Spirit Joy

Thank you, Brittany! Today was even better for us! Spirit got a Q and 1st place in Excellent Jumpers, and a Q in Time 2 Beat. We stayed connected, had fun, and it clearly made a huge difference to Spirit! We did a modified Standard course and I didn't ask her to do the teeter. We basically did the tire, table (which she stayed on even when I took a couple steps away, GOOD PUPPY), the dogwalk, and the weaves (I tried to rear the weaves, which I knew she doesn't understand yet, but we had nothing to lose in this run - no luck). I made her repeat the weaves to make sure she did them right, which I'm sure she found rewarding - she LOVES the weaves. She held all her contacts today - even in Time to Beat - where she stayed on top of the a-frame both times (it was on the course twice) for a good 5-6 seconds each time. But she did refocus on me and do her 2o2o very nicely. All in all, a very good day, and we're making progress and most importantly definitely having fun. She came off every course happy and spinning and wagging her tail, and I really can't ever hope for anything more important than that :-)
 
I'm on to a new plan to try to help Spirit get over her teeter issues - we are going to every single unfamiliar teeter in the area that we can. This morning we went to 2 peoples' homes to work on it - and Spirit was not comfortable at either one. Which is actually a really good thing! At least now I have something I can work on. It's very hard to fix a problem that only happens in the ring, so I'm just grateful that she's showing some of the same behaviors and anxiety in a different location, where I CAN work with her. Paws crossed this will work.
 
Cara Sandler said:
I'm on to a new plan to try to help Spirit get over her teeter issues - we are going to every single unfamiliar teeter in the area that we can. This morning we went to 2 peoples' homes to work on it - and Spirit was not comfortable at either one. Which is actually a really good thing! At least now I have something I can work on. It's very hard to fix a problem that only happens in the ring, so I'm just grateful that she's showing some of the same behaviors and anxiety in a different location, where I CAN work with her. Paws crossed this will work.
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This is great! I can't wait to hear the results. Keep up the good work!
 
Lexi had a major teeter issue when she was younger. I realized that she didn't like teeters where she couldn't predict the tipping point. So whenever she started to get worried she would bail. We solved it by putting a teeter in our living room (truly!) and altering the tipping point by taping a full water bottle to different parts of the board, which altered the fulcrum.
 
corbinam said:
Lexi had a major teeter issue when she was younger. I realized that she didn't like teeters where she couldn't predict the tipping point. So whenever she started to get worried she would bail. We solved it by putting a teeter in our living room (truly!) and altering the tipping point by taping a full water bottle to different parts of the board, which altered the fulcrum.
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That is an AWESOME idea! If this teeter tour doesn't work I'm going to switch over to the water bottle method :-) Actually, maybe I'll ask our trainers if we can do the water bottle thing in class.
 
Well, the good news is that so many of my friends have responded to my frantic pleas for teeter help and invited us over to work on their teeters. The even better news is that Spirit is refusing to do any of the teeters. Her trainer (who takes care of her whenever I travel for work) said that it seems as though Spirit is just very sensitive to any and all motion (whether she is seeing it or feeling it - ie she avoids moving doors at the trainers house), and when you add an unfamiliar environment to that, you wind up with what looks like a teeter problem (though the underlying problem is motion sensitivity). So far I've taken her to 3 different houses and she was very reluctant to do the teeter at any of them. We have 2 more houses lined up as well, and her trainers are lending me a small teeter (about 6 feet long) to take home and practice. I also ordered a bosu ball to work on (that Amazon prime one-click ordering on the iphone is a dangerous thing!!!!!!), which will arrive tomorrow. Spirit's trainers think the best thing to do right now is to just keep exposing her to strange teeters in different environments and making sure she has positive experiences. Guess I should be ordering an entire case of Cheez Whiz for this :)
 
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.
 
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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