For every game there are rules for how it is to be played. That goes for human games as well as for doggie games. A dog will let another dog know if they are not playing by his rules. A human can let a dog know that they aren't playing by the rules too (i.e. stopping play when a dog gets nippy). Some dogs are happy to play their human's way any place any time. Some, like Gracie, can do that with a bit (or a lot) of work. Others have their own very precise rules of play and it can be very difficult (though doable) to get them to play any other way. This last scenario seems to describe Gidget.
In my attempts to get Gidget more pumped up for agility, I have been learning her rules of play. Once I have them figured out as best I can, hopefully I can expand on them so that we can play together in many ways. Here's what I've come up with so far:
- At home just about any type of play goes. Though Gidget is not big on tugging right now.
- At class touchy play (rubbing, grabbing, pushing) isn't the best though some is ok while waiting for our turn. Tricks are better, especially while waiting.
- Chasing is the best thing in the world! Gidget loves to chase her thrown froggie toy and kinda likes being chased by me (which I try to avoid) and chasing me.
- A REALLY good treat can trump a good chase.
- When our turn is up in class (or more so a trial) don't try too hard to initiate play, this is more likely to cause Gidget to shut down.
So with these rules I have a few things to think about:
- Gidget loves to chase so use it! Let her chase froggie!
- We need to work on trading a treat for a toy, which seems to be very doable.
- Avoid running back to our spot in class to get the toy back. Rewarding in the ring is preferable to rewarding outside of it at the end of a run.
- Just go! Don't make a big deal at the start line, just start the game.
- Relax and have fun! She'll relax too!
Finally, I got a few technical notes from my instructors:
- Throw the toy with my hand opposite of Gidget so that she doesn't start looking for it.
- Always look like you're running, showing forward motion. Jog in place if necessary! Anything to help keep her moving.
- You don't always have to send the dog just cuz you can.
- Keep courses short in class, more short courses/turns is preferable to fewer long ones.
- Try not to always start in the same place, this can be demotivating.
I think that covers what I've figured out so far. Though who knows how that will change over time! We'll see how class goes tonight and next week. Then both girls are in a trial next weekend! Can't wait! Happy agility!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Gracie at the A-Match
Gracie and I participated in an A-Match this past Fri. It was at a different venue than Gracie is used to trialing at, which is a big step for both of us. I was very impressed with Gracie's behavior when getting ready for our runs. She had no concerns about pottying outside. There were some tight squeezes to get past other dogs on our way to the ring, but Gracie was very good about keeping her focus on the treats in my hand. It may be a managed method, but it keeps her happy and works for us in close quarters. She was happy to lay on her mat and do tricks as we waited ringside for our turn. I could see her nervousness at the start line, but she sat and did a shake or two so I wasn't overly concerned. She did seem calmer at the start line for our second run too.
Standard was up first. I wasn't expecting a perfect run, just wanted to keep her stress low and her focus high which would mean more fun for both of us. Gracie started off quite well. She was rather sniffy on the table (Gidget always has been at this venue too). I need to remember to try to keep myself between Gracie and off course contacts whenever possible, at least in new locations like this. When I released Gracie from the table, she had to go check out the nearby teeter putting her feet on it for a wrong course. She came back quickly and weaved nicely for me. She started to do the dog walk like she was supposed to, but there was something on the wall of the ring that was just more interesting so she hopped off to go check it out. I would think only food would be more exciting than the dog walk, but I have no idea what was in those baskets. So an RWF for that. After that Gracie looked great, and it was most certainly a better performance than her first few trials. I considered it an overall success!
We didn't have to wait long for jumpers (yay for a small practice trial!) Unfortunately I don't have video of the full run (run out of memory quick when you forget to put the memory card back in the camera!) It was great though! A very fun course! She stuck with me and looked happy! I really couldn't have asked for more from my girlie that day. She was perfect! Here's the video of the standard run and the few seconds I have of the jumpers run:
Gracie did so well at this new location that I'm fulling diving into her agility career. I just sent in her paperwork for a full on, two ring, nearly full trial at the end of the month. The paperwork has to get there by Wed. for us to get in, so not a guarantee yet, but I think we're ready for it. I've got a plan, so we'll see how it goes.
Gidget update: At class this past Thur. we focused on building up our dogs drive through play. It worked great for Gracie, I brought one of her favorite ropes and she was plenty happy to tug then run! Food or play can work just fine for that dog. I had a horrible time getting Gidget to play with me near the start line! She has one toy she plays with and she'll only play with it if it's thrown and she can chase and run around with it. I have no idea how to get her to play with it when it's in my hands. The instructor suggested trying gently shoving her, grabbing her paws, other things dogs might do to get another dog to play, but these things tend to shut her down especially if she's not already in play mode. So we tried doing a "ready, set, ok!" thing, building her anticipation at the start line. That seemed to help, but not enough. So at home now I'm trying to find ways to get her revved up. Giving her a good high energy rub down and playing with her muzzle seem to work. So we're adding a jump in with that. We'll see on Thur. if we can make that work in the ring. Gotta remember to keep her runs short and fun! Happy agility!
Standard was up first. I wasn't expecting a perfect run, just wanted to keep her stress low and her focus high which would mean more fun for both of us. Gracie started off quite well. She was rather sniffy on the table (Gidget always has been at this venue too). I need to remember to try to keep myself between Gracie and off course contacts whenever possible, at least in new locations like this. When I released Gracie from the table, she had to go check out the nearby teeter putting her feet on it for a wrong course. She came back quickly and weaved nicely for me. She started to do the dog walk like she was supposed to, but there was something on the wall of the ring that was just more interesting so she hopped off to go check it out. I would think only food would be more exciting than the dog walk, but I have no idea what was in those baskets. So an RWF for that. After that Gracie looked great, and it was most certainly a better performance than her first few trials. I considered it an overall success!
We didn't have to wait long for jumpers (yay for a small practice trial!) Unfortunately I don't have video of the full run (run out of memory quick when you forget to put the memory card back in the camera!) It was great though! A very fun course! She stuck with me and looked happy! I really couldn't have asked for more from my girlie that day. She was perfect! Here's the video of the standard run and the few seconds I have of the jumpers run:
Gracie did so well at this new location that I'm fulling diving into her agility career. I just sent in her paperwork for a full on, two ring, nearly full trial at the end of the month. The paperwork has to get there by Wed. for us to get in, so not a guarantee yet, but I think we're ready for it. I've got a plan, so we'll see how it goes.
Gidget update: At class this past Thur. we focused on building up our dogs drive through play. It worked great for Gracie, I brought one of her favorite ropes and she was plenty happy to tug then run! Food or play can work just fine for that dog. I had a horrible time getting Gidget to play with me near the start line! She has one toy she plays with and she'll only play with it if it's thrown and she can chase and run around with it. I have no idea how to get her to play with it when it's in my hands. The instructor suggested trying gently shoving her, grabbing her paws, other things dogs might do to get another dog to play, but these things tend to shut her down especially if she's not already in play mode. So we tried doing a "ready, set, ok!" thing, building her anticipation at the start line. That seemed to help, but not enough. So at home now I'm trying to find ways to get her revved up. Giving her a good high energy rub down and playing with her muzzle seem to work. So we're adding a jump in with that. We'll see on Thur. if we can make that work in the ring. Gotta remember to keep her runs short and fun! Happy agility!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Frustrating
Gidget and I were in an AKC trial on Sat. It was a hot day but the AC was working pretty decently, thank goodness! I've been having issues getting Gidget pumped up for agility lately. I can't quite figure out her deal. She has her pokey days now and then, but she's had all pokey classes for about a month now. It started with our first outdoor class. Her first turn went well until she knocked a bar (which she never does), then she went into pokey mode. I got some ideas from the instructors on how to speed her up, but they weren't seeming to work. Though she was enjoying running top speed away from the jumps. I had forgotten about the knocked bar for a couple weeks so it wasn't til this last week or so that I thought I should probably do something about it. It's very possible she scared herself which made her leary of jumping, hence the pokiness. So I got out our jump at home and went for some good value building. We also got out to a big field for Gidget to run like crazy once, would have done it more but the heat got in the way. At class this past Thur. my plan seemed to be helping. Gidget didn't show her speedy side as she often does at the start of class, but she wasn't truely pokey either. I was pleased and took it as a good sign for the trial coming up.
Exc A Standard was up first. Not a terribly tricky course, but looked like fun. Gidget started off quite well. She took an extra wide turn from the A-frame to the tunnel next to it which slowed her down a bit. She was good at those contact to tunnel turns at one point, guess we haven't seen those in class much lately. She took the teeter just fine by Gidget standards, she's still rather hesitant about teeters though. Then we got to the dog walk, an easy fun obstacle you'd think. An observer suggested I was a too far ahead of Gidget and she decided to keep up with me instead of taking the obstacle. In the video it doesn't look like I was more than a step or two ahead. There was some space between me and the dog walk so I wouldn't trip over the tunnel, but Gidget's seen that plenty before. I suspect the dog walk looks too much like the teeter and she doesn't want to do the teeter again. She's refused the dog walk in the past, after she'd seen a teeter in a previous run, but it doesn't always happen that way. She often does the dog walk just fine after having been on a teeter. I don't get this girl! Moving on, Gidget did the chute wonderfully and her weaves looked great! I did cue late to turn her away from an off course jump near the end, causing a refusal, but I'm fine taking 100% blame for that one. So there were some good things in this run: teeter, chute, and weaves, but the dog walk has left me with some confusion. Here's the video:
Exc B JWW was up next and we didn't have a horribly long wait in between. It was another fun looking course with some nice challenges. We ran clean but ended up being just over 4 seconds too slow so NQ. I didn't think Gidget was that pokey for this run, but her nice weave performance didn't show up again. She really took her time in the weaves, even pausing between the last two poles to stare at either the judge or the camera on the side of the ring. Other than that, I was fairly happy with this run. Here's the video:
I am rather frustrated with not being able to get Gidget's speed up. It's enough to cause me to question how much Gidget is really enjoying the game. I've seen her look truely happy while running, those runs where you feel connected and it couldn't be more perfect run and you're just plain happy when the run is finished. We usually get those in class. Maybe trials are just a bit too much stress for her. I don't know. We've got another trial at this location at the end of July so we'll see how that goes. That's a whole month to figure out some ways to really get her pumped up. As far as stress goes, I do everything I can think of to reduce her stress: covering her kennel, thundershirt, DAP spray, our usual pre-run warm up. I don't know what else I could do there. It doesn't help that Gracie's been spoiling me when it comes to trials. She's constantly improving. Her stress started high at trials, but I came up with ways to reduce it, namely tricks at the start line among other routines, and she is happy and fast everytime now! The same things don't work so well for Gidget, she is a different dog you know. I just don't know what will work for her. Back to the drawing board. Happy agility!
Exc A Standard was up first. Not a terribly tricky course, but looked like fun. Gidget started off quite well. She took an extra wide turn from the A-frame to the tunnel next to it which slowed her down a bit. She was good at those contact to tunnel turns at one point, guess we haven't seen those in class much lately. She took the teeter just fine by Gidget standards, she's still rather hesitant about teeters though. Then we got to the dog walk, an easy fun obstacle you'd think. An observer suggested I was a too far ahead of Gidget and she decided to keep up with me instead of taking the obstacle. In the video it doesn't look like I was more than a step or two ahead. There was some space between me and the dog walk so I wouldn't trip over the tunnel, but Gidget's seen that plenty before. I suspect the dog walk looks too much like the teeter and she doesn't want to do the teeter again. She's refused the dog walk in the past, after she'd seen a teeter in a previous run, but it doesn't always happen that way. She often does the dog walk just fine after having been on a teeter. I don't get this girl! Moving on, Gidget did the chute wonderfully and her weaves looked great! I did cue late to turn her away from an off course jump near the end, causing a refusal, but I'm fine taking 100% blame for that one. So there were some good things in this run: teeter, chute, and weaves, but the dog walk has left me with some confusion. Here's the video:
Exc B JWW was up next and we didn't have a horribly long wait in between. It was another fun looking course with some nice challenges. We ran clean but ended up being just over 4 seconds too slow so NQ. I didn't think Gidget was that pokey for this run, but her nice weave performance didn't show up again. She really took her time in the weaves, even pausing between the last two poles to stare at either the judge or the camera on the side of the ring. Other than that, I was fairly happy with this run. Here's the video:
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