Gris' second session with threadles. The first session was quite bad; I did not break the exercise down into enough parts and her success rate was very low. She was very strong on the first arm (which holds the toy) but kept missing the second arm cue (since she was still fixated at the toy). After viewing in slow motion, I think it's mostly the toy at fault here, but she is definitely improving.
There's a lot of bar knocking and I think it's a combination of the new jump height of 26", new handling cues from a new handler, and the toy actively moving in plain sight. I feel self-imposed pressure to advance Gris quickly, but I think Sarah is right, and I should lower the heights for introductions to new maneuvers, and move the toy to an assistant. I've never had a dog work so hard and progress so quickly though, even the BC.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Gris vs Serpentines
The first minute or two shows Gris working the opening of the 2010 AKC Invitational Finals, which includes a 270 challenge. After just 3 reps, Gris had the idea. She is a VERY quick learner. However, I don't recommend introducing the average dog to the 270 in this fashion, or at 26" either.
The serpentine introduction took place at home, in the backyard. I also incorporated start line stay work and "outing" the high value toy between sequences. Not my best training, but a great dog with extreme drive let's the trainer get away with some mistakes. The session was too long, and I should have started with lower jumps. Gris was clearly tired, contributing to some bar knocking. I also carried her highest value toy in plain sight, which increases the difficulty for the dog. However, I am committed to holding her to a very high standard of performance. Her learning curve is amazing; watch her last serpentine in slow motion.
The serpentine introduction took place at home, in the backyard. I also incorporated start line stay work and "outing" the high value toy between sequences. Not my best training, but a great dog with extreme drive let's the trainer get away with some mistakes. The session was too long, and I should have started with lower jumps. Gris was clearly tired, contributing to some bar knocking. I also carried her highest value toy in plain sight, which increases the difficulty for the dog. However, I am committed to holding her to a very high standard of performance. Her learning curve is amazing; watch her last serpentine in slow motion.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Gris' First Course Work
Grand Prix course. Jumps 26" well. Great aframe 1.9 seconds which will be 1.5 seconds with quick release. Great seesaw of 1.1 seconds. Slow dogwalk at 2.8 seconds--a good 2o2o is in the 1.8-2.0 second range while dogs with true running contacts put in 1.4 second dogwalks. Great weaves. Does not respond to arm/shoulder changes very well, if at all. This does not bode well for threadles and serpentines. Highly verbal, drives forward very well. Turned the wrong way once (flick away). Has already incorporated the decel stop into her handling skill set after a single session--this bodes well for learning threadles and serpentines.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Welcome
Gris has arrived in Houston, straight from Lake Charles, Louisiana where she was running in a three day AKC trial. Gris is proudly owned by Susan Fraser, who was kind enough to loan me her ace for a few weeks of training. Gris is agile and fast with excellent drive and focus, and recently had a phenomenal litter of puppies.
Gris' first agility session is posted below. She normally jumps 20" but I am going to have a look at her in 26" for a few weeks. This session focused on contrasting handler deceleration and acceleration cues, a la Greg Derrett. Note the sequential improvement of her deceleration. She will drop bars at times in trials, and our goal is to make her responsible for keeping the bars up, however, we will not use any punishment for this. I believe when she has a consistent set of cues, her bar knocking in trials will greatly diminish. During the session, I used praise for good sequences with bar drops, and the high value toy for a great performance. Within the brief session, her bar knocking decreased and then disappeared, even when introducing the series on the opposite side.
Gris' first agility session is posted below. She normally jumps 20" but I am going to have a look at her in 26" for a few weeks. This session focused on contrasting handler deceleration and acceleration cues, a la Greg Derrett. Note the sequential improvement of her deceleration. She will drop bars at times in trials, and our goal is to make her responsible for keeping the bars up, however, we will not use any punishment for this. I believe when she has a consistent set of cues, her bar knocking in trials will greatly diminish. During the session, I used praise for good sequences with bar drops, and the high value toy for a great performance. Within the brief session, her bar knocking decreased and then disappeared, even when introducing the series on the opposite side.
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