Simba's agility update

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Simba13

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It has now been 5 months since Simba and I started our agility training. He took a 3 week break the week after we began class because he got very sick for a few days and then another 2 weeks of when he got neutered. So we have really been at it for 4 months with 1 class a week :)

After a bit of hesitation in the beginning he is really flying now. He is completely over his fear of the dog walk and a frame and since being neutered he has stopped trying to pee in the tunnel. We started in a more advanced class with people who have been competing for years. We recently met a lady at the class who has been doing it for more then 30 years!

We have just began some work with the seesaw and he is not to keen on it at the moment but I know it will take time to build up his confidence on this piece of equipment. He is progressing well with his weave training. This is something we can do at home so we spend 5 minutes 2 or 3 times a day working on this. Any advice on how to help him overcome his fear of the movement of the seesaw at home would be great. We don't have our own seesaw but I would love to build a little training one for at home in the future.

We have also been working on start line waits which he is really solid on now but he runs much faster with a running start. At least I know he can do either :) At only 15 months I am so happy with how he is progressing. He has plenty of time to mature before he is old enough to compete and plenty of time to work on the equipment we are not to confident on yet. I am looking forward to a successful agility career in the future :)
 
Yay! Glad to hear he is progressing and enjoying it!

For the seesaw, there are a couple things you can do. Lots of people make what is called a wobble or a boggle board. It's super simple. Take a piece of flat wood and just duct tape a tennis ball to the bottom of it. (If you google "wobble board" you'll see human versions of the same idea!). Have Simba just get used to jumping on and off, rocking around on it, etc. Reward him for staying on while it moves (lots of dogs tend to jump on and jump off as soon as it rocks). I've found that the biggest hurdle with the teeter is having the dog understand that they control the movement. It helps them gain HEAPS of confidence.

Something else you can do at your training building is to have them lower the teeter all the way down and have the dog "surf" the teeter. You may already be doing this, but this is what helped both Enzo and Lexi the most. Again, they are rewarded for the movement, and staying on--but also realizing that they are in control of the motion. I tried to find a video but couldn't--so let me try to explain it. If it doesn't make sense I'll try to make a video at home :yes:

So the idea is that you are standing facing the fulcrum of the teeter--but you're slightly closer towards one end. In other words, if you were to reach both of your arms out to the side, you would sort of be spanning the length of the teeter. Ask Simba to get on the teeter (on the side that you're sort of leaning towards) and if you have to, lure him to the other side and reward (use the hand on that side of the teeter, don't reach over with your far hand). Do not ask for the end criteria, and reward before he decides to jump off. The teeter will rock to that side, and as it does you give him a treat and then immediately lean the other way (you can take a step or two, but you're still facing the fulcrum of the teeter--not one end or another) and then when it hits--shouldn't be too much of a bounce if the teeter is really low--feed him out of your other hand, and then reverse direction again. Does that make sense? Again, lure a little bit if you need to. It becomes a fun game where they are moving from one side to the other (never jumping off or doing the end criteria, just "surfing" from one side to the other).

Again--let me know if that last part doesn't make sense and I'll try to get a video.
 
Simba sounds like he is doing really good. The seesaw is one of the scariest obstacles for them, and Corbinam has given some top advice. I have a wobble board and Sparrow has been using it since she was six months, I think it made a huge difference for when she came to doing the seesaw.

Just to add something, I was taught to do the 'bang' game withy Sparrow. Basically the end was lowered almost to the ground and the dog was encouraged just to put their front paws on the contact and bring the end of the seesaw to the ground. This was to teach the dog that they make the 'bang' and of course you reward them lots for doing it. You can raise the height of the end, so they have to push it further to bang it, but you are not asking for a contact position, just getting them used to making the noise.

As with all things it is about practice and building confidence:wink2:
 
Thank you so much for all of the tips! We have not been lowering the seesaw at the class and I actually don't think it does lower. I know the rest of the contact equipment does. I think I know what you are talking about. I will give it a try this week in between classes :) I think the wobble board is a great idea. I am going to give it a try tomorrow!
 
I made a quick video. Note that in this video the teeter is at full height so it takes a lot longer to tip than it would if it were lower--but you get the general idea :)

https://youtu.be/_uHX-Z34-dw

And I forgot about the bang game that Sophie mentioned--that's a great one too!
 
corbinam said:
I made a quick video. Note that in this video the teeter is at full height so it takes a lot longer to tip than it would if it were lower--but you get the general idea :)

https://youtu.be/_uHX-Z34-dw

And I forgot about the bang game that Sophie mentioned--that's a great one too!
Click to expand...

Thanks a million :) I am planning on building my own mini seesaw and will have to try this! We will definitely start with the wobble board. Simba is an extremely stubborn dog so teaching him anything is a huge challenge. It's like he knows how to something but he is just to stubborn to do it. This evening while at an obedience class he refused to sit and stay. I had to put him in the sit 38 times before he let me take a step back even though he usually can get a 30 second stay at short distance. The minute I lifted my foot to step back he was up again. To say he got a lot of praise after he eventually stayed is an understatement :biggrin2:
 
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