I thought it might be nice to keep a week-by-week agility training diary for Tim starting from scratch, but he’s had his 5th session tonight and I’ve not started yet. Oh well, progress so far!..
First week he was an angel. That was surprising as we’d not done much basic obedience and I expected him to just bog off and round up other dogs. He was just being a good boy overawed on the first day at school though, and the next couple of weeks were pretty awful with him being sooooo distracted by the other dogs. Away from class we’ve worked hard on his recall, sometimes using Billy & Maisie as stooge distraction targets. Last week he was pretty good but still on his flexi-lead mostly, then tonight I was able to work him off quite a lot and he was really keen to work and only bogged off slightly a couple of times, but came back quickly.
On the equipment itself he’s very confident.
Jumps: now going over a couple of small jumps OK – recall and sending on, and with a turn.
Contacts – been over the A-frame (at great speed!) but mostly just working on rewarding his down contact “check” position. His legs are wayward at times but he’s getting the jist. Tonight we worked on holding the position even when I put a bit of pressure on the lead, and he kind of got it, though plenty more work to do.
Tunnels – really likes the pipe tunnel and will send from a short distance away and will already go through it confidently even with a bend in. He’s done the cloth tunnel once – working down to it held a bit open, and he was happy enough with that too.
Weaves – he thinks the channel weaves are a pleasure ride!!! With his recall now good enough to work him off-lead a bit we did a mix of recalls through, sending in from about 6’ away, and me running (not walking!) alongside. I sent him in from a slight angle a couple of times tonight and he got it so we’ll probably work on that a bit further next time. The channel is already close enough for him to get a proper little wiggle on and he thinks he’s ace and can’t wait for his next go!
Need to get him working to toys more as he is very food-oriented. His obedience is coming along well; he has a half-decent Wait already. We're also working on Heel/Side and Left/Right.
It’s really good fun :o) Tonnes for us both to learn about working together, but a nice start I reckon.
First week he was an angel. That was surprising as we’d not done much basic obedience and I expected him to just bog off and round up other dogs. He was just being a good boy overawed on the first day at school though, and the next couple of weeks were pretty awful with him being sooooo distracted by the other dogs. Away from class we’ve worked hard on his recall, sometimes using Billy & Maisie as stooge distraction targets. Last week he was pretty good but still on his flexi-lead mostly, then tonight I was able to work him off quite a lot and he was really keen to work and only bogged off slightly a couple of times, but came back quickly.
On the equipment itself he’s very confident.
Jumps: now going over a couple of small jumps OK – recall and sending on, and with a turn.
Contacts – been over the A-frame (at great speed!) but mostly just working on rewarding his down contact “check” position. His legs are wayward at times but he’s getting the jist. Tonight we worked on holding the position even when I put a bit of pressure on the lead, and he kind of got it, though plenty more work to do.
Tunnels – really likes the pipe tunnel and will send from a short distance away and will already go through it confidently even with a bend in. He’s done the cloth tunnel once – working down to it held a bit open, and he was happy enough with that too.
Weaves – he thinks the channel weaves are a pleasure ride!!! With his recall now good enough to work him off-lead a bit we did a mix of recalls through, sending in from about 6’ away, and me running (not walking!) alongside. I sent him in from a slight angle a couple of times tonight and he got it so we’ll probably work on that a bit further next time. The channel is already close enough for him to get a proper little wiggle on and he thinks he’s ace and can’t wait for his next go!
Need to get him working to toys more as he is very food-oriented. His obedience is coming along well; he has a half-decent Wait already. We're also working on Heel/Side and Left/Right.
It’s really good fun :o) Tonnes for us both to learn about working together, but a nice start I reckon.
Sounds promising
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