Spirit Joy

Cleo2014 said:
Cara, I have come to the conclusion that I am going to need to build Cleo a teeter for my backyard at home. It is not USDAA or AKC approved, but it will be good for practice and it doesn't seem like it cost much. At least not as much as the ones you can buy online.

Here is the link I am using:
http://www.wikihow.com/Build-an-Adjustable-Dog-Agility-Seesaw

At the very bottom it has a list of things you need and also tips and warnings.
I just thought I would toss this your way just in case you are interested. :)
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Thank you! Pretty sure I won't do this but maybe I can find someone to do it for me :-)
 
Cara Sandler said:
Turns out Spirit really likes her bosu ball! So much for using it to help herr adjust to motion. The motion from the bosu ball doesn't seem to bother her at all. But I can see how it will be a valuable training and conditioning tool. Also, one of my friends built a little mini teeter for Spirit to have at home. Hopefully that will help too.
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And never underestimate the power of Cheez-Whiz :). Do any of the teeters you've used that she doesn't like make a weird noise? Like a creaking sound or do they bang harder than the one she uses in class? I'm skeptical of motion being the problem when she uses the one in class (and has been for a long time) without a problem. I wonder if one of the teeters in the ring spooked her somehow, and now she only trusts the one she learned on.
 
Lanie said:
And never underestimate the power of Cheez-Whiz :). Do any of the teeters you've used that she doesn't like make a weird noise? Like a creaking sound or do they bang harder than the one she uses in class? I'm skeptical of motion being the problem when she uses the one in class (and has been for a long time) without a problem. I wonder if one of the teeters in the ring spooked her somehow, and now she only trusts the one she learned on.
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We're pretty sure it isn't noise, it's motion. We've tried putting her on various things that move (shopping carts, skateboards, balance balls, wagons, golf carts). She is uncomfortable on all of them as soon as they start to move, and they don't make noise. The teeter that she learned on (and that she will still do) is actually incredibly smooth and sturdy and doesn't wiggle or vibrate at all (it was a crazy expensive teeter, and no other clubs in the area have such a nice teeter!). So I agree with that part of it - she only trusts that one. Also, she will play the "bang game" of pushing the teeters down at the end (even the ones she won't get on) without any hesitation. And I taught her to start closing the kitchen cabinets with a big banging noise, and she showed no fear at all from the getgo.

HOWEVER - today we went somewhere else to practice the teeter, and I went back to putting Cheez Whiz at the end. We moved slowly, starting by propping the teeter up very close to horizontal and not letting it move at. We gradually increased the difficulty (and this was only over about 5 minutes) until she was doing the whole thing again by herself, and the last time, she actually ran a little sequence that included the teeter. She even ran over to the teeter once by herself when I wasn't indicating it and she did it fine. So for whatever the reason, the Cheez Whiz seems to be powerful enough to overcome it. We'll keep working on strange teeters and hopefully we can fix the problem for good.
 
Cara Sandler said:
HOWEVER - today we went somewhere else to practice the teeter, and I went back to putting Cheez Whiz at the end. We moved slowly, starting by propping the teeter up very close to horizontal and not letting it move at. We gradually increased the difficulty (and this was only over about 5 minutes) until she was doing the whole thing again by herself, and the last time, she actually ran a little sequence that included the teeter. She even ran over to the teeter once by herself when I wasn't indicating it and she did it fine. So for whatever the reason, the Cheez Whiz seems to be powerful enough to overcome it. We'll keep working on strange teeters and hopefully we can fix the problem for good.
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Cheez-Whiz works miracles. Looks like you're making progress. Fingers crossed
 
So after Spirit's disastrous weekend at DACOF, we made a bunch of changes. I pulled her out of competition for 2 months and out of class for a month. I put her on some supplements. I started her on a conditioning program. I'm not sure what exactly made the difference to her, but she was AWESOME in class tonight. Motivated, fast, focused! She looked like the Spirit I first started trialing with. I'm so relieved that she's happy and back to her old self. I just wish I knew what exactly was helping her - since I changed everything at once I have no way of knowing. I guess it doesn't really matter though. If this is what it takes to keep her healthy and happy, this is what we'll do.
 
I'm really enjoying this thread which I've just caught up with this evening! :yes: So interesting to read all about Spirit's agility journey Cara, the highs and lows so thank you very much for keeping this thread going. You've given me a lot of food for thought actually in the discussions over some of the challenges you've been facing. Amazing runs too from such a young dog. She really looks very assured out there and many congratulations on the Qs and titles already!!

Just a possible suggestion, I'm bringing on my young boy Angus at the moment and he's done a couple of shows now with contacts. Here we are allowed to 'hold' the contacts in the ring (pause for several seconds in the 2o2o) if desired. Obviously it impacts on the time and you're not really meant to train too obviously (i.e. walk away & return) but it is useful with a new dog just to be able to reinforce the 2o2o position with some verbal praise in the ring rather than going for the quick release as would be done if aiming to be competitive. Providing it isn't excessive, judges are OK with this. In fact competitors in major competitions frequently take the opportunity to do this if the run has already been E'd (I've even seen it at Crufts). This is working well for Angus, (although for Epic it is counterproductive as being stopped on the contacts makes him anxious) so it could be something to try if allowed at your venue?

I shall continue to watch your and Spirit's journey with keen interest. :pop
 
seashel said:
I'm really enjoying this thread which I've just caught up with this evening! :yes: So interesting to read all about Spirit's agility journey Cara, the highs and lows so thank you very much for keeping this thread going. You've given me a lot of food for thought actually in the discussions over some of the challenges you've been facing. Amazing runs too from such a young dog. She really looks very assured out there and many congratulations on the Qs and titles already!!

Just a possible suggestion, I'm bringing on my young boy Angus at the moment and he's done a couple of shows now with contacts. Here we are allowed to 'hold' the contacts in the ring (pause for several seconds in the 2o2o) if desired. Obviously it impacts on the time and you're not really meant to train too obviously (i.e. walk away & return) but it is useful with a new dog just to be able to reinforce the 2o2o position with some verbal praise in the ring rather than going for the quick release as would be done if aiming to be competitive. Providing it isn't excessive, judges are OK with this. In fact competitors in major competitions frequently take the opportunity to do this if the run has already been E'd (I've even seen it at Crufts). This is working well for Angus, (although for Epic it is counterproductive as being stopped on the contacts makes him anxious) so it could be something to try if allowed at your venue?

I shall continue to watch your and Spirit's journey with keen interest. :pop
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Thank you Julia! So glad that you are enjoying our journey as much as Spirit and I are :-)

That's an interesting thought regarding having Spirit hold her 2o2o position longer. Our trainers actually encouraged me to do a quick release right now in a trial setting because Spirit gets a little too excited to stay there for long - and if it's a contact to a tunnel she won't even pause at all in the ring. Our first few trials I tried having her hold her 2o2o and she broke rather quickly, leaving me to have to do the Walk of Shame with her. So their thought was to ask for less of a pause and release her before she released herself, and as she matures and gets better self control, to increase the time she holds the 2o2o to allow me to get into a better position. It is definitely allowed at our venues, I just think that it would cause more of a disconnect with her at this point.
 
Well, Spirit has had a nice long break from agility. We went back to class last night, and did 3 runs. The first she did pretty well, the second she was pokey and hid in the tunnel, the third was fabulous! So I paid for a bunch of private lessons so that we can work on whatever is happening to her out in the ring and sometimes in class. The lesson tonight went GREAT! She ran, was excited about working, and even started offering to do obstacles without me showing her her toy. Her trainer said that she thinks we'll be able to figure this out and get Spirit back out into the ring. I hope so! I mean, ultimately, if she doesn't want to do it I'm not going to force her. So I really hope we can re-kindle her spark and get her excited and confident again.
 
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