Beginner's Class - Week 7

Beginner's Class week 7 was a great week for Flexi! He passed all of his milestones! The first set we went too was the Teeter set. He did the wobble board on the cement cone to start with and he hopped right up there and started banging away. He had not seen the board this high before because we were at the Tucson show the last week. We also played the bang it game with the full size teeter. He loved that one too!

We then moved to the weave, tunnel chute set. He did OK with the weaves. He was trying to move the gates out of the way with his nose - it was faster! But I did not reward him when he did. He also did really well with the tunnel and did pretty well with the chute. He had a little trouble as we pulled out the fabric of the chute but he did pretty well.

We then rotated to the jumping set. There we started with the simple set point exercise. Flexi did really well with this since he has been doing this exercise for a few months at home.

The final set was the table and the stay milestone and recall to heel test. He did great here! He has a really great stay and has gotten the recall to heel and shoulder pull down pat! He is a very smart little guy!

Monday Night Handlers Class - Week 6

Well, tonight I decided that self control was my only concern with Gus right now. I spent the entire night working with him on paying attention and not being a maniac. We started at Set 3 and I made Gus be calm (and lay down) before releasing him into the weaves. I bypassed everything else so that we could focus on 12 poles at speed. As usual he did better on our last turn. When we rotated to Set 1 I required that Gus sit and look at me before I would allow him to take any equipment. Unfortunately he refused on each turn so he was not allowed to run this course. I would request that he look and sit and wait for 30 seconds. If he did not do as I asked I walked him over to his kennel and put him in there until his next turn. Of course he screamed about it but I ignored him. He needs to learn that he must remain calm enough to comply with my requests around the agility equipment. Finally we rotated to Set 2 and this time when I asked for his eye contact and a sit I got it!!! He figured out the consequences pretty quickly although I expect that we will have to revisit this lesson for months. When running Set 2 I really struggled to get into position for a front cross after jump number 5. He is just too fast for me. On the final attempt though I handled 6 to 7 with a rear cross and we were more successful than before.

Scramblers Show Day 2 - October 19

Gus only had one run today and that was a jumpers run. I spent more time today with the dogs in the tent so Flex did a lot better with the barking. Since I volunteered so much on Saturday I decided to spend more time with the dogs. The Jumpers course map is shown above. Gus did OK - only knocking 4 bars. I did a running start with him since his stays are bad right now and we took off. As he was landing after jump 2 I told him to go tunnel so of course he changed direction and headed for the number 6 tunnel. Go figure. I assumed that since he was looking directly at number 4he would head right for it and I could get into position for jump number 5 but he had other ideas. Anyway, I was able to call him off of the off course tunnel and got him back on track and over jump 3 however he knocked that one. Since I then baby sat the number 4 tunnel entrance I was not in a good position to front cross after jump 5 so he knocked that bar too. he handled pretty smoothly from 6 to 9. we ran the remainder of the course and he knocked jumps 10 and 13. He finished with a time of 27.05 sec. The course distance was 122 yds which means he ran it in 4.51 yds/sec which is really fast for a corgi (and we wasted some time with the off course bobble)! If we could just figure out how to correct his jumping issue.

Scramblers Show Day 1 - October 18

I told Gus before we left for the weekend that all I wanted for my birthday was a Q. Unfortunately I was not to receive my bday present. He did however have two pretty good runs on Saturday. The first run was a Gamblers run. He scored 19 points (18 were required in the opening to Q) and he completed the Gamble beautifully. The only reason he didn't Q was because he knocked the two jump bars in the gamble. Otherwise it was a perfect run. We attempted the DW a few times but Gus kept bailing before the contact. I was really pleased with his efforts even though we did not qualify.

As for his Snooker run he again did ok. We only scored 4 points but that was mostly my fault. He did NOT knock any jump bars! See diagram for visual assistance with this description. We took the red jump first on the lower left hand corner of the picture. He kept the bar up and we then attempted the teeter. Unfortunately Gus had a fly off on the teeter so we got no points for this one. Next we did the red jump on the lower right side of the course. He again kept the bar up! We then took the number 2 jump successfully but I was out of position and he head right up the obvious next obstacle, the AFrame. We were promptly whistled off then. I was pretty happy he Gussie's performance and not so ok with mine. I knew immediately what I should have done to keep him off of the AF but I was so amazed by his success with the jumps that I was caught flat footed and was watching him instead of moving! Bad Mommy!!

As for Flex, this was his first full blown trial weekend. On Saturday I spent a lot of time helping in the rings and at the scorer's table so he was alone in his kennel most of the day. I took him out for walks and to visit people (like Auntie Karen and Aunite Jane) but overall he struggled with having to sit quietly all day. He spent some time at the scorer's table with me and for the most part did not spend all his time barking his head off at the other competitors but he did a few times. He is doing better with men so I am pretty happy with that.

Living Room Work

I did 15 minutes of work tonight with the dogs. Five minutes was with Gus on the perch work (standing with both feet on the book). I tried to only click when he had both foot touching the book. This was a little frustrating for Gus but he stuck with it and came back to me after just a few seconds of looking away or looking for treats. We also did about five minutes of work on sits and downs. He did much better tonight on understanding the difference and giving me what I asked for.

I worked on weave entries with Flex again tonight. We did straight on off side weaves and he showed a marked improvement finding the entry almost 70% of the time. He occasionally gives me a drive by but I can call him back and he is usually successful on the next turn. I also found a new toy for Flex that I call the bungee dog. They can be ordered from the Kyjen Company (a picture of the one I got is above). I have been looking to find one of these for a couple of weeks (since Flex destroyed the one I had). Now that I have the company's name and website I can order more as he goes through them. There are a great toy that I use only for agility.

Home Practice with the Boys

Last night I worked with Gus for about 10 minutes and Flex for about the same amount of time. Gus and I worked on two exercises. The first was the phone book/perch work. I worked on getting him to place both feet on the book. He is having an issue with this because he tends to stand with one foot on the book and the other foot in the air to look up at me. I have been clicking for this because I think it is something that he does because he is short. I am going to need to stop so that we can work on the rear end movement. We did this for about 5 minutes and he stayed focused and engaged for the whole time.

Gus and I also worked on his sit work because he is not very reliable on the sit and I have trained a default behavior for him that is a down. Anytime he is not sure what to offer he gives me a down, so I want him to understand and react to the sit command appropriately. I need to get him to sit on command so that I can work on the porpoising exercises for his jump because he will not lure into a sit.

Flex and I worked on his weave entries. Both on and off side. He is getting better at the offside but he is still not as reliable off side as he is on side.

New Class for Gus

Tonight I took Gus to a new class at Top Notch Canines. It was a private lesson and the first time Gussie was seen by the instructor. It is an indoor training facility and has just opened this week. To start with we reviewed Gus' issues and then the instructor wanted to see Gus in action. Her evaluation of his performance was that he was:

1. unable to drive forward to the next obstacle because my cues were too late.
2. looking up when jumping and not putting his head in to the proper jumping position.

After an initial evaluation run we tried some jump grids which Gus was marginally successful but it was obvious to the instructor that he was keeping his head too high. Then Debbie introduced a new exercise for Gus to do at home, which is a jump grid at very low height (4"). We are to do a single jump and then go into an immediate sit. I must treat Gus very low to encourage the low head position. We also need to work on the phone book work and teach him to move his rear end in to the proper heel position.

I also need to work on 101 things to do with a box as homework. Gus shuts down when challenged so Debbie wants me to work on keeping him engaged with me by challenging him and getting him to work through it. When he disengages I am to put him into his kennel until he calms down enough to work with me.

Handler's Class - Week 5

We had only two instructors tonight so we only had 3 sets and one of them was a help each other set. For the help each other set, we had another FC drill. This exercise was very difficult for us. Getting far enough in front of Gus after obstacle 2 so that he took the correct side of 3 was almost impossible. The turn to 4 and then a FC over to 5 was pretty easy for him. I ran him at 12" most of the time and he knocked most of the bars down. I also took his turn away once for not sitting like I asked him to.

On set 3 I had Gus only doing the weaves and the A-frame. We worked on and off side weaves while on leash. By the last turn he did all 12 with speed and almost appropriate foot work.

The final set was an adaption of an AKC style jumpers course. We made a number of attempts on this course. I lead out to the broad jump and then cut diagonally across jump 3 to perform a FC between 3 &4. I then did a rear cross between 4 & 5. Gus took the turn between 5 & 6 usually wide. I also had to be careful from 6 to 7 because he was frequently taking jump 4 backwards. Keeping my arm down and getting his attention was very important to keep him off the off course jump. To finish off the course I did a front cross between 7 & 8. Although I had a tough time getting into the proper position It was still successful to complete this properly.

Fun Run - Standard

This week we did a USDAA Standard course for the weekly Fun Run. I ran Gus first. He had his typical issues - weaves, table, contacts and keeping bars up. I have to say that the sequence from 5 to 9 handled beautifully. Otherwise his first run pretty much a mess. I was definitely frustrated. For his second run

I started at the table and kept his leash on him into the weaves. We ran the rest of the course from there. He did fair on the weaves and wouldn't down on the table as usual.

For Flex's first run I just wanted to get him to do the first 4 obstacles. Unfortunately he ran off after the first jump. On his second run I made sure to treat every obstacle or every other one. He ran the whole thing but we skipped the weaves and teeter. I intended to have him run past the other obstacles but he took them. He has seen a dog walk before so I wasn't too worried but he has never seen the Aframe before. He charged right up the Aframe and got an "uh oh" look on his face once he reached the pinnacle. He continued forward and completed the frame with enthusiasm and turned around and went right back up the Aframe again. What a great dog he is!

Beginners Class - Week 5

Well Flex just blew me away with his ability and eagerness when it comes to Agility. He is doing really well with everything.



Set 3- This week Flex was again working on the Buja board and today it was on cement. He did very well and really seemed to like bouncing around on the board. The noise of the board hitting the ground did not faze him in the least. It continued to be at the lowest heights (baseball and softball).



Set 4 - Weaves & Tunnel. This week we added the full 12 poles and worked with the gates. The first time I kept Flex on lead so that he was more comfortable with the gates. He had not seen them before and I was concerned that he would panic and try and jump the gates. He did not. He got very comfortable after the first couple of turns and he ran the poles with proper foot work and enthusiasm. He also tackled the curved tunnel without any problems which was huge for him. I tried to do some advanced work with him on a sit stay and call him through the curve. That was a little tough for him still. He saw that it was a shorter path and easier to go around the tunnel in those situations. By the end he was getting it.



Set 1 - The was introducing the dogs to the jumps and since Flex already has had a lot of exposure to this he did fine on this exercise. We basically worked on getting the dogs to freely jump over the obstacle with luring them. The point was to move to the dog's jump height as quickly as possible.



Set 2 - Flat work. We were working on proofing the blind cross body line and Flex really needs work here. The exercise was to place the treat on a target and have the dog move to the treat without crossing behind you. We did this froma sit on the opposite of the treat and also walking in circles and changing directions around the treat. He did not like being corrected and was vrey unsure after I would step on the treat if he tried to cross behind me. He was a little more comfortable with this at towards the end of the exercise.

Side note: I am also trying to teach Flexi to jump up into my arms after a run. Today we worked on him placing his front feet on my knee when I place it out in front of me. He was definitely enjoying this game. Treats for something he does any way!

Wednesday Night Weave Practice

Tonight I worked with Flex on his weave entries both on and off side. He is very consistent with the onside entry (80 to 90%) success rate. The off side entries leave a little bit to be desired. His success rate on these are 40 to 50% right now. We spent more time on the off side weaves. I am resisting the urge to lure him but at times I find myself wanting to. When he misses 3 or 4 tries in a row I switch to on side so he can be successful for a few tries. I am hoping that this reminds him of what I am looking for (but I am not optimistic). Anyway, we will continue to work these at night so that I can get him consistently finding that entry no matter where I stand.

As for Gus' weaves, at home they are beautiful. He is consistently finding his entries from a variety of weird angles and completes 6 (I only have room for 6 poles inside) with speed and good foot work). He had at 90% success rate on finding his entries (out of 10 tries) and he completed all attempts at weaving successfully. He did not pop or skip any poles on any of his attempts. Good Job Gus! Let's translate that to practice somewhere else than the Living Room.

Handlers Class - Week 4

So this week I was extremely frustrated with Gus' performance. I have entered him in the up coming Saguaro Scramblers trial the weekend of October 18th and 19th. The only reason I have entered him is to get Flex some exposure to the trial environment. He continues to knock most jump bars and refuses to weave at speed. His handling is going very well.

Set 1 - I worked with Gus on this set in stages because of his weaving issues. I lead out to a position between 1 and 2 (closer to 2) and released Gus from his stay while looking over my right shoulder. He handled very well from 1 to 4 but knocked all of the jump bars. I kept him on my right from 1 to 3 and then did a front cross so he was on my left headed into the far tunnel entry. This prevented him from going into the wrong end of the tunnel. After he completed the tunnel I put him on leash and sent him into the weaves. On the first 2 turns he did not weave well even on leash but on the 3rd try he did better. I kept him off side and held the leash to make sure he completed them. After the weaves I took him off leash again to finish 6 through 9. I had him on my right side and headed to 6. If I did not move fast enough he would cut in front of me and take the off course number 8 jump. When I did move fast enough to get him out over 7 it was very difficult to get a reasonably tight turn to come back over jump number 8. Once he was over jump 8 he had a straight shot into the chute with which he had no problems.

Set 2 - This set was exceptionally difficult for us. Besides requiring a tremendous amount of speed since lead outs were not allowed, the set is mostly jumps so Gus knocked most of the bars. We also had a lot of problems going from jump 5 to the teeter. Gus continually wanted to push out wide around the teeter. Finally I tried a front cross in front of the teeter and that gave him a better approach and he was more successful. I am still not able to get in front of Gussie for front crosses on tight courses like this one.

Set 3 - Weaves, Weaves, Weaves. OMG they will be the death of him. He weaved OK (because he was a little tired) on leash. I rewarded him with the tunnel which seemed to work OK. We focused our practice to on and off side weaving for the entire set. He was doing pretty well, but did pop at pole 10 on a number of turns. He was building up some speed and having good foot work on a few of those turns. We need more practice around equipment and other dogs.

Set 4 - This set was to practice threadles and serpentine patterns. We definitely had a few handling issues with this one - again because of his speed. We performed the black square sequence first and we were pretty successful. He had nice switches and ran very smoothly. he did have a wide turn from 5 to 6 because my motion pushed him out there. This was difficult for me because I really don't know how to handle this so that he doesn't go so wide without layer the number 6 jump (which is not allowed in APHS). On the white square sequence we struggled. Handling the threadle without using RFPs with Gus was very difficult. I was constantly out of position for the number 5 jump. I need to set this up at home and see what I can do to make this work for us.

Beginner's Class - Week 4

Well, this week the dogs were introduced to some new things and Flex adapted very well.

Set 1: This is the jumping set and we continues to review the telephone book/perch work with the dogs. Actually this was the Milestone Week and Flex was being tested on it. He did pretty well with the pressure but he has a tough time with the invitation. This week they also introduced the idea of walking backwards in a circle. This was more difficult for him because he likes to be in front of me and looking at my face. The idea with this exercise was that he was to be in a heel position and walk backwards next to me. He would do a few steps at a time but either got scared because the tunnel would move (due to another dog jumping on it) or he would run into the tunnel braces. I need to practice this with him at home around a chair for now.

Set 2: This is the flat work set. We worked on restrained recalls and heel work with the dogs. Flex has been doing these activities for a long time (since I adopted him) so they were very easy for him.

Set 3: This week we introduced the Buja/Wobble board to the dogs. Flex did great with this. he had no problems with the motion at either height (baseball or softball) and was very comfortable. Even jumping up to get treats while on the board. I am looking forward to the higher heights and performing this on the cement to incorporate the noise.

Set 4: This week we continues to work on weave entries and the tunnel. Flexi has gotten over his fear of a straight tunnel. It does help him if I talk to him while he is in there. As for the weaves, he is getting the entries however, he is not too comfortable yet with the more difficult angles for his entry. I will continue to work this at home.

Flexi has also progressed with his issues with people. He is freely going up to new people when he is on leash with me. He is still hand shy but does not freak out the way he used to. In addition he is doing much better sitting quietly in his crate and he and Gus are able to share a kennel together. I am very proud of my little boy!

Saturday Fun Run - 10/4/08

So this week we ran a Gamblers course. Gussie did pretty well on his first run. He knocked all the bars but got a few of the contacts and followed my direction very well. He was successfully able to complete the gamble but knocked the jump bars while doing it. On his second run, he bit me again because I tried to move him through too much of an empty space. He gets really frustrated by that. A lot of the handlers that were running the course had trouble with the gamble. The two most common mistakes were that the dogs pull into the handler after jump 1 rather than take the correct side of jump 2. The other issues was that the handlers were not able to redirect the dogs over the number 3 jump and the dogs instead headed straight to jump 4.


Flex and I just ran a few tunnels and jumps. His zoomies were minimized by the yummy chicken that I brought for treats. I rewarded him after every obstacles or every other one. He had a tough time with the gamble too because he still comes back to me after every jump. I am OK with this right now because of his tendency to zoom, but i was still impressed that he stuck with me so well today.