tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88483950014276224192024-02-19T01:10:20.626-05:00RuminationsBethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-30343299102248740102014-07-29T23:03:00.001-04:002014-07-29T23:03:28.618-04:00Journeys and Demons <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This picture is from the first Larry Painter clinic I went to 6 years ago...Went to my second one this weekend. Long time in between. Long journey.<br />
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I have a love hate relationship with blogging and writing. It's not really natural for me, but very useful to sort out thoughts, feelings, training issues...whatever.<br />
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Rumi came along at a transition time in my life. That time where your parents go from always being there for you to needing you to be there for them. And as my father struggled with health issues and I struggled with finding a new balance in my life Rumi was always there to give anything a try, but sometimes I asked him to do things in ways I wouldn't have at other times in my life. This showed up mostly in herding. Obedience training is fun, cathartic, therapeutic and second nature to me. Love problem solving the training issues and have no doubt that I can over come any mistakes I make. Especially with an eager partner like Rumi. And if I had to take a month or two break I could always do a quick front and finish on the run.<br />
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Herding is newer to me. A lot of learning to it. And it's never the same twice. No such thing as running out and doing a quick herding session before school. So it was hard to keep it up and hard to make good decisions all the time. On top of that Rumi was my first dog from herding lines so I put pressure on myself to do herding better with him without giving him as much benefit of making mistakes because he was supposed to have more instinct. I headed to more clinics with a wider variety of clinicians because I was sure my herding bred dog could take the training of any trainer. And I was not in a good place to make smart decisions with everything else going on so some of the clinics did not go so well....and I didn't really see how bad they were until later. So I took a break from herding...it was broken and I didn't have the time or energy to fix it.<br />
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But now I've found some help to start fixing the things that were wrong and have the energy to do things the right way and make good choices. Which brings me to the fun I had this weekend. Hanging out with good friends who make me laugh. Watching dogs work. And getting to work Rumi once.<br />
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And it wasn't just that he did well...which he did. Hit a head. Hit a heel. What more could you ask? But also because I got out in a clinic situation again. Made good decisions. Was fair to my dog. Had fun. Learned a little something along the way. Banished some lingering demons. <br />
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I have some big obedience goals this year, but it is nice to be back in a place where I can play with herding again and enjoy it :) I know Rumi forgives my mistakes...just sometimes harder to forgive myself.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-54215569273780282122014-07-22T21:00:00.002-04:002014-07-22T21:00:37.863-04:00Rumi and Read Share :)Rumi and Read don't share many things...Read would like to, Rumi thinks she's an annoying little shit. But they are sharing this blog :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPNAoCF1mxeBjUJzkiMUbJeN3C3_OTx-2Sa0LBlAf4pp-AHKydvyiW3uNcRZQNQxXT-uuHntLgH9zB1GqRiqwbCmV20a13fvd8WLHNH7ZkU26MrSnvX4nOGrpRoAWrqmFPQ5Jn_Gl2jQ/s1600/IMG_9168sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPNAoCF1mxeBjUJzkiMUbJeN3C3_OTx-2Sa0LBlAf4pp-AHKydvyiW3uNcRZQNQxXT-uuHntLgH9zB1GqRiqwbCmV20a13fvd8WLHNH7ZkU26MrSnvX4nOGrpRoAWrqmFPQ5Jn_Gl2jQ/s1600/IMG_9168sm.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>Rumi first. First of all he finished his started duck title! But more importantly, my training ideas have worked. I have kept data consistently and changed things so that I'm tracking correct on signals and separated the heeling and the signals. At the rent a ring Friday he nailed the majority of the signals (I did them multiple times--and I took data on a scrap of paper that I since have lost. Does that count?) and he NEVER froze, anticipated a few times, and did them most of the time. Having a person near him definitely made it harder. I was doing the 4, 7, 5, 11 set. At home I've been doing the 17, 5, 7, 10 set. He has been averaging 13-14 right (see facebook for the strange distractions that have been happening). Today was hot and humid and I almost didn't train. But boy am I glad I did. I decided to see how we were doing stamina wise since he was so ticked that he didn't get to train longer yesterday. So we did the heeling sets of 9, 19, 28, 56 interspersed with his signals and he nailed all of them. He did 15 out of 16 signals with the cat eating his treats in his eye sight. He didn't give up even though his tongue was to his knees by the end. It was great to see how much improvement we had made not only in signals but also in stamina. I think I now need to make a plan of how to mix all exercises into our training through out the week (I've been focusing on signals since we had such a huge problem with them). But I am so happy with his improved attitude and confidence. He rocks!<br />
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Read is getting older and we need to really focus on recalls so they don't become to optional as she heads into that fun teenage stage :) Her Bop is looking great, her pivots are up to 180 degrees...haven't gotten that last inch to get past me but almost. Sits are becoming much more tucked, fronts are cute when she remembers not to jump on me, retrieve of the metal article is coming along well (why I decided to teach a formal retrieve with metal first I have no clue...so don't ask...but it's working for us so why change LOL). Tracking is a blast...she has a great nose. She can work with me forever, but can handle one exercise for only about 3-4 min. before she's ready to move on...which for right now is fine :)Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-56766854484244176482014-07-13T13:09:00.000-04:002014-07-13T13:09:01.494-04:00Rumi takes his Blog back (for a day anyways)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Rumi has decided to take his blog back for the day :) He has excelled in ODX and is on to Utility. Most of the handful of times we have shown he has passed every exercises except for signals. Given that we show ASCA there has definitely been the times where the go-out situation looks a little...ummm...unique...but usually he figures it out and if he blows it, the second go-out is usually better than the first and by the second show he has always managed to nail them both. But oh those signals. I have managed to really confuse him on them.<br />
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So I decided, since I really want the UD sooner rather than later, I'd take data. I know the importance of data, I do it all the time in my other job. Obedience is my hobby, my stress relief, my fun...so I tend not to be as good at taking data and being okay with that. But when there is a problem, and I want to fix it, data is good. So I decided I'd do 4 sets of 4 signals with variable distances based on <a href="http://www.lauraromanik.com/" target="_blank">Laura Romanik's</a> amazing heeling sets (can't wait to train my puppy using them) and keep the data. I also figured I'd do a heeling set before hand, since signals are preceded by heeling.<br />
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The first day showed that I had definitely taught Rumi to wait for a second signal to drop. 17 attempts before he did a correct one. After that for the next 3 days errors went down to only 4 or 5 out of all 4 sets (16 repetitions). Then we had to take a day off to let his sore shoulder feel better from a nice head butt from a ewe (he showed her it would not be wise to try that again!) and then we ended up with an icky set of 16 errors and a ton of stress yawning and avoidance behaviors. YUCK! Obviously there was something else playing into this.<br />
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So I pondered, mulled, and of course ruminated. It has been hot and humid around here. I had had Rumi doing heeling sets of a total of over 100 steps before 4 sets of signals. That really was a lot when signals were already stressy. And then we did that 4 times. And then I was re-reading one of <a href="http://denisefenzi.com/" target="_blank">Denise Fenzi's</a> blogs and watching one of her video's of her training her dogs with half my mind, cooking with the other half and suddenly it hit me (luckily without cutting my finger). Rumi likes food, but unlike my previous dogs, he LOVES to tug and play. And I had been focusing so hard on counting steps and keeping track of number of errors to record that I had just kind of handed him food. And for him that was not reinforcing enough. I needed to do what was reinforcing for him.<br />
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Today I went out and just did signal sets and while I still used some food reinforcers I made sure I played and smiled and laughed until he was also happy with his performance. And we had 3 errors and 2 were anticipation errors, which at this point in his training I don't really count as errors. And he was happy and sparkly and having fun. And boy were we both hot and sweaty by the time we were done with all the playing and tugging. There was no way I could have done this much play and heeling sets.<br />
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As I was typing this I also think I need to change the data I'm keeping. Although errors are easy to count, I need to track our successes. I don't need to keep looking at our errors. So time to change our data keeping a little bit and continue on with my new insights and see where we get :) Maybe I need to track my laughing while I train too...seems to be the more I laugh the better trainer I am.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-31002764322834919462014-05-29T22:19:00.002-04:002014-05-29T22:19:39.013-04:00SchoolAnother day with no pics...slacking!<br />
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But it was a busy day...teacher workday and puppy came to school with me for the whole day. She was loved on by lots of different people. And loved all of them. She would get out and snuggle and play with everyone and then go back in the crate and snooze until the next person came. One would think after being at school from 7 until 4 she would be tired...WRONG<br />
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When we got home she took a quick nap and was then ready to train again.<br />
We worked on sitting on the balance board, back feet on the wood plank, front feet on the pivot box, touch the hand with your nose (not even a hint of teeth...made that mistake with Rumi), switching up tug toys, IYC (boy that is hard <g>), sit, down, stand and push...</g><br />
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Need to work even more on hind end awareness as well as scent work tomorrow. And I think she could do a really cute role over.<br />
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What I learned today...she is really cute sleeping in the crate. Sometimes on her back, sometimes with her nose resting on her crate bucket, sometimes with her legs sticking out (I worry that she will wake up and get stuck, but so far she has been good).<br />
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Names...thinking maybe I'll go with a pirate theme. Two famous female pirates: Anne Bonny, and Mary Read. Buccaneer's Anne Bonny (call name Bonny), or Buccaneer's Mary Read (call name Read). Of course someone suggested Buccaneer's Black Maisie (call name Maisie). Have to start trying some of these out :)<br />
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Pictures tomorrow...I promise :)Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-88131309427599329242014-05-27T19:38:00.001-04:002014-05-27T19:38:12.191-04:00Sleeping and PuppySo, not a lot of sleep last night. Started with the puppy and then I think I was so overtired I just couldn't get out of my head to collapse...hopefully tonight will be better. I put in the window air conditioner so it should be.<br />
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Got up early and tired the wee one out (yes she needs a name <g>) and leaving everyone was tired and content (except me, I was just tired). 4:30 is way early! The best puppy sitter ever came over and played with her at lunch so when I got home after school she was happy to see me, but not stressed!</g><br />
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Today we worked on IYC game (boy that's hard LOL), more on the balance board, switching from tug toys to food, and keeping all our feet on the floor. Oh, and 1, 2, 3 ready (she thinks that one is a lot of fun). I really need to work on pivots and hand stands tomorrow.<br />
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No pictures today...too tired; so I promise a video tomorrow.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-38572645794377641532014-05-26T17:40:00.002-04:002014-05-26T17:40:31.248-04:00PuppyI don't know if it is really fair to steal Rumi's blog, but I also don't want to start another one and try to remember where I put it and what the password is and....so I'll reuse Rumi's puppy blog for my new puppy.<br />
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Puppy, puppy doesn't have a name yet...it will come. She is from Tom Mhire and drove all the way from Louisiana to Ohio for her first road trip :)<br />
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Today she has learned to covet sheep, eat duck food, role in grass, stay clear of cats, and play with a Kong toy. She also continues to work on down/sit/stand, get on a platform with her front feet in preparation for pivots, and play on a tilt board (which she thinks is totally fun). Hopefully we will be able to better coordinate bed time tonight.<br />
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Here she is playing with her new toy that gives out treats...reminds me of a large weeble (weebles wobble but they don't fall down).<br />
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And of course the mandatory cute puppy pictures (with some of the cats and sheep going "what did you just bring home?????")<br />
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<br />Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-71235184934015209102011-02-13T19:40:00.000-05:002011-02-13T19:40:16.493-05:00Toledo Show--all ThaiSo Thai is once again taking over Rumi's blog. I showed her the first time in Open at an AKC show this Sat. and Sun. The Toledo were the best. It was the most applause I've heard at an obedience show in a long time. I think everyone in Open A got a round of applause after their run both days. The judges were also great, holding a class when awards were being given out in the other ring, helping exhibitors anyway they could, and very friendly!<br />
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Saturday Thai gave me the best heeling we've ever had in the ring...well other than two no sits. Her drop was slow, but both her retrieves were nice. She nq'd on the broad jump, which she cut big time. Had a hard time with the people standing on the other side I think. She held her sit, but sat up on the down before I had even left the ring. She did hold her stay the entire time.<br />
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Sunday Thai was a little more distracted. She sat on her heeling, but you can see on the last about turn she was very concerned about a dog outside the ring. You can see it on the retrieve on the flat too...not sure how she pulled off getting that dumbbell :) She was fine on the broad jump, which was on the other side of the ring, but she forgot to give me a front.<br />
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On the stays she was next to the dog she was worried about. She held her sit, but popped up on her down again.<br />
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I definitely need to work on the drop so she doesn't keep waiting to drop...soon she'll be at my feet. Not good.<br />
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But the bigger problem is the down. I think I'll work on teaching her the drop, like I did with Rumi. And I need to up the distractions at home so she breaks here once in a while too.<br />
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My next show is Hamilton, Saturday. Then I think I'll enter 1 day in Dexter, and the weekend at Toledo again. After that I have a few ASCA shows to show in also. Hopefully I'll be able to find a training fix for the down issue!Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-85154023928536646362011-02-07T19:22:00.000-05:002011-02-07T19:22:31.384-05:00Toledo Match part 2I went back up to Toledo yesterday for another match before our show next weekend. That would be just Thai, not Rumi. I can only handle so much stress at one show and I am focused on getting her CDX if it kills us :) LOL<br />
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I really wanted to not go. Our run time was 5:00 on Sunday afternoon after a week of ice and no electricity. I really really really wanted to stay home. But the CDX drove me and I'm glad I went. First of all the people in Toledo are soooo friendly and welcoming it makes me feel good. Secondly, Thai had a great run thru. She had some mistakes, but I was able to help her get it right and she was much more confident afterward. She also held her stays :) :) <br />
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Rumi had a very nice run. And positive reinforcement comes in unexpected places :) I've never had this happen to me before and it felt wonderful :)<br />
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<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tKGhrTy4kCI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-14083162036384741212011-02-06T00:06:00.001-05:002011-02-06T00:07:51.097-05:00SPLATI think I mentioned in an earlier post that I was just going crazy with all the different words for down I was creating. Flop, for the lay on one hip and don't whine down-stay down. Down for the throw away just lay down down. And the one I've been working on recently SPLAT. After a lot of false starts my criteria for splat became get down fast without touching the barrier in front of you. The barrier started out as a broad jump board on it's side. Now it's down to a jump bar, which I should be able to fade soon. The video clip shows a splat from a recall, one or two on a verbal from a stand, and the last one is on a hand signal (that you can't see since my flip was set too close to get me in it. I think it's coming along nicely, now that I have an actual criteria for it that I can reinforce.<br />
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Yes, I know he hit the pole in the first one, but I gave it to him because he slips on my mat, and I kind of like the sliding down :) On the video he anticipated the first verbal splat, that I didn't catch in real time...which is why I love video!Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-79954588921497669932011-02-02T22:13:00.000-05:002011-02-02T22:13:18.846-05:00Ice daysSo, you would think with three ice days in a row I would have a lot of time to post. That would assume I had electricity. I really think a DSL modem should be battery operated, but not yet. So now that I'm back to having electricity (yeah) which includes in my case heat and water, I'm ready to post. Rumi is coming a long nicely with not cutting the corner of the broad jump and splatting. I've started putting it in with the recall and he slides into it in a nice reining horse sort of way :) I've also been doing a ton with stays and he is much more confident. I have him in a match this weekend so hopefully will have video to post and see some improvements. I'm also being very careful to only reward PERFECT fronts and finishes. If they aren't perfect we don't fix them, we oops and try again. It has cut down on his constant shifting and he is more precise. <br />
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In agility we did a run-thru at CATC and Dogwood. No contacts either place, but he figured out how to run on mats and did weaves and jump sequences. Good boy :) I have started sequencing his running A-frame and dogwalk (not running) and the teeter is almost up to full height! But again, no pics :(<br />
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Thai--I have her entered in 3 Open trials. I can't believe I'm this nervous. But her stays have been good and we've been working on the broad jump and drop and retrieve in rotation. Keeping my fingers crossed. I will get her CDX!!! :) First show in two weeks. Keeping everything crossed :)Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-64116072368756436932011-01-15T19:18:00.000-05:002011-01-15T19:18:00.058-05:00Busy, Busy, BusySo, can you tell school has started back up. Not just school for the kids, but also my graduate course work. Both training and blogging about training have suffered. However, I'm going to try and post at least once a week. Rumi's running A-frame is okay, even with sporadic training we've had. Time to start sequencing I think :) His splat is coming along nicely, although not consistently enough I would want to remove the barrier. But his flop is becoming even more solid as the differences are becoming clearer. Or Practice. Or something. :) I continue to doodle with his fronts and finishes and play fun scent games when there is time.<br />
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I know this is Rumi's blog, but he said it was okay if I gave Thai a few minutes :) I was working the broad jump with her and she was cutting the corner. I thought about my recent lesson with Kristen and Sheik and decided that was my corner, not hers. Jumped on the corner to claim it once or twice (no lead rope) but with the intention that that was my corner. Had a nice response. We'll see if it holds up with her as well as it did with Sheik when he tried to take some of my space. But it is a different way of looking at that corner so thought I'd experiment with it a little.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-69998931266237956802011-01-08T22:49:00.000-05:002011-01-08T22:49:33.922-05:00DownsTo think there was a time in my life when I thought down just meant the dog was lying down on the ground. Now I worry about all these little details: are the elbows all the way down on the floor, which goes down first, elbows or butt, how fast is the dog going down, does he flop on his butt...<br />
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So I managed to totally un-teach Rumi the down. When I went to meet Laura for lessons she pointed out I had totally let my drop criteria go out the window (although she was much nicer about it!) I should probably back up and say I had already started re-doing his long down. He had the bad habit (which I obviously had let develop) of whining and flopping back and forth on his hip. I was getting pretty convinced sooner or later a judge would NQ us. So I had taught him to flop over on one hip and stay there. At the same time I had decided no sound would be allowed on a flop. It was coming along nicely. So I was using "Down" as a settle command. Just go lie down while I'm talking, setting jumps, whatever and I don't care if you creep, whine, if you break it I just tell you to down again and ignore it....a throw away command. So I hand't thought about where that left his drop/fold back down.<br />
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So I went home deciding I needed yet another command for yet another down...3 down commands...really? So out comes the clicker and I start to re-shape the down using a barrier (a broad jump board). But Rumi was dropping so fast that from the front I couldn't really tell how he was dropping so I was more careful what I clicked, which was elbows down first. However, having a dog that is easy to shape has it's draw backs if you are only an average shaper. In no time I had a perfectly shaped bow...sigh...<br />
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So I have caved a little. My new criteria...go down fast and without paws touching the board. how you get there is up to you. I just can't see what is going on with his body when standing in front and with his speed. I'm thinking my new word will be Splat, because that's kind of what he's doing with his body. Video soon :) And yes, that dang bow creeps in every once in a while. How come the wrong behaviors are sooo hard to extinguish :)Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-84078290526561765342010-12-31T21:38:00.000-05:002010-12-31T21:38:02.556-05:00ResolutionsNew Year almost here, and I think I need to write down my dog resolutions.<br />
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Thai:<br />
Earn her ASCA and AKC CDX, <br />
Get AKC TD (she has her ASCA TD)<br />
Match her Utility and maybe show in ASCA<br />
Open Sheep and Ducks<br />
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Rumi:<br />
Earn his NA/NAJ<br />
ASCA/AKC CD<br />
work on TDX/VST<br />
Rally Excellent<br />
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We'll see :)<br />
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Happy New Years :)Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-90594456826941423302010-12-30T20:13:00.000-05:002010-12-30T20:13:53.735-05:00Broad JumpRumi had a few months where he couldn't do the broad jump at Bill and Belinda's. He could do it outside at my house (obviously we are talking summer and early fall here) but had problems else where. I tried putting the target out. I tried some gentle compulsion. I tried many things. And I was frustrated. He had had the behavior very solid over last winter and spring. And now it was gone...which was not a big deal...but I couldn't easily get it back which was confusing and frustrating. Until I started doing agility again this winter. And I had my DUH moment. I had trained Rumi's broad jump totally different than any of my other dogs. I had taught him to jump using Linda M.'s jumping method. And that included the broad jump. So I went back and reshaped the broad jump in, oh, like 2 minutes. Rumi offered me 17 kajillion behaviors in like 10 seconds and then jumped the boards and his light bulb went on and he hasn't missed one since. Including at the match Tuesday.<br />
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He'd never done a broad jump with a target or any of those other things I had tried, so they didn't help at all.<br />
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Below is the video of his match Tuesday in novice and open. I have the annoying music in the background because the wonderful strangers who video taped for me (thank you all a ton!!!!) were talking and I don't want to accidentally embarrass them with something unintentionally caught on my tape!<br />
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<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QhElKaC6ACA?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QhElKaC6ACA?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-13801829580315349242010-12-29T12:13:00.000-05:002010-12-29T12:13:20.824-05:00Scent Articles Part 2So, I took a little break from blogging for Christmas, but now I'm back at it. I thought I would follow up my scent article post with some video. This was only the third time Rumi has done scent articles, and the first time he has done them away from home. Because I taught scent where he had to search for an object in a room, I am not worried about the time he sniffs the leash (I'm actually a little surprised he didn't bring it back to me) or the time he wandered around the room for a minute. I also didn't mind him mugging Laura (the camera operator) since having someone kneel on the floor while doing scent work is a new distraction for him :) Not sure how Laura felt about it :) :) The heat was also on full blast. I was hot and not wearing a fur coat. But the air blowing down did not seem to hinder his ability to find the correct article. Enjoy the video.<br />
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<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/E2KrFjq9Vtc?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/E2KrFjq9Vtc?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-35524193730813481922010-12-22T21:16:00.000-05:002010-12-22T21:16:04.096-05:00Don't Teach Scent Articles this way ;)I enjoy doing a lot of scent work with my dogs. Rumi especially did a lot of scent training as a pup and has his TD. So training scent articles with him wasn't anything I really worried about. We had played find it a million times with different articles: metal, plastic, and anything in between. So Monday I pulled out 3 metal and 3 leather articles and put them out. Grabbed a metal one and scented it and put it in the pile. Told Rumi to find it. He tried to grab all the dumbbells in his mouth. He managed 3. I told him oops and sent him back again. He picked up each one (one at a time this time) until he grabbed the one that was scented and his little mind went "OH" and he brought it back. I tried it again and he did the same thing: picked up every article until he found the scented one and then brought the right one back. I'm standing there thinking...this is not a behavior I want him to learn and I really don't want to un-train it. So I took my big milk crate of old mismatched scent articles: some double bar, some triple, some single most the size a lab would retrieve and dumped them in a pile. Then I grabbed one metal one, scented it, and put it in the pile. I turned Rumi around to look at the pile and his eyes got really big (seriously...it was hilarious) and his little brain started spinning as he thought "I can't pick all these up". I sent him and he sniffed, found the right one and brought it back. Three more times, three more perfect finds.<br />
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Yesterday I dumped the same pile out, did the same thing once (see I don't always skip over ALL the steps) and he found it perfectly. So then I put the scented one UNDER a few un-scented one. I was right, I got more amusement. Rumi found the right one immediately, but he thought he was playing pick up sticks and VERY CAREFULLY touched only the scented one and brought it back. Did this two more times; I really should have recorded it. Maybe I'll try tomorrow. Maybe we'll have to go to a more traditional set soon. <br />
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I do not suggest training scent articles this way, but so far, for Rumi and I, it is working. I have definitely done more traditional training with all my other dogs. LOLBethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-71237639933271938322010-12-21T20:08:00.000-05:002010-12-21T20:08:30.008-05:00Contacts Day 3Thank goodness I remembered my video camera. All the words get boring to look at without media to spice them up. Rumi is doing well. Teeter is about half height and he is having fun banging it. Dogwalk and A-Frame are coming along well. But I hate the stutter steps at the end. Am I going to regret not sticking with the running contact Lisa had me start training this summer? I'm beginning to think maybe...especially on the A-Frame. But it's only day 3 so hopefully once he KNOWS his job it will smooth out. Love his jumping and following my body language on the jumping. He's going to make me be a more honest handler. Where I tell him to go, he will go. <br />
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I also like his weave poles. They were slightly bent to help him with his off side weaves. But he looks the same with them bent or straight on the "obedience side".<br />
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All in all...a very good boy for such spotty training! I'll tell you my scent article story tomorrow :)<br />
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<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VtVlz_lX6i4?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VtVlz_lX6i4?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-38922517946863229422010-12-20T20:32:00.000-05:002010-12-20T20:32:34.261-05:00Contacts Day 2Still no pictures and training room in my house is still a place to sort closet shit so Thai had one more day off. Tomorrow, I promise :) Rumi has trouble with his rear crosses when doing right hand turns (he's on my right), but left hand turns are great :) Hmm...I don't do obedience or anything do I? :) Weave-amatics were open and we practices left side entries several times. Much better. He also regained his confidence on that pesky moving teeter (loves the bang though). And much faster on the dog walk. His A-frame was also better, although not ready to take away the target yet. We sequenced a few jumps, a tunnel and the A-frame and dog walk and he did fine (but there were no big turns). However, he reminds me that his solid foundation was good. With all the jumping he only dropped one bar and second time through fixed his stride to keep it up (it was a bit of a slice and he was extended and just nicked it...he collected the next time). His stays are also nice...but I do insist that stay means don't move a foot. Need to remind myself...stay anal about this!! Or I will be sad :)Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-32124661327133688712010-12-19T21:29:00.000-05:002010-12-19T21:29:40.067-05:00Contacts Day 1With the help of my wonderful friend Annie we are now on day one of contact training. We are doing 2 on 2 off. Rumi has a nice strong target touch so did well the first day. I really like watching Rumi problem solve. If something isn't right the first time he will try other behaviors until he ends up with the one I want. I love that thinking dog. Of course sometimes it can drive me a little nuts when he out thinks me. <br />
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Maybe I can try to get some pictures tomorrow to liven things up. I also promise to start scent articles tomorrow.<br />
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On another note, I went back and looked at Rally scores from Saturday. Rumi was the only dog to get a perfect score in any of the classes. Pretty cool!Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-74632799866439367002010-12-18T20:20:00.001-05:002010-12-19T21:21:21.124-05:00Cleveland Crown ClassicNo pictures, which is kind of too bad. Rumi had a great time at the Cleveland show. He was first in Rally Excellent A with a perfect score of 100 :) And he handled having an Otterhound rush him during his honor stay. Didn't faze him in the least and he handled honoring for the next dog perfectly. <br />
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So then, of course, I had to shop. Both dogs are now contentedly chewing on their bones, lying on their new dog beds looking very content.<br />
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What a wonderful day. Day 1 of contact training tomorrow :)Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-63561824406374146242010-12-17T19:06:00.000-05:002010-12-17T19:06:49.637-05:00More winter training (how long can I keep this title)Rumi thought about the signals and easily did them today...we're probably at about 4 feet. His touch is nice and solid and ready for the week of contact training. We'll see how rally goes tomorrow, since we haven't managed to get out and about to train for two weeks. His jumps could be a little wild :) His flop (for down on the side) is also coming along nicely and he will hold it while I walk around him with his dinner bowl :0<br />
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Thai very nicely did signals at full distance for my living room so that was it and she got a huge reward of her entire dinner.<br />
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Cleveland tomorrow for Rumi and then two weeks of training!Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-42593389816572127562010-12-15T19:44:00.000-05:002010-12-15T19:44:18.855-05:00Winter TrainingI always find winter training a little challenging. But I have decided Rumi will learn his contact performance over my 2 week break--no matter how cold Annie's barn gets! He has a solid touch which I began reinforcing strongly these past two weeks. But you can only practice touching a clear round cover for so long. And where does that leave Thai? So Thai is being tortured. I put out her dinner and have her retrieve a dumbbell in front of it, next to it, and behind it (remember, we've done this before). I've gotten much pickier with her and no reward unless she can do it without doing a huge (for the space she has) curve around the bowl. We've also been heeling past it. But the hardest thing she has found is doing a recall to me without bowing way out when she has to run past it. And fronting, when the bowl is at my side is almost impossible, because if you look at the food you obviously will be taken over by a strange spirit and forced to eat something from it (or so Thai seems to think <G>).<br />
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Rumi is working on his signals (evidently I've managed to totally confuse him on the sit signal and it is not my hand or arm that is important, but my stepping in to him that is the cue for sit...oops...bad trainer).and learning to do a down stay flopped on one hip. And fronts and finishes are always a good thing to work on. Over break I will get out my old set of scent articles and work on those with him and come up with new and unique ways for Thai to refine her skills.<br />
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Now to survive two more days of school and then two weeks of freedom to train 3 times a day :) Louisville here we come (nothing like planning 3 months in advance!)Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-59900636190898351882010-07-10T23:05:00.000-04:002010-07-10T23:05:58.339-04:00And continuing to rehabI really need to get a picture up of Rumi in his Elizabethan collar, wrapped butt, and stitches. But we continue to have a truce and stitches are in. We met up with Kathy Topham today for a laser treatment to work on getting the wound to heal faster. I'm really feeling very impatient!!! Luckily he is very easy going and I'm continually thankful that it is him, and not Thai, that this happened to. She would not be suffering all this foolish manipulation so patiently! I'm hoping in another week he'll be well enough we can start working on some obedience again. I had wanted to enter Canfield, but now I'm worried he won't be healed enough for AKC to allow him in the ring.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-7616732926144424102010-07-04T22:06:00.000-04:002010-07-04T22:06:48.448-04:00Dang Nab it!So, I was in a great training place. Getting a lot of herding done. Put up a new fence for an intermediate herding area. And as Rumi was taking the sheep out of a corner last night he managed to get a nice tear in his inner thigh that required a lot of stitches at an on call vets office the day before the 4th of July at 8 pm. <sigh> He is out of commission for a few weeks. And not really very happy about the new collar he gets to wear. And I'm sure the enforced rest won't be his idea of fun either. How long will I be able to convince him to leave those stitches in; especially given he can reach some of them even with his special collar doing some really amazing contortions. I know if nothing else he always can get a job as a circus dog :)Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8848395001427622419.post-17035224547696361282010-07-02T15:24:00.000-04:002010-07-02T15:24:30.327-04:00Day 2So Rumi is doing a much better job getting around and covering his heads after only two days of practice (amazing what a little practice will do for you!) I need to get a temporary fence up to split the large pasture so I have some place in between a round pen and a 200x100 to work. <br />
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Annie, if you are reading this, we also practiced our three agility positions and did weave poles. He is improving on his recall to heel over a jump with extension, although he still swings his butt out!Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08077280431630688497noreply@blogger.com0