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Ouzo's first Agility Class


Anda
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We just had our first session of agility. It is an introductory class, not even beginners, which is exactly what we needed.

 

The best thing about this class is that it's taught at the instructors' house, about 5 minutes away from where we live. So I can easily make it there for the next 4 weeks after work.

 

Beside Ouzo, there are only 2 other dogs, which I think it's great, more time for each one. There's a small cocker - plump, and an Australian Shepherd, very plump. Both females. Both calm. Both very low key. Both food motivated. Both not anything like Ouzo :D

 

As expected, Ouzo loved the whole idea of climbing and jumping over things, and was trying to do everything at 180 MPH :rolleyes:

 

We got to get our dogs over the A-Frame and teach them the name for it. Then to walk on a part of the dog walk which was laid flat on the ground, then raised at the normal level. My hands are raw from holding his leash so tight so he wouldn't fly over the dog walk and launch himself on the last leg without touching the yellow part. The last thing we did is get the dogs to walk on a "wobbly" surface, a square board laying on top of a brick (or something round, don't remember).

 

We had fun, but my first impression is that we're going to have to work really hard on certain things. If it starts to be less fun, we can always do something else.

 

First thing: peeing

 

The dogs are not allowed to pee in the yard where the equipment is. They have to go somewhere else, up some stairs, and into a different part of the yard. Easier said than done. I have a sprinkler dog . I can work on that. I can get him to stop marking, the only time I'm asking and demanding no marking is when we go at the vet or in a pet store. He doesn't mark in the house, and outside I don't have any issues with that. Anyway, it can be done. Sorry, Ouzo, you'll have to learn to stop spreading your business cards everywhere.

 

Treats or toys? That is the question. Or none?

 

I brought with me a variety of small treats. He couldn't care less. I know, I know, try string cheese (will most likely work like magic) or baked hot dogs. You see, I HAVE been paying attention in class for the last year I've been on this board So, to get his attention - not to motivate, but to get him to stay still and stop acting like a puppy while the instructor was talking, I pulled a magic orange ball. As I expected, suddenly my dog turned into the most well behaved and obedient dog ever, offering all his tricks in a row and looking into my eyes just to get the ball. Which prompted the comment from the instructor "Well, well, we have an entertainer".

If I reward him with the ball as he completes an obstacle, he is too focused on the ball to pay attention to accuracy. Treats don't matter as long as there's a ball. I tried to put the ball away, still treats didn't matter.

 

Good thing is, my dog does not require any treats to perform physical activities, the activities themselves and the "Good boy!" seem to be motivating enough and he's all smiles and proud of what he's done. I assume this gets old after a while and eventually you have to rely on treats. Will try something yummier next time.

 

Playing: We were told to encourage a tug-game, to interact with our dogs during play time. I had only brought a ball with me. Duhh. I will get something else next week and see how we do. One thing is certain: I will not encourage him to play tug with his leash, I've worked hard to stop this behaviour, after two expensive flexi-leashes were severed by someone. What Ouzo did for fun during one of our play time sessions was run on the A-Frame back and forth. That's fun for him!

 

 

Biggest concern? Honestly? hmmm...

She kept referring to BCs as "crazy", "insane" dogs, etc. Which I agree with, to some extent. At the end of the class, I've asked her if she thinks it would be a good idea that next time I'd exercise Ouzo a bit before bringing him over - all he had this afternoon was a short walk since i was late. This is his usual frisbee/ball/play time. She said it wouldn't make a difference, BCs are insane dogs. With a smirk on my face, I've asked in front of the other students: "You say that in a loving way, correct?!" She paused too long then she said no. Grrrrr. Luckily her husband have Ouzo a good hug.

 

ETA: I thought I typed this, but obviously I didn't: she has 3 goldens that run agility, and her husband has a beautiful Border Collie who does agility as well. She made it clear the BC is not hers, it's her husband's.

 

We have 4 more classes, and I hope we can have a lot of fun. We'll see where this takes us.

 

Check mark by agility, trying herding this weekend: I am SOOO excited. Way more than I was about agility.

 

 

P.S. And no, no pictures, I was by myself, and there wasn't any way in hell I would have been able to take any pictures. Unless I drag Chris along next week, there will be no pictures (he'll be gone for more than a month after that).

 

P.P.S. After this hour session, I had to take him to a small dog park to let him run off all the energy he had accumulated by being on the leash and having to wait his turn. NOW I have a tired dog. Finally!

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She kept referring to BCs as "crazy", "insane" dogs, etc. Which I agree with, to some extent. At the end of the class, I've asked her if she thinks it would be a good idea that next time I'd exercise Ouzo a bit before bringing him over - all he had this afternoon was a short walk since i was late. This is his usual frisbee/ball/play time. She said it wouldn't make a difference, BCs are insane dogs. With a smirk on my face, I've asked in front of the other students: "You say that in a loving way, correct?!" She paused too long then she said no. Grrrrr. Luckily her husband have Ouzo a good hug.

 

No no no, das est verboten! (Sorry if I butchered that! been a while!) You can only say that if you are actually owned by one! Otherwise, you must be paw slapped! Harumph! She's probably just jealous because a BC prolly kicked her dog's a$$ in competition and she has to say *something* to explain it!

 

Glad he had fun!

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Anda, sounds like Ouzo could really get into agility.

 

I have a few concerns from what you've posted. Let me preface this by explaining that I have 2 5 year old Border Collies. My girl is competing at Masters level in agility (in spite of me :D ), and it was not too hard to get her to include me in the picture - though we're still working on that too.

 

My boy on the other hand goes ballistic when there is equipment around - just wants to go and go and go ..... starting to sound familiar? So I've been doing obedience and tracking with him, until I got a fair way with Kirra. Now, I've decided I've got enough knowledge to take Fergus (a very soft dog who doesn't want to get things wrong when he's thinking :rolleyes: ) in hand. We've been working on some foundations, and on impulse control. Doing flat work - e.g. side changes (from working on the left to working on the right), and getting him to wrap around one jump and turn back to me on the side my shoulders and hands are indicating. It's starting to work, though I really need to do it every day., and be very disciplined myself.

 

I'd suggest that Ouzo may well be a boy who is a bit like Fergus - the drive is magic, and you don't want to lose it, but they need a lot of self-control work. I'm basing some of what I do on a DVD called Crying for Control, and on Susan Garrett's Success with One Jump, among other things.

 

I'm a little concerned that going to the obstacles too soon, without teaching the foundation skills, may contribute to the craziness. (Based on what I mistakenly did with Fergus.) Actually going over the obstacles is usually not an issue for most dogs with a bit of confidence. A controlled performance of the obstacles, and knowing how to work contacts, is much more difficult to achieve, and ISTM now, is best done in small increments, and probably with backchaining.

 

As you've seen with Ouzo already, it seems like the obstacles are going to be reinforcing and motivating in themselves, but it's always good to have an armoury of reinforcers - I use treats primarily, but also a tuggy - having a throwable tug toy is great for e.g. sending the dog ahead - or getting a fast wrap around a jump. Your ball will be good for that too.

 

The peeing thing - yes, that's something to get on top of as soon as possible. There are a couple of 'marker' dogs competing here, and it's a real PITA.

 

Based on the mistakes I've made with Fergus, I wouldn't be letting Ouzo have free access to any of the obstacles. Since they are reinforcing for him, you need to be in control of his access to them, I think.

 

Mind you, all of this is based on the idea that you might want Ouzo to compete. I guess if agility is only ever going to be a playground for him, then it doesn't matter, as long as he's performing obstacles safely.

 

(Most of this advice is what I wish I'd done with Fergus - but I know it's very, very hard to resist the temptation to just let them go. :D

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Barb,

 

Thanks for the detailed advice. I honestly do not think I will have the time to do competition type agility, if we decide to stick with this. I work about 50+ hours a week and ocasionally have to stay up to 16-18 hours straight at work (don't get me started....). Good agility, competitive level requires a lot of commitment, timewise especially, which I doubt I can spare. But who knows, if the bug bites hard, I might have to make it work :rolleyes:

 

The jumps were at the lowest levels possible - yeah, I forgot to say we jumped over some obstacles - practicing the sit and stay then luring the dog to jump the obstacle with the head down - I had to keep the ball on the ground and we got praised :D I think that's where he excelled, at actually staying put on command. And he tended to go run a circle around the obstacle towards other people after jumping and dropping the ball at their feet. I know, a No-No. At least we got praised on our recall :D

 

And it was crazy, trying to slow him down over the dog walk, but with each pass he would calm down more and be more accurate. I think he needs lots of practice to remove some of the craziness. Having him on the short leash didn't help too much, I have more control over him when he is off leash, I can give him directions from a distance with my hands and voice better than when he gets excited and pulls in anticipation. Off leash he's a diferent dog, making eye contact and paying attention to everything I say or do.

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I haven't tried agility with Usher yet- wow, I bet he's fast. My little dog Migraine was great!!! I don't know about most of you, but with obedience or agility mine never require a treat. Mine all work for pleasure. My older dog Miss Lacey was simply board of the climbing and stuff. It was "beyond" the princess. Migraine liked it as much as herding. She was so tiny legged that they put her in the sheltie class. I bet Ouzo will be a pro and I bet you will love it too. As far as the peeing goes, that's pretty much the rule. The girls don't care- much tougher on the guys. I am really going to be excited to see my fast guy get into this IF.....I can slow him down a tad bit. LOL. Good luck & keep us informed. You've got a great dog there.

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She kept referring to BCs as "crazy", "insane" dogs, etc. Which I agree with, to some extent. At the end of the class, I've asked her if she thinks it would be a good idea that next time I'd exercise Ouzo a bit before bringing him over - all he had this afternoon was a short walk since i was late. This is his usual frisbee/ball/play time. She said it wouldn't make a difference, BCs are insane dogs. With a smirk on my face, I've asked in front of the other students: "You say that in a loving way, correct?!" She paused too long then she said no. Grrrrr. Luckily her husband have Ouzo a good hug.

 

Waaaaaaaaaaaay back when I had Speedy in agility, I used to stop at a rest area on the way to class and throw the ball and have him run and run and run trying to work off some of his energy to help him have more control in agility class.

 

It never worked. Not because he's insane, in spite of the many screws that are missing or loose in his particular brain, but because when a particular thing triggers his drive, he goes into "drivey" mode. It doesn't matter whether he has had exercise or not!

 

What did help - in other sports in his case - was working on focus and teaching him that the things he likes to do need to be done with some measure of control. That's not to say that drive should be squashed or discouraged, but it's that whole impulse control thing. Had I known then what I know now, I would have used a tug toy with him in agility, as I am with Dean. Had I known how to do that at the time, I think he would have been able to learn impulse control and do agility.

 

Even if your dog willingly does what you want on the equipment, an external reward is a good idea.

 

Think of this. Say the instructor sets up a sequence where there are two pieces of equipment near each other and you need to direct your dog to go to one and not the other. But the one that you don't want your dog to go to is your dog's favorite! If the equipment itself has been your dog's highest reward, chances are he or she is going to head for the piece of equipment that appeals the most!

 

But say you've used a game of tug to reward your dog consistently for doing what you cue him or her to do. He or she may be drawn to his or her favorite piece, but if you've conditioned a strong response to your cues, you will be able to direct your dog to do what you want.

 

Rewards aren't just for dogs that are sluggish or hesitant. Dean, for instance, LOVES the closed chute. He will burst through it on cue happily and no reward is required. But, by using a thrown ball, I have been able to teach him not only to go through the closed chute, but to drive out of it and keep going. I've also been able to teach him to enter the chute when not facing it head on fairly quickly. And the impulse control thing - if he takes the wrong piece of equipment, or breaks a start line stay, the ball does not fly or the tug does not do it's "tug thing". His start line stay is a thing of beauty! He's ready to GO! but he holds the stay with incredible control. That's because I've used a flying toy to reward when he holds that "ready to GO stay" instead of the equipment.

 

So, I would definitely encourage you to use a tug toy or ball in this instance. I have that same problem with Dean with jumps - if I use a toy sometimes he knocks bars. When that happens, he doesn't get the reward - he figured that out fairly quickly. The one thing I use food over toys with in agility training with him is contacts. When he is very confident and knows his job on the contacts, I will probably transition to toys for that, too.

 

I hope the rest of the classes go well for you!

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I've only skimmed the responses, but what I have quickly is:

 

1) Yep, exercise him before class. It will take some of the edge off, and I'm sure he'll still have plenty of energy for class.

2) If he's not treat motivated, use what works. Everyone swears by tug, but I don't see why ball won't work, too.

3) I'm so excited you're going to put Ouzo on sheep! Can't wait to hear all about, so be sure to tell us. And I hope we get pictures! Pretty please?

4) Try not to read too much into her "crazy, insane border collies" comment. Yeah, she might have a little bias going on, but don't let it offend you. Maybe Ouzo will be the bc to change her mind.

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Um, I would start teaching agility again, if I could have Ouzo in my class. Ignore what she says about crazy BC's. Just jealous I tell you! :rolleyes: Anyway, bring a tug toy, and stick it in your back pocket when working him on things, and when he has succesfullly completed the obstacle, then give it to him. Keep sessions short, and fun. Do NOT go over and over stuff. He is just learning. You want him to believe this is the BEST thing since sliced bread. I LOVE teaching over the top dogs- I LOVE dogs that growl through the weaves. dogs who have no fear of equipment, or even if they have fear, damn the torpedos, and do it anyway. Yep, that's what I like :D

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Hey Anda,

Glad to see Ouzo had some fun there. Imho that and the bonding with you is the most important aspect of agility. Competition is a whole different animal so to speak and I'll leave that for another time. First, I'm NO expert in agility. Derry, my 2 1/2 year old red and white, has had three classes in it and has a great time doing it. I've got to tell you though that an agility trainer that puts down BC's like that and is serious worries me. Yeah, we all know BC's are "wackado's" but gosh I love 'em for it! Kind of like enjoying spicy or interesting food over something intolerably bland. My advice would be to learn what you can from her and move on.

 

I've tried taking Derry on a walk before class or just going to class. Frankly, for her, a walk was counter productive. Probably something about the 30-40 miles per week she was already running in the mornings. Derry seemed to run out of gas towards the end of an hour and a half class after a "prewalk." I've never worked a male dog in agility so I'd be stumped on the marking. As for the toy, I try to use a special one just for agility. Often, at the end of long combinations of jumps and stuff I will toss it past the last one in training to encourage her to drive thru the end so to speak. Then I'll praise her and tug a little with her and she thinks thats just the most fun in the world. But Derry's real good at stopping the celebration play on command. When it comes to treats, I use one of those "loaf" type food treats. Part of the reason is that Derry gets pretty lean with all the activity and I want to keep her weight up. The other reason is that she gets that treat only during agility and she goes nuts for it. But frankly, I'm trying to get more toy and praise feedback motivated and getting her weened off of treats.

 

At this level though Anda I think its most important the Ouzo just gets it burned into her head that agility with you is fun play time to look forward to. Glad you two can enjoy it together! :-)

-jay

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I have a ballistic aussie in agility right now I could run him for miles and he would still be over the top the moment he saw equipment. I practice self control with him with a simple exercise that can be done anywhere.

 

1) This can be done anytime anywhere - with a super yummy treat that is used only during agility or training do the following: A) put a single piece in your hand make sure your dog knows its there and close your hand into a fist. Let him sniff, lick paw, nudge ect but dont open your hand to let him have the treat. do not pull your hand away or verbally correct. B) when your dog sits or lays or looks away from the treat open your hand, now the part where you have to be quick, when he moves to take the treat close your hand again. Don't pull your hand away or verbally correct at all let him go through all the motions of trying to get the treat and when he sits/lays or looks away from your hand open it again. C). IF he does not try to get the treat offer it with a good boy, if he does try to get it simply repeat step B.

 

If Ouzo's most favorite toy is a ball and he likes to tug, simply get a tug toy with a ball on it, use only when training agility.

 

Im suprised that after only the first session that you are doing a full height dogwalk. Alot of trainers will not raise a piece of equipment to full height until the dog is going over it confidently w/o leash at a much lower level and then gradually raise the height.

 

If it bothers you that your trainer is referring to BC's as crazy and insane and is serious about it then you have to let her know. You are paying her to teach you to the best of her ability reguardless of the breed of dog you have and have a right to voice your concerns.

 

Also for training days you might withhold Ouzo's supper until after class, that way training treats are that much more enticing!

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It wasn't a full hight dogwalk from what I understood, it was about 3-4 feet high? Ouzo's head was above my shoulder when he was on it (and I'm 5'2'' :D )

 

I have been playing with him with some tug toys which I will probably bring with me. The ball was too distracting, for him and probably for other dogs as well, since he kept throwing it at the other students, codially inviting them to join in his fun :rolleyes:

 

Ouzo didn't have any supper before class, that is what the instructor recomended before we made it there, and he doesn't eat supper till very late, anyway (IF he eats it!).

 

We have homework to perfect our "touch" command, which is having him touch his nose to my hand. In the idea to eventually teach him to follow my hands. He already does that, I can point wherever I want and send him in that direction. He was confused by the touch command, he knew that as having to touch a target with his paw, not nose :D

 

I will see how the next session goes, and don't you worry, if I hear it again, I will talk to her and politely ask her not to bash BCs, regardless of how she really feels :D

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1) Yep, exercise him before class. It will take some of the edge off, and I'm sure he'll still have plenty of energy for class.

2) If he's not treat motivated, use what works. Everyone swears by tug, but I don't see why ball won't work, too.

3) I'm so excited you're going to put Ouzo on sheep! Can't wait to hear all about, so be sure to tell us. And I hope we get pictures! Pretty please?

4) Try not to read too much into her "crazy, insane border collies" comment. Yeah, she might have a little bias going on, but don't let it offend you. Maybe Ouzo will be the bc to change her mind.

 

1. I don't exercise before class - it just creates a more fit dog who has the same problems in class as before. Is he hyper in class? or is he not listening? are you being worth listening too It's usually the latter 2 choices. You need to make things more interesting, reward faster, and if necessary be firmer about the limits of behavior. He may also be better in a smaller class, or privates, until he learns patience.

I am not saying don't exercise, I am saying he should have a regular exercise program so that there should be no need for more before class

2. Balls in class are a total NO usually. Throwing toys can get other handler's arms yanked off and start fights between the dogs. A compromise is a ball on a tug rope that you can do both with (throw and tug) but *only* throw when it is your turn, with you instructor's permission.

3. Please, please, please :rolleyes:

4. As a student and an instructor I will not tolerate breed racisms in my classes. We address the dogs problems and strengths on an individual basis, and some breed "generalizations and issues" may be discussed *politely*. An instructor that is so unprofessional in her comments is not going to be a good teacher - how would you feel if this wasn't your dog, but your child, and the teacher said "oh, one of those insane green kids" in that way? I'm sorry, but I'd have a chat with her privately, and if she feels she can't find enough integrity to change to addressing you and your dog as an individual, not a stereotype, then you need to go elsewhere.

Who knows, doing this may result in the wake up call for potentially very good instructor

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I had a student with a BC who was totally soccer ball motivated. I have 2 rules regarding balls in class:

1. the dog HAS to know the ball comes from you, that you control it, and you must interact in some way when you play with it (throwing repeatedly DOES count)

2. please throw it outside the arena, after the dog has completed his run

 

It doesn't sound the other 2 dogs in this class are really going to be yanking anybody's arms off over a ball. My class is 4 fast BC's. . .

 

Oh, and don't always run with it in full view like a lure. Ideally, the ball can be kept ringside once you're doing 'sequences' of obstacles, and once you're done (or got a hard part correct) then person and dog run back to the ball location and play with it out of the way.

 

 

Some trainers will not allow fetching in place of tug. I prefer tug, but as long as the dog knows that YOU control the toy and is playing with YOU, then who gives a rat's rear?

 

 

Oh, and I don't really use treats to train my dogs to do anything. They're not necessary. Useful sometimes, for some behaviors, but completely unnecessary :rolleyes:

I even teach targets with toys.

 

ETA: now that I thought about it, I don't even HAVE any treats, at all, and I currently am training a 4 year old, a 2 year old, and a 15-month old who's just barely learning her obstacles. So don't worry about treats too much, and hopefully your instructor is open to giving you a shot at it with toys instead.

 

Oh, and if the dogwalk is low enough he won't hurt himself falling off, then just teach him that falling off is not what you want, and let him work out his own speed. My dogs DO fall off when they're learning. . . and that's. . . OK. . . see, even kamikaze BC's don't actually ENJOY hitting the ground from 3-5 feet up at 97mph. . . so they adjust!

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When all else fails, we use smoked salmon for treats (from home or the grocery store)...should stop your BC on the contact without wearing out your arm. Get used to agility instructors saying unkind things about BCs (only thing worse is when they go over to the dark side when they clearly don't like BC's, just want to be more competitive.

Barb S

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Get used to agility instructors saying unkind things about BCs (only thing worse is when they go over to the dark side when they clearly don't like BC's, just want to be more competitive.

Barb S

 

That strikes me as odd. I've had many agility instructors and all have either liked Border Collies, although none were Border Collie folks themselves, or they were professional enough to be supportive in spite of any personal bias.

 

If an instructor were so unprofessional as to say something like this one did, I would find another class.

 

As an instructor myself, I know to be respectful of everyone's dog and breed of dog, regardless of my personal opinion. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

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1. I don't exercise before class - it just creates a more fit dog who has the same problems in class as before. Is he hyper in class? or is he not listening? are you being worth listening too It's usually the latter 2 choices. You need to make things more interesting, reward faster, and if necessary be firmer about the limits of behavior. He may also be better in a smaller class, or privates, until he learns patience.

I am not saying don't exercise, I am saying he should have a regular exercise program so that there should be no need for more before class.

 

Tomorrow before class I will take him for a longer walk, bit of frisbee, just to take a bit of the edge off. As I mentioned earlier, 5-5.30 is usually the time I take him out for his exercise at our dog run as soon as I came back from work. Last week I came home, took him for a bare-minimum walk then loaded him up in the car and showed up at the agility place. He was still looking for the off leash time, which he only got after the class when I took him to a small dog park close by.

 

During the class he was acting childish, hyper. He was paying attention to me, but hated having to stay calm while the intructor was talking.

 

The class has only two other dogs, which I belive is the smallest class I will find.

 

I already bought cheese - cubes and string cheese - for his treats. I am certain it will do its magic tomorrow. Or maybe I should bring some napkins - there's NOTHING he loves more than napkins (I'm kidding, of course :D Hmmm... maybe it's not such a bad idea :rolleyes: )

 

 

2. Balls in class are a total NO usually. Throwing toys can get other handler's arms yanked off and start fights between the dogs. A compromise is a ball on a tug rope that you can do both with (throw and tug) but *only* throw when it is your turn, with you instructor's permission.

No balls, I agree. I will bring one or two tug toys and see how he does. He's not crazy about balls on a rope, but I might try that, too.

We've been playing with his "blue rope" for the last days and he carries it around the house and shakes it for me when he wants to play. That's a good sign!

 

3. Please, please, please :D

Done :DOur first time on sheep We had a blast!

 

4. As a student and an instructor I will not tolerate breed racisms in my classes. We address the dogs problems and strengths on an individual basis, and some breed "generalizations and issues" may be discussed *politely*. An instructor that is so unprofessional in her comments is not going to be a good teacher - how would you feel if this wasn't your dog, but your child, and the teacher said "oh, one of those insane green kids" in that way? I'm sorry, but I'd have a chat with her privately, and if she feels she can't find enough integrity to change to addressing you and your dog as an individual, not a stereotype, then you need to go elsewhere.

Who knows, doing this may result in the wake up call for potentially very good instructor

I am prepared to speak with her tomorrow if I hear another snappy remark about Border Collies.

 

 

Thanks for all your expert advise! I will keep you posted on our progress! It's so nice to know I can come back here and ask some very knowledgeble people for help and their oppinions!

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Susan Garrett's suggestions for building a motivating toy in her book Ruff Love are very good. The toy needs to be put away except for a few special moments it appears during the day.

 

I can't see the herding pictures here, but I will look tonight on the other computer. Cathy and I have littermate dogs and chat online occassionally. She sounds very nice and a great opportunity for you.

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Thanks for the suggestions and the link, Lenajo and Barb!

 

I will go act nuts with his rope toy and puzzle the hell out of Ouzo!!! It is true, the moment I take a toy away and put it somewhere he cannot reach it, that becomes the BEST toy EVER ! As in the poor red bunny on a rope whose stuffing started to come out a few days ago and who's been living on top of a bookcase since. Ouzo has tried numerous times to find ways to climb the bookcase, you can see him thinking and strategizing what to jump first on, then second, to finally get to the toy. Then he sits on the edge of the bed and stares at it, conceiving new plans :D

 

I think this is what I will do with his rope toy tonight - play with him excitedly, then put it up somewhere out of reach, but visible and taunt my poor dog, so that tomorrow he'd go nuts after it!

 

I'll let you know if this works! (I'm planning to bring a few toys with me tomorrow and keep them in the backpack if the rope doesn't work - I might even consider sewing back the poor red bunny and reincarnating it for tomorrow :rolleyes: )

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Guess I should start a new thread called "Ouzo's second agility class", but that would generate the need for a "third" an so on (we've only registered for five :D ) But since all the info and advice are in this one, I will keep adding.

 

Yesterday: great improvements over our first experience. Ouzo was calmer - still wasn't allowed to go off/dragging leash to sniff every corner of the yard, as he so much wanted, but the threat of him marking was too much :D .

 

I did exercise him a bit before the class, just 7-10 minutes of frisbee and running in the dog-run. It definetly took some of the edge off and he was panting just a tiny bit (pretty warm weather last evening) even when we got there.

 

This time the treats worked! Why? Because they were lil' tiny pieces of cheese! Note to self: next time, wear pants with wider pockets - I ended up with a bunch of mushed cheese! I will try the baked hot-dogs next time.

 

Didn't bring any balls - although Ouzo found a couple of soccer balls laying around in the yard and tried to put them to good use (it is a sin to let a good ball lay untouched). Instead I brought a tug rope and a couple of back-up tug toys, but there wasn't a need to bring them out, the rope worked pretty good. So good that at one of our play breaks we were asked to play in a corner, coz we were all over the place pulling and tugging and jumping and having fun as asked :rolleyes:

 

Dog walk was a breath this time, no one fell, no one ran like crazy (a tiny bit crazy, but mostly sane pace). We even started an introduction to weave poles, we put our dogs in a sit-stay (btw, Ouzo rocks at this, better than any of the other dogs - if I get his attention, that is :D ), then we went between the spaced out poles (3 left 3 right) and called them to walk in the middle. He did great, minus the second time when he ran STRAIGHT into the first pole :D LOL

 

He also met the baby teeter, which he loved. He was so relaxed that after the third time, he was trying to flirt with the instructor from the middle of the teeter - he just stopped there and smiled and tried to kiss her since she was standing to the side to make sure no one falls - so I had to cut out the flirting and remind him he still had 1/2 a teeter to climb down.

 

We also did the sit on the pause table - didn't work the first time since it was next to a very smelly bush (says Ouzo) that needed to be sniffed at any cost, even without paying attention to me - but the second time he did great, waited the 5 required seconds and got down on command.

 

The Aussie is much calmer than Ouzo, and doesn't try to run through obstacles, but instead she walks. Buuuuttttt, I found out this is her third agility class, PLLUUUUSSS she has agility equipment at home! Aha! Still Ouzo rocks :D

 

Ohhh, and other than a vague ADD statement in the begining, no more antagonizing BC discrimination remarks! YAY! And I think that's what it is: her goldens have to compete with BCs all the time, and she proudly announced that one of her goldens who was demonstrating some commands for us, can do the weave poles in 2.1 secs, the fastest golden in US, while their BC can only do 2.4. And btw that was a pretty golden, trim and fit, first I've ever seen like that!

 

He was happy, but this was nothing compared to the joy on his face when he saw sheep last Saturday :D Clearly and without any doubt he enjoys sheep more than agility. Too bad I don't know of any herding places closer to where I live.

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Hey Anda, just a suggestion, you might want to try one of those "food loaf" things that you cut into cubes. Sorry I don't know the name,there's all sorts of brands, I just get them at the feed stores around Loveland. Both agility trainers I've worked with used them also. I usually keep them in a bag at the hip and when Derry sees that bag on the hip her focus really improves, although its not too bad already. One thing agility made me appreciate was the need for obedience training. After Derry's first class I went through two obedience classes and worked her hard on the ranch to make sure she was more solid and less of a "kookapoo" in class. A strong recall and "watch me" sure makes life easier in the ring.

 

Have some fun out there! :-)

-jay

 

ps good luck with the trainer bias!

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I'm glad the second class went so much better!

 

You may find that Ouzo likes agiity better once he really gets the idea of what he's doing and is starting to do sequences and stuff. It's different from sheep, of course, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ouzo develops a real enthusiasm for agility once he understands what the game is!

 

I'm still working on Dean "getting it" after several months and I see pieces starting to come together now!

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