Then & Now

Beautiful Miska-Mom

November 2005

November 2013

November 2005  (2 yrs 4 mos)

November 2013  (10 yrs 4 mos)

Jumping Bean 2

More from our pre-Ice Age jumping sessions.

Cutting it close - cleared the bar without touching it.

At 39 seconds, I demonstrate how fast I need Mom to run!!!

Making things more interesting by increasing the number of obstacles in a sequence.

8-obstacle sequence

9-obstacle sequence

Jumping Bean

Before the snow, freezing rain, ice storm and deep freeze ...

Back in November (one of the warmest Novembers on record), we took full advantage of the great weather by working on agility foundation exercises. I worked my way up to my full jump height of 24" and worked on focus exercises in the midst of freshly fallen leaves. The jumps in the following videos vary in height from 18" to 24".

Working out a good cue/body position to signal when to go between 2 jumps rather than just taking the second jump/repeating the previous sequence.

Warming up my muscles before a jumping session.

(Always need to keep track of the camera!)

(I sometimes like to keep my rear paws at the back

of the tread which causes that squeaking noise.)

Teeter Time 2

My first session with a teeter and a bar jump sequence.

Ah, the distractions of autumn!

Notice the front cross (at 36 sec) and resulting side change.

   

The ever present "Handler Error"!

[At the end of the teeter, you are hearing "Nose" not "No"
as a reminder to wait until released.]

   

I am quite proud of my teeter progress. In the name of "setting one's dog up for success", it is customary to set up a new sequence of obstacles (or a new obstacle within a sequence) in a straight line. As you can see, this novel sequence included a change of direction between the jump and teeter. This set up was chosen in order to slow down my approach to the teeter.

Photo Op!

We've accomplished quite a lot in the backyard by regularly honing our foundation skills and fitting in obstacle training sessions here and there. Since there is only so much we can accomplish at home, it's time we took our training to the next level by signing up for agility classes. A-Frame and Dogwalk, here we come!!!

Teeter Time 1

I've been playing the bang game (here) since I was tall enough to reach up and pull the teeter down. In July, we had one 10-minute session on a teeter that was resting on a pause table. These videos are from my first session with a full height teeter a few weeks ago. (This teeter has a steeper pitch than those used in competition as it is only 10' long rather than 12'.)

Wednesday's Work

 Distance work + 2 Obstacle Sequences

On a windy day in May, the chute came out to play!  Up until now I have only seen sequences with jumps (bar, tire and solid).  This is from my first session working sequences with the chute.

 

Bar to Chute - 2 cues

 

Chute to Bar - 2 cues

Bar to Chute - 1 cue

I started about 8' behind the bar jump - too bad about the camerawork!
Very nice focus on the distance obstacle!

Wednesday's Work

2-Jump Sequence in both directions

Mom leaving me on a wait, walking as far away as possible and calling me from a standstill using only one cue.

tire to bar

bar to tire

We don't have time in our schedule to get out to agility classes so we are continuing to work on foundation skills with minimal equipment (and minimal distractions).

Saturday's Smile

Distance Squared!

Since the tire jump stayed up all winter, we've been working on distance as part of our backyard fun but here is something new and novel.  This was our first time trying this:  Mom left me on a wait, walked over to and up the stairs then cued me from atop the deck.

What a good boy am I!

Tricky Tuesday

"Do More with Your Dog"
Trick Dog Champion
Audition Videos

1.  Coordination

Push a Skateboard

 
2.  Mouth Target

2.1  Retrieve Object to Hand from 12' Away
(white tape on the floor measures 12' from the wall)

 
2.2  Pull a Rope

3.  Paw Target

Ground Target - Tap Light

 
4.  Nose Target

Hand Target

5.  Scent

Nose-Work Box Search

6.  Distance

6.1  Go to a Pedestal 20' Away

6.2  6 Cued Behaviours on a Pedestal from 12' Away
(sit, stand, drop)

(drop, head down, bark, drop, head down, sit, bark)

 (sit, wave)

7.  Signals

6 Silent Cues
(heel, about turn, sit, wait, front, swing finish, heel, spin counter-clockwise,
wrap around legs, spin c-c, bow)

8.  Behaviour Chain

Push a Truck 6' then Tip the Bin
(trick shown from 2 different angles) 

9.  Expert Tricks

9.1  ETD List:  Fishing

9.2  OTHER:  2 Jumps:  one cue - from a distance

9.3  ETD List:  Pick Pocket

9.4  OTHER:  Yawn

9.5  OTHER:  Brief Rally Routine
(heel, 360 L, U-turn R, sit-down-stand, heel, U-turn R,
send to jump, call to heel, sit)

Fingers and paws crossed, waiting to hear if we have qualified!

Stay Tuned!

Wednesday's Work

 One day last week, Mom set up a second jump to see what would happen.
Here I am being called over a jump grid for the very first time: 

Second time:

Mom was ecstatic that I instinctively knew to "bounce" in between the jumps!

Wednesday's Work

The Tire Jump

I was sent to the jump by the camera hound who was
standing 20' feet away facing the side of the jump

These photos and videos are from my Introduction to the Tire Jump. Or, should I say, the "tired" jump!  (The camera hound is not moving very well in these videos as she overdid some yardwork earlier in the day. Part of that work was freeing the tire jump from its job as a support for the temporary fencing.)

Here's my Introduction to Directed Jumping using the tire jump ("jump") and the bar jump ("over").  An arm signal accompanied the verbal signals (which you would have been able to see had the camera been better positioned...sigh).

The tire jump is LOTS OF FUN but it really does need a little sprucing up with fresh tape (not photoshop)!.

Wednesday's Work

My Advanced Trick Dog title is official, here are tricks #2 - #5.

Trick #2
Jumping Figure 8s

Trick #3

 Head Down

Trick #4
Back Up

You can see my first attempts and backing up here:  back up

Trick #5

Treiball

The video I wanted to post could not be located so I will have to post another at a later date.  Treiball is like soccer for dogs.

Wednesday's Work

Until now my only exposure to a teeter was when I was itty bitty and the teeter was just inches off the ground.

A couple of weeks ago, I learned the bang game.  This game is lots of fun and it teaches me that I control the movement of the teeter and the noise it makes when the board hits the ground.  Playing the bang game will give me extra confidence when it comes time for me to learn to run across the full height teeter.

Agility Equipment

WHY I should never be left alone with agility equipment.

Ran off with teeny tiny tunnel, unhooked 2 velcro tabs,
ran through - got stuck !

Teeny tiny tunnel is now permanently "out of sight out of mind."

Agility Request Granted

Grandma Sylvia requested agility videos. Can't show you my A-frame antics yet (I asked and there isn't one hidden anywhere in the house) but I can show you my chute skills. I could barely contain my excitement when I saw a chute in the backyard this morning.

In spite of my proximity to the enthrallingly exciting equipment, I hold my wait (even though I am shaking with anticipation) until I hear the cue "chute."

Once again, you can't see me holding my wait with an earth-shaking sit but atleast you can see Mom's lead out.

Will place tripod in a better position next time.

Teeny Tiny Tunnel

Growing like a weed!  Time to upgrade to a full-size tunnel.

Look at that patience

Tunnel!

Lift Off

Success!  Puppy and Photographer!

Mini Tunnel

This kid's tunnel is a lot more portable than the real thing and it's just my size (but not for long).

Who shrunk my tunnel?