arf2184 Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 I finally put together some weave poles to practice on at home. Meg and I have been practicing a couple times a day for the past few weeks and I think she's got it! Still not 100% solid, especially if she looks at me instead of focusing on the poles, but we'll get there. She's picking up speed working her body through the poles. I think I need to glue some parts and stake the pole base into the ground. This is one of our practice sessions from Friday, July 1st. Fireworks are legal here from July 1st through the 7th and some of the neighbors were setting them off. Meg is not afraid, but the sudden noises did provide a distraction. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOmvdGEg31k (Bear is handling the fireworks quite well this year...of course tomorrow may be a different story, but I think Meg is rubbing off on him in a good way.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Good for Meg - and you! She definitely knows what to do except when she is distracted, but I am sure her focus will improve as she gains more confidence. On to 12 poles! Jovi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airbear Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 She is looking great! I must admit I am partial to bob-tailed little border collies who like to play with toys. Do you know where she's from, roughly? My bob-tailed rescue girlie is from the Pasco, WA area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arf2184 Posted July 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Do you know where she's from, roughly? My bob-tailed rescue girlie is from the Pasco, WA area. Meg spent some time in the Pasco/Tri-citites area, though as far as I know, is not originally from there. At around 10 months to one year old, she ended up at Canyon County Shelter in Caldwell, Idaho. Don't know anything about her before that or why such an awesome dog ended up spending 3 weeks in a shelter. Fortunately, a rescuer pulled her and sent her to a foster home in Kennewick, WA. She was adopted, returned 5 months later to Ravensgate Border Collie Rescue on Camano Island, WA. That's where I got her from and she's stuck with me for life! On to 12 poles! I'm excited to try 12 poles, but not quite yet. First I'd like to get her to do 6 poles in class. The other dogs in her class are still using guide wires on the poles and the wires throw Meg off since we haven't used them at home. Also, the poles where we have class have a metal base and are only 22" apart (not 24" like mine). Put all that together with the excitement of being somewhere else with other dogs and Meg act's like weave poles are a completely new concept...lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretBC Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Looking good! I'm especially impressed that she's able to work with fireworks going off.... Lord knows I couldn't do the same with Secret. I would suggest that you sit out and/or work on other things while the rest of your class is working on weaves for now. It sounds like you are beyond them, and working down to their level will not help you or your dog. Your time can be better spent working on other skills (like contacts or small jump sequences). Ask your instructor if you can work with the weave poles for a few minutes after class, at which time you can remove the guide wires and do the same sort of exercises you have been doing at home. My dogs won't go near poles with wires, either -- and trying to force the issue would hurt their confidence with the weaves. And FWIW, we've said it here many times before -- Novice handlers are guilty of spending WAAAAAAAAAAY too much time on 6 poles with their dogs. If you have the capability, move her up to 12 right now. I want my dogs on 12 poles as soon as they understand the concept of weaving, which Meg obviously does. Moving to the long set helps to build speed, rhythm, footwork & confidence. You may not see the long set in class for some time, but it doesn't mean you can't be weaving 12 at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arf2184 Posted January 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Someone (me ) got a bit busy and distracted with work and other things and never put together a second set of weave poles until last Friday. Then work and darkness got in the way again so we still weren't able to give 12 poles a shot...until today! We have mostly been working on handling around various jump configurations, haven't worked on weaves much at home for several months, and haven't had class for a month so I wasn't expecting much. (When we do work weaves in class, she's been doing well as long as I remember not to pull away too soon.) Today, on her very first time through, Meg did 12 poles perfectly from start to finish with no pause or complaints! You'd think she'd been doing 12 poles all along. (The liverwurst at the end helped I'm sure ). She actually seemed to like that she could keep going and got faster and faster each time through. She went through all 12 about 6-7 times, only popping out a couple poles early twice (one of those was my fault). We even did a little sequence of 12 poles, tire, wrap, and 12 poles again and she did fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runzbarrel Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I'm a newbie to the world of agility but kudos to you, she looks great! What a cutie she is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arf2184 Posted February 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 Thank you! Practice at home is on hold until the yard clears up (half is covered in ice, half is icky slippery mud). Meg is doing great in class though. She's focusing much better. We were having problems with her stopping mid run and completely ignoring me while she sniffed the ground. Now she only does that occasionally. Our tunnels need work though...we don't have one at home and haven't worked them enough in class for her to be completely comfortable with it (she always hesitates at the entrance and the slightest stop on my part will pull her back out of it). We'll get it eventually though. Her contacts on the A-frame and dog walk are awesome, though not fast...she's not a speed dog. I'm ok with that though since we're both just learning and having fun. Her teeter still needs work...either she leaves early or she takes forever to tip it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelleybean Posted February 11, 2012 Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 What is the music? Cute video! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arf2184 Posted February 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 The music is "Just A Ride" by Jem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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