Vancouver Kennel Club Rally Trial

Leo was entered in his first performance event on Halloween. Initially I didn't enter him because I haven't really worked anything with him for rally, but with a little good natured "egging on" from a friend, I went for it. In the end I wasn't sorry for having entered him. He wasn't ready but it was a good environment to get him ready. And in the end, he actually surprised me as I felt he did better than Vegas. My guess though is that he was not walking close enough to me to count as a heel. Nonetheless, we got through it and I know next time we will do better.

That was the positive, "glass half full" side of the story. The hard part about this day was that ring time was set for 11:30 am beginning with Excellent B and progressing toward Novice A. The steward even said, when we checked in, they were running on schedule and "at last it won't be 4 o'clock" when it's your turn. Well, it was 4:15. We had arrived shortly before 10 am so we could get checked in, watch the Danes and maybe a couple other breeds in conformation, and then have a chance at our rally run. Instead we ended up trying to kill time, we were hungry, we were bored, we were tired of practicing our rally exercises, and Leo was probably over stimulated as this was an environment he was not accustomed (much different than an agility trial). I probably made the mistake, too, of not setting up the crates or putting the dogs in the truck when we knew how slowly the event was progressing. But, as with many things, hindsight is 20/20. So by the time we "ran," I had two very mentally done dogs. Plus, rally was held in the horse arena at Clark County Fairgrounds. This arena is used for a ton of events and the dirt floor is oh so fragrant. Vegas wanted to sniff cones a lot and poor Leo was even closer to the ground for sniffing plus a dog had urinated in the ring. All in all, that made for a lot of stress and frustration because I know my dogs can work better.

Our biggest issues were just going into the ring he saw something he wasn't certain of so pulled away. The down and walk around was an issue even though I got him to where he was doing it consistently outside the ring. I think the rest was just not being close enough to me. I would have loved to have video but with my son holding Vegas and her pitching a fit that Mama wasn't working with her, it didn't happen.

So Leo walked away without a qualifying leg toward his RN but I hope it served to show him he can work in a ring with me and that we'll do better next time.

Video Tuesday

Super Smart Puppy

Leo's breeder said he needed a job. His brother has been doing agility for a while. Turns out he's doing nose work, too. Another brother is doing canine freestyle. Do we sense a trend here?

So yesterday after work I took the dogs in the back yard with the intention of playing fetch to burn off some energy. Neither cared about the ball at all so I decided to work with Vegas on the dog walk. This is what happened and where it took us.

Tonight we added a jump. Success! 

Foundation Class, Week 2

I have an 11.5" rockstar on my hands. Seriously. Leo is going to completely rock once he's truly trained. He is showing such an affinity for agility. He is willing. He is smart. He is energetic. And he smiles all the time. We did our circular jump sequence again tonight handling it from the left and right. No problems there - in fact we had enough speed his hair was really blowing back, a beautiful sight to see. We tried the wobble board and didn't achieve much. I'm going to discard using that one anymore since it's causing him to be afraid instead of giving him confidence. I had neglected to work on targeting with him this week using a butter container lid or something similar so I was quick to grab one of those and work on sit/stay then release to target the lid in between things. For an hour class with six dogs, there really isn't down time. We are able to keep moving through stations and working on things. After we warmed up on the jump sequence we got to move on to the tunnel. Initially Autumn had it set up at about four feet long. It didn't really take any effort to send Leo through the tunnel - even without me being right on the other end where he could see me. By the end of class he had run through it at about eight feet in length with his leash trailing behind with little prompting. Super exciting!

We also introduced the tire tonight. Our instructor said she won't spend a lot of time on it but it will be available for us throughout the remaining weeks of class. Leo struggled a bit, mostly because he's still a bit sensitive to the clanging, banging noises others might be making and whether that means something might come crashing down on him. After a couple of attempts alone, one of the instructors held him while I went to the other side of the tire to call him through. Success! Well, once. The second time Sir Leo still decided to run around the tire. LOL. But, the third and subsequent times - event by myself - he got it and jumped through willingly. Go Leo!

We went over the a-frame again tonight. This time there was no intro necessary for Leo. I just led him at it and gave him some space to gain momentum and up he went! In fact, he hit the bottom and turned around and went over it again. Now to work on targeting....certainly he's not leaping off but I want a criteria. I was leaning toward four on but after he hit a solid two on/two off and held it until I released him with an "OK," I'm thinking that will be the way to go. I know with him I'll for sure need criteria and I want to train contacts solidly this time. It's been a bit of a struggle with big sis and I don't want to go there with him since I know he's going to be a speedy boy on the course.

All in all it was a fantastic class and I am SO excited for this little guy's future. Perhaps I'll get video or pictures in the future but for now, just imagine a blur of orange fur and know it's Leo.

Leo Started His Agility Career!

Leo's agility career started on Monday. The first lesson of our seven week session was the first my youngest son, Zach, would be able to attend so initially the plan was for him to do most of the exercises. Unfortunately the dogs tend to perform better with Mom and the boys get frustrated easily. So suffice it to say we both worked with Leo but Zach says he doesn't want to do agility with him anymore. We shall see....  

Waiting for class to start

Our classes are through Columbia Agility Team and our instructor is Autumn. Autumn was kind enough to send us out an outline ahead of class so we knew what to expect going in. Here is our week 1 agenda: Week 1 ~

*** Set realistic and obtainable goals for you and your dog***
Class Objectives
Introduction of classmates/ Instructor
Barn Rules
Handlers will learn to play/ interact with their dog
Dogs will work on stays (1 minute)
Handlers will learn how to lure
Handlers will learn how to reward
Handlers will learn the safety of the equipment used in class
Handlers will be introduced to obstacles (visual)
A Frame Introduction
Contact Plate Introduction

NOTE: Please work with your dog during the week. Work ten minutes twice daily during the week and more frequently if possible. Every time you handle your dog, you are training!! Methods of training are always positive re-enforcement.

Class Description
Introductions
Work on Jumps (both sides)
Work on ladder and buja board
Work on sits, stays, recalls

Review
Goals
Expectations

The buja board was very scary for Leo and I'm not certain he'll ever be comfortable with it or that it will be necessary. Nonetheless, we worked on it with tons of positive reinforcement, praise, and treats. We didn't get around to the ladder in class but I'm confident in what that exercise entails and have already practiced it at home in the past. All in all, I'm excited to see how Leo progresses. I think he's going to make an awesome little agility partner. He is eager to learn, smart as a whip, and has a delightful personality. Here is a compilation of the video I took in class. The only section I really wished I had, too, was when I was working him on the a-frame. Initially he was quite hesitant but after the second time, he really got what I wanted and charged right up the ramp and down the other side without concern. Go Leo!

Mail Call

I wasn't expecting anything from the AKC in the mail - or so I thought. However, when I opened the envelope, something important (and official) had arrived:

Leo also got to be honorary Dane yesterday at the Great Danes of Summer event held at our local park. It's a big annual event we hold to raise funds to support area rescue, emergencies, education, and more. There were quite a few Danes - lots of puppies - and Leo was a complete trooper the whole time. In fact, I barely spent any time with him at all once we got there. Thank goodness for my son who showed up after football about midday and kept Leo with him almost the entire rest of the day. Here are two photos we got taken though that I am completely excited about. 

 

Soon to be a superstar

Leo finally gets to start his next training adventure! His foundation level agility classes start on Monday, September 13. They'll run for an hour once a week for seven or eight weeks. We're taking the classes through Columbia Agility Team which is close and convenient since I'll be juggling getting one of my sons (if not both) to and/or from football practice, too, those evenings. But I'm super excited to get started with Leo! He is so smart - you can just see it in his eyes. He looks at you like he can read you and is willing you to work with him. In fact, just last week I taught him to give a high-five in just three requests/commands. Now, of course, he throws that paw repeatedly and often in hopes of getting a treat. Such a smart little whipper snapper and a mama's boy to boot. Gotta love my little critter.