Just had a great little late night training session. I had been having a problem with Viljo with the weave poles. His entrances and first few poles have consistently been good but then he would look to me while in the poles and mess up what had started really well. As my instructor said, it was because I was carrying his reward (which has not been an issue with Owl or Nexus). So I started putting the food in a treat pouch and throwing it past the end of the weaves while he was in them. But that did not help because then he was looking to me to throw it! I tried using a target for him to hit after the weaves. Results with that were poor. I have been thinking that I might have to get one of those remote Ready Treat things. But this week I thought that it might work for me to just lay the treat pouch on the floor at the end of the weaves. It has rabbit fur on the outside (!) and I put the reward inside and Viljo loves to pounce on it and shake it very hard. So I was skeptical that I could leave it on the floor like that and Viljo would leave it alone until completing the weaves. But it has worked beautifully! It took just two times of me dropping it on the floor, Viljo rushing to grab it, and me explaining to him that he must do the weaves first and then he can have it. He understood so quickly! In this past week, he has gone from 8 poles often done shabbily to 12 poles consistently done well. Besides accurate completion, finally getting the focus off me has increased his rhythm and speed significantly. Yaaay!!
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One of the great things about brisk wind when we are out on our daily walk is the sound that it makes in the pines along the way. In some places, it sounds like a waterfall. Elsewhere, it sounds just like a car on a gravel road. Sometimes the wind whistles. Other times it sighs. It makes the trunks of the oaks creak and groan. Old dead leaves dance. And the feathers on the dogs flow like waves. I like these things. : )
FC Autumn Olive von Dorndorf VCD1 TD CD RE MX MXJ, owned by John Willmore and Diane Webb (handling), scored 92 in Excellent B and 85 in Advanced for her 4th leg toward the Rally Advanced Excellent title. This was at the Rally trial of the Santa Clara Vally Kennel Club in San Jose, California.
To earn the Rally Advanced Excellent title, the dog must have earned qualifying scores in both Advanced B and Excellent B classes at 10 separate rally trials. Congratulations to Diane, John, and Olive! |
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February 2015
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