Monday, March 7, 2011

Day #3

Well, its really pass day 3 but I was really tired last night, so I didnt feel like writing.  My back was much better Sunday.  I didnt use any heat on it Saturday night, only ice.  I also didnt sleep with my foot up on pillows.  It was 200% better Sunday.  I didnt sit down most of the day so my back wouldnt start hurting.  But Sunday night my foot was swollen so I slept with my foot up again. I woke up at 4am with my back hurting. Ugh!  I just got up and after feeding and talking Miley on a walk, I drove home.  It was a painful drive home. My back is just so irritated.  I got home by 12:30 in the afternoon. So that was nice.  Now hopefully my back can go back to normal or I will need to see the doctor.  Here I was worried about my foot making it throught the camp.  My foot was no problem at all. LOL
Sunday it was suppose to pour down rain starting at 12noon. But we were so lucky, it never happened. Our group worked with Jenn Pinder.  We work Lateral motion.  Funny, the easy exercises I had trouble with and the harder ones we got. Maybe I take things for granite when its seems easy to me. Ill have to keep that in mind when I walk and run courses. One of the things she pointed out was, I wasnt cuing jumps but miley was taking them and they were the right jumps.  So I still have work to do. We had lots of off courses in Jenns class.
Here are just somethings that were talked about. A dog that has problems leaving your side ( runs with you) she would never give treats from her side.  She would use a throw and treat bag and work from there.  Make sure when you throw the tug and treat to keep going with your motion.  There was a very slow sheltie in our group.  After Jenn worked with the sheltie, she was 2 -3 times faster  when running with Jenn.  It was amazing to watch. Next running with your arm out, slows your dog down.  Pump your arms, use your arms with sends and turns. It was amazing to watch how much faster dogs got when they followed this advice.  One lady,who had a great PWD, could not stop running with an arm out. So Jenn had her hold one water bottle in each hand. Just so that she would be aware of  what her arms are doing.  The lady couldnt do it. While running she would put both bottles in one hand so that she could use her arm to guide her dog.  It was so funny to watch.  We get into habits and its hard to change.  One of the things Jenn works on first with dogs is "sends", so your dog will learn to move and drive ahead.  In our group, 1/2 the dogs were slow.  So today was very hard for them. The handler is so use to being head of there dog that the dog was uncomfortable moving ahead of the handler. For this class, she made the dogs move ahead.  It was so interesting to watch.  One man had a slow border collie. I cant remember what he did but she said, "I think that is why you are getting refusals at trails".  He said, "We've never gotten a refusal at a trail". ( I thought uh oh, never say never). She said, "I saw you get three this weekend. Oops, never say never. LOL



Here is one of the lateral motion exercises, it was a lateral push.  And we were actually successful.  I really thought , one she wouldnt stay and two, I would push her off.  But as long as my shoulder were showing the right line of motion, it worked great.  ( Im not sure the distances are correct on my course map I made). In the video there is a chute to the left of her when I set her up and she keeps thinking she is going in there. Even when Ive lead out in front of her, you can still see her leaning toward the chute.



Everyone liked Miley.  Jenn Pinder told me several times how much she liked her.  Another lady in my group told me I needed to make up cards that I could just hand out because everyone kept asking me where I got her from.  People would try to guess what kennel she came from and then come up and ask me  which one of them was right.   Its funny because there are lots of cool dogs at camp.  Jenn Pinder's black and white sheltie was a spit fire.  I really liked her. She was lean, which I really like.  Sometimes shelties are kinda on the big bone side, if you know what I mean.
Miley did well with not getting to stressed. No huge circling but a couple of times would start but came when I called her.  Jenn told me not to let her do that. On the last sequence of the day, she dropped the first bar and then we had a refusal and she started to circle.  She told me to reward Miley right away. Dont let her think she was wrong. For one thing she wasnt wrong, she was following my motion. Just reward her and keep her with me, then figure out what I did wrong.  She also told me it would be very helpful for Miley to play with toys on course. That it would really help get rid of that adrenaline she has built up.  She also told me to use her name when getting to the correct tunnel entrance. Miley thinks she know where she is going, and thinks she's right too. I need to get her attention to get her in the right tunnel entrance.

Over all it was a great camp. My hotel was nice. It was on the Indian River. Which looks like its on the ocean but behind a barrier island.  It was very quiet. So Miley didnt bark at all, once we went to sleep.There was a park next to the hotel to walk the dog. It was a  really, really small park but better than nice.   They weather was warm but not  hot. It was very windy but I think thats why it didnt feel hot. Even Sunday when it was 80 degrees out.  But it was so windy it knocked my camera over. Ugh.

This is my favorite picture from the weekend.




 

10 comments:

Sara said...

Wow, you got a lot of great tips, thanks for sharing some of them.

Of course everyone loved Miley! She rocks.

KLW @ Dog.Nerd.101 said...

Lucky you that you got to work with Jenn! I really like her and got to work with her with my Bichon at a camp in the summer - lots of great learning from her! Can you elaborate a little on the part about running with your hands out and how that slows things down? What about it does Jenn think makes the dogs slower? I wonder if the dogs are always looking at the arms, second guessing the accuracy of the information and are too busy doing that to focus on just going where they need to go? Any idea?

Diana said...

Kirby, I think holding the arm out keeps your dog guessing what you want. They follow your arm. If you pump your arms, the dog realizes you are really running and they will take off. I think the dog is using your arm as an attention cue, keeping them at your side.

Chris and Ricky said...

Sounds like day 3 was amazing! I am so jealous of all the great information you got. Thanks for sharing the ideas for slow dogs. Gosh we were taught to run with your arm out to cue the jumps (I think). Guess it's time to rethink some stuff. Also I get afraid of throwing a treat bag because of not wanting the dog to ignore my motion but that's where the keep going with your motion part comes in.

I loved that lateral motion ex. you did with Miley! You ran it perfectly and so did she! Awesome!

Glad your ankle wasn't a problem but sorry your back was. Hope you get straightened out now that you are home.

I am not surprised that everyone loved Miley - she is an amazing dog!! And you have done a wonderful job with her!

KLW @ Dog.Nerd.101 said...

Thanks Diane, makes a lot of sense! Thanks for clarifying, much appreciated!

Rebecca said...

Hm, interesting about the arm thing. I use the arm out a lot since I do a lot of distance work and that's what I've been told works best for that, but I guess if your dog is just being guided around next to you by your hand, that's different.

Kathy Mocharnuk said...

Sounds like some great learning although I feel bad for your foot and back....but what a great opportunity, the camp just sounds so fantastic! Miley and you looked so good doing that exercise, you guys really are so spectacular together.

Unknown said...

It seems you had 3 good days there and we're so happy to hear that everyone loves Miley. She is a beauty and a brainy!! She rocks!!!
Thanks for sharing the tips. Even though we don't do agility, it's good to know about them.

Anonymous said...

Wow, a lot of great ideas! Sounds like a great camp. Hope you get to feeling better soon - do you have any trials coming up?

Diane

Anonymous said...

Sounds like it was a great camp. Glad you had a good time. I have a 2 day seminar with Jenn Pinder March 18-19. Good to know she has some suggestions for slow dogs since I think I am going to try to run Marron.