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July, 2006 DAM Team Mysteries Revealed! A DAM team can only have dogs of 1 or 2 jump heights, not 3, but they can be a mix of any two heights. The most difficult part of the competition is coming up with a team name. T-shirts are optional. A summary of DAM team scoring and strategy. First, be sure to attend any judges briefings, you want to make sure you catch all the details of games and anything that judge is particular about. Snooker Played like regular Snooker. You get the points you earn. I believe some adjustment is made for small dogs, also there may be a weighting factor to keep the point relation similar to the other events. For purposes of strategy, get as many points as you can. Gambler This is any game the judge wants to dream up that has some element of chance to it such as guess your time, guess your points, get out before the buzzer, or a regular distance gamble. Once the judge has explained the game, get as many points as you can and that is the score you will get. Again some adjustment is made for small dogs, also there may be a weighting factor to keep the point relation similar to the other events. The strategy is usually don’t be a hog. Jumpers The game is actually jumpers with weaves, it is worth 100 points. If you ran it in 30 seconds your score would be 70. An off course is a score of 0. Each knocked bar is 5 points off. Each refusal is 2 points off. Beware, 3 refusals is an elimination, 0 points. Strategy is stay on course, even if you knock bars. Standard The game is a standard course with no table, it is worth 130 points. Same scoring as jumpers, same strategy as jumpers, except if you have to have an elimination, better to have it in jumpers because you lose less points. Relay Sometimes it is 2 courses with the odd height on the team running second (if you have an odd height). Sometimes it is 3 different courses. Oddly enough, even though you only have 9 to 11 obstacles each the relay is worth the most points. Each handler on the team starts with 150 points. Same scoring as jumpers and standard, but you really don’t want an off-course here. Pay attention to the judge’s quirks on the team being in the exchange box, leashes, holding dogs, waiting for your team members to finish, etc. It varies tremendously and they are picky. Usually the dog being judged is the one whose handler has the baton. Don’t let your dog take an extra obstacle before you exchange batons. I am pretty sure whatever your dog does while someone else is running is not judged. A very important part of the strategy is in the relay. If you do go off course during relay, be sure to run right back to the exchange, do not finish the course. This will keep your team time low and help maintain the points that remain for the other handlers. If you are the last dog and have an off course be sure to run right out and stop the time. Qualifying In the simplest terms the top 50% of the teams qualify. However, they will also average the top 3 scores and calculate the number of teams which come within 25% of that score. Which ever is the most teams, that is the number of teams that will qualify. I have been on teams that qualified and have had one elimination in the relay and one in standard. A zero point run does not mean you are out, even several eliminations when the courses are tough for everyone can still get your team a Q. If all the teams do poorly there will be lots of qualifiers. Keep your spirits up and do your best. Top Ten Points This is a masters event. There are top ten points available in the Tournament Events area of competition for all but the relay and the overall team placement. You will only be compared against others in your jump height for placement. National Competition At this time DAM teams for the nationals can be made up of 3 dogs where only 2 of the 3 have received a Q (been on a team that qualified) during the competition year. You must re-qualify each year. Agility Dog Champion (ADCH) You need at least 1 DAM Q for your ADCH. Beyond that you need at least 2 for your tournament Master, 3 for ADCH Bronze, 5 for Silver, 7 for Gold, and 9 for Platinum (plus a whole lot of other stuff).
Tips for the Focus Challenged Dog It is yet another tip inspired by Star's training sagas. As I've confessed in earlier tips, I managed to create an obstacle focused dog out of Miss Star. In addition to her obstacle focus, she still has it in her to get distracted. So, in one dog I have two focus issues: obstacle focus and a distracted dog. I've been working on these problems for a few months now and am very happy with the progress, the biggest challenge was for me to take the necessary steps back to fix the problems. There are some universal must dos for any dog with focus issues, regardless of which form the focus issue takes. First, the dog's name should always get the dog to look at you and the dog should be rewarded for the look. "Come" also has to be rewarded. If I call Star to me, before doing an exercise, I must reward that "come", before she does any equipment. For the distracted dog, this is to reinforce the value of "come"; for the obstacle focused dog, I want the reward to be for the "come" and not let the equipment be the reward....with Star it kills two birds with one stone. ;-) There are some specific things for the obstacle focused dog. First, you really don't want to reward the dog for something you didn't ask for....ever. No guilt cookies! I don't let my dog stare at the equipment they think they'll be going to. I've also found that I have to break things down when working sequences. If I have a problem, I want to address the problem exactly where it happened, not go back a couple obstacles in the sequence. For the distracted dog, it's important that you don't waste energy negotiating with your dog. If the dog wanders off to sniff something more exciting than you and it doesn't come when called, go get the dog! You don't want to train a distracted dog that "come" is an option. Don't be afraid to pull out your leash, if the dog isn't giving you proper attention. Random rewards are also a vital tool in the distracted dog. I want them to think at any moment they could be getting a reward from me. With a distracted dog, it's extra important that you start and end all exercises. A dog that is prone to independent thinking shouldn't be wandering around off-leash after you're done with an exercise. Run back to their X-pen/crate, give them lots of cookies and put them away, until you're ready to give them your undivided attention again. With either focus challenge, it's important that you're very aware of what you're rewarding and to train smart. Make sure you have your dog's attention before you ask them to do something. Set your dog up for success. If my dog did a great "come" (that you reward!), but now is not set up for the obstacle I want to work on, I should take another moment to set the dog up correctly. As always, lots of positivity, consistency and rewards will get you the best results. Tell the dogs they're good. mia ~ Mia
December, 2004 I've just recently begun showing my young dog, Starlet (aka Miss Star) and am learning a whole bunch about things I didn't realize I taught her. It's been a real lesson in paying attention to training habits and keeping an open mind in post-run course analysis. The two runs I learned the most from this past weekend, were also the two runs that we didn't qualify in. The first was Adv. Jumpers. There was one section that I knew I hadn't really trained Star to be able to handle, but otherwise, I was fairly optimistic about the course. It started with three jumps in a straight line to a hard left turn. I didn't lead out like I probably should have, because I'm still wanting to encourage her to leave the startline with enthusiasm and a three jump lead out can be disengaging. So, I realized I was going to have to call her before the 3 jump of the line to alert her to the turn. She ended up going around the jump after the turn. I knew immediately that this problem was an indicator that I've done a lot more work on getting her to accelerate when she's sees a line (which I'm very happy about), than to turn tightly (suspected I was doing this, but now she's definitely made it clear). To help this, I'm going to teach her a "left" and "right" and we'll be doing lots more work on fast lines to tight patterns (ex. fast line to a serpentine or 270 etc). The next off-course happened at a sequence that had the dog going out to a jump, then in towards the tire and straight to a tunnel. Star ended up going across my path to the wrong end of the tunnel. It took me longer to figure out why this happened, than any of the other problems. I had to focus on what info I had given Star and when I'd given it, then think about what I'd done in similar set ups in practice. In practice, when I want her to drive straight ahead, I'm driving straight ahead and giving obstacle commands VERY early. If I'm cueing her that it's not what she sees, then I stay back with her. I babysat the tire, because she'd gone around it in her last show. By staying back and saying "tunnel" right afterward the tire, instead of before the tire, like I would in practice, I had inadvertently cued her to take the other tunnel entrance. Good girl for paying attention! This problem on course also pointed out something that is working better than I had thought. I want her to recognize my motion as cues and I just need to be braver about running her as I've trained her in competition. The next problem was something I expected. We came around a curve of jumps and had to make a sharp turn going the other direction. She ended up going straight to a tunnel, instead of following my rear-cross. No biggy, I knew this was a weakness and I just have to practice rear-crosses more. Adding directionals will also help this, when I'm not clear enough with my physical cue. In Starters Gamblers I had a plan I was very confident in for the opening. I had planned on doing "jump, A-frame" and planned on saying "come climb" after releasing her from the startline. Instead, my adrenaline had me saying,"COME, Climb" and I pulled her right off the A-frame. I thought I'd patterned her that "come" indicated the nearer obstacle. Later I realized, that I actually have taught that the command for the nearer obstacle, in an obstacle discrimination is less exaggerated, than if I want her to take the further obstacle. If I had wanted her to take the tunnel, I would have used arm and leg commands plus a very clear "OUT Tunnel" command. That combo of commands is much bigger than a false turn and "come, Climb". Especially since it was in a lead out situation where it was a straight line. A bigger "come" command could have been needed, if she'd been coming off a bending line into the same obstacle discrimination. At the actually gamble, we had a bobble the first try and when I tried to reset her to take the second obstacle, she went to the first jump and started the gamble over again (doing it beautifully, I might add). Why did she go back to the first jump, when I'd been so focused on her getting back to the second obstacle... This one also took me a while to figure out, but I realized that I don't correct a problem at the spot it happened often enough. I go back to the beginning of the sequence, so as soon as I'd cued Star in the ring, that a mistake had happened she went back to the beginning of the sequence again to fix it. Good girl, bad trainer. Aside from costing Qs, this training blunder has also encouraged her to focus on sequences more than individual obstacles. Sure enough, I took this theory to my backyard and it's very hard to get Star to "come" when she thinks she knows the pattern. I'm glad I realized this as early as I have, because this is something that could be a HUGE problem. If your dog does something that doesn't make sense, start thinking about why it happened. What are your signals? What patterns have you taught your dog? You also have to start turning these things around in your head. If I've taught my dog that when I want them to go straight to a tunnel, I'll give them the command early. That same dog has also learned that when it doesn't hear the tunnel command early, it's not going to the tunnel it sees. Take it one step further, that same dog has learned that if it doesn't hear the early tunnel command it is probably cutting towards my path (whether it be to a front cross or the other end of the tunnel etc). So, if I'm unable to give my dog an early tunnel command, I will have to give a command to enforce that the dog doesn't come towards me, with my dogs an "out" command would work. Whew! It's amazing how much the dogs are learning and so important that we take the time to think about what we are teaching. Tell the dogs they're good. mia
February, 2004 by Mia Grant This actually started as an email to some students, but I think it's something a lot of us can us a reminder about. First, if your dog doesn't have good weaves in practice, you can't expect them to miraculously appear in competition. Also, if there's an entry that your dog hasn't trained for, the following advice might not apply. So, a couple years ago, Max had
amazing weaves in practice (almost as good as they are now), but wasn't
dependable in shows. Terry Simons was the one who finally got me to
understand, that I had to treat my weaves in competition the same as
in practice. The lesson (and other people had tried to tell me): Max wasn't used to me micromanaging his weaves in practice, so by trying to play it safe, I was being confusing. Different dogs respond differently to confusion, some dogs talk back, some dogs will try to guess what the hell your trying to communicate (a good guesser is a dog that "saves" the handler) and others get nervous (which can result in distraction or in Finn's case complete mental meltdown). So, if your dog is a reliable weaver at home, treat them like a reliable weaver in competition. If you're going to do this, you have to gauge whether your dog can take any correction, or if they miss the entry or pop out. I couldn't correct Roxanne's weaves in competition, because it would erode our runs into a debate (she would just stand there and give me the evil eye, while I sweetly said, "come on Roxanne, come here Roxanne, Roxanne you come, come right now, come here, want a treat?...). I was better off practicing them more and adding jumps to our commando weave sessions (commando weaves: driving around with a set of weaves and stopping at random grass patches to practice weaves). With Finn, I'll normally just keep
going, because his weave problems are almost always my fault and he
gets very upset when I point out errors. There are exceptions to how
I handle weave problems in competition, but generally I just keep going
(it's already an NQ, so it's a decision about whether training in the
ring-where I don't have an immediate reward- is a good idea). Tell the dogs they're good. mia Setpember, 2003 Things to do With a Single Jump I was thinking about the things I do at the warm up jump the other day and was reminded of how much training can be done with a single jump and limited space. At a warm up jump, I will set the dog up to deal with the opening angles, especially if my opening involves a lead out pivot. In addition to lead outs, I work on the various crosses and directionals I know I'll be using. In addition to being helpful before a competition run, smart training at a single jump can do wonders for your agility foundation. The most frequent challenge facing teams in agility are jumps. The most basic challenges are having your dog take a jump whether you're running next to the dog, behind the dog or ahead of the dog. These three challenges can be dealt with, with a single jump. At the same time, you can be working on your dog's ability to handle angles. Envision the single jump as the center of a clock and have them take the jump from each hour. A polished dog should be about to jump "around the clock" with the handler behind them, ahead of them or next to them. If you can send, call and run with your dog over a single jump, you can work on handling challenges. Lead outs can be worked on with a single jump, but be sure to mix up the reward. If the dog only gets a reward for jumping the jump, they'll start anticipating and your startline will disappear. If your dog sends ahead you can work on rear crosses. It's also easy to work on wraps and front crosses with a single jump. If your dog's skills are more advanced, work on directionals. Have your dog turn to take a jump and turn after taking the jump. A single jump is great for a dog learning "left" and "right". You can also do variations of a figure eight with a single jump. Imagine the jump as the center of the eight, do front crosses at the posts to tighten your turns or work on your "out" command and have the dog come over the jump to you in a figure eight pattern. The thing to remember about single jump work is the potential to bore your dog. Make your rewards are frequent and enthusiastic. Always quit while the dog is wanting to play, so it stays fun for the dog. Most of all, tell your dogs they're
good.
June, 2003 I’ve written about the importance of having routines before, reviewing/walking the course, warming up the dog etc.. Well, this past weekend I was reminded about a different part of the routine. Finn was a little weird from the first class on Sunday. Our Standard was fine, a couple knocked bars, great contacts, good weaves, so I was fairly happy with the run itself. That said, I thought Finn looked odd. He wasn’t jumping with his normal ease and seemed a little down. I immediately started trying to figure out what could be causing the change in Finn. What was different from normal.... He’s such a young dog, puppy-brain is always my first thought, when something unusual happens. What was confusing for me, his puppy brain usually causes him to go soft and despite seeming a little tired, he didn’t go soft on me. I also thought the heat could be causing him to be tired. It was quite hot and lots of dogs melted. Still, he seemed great before and after his run, so I was having a hard time with the heat theory too. My final theory after the Standard, involved his change in routine on Saturday, I was dogsitting for Betty on Saturday, so Finn stayed with me at classes all morning. It was the first time we’d ever done that and I couldn’t help but wonder, if that had worn him out more than I had thought. So, a couple hours go by and it’s
time for JWW. I was very comfortable with my course plan, very confident
that Finn could handle the challenges and was really looking forward
to the run. My first mistake was staying on the line, while the ring
crew changed the jump height. I should have been looking out for the
young dog more. So, our run begins, we have an early bar down, then
an off-course, great weaves, a refusal, followed by a back-jump for
another off-course, then another off-course. As I watched him disappear
into the wrong tunnel, I decided it was time to find a fun, happy line
out of the ring. I’m a jump from the exit and turn around to see
Finn still playing on the equipment. My final command, "Finn, we’re
leaving now" finally ended what was the most faulted run I’ve
ever been a part of. At least, Finn had a good time, so it was easy
to laugh about it. After reviewing the theories I already mentioned, it hit me. Instead of setting up an X-pen like normal, we had just left Finn in the car (lots of fans, shade and water), because Betty could be so close. What makes this important is Finn has big time car issues. He gets very stressed out when he’s in a moving car and protective when in a parked car. Not the ideal place for him to spend the day hanging out. To make matters worse, he could hear Betty talking 20 feet away, but couldn’t see her. As soon as I thought about the car, everything that had seemed weird made sense. The time between the Standard and JWW was long enough for the decline in performance to be explained, considering the stress he was under. What a bonehead mistake to make! So, my tip is to make looking out for your dog, part of your agility routine. Take the extra time to make sure your dog is comfortable and relaxed before doing agility. If your dog doesn’t like a lot of traffic going by, don’t park yourself where a lot of activity is happening. If your dogs melts in heat, make sure you’re doing everything in your power to keep your dog cool and out of the sun. If your dog has separation anxiety, don’t leave them alone for long periods of time before doing agility. And most important, if your young dog has car issues, it’s probably not a good idea to use the car as an extra-big crate. It’s just not fair to expect a stressed out dog to perform well. Tell the dogs they’re good. May, 2003 This Tip of the Month isn't about agility, but I haven't been training much recently and we just had the best adventure with the dogs. It was a great reminder to enjoy the dogs on non-agility trips. Mike and my wedding finally happened. It was entirely too much fun and I only wish we could do it again! We hit the Central Coast for our honeymoon, 4 nights, 4 beach towns, one tank of gas and lots of great memories. The adventure started in San Simeon, where we stayed at the Cavalier Oceanfront Resort. Our room had a fireplace, the biggest bathtub I've ever seen (though Kristi Cetrulo's still reigns supreme) and a sliding door that opened to a grass lawn, 20 feet from a cliff over the ocean. It was an awesome spot. They provided us with binoculars to check out the sea otters and light up firepits every night on the rest of the ocean bluff. It was extremely dog-friendly, very private and had fabulous room service (stop at Laetitia winery, just off the 101, on the way up and you'll have your wine). Ragged Point, a great hiking zone, is only 14 miles up the road and the elephant seals are even closer. The dogs were very interested in those smelly, loud creatures. Max definitely wanted to get down there for a closer look, Roxanne has much better self-preservation instincts. San Simeon is only 7 miles north of Cambria, so we spent a couple days checking out the arty town. Lots of fun art galleries, good food and there's a place called The Tea Cozy that makes an amazing pot of tea. I will go back to Cambria just for more tea! Our second night was in Cayucos, which is just south of Cambria. So, on the way down from San Simeon, we cut over Hwy 43 for some wine-tasting. If you are a wine lover, this is an absolute must. Turley is particularly good, but not great for the dogs. We picked most of our wine stops based on who had a nice outdoor picnic area, so the dogs could have some fun too. Just north of Cayucos on Hwy 1 is a dinky spot called Harmony. There are some cool art shops, but Mike and I go for the winery. Don't buy gifts at any winery, other than Harmony, they have the best prices and selection. The also make some delicious wines. Cayucos is a small town, but they have a terrific, top of the line restaurant called Hoppes. This is an absolute must, even if it's just for some champagne and appetizers. We always stay at the Cayucos Beach Inn usually in one of their octagonal suites (the upper one is the best). It's right across the street from a dog-friendly park and a block from the beach. We weren't planning on staying in Morro Bay, but when we pulled into town we knew we had to find a place. As luck would have it, we discovered the Pleasant Inn Motel. We were greeted by Latte, the border collie, and some dog treats. They were so kind and the motel had a very fun, funky vibe (no phones or clocks in the rooms). The best room there is room #1, so if you make a reservation, try for that room. I think my next trip, I'll be checking out the Adventure Inn by the Sea , because their location was so great. The town is loaded with restaurants and shops right on the water. We really enjoyed the Otter Rock restaurant and the dog-friendly beaches. We were supposed to go home the next day, so we were dragging our feet. The first stop was at Avila Beach. This was particularly good for Roxanne, since they had a ramp, so we could avoid the staircase. The dogs had a blast and we found a bunch of sand dollars. Woohoo! We pulled into Pismo Beach and had the reality of Roxanne's situation hit us, so we decided we had to continue the trip for one more night. What a good idea that was! As luck would have it, we discovered the Sandcastle Inn (www.sandcastleinn.com). They only had one room left, oceanfront, king-size bed and it allowed pets! We couldn't have planned it better. It was the most comfortable bed of the trip. Our balcony was directly over the boardwalk, right across from the beach (which had ramp access for Roxanne) and a couple hundred feet from the pier. We were two blocks from the main street and just wish we could have spent more time hanging out there. I will make reservations there in advance in the future, since they have limited pet rooms. Any one of these spots would make for a great overnight trip. I can't believe how somewhere so close can feel so far away. Always have your dog on-leash when you're supposed to, pick up after them and don't leave them in the room unattended. As I've written this, I've realized there is an agility twist to this. Adventures like these, with your dogs, are great bonding times and will make you better teammates in agility. Enjoy your dogs every moment and take lots of pictures! ~Mia March, 2003 by Mia Grant The importance of training a good table is often overlooked. If you train a great table, it will give you a big advantage on a course. Much of the foundation work for a great table can be done without any equipment. Train for fast, reliable sits and downs. Make it fun. Do "ready....set....." games to build up the anticipation. Make sure to really reward (jackpot with lots of small treats) a fast response. If your dog gets the same reward for a slow "down" that he gets for a really fast one, why should he try to go faster? If you don't have a solid "stay" work on that. If you're dog has a good "stay", then up the intensity. Have them stay while you act like you're about to start running or before you throw the ball or for dinner or leave the room..... You get the idea. Training these behaviors can be
very easy to incorporate into your day-to-day life with your dog. When I have agility equipment to practice on, I work various table set ups. I work on speed to the table. If you know you're dog will stick on the table and not slid off, you can really attack it on a course. I work on sending my dog to the table from a distance. This skill will help on some Standards and definitely helps for Gamblers. I also work on sit and down speed on the table and of course, I have the dog stay on the table. I don't always have my dog stay for 5 seconds, sometimes it's a longer stay, sometimes it's quicker. I'll do the "ready...set" game on the table, to work on speed off the table. I also work on lead outs off the table, which can be extremely helpful on an agility course. It may sound like a lot of stuff, but when you have a great table it's a place on the course you don't have to worry. Tell your dogs they're good. ~Mia
December, 2002 Special Guest Tipster, Peggi Bean!Establish a Warm Up & Cool Down Routine!Its very important to warm up before and cool down both you and your dog before and after every agility run! Many years ago I took a wonderful Chris Zink and Julie Daniels seminar. Julie introduced me to the clicker for which I will be forever grateful. Chris Zink taught me to never say "no" or "ah-ah" to my dogs when playing agility (probably the most important thing I have ever learned) and how to massage, warm-up and cool down my dogs during any type of physical activity. Over the years I have seen many ways to warm up and cool down my dog and myself. Every top trainer/handler I know has a routine and it is very important that you work up a safe program for you and your dog. Before your run, always stretch yourself first before getting your dog out (otherwise I tend to forget). Check with your doctor, or consult with GVDC's own physical therapist Mike Swan, about the best warm up routine for you. I have my dogs checked by a chiropractor about every three months. She give me tips on massage and stretching exercises designed for my dog. I've learned that this is one of the most important things you can do for your competition dog. In addition to preparing for our run, we have a lot of fun during our warm ups and cool downs. I teach my dogs tricks (easy & fun using the clicker) and I use them in my warm ups. Things like spin, bow, sit up, dance, run through my legs, plus lots of stretching games. I also think massage and stretching is very important. Have a knowledgeable person teach you the correct way to massage and stretch your dog. But, be careful, do not ever force your dog to stretch. Using the practice jump is also very important. I try to set my dog at the practice jump the same way she will sit at the start line of the upcoming course. I lead out on the same side to approximately where I will stand on the course. I then either reward for a good stay on the line, or release her to practice the opening. Then I try to practice any tricky jumping or gambling sequences I may have on that particular course. I also try not to get my dog out too early before our run. Just enough time to warm up, go to the practice jump and take a list minute look at the course. I don't want to take the edge off my dog by standing around too long. I want her to be focused and ready to run. Anyone who knows Jessie and I well will say you can never tell whether we Q'ed or not after our run because we always celebrate the same way every time. To me this is the most important thing we do! Jessie always gives me her best and we both really look forward to our time together after our run. Talk to your friends later! Play with your dog, throw the ball, cerebrate no matter what! Then go for a little walk and cool down those muscles and stretch a little more. You might find you look forward to your warm up and cool down routine. I can guarantee your dog will look forward to it. You may even prolong both your dog's and your own competition years. ~ Peggi Bean
October, 2002 Special Guest Tipster, Kristi Cetrulo! Consistancy, Consistancy, Consistancy! So, there I was, about a year ago, in Excellent A Standard with my little baby border collie (Cinder, for all of those out there who know her) – a little amazed that we had moved up so quickly. I put her on the line (the usual litter of kittens in my belly – people tell me I look calm – believe me, I AM NOT) and confidently led out. After all, Cin was in EXCELLENT now – means we had made it right? The course was very do-able and I was looking forward to the run. Off we went, in perfect harmony, everything flowing perfectly. And then it happened. My baby dog, who I thought I had faithfully trained to stick her contacts, FLEW off the dog walk (didn’t evenTHINK about stopping, no remorse, nothing) and then proceeded to do the same at the A-Frame. She did this the next day as well much to my complete dismay. What the $%@#^@! had happened to our contacts? I figured out what happened: I got excited when I was in the ring and had LET her not come to a complete stop on her contacts. I personally train 2 on, 2 off – that’s my method – there are a ton of different, effective contact training methods out there, that works for me - and I want my dog to STOP on the contact until I release them. Well, looking back over notes I made at past shows, I realized that in the excitement of the moment (at Novice and Open) I had not been making her stick her contacts. She would get a paw in, I would say “OK” and off we went. Effectively running contacts before she really understood what a contact was in the first place. So it was no real surprise that that habit rapidly devolved into her thinking she didn’t even need to get a paw in the contact zone. We paid for that for a LONG time and we still pay for it occasionally in the ring. Basically the issue was my lack of consistency. How many times have you heard “Train like you show and show like you train?” Cinder and I have been on a re-training program for over a year now. CONSISTENCY is the key for any aspect of agility (or any other training for that matter) but especially for the contacts. My up and coming puppy, Gale, is not going to suffer the same errors that I made with Cinder. At home, she stops on her contacts, I praise her, move around, sometimes feed, sometimes not, then release with a verbal “OK.” (The verbal-only release is very important in my mind. I don’t want her flying off the contact because I have twitched my shoulders to look at where I am going – or where I do not want her to go.) At her first show, I did the EXACT same thing (despite an almost over-whelming desire to GO and not “waste time”) and her contacts are perfect. I have done the exact samething at EVERY show – EVERY run. My personal feeling is she is too young and inexperienced in this game of agility to differentiate between why it’s OK to run through the contacts and why it’s not ok to “take off” from the contact a little soon. I personally only run my older dogs (and older is a loose term –these are dogs that have been competing for a long time – like Oso) through contacts. But that can bite you too. Patches – a 6 ½ year old Aussie –popped her dog walk contact at the last show because I had been running her through them. I thought she had it all figured out. Wrong. CONSISTENCY. CONSISTENCY. CONSISTENCY. Always run your dog in the ring like you train outside of the show ring and keep your priorities straight. Who cares if your dog wins at the Novice or Open level if you can’t make it through the top ranks because your dog misses its contacts. (And I like ribbons just as much as the next person so this is hard I know.) Don’t you want to reach Excellent/Elite/Masters and walk into the ring confidently – knowing that at least you don’t have to worry about your contacts? My personal feeling with my dogs is that the only time I am running through their contacts is the finals round at a Nationals Competition. After all, if we don’t have solid contacts, we won’t even get that far. September, 2002 Fetch, Play & Trainby Mia Grant I was realizing the other day, how much I am "training" Max while playing fetch. Fetch is Max's favorite game and he's always wanting to play (he has a ball in his mouth as I type). Every time I play with him, I'm getting in some great foundation work for agility. Recently, I've been working on his drive and start line. To do this, I have Max sit or lie down and stay. Sometimes I walk ahead of him, most of the time I stay by his side (Max's #1 weakness is drive and he gets more pumped up with me at his side). I then say the magic words,"ready.....set...". These words can get Max twitching, but if he moves before I give a release word, then we start over. I also vary the speed that I say the words. Usually, the next word is "go" and I throw the ball the direction my shoulders are facing. Max's "go" command means for him to continue on a straight path. By saying "go" to indicate the ball is going straight ahead from where I'm facing, I'm getting in some great training for agility! Sometimes, I'll be working on his recall over jumps or through the weaves. Then, the word after "set" would be "come" and whatever obstacle I wanted him to do. The big words for Max are "ready, set". Originally, they meant that I was getting ready to throw the ball, but now they just pump him up. In agility, I use "ready, set" to rev him off the table and contacts, as well as, the start line. I wish I'd started using "ready, set" earlier (other variations include: 1...2....3..., Ready......Steady.......). I almost always have 6 weaves up in my backyard (usually, that's all that is up). I think weaves are the most important obstacle to practice. I use Max's enthusiasm for fetch to work our weave issues. When we're working on speed, I'll run next to him waving the ball in front of his face. I do most of our weave entry work while playing fetch. Fetch was also key in teaching Max to do weaves ahead of me ("go weave", toss the ball). We do loads of flatwork while playing fetch. Max loves the reward so much, that I have his total focus. We do lots of hand targeting, "turns", "wraps" and "throughs" (when Max goes between my legs) and then I throw the ball. I try to keep the ball in one hand while doing the flatwork. This way, the dog learns to focus on what is being asked and not where the ball is. We also work on "go" while doing flatwork (ex. "wrap, go" toss the ball straight ahead). I'm a big fan of the "go" command. We started doing "wraps" while playing fetch. I'd leave Max in a down stay and call him. When he was coming towards me, I'd indicate which direction I wanted him to wrap around me with a hand signal and say "here". I'd then toss the ball, so he caught it right next to me. It really helped. Unfortunately, I taught Max that "here" means wrap and now I have to teach myself to say "here" in those situations. Be careful, how you indicate behaviors! I'm surprised to realize how much training we're doing while playing! Max actually trained me. He gets very pokey, if we do a bring the ball, throw the ball, fetch session. He quits quickly and wants to play again a minute later. Interactive sessions last longer and he doesn't want to play again quite so quickly (maybe 10 minutes!). I play the same way with Finn and am very happy with how it's helped us. Enjoy all your moments with your dogs. August, 2002 Re-Learning Past Lessonsby Mia Grant At the recent SB AKC, I had the wonderful opportunity to experience the feelings of a first show all over again thanks to Finn (the wonderful Aussie I train for Betty Brooks). I wasn't perfect, but Finn nearly was, so the results were very good. I was reminded of some of the challenges of being a handler with a new dog at a first show. My first surprise was how much my nerves played a factor in my handling decisions. I made changes in my plans, based on what I thought a "baby dog" would do and not on how I train Finn. It cost us a perfect run in JWW on Saturday. It's so important to make decisions based on the dog your running and not on what others are doing! (How many times do I need to learn this lesson!) I normally don't suffer from ring nerves (losing the ability to think clearly while running a course), but I did in Saturday's Novice Standard. Finn laid down on the table much faster than I thought and I spent the countdown thinking about how good he was being. Finn is good at the table, I shouldn't have been surprised, but my nerves allowed me to feel premature relief. By losing focus, I had no idea where I was for the obstacle after the table and cost us another perfect run. It's so important to work each obstacle completely! At the table, you should always take a moment to plan before going! If you have a complete "touch" at the contacts, that's another place you can regroup and plan on the course! By taking those moments to think, you mentally slow the course down, which is a huge advantage. I'm glad that I have a pre-run ritual, which I always do. It helps calm me down and focus my mind. I'm always visualizing a course before I run it. In my mind, I've run the course dozens of times before getting in the ring. I can't stress how important this is. Other than visualizing, my pre-run ritual is pretty quick. Three dogs before our run, I run the dog around. Two dogs before our run, I do a couple jumps at the warm-up jump. I plan how I'm going to do that jump based on the challenges presented by the upcoming course. For instance, if I know there is a lead out to a tight right turn, that's how I'm going to use the warm-up jump. When there's one dog left, I do some focus work, give the dog the last of my treats and tell them I'll love just as much if things don't go well on the course. I say this outloud and believe it helps put everything back into perspective. When we enter the ring, I always make sure I've communicated with the timer. You're supposed to do this, but it's become a part of my ritual and it's only after checking in with the timer that I feel like we're on course. I know if I can remember to plan my course strategy on how my dog runs, take advantage of the opportunities on course to mentally regroup and do my pre-run ritual, I've greatly increased my odds for success. I did this on Sunday and was thrilled with the results (ask Betty for details). June, 2002 Course Strategyby Mia Grant There are loads of different ideas on how to develop a course strategy, but here's my method and why I do it this way. First, I look at the course on paper, even though it always looks differently set up. When evaluating the paper course, I look for advantages I can gain from being on different sides. Once I figure out where the advantages are, I try to figure out how I can make the crosses happen (where and what type of cross). I then try to visualize the course. (I'm a big fan of visualization, daydream about your perfect run and it'll help make it happen.) I love volunteering for course building. Even better, if you can help course build your next course (obvious advantages). Once I'm allowed to walk the course, I walk it, without stopping, the way I'd planned from the paper course. Then I start evaluating the trouble zones (the places where everyone gathers on a course walk-through) and think of the other options I could try. This is when I really focus on what will be the most successful ways to handle the course with the dog I'm running. For instance, Roxanne doesn't do well with back-crosses at tunnels, so I'll plan my course to avoid them. With Max, he has a great "turn" and I use it in areas that I'm nervous about making a front cross. Once I have a course-strategy, I feel confident in (i.e. I can explain the choices I've made), I try to find someone I respect to bounce my ideas off. Listen to feedback, but remember, you know your dog best. If something has changed in my strategy after consultation, I'll go back and re-walk it. If there's a particular area, I'm not comfortable with, I'll run it at full speed the various ways to find what feels the best. I try to wait until the course starts thinning out, to run the full course once at full speed. If the ring is just too crowded, focus on sections (one contact to the next works for me). When the class starts, be sure to watch some runs. It will help you see how the course is running. Unless you see a much better option to your strategy, don't change your mind. I also like to have a plan if things don't go as planned. For instance, if Max knocks an early bar, you can bet we'll be holding all our contacts afterwards. If things go wrong with Rox early, I'll see how fast she can go. Remember, give credit to the dog if things go well and take the blame if they don't. Tell the dogs they're good. Mia May, 2002 Practice Pointersby Mia Grant A key to any successful agility team is smart practice habits. There are several things that come into play when making a smart practice plan: understanding your dog, knowing what you need to work on and having practice partners. Each dog is different and can handle different amounts of work, some have drive to burn and others are less motivated. Both my dogs are somewhat "soft" and will shut down if pushed too hard. Because of this, I have to really think about how I'm going to work on things, so I don't waste time(my practices on equipment are usually 20 minutes). A high drive dog can get flustered and confused when worked without a good strategy, but can handle more repetitions. What your dog can and can't take is something you, as theleader, have to figure out. I can safely say, most people make the mistake of overworking the dog (myself included, just ask around about what I did to Max). I like to go into a practice session with a clear idea of what I want out of my dogs. Write it down if you have to or tell people so they can help you stay focused. I rarely practice over complete courses. I prefer to break things down when I practice, more success = faster learning process. Complete courses provide too many chances for mistakes, I like to shoot for success when practicing. If your dog is being surprisingly good, I strongly recommend that you quit while you're ahead and plan on increasing the difficulty the next time out. I get the most out of a practice when I have practice partners. Try to find other agility enthusiasts to practice with. Having an objective eye can help prevent you from making the same mistake over and over. Plus, it can help expose you to more practice ideas. Most of all, make practices fun! No one likes boring repetition (remember piano lessons?), including our dogs. You also can practice when you're just hanging out with your dog. I'm always having Max hand target when he follows me around and I also do lots of tricks and stays/downs around the house and on our walks (I admit, I'm a dog geek). Smart practicing will improve your dog's learning curve and make the experience more fun for both of you. Tell your dogs they're good. Mia April, 2002 Taking Noteby Mia Grant After every competition, I like to make a list of the things I learned. It really helps me. At the last show, I only ran 2 courses (one with Max, one with Roxanne). Max's first Master's Standard ended after 5 obstacles, when we were whistled off for backweaving. Roxanne won her Performance 1 Jumpers class with a great run. Here's what I learned from that show:
March, 2002 Solid Start Lineby Mia Grant An unreliable start line is a very distracting issue for the handler. The problem presented is not the length of time the dog needs to stay, rather it is the dog's ability to resist temptation. The object is to teach the dog to stay for relatively short periods of time, despite massive temptation. There are many ways to work on this in your day-to-day life; here are some that have helped me:
None of this will help if you aren't' consistent. Never let the dog get away with breaking a stay and keep working on it even after the dog is solid. Don't forget, say positive and have fun! January, 2002 Things You Can Do Without Equipmentby Mia Grant
"Wrap" or "Around" is a command used to get the dog to wrap around your body, behind you, from one side to the other.
"Turn" is a directional command that is extremely useful on an agility course. The object is to have the dog turn away from you. Start training this with a leash.
For class registration or more club information, call 686-5286. For information on the Pay and Play, call 570-1028 or email Mia Grant at: AgileMandR@aol.com. For general information about agility, visit our Agility page or the sites on our Links page. |
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