Deaf dog doing agility

What is up with TnG that dogs have a hard time with it? I have no Q's in that either, but then again, we just got contacts somewhat down recently. Oh the discriminations is what kills me. Just curious, how do you tell Alva which object to take? Is it a hand signal for a specific obstacle? Or body placement? Wow, I can only imagine how much harder that part is when you can't give a verbal command. Yikes.

BTW, I have kinda quit giving verbal commands unless their needed. So, no more, "jump, jump, up, jump, through, etc, etc, etc". Besides, I also stopped the verbal commands because I kept getting them confused. I figure, if the object is in front of him, he should be taking it anyways.

You guys have been doing great considering you haven't been trialling that long. I guess Alva was ready before you, hehehe. I think I pushed Koji, but it's been good for him. He's come a long ways since last Nov (when I started). Oh, I won't be there for the Nov 20-21 trial. Too much traveling (last week was Vegas, this week is Moorpark, I didn't want to stay in SD so I pulled out).

Side note: If you choose to do USDAA you can jump 16" under "Performance". Koji would have to jump 22" also, and I'm not pushing that, so I'd do Performance and have him jump 16". And I think Alva is about Koji's height.

I'll send good TnG thoughts down to SD for you and Alva. :) I don't think Koji will ever get versatility, why? Because he sucks at Chances. LOL. I hate that line, I really do. And Chances is a lot harder than AKC/CPE Gambler type games. Ugh! I'm debating on doing the Dec 4-5 NADAC trial. Oh, it's up at Lakeview Terrace. I don't think you go to those (that's a LONG drive for you). I wish they were a bit more centralized to OC. NADAC is so far (typically 1.5 hour drive) for me. And since I'm being money conscious, that's why I'm going to AKC for a bit. It's cheaper (per weekend, not per run) and closer.
 
TnG woes...

k9kreationz said:
What is up with TnG that dogs have a hard time with it? I have no Q's in that either, but then again, we just got contacts somewhat down recently. Oh the discriminations is what kills me. Just curious, how do you tell Alva which object to take? Is it a hand signal for a specific obstacle? Or body placement? Wow, I can only imagine how much harder that part is when you can't give a verbal command. Yikes.

BTW, I have kinda quit giving verbal commands unless their needed. So, no more, "jump, jump, up, jump, through, etc, etc, etc". Besides, I also stopped the verbal commands because I kept getting them confused. I figure, if the object is in front of him, he should be taking it anyways.

You guys have been doing great considering you haven't been trialling that long. I guess Alva was ready before you, hehehe. I think I pushed Koji, but it's been good for him. He's come a long ways since last Nov (when I started). Oh, I won't be there for the Nov 20-21 trial. Too much traveling (last week was Vegas, this week is Moorpark, I didn't want to stay in SD so I pulled out).

Side note: If you choose to do USDAA you can jump 16" under "Performance". Koji would have to jump 22" also, and I'm not pushing that, so I'd do Performance and have him jump 16". And I think Alva is about Koji's height.

I'll send good TnG thoughts down to SD for you and Alva. :) I don't think Koji will ever get versatility, why? Because he sucks at Chances. LOL. I hate that line, I really do. And Chances is a lot harder than AKC/CPE Gambler type games. Ugh! I'm debating on doing the Dec 4-5 NADAC trial. Oh, it's up at Lakeview Terrace. I don't think you go to those (that's a LONG drive for you). I wish they were a bit more centralized to OC. NADAC is so far (typically 1.5 hour drive) for me. And since I'm being money conscious, that's why I'm going to AKC for a bit. It's cheaper (per weekend, not per run) and closer.
Click to expand...

We've had endless problems with contacts... we had a good streak at the start, but once he started feeling more confident and increased his speed, Super Sheltie came into being (y'know... leaping tall contacts in a single bound). Then, he fell off the dog walk, and that ended Super Sheltie. He wouldn't go near any of the contacts without endless coaxing, and even then, when he was on it, he jumped off before touching the yellow like it was kryptonite. He was almost over this fear, when we went to a trial with a really nasty teeter that slammed on a very, very hard packed dirt floor. Well, that next bout was 6 months of making contacts (and 2on2off) the bestest thing ever. I think we are now at the tail end of this phase, and his contacts are considerably better. He even did two teeters in one game this weekend (reluctantly, but he did it!). So at least now, the obstacles themselves are not much of an issue in TnG.

The discriminations, on the other hand, are. But the last few trials, Alva has tested my assumptions. He used to always tunnel-suck, but he is now unpredictable. Sometimes he takes the tunnel, sometimes the contact. I use a combination of hand signals for the obstacle to take and my body and arms to push out, or pull in. Since he's still learning the obstacle commands (I just started naming the tunnel and contacts), that is less reliable than a simple perpendicular push to get him "out" to an away obstacle, or a shoulder pull and an RFP to pull him into a near obstacle. I'm still figuring out what I look like in both situations (am I really doing something so different that he can distinguish between the two commands), so we're learning together. A lot of times, the difference between taking the right or wrong obstacle can be literally a turn of a foot. It's happened, and I've seen him pull off something because I turned a second too late, or pulled my foot back a second too soon. It's frustrating that it has to be so exact, but it is a sport that requires teamwork, so we keep on practicing...

Good for you for minimizing the vocal commands. You are right. What's the point in telling a dog what obstacle to take if it is obviously right in front of them. Nothing irritates me more than watching someone run Tunnelers and yell "Tunnel!" for each and EVERY tunnel they go to. grrrrr! ALL OF THE OBSTACLES ARE TUNNELS!!!!! :mad: You are just white noise now! It makes no sense at all...

I'll be at the Gabriellino Park MAC trial in December. We love that park, and we love Lorraine's trials. They are so laid back with great people and dogs. It is a bit of a hike for us, so we stay at a hotel, but it is worth it. I hope to see you and Koji there!

-Dayle, mom to:
Alva--CL2,CL3-F,H,S (CPE);
O-NCC,S-NJC,NAC,S-Tn-N,Tn-O,O-Wv-N,Hp-N (NADAC); CGC
Orville--CGC
Wilbur,Misty--sweetest shelties waiting at the Bridge
 
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