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I still keeping Miley at just above the box and bouncing it. I want to make sure she really understands the "hit it" command. She didnt jump the box once but she isnt running yet either. So will see what happens when she starts running.
Next Im working on keeping Miley in the poles. She tends to pull out if I speed up or if I start to pull away. I used the Ready Treat to keep her in the poles. It worked well. But it got me thinking that your dog has to disregard your motion cues when training that. Is that ok? So then I thought, well you rear cross the poles and that doesnt mean turn when in the poles. So its probably ok.
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I see the AKC has put out their new changes in agility. Most of the things I dont care that they have changed. But some of the things will make it hard when you trial in more than one venue. They have changed the chute lenght to 6 feet. I guess that is to prevent getting tangled in the chute but Im not sure it was necessary. They changed the table to just having all four feet on, no sit or down. Well that's great for most people. Maybe someday Miley will get on the table. LOL They lowered the tire height. So my dog jumps 12 inches and the tire will now be at 8 inches. But when you train in other venues this doesnt happen. So now is my dog being set up to crash the tire because she isnt expecting the higher tire? I did like the rule that if you dog falls off the ascending ramp of the dogwalk or a-frame, gets tangled in the chute or crashes the tire , you have the choice to put them back on the obstacle and then leave the ring. Or of course you can just keep going. They also changed the ribbing in the tunnel from 6 inches to 4inches. Im not sure why. But it will cost the club a lot of money to replace all the tunnels. Ugh!
Ive been watching Linda Mechlenburgs VOD foundation seminar. She has really lowered the price. It is now only $75 . It was $175. And you have a week to watch it vs 48 hours. Ive only seen about 45 min of the 6 hours but so far its been good for me. Right now she is discussing the 6 basic cues. She talks about natural cues that your dog reads and teaching cues. Natural cues your dog instinctively knows and you dont need to teach. Something I found interesting. She talked about shoulder pulls and how they dont really work. ( I think that is what she said). And the reason your dog will turn with a shoulder pull is because of your stopping of motion and not the shoulder pulling. Interesting. Shoulders ,a lot of times, cue extension which is why your dog takes the wrong tunnel entrance even when your pulling with your shoulders. Im looking forward to the rest of it.
Wordless Wednesday
2 days ago
14 comments:
I share your concern about the tire height change. We do both USDAA and AKC and I'm wondering how dogs will adjust to jumping 6" higher (22") in USDAA (it's not like they have a practice tire like the warm up jump).
Your motion should not affect how your dog performs the "non-turning" obstacles (weaves and contacts).
Glad your able to watch the foundation VOD. I've seen it twice now and the second time I still learned new things. Yes, the shoulders rotating away from the dog (as in a pull) cues extension.
The table change and up contact on the DW is great. Some of the other stuff just seems strange. I hope they don't dumb down the sport of agility. There are plenty of venues that are friendly to less athletic dogs.
Miley's box work is looking very good. I can't wait to see how she performs when you run her.
I hate changes too but I don't think you have to worry too much about the height of the tyre. I am sure dog jumps naturally to what they see.
Linda Mechlenburgs sounded very interesting. I am going to take a look. I also believe the dog take more of the body motions than the commands.
Oh, forgot to mention... I don't understand if they're changing all this equipment, why aren't 24" weaves mandatory? I don't get it.
Good to know about the VOD. $75 is totally worth it, but I couldn't justify the $175. Now I just need a computer that can handle the video for that long (mine can only do about 30-60 seconds before it starts skipping). And yeah, I'm not too sure about some of the rule changes. It does seem like they are trying to dumb it down.
(It's Lora BTW- blogspot doesn't seem to like my livejournal ID, it keeps telling me there's an error.)
Miley is doing great with the box training! I didn't know AKC changed their rules (I don't compete in it, as you probably know). Hmm. The tire rule doesn't sound good to me either. If all the other venues lowered their tires too, then sure, but if it's only AKC...we can predict a lot more tire crashes! They should make displaceable tires mandatory, but that's just my opinion.
Linda M. is great. I was going to start following her system, but realized that it wouldn't be the best for us because we do so many Gamblers runs. Really nice system, though!
The tire height change really is scary and bothers me, that makes it harder for the dogs who might overjump a little, it makes no sense to me.
Weaves are ONE obstacle, so they should be completed without looking at your movement, that is what I have been told and makes sense to me ;-)
I did not know that the price of the VOD had been reduced, I have been DYING to watch it, I had several friends that went to it and have given me lots of notes but I had not been able to watch it yet, but I keep thinking I was going to break down and watch it, now that it is reduced.....I am THERE BABY....thanks for letting us know that.
I agree with the concerns on the tire. I have heard of too many crashes when the tire is set at the wrong height -- seems as if having it different heights in different venues would be problematic. I think the US should have an "agility summit" where all the head people get together and standardize common obstacles. In my opinion, many of the differences are there solely to limit people's choices of venue.
Diane - who is all for the table change and not just because her dog won't lay down on the table. I think people will be shocked at how much time it saves at trials.
I'm glad Morganne commented on the APHS questions before me so I didn't have to say my thoughts and be wrong - LOL! But I was going to say that it is ok to move when Miley is weaving as weave poles don't rely on your motion. She looks great in the weaves and on the aframe!
I worry about all the rule changes too and even though we only compete in AKC right now, I wish the rules could be the same no matter where you are (at least about obstacle heights, etc).
I'm not liking the tire change, either. If my dog has been trained to look for the opening at 20", now I have to re-train her to look for it at 16". Something just doesn't seem right about it.
I do agree the the table change will save time, but I'll still go for my automatic down on the table. I have trained it well and I want to use it.
Not thrilled with no longer judging the up contact on the DW -- seems like it makes it OK for dogs to learn that a bad approach is acceptable (which opens the door to injury).
The lower A-Frame doesn't make much sense to me, either. I can't say for sure since I don't run a small dog, but they would have been better off mandating a rubber coating on the A-Frame IMO.
you and miley are very inspiring. after our wedding in july i think we're going to start working on agility with dash too. i will stay tuned for more great tips from you and miley!
Wow. I learned a lot from your post AND from all the comments! Miley looks great!
Nice to know about the VOD foundation seminar. I might have to check it out. Let us know what you think of the rest of it.
As for the changes in AKC...I like most of them. I've heard a lot of people complaining that the 24" weaves not being mandatory right away, but I actually think that's nice for the clubs that need the time to get money together to replace their old ones. I guess it depends on your perspective. As far as the tire, I think it will be the same problem as other obstacle differences in the various venues. Jump heights vary, Aframe heights have varied in the past, slatted vs. non slatted contacts, I kind of think the list is endless.
Marie,
Yes, jump heights vary (my dogs jump 20" in AKC, 22" in USDAA). If the dog makes a mistake, the bar comes down. If the dog makes a mistake jumping the tire - the result can be dangerous. The tire is not forgiving like a pvc bar and the difference of 6" in height is a lot.
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