Hurtseverywhere
Forums Enthusiast
Sounds LIke things went pretty well for the first night back in over a year, I am sure Duncan will quite literally Jump right back into it in no time.
Nervous to get back into it
- Thread starter Lovely
- Start date
Class #2:
Rear crosses!!!! Finally, we got to do jumping!!! Duncan is by far the most advanced dog in the class. I'm not being conceited - some of the dogs balked at the jumps. I didn't realize some of them hadn't taken an agility class yet. There are supposed to be pre-requisites. Grr.
In addition to working on rear crosses (which Duncan was great at while running full speed, but not great if we didn't have a running start), I did some pinwheel work.
Also, I need to pick a way to train contacts. Duncan keeps going after the contacts if I'm not paying 100% attention to him. So I would rather purposely train them instead of having to pull him off or something else that could hurt us long run. Since it has been so long, I think I could adopt whatever system I like. I do not like 2o2o and am more inclined to try 4 on. I treated him at the bottom of the DW and put him up about a foot and had him target to the bottom. I need to look into a system...
Rear crosses!!!! Finally, we got to do jumping!!! Duncan is by far the most advanced dog in the class. I'm not being conceited - some of the dogs balked at the jumps. I didn't realize some of them hadn't taken an agility class yet. There are supposed to be pre-requisites. Grr.
In addition to working on rear crosses (which Duncan was great at while running full speed, but not great if we didn't have a running start), I did some pinwheel work.
Also, I need to pick a way to train contacts. Duncan keeps going after the contacts if I'm not paying 100% attention to him. So I would rather purposely train them instead of having to pull him off or something else that could hurt us long run. Since it has been so long, I think I could adopt whatever system I like. I do not like 2o2o and am more inclined to try 4 on. I treated him at the bottom of the DW and put him up about a foot and had him target to the bottom. I need to look into a system...
corbinam
Moderator
I'm glad to hear that Duncan is doing so well.
Just wanted to post and say that I wouldn't recommend doing a 4-on on the a-frame. The angle would make that really hard for any dog to hold, not to mention very difficult to train. I think it's much more feasible on the dogwalk, and easily taught on the teeter (that's what we trained Lexi on her teeter).
corbinam
Moderator
Really depends on the dog's stride. What does Duncan do if you don't ask him to stop? Where does he hit before jumping off? And is he striding off, or gathering up and jumping ahead (rather than down)?
With a small dog sometimes it's easier to train a running, but if it were me, I'd probably stick with 2o2o. It's easier to train, and the criteria is much clearer to the dog (and the human when it comes to rewarding!)
That's awesome!!!
He'll jump like 5 feet forward from about the middle of the frame. At least, that's what he would do last year (haven't done the frame since then) if I didn't have his attention and was vocally slowing him down. It's way too hard on his joints and a terrible thing to happen. He doesn't like contact zones, apparently, which is why I want a plan!
I guess 2o2o would be okay. Do you think I could put a target plate at the bottom and let him choose what is comfortable and not specify? Or should I keep it really tight and have two different words?
I guess 2o2o would be okay. Do you think I could put a target plate at the bottom and let him choose what is comfortable and not specify? Or should I keep it really tight and have two different words?
Getting back into agility
My advice is to listen to your instructor.She knows you and your dog .
My advice is to listen to your instructor.She knows you and your dog .
I wish this were true. I switched clubs to one about 10 mins away instead of the one I was going to last year, which was about 40 mins away. So my current instructor has met us twice.
corbinam
Moderator
You can put a target plate out and see what he does naturally, but I wouldn't train with nebulous criteria. I think it's a lot easier to train if you know exactly what you want, all the time.
Getting back into agility
Can you try and get a private with her so she can see where you are at?If you take all the advice on here and try it all you will screw up your dog.I f you dont know how to teach what the advice may be you will make matters worse for your dog.This is JMO and not everyone will agree.
Can you try and get a private with her so she can see where you are at?If you take all the advice on here and try it all you will screw up your dog.I f you dont know how to teach what the advice may be you will make matters worse for your dog.This is JMO and not everyone will agree.