(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)
Practiced dead ball retrieve over/back two agility jumps at the agility field today. His drive was good, ~90% of what it is at home.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Saturday August 18th 2007 - team practice
(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)
Progress today! Started with dead ball retrieves (ball on the floor) over/back one jump in the runback area of the hall while other dogs were working in the lanes. Then, we did them over one jump and back over all four (ball still just on the floor). Wonder of wonders, only one time did he ignore the ball - the rest of the time he brought it back all the way except when I slowed down and looked at him. Keep running all the way back and he carries it all the way back. Woo hoo! Rewarded with chunky canned dog food. He's still quite slow and unmotivated on the run-out compared to at home, BUT he's taking the ball and carrying it over the jumps which is a huge step. Of note, with the ball on the ground he's turning the "wrong" way 80% of the time! Anyway, brought two jumps home and gonna try to get in some outdoor practice with that this week. In other news, Zara and Milo are now doing full runs!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Progress today! Started with dead ball retrieves (ball on the floor) over/back one jump in the runback area of the hall while other dogs were working in the lanes. Then, we did them over one jump and back over all four (ball still just on the floor). Wonder of wonders, only one time did he ignore the ball - the rest of the time he brought it back all the way except when I slowed down and looked at him. Keep running all the way back and he carries it all the way back. Woo hoo! Rewarded with chunky canned dog food. He's still quite slow and unmotivated on the run-out compared to at home, BUT he's taking the ball and carrying it over the jumps which is a huge step. Of note, with the ball on the ground he's turning the "wrong" way 80% of the time! Anyway, brought two jumps home and gonna try to get in some outdoor practice with that this week. In other news, Zara and Milo are now doing full runs!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Thursday August 9th 2007 - practice at nearby park
(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)
Did two dead ball retrieves (no jump) at the nearby park. His drive was way down from what it is at home, BUT he did run to the ball and bring it back.
Did two dead ball retrieves (no jump) at the nearby park. His drive was way down from what it is at home, BUT he did run to the ball and bring it back.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Monday August 6th 2007 - home practice
(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)
Dead ball retrieve over/back one jump is going great at home! He's really excited about it and tries to break free of my grip while revving him up. Only doing 2-3 per session. Need to take this on the road and do it at various places.
Dead ball retrieve over/back one jump is going great at home! He's really excited about it and tries to break free of my grip while revving him up. Only doing 2-3 per session. Need to take this on the road and do it at various places.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Saturday July 28th 2007 - team practice
(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)
Boxwork was lame as usual today. Seeing the progress the other novice dogs made today (see entry on Lucy's flyball page!!!), I'm going to do some homework with dead ball/toy retrieving and try going back to rewarding with treats instead of tugging the ball to see what that does. I really like the deadball retrieve exercise over jumps that the other dogs did today (I didn't try it with Walter) and will focus on him being able to do that before taking the ball from the box. Being passed into by Sammy went fine.
Boxwork was lame as usual today. Seeing the progress the other novice dogs made today (see entry on Lucy's flyball page!!!), I'm going to do some homework with dead ball/toy retrieving and try going back to rewarding with treats instead of tugging the ball to see what that does. I really like the deadball retrieve exercise over jumps that the other dogs did today (I didn't try it with Walter) and will focus on him being able to do that before taking the ball from the box. Being passed into by Sammy went fine.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Saturday July 14th 2007 - team practice
(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)
Walter wasn't in the mood to tug the ball today; I wonder if it's because my hands were bare, having forgotten my tugging gloves. Anyway, on the times that he took the ball he dropped it quickly, BUT on the bright side the choppy turn he's been doing when the ball is there is getting smoother. Also, did head to head recalls for the first time (and there were no gates or barriers between the lanes) and all of the dogs handled it really well -- I was so impressed!
This video shows a relatively smooth turn (used to be even more choppy/step-by-step) but a quickly dropped ball:
Interesting that he's on his right lead when about to turn left. The rest of today's video shows he does this consistently.
Walter wasn't in the mood to tug the ball today; I wonder if it's because my hands were bare, having forgotten my tugging gloves. Anyway, on the times that he took the ball he dropped it quickly, BUT on the bright side the choppy turn he's been doing when the ball is there is getting smoother. Also, did head to head recalls for the first time (and there were no gates or barriers between the lanes) and all of the dogs handled it really well -- I was so impressed!
This video shows a relatively smooth turn (used to be even more choppy/step-by-step) but a quickly dropped ball:
Interesting that he's on his right lead when about to turn left. The rest of today's video shows he does this consistently.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Saturday June 30th 2007 - team practice
(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)
Wow, he was even less motivated today than he usually is at flyball. Refused to take the ball several times. He got a bit more energized when we started from three jumps back and I ran with him.
Wow, he was even less motivated today than he usually is at flyball. Refused to take the ball several times. He got a bit more energized when we started from three jumps back and I ran with him.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Saturday June 23rd 2007 - team practice
(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)
He did three decent turns with the ball in the unsprung hole in a row so we left it at that.
He did three decent turns with the ball in the unsprung hole in a row so we left it at that.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Saturday June 16th 2007 - team practice
(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)
Well, not his most stellar practice as he needed extra encouragement to take the ball. Perhaps the summer heat is coming into play as the hall was quite warm and he gets demotivated in the heat. Yeah, that's it... ;-)
Well, not his most stellar practice as he needed extra encouragement to take the ball. Perhaps the summer heat is coming into play as the hall was quite warm and he gets demotivated in the heat. Yeah, that's it... ;-)
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Saturday June 2nd 2007 - team practice
(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)
Sent him over one jump to get the ball from the unsprung hole, then taking the one jump on the way back, then tug with ball. He did a couple of very nice ones (though still pausing mid-turn) but got bored quickly at which point I ran with him more.
Sent him over one jump to get the ball from the unsprung hole, then taking the one jump on the way back, then tug with ball. He did a couple of very nice ones (though still pausing mid-turn) but got bored quickly at which point I ran with him more.
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