airbear Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 One week after competing in the Calgary Stampede, Rex switched gears and ran this weekend in an agility trial. This marks about the 1-year anniversary of when he started running the full slate of classes, and I'm quite pleased with his progress. He's definitely getting faster, though I know he's still got a few more gears, if he'd stop bouncing and barking so much! He earned his Advanced Agility Dog, Masters Steeplechase, and Masters Snooker titles. Still no luck in Advanced Jumpers though! Rex says he likes to keep me guessing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5WrWDQuY6Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 Nice job! Great song choice, too. Brings back some good memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 Congratulations to Rex. He has awesome running contacts, and I believe he has a couple more gears too. Re: the bouncing and barking. My dog starts the circling and bouncing behavior when I am late giving him the information on where we are going next. He doesn't bark, but his behavior is telling me "Hurry up, Mom. Where to next? Come on, get with the program. Stop being so slow!" Depending on the course layout, he wants/needs information 2-3 obstacles ahead. For example, at 32-34 seconds in, Rex comes off the teeter and bounces around you - waiting for a signal on where to go next?? When did you tell him to go to the table? If you waited until he is stepping off the teeter, or even banging the teeter down, it may have been too late. (depends on the dog). For my dog, I would have given him the 'table' command the second he stepped on the up side of the teeter. If I wait until he comes off the teeter or even is coming down, he has already made up his mind where he wants to go next. If the next obstacle is directly in front, fine, but if he needs to change direction, I have lost him - or at least he has to turn so wide that you lose a couple of seconds right there. It is a double-edged sword because you have to know when to give early commands and when to wait a split second longer because if you give the command too early, you can pull the dog off the next obstacle. I am still figuring all this out with my guy, and who knows when and if it will all fall into place. Keep up the good work. Jovi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretBC Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 Great job! I definitely notice that he's getting faster. Bummer about the jumpers runs -- Seems like we all have a curse of one kind or another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryP Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 I liked the little victory dance you did. Rex made the chute look like child's play, and what's with keeping the tire intact? That's crazy. Did you almost trip over the A-frame during one of those runs? It kinda looked that way. Anyway, congrats on the new titles! That's pretty quick for only running all the classes for a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 Thanks for reminding me, Mary, I forgot to mention the victory dance! I'm thinking Kristi could share some of those cool moves with the NFL players. You know, for endzone celebrations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airbear Posted July 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 Nice job! Great song choice, too. Brings back some good memories. Right? I heard it on the way home yesterday and had an urge to put on a prom dress! For example, at 32-34 seconds in, Rex comes off the teeter and bounces around you - waiting for a signal on where to go next?? When did you tell him to go to the table? If you waited until he is stepping off the teeter, or even banging the teeter down, it may have been too late. In an admission of spineless compromise, I deliberately didn't tell him to go table, because he sometimes pops off it like toast (hey it's a contact obstacle and we dead-run those!). In AAC agility, the table is optional in Masters Standard (and I haven't seen one in 6 years) so I just wanted to get a table without faults, and then never do another bloody one again (until November, when we do USDAA ). I liked the little victory dance you did. Rex made the chute look like child's play, and what's with keeping the tire intact? That's crazy. Did you almost trip over the A-frame during one of those runs? It kinda looked that way. I was so happy to be out of that class, because it means no more conflicts in two-ring trials (and of course, no more table). For the tire in that standard run, as he took off, I said "giddyup" which is his dogwalk command. Being a very literal dog, he started running IN THE TIRE and exploded it six ways to Sunday. And no, I didn't trip, I jumped the cone at the base of the a-frame. I'm agile like that. Thanks for reminding me, Mary, I forgot to mention the victory dance! I'm thinking Kristi could share some of those cool moves with the NFL players. You know, for endzone celebrations? It's the antithesis of my "can't pen these damned sheep" frustration dance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.