borasaurus Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 Hi, All, I'm not really sure what to do here. Kieran has a full set of weaves and for the most part his entries are good (we practice a lot with the off entries). However, at his agility class, the poles are being taught channel method. We've gone through one level already and moved up, but they're still open quite a bit (~8"). It seems to be confusing Kieran. Since he's small, he doesn't have to bend to go through the channel at all, so he keeps popping out at the third pole in an attempt to bend around like he would on a closed weave. Basically, he's treating the left side of the channel as a set of closed weaves. He clearly recognizes them as weave poles. I'm worried that it will mess up his actual weaves or the speed at which he does them. At class, we have to keep starting them over and basically end up trotting through them so that he'll go down the middle, otherwise he'll pop out. I just don't want to have to reteach it to him down the line if this is causing problems. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptJack Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 I would... actually just tell the instructor that he already weaves on both sides and this seems to be confusing him/breaking them down. Then I'd see what the instructor suggests and/or just skip doing those exercises with the class. More than likely you'll either get the weaves closed for you two, so he's getting some weave time in class, or they'll suggest you skip those exercise and keep working it at home. No big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 I have been teaching weaves in our club and started with the intention of using channels with everyone but soon found that - Very small dogs have no clue what the channel means. Dogs that have previously been taught straight weaves can get confused. Some dogs just cannot be motivated enough to drive through. Sometimes this is a handler fault but not always. Most new handlers just don't get it. Practice at home is pretty much essential for success and handlers find it easier to set up straight weaves. Motivated and coordinated dogs will learn however you teach them. Crazy labs and similar are ideal candidates for channel weaves. A class situation is not ideal for teaching channels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borasaurus Posted July 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 Yea, that was the only thing I could think of. I don't think he'd want to close the poles because they look like they're all on a separate rail. So he'd have to do it multiple times during class. It just sucks to have to sit out on something. I'm not a fan of the channel method. All the classes we have here teach with that and they just close it way too slowly. The dogs in our classes have been doing it for months and they still can't weave. Versus I was able to teach it to Kieran in about a week at home using 2x2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptJack Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 I used channels with Molly after using 2x2 to teach her to find the entry. It worked fine for her but I closed them *FAST*. Like over the course of 2-3 sessions, closed and done. She's also the right dog for it, both size and energy wise. She probably could have learned them no matter what, though. Sitting out exercise does kind of suck and can be boring, but sometimes it's really the best solution. I do nothing with the teeter with Molly, because she doesn't like it, she has enough stress in class as it is, and she's never going to see it in competition (I only do NADAC). I just sit in the corner and work on something else for that bit of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borasaurus Posted July 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 I probably would like channels more if it was closed faster. I just have a bad taste in my mouth because all the classes I've taken have left them open for an eternity. At that point, is the dog even really learning what to do? It's definitely worked for some dogs in the class, but Kieran picked up the weaves in a fraction of the time it took them. As in, some of these dogs have been attending the same class for 8 months or more. I don't think it's that Kieran is particularly fantastic, but more the method he's learning. But you're probably right, sitting out is more beneficial than confusing him. I can probably use the time to work on directions. Even one of the other people in the class remarked that it looked like Kieran was trying to weave around the left side. I guess I'm also worried I'll come off snooty, lol. I just really do not want to undo all the hard work we've put in and Kieran is a very quirky dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurelin Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 If he's already weaving then skip the channels. Just tell the instructor he has closed weaves already and they should be able to close them for you. That's what I do with Hank. I just taught his weaves outside of class. The other dogs are learning channels but we go last and just close them up for Hank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borasaurus Posted July 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 That'd be nice if he closed them. The other class we do closes them for him. It takes a little juggling around, but I appreciate it when they do. How did your trial go?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurelin Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Lol it was um... Something. Baby dog was a baby dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligande Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 I am late posting but I agree just skip the weaves, regarding closing them they might be the type that takes an age to close. The ones we have each pole has to be unscrewed then repositioned and rescrewed back in, realistically it takes about 8 minutes for one person to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borasaurus Posted July 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 I am late posting but I agree just skip the weaves, regarding closing them they might be the type that takes an age to close. The ones we have each pole has to be unscrewed then repositioned and rescrewed back in, realistically it takes about 8 minutes for one person to do it. I think that's how his new set of poles is. He had the ones that were all on one track before. The new ones are really nice, but they don't look easy to close and open. We have class again tomorrow, so I'm probably just going to ask to sit out on the weave exercise. I've been practicing them a lot at home with Kieran. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Swivel weaves are easiest to adjust. Each pair of poles on a movable bar that can be moved so the poles are as close or far from the central bar as you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borasaurus Posted July 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2015 Heh, so of course this past weekend, half the class was devoted to using the weave poles. He had them completely apart this time. I don't get why it's going backwards, but Kieran was fine with those because they were too far apart for him to see them as a closed set and try to weave down one side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brndlbc Posted July 30, 2015 Report Share Posted July 30, 2015 When I was teaching we had a set of channel weaves that were easily adjusted with every other pole on a slide. I would change them as needed and often that was for each dog. I got very efficient at it and had no problem doing it for my students. You sometimes do what you have to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borasaurus Posted August 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 I watched the instructor setting up the weaves today and they were the ones where you have to move each pole separately. He only had six set up today. Kieran had a ton of issues. I've been trying to use a different command for them, because I noticed whenever I say "weave" he starts trying to bed around them. It's comical. At one point, the instructor thought Kieran went through them when in reality he just zoomed around. He always gets the entry right, at least. I'm not too worried anymore - there are only two sessions left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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