00

I took Patriot to a new obedience class. It is fairly close, which is nice but $20, which is double what I used to pay. Patriot NQed on the broad jump and the retrieve over jump at the trial, so I wanted to practice and proof both. He did not walk on the boards like he did at the trial but did go around a few times when he was deliberately distracted by the instructor. His retrieves were pretty good but he does space out sometimes and not go out. He is not the retrieve maniac that Wyatt is but I am hoping I can qualify. He did go down on the long sit in class - we were directly behind him - but I think he will be more reliable than Wyatt and the sits and downs.

Sad Day

2010-12-05T03:56:00.000-08:00

I put all the agility equipment away for the winter. I think it's good that we will rest up for the winter, do a few trials and classes, but focus more on obedience during the colder months. It's a good time to repair equipment too. All my weave poles need retaping and the bases need to be cleaned and painted.

Obedience and Rally Results

2010-11-28T03:14:00.000-08:00

I was thrilled that Wyatt and Patriot came in first and fourth respectively under Celeste Meade in Rally Excellent B on Friday. Wyatt also earned another RAE-2 leg. I think he has 5 now. They both did great. I loved seeing 2 whippets place in such a large class.

Patriot had his first try at Open A obedience and I was very encouraged. He did well in heeling except for sniffing the judge and stopping in the figure 8, which was unusual. I should have given him an extra "come" command much earlier. He had a good drop on recall, which has been Wyatt's issue. I gave a short and wide throw on the retrieve over high jump and he needed a second command to go out and then stopped at the jump. He also walked over the broad jump; I am not sure why. He never does that at home. Maybe I need to start him farther way? He was rock solid for sits and downs, which is also Wyatt's issue. Wyatt has one of his best Open A outings of late. I did get one automatic sit. He followed me on the recall (strange since he usually freezes). He did drop though. His retrieves and jumps were really nice, as usual. He went down on the sit and came up on the down! It is clear that when I am far away, he is stressed and makes mistakes. I would have to trial and proof him much more if I ever wanted to pass Open A and the NATCH/MEDAL is my number one goal right now.

Whippet Sydney and his handler Lesley got their first Open A leg Saturday, which I was thrilled to be able to witness.

Obedience and Rally

2010-11-19T03:43:00.000-08:00

I entered one day of the Thanksgiving Cluster at the Big E. I have Patriot in Rally Exc B. He needs one more leg for his RE. I have Wyatt in Rally Adv B and Rally Exc B. He has 3 or 4 RAE-2 legs. I also entered Patriot in Open A for the first time. He may not be ready. His heeling has been great but he is a little hesitant to go out for recalls at a trial, he has been cutting the broad jump at home, and can go down on the long sit if I am out of sight. Wyatt is entered in Novice B and Open A. I may scratch one of those depending on what is first and how things are going in Rally with him. I work with both dogs almost every night in obedience but have not been going to class or proofing. Should be interesting!

Tunnelers Video

2010-11-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

I have been talking about "that feeling" you get when you are working well with your dog. This is an example for me and Wyatt from Sunday. It is so fun when everything clicks. Yes, I can can brag about the yards per second, placement, fast time in the class, Q, but it's really about "that feeling." We had it quite few times this weekend and I am still feeling it.

The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat

2010-10-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about the meaning of Qs lately (qualifying runs, which for us, are perfect runs with no mistakes in NADAC Elite.) I have been feeling a little discouraged lately in our quest for a second agility championship in 2 different venues. We need 9 more Qs in NADAC Elite Chances. We got our first 3 last year and only 1 so far this year. Wyatt is 8 so I wonder if we will ever make it. I try to just run for the fun of it but the quest for this title is a motivator for me. I would not feel as discouraged if I had not been working on it so much with daily practice and also taking some classes specifically for distance this year. Changes was next to impossible today. No dogs qualified in Elite or Open and only 1 qualified in Novice.

I got a reminder today of why I do agility.

After a rough start feeling out of sync with both dogs this morning, that magical something kicked in and we got 5 Qs in a row, all firsts. Wyatt had a really nice, fast jumpers run as did Patriot. Then Wyatt really rocked Elite Hoopers. These courses have been getting much harder and today was not exception with a bunch of complicated numbered tests. We went right down to the end with Wyatt going right ahead doing all 4 test hoops pretty much on his own. We then executed a complex 6 hoop test, which was basically a figure 8. We then did a pretty easy 4 hoop U and ended with a 4 hoop serpentine. I was able to connect these tests into a course with good flow and minimal distance.

Wyatt is good at Hoopers and it reminds me of CPE Snookers, which we also used to like. He was the only dog to qualify and there were no bobbles or restarts. It was a thrilling ride. Wyatt next rocked Elite Tunnelers with a blazing run and one where we were perfectly in sync. Patriot also had a nice tunnelers run. The difference between Wyatt and Patriot is in the speed and handling. While Patriot moves along on a good run, Wyatt's drive, speed, and responsiveness makes it an exhilarating experience when everything is working right.

So what I got today was it is not the Qs themselves that are important but the feeling you have everything is flowing. That's what it is all about, at least for me. I don't expect it all the time and I always strive for it and appreciate it when it comes.

Distance Work With Wyatt

2010-10-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

I am still working distance with Wyatt and I think I have discovered a few things. I stopped going down to our lower lawn where the dogwalk used to be. He still associates that with getting hurt. He had a few falls off the dogwalk. I redid the dogwalk planks but he was still slipping so I just took it down. Even though there is a tunnel there now, he was still hesitant to go in the tunnel area so I just took it down.

I have been using the upper lawn with hoops, tunnels, and jumps. I am working to getting Wyatt to go ahead of me without looking back. Once again, it appears to be a number of things, rather than one thing that makes it work. I have found that I need to do the following.

1) "Paint the line" about 2 feet ahead of Wyatt.
2) Use multiple verbals (such as "Go Ahead, Tunnel") and repeat as needed. However, don't yell at him so much he stops. Keep the tone pleasant and fun.
3) Keep moving. Nothing stops him faster than me stopping. Moderate my footsteps so they are smaller. If I run out of space, I kind of jog in place.
4) For tunnels especially, look at the tunnel opening.
5) Use our "switch" command when turning him and sending him out such as shown below.

h

1

2

3

We'll see how it goes this weekend. We did have some good practices with me basically totally outside of the mini-course. Sometimes, Wyatt did not want to practice. It seems to be related to temperature, amount of exercise, and time of day. I am trying to just accept it when he does not want to play and not get nervous about it and not try to coax/bribe either but to try again at a different time. He used to always want to play agility so it may just be part of working with an older dog.

Letting Your Dog Lick Your Face

2010-10-14T03:48:00.000-07:00

Wyatt tends to wants to jump up on me and lick my face when waiting for an agility (or obedience/rally run.)

I have, for a while, not let him do this. Usually, I stay standing up. I have felt that he can sense my "nerves" by changes in my scent that occurs due to ring nerves. Now, I am not particularly nervous before a run but there is some adrenalin, especially before runs I really want to qualify in. I also chew an Altoid before a run to disguise any scent changes.

I don't know if there are any studies on this but I have observed some changes anecdotaly. During last weekend's trial, I felt relaxed and had Wyatt out a little early and was sitting down. I let him lick my face. I still felt fairly relaxed for our NADAC Regular run. Sure enough, he was super anxious in the run, having weave entry troubles and barking at me there. Also, he did his classic leap off the dogwalk, which I rarely see these days.

It makes me wonder how many problems could have been avoided in the past by simply not letting him lick my face.

Difference Between Q and NQ

2010-10-11T03:18:00.000-07:00

Wyatt had a very nice jumpers runs yesterday but ran around one of the last jumps. I was thinking how different we treat a Q and NQ in our minds when the reality is that they are almost exactly the same in some cases.

Dogwalk and Wyatt

2010-09-17T03:46:00.000-07:00

I repainted my dogwalk with the hope that that would fix some safety issues with it. Wyatt had 2 or 3 slips, one of them rather frightening. I had also been wondering why Wyatt was reluctant to do agility at home. I had not connected it with these dogwalk issues.

I repainted it but it still seemed to be slippery and/or unstable so I was not sure what to do. I tried Patriot on it and he was had a problem so I decided to take it down rather than repaint (again) and try to make it more stable. It was the right decision.

One interested thing is that when I took the dogwalk out and replaced it with a tunnel, Wyatt still showed reluctance to go into the area the dogwalk was located. After 2-3 sessions, that seems to be abating. Dogs seem to be much more location specific in their learning. They don't generalize like we do. In this case, it worked to my favor since he did not become afraid of all dogwalks. But it has worked the other way too when we had to proof contacts at trials for years!

Since he seems OK at trials with the dogwalk (still jumps off occasionally), removing it at home seems like a good decision. I may get a new rubber one at some point. But not having it there opens up a lot possibilities for distance work and the A-Frame at a distance. That's much, much more common that the dogwalk in NADAC Chances, which is my major goal right now. 9 more for our NADAC championship.

Just goes to show you that going cheap is counterproductive in the long run. It did seem to work OK for years though.

Designer Whippets

2010-09-09T17:36:00.000-07:00

There's been a recent controversy about a whippet breed club (American Whippet Club) member who was asked to resign because they purposely bred their purebred whippet to another breed of dog. I believe this refers to someone who bred one of her dogs to a border collie with the intent of producing "border whippets" who would excel at fly ball. I do have concerns about the plethora of new designer breeds like Golden Doodles and the like and I think that people should really consider an established breed first. However, the whippet was itself a "designer breed" at one point in its history. Also, the American Kennel Club is now letting mixed breed dogs compete in agility, obedience, and rally.

Good breeding is the most important thing, which includes health testing, temperament testing, having good homes lined up, and being willing to take back dogs. In this case, this was all done. This has been a major concern of mine with some of the designer dog breeders cropping up. Established breeders don't always so all these things either. Unfortunately, a lot of people believe mistakenly believe that purebred dogs are inherent less healthy. I've always thought it was about the health testing though certain do have issues, they can largely be dealt with by testing the parent dogs.

So while I do have concerns about all the new designer breeds, I think the breed clubs should focus on promoting and improving their established breed and not trying to police people who, for better or worse, are experimenting with mixing breeds as long as these people don't claim they are whippets. Breed clubs have plenty of work to do improving purebred dogs. [I think established breed is actually a better term than purebred dog.]

For Best Results, Leave Your Dog All Day

2010-09-06T10:15:00.000-07:00

We were running late from my parent's house yesterday leaving Wyatt and Patriot home alone for the afternoon until 9 PM, which is something we don't usually do. We called a neighbor to let them out and feed them. They were so happy to see us, especially Patriot. When we did some obedience late that night, Patriot was super motivated, much more than usual. Makes me wonder if I should do less warmup and hanging out with the dogs at the trial and the few days before.

Distance Work

2010-08-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

I have been using this little course for a few weeks with both Wyatt and Patriot.

Running the circle course from behind the jumps is good distance practice. More importantly for me and Wyatt, running the square course gets lots of practice at the "switch" command at a distance. I am finding that the timing has to be just right. The command for 4 has to be in time and also, very important, I can't just focus on on 4 but have to give the "go ahead" command for 5 in time or Wyatt will turn back to me.

Wyatt Does Want To Practice

2010-08-17T14:52:00.000-07:00

Wyatt seems recovered after his fight with Patriot Saturday. They had a crate fight at an agility trial. Drawing blood a first in the crate together. I have very occasionally heard growling if they knock into each other when I back up in the driveway. He did not want to run Sunday and he was very anxious as Sunday progressed.

In my last post, I was wondering why Wyatt does not seem to want to practice agility in the yard. Well, I tried again early this week and had the same trouble. It was hot and they had gone on a run. I tried before running and earlier in the day. Wyatt did not seem to want to come down to the field so I (deliberately) started with Patriot and Wyatt came charging down ready to play. Today, I just started without him, running an "invisible" dog and, once again, he came down. Again, it was prerun and cooler. He did some great distance work too. I'll post the course soon though I am camping Thursday to Sunday and off the net.

Wyatt Practicing Agility At Home or NOT

2010-08-13T04:01:00.000-07:00

After a few months break, Wyatt, at least yesterday at around 5, was not into practicing agility at home. I had set up a few hoops and a tunnel. I did lure him, with difficulty, into doing some obstacles, but he clearly was not into it. He seems fine in class and at trials. Not sure what is going on. Maybe he would rather do obedience, which we do twice daily and is part of his routine? Maybe he got a bee sting or something doing agility in the recent past? Maybe he was sore after 2 walks yesterday and it was still a little hot? I am not going to push it but I find it very curious.

Checking In Too Much

2010-08-11T03:51:00.000-07:00

I have seen at agility class the same issue with Wyatt. After the first run, he tends to check in too much and not go ahead as well. Part of this could be my stopping short but I don't think that's the main issue. I can - with many commands - get him to go ahead after he checks in but it doesn't feel good and reduces our flow and distance. Last night, I did move in closer and kept positive, which helped a lot. I don't see this at trials much unless I stop short. But I think I need to work at home (and class is now over) with automatically going ahead unless told otherwise. I now have 3 hoops and materials for 2 more so I am planning to work on this. The hoops will help to reduce jumping stress. We have not practices at home for months. If you recall, I was seeing some resistance to practicing at home (but not at class.)

Taking A Break

2010-08-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

I've been on vacation the last 2 weeks and have been doing minimal training with Wyatt and Patriot but they are getting lots of walks and hanging out time. We have a NADAC trial next weekend and I have the chance to pick up more Chances Qs. My other goal right now is to get Patriot ready for Open A obedience. I think I'm going to focus on Patriot rather than Wyatt. Wyatt learns so quickly and is very high drive but gets so stressed at obedience trials. Patriot takes much longer to train but is a much more confident dog.

Obedience Disappointments

2010-07-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

I went from a real high leftover from agility last weekend to a disappointing day less than a week later at an AKC Rally and obedience trial in Tunbridge, VT. Patriot was entered in Rally Excellent B. He has one leg. Wyatt was entered in Open A obedience and Rally Advanced B and Rally Excellent B. Wyatt was in Open A first. I did not have very high hopes since he showed consistent problems a few weeks before. The problems I have been seeing are: lack of automatic sits heeling, not coming on the recall, and going down on the long sit. I did ask the judge to give him time to sit and I also told the judge that I would be giving extra commands on the sits. True to form lately, I did not get one sit for the heel free or figure 8, at least without an extra command. I believe this is due to his nerves. With cheese (or not) outside the ring, he was sitting fine. He did come on the recall and drop, which was great. I gave a loud, but cheerful command and put my whole body into it. He sat too far away and did not sit on the last part to qualify for this part though. He did not come in far enough on the retrieve on flat and needed an extra command for retrieve over jump. He also went down on the long sit. We are definitely not ready, especially at a new site. I am thinking about trying Open B because the initial heeling seems to be so demotivating or dropping back to Novice B.

What was really tough was that rally, where Wyatt usually scores in the high 90s, was also a struggle to get sits, stands, etc. Wyatt did manage to get a double Q, but it was a real struggle. I attribute it all to nerves (mostly his) but it was a frustrating day. We need to get back to the high 90s before we try obedience, I think. I also made a couple of 10 point handler errors, unusual for me.

Patriot, on the other hand, did great and had a 100 going until I blew by a sign, another first for me. I am working hard on getting Patriot ready for Open A. Even though it takes him much longer to learn new things and is not as motivated to work and retrieve, he is a much more confident dog and I think he'll actually do really well if I can get everything trained.

Can't Get Away With It

2010-07-21T04:53:00.000-07:00

We worked on Chances at class last night. The course was one we did not get at the last trial. I did improve but never got the whole thing perfect. Some critical parts:

I need to push out to certain obstacles like the weaves. This means keeping pressure on the dog's line. Wyatt does seem to be able to run parallel in a line of jumps and tunnels but not the weaves. Lynn says you should push anyway when running parallel.
Timing is very critical for the switch at a distance. It is very easy to be late. When that happens, Wyatt stops and looks back to me.
I can't stop or Wyatt will stop. I need to leave enough room and take smaller steps so I can continue moving.

It is definitely challenging to work so far from your dog. Everything must be better or things break down. You can get away with a lot more when you work close to your dog.

Top Ten Things To Keep Your Whippet Fast in Agility

2010-07-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

For the fastest dog around under 200 yards, whippets should be really fast in agility too. But I see many slow whippets and I also see many whippets that slow down over time. Here are 10 tips for keeping your whippet (or any other dog) fast in agility. I will write more about each tip at a later date.

1) Don't correct. Don't let your dog know you are disappointed. Your dog should never know if your qualfied or not.

2) Keep practices fun and short.

3) Avoid RFPs and call offs.

4) Give your dog distance. Don't crowd. Work on distance all the time and from the beginning. Distance is not something you only use in Gamblers.

5) Don't yell at your dog; use a cheerful tone of voice. Even if you choose to mark a mistake, keep it happy and try again.

6) Don't let your dog know you are nervous.

7) Don't front cross in your dog's path.

8) Try NADAC especially NADAC tunnelers

9) Run fast; make it a race.

10) Have clear and consistent handling, don't flail your arms.

Moderating Footsteps

2010-07-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

I am working on what I call "moderating my footsteps" in agility with both my dogs. For Wyatt, I am trying to keep my foot turnover the same but take smaller steps when working distance. This is especially needed in NADAC Chances where you have to work very far from your dog and not cross the taped line on the course. It is tricky though because you can't slow down too much or he slows down or turns back too. With Patriot, I am working on his typical midcourse slowdown by keep a few feet ahead of him but, again, not slowing down my steps or going too far ahead, by keeping my feet really moving while not getting too far ahead. It's tricky because you have to adapt to your dogs pace, which varies according to the temperature and other factors.

Great Agility Weekend For Wyatt

2010-07-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

I am very happy with the results of our NADAC agility weekend. I handled well (for the most part), focusing on drawing the line and staying centered. I felt relaxed and my dogs never knew if we qualified or not. I was always happy with them during and after a run.

Wyatt finished his regular (standard) requirements for his NADAC Championship. He qualified 3 times. He had already finished his Jumpers requirement so now he just needs Chances, which is the NADAC distance game, very difficult at the Elite Level. On Sunday, he earned an Elite leg, so we now have 4 of 13 and need 9 more. I ran out of room at the tape and had to send him out to a tunnel about 15-20 feet away from a stationary position, but he did it! Wyatt also earned his Elite Hoopers title with a great, fast run so he now has all his NADAC elite titles. He ended up qualifying 4 out of 6 on Saturday and 3 out of 6 on Sunday. A great weekend for Wyatt!

Update on "The Boys"

2010-06-23T03:05:00.000-07:00

Wyatt looked great in agility class last night. He was super motivated and eager to run. I gave Patriot the night off. This was the last class in a 5 week series. I got good feedback from the teacher, who said my timing and handling, in general, showed much growth. I needed some feedback, I think, to get me back on track. If you don't get any for a while, it's hard to see what is going on and you can drift away from good handling. I also picked up some great tips in this class. The biggest thing that has helped me is to keep my focus on "drawing a line" on the ground about feet in front of my dog. The 2 feet in front and on the ground parts are really important, it turns out, both of which I was not attending to. I am also working on not cranking back my arm past my midline when sending out but keeping arm arm out the whole time. If I do need to send out from a stationary position, I am staring the motion from my midline.

I picked up another great tip last night when sending Wyatt to onside weaves at an angle. The tip is to send him to a point behind the weaves so he can get a good entrance rather than trying to send directly to the entrance.

I have Wyatt and Patriot entered in rally and obedience at a couple of during the week obedience trials. I am working on Patriot's excellence stations - back up 3 steps and moving down/sit in paticlular. They both need a refresher on offset figure eight too.

Dance With Your Dog

2010-06-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

I got some good advice from Lynn Smitley at class this week, "Just dance with your dog." I had been focusing on my footwork and leaving enough room to push out on an elite chances course. But it messed me up and, of course, Wyatt was confused. I am finding that if my main focus in on "painting the line", which means drawing a line where you want your dog to go a few feet in front of your dog, that sets me up to "dance with my dog." I asked if the painting itself provides information or is it a technique to get the handler's body in the right place and flow. I was thinking it was the latter and Lynn confirmed that. Lynn thinks it really the eyes that are most important and that the technique forces the handler's eyes to "draw the line." I'm not sure about that but it definitely keeps my shoulders and whole body in the right place as long as I keep ahead of my dog and cue fast enough. We tend to focus on obstacle performance and crosses, position, etc but we need to focus much more on the overflow flow or dance.

Vet Results

2010-06-16T16:16:00.001-07:00

I need to trust myself more. What I thought was going on with Wyatt was correct. Basically he has a sore right hip; which is always a weak spot for him. That's what I had thought. I needed to cut back on the long runs, less agility, and more ball work and other exercises. I was relieved that there was not a major problem. He was fine at agility practice last night.

Vet Tomorrow

2010-06-13T03:31:00.000-07:00

I have been in a holding pattern, giving Wyatt a break from agility, while I wait for his sports vet appointment tomorrow night with Dr Julie Roos. I have been thinking about the worst case, if I need to retire Wyatt from agility. I have been doing obedience with Wyatt and sometimes with Wyatt and Patriot on a daily basis. I am trying to increase motivation on sits, heeling, and recalls. I am also working on Patriot's down by doing lots of "foldback" downs and now trying to do those when moving. I am also working on Patriot's recalls and some on sits and downs. Patriot needs a few things to pass open: a better drop, a more reliable out of sight sit, and more enthusiasm for the dumbbell.

Agility Class

2010-05-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

One very valuable thing I picked up already at class was that I was not consistently "painting the line" 2 feet ahead of my dog. I saw that improving this had already helped a lot. In general, focusing on consistent arm motion in terms of the height of one's arm and the distance in front of the dog seems to have side benefits of handing more consistently. I have also noticed last night with myself and other handlers how often assuming a dog was committed or assuming that an obstacle was easy is the kiss of death! Focusing on my arm motion seemed to help stay consistently connected with my dog for the whole course.

Wyatt ran pretty well last night though he slowed down quite a bit for his last run. It was very hot and he did a walk and a run during the day. I am still perplexed that he wants to run in class but not at home. I am scheduling an appointment with our sports vet, Julie Roos.

Deaf Dogs Part 2

2010-05-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

In doing some research on the issue of allowing deaf dogs to compete in AKC Rally, Obedience, and Agility, I found out that the breed club for Dalmations, the Dalmation Club of America, requires breeders to euthanize deaf puppies.

As with any breed of dog, there are a few things you should be aware of when choosing a Dalmatian as regards faults of health. One is congenital deafness. This occurs in Dalmatians at the rate of about 12%, although whole litters are often born with no deaf pups. However, ethical breeders have their litters tested for hearing impairment at a professional facility by a trained technician, when such facilities are available to them. Any puppies proven deaf are euthanized. The test, called a BAER (brainstem auditory evoked response) test, measures the hearing response of each ear on each puppy. The tester then provides a printout of each puppy's test, which is then given to you at the time of purchase. In this way, you know your puppy hears.

Do not adopt a completely deaf dog even if it is given to you, as you will be letting yourself in for a lot of work and probable heartbreak: work, because the dog cannot hear you, and for all but the most experienced handlers is rendered untrainable; probable heartbreak, because if the dog ever escapes from you, he cannot hear traffic. You can conclude the ending. The deaf dog leads a sadly neurotic life, as every hand on his fur or step on the floor startles him because he cannot hear. Most deaf dogs become so fearful and timid that they must be put to sleep anyway; it is better to do so right after the BAER test proves the dog deaf, before a family is attached to the dog. Should you somehow procure a deaf Dalmatian, the breeder is obliged, by any code of ethics, to replace the puppy with a hearing one or to refund your money and take the dog back.

On the other hand, there are numerous people who have raised deaf dogs very successfully and argue strongly against this policy. The deaf dogs can be spayed or nuetered so that's not a good reason to put them down.

Rescue Story

Myths

I was shocked to discover this DCA policy. I don't have tons of experience with deaf dogs but the one I see in agility who runs regularly seems wonderful and has a great partnership with its owner. What do you think?

Wyatt Status

2010-05-19T17:02:00.000-07:00

I just can't figure out what is going on with Wyatt. I practiced agility in the yard with him yesterday morning and he was very skittish and not into it. He seemed especially spooked with tunnels. Also, in the house, he jumps off the couch as I approach, which is usually a sign of injury for him. I took him to our first class bringing Patriot along as a "backup dog." I figured there was a small chance Wyatt got stung by a bee or something in a tunnel in the front yard and that was causing the problem. I was surprised that he ran like a champ for all of class. I ran Patriot first, which, let us say, increases him motivation but still. I am going to rest him, one walk a day, no running, no agility at home and see what happens. I had been doing some longer 50 minute runs. That may have been too much. More about the actual practice in the next blog entry.

Deaf Dogs

2010-05-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

I was reading that the AKC was considering letting deaf dogs compete in rally, agility, and obedience. I say, "Let them play." The few deaf dogs I have seen definitely had a harder time succeeding in agility in spite of talented handlers. They just don't have access to as much information. Some claim they have an advantage because they can tune out distractions. That's just not what I saw. Also, the visual distractions may be heightened. Besides, who cares? 99% of us are there to qualify and support any and all dogs that can qualify. Especially handicapped dogs. Though some breeds have deafness issues, agility, rally, and obedience accept breed disqualifications (not to mention mixed breeds) so it's not about breeding.

Wyatt Back to Normal?

2010-05-16T03:09:00.000-07:00

Wyatt seemed much better yesterday yesterday in terms of wanting to do agility. I did bring him out to the field on a loose lead and he was fine after that. Still not sure why he did not want to play for a few days but he does seem a little skittish still. Could be all the tick checks and hygiene stuff.

I am practicing the switch part of the last course I posted, trying to get it more smooth and flowing. "Painting the line" with my hand seems to help.

Scaredy Cat Dog

2010-05-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

Wyatt is so funny. He had a little hygiene problem yesterday after pooping. I cleaned his rear with some baby wipes. Well, it must of hurt or something because he would run away from me all night. I tried to do some agility and he ran away too. That worried me because it could have indicated an ouch. But then I remembered why he was avoiding me.

Anyway, I did eventually coax him into doing some agility and he did great. I did the following course, which was similar to Sunday's NADAC Chances course. The map is not to scale but I believe I was at least 30 feet away laterally from the weaves, which is great. I don't always have confidence that we can do these distances but yesterday proved that we can. I did have trouble sometimes sending out from jump 3 to jump 4. However, I was able to consistently send him out even if he stopped and looked back for direction. Something I have learned this year is not to give an out command if you want your dog to straight (for example from jump number 4 to the number 5 weaves. This has the opposite effect and brings your dog into you. Just keep running parallel to your dog.

NADAC May 2010

2010-05-10T17:09:00.000-07:00

I felt relaxed and not nervous all weekend. However, the weather was a distraction. It was very cold and rainy Saturday and very cold and VERY windy Sunday. Not too many Qs but Wyatt got a regular Q he needs for his championship Saturday and a tunnelers Q Sunday. Patriot got a jumpers Q Sunday.

Patriot was very slow Saturday so I was not sure if he was not over his injury or just did not like the cold rain. It was the latter because he was very fast on Sunday, so fast he was hard to control. However, I just ran him happy and ignored any off courses. That is a wise thing in most cases but it is especially important to keep Patriot happy. I should be practicing with him more.

Wyatt and I had a bunch of real close heartbreaker NQs. We missed time by less than a second in weavers and Touch and Go Saturday. On Sunday, he ran by the very last jump in jumpers. That would have been his Superior title. I may have pulled him off. On Saturday, we got the very hardest parts of Chances, which we really need, but missed the "easy" last part, which I largely ignored during the walk through because I thought it was a no-brainer. Had a nice Q and first in tunnelers Sunday. The video is below. No regular classes Sunday because of high winds.

Chances

2010-05-06T06:14:00.000-07:00

Here's part of an elite chances course from our last trial. The line that can't be crossed is after the "first" curved tunnel. We got most of this including a discrimination of an A-Frame and Tunnel after the last jump from a large distance. In this course, you take the curved tunnel and then go around the outside staying behind the 0 line. I did great moderating my steps and leaving plenty of room to drive out to the first 2 jumps. People that did not save room had trouble driving out to the first 2 jumps. Wyatt took the tunnel back towards me. The mistake I made was trying to give an "out" command after the second tunnel. That drew his attention towards me and to the tunnel. Successful teams kept running parallel to the dog. I also found that this worked at home after a little practice.

NADAC Trial This Weekend

2010-05-06T05:50:00.000-07:00

I am taking Wyatt and Patriot to a NADAC trial 20 minutes away in Greenfield, MA this weekend. I am looking forward to it. I have been working with Wyatt on driving to the end of contacts and also on distance. Biggest thing in distance is definitely on my end. If I don't cue him early enough or in the right way, we don't get it. I also worked on a specific challenge I'll write up later. I need to create a little course map for it.

Contact Confusion

2010-04-25T03:15:00.000-07:00

I made a mistake yesterday. I have been working with Wyatt on driving to the end of contacts more. This used to be his default behavior until I found that it just was not carrying over to trials. In trials, I changed over to moving with him to the end of the contact. However, this does not always work in Chances, when the contact is ahead of the line that you can't cross. While he is driving to the end OK at home with targets, I was a little unclear yesterday what I was expecting. You really have to be 100% sure in your mind in agility what you are expecting before you go in. Today, I am going to go back to our old way and think about changing over when he can drive to end again without targets.

Learning and Serialization

2010-04-24T16:01:00.000-07:00

I saw a phenomenon with Aidan that I also see in myself, particularly in dog agility. I recently picked up a nice John Deere play tractor at the Conway Mall, also know as the dump. I ordered and installed a new battery and it works great. When he was first learning to drive it, I noticed that he had difficulty steering and operating the gas peddle at same time.

I notice this in agility too when I learn a new task or when I am really focused in one part of my handling. It seems to take a comfort level before you can do many things at once and/or rapidly switch your attention to the many aspects of dog agility that must take place simultaneously.

Wyatt Stress Part 2

2010-04-18T04:18:00.000-07:00

A lot of people provided suggestions for dealing with Wyatt's stress. Thank you. I have been thinking about it and reflecting on the 7 years I have had training this dog, all of it wonderful and a great learning experience. Here's a list of things that I could do:

1) Try to increase motivation. The issue I have with this is that he is very motivated already. But people generally think that if you can increase motivation even more, that will help when they get to the trial setting. In class last week, I did see one technique that could help with freeze on the drop on recall problem, which is to have a helper hold the dog while you run away from the dog. You also run away when the dog is coming to you. Wyatt shot out of the stay like a cannon. I am working on some variations of this for solo training.

2) My wife has some meds she uses for public speaking that help with anxiety. I may try this so Wyatt goes not pick up on my jitters. I can also try peppermint and not allowing him to lick my face before going on, which is something he tends to do. I wonder if there is an equivalent for dogs too. I could also use my iPod before our run and not watch other people.

3) Try to fine tune Wyatt's routine to reduce his stress. Some ideas here are: trialing in the only the best, most familiar places, trying to trial more and do rally too (this will be hard with my schedule constraints.) Trying to fine tune our warm up routine to reduce stress. Go to as many matches as possible. There aren't very many in New England but...

So, basically, there are 3 areas to work on: increase motivation, decrease my stress, decrease Wyatt's stress.

Patriot HIT

2010-04-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

I learned a few months after the fact that Patriot won High in Trial at an AKC obedience trial a few months ago. We won Novice B after a runoff, which was a thrill. It was starting to snow and I was running late so I left. I am not even sure it registered that we could have won High in Trial. Anyway, what a thrill. My obedience teacher still has the ribbon. It was a small trial but still, how many whippets win HIT at an all breed trial. I am very proud of Patriot. According to AKC rules, he can't show in Novice B anymore, which is too bad. I was really just bringing him along as company for Wyatt and to give him something to do. Might have to work more on his open skills. His drop is not too good and he is not the most enthusiastic retriever but his heeling is pretty good and he has all the basics for open.

Good, Cheap Tunnel Bags

2010-04-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

Here's my $2 tunnel bags. Get some velcro strips from Home Depot (thanks to Lynn S. for this tip.) Fill some kitty litter bottles with sand or water and you are good to go. I was thinking of spending $100 for a commercial set but these seem just as good for home use.

Driving to the End of Contacts

2010-04-08T03:25:00.000-07:00

I saw yesterday, that Wyatt really need work on driving to the end of contacts. He is fine if I am beside or ahead of him but tends to stop early when I am behind him. This has been a real problem in NADAC Chances when there is a contact with the line behind or at the contact. I got out some targets but he only did well with the big white ones so back to the drawing board with big, white targets fading out to clear and smaller ones and different colors.

Stress

2010-04-04T03:39:00.000-07:00

I am little frustrated with Wyatt and obedience. He learns so quickly and does SO well at home and class yet we can not Q at a trial. Yesterday, he did not sit once for heeling in open and novice and froze on both recalls and went down on his out of sight sit. He did go down once for a sit when I gave a second command but that did not help for the rest of the novice class. I thought I would try it. I think I have been a little misguided in my focus, which has been at tweaking stuff he has been failing on in the ring. The real issue is stress. He know how to do everything quite well. More ideas on that in my next entry.

Patriot did very well. He is a much more confident dog than Wyatt. But he is much harder to train and still does not do a great drop and is not very motivated to retrieve. But he had a very nice novice run with a 185. He did a down when I said sit on the long sit so I had to quickly get him back up and touched his collar so I lost 3 points there somewhere.

Patriot and Wyatt went charging out of an open gate when we got home and Patriot got injured, probably by running into something. He is OK but spend the night at the animal hospital. It was a on the bottom of his chest.

Obedience Saturday in Taunton

2010-03-31T06:54:00.000-07:00

I have Wyatt in Novice B and Open A and Patriot in Novice B Saturday in Taunton, MA. Things to remember for Wyatt.

Stay up and happy.
Don't touch him too much for a reward in the ring.
Keep things moving especially for the recall. Move quickly to the end of the ring and turn around and give the command as soon as possible.
If he freezes on the initial "come" part of the recall, quickly move back to him and give an oops word and move on. Keep the "come" loud and happy. Be firm for the "drop" command. Don't explain ahead of time to the judge that you are not going to give a second command.

Open A

2010-03-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

I was very happy with Wyatt in Open A AKC obedience last weekend. His heeling was not hist best. I did not get one automatic sit but I was VERY HAPPY he did not freeze on the initial recall. He did not drop though. He just stopped in a standing position. Very odd. That has not happened before. He did freeze in the Novice Recall. But I had a brain freeze and it took me a while to give the "come" command. I am wondering if I should issue the command as soon as I can and/or proof a delay in issuing the command. I have been treating more for automatic sits and the recall part of drop on recall. Wyatt passed all four sits (open and novice). He did reseat himself a bit in the Open out of sight sit. Patriot did very well, lagged a bit in Novice off leash heeling but ended up with a Q and a 185 1/2.

Skilled

2010-03-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided to switch Wyatt to Skilled. He can jump 12 inches. NADAC allows you to convert Proficient legs to Skilled Legs. I have some mixed feelings. The NATCH was my goal for a long time. Not that the MEDAL is really any different but it does feel like a little bit of a loss. But my goal has really been to get a second agility championship for Wyatt. So a MEDAL does that. For those not familiar with NADAC, the MEDAL is, in essence, a NATCH for veteran dogs. So even though Wyatt may have been able to complete the requirements for a NATCH at 16 inches, I will worry a lot less and he can probably do agility for longer and be more comfortable and confident doing it.

open a video

2010-03-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

Obedience Saturday

2010-03-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

I have Wyatt and Patriot entered in Novice B Saturday and Wyatt is Open A. I have another trial at the end of the month. If Wyatt continues to have problems in Open A, I am wondering if I should continue to trial, even though he is so close (yet so far.) His persistent freezes for the drop on recall (only at trials) and 50% rate in stays continue to be a difficult problem.

Skilled

2010-03-11T03:41:00.000-08:00

I was thinking of moving Wyatt to NADAC skilled. He could jump 12 inches and get a little more time. He does not need the time (you only get it for jumping classes). The disadvantage would be that he would not get a NATCH but a MEDAL, which is kind of like a veteran's NATCH. I've had a NATCH in mind for a long time and we getting pretty close. I could actually not run jumpers and stop running regular or cut back to one day when we get our remaining 5 regular legs for his NATCH, Then the only jumps would be in chances, which does not contain very many jumps. I am seeing him run around jumps on occasion, which can indicate hip or back pain. Something to think about. I will probably consult with my sports vet. The biggest disadvantage is to a MEDAL rather than a NATCH is having to explain what it is and people outside NADAC not knowing what it is. I don't think NADAC folks would see it as lessor accomplishment but some might. If I was sure Wyatt was in pain or that is was better for him, I would. But right now I am not sure and in the past, we have managed his injuries with massage, chiro, and other techniques. What do you think?

Weekend Update

2010-02-27T10:09:00.000-08:00

Wyatt did not qualify in AKC Open obedience yesterday. He froze on the drop on recall. I may have shouted too loudly and harshly. I thought going in that that may be the secret but I may have overdone it. He seems scared coming in and came in front very far away after the second command to come and the drop. Then he got up on the long sit, which is typically a sign of stress. I think he may have been stressed anyway. I was due to the snow situation at home.

Today, he got a first and Q in NADAC Elite Regular (standard) and he finally got the last Touch and Go Q for his Elite TNG title AND his Elite Versatility Award. We have been shooting for that for a while and it took many months to get that last TNG Q missing by either a contact or less than a second many times. We did not get a Chances Q today; the course was very hard. Only 2 dogs got it. Weavers, tunnelers, and jumpers to go. I may scratch jumpers. I may have to go home today to help with the snow at home.

Distance Workout

2010-02-23T04:47:00.000-08:00

I had a private lesson last night with Wyatt. We worked on distance and we also had a general tuneup since we have not practiced in a while. We have a NADAC trial this weekend. Wyatt needs 10 Chances Qs and 7 Regular Qs for his NADAC championship title, the NATCH. Everything went well. He did seem eager to practice though he seems to tire at the end. He worked very far from me. He did good weaves and contacts at a distance. He did show some attraction to contacts in obstacle discriminations, for which I had to compensate. I needed to watch my footsteps and hold back at times when I was coming to a distance line I could not cross and had to work on my timing for certain things. It did seem to hold back when Wyatt was committing to obstacles and weaves. Hoping for a good weekend!

Quiet

2010-02-09T02:23:00.001-08:00

Things are kind of quiet. I am training Wyatt and Patriot every day in obedience. I have a 3 obedience trials coming up in February and March so we will try again for a CDX leg. Wyatt did pass in a match in January. We also have a NADAC agility trial at the end of February.

New Brace Stuff

2010-01-24T19:27:00.001-08:00

I have never heard of anyone doing brace rally or brace open obedience. Needless to say, that has not stopped me from trying it. I have seen Patriot improve his open obedience drop on recall if he does it with Wyatt so I am trying some brace rally and brace dumbbell retrieves. The retrieve did not work if I threw them both far because Wyatt would get them both before Patriot knew what was going on but if I throw closer and to the side for Patriot, it works well! I am hoping it will increase Patriot's drive and performance.

Long Trip To PA

2010-01-19T09:44:00.000-08:00

It was a long trip to PA for a NADAC trial and an even longer trip home through some bad weather. It was a fun trial though. Very nice Penn State facility. It was good to stay in practice I think more than anything. I did feel rusty the first few runs. We have not trialed since November and have not practiced either. Wyatt and I only entered Touch and Go and Regular Saturday. We need one TNG Q for our Elite Versatility award. It has been elusive and continued to be. We had some really nice, fast runs but and off course in each. Wyatt's contacts were perfect though and continued to be all weekend. Great runs in regular too but a few knocked bars ruled out any Qs. I was worried about his jumping but it seemed OK Sunday. He may not be getting as much traction on the soft surface. Patriot ran well and had two Qs and first in regular and TNG.

Patriot had more trouble Sunday with no Qs but some fun runs. I just try and keep it positive and fun with Patriot. Wyatt was entered in tunnelers (2), chances (2), and regular (2). Wyatt did not knock any bars Sunday so I was less worried about his jumping. Again, some greats runs. The Chances courses were hard and we did many of the hardest parts of them. I ran out of room in the Chances 1 and stopped him. We did the hardest part of Chances 2 and I stopped moving or otherwise through him off. I was very encouraged that he did an A Frame at a distance and did not get "stuck" on top as usually happens. We got one regular Q that we needed and one tunnelers Q. Had a rare off course in Tunnelers 2 when I lost contact for a microsecond.

Wyatt now needs 7 regular and 10 chances for his NATCH. Next trial is at the end of February in Rhode Island.

NADAC PA

2010-01-10T15:09:00.001-08:00

I am planning on going to State College, PA on MLK weekend for a NADAC trial. It's a long drive but I can only go on one trial a month so I am hoping to get a NATCH on Wyatt while he can. He will be turning 8 this month. Wyatt has his jumpers legs, and now needs 8 regular and 10 chances. I have been resting him quite a bit as his back and hips tend to get sore by the end of the nice weather and the agility season.

More on the Match

2010-01-04T03:44:00.000-08:00

Wyatt did well in Novice B but failed to come on the novice recall. I clapped loudly and he came. I do not want to get in the habit of issuing a second command. My volume was loud but not overly so. He did both stays so that was great. His heeling was OK but not his best.

I did not expect anything going into Open. I thought I would go noncompetative. Why not. That's why you see me correcting his first automatic sit. I guess the judge just marked us down for a double command. I was very happy when he did his drop on recall! I did use a very loud voice. I think it scares him a bit but it does seem (tentatively) that I have to use this very loud command to get him off his spot and to also put my body into it. I was very happy with both retrieves and the broad jump too. He somehow made it through both sits and downs. I wonder if it helped that the judge was correcting dogs.

Patriot had some hard spots. His heeling was great! But I needed to go out with him and/or issue multiple commands on both retrieves. I also needed to jump with him on the broad jump and he did not drop on the drop on recall.

Anyway, a fun day and the 191.5 and first really was a thrill. Gives me hope for a CDX though it take a while.

Match Results

2010-01-03T18:25:00.001-08:00

Yeah, Wyatt and I finally had a qualifying run in Open A. More later.

Match Sunday

2009-12-30T10:50:00.001-08:00

We have a obedience match Sunday. I entered Wyatt in Open A and Novice B and Patriot in Open A. Still working on Patriot's Drop on Recall. I have been doing it as a brace and it seems to help Patriot drop faster when Wyatt is there as a role model. Not something I expected.

Long Sit

2009-12-22T03:13:00.001-08:00

Wyatt has gone down on his long sit at home a few times when I have gone outside so it's good, in a way. At least I can reproduce the problem and correct him at home. I go outside at night so I can see him and he can't see me. If he goes down, I go in right away, say, "Oops", and put hime back in a sit. I need to remember to mix in some downs too or he will start coming up on the downs, especially in the winter. I use a blanket when is is really cold.

Class Last Night

2009-12-18T10:50:00.000-08:00

I took both dogs to obedience class last night. There were some very specific things I wanted to work on:

1) Patriot's drop on recall (DOR) -the dropping part,
2) Wyatt's drop on recall - the recall part,
3) Wyatt's long sit

I got to work on all 3. I had 2 different people hover over Wyatt with arm raised to try and help with the freezing problem on the recall. He did not freeze but I did see signs of stress especially when a tall man raised him arm over. He did the long sit fine. which was good. I also got to work on Patriot's DOR. We worked on the rock back down and 2 different methods for teaching the drop. I was using both methods but did get some good tips on the "board" method.

Video of Patriot Novice B 1st Place 190.5

2009-12-15T15:31:00.000-08:00

Ware Obedience Results

2009-12-14T07:09:00.000-08:00

I had a fun time yesterday in Gilbertville, MA doing AKC obedience. It was a bit hectic working out of the car in Novice B with Wyatt and Patriot. The place was nice but tiny. There was no real room to crate or warm up so I worked out of the car. The novice entry was small so I had to hurry to switch dogs and warm up. I had to find an extra handler for Patriot for Novice sits and downs too. They both dig well for the regular exercises though Wyatt's healing has been better. He froze on the recall though, a first for novice. I have 3 theories about thing freezing issue.

1) He is confused about what to do because of the jumps he may be confusing open and utility and not be sure about to do. This was most likely ruled out yesterday since there was nothing in the ring for novice.

2) The judge standing behind him with an arm raised makes him nervous. This seems more likely because he did fine in open with a judge who is a former teacher of ours. Though I have tried in class before to crowd him and put pressure on, I need to have everyone in class, especially tall people, stand close to him with their arm raised.

3) General stress that is just going to take time. I did make sure I was loud and clear in open. I don't want to scare him or be different but it did seem to work being very loud and clear. It's hard to do while still sounding positive, in my experience.

I was thrilled that he came. I did not think he would since he did not come in novice. I also did not issue a second command in novice. He always comes on the second command but I don't want to inadvertantly train a second command.

Wyatt went down on the long sit about 30 seconds through so we did not get our first leg but I was happy overall. It was our closest to a Q in quite a while.

Patriot did really well in novice. I am working on his drop on recall so I can enter him in open too. He is not as smart or good when things go well, but he is much more confident and predicable once he gets it. He ended up first with a 190.5, even winning the runoff for first.

Wyatt Update

2009-12-08T10:48:00.001-08:00

Wyatt seems to be OK with his toe injury and his back/hips seem better too. He tends to start having back/hips problems towards the end of the agility season. His gait was fine early this week but it took a while for the swelling to do down. I gave both dogs baths last weekend in the upstairs bathrub. The baby gate was closed to the downstairs. I heard Patriot jump the gate. Why, I have no idea! Wyatt may have tried the same thing, I'm not sure.

Wyatt Ouch

2009-12-02T02:38:00.000-08:00

Wyatt came up lame Monday during his dog walk. The dog walker did not take him back right way because she thought it might be due to cold. He does lift a paw or walk on 3 legs sometimes when it is cold. Unfortunatelt, the other dog walker did not read the journal we both write in and took him for a walk yesterday. He was really lame when I got home. They are usually very good so I am not meaning to be critical. Stuff happens.

One of his left front toes is swollen. I believe it is a trauma injury that will pass quickly. I have seen these before, often after coursing or racing. Will definately rest him this week. He needed the rest anyway due to his hips and back tightening up. I have seen signs like running around jumps that are typically for this time of year for him. It means that rest is needed from agility and even dog walks.

Latest Obedience

2009-11-27T03:14:00.000-08:00

I am resting Wyatt from agility. His back and/or hip seems to be starting to bother. This is typical for this time of year. He is starting to run around the occasional jump. He also feels tight in his back and rear quads.

I've been thinking about next steps for his "freezing" issue at the start of Drop on Recall. Watching the video, he did seem to be looking at me. Previously, I did see him looking around at that time. He always comes on the second command to "come", which makes me wonder if I have inadvertently taught him to move on the second command when we are in the Open ring. He came fine in novice. That makes me wonder if I need to practice in a ring setup for open. Maybe he is not sure what to do since it looks a little like directed jumping in utility. There is a match coming up in early January. Of course, it could also just be stress when trialing or an umfamiliar person standing next to him or some combination of the above.

I am thinking of starting to trial Patriot in open. He is pretty good except Drop on Recall, which needs work. Even though he is not as driven and fast learning as Wyatt, his confidence is better, which usually means he is slower, but more dependable once he does learn the routine.

Video From Sunday

2009-11-24T03:44:00.001-08:00

Ribbons From a Recent Agility Trial

2009-11-22T13:42:00.000-08:00

This photo is of the loot we got a few weeks ago at a NADAC agility trial. It was Wyatt's best Q rate ever. He went 5 of 6 Sunday (top row). He got 5 firsts, 1 second, and 1 Chances Q. Chances does not have placements. Patriot (bottom row) got 4 firsts, one fourth, and 1 Chances Q. 13 Qs for the weekend!

Quick Report

2009-11-22T11:53:00.001-08:00

Quick obedience report. 3 super performances, 1 qualifying. Patriot got a 187.5 in Novice B. Wyatt would have had the same score but went down on the sit. Wyatt had lots of good parts in Open too but needed a double command on the drop on recall and sat on the long down. It was fun to catch up with friends at the Big E too.

Obedience Today

2009-11-22T03:09:00.004-08:00

We are trialing in obedience this morning after a long break. Patriot and Wyatt are both in Novice B first, and Wyatt is in Open A later. It will be interesting to see how we do after a long break in trialing. A lot seems to depend on where the ring is, in my experience. Hopefully, we will get a nice corner ring and not one on the aisles. I think I will be a lot more relaxed since I am not as focused on qualifying. Though it is still a goal and very nice when it happens, I try to focus on what I need to do as a handler, staying connected with my dog, and having fun when I am in the ring.

NADAC Saturday

2009-11-22T03:09:00.000-08:00

We had a fun time at NADAC agility in CT yesterday. Dawn, Aidan, and I all went for the first 4 runs. It was ideal for me since I "needed" all 4 classes for various titles including the precious NATCH championship legs. Aidan found another 3 year to play with and Dawn got to run Patriot. It was a also a nice relaxed trial with lots of room for the courses and a nice soft surface.

Wyatt and I got 2 regular (standard) legs for our NATCH. We missed Chances, which we also need, due to a distant contact, which is still hard at trials for some reason. Wyatt tends to stop at the top when I am far away and I can't coax him down without his releasing from high up. We also missed Touch and Go by .28 seconds! We only need one more TNG leg to finish all our elite titles and get the Elite Versatility Award. It was a really nice run though and I held the contacts to make sure they were solid.

NADAC Tunnlers

2009-11-16T11:04:00.000-08:00

NADAC Trial This Weekend

2009-11-12T07:36:00.000-08:00

I have a NADAC agility trial with Wyatt and Patriot this weekend. It's a local trial so I can commute. There is only one regular class a day but it would be nice if we could pick up some NATCH legs. Of course, my focus will be on my handling and having fun! This is probably our last trial for the season. Trying obedience and rally next weekend after a long break from trialling.

Obedience Special Practice

2009-11-10T07:50:00.001-08:00

I took both Wyatt and Patriot to a special sit and down stay practice last Friday night. There were 2 other dogs there. Wyatt only missed one down. He came up quickly as I was leaving for the first one. All sits were fine as were the other downs. I did not practice every sit and down stay with Patriot but he did very well too. He did break when I left with Wyatt on leash with me.

Obedience Update

2009-11-05T09:55:00.000-08:00

I signed up for a rally and obedience at the Big E Thanksgiving Cluster on Sunday only. I have Wyatt in Open A and Novice B and Rally Advanced B and Rally Excellent B and Patriot signed up for Novice B and Rally Advanced B. Hopefully, I can find a babysitter as my wife is busy studying for a Diabetes Educator certification. There is a special sit stay class this Friday I am hoping to make. It will be interesting to see if Wyatt has gained in confidence. I think I will be more relaxed with my new Q philosophy.

Wyatt Agility Photos From October NADAC Trial

2009-10-27T06:14:00.000-07:00

Downs

2009-10-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

I have been working on Wyatt's downs a lot. He has been coming up into a sit lately. He has done this before. Not sure why it happens periodically. Perhaps it has something to do with the colder weather or a physical discomfort issue.

I made some tunnel bags yesterday for a about $2 a piece. Much cheaper than the $100 most places get. I'll take a picture and describe the design in my next blog.

Ob Class - Challenging

2009-10-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

Wyatt and I had a challenging obedience class last night. First, we did long sits and downs. Wyatt has been having trouble with downs so I decided to stay in sight. The down was first. I asked the teacher if the dogs were too close since we had many dogs against the smaller wall. She say no so I went ahead. A few minutes into the down, a black Briard lunged over at Wyatt barking at him. He broke and walked towards me. I put him back in a different spot and he was OK. He proceeded to do some really great drops and retrieves. I decided to try directed jumping next. Wyatt had a difficult time but we did have some success with help. For example, I had to use cheese and go up to him for the sit. It was definitely harder at class. I assume this is because of the new location (also, there were poles next to the jumps) and greater distances. He has been doing a 100% unassisted directed jump exercise at home. So that's fine. Need to practice more at class with support. We then decided to try scent discrimination, which is usually a fun no brainer. Wyatt has a lot of trouble with that too, which is very unusual. The difference was the location and greater distance and I think, more importantly, that the "steward" handled the articles. So I definitely need to practice with different people's scents too. It may be that Wyatt is going to the hot scent and not my scent.

NADAC Results

2009-10-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

I had a very fun weekend at a NADAC trial. The weather was miserable Sunday but Wyatt and I had one of our best days ever. We came very close to having perfect day and getting our elite versatility title missing Touch N Go by a few seconds. But we got 5 Qs in regular (2), chances, tunnelers, and jumpers. We did not get any regular and chances Qs the day before. The courses were really hard so it was great to get all of them Sunday, a first for us. This puts Wyatt at 10 more Qs for his NATCH for regular and chances. He got his elite chances title Sunday. We also got 2 jumpers Qs this weekend. Wyatt needs just 3 more for his superior elite jumpers title. I will probably retire him from jumpers after that. We have been in a bit of a slump for jumpers lately. I made sure I did not take any jumps for grants and stayed connected the whole time. Wyatt really rocked. He only missed one contact all weekend and I did what I needed to do to ensure good contacts. Patriot really did well too with lots of Qs and seem to really have a good time except when the weather got really bad and except when I demotivated him with an intense calloff. That really slows him down. I'll write more later on what it felt like to have an almost perfect day as I have been thinking and writing about the mental aspects of qualifying lately.

Wow, Great Practice

2009-10-15T07:18:00.000-07:00

Wyatt had a very good practice last night. I really worked on distance all night and kept a good distance away at all times. He did great and I could not believe how much farther he works than he used to. The other dogs, who we have been in class with for years, do not work much on distance so I could really tell how much Wyatt and I have improved comparing the distance we now work at comfortably with the other dogs. It was nice to work the distance in a relaxed fashion. I did get a few good tips too on some harder sequences that had lots of jumps side by side. That can be hard at a distance for sure. His contacts were great too although that does not mean much, if past experience is a guide, for our NADAC trial this weekend.

Upcoming

2009-10-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

Agility class tonight. Wyatt and I are dropped in for a tune up and practice some distance before this weekend's NADAC trial. I signed up Wyatt for Novice and Open and Patriot for Novice in a December AKC obedience trial.

Obedience Class

2009-10-09T04:18:00.000-07:00

I took both Wyatt and Patriot to obedience class last night. We got there late but I worked with Patriot in Novice/Open for about a 1/2 hour. He did well. He needs work on drop on recall. He retrieves but is hesitant and not too motivated. Good sits and downs. If only I could combine Patriot's sits and downs with everything else for Wyatt! Wyatt was happy to be back in class and also did well. The "judge" moved towards his in the retrieve over jump and he needed a second command. He also needed a second command for his first article. He went down once on the long sit even after months of practicing. Oh, well! More work to do. His broad jump and gloves were great. I am going to try and get to class every other week alternating with agility. I'd like to enter Wyatt in the Spring and possibly in a December trial.

Grasping for Qs

2009-10-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

The elusive Qualifying Run (Q) in agility. I thought a lot about getting Qs and earning titles Saturday at the local NADAC trial. I have a goal of getting another agility championship with Wyatt in NADAC agility. The title is called a NATCH. It's a good goal. It has forced me to learn how to handle Wyatt at a much greater distance. That process has been very fun and it has forced me to improve my handling. Ultimately, I do agility because I like to learn new things and improve. I also like the excitement of having a fast and clean run with my canine partner.

But I have been too focused on getting Qs and getting that NATCH title. Focusing on these is not bad by itself. However, it was decreasing my enjoyment and actually counterproductive to our success. We have this part of mind called the ego that is always grasping for things, criticizing, and calculating. So when I messed up and lost a Q for us, I was beating myself up and having a lot of so called bad feelings. When we got a Q, I was too proud and having a lot of so called good feelings. And the grasping for the Q increased my nervousness, which decreased my performance and was resulting in handling errors on my part.

So I tried to take the No Q approach this weekend. When I found my mind saying we really needed this Q for a run coming up or calculating how many more we needed for a specific title, I just let it go and return to breathing and focusing on the upcoming run. I have found that I really need to remind myself lately of what I need to work on for each run, whether it be how I handle Wyatt's contacts (he need to hear from me throughout the contact, I need to drive to the end very smoothly, I need to paint a line with my hand a few feet ahead of him but stopping at the end of the contact), keeping my arm straight out for an "Out" command and not pumping, and a number of other things I tend to forget in the intensity of the run. So I focused on the course, keeping connnected to my dog, and what I need to work on and also remember for each run. The titles and Qs should follow from that. Starting for a place of grasping for Qs results in nervousness and also bad handling. I also find that I will take shortcuts and allow things that that I should train in the ring for if I want the Q too much. This actually results in less Qs in the long run.

I did well after our first jumpers run. We had a great run and I ran close to Wyatt because he has been running around jumps. I was pulling or pushing him around them no doubt. He did great. I thought he Qed but I saw we had an off course and a missed obstacle lately. The judge pointed out the jump I had missed lately. So I stayed happy with Wyatt's great performance and did not beat myself up. The next run was Chances, our hardest game. We qualified in Elite for the second time! I actually found it harder to stay focused on fun and the next run after getting a Q. My mind tended to go back to that place of calculating how many more Qs I needed for title or what I could get that day if things went well. Again, all things that are counterproductive. We had some other really nice runs where we missed one thing, which I accepted and focused on what went right. In regular round 1, we had contact problems. But I figured out what I needed to improve on next time and Wyatt's contacts were excellent for the rest of the day. We also had an awesome Weavers run and got Wyatt's elite Weavers title. It is extremely difficult to make time in Weavers. We had a perfect run with 3 awesome 12 pole weaves.

I found I had a very enjoyable day at agility, much better than my last weekend when I felt very disappointed. So my new mantra is: "have fun and focus on the run."

Agility Tomorrow

2009-10-02T11:32:00.001-07:00

I can only do one day of agility this weekend and it's tomorrow. We are entered in a NADAC trial in VT. It's upposed to rain. For some reason, I am not too excited about it. I've had a very stressful and tiring week and have also been feeling that we need to practice more. Oh well. I am sure it will be fun to get away and who knows? Maybe we'll have an awesome day.

Fixed One Thing; Another to Be Fixed

2009-09-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

Wyatt has been anticipating the finish on retrieves. He brings back the dumbbell and sits in front of me and is supposed to wait for a command to come back to heel position. I waited extra long and did not treat when he jumped the gun so he now waits (reluctantly.) I try to wait a little extra so he won't start anticipating again. I am still having problems with barking before the glove (directed) retrieve though. I think those are most like a prey item to him and all the fooling around and moving with me before he gets to go seems frustrating to him.

NADAC Last Sunday

2009-09-26T03:52:00.000-07:00

Felt a little disappointed last Sunday. Got a Tunnelers Q with with Wyatt but nothing else though we had some really good runs we could not get the 100%. It sure it hard for both you and the dog to both have a good day and put everything together with no mistakes. The courses were hard but we could have done them. Made some mistakes like I the last 2 tunnels with Chances. In regular, I realized that I was overhandling and stopping Wyatt before the yellow zone so I drove to the end more in our second Regular run. But then I got lost, something I never do. Ran by some jumps in Jumpers when I did not maintain contact. One of those days I guess. I think I need to write a list of things to remember that I can review before our runs so I don't keep making the same mistakes.

New Courses

2009-09-26T03:46:00.000-07:00

I finally got the lawn mow Thursday night so I need to set up some new agility courses. I feel really stuck in thinking of new courses. Our contacts are pretty much stuck in the same place. We have 2 areas, one with contacts. With the non-contact area, I seem to always make up similar courses. We missed out Chances Q last Sunday in an otherwise awesome run with 2 tunnels side by side sending him out to the outer tunnel. Totally my fault, I saw that we might Q, got nervous and started to pump my arm, which brought him in.

Quick NADAC Report

2009-09-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

Wyatt went 1 for 6 but has some real close ones like .6 over for tunnelers and almost got chances but his 1 Q was a 1st in Regular (Standard) which we need for his NATCH. Patriot went 3 for 4 but pooped out on his last run.

Sits

2009-09-18T11:42:00.000-07:00

I have been working on sits more. Instead of doing long out of sights, I am doing more short in sight sessions trying to work on fidgeting. I actually think I should do both types of practice. Wyatt tends to fidget quite a bit, which can turn into moving out of position, laying down, or standing up when under stress. So I am rewarding for short periods of no movement and saying "Oops" if there is fidgeting. Hoping to do at least one Open attempt this fall but agility has been the priority. There is an open date in December but my teacher is the judge. Shoot!

Run Thrus

2009-09-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

Did some run thrus tonight at our local club. We brought Aidan. We are trying to keep him exposed to dog sports. He wants to do agility but it's hard as the dogs focus on me and not him and it's hard for Aidan to connect to the dog when they aren't focused on him, he does not understand that he has to keep at it and keep issuing commands. Then it's hard for him to treat quickly and not eat the treat himself.

Both dogs ran well though. I pushed the distance with Wyatt so we had a few small errors but it was great practice for our NADAC trial in Wrentham this weekend.

Checking In - Agility

2009-09-09T10:13:00.001-07:00

I want my dog to constantly be checking in with me. When we run the best, we are continually checking in with each and adjusting to each other. Checking in, to me, is different from stopping and turning back to me. When that happens, I have not given Wyatt a cue in time. That is not desirable.

The NADAC folks that do bonus lines (they run the whole course basically from behind the start/finish line), usually teach their dogs to keep running in a "straight" line unless directed otherwise. That can work too, but then you need to be able to change directions with a verbal or physical command or both. They usually run the course "in miniature" from behind the line, but in theory the dog would keep going in a straight line no matter what they are doing. There is a very good team that trained this way but the dog does not always check in and runs its own course frequently and the handler complains that the dog did not check in with her. Anyway, what I want is a continual checkin using peripheral vision. That does mean I have to leave space to move in the desired direction when working behind a gamble line. It's a real challenge to shorten one's stride when one is used to trying to run WITH a fast whippet. But it does work.

Also, in a previous post I talked about the OUT command and that a lot of people pump their hands screaming OUT, which brings your dog in to you (the hand pumping.) Note that is it possible to just use a verbal to discriminate 2 side by side obstacles at distance. However, it is going to be much easier and less stressful to find out the physical cues your dog naturally needs to discriminate at the distance.

It is going to be helpful if you run NADAC or other venues with challenging gambles to have an OUT and GO ON command. However, they are typically going to be mostly physical cues. In my experience, this is something that needs to be studied and worked on when you get to the larger distances. I see a lot of really bad distance handling because people have not really worked on it or studied it. Again, typically you see this when people pump their arms and scream OUT to the dog, often from a stationary position. What they should be doing is leaving space behind the gamble line to be heading in the right direction, painting a line with their hand/finger a few feet ahead of the dog, keeping there arm out and level and (not high up or pumping), and supporting the dog with a verbal OUT. When I do OUT, I push out an open hand against the dog's line and lean into the dog's line. Some people keep painting the line. Also, if I need to do a contact/'tunnel or other discrimination at a distance, I push perpendicular to the dog's line at a point 1/3 of the way from the first obstacle. I was taught to go 1/2 way but I found with Wyatt that that was too late.

Tracking Sunday

2009-09-08T17:27:00.001-07:00

Here is Wyatt's track from Sunday. He did pretty well once we got going. I do need to start reading him more and reading the track less. He does tend to go off track and I need to recognize what he does when he goes off the track rather than reading my map or seeing the track itself and stopping to let him get back on. He found once turn very nicely, which I had lost track of. This field is narrow and I forgot to leave a good escape route and he picked up my scent from walking back after laying the track at one point. Wyatt followed the whole track and found all the articles. He seems to really like it because he gets very excited before we start.

Check In

2009-09-07T03:52:00.001-07:00

I have been working with Wyatt (and Patriot) but not writing much. No big insights or competitions. We do have a NADAC trial in 2 weeks. I hope to be able to squeeze in an obedience trial or 2 in the fall. I am running out of room in yard to work distance with Wyatt (unless I can think more creatively) and Wyatt's go outs have been fantastic. I should try those outside and add the directed jump part in before he gets to used to coming back directly to me. I am also trying to ramp up my sits and downs training as I have been a little lax lately and I know from experience that we need to always be working on that.

Running Out of Room

2009-09-04T11:55:00.001-07:00

I feel like I am running out of room in our yard with Wyatt. My main focus in agility now is distance work for NADAC Elite Chances. He is doing great but I may need to drop in on our local agility classes or rent a ring to get the distance we need.

Vacation

2009-08-28T17:49:00.001-07:00

I have been on vacation at the beach for the last week and a half and have done minimal dog training, just a little obedience here and there.

Go Outs

2009-08-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

After working on the utility go out command for many years - off and on, Wyatt is really starting to get good at it. It was quite exciting to see him get it finally. I started putting cheese wiz on a gate. That part is no problem. Then I tell him to sit while he is still licking the cheese. Then I go up to him and tell him to sit. After he sits, I go back and tell him to come. So I gradually fade the cheese and the going out to him to tell him to sit and he gets it. He will still sometimes go down instead of sitting. I have no clue why he would do that.

Tough Day!

2009-08-10T08:31:00.001-07:00

I was really looking forward to a NADAC agility trial this weekend. I have to really pick and choose my dog weekends now with a 3 year old. Friday night, Patriot was throwing up. He is a master at getting into the trash and compost. Saturday morning, he did not eat so I was wondering if he would be up for running agility. Sure enough, his first run was really bad so I ended early. I scratched him for his next run and he later ran 2 runs. No Q's but we had some good runs. Wyatt and I had some dogwalk issues so did not get our standard (regular) runs, which we need for his NADAC agility championship. We had a great tunnelers run where he did not look back at me at all and we got a Q and a 4th with a speed of 4 yards per second. We also had a great Weavers run. Weavers has tunnels and 3 sets of 12 weave poles. It is really hard to make time at the Elite level. You can't have a single mistake and the weaves have to be fast. We had 3 great weave entries and I sped him up in the weaves as much as I could without pulling him off. We ended up getting a Q and a first place over some really fast dogs. One more Q for our elite weavers title.

I was really looking forward to Sunday but Wyatt came up lame after our first Touch and Go run where we really worked the dog walk. He did great but came off lame. I scratching him and weavers but he was still lame later so we have to scratch 5 runs and I also scratched Patriot's 3 others runs and headed home. I just hate to see Wyatt lame and limping! We rested him up and were ready for bed so I went to let them out around 9:30. As soon as I opened the door, Wyatt left off the top of the back stairs and went barking and running full speed towards the side woods and fence. Patriot followed. We heard some "screams" and ran out as fast as we could with pepper spray and flashlights. There was Patriot with 6 quills in his face and Wyatt with about 30 quilss looking very shell shocked. He was also holding up his injured paw. Pathetic! Dawn removed the 6 quills from Patriot and I drove Wyatt 15 minutes to the emergency 24 hour vet hospital. They had a critical case so I had to wait a long time. They put him under and took out the quills and did not see anything but a slight limp. I got home around 1 to find Aidan wet so I had to change his sheets. He was not too happy to have to wait for his bed.

We are doing better today. Wyatt is very mellow and resting up. I think he will be fine. Quite a day! Wish those porcupines would stay on their side of the fence. We use deer fence so once in a great while they will climb up a fence tree and wander off. Patriot got quilled before but this was Wyatt's first. He is a such a kamikaze!

Wyatt Injured!

2009-08-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

Wyatt came up lame after our first run today. He did not get better after some rest so I left the trial. Very disappointing! I could feel a good day coming on. He got all 3 contacts on the first run. Could not see any inflammation so I suspect it will get better quickly. This was my one time this month I could do agility so it's hard to have to leave. Hope he gets well soon. I hate to see him limping.

NADAC Day 1

2009-08-09T02:42:00.000-07:00

Only 2 Qs for Wyatt today and none for Patriot. Patriot was vomiting the night before and did not eat Saturday morning so I was wondering if he would want to run. His first run was way off - super slow so I ended early and scratched him for the next run. He was OK in tunnelers but 1 second over time. His last Touch and Go run was a little wild and had a number of off courses. He seems fine this morning (Sunday) so he should be OK today.

Wyatt and I had some dog walk issues all day. He was also stalling on the A Frame above the yellow zone quite a few times where I have to coax him down. Oh, to have the same perfect contacts at trials that we have at home and in class! The A frame we can manage but he had a number of contact faults on the dog walk. He seems to need a number of different supports at trials for a good dog walk and if I forget one of them, all bets are off. I need to slow down, to call him and get his attention, point to the end, and be really smooth and steady walking at the end or he jumps off when I move quickly. This is exacerbated when he is more keyed up like yesterday.

Chances was impossible. Hopefully, today's course will be doable by mere mortals. I used a slingshot start in one of the standard courses which helped me get enough time to cue him for an initial dogwalk/tunnel discrimination challenge. Also got some good distance in standard. Had a great tunnelers run (6 YPS) where he did not look back at all but keep reading me and moving forward at all times. Weavers was also very nice with no entry (and hence reentry issues.) I hope we made time as that was the last run of the day and I did not stay to check.

Wyatt and Patriot Stacked

2009-08-01T11:10:00.001-07:00

New Photos

2009-08-01T03:51:00.000-07:00

Wyatt was in the woods with me hanging out and I shot these photos of him. I was on the ground taking photos of something else at the time so they are shot in an upwards direction, giving some interesting angles and looks.