I am signed up for three Fenzi classes this session, and have actually be doing a halfway decent job of keeping up with them this time around.
Bandit and I are taking Introduction to Agility, at gold, to supplement our live Foundation Agility class that I am taking here at the training building with our regular instructor.
I am signed up for the Transitions and Flow Freestyle class, at bronze, and I've been working transitions with Dean.
Finally, I am signed up for Foundation Weaves, also at bronze.
I originally signed up for the weaves class thinking that I was going to work Tessa through it to see if I could get more speed out of her. But last week at training she blasted through a set of 12 poles faster than I ever thought she had it in her to go and I decided that I think I am going to leave her weaves alone!
So, Bandit is doing the foundation work for the weaves class, which is actually somewhat similar to what we are doing in class, but there is a heck of a lot more to it!
One of the concepts that the instructor in the weaves class has been emphasizing are the "Three C's": Confidence, Commitment, and Completion.
When I first read that, I thought, "well, of course we want those things!" Now that I have been working though the class exercises a bit, it occurs to me that I have missed something critical in not focusing on these before!
The first exercise entails having the dog go back and forth through a 2 X 2. The 2 X 2 need not be an actual weave 2 X 2, and I deliberately chose not to use an actual weave 2 X 2 for this. For confidence, commitment, and completion at this stage, I looked for Bandit to be going back and forth through the object with clear purpose, enthusiasm, and an obvious understanding of what he was doing. We got that quickly and progressed to two objects.
Here is a video of our initial work with two:
By the end of the session, he has the three C's down!! Confidence, commitment, and completion!
Having gone through a good many years as an Agility competitor with one dog who was a hopeless weaver and needed a ton of help to get weaves done, another dog who was sometimes spot on and at other times seemed to have no clue about the weaves whatsoever, and another dog who is consistent in her weaves, but slow, I find this exercise quite intriguing!
First, we are considering entry. Pretty soon these objects will get turned so the dog is "entering" with the first pole on his left. Second, we are considering completion. As I vary my position, he will learn that he is to go all the way through this setup, no matter where I am or what I am doing. Finally, we are considering exit. Once we turn the poles, I will click as he passes the last pole, so he will know he has completed the exercise.
I've worked with 2 X 2's before, but I have never encountered such a thoughtful approach to weaving! I like this - confidence, commitment, and completion at every step. Sounds like a recipe for exactly what I want in a weaving dog!
Bandit and I are off and running, and I am super excited!
Monday, February 16, 2015
Saturday, February 14, 2015
I Concede the Point . . . Border Collies are Easy to Train . . . As Long As . . .
After many years of staring back cross-eyed whenever someone stated that Border Collies are easy to train (for competitive dog sports/performance), I finally concede the point. Yes Border Collies are easy to train . . .
As Long As . . .
. . . you have a Border Collie with a stable and rock solid temperament, training a Border Collie is easy.
. . . you have a Border Collie who has the capacity to learn
to take environmental challenges in stride (running dogs, thunder, etc.), training a Border Collie is easy.
. . . you have a Border Collie who can, without being
taught, become intently interested in something in motion and then break his
focus away from it to go on with life in his right mind, training a Border
Collie is easy.
. . . you have a Border Collie who has natural resilience,
training a Border Collie is easy.
. . . you have a Border Collie who is not bothered by the
presence of other dogs, people, children, etc., training a Border Collie
is easy.
. . . you have a Border Collie who trusts you, and can relax
and be in the moment with you in every situation, training a Border Collie
is easy.
. . . you have a Border Collie who has enough of a sense of
self-preservation to be mindful of what he is doing, but not so much
self-preservation that he is worried about what he is doing, training a
Border Collie is easy.
. . . you have experience with other dogs in the sport
venues of your choice and you have some idea of how to train a dog to
participate in that sport with at least some degree of skill, training a
Border Collie is easy.
. . . you have patience and are willing to work continually,
often starting with the tiniest steps of training a behavior, training a
Border Collie is easy.
. . . you are willing to figure out your dog’s learning
style and tailor your training to capitalize on your individual dog’s strengths
throughout the learning process, training a Border Collie is easy.
. . . you are able to recognize when your dog understands a
particular skill naturally and with ease, and when your dog needs more time on
foundation to master a fundamental before moving on, training a Border
Collie is easy.
. . . you have a healthy sense of humor, training a Border
Collie is easy.
. . . you know how to let your dog be an active participant
in the learning process while providing enough guidance that he doesn’t end up
going in circles (physically or mentally!), training a Border Collie is
easy.
Finally . . . if your personal expectation of “easy”
really is, “reasonably do-able without having to take an excessive amount of
steps to even make it remotely possible”, training a Border Collie is
easy.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Something New: The Cyber Rally-O Dance Divisions
The highlight of my Christmas break this year was giving the brand new Cyber Rally-O Dance Divisions a try with both Dean Dog and Tessa. When I first saw samples of this new Freestyle venue, I knew it was going to be right up Dean's alley! But since I was filming, I decided to go ahead and let Tessa try out the Preliminary level, along with Dean.
The Cyber Rally-O Dance Divisions consist of fixed pattern dances. There is no choreography involved. You look up the pattern maps on the website, memorize the patterns, and then film! There are three at the Preliminary level and all three must be successfully completed for the title.
One peculiarity of this type of Freestyle is that you do not submit your performance to the music that was playing when the pattern was performed. In order to avoid copyright issues, you overlay a soundtrack from Youtube. Honestly, I did not think this was something that I was going to like, but in the end I actually had a lot of fun with it.
Dean, Tessa, and I started out with the pattern that I thought would be the easiest, the Preliminary Figure 8 Waltz, which is a ginormous Figure 8 that takes up the entire ring. Both of the dogs thought this was great fun.
We practiced at one training session and then were off and running filming for real at the next one. Just a few takes for each dog - got a good one for each.
Once the videos were uploaded, I picked music for each. Dean's music has a bit of sentimental value - it was Tchaikovsky, Waltz of the Flowers. He watched Speedy and me dance to that many times and I even have a video somewhere of the two of them doodling to it together!
Of course the video was actually taken with Dean moving to one of his favorite songs - Smooth by Santana!
Here is Tessa's Preliminary Figure 8 Waltz. This was actually not the music that I had on it for submission. I found this later and just thought it too perfect not to use on this video!
It was a solid Q.
Here is Dean's Figure 8. Although this was the music that I put on this video, I did cut out the ring setup from the video.
Like I said - this was made for Dean Dog! This was also a Q for us.
Full speed ahead, we went on in our next training session to video the Scenic Route Tango, also at the Preliminary level. This was a much, much more difficult pattern to complete. It was longer and much more technical.
Dean and I ran into a series of mishaps. First, he disengaged and stopped to sniff on every one of the 270 degree turns. We stopped that take before we were even 1/4 of the way through it! Then, he was going strong and when we went to do the 180 halfway through the pattern, he sat! Ooops! Another strong attempt, and I noticed one of my hair clips had fallen out and was sitting in the ring. I had no idea if that would NQ us (turns out it would not have), I stopped and started over.
After a short break, Dean and I went in and nailed it!
Dean's Scenic Route Tango:
This pattern was much tougher with Tessa. She tends to lag on outside turns, so I knew she was going to need some "jollying along" for this one.
Even our best take wasn't quite as nice as I would have liked. I'm also not crazy about my music choice on this one, but it is what I submitted.
We did qualify, although one of the three judges did vote "NQ". You need two of the three judges to vote for "Q", and two did, so we earned the "Q"! I was relieved because at that point I had run out of opportunities to film!
Finally, we did the 90 Degree Foxtrot. Of all the patterns, this was the most difficult for me to remember. Dean did very well with it, and got it after just a few tries, and Tessa did a pretty nice job with it, too.
Dean's 90 Degree Foxtrot:
It was a Q!
And Miss Tessa's . . .
Also a Q!
So, that earned the Preliminary Cyber Rally-O Dance Division title for both Dean Dog and Tessa. We got some pretty ribbons, too!!
Tessa with her title medal . . .
Dean Dog with his three Q ribbons and title medal, hanging on our "ribbon tree" behind him.
Bandit didn't really understand all the bru-ha-ha! Clearly HIS toys were way more fun than ours!
The thing that surprised me the most about this was seeing how excited Dean got about performing in a pattern. The first time we would go through, he was like, "OK, we are doing this". The second time, he was like, "I'm getting it!" And by the third time, he was an old pro, very much looking forward to every move and turn because he knew what was coming and he was excited to make it happen!
Who knew that Dean would thrive on patterns?
Looking forward to doing more of this with Dean. We are already training hard for the pre-bronze level! I am hoping to be able to get video this coming spring.
The Cyber Rally-O Dance Divisions consist of fixed pattern dances. There is no choreography involved. You look up the pattern maps on the website, memorize the patterns, and then film! There are three at the Preliminary level and all three must be successfully completed for the title.
One peculiarity of this type of Freestyle is that you do not submit your performance to the music that was playing when the pattern was performed. In order to avoid copyright issues, you overlay a soundtrack from Youtube. Honestly, I did not think this was something that I was going to like, but in the end I actually had a lot of fun with it.
Dean, Tessa, and I started out with the pattern that I thought would be the easiest, the Preliminary Figure 8 Waltz, which is a ginormous Figure 8 that takes up the entire ring. Both of the dogs thought this was great fun.
We practiced at one training session and then were off and running filming for real at the next one. Just a few takes for each dog - got a good one for each.
Once the videos were uploaded, I picked music for each. Dean's music has a bit of sentimental value - it was Tchaikovsky, Waltz of the Flowers. He watched Speedy and me dance to that many times and I even have a video somewhere of the two of them doodling to it together!
Of course the video was actually taken with Dean moving to one of his favorite songs - Smooth by Santana!
Here is Tessa's Preliminary Figure 8 Waltz. This was actually not the music that I had on it for submission. I found this later and just thought it too perfect not to use on this video!
It was a solid Q.
Here is Dean's Figure 8. Although this was the music that I put on this video, I did cut out the ring setup from the video.
Like I said - this was made for Dean Dog! This was also a Q for us.
Full speed ahead, we went on in our next training session to video the Scenic Route Tango, also at the Preliminary level. This was a much, much more difficult pattern to complete. It was longer and much more technical.
Dean and I ran into a series of mishaps. First, he disengaged and stopped to sniff on every one of the 270 degree turns. We stopped that take before we were even 1/4 of the way through it! Then, he was going strong and when we went to do the 180 halfway through the pattern, he sat! Ooops! Another strong attempt, and I noticed one of my hair clips had fallen out and was sitting in the ring. I had no idea if that would NQ us (turns out it would not have), I stopped and started over.
After a short break, Dean and I went in and nailed it!
Dean's Scenic Route Tango:
This pattern was much tougher with Tessa. She tends to lag on outside turns, so I knew she was going to need some "jollying along" for this one.
Even our best take wasn't quite as nice as I would have liked. I'm also not crazy about my music choice on this one, but it is what I submitted.
We did qualify, although one of the three judges did vote "NQ". You need two of the three judges to vote for "Q", and two did, so we earned the "Q"! I was relieved because at that point I had run out of opportunities to film!
Finally, we did the 90 Degree Foxtrot. Of all the patterns, this was the most difficult for me to remember. Dean did very well with it, and got it after just a few tries, and Tessa did a pretty nice job with it, too.
Dean's 90 Degree Foxtrot:
It was a Q!
And Miss Tessa's . . .
Also a Q!
So, that earned the Preliminary Cyber Rally-O Dance Division title for both Dean Dog and Tessa. We got some pretty ribbons, too!!
Tessa with her title medal . . .
Dean Dog with his three Q ribbons and title medal, hanging on our "ribbon tree" behind him.
Bandit didn't really understand all the bru-ha-ha! Clearly HIS toys were way more fun than ours!
The thing that surprised me the most about this was seeing how excited Dean got about performing in a pattern. The first time we would go through, he was like, "OK, we are doing this". The second time, he was like, "I'm getting it!" And by the third time, he was an old pro, very much looking forward to every move and turn because he knew what was coming and he was excited to make it happen!
Who knew that Dean would thrive on patterns?
Looking forward to doing more of this with Dean. We are already training hard for the pre-bronze level! I am hoping to be able to get video this coming spring.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Our Agility Winter and the Monkey Off Our Backs!
Tessa and I had quite the adventure this winter, entering trial after trial after trial!
We slumped a little bit in the late summer and fall, having some success, particularly in the games, but we stalled out horribly when we moved into Level 4 Standard. Suddenly the Standard courses got too long, too complicated, and we just couldn't qualify to save our lives! And I was still not in a great place emotionally after losing dogs last winter and every challenge seemed to be a lot worse than it normally would be!
This also came at a time when we were struggling with Rally FrEe and Freestyle and the whole verbal cue thing, and by mid-November I felt like Tessa and I were stalled out and going nowhere.
It started in August with the Artful Dodgers trial. We ran a nice Standard course, with only a little bobble, and were significantly over time!!
That burst my bubble pretty good. Suddenly it seemed that Tessa and I were going to have to come up with a whole lot more speed that we simply don't have.
Here is that Standard run . . .
So, the next time we ran Standard at the September Periland trial, I felt very rushed, and I managed to completely mess up the run by putting too much pressure on Tessa. Turned out, we would have had plenty of time.
By this point, the fun was completely gone (from Standard - we were fine in the other games). With the need for 18 Standard Q's at Levels 4 and 5 ahead of us, it seemed we were going nowhere!!
But we kept on. At the October Periland trial, we did a bit better. Just one off course. Time was fine . . .
By now I was just feeling flat. We needed 60 more Q's for our C-ATCH, 18 of them in Standard! Being 0 - 3 in Standard after three months made it seem like Tessa and I were going to need years and years to get this done - years we probably don't have!
I had entered Standard, and two other classes on the Friday after Thanksgiving and then . . . I got a flat tire and wasn't able to go to the trial!
And even though that had nothing whatsoever to do with our actual trial performance, I was counting that as 0 - 4 in Level 4 Standard!! A dismal record, especially for a team that rarely NQ's!
At this point I knew I had to reassess my attitude. I was too hung up on trying to finish our C-ATCH. I will be honest - I want this. Tessa enjoys trialing, she loves Agility, and she is genuinely having fun on this Quest-for-the-C-ATCH-Title that we are on together! She may not know what we are running toward, but she is a willing partner in the game.
But at this time, I was taking the fun out of most of it. Even the games weren't as much fun as they had been because I felt like success in the games wasn't getting us where we need to be (although we do need every one of those game Q's!)
So, I made myself forget about it!! I forced myself to focus on my lovely girl and on going out there to enjoy every minute, no matter what, with this beautiful dog that I have the privilege of stepping into the ring with. I reminded myself of where she came from and I made the effort to appreciate that she is remarkable just for being able to do this!
The next time we ran Standard - at the Dulles Gateway trial at Periland in December - we finally did it!! A Level 4 Q!!!
That felt awesome!!! I still didn't like Standard - still loved the games so much more, but now I knew we could pull at least one out of three off!!
And then we earned another, and then a third . . . .
And then, at January Periland, a fourth Level 4 Standard Q!!
Throughout all this time, we also had some absolutely lovely game runs, including this absolutely lovely Level 4 Wildcard run from this past weekend!
Every time we trialed, starting with that one in December, we enjoyed ourselves more and more. The more we went, the more I found I was able to enjoy each moment and appreciate the opportunity to run with Tessa.
We gained our confidence back. We got our enjoyment back.
This series of trial after trial has come to an end and I love where Tessa and I are at right now!
Yes, I still have the C-ATCH in mind, but I am truly enjoying the ride, and am not so worried about how fast we get there. God willing, we will not only have time, but we will get there while Tessa is still strong and agile.
Over this winter, we earned 14 Q's, four of them Standard. We only need one more Colors Q at Level 5 to finish Colors altogether! We finished Level 4 Jumpers and in doing so earned our first Level 4 Title!
It was just good.
Now I am looking forward to spending the rest of the winter, and early spring, getting both of us into better condition, and doing some fun team building exercises with Tessa.
I love where we are right now. I love this road we are on! I am so grateful for my beautiful girl who always gives it her whole heart!
I am thrilled that we threw this monkey off our backs together and we are enjoying this in exactly the way we should.
We slumped a little bit in the late summer and fall, having some success, particularly in the games, but we stalled out horribly when we moved into Level 4 Standard. Suddenly the Standard courses got too long, too complicated, and we just couldn't qualify to save our lives! And I was still not in a great place emotionally after losing dogs last winter and every challenge seemed to be a lot worse than it normally would be!
This also came at a time when we were struggling with Rally FrEe and Freestyle and the whole verbal cue thing, and by mid-November I felt like Tessa and I were stalled out and going nowhere.
It started in August with the Artful Dodgers trial. We ran a nice Standard course, with only a little bobble, and were significantly over time!!
That burst my bubble pretty good. Suddenly it seemed that Tessa and I were going to have to come up with a whole lot more speed that we simply don't have.
Here is that Standard run . . .
So, the next time we ran Standard at the September Periland trial, I felt very rushed, and I managed to completely mess up the run by putting too much pressure on Tessa. Turned out, we would have had plenty of time.
By this point, the fun was completely gone (from Standard - we were fine in the other games). With the need for 18 Standard Q's at Levels 4 and 5 ahead of us, it seemed we were going nowhere!!
But we kept on. At the October Periland trial, we did a bit better. Just one off course. Time was fine . . .
By now I was just feeling flat. We needed 60 more Q's for our C-ATCH, 18 of them in Standard! Being 0 - 3 in Standard after three months made it seem like Tessa and I were going to need years and years to get this done - years we probably don't have!
I had entered Standard, and two other classes on the Friday after Thanksgiving and then . . . I got a flat tire and wasn't able to go to the trial!
And even though that had nothing whatsoever to do with our actual trial performance, I was counting that as 0 - 4 in Level 4 Standard!! A dismal record, especially for a team that rarely NQ's!
At this point I knew I had to reassess my attitude. I was too hung up on trying to finish our C-ATCH. I will be honest - I want this. Tessa enjoys trialing, she loves Agility, and she is genuinely having fun on this Quest-for-the-C-ATCH-Title that we are on together! She may not know what we are running toward, but she is a willing partner in the game.
But at this time, I was taking the fun out of most of it. Even the games weren't as much fun as they had been because I felt like success in the games wasn't getting us where we need to be (although we do need every one of those game Q's!)
So, I made myself forget about it!! I forced myself to focus on my lovely girl and on going out there to enjoy every minute, no matter what, with this beautiful dog that I have the privilege of stepping into the ring with. I reminded myself of where she came from and I made the effort to appreciate that she is remarkable just for being able to do this!
The next time we ran Standard - at the Dulles Gateway trial at Periland in December - we finally did it!! A Level 4 Q!!!
That felt awesome!!! I still didn't like Standard - still loved the games so much more, but now I knew we could pull at least one out of three off!!
And then we earned another, and then a third . . . .
And then, at January Periland, a fourth Level 4 Standard Q!!
Throughout all this time, we also had some absolutely lovely game runs, including this absolutely lovely Level 4 Wildcard run from this past weekend!
Every time we trialed, starting with that one in December, we enjoyed ourselves more and more. The more we went, the more I found I was able to enjoy each moment and appreciate the opportunity to run with Tessa.
We gained our confidence back. We got our enjoyment back.
This series of trial after trial has come to an end and I love where Tessa and I are at right now!
Yes, I still have the C-ATCH in mind, but I am truly enjoying the ride, and am not so worried about how fast we get there. God willing, we will not only have time, but we will get there while Tessa is still strong and agile.
Over this winter, we earned 14 Q's, four of them Standard. We only need one more Colors Q at Level 5 to finish Colors altogether! We finished Level 4 Jumpers and in doing so earned our first Level 4 Title!
It was just good.
Now I am looking forward to spending the rest of the winter, and early spring, getting both of us into better condition, and doing some fun team building exercises with Tessa.
I love where we are right now. I love this road we are on! I am so grateful for my beautiful girl who always gives it her whole heart!
I am thrilled that we threw this monkey off our backs together and we are enjoying this in exactly the way we should.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Rally FrEe Freestyle Class with Bandit
Bandit has officially completed his first online class through the Fenzi Academy. We too Rally FrEe Freestyle. It was a great way to get him started. I actually took it at gold because I wanted to make sure that we would follow through and actually work on the exercises.
I'd like to share some of his work!
Here he is working on putting circles on verbal cue . . .
Here we are working on some spins and twirls with a target stick. This is still a work in progress!
In this video we are working on more verbal cues with the gates open a bit.
And, our grand finale . . . some bows!!
It was a perfect class for him. I think we are off to a great start on a very solid foundation. There is a lot of work to do, but it will certainly pay off in the long run. I know that when he is proficient at these behaviors, I will look back on this experience as a very sweet memory that I will always treasure.
We are going to do the Advanced level, but at bronze. A class on Freestyle sequencing is being offered in February and I want to try to snag a gold spot in that class. By then I hope that Bandit will be ready to start to dance!!!
I am grateful to Denise Fenzi for bringing Julie Flanery on board to offer these classes!! And perfect timing for Bandit!
I'd like to share some of his work!
Here he is working on putting circles on verbal cue . . .
Here we are working on some spins and twirls with a target stick. This is still a work in progress!
In this video we are working on more verbal cues with the gates open a bit.
And, our grand finale . . . some bows!!
It was a perfect class for him. I think we are off to a great start on a very solid foundation. There is a lot of work to do, but it will certainly pay off in the long run. I know that when he is proficient at these behaviors, I will look back on this experience as a very sweet memory that I will always treasure.
We are going to do the Advanced level, but at bronze. A class on Freestyle sequencing is being offered in February and I want to try to snag a gold spot in that class. By then I hope that Bandit will be ready to start to dance!!!
I am grateful to Denise Fenzi for bringing Julie Flanery on board to offer these classes!! And perfect timing for Bandit!
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Back On Track
Don't ever underestimate the effect that losing a dog can have. I have found that every time I think I have accepted Speedy's loss and am moving forward, I was completely wrong!
Last night I felt very bad about the fact that I was leaving Bandit in his crate while I took Tessa and Dean to Rally FrEe class, so I took him along, planning to leave him in the crate in the car. Yes, it was crate vs. crate, but at least if he went with us he would not have been alone for the same amount of time.
When we got to the school, he started to scream and he sat in the crate and screamed. I couldn't leave him out there screaming and I really didn't want to try having him inside while I worked Dean and Tessa, so we all went home.
It was not a good moment for me. I was very disappointed in myself because Bandit is an excellent dog and I have not done right by him with his training. When I think back to the commitment that I had to Dean's early training, the lack of training I have provided Bandit is shameful.
I quickly came to a decision to start working with him 3 - 4 times a week on basic skills and impulse control. When we got home, I put Dean and Tessa into rooms with the Kongs they would have had at class, and Bandit and I got to work.
We started with sit at the door. I am not a big stickler for a sit at the door, but it is a relatively easy impulse control skill to train and it is a skill that I like my dogs to have for the rare instances where it is necessary.
Bandit did well with the exercise, and his eyes were lit up with interest and fun. He is certainly a willing training partner!!
Next we went to the fireplace room and I let him play a bit on a wobbly board - this isn't all impulse control skills!! Then we did spins and twirls, position work, and finally some leg weaves with a target stick. He enjoyed every minute of all of it!
Then he got put up in a room while Dean and Tessa each got a turn to train.
So, a good time was had by all and we started to make some progress toward Bandit being the dog he can be. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Bandit - he has a phenomenal temperament, he has excellent self control when he sees fit to exercise it, and he is super smart. If he has few manners right now it is because I have not trained them.
That is changing.
Of course, I kick myself for not doing this sooner.
But I also have to recognize that there is a reason why I did not.
I simply did not have the heart to do much training with him.
I guess when it came to training, Speedy took a lot of the heart that I had for it with him. He was the first dog I trained. He was the one I experienced the magic with as I discovered this amazing discipline. He was the one who transformed from fearful, reactive, and out of control, into a fantastic citizen of the world who met every experience as an adventure. That was an amazing ride. And one I guess I want to replicate . . . in a way, but would never really want to try to re-live.
I had very little desire to work with Bandit. What I did do with him seemed tedious, cumbersome, and there was no . . . spark . . . to it, if that makes any sense!
But something has changed. Something changed before my epiphany last night.
The change happened because of the Freestyle competition. Somehow creating that routine for Tessa was a breakthrough. In some way that I cannot explain coming up with that (which almost happened in spite of me) and then performing it, and that performance being successful changed something.
I got something back. I don't know what it is exactly. But since that competition I don't miss Speedy in quite the same way. I don't feel stuck anymore. I feel like we can all move forward - Dean, Tessa, Bandit, and me.
I didn't realize that grief was holding me back as much as it was, but now that something has changed, it is clear.
I can honestly say that when I worked with Bandit last night (and with Dean and Tessa), I enjoyed training for the first time since losing Speedy last January. There was a connection there with each dog.
Now we can do this. Now Bandit can learn his manners! Now Dean can get back into condition to perform routines for the Challenge. Now Tessa and I can get on with her training.
Something is different, and it is very, very good! We can go forward from here . . .
Last night I felt very bad about the fact that I was leaving Bandit in his crate while I took Tessa and Dean to Rally FrEe class, so I took him along, planning to leave him in the crate in the car. Yes, it was crate vs. crate, but at least if he went with us he would not have been alone for the same amount of time.
When we got to the school, he started to scream and he sat in the crate and screamed. I couldn't leave him out there screaming and I really didn't want to try having him inside while I worked Dean and Tessa, so we all went home.
It was not a good moment for me. I was very disappointed in myself because Bandit is an excellent dog and I have not done right by him with his training. When I think back to the commitment that I had to Dean's early training, the lack of training I have provided Bandit is shameful.
I quickly came to a decision to start working with him 3 - 4 times a week on basic skills and impulse control. When we got home, I put Dean and Tessa into rooms with the Kongs they would have had at class, and Bandit and I got to work.
We started with sit at the door. I am not a big stickler for a sit at the door, but it is a relatively easy impulse control skill to train and it is a skill that I like my dogs to have for the rare instances where it is necessary.
Bandit did well with the exercise, and his eyes were lit up with interest and fun. He is certainly a willing training partner!!
Next we went to the fireplace room and I let him play a bit on a wobbly board - this isn't all impulse control skills!! Then we did spins and twirls, position work, and finally some leg weaves with a target stick. He enjoyed every minute of all of it!
Then he got put up in a room while Dean and Tessa each got a turn to train.
So, a good time was had by all and we started to make some progress toward Bandit being the dog he can be. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Bandit - he has a phenomenal temperament, he has excellent self control when he sees fit to exercise it, and he is super smart. If he has few manners right now it is because I have not trained them.
That is changing.
Of course, I kick myself for not doing this sooner.
But I also have to recognize that there is a reason why I did not.
I simply did not have the heart to do much training with him.
I guess when it came to training, Speedy took a lot of the heart that I had for it with him. He was the first dog I trained. He was the one I experienced the magic with as I discovered this amazing discipline. He was the one who transformed from fearful, reactive, and out of control, into a fantastic citizen of the world who met every experience as an adventure. That was an amazing ride. And one I guess I want to replicate . . . in a way, but would never really want to try to re-live.
I had very little desire to work with Bandit. What I did do with him seemed tedious, cumbersome, and there was no . . . spark . . . to it, if that makes any sense!
But something has changed. Something changed before my epiphany last night.
The change happened because of the Freestyle competition. Somehow creating that routine for Tessa was a breakthrough. In some way that I cannot explain coming up with that (which almost happened in spite of me) and then performing it, and that performance being successful changed something.
I got something back. I don't know what it is exactly. But since that competition I don't miss Speedy in quite the same way. I don't feel stuck anymore. I feel like we can all move forward - Dean, Tessa, Bandit, and me.
I didn't realize that grief was holding me back as much as it was, but now that something has changed, it is clear.
I can honestly say that when I worked with Bandit last night (and with Dean and Tessa), I enjoyed training for the first time since losing Speedy last January. There was a connection there with each dog.
Now we can do this. Now Bandit can learn his manners! Now Dean can get back into condition to perform routines for the Challenge. Now Tessa and I can get on with her training.
Something is different, and it is very, very good! We can go forward from here . . .
Monday, November 3, 2014
Bark-a-Ritaville 2014
This past weekend was the Bark-a-Ritaville Freestyle competition. It was Tessa's last Freestyle competition for the "season" and I was very much looking forward to it being over with!
Freestyle has not been the same since I lost Speedy last January. He was my Freestyle dog. He may have been retired from competition for quite some time, but he was still the dog I thought of as my dance partner. The ease and elegance with which he would glide along, beating his paws to the music, always eager to move to music . . . none of my other dogs are anything like that!
But, at least until last year, Tessa enjoyed Freestyle and I had hope that I would eventually find her style and we would excel together. She has the temperament. She has always loved going into the ring with me.
But we reached the Intermediate level and we ended up crashing our heads into a very solid brick wall over the need for everything to be on verbal cue.
And then, starting this past spring, our work on verbal cues started to demotivate her - seriously! The girl who had always bounced into the ring with me, happy to do just about anything, suddenly began to be stressed and wanted to avoid the ring any time there was music playing. For the most part we still did fine in Agility, but both Rally FrEe and Freestyle went right into the toilet for us!
It was a rough year.
At the Star Spangled Swing in late June, Tessa managed to qualify for the first time in the Intermediate division. She did do work behind me, we did pace changes, and I guess I managed just enough without obvious hand cues (although there were still more than there really should be at that level). We bombed in Frackville in September, but at that event I pretty much led her around by the hand! That was really the high point of her demotivation and I just wanted her to enjoy herself as much as possible. The judge in Frackville was not strict, and we didn't even come close! Tessa sort of had fun . . . but she was still very far from her former level of enjoyment.
I did have a blast with both Bandit and Dean at that competition. However, Bandit's Freestyle career is in the future, and Dean is retired other than having fun to music with a tug.
So, from a present time competition perspective, it was a low
And I realized about then that all of that success that I had in Freestyle . . . it was 99% Speedy! HE was the reason why our performances looked good, even when he was hardly doing a thing he was supposed to! He truly had a talent for putting on a great show - he drew people in and they just loved to watch him. And I could choreograph for him in my sleep!
And that realization left me . . . just about nowhere!! Tessa and I had trained and worked all summer and things just seemed to get worse. I really started to think that maybe I simply cannot do this anymore. Maybe I never could, and I just lucked out with a really special dog in Speedy.
Tessa and I were already signed up for Bark-a-Ritaville and I did want to take Bandit down to play in Innovations. So, I left Tessa entered, but I did nothing . . . absolutely NOTHING to prepare! I had absolutely no hope of doing anything other than to take Tessa out and have her follow my hand around.
But three things happened that seem to have turned everything around . . .
First, we had our Rally FrEe competition a couple of weeks ago. After a disastrous video event in August, I entered Tessa in our live event in the Alternate Novice class. I just wanted to go back to the beginning and see if we could build some confidence and enjoyment back. In Alt Novice there would be all Novice level signs, plus we only needed 100 points, so I could use hands galore.
It was a very fun weekend. It was relaxing and I enjoyed spending the time with the other competitors in that environment, as well as the time with Tessa and Dean (the first day) and Tessa and Bandit (the second day). Tessa enjoyed all three runs, especially the last, and she qualified in all three runs and we earned our Alternate Novice title.
It felt good to accomplish something again. It left me feeling better about things.
Second, I decided to play with Tessa a bit with a target stick to see if we could get some verbal twirls. It was just a simple little exercise where I drew the path of the twirl with the spin and click/treated her for each one, then I said "twirl" and drew the path and click/treated her for each one. Finally I said "twirl" without drawing the path, and she did it!!!
But even more than that . . . she was enjoying the heck out of herself! Her tail was waggling, her eyes were shining! THAT was my old Tessa, right there!!!
I even have video!
This past Saturday, on the morning of the competition, I edited Tessa's music. We were scheduled very late in the afternoon, so I had quite a lot of time to get ready.
After I edited the music, I took a shower. While in the shower, I thought up a routine. Just like that. I wasn't even really trying - I just did it.
Honestly, I wish that could have happened two months ago, but at this point I'll take what I can get.
After I got out of the shower, I wrote the routine down on a piece of paper and on the way to the event, I played her music and memorized it.
I had never performed it, never walked through it, but I knew Tessa could do everything that was in it. I could tell it would work well for her and it would allow her strengths to shine, even though it was not technically complex at all!
So, we went, we got to the event at lunch time, we visited with people, a lot of people got to see Bandit.
Finally, it was time for Tessa and I to take our turn.
It went well. She did almost everything I asked of her. I did have to use some hand cues, but not as many as usual. It went better, I thought, than any attempt we have made since last year!
And Tessa had fun. Her tail was waggling, she was comfortable and fluid, and she very clearly enjoyed showing off her best moves! She got a kick out of the ending, in particular!
The people enjoyed it. We got tons of very positive feedback! And . . . it qualified!!!!! That shocked me beyond belief. I thought we would NQ with at least one 8.4 because of too many hands. The judge did comment on too many hands, but I guess I didn't use so many that it couldn't qualify.
I have no video because we were strictly forbidden to take any, but I plan to make a video of it sometime in the near future to share.
There are three things about this whole thing that make me extremely happy.
First, that Tessa had so much fun. I can do this with her if she can go out there and enjoy herself like that. Q or NQ does not matter at all! The return of the shining eyes and the wagging tail were the biggest accomplishment of the year for Tessa and me.
Second, Tessa, in earning this Q, has gotten as far as Speedy got in WCFO Freestyle! I realized that after she qualified. And to me that is a big deal. Granted, he struggled with different issues that prevented him from going further, but getting as far as he did was a huge accomplishment. Tessa has now matched it.
I can't ask for any more of her than that! To me that's kind of like she earned her own little Championship title! She may not be the dancer he was, but she got herself to the level where he finished!
Finally . . . I feel like maybe I can actually do this. Creating that routine, even under very, very odd circumstances, was like some kind of breakthrough. Like the ability was still there all along, but I just couldn't access it. But now I did. That is the first good routine I have actually created, from start to finish, since losing Speedy. It took almost a year, but it finally happened. And - it was a great routine for Tessa - perfect for her, actually. I kept the paper I wrote it down on and I mean to practice it with her, tweak it just a bit to smooth a few pieces out, and perform it with her at the Swing next summer. I honestly don't care if she ever gets that last Q to earn the title. I really want to perform her routine to enjoy it with her. She and I have a routine now and that feels great!
So, we came away from Bark-a-Ritaville much better off than we went into it! I am actually looking forward to getting ready for next year! Bandit had a great experience, too, but I'll write about him in his own post another time!
Congrats, Miss Tessa, on a truly great achievement!!
Freestyle has not been the same since I lost Speedy last January. He was my Freestyle dog. He may have been retired from competition for quite some time, but he was still the dog I thought of as my dance partner. The ease and elegance with which he would glide along, beating his paws to the music, always eager to move to music . . . none of my other dogs are anything like that!
But, at least until last year, Tessa enjoyed Freestyle and I had hope that I would eventually find her style and we would excel together. She has the temperament. She has always loved going into the ring with me.
But we reached the Intermediate level and we ended up crashing our heads into a very solid brick wall over the need for everything to be on verbal cue.
And then, starting this past spring, our work on verbal cues started to demotivate her - seriously! The girl who had always bounced into the ring with me, happy to do just about anything, suddenly began to be stressed and wanted to avoid the ring any time there was music playing. For the most part we still did fine in Agility, but both Rally FrEe and Freestyle went right into the toilet for us!
It was a rough year.
At the Star Spangled Swing in late June, Tessa managed to qualify for the first time in the Intermediate division. She did do work behind me, we did pace changes, and I guess I managed just enough without obvious hand cues (although there were still more than there really should be at that level). We bombed in Frackville in September, but at that event I pretty much led her around by the hand! That was really the high point of her demotivation and I just wanted her to enjoy herself as much as possible. The judge in Frackville was not strict, and we didn't even come close! Tessa sort of had fun . . . but she was still very far from her former level of enjoyment.
I did have a blast with both Bandit and Dean at that competition. However, Bandit's Freestyle career is in the future, and Dean is retired other than having fun to music with a tug.
So, from a present time competition perspective, it was a low
And I realized about then that all of that success that I had in Freestyle . . . it was 99% Speedy! HE was the reason why our performances looked good, even when he was hardly doing a thing he was supposed to! He truly had a talent for putting on a great show - he drew people in and they just loved to watch him. And I could choreograph for him in my sleep!
And that realization left me . . . just about nowhere!! Tessa and I had trained and worked all summer and things just seemed to get worse. I really started to think that maybe I simply cannot do this anymore. Maybe I never could, and I just lucked out with a really special dog in Speedy.
Tessa and I were already signed up for Bark-a-Ritaville and I did want to take Bandit down to play in Innovations. So, I left Tessa entered, but I did nothing . . . absolutely NOTHING to prepare! I had absolutely no hope of doing anything other than to take Tessa out and have her follow my hand around.
But three things happened that seem to have turned everything around . . .
First, we had our Rally FrEe competition a couple of weeks ago. After a disastrous video event in August, I entered Tessa in our live event in the Alternate Novice class. I just wanted to go back to the beginning and see if we could build some confidence and enjoyment back. In Alt Novice there would be all Novice level signs, plus we only needed 100 points, so I could use hands galore.
It was a very fun weekend. It was relaxing and I enjoyed spending the time with the other competitors in that environment, as well as the time with Tessa and Dean (the first day) and Tessa and Bandit (the second day). Tessa enjoyed all three runs, especially the last, and she qualified in all three runs and we earned our Alternate Novice title.
It felt good to accomplish something again. It left me feeling better about things.
Second, I decided to play with Tessa a bit with a target stick to see if we could get some verbal twirls. It was just a simple little exercise where I drew the path of the twirl with the spin and click/treated her for each one, then I said "twirl" and drew the path and click/treated her for each one. Finally I said "twirl" without drawing the path, and she did it!!!
But even more than that . . . she was enjoying the heck out of herself! Her tail was waggling, her eyes were shining! THAT was my old Tessa, right there!!!
I even have video!
This past Saturday, on the morning of the competition, I edited Tessa's music. We were scheduled very late in the afternoon, so I had quite a lot of time to get ready.
After I edited the music, I took a shower. While in the shower, I thought up a routine. Just like that. I wasn't even really trying - I just did it.
Honestly, I wish that could have happened two months ago, but at this point I'll take what I can get.
After I got out of the shower, I wrote the routine down on a piece of paper and on the way to the event, I played her music and memorized it.
I had never performed it, never walked through it, but I knew Tessa could do everything that was in it. I could tell it would work well for her and it would allow her strengths to shine, even though it was not technically complex at all!
So, we went, we got to the event at lunch time, we visited with people, a lot of people got to see Bandit.
Finally, it was time for Tessa and I to take our turn.
It went well. She did almost everything I asked of her. I did have to use some hand cues, but not as many as usual. It went better, I thought, than any attempt we have made since last year!
And Tessa had fun. Her tail was waggling, she was comfortable and fluid, and she very clearly enjoyed showing off her best moves! She got a kick out of the ending, in particular!
The people enjoyed it. We got tons of very positive feedback! And . . . it qualified!!!!! That shocked me beyond belief. I thought we would NQ with at least one 8.4 because of too many hands. The judge did comment on too many hands, but I guess I didn't use so many that it couldn't qualify.
I have no video because we were strictly forbidden to take any, but I plan to make a video of it sometime in the near future to share.
There are three things about this whole thing that make me extremely happy.
First, that Tessa had so much fun. I can do this with her if she can go out there and enjoy herself like that. Q or NQ does not matter at all! The return of the shining eyes and the wagging tail were the biggest accomplishment of the year for Tessa and me.
Second, Tessa, in earning this Q, has gotten as far as Speedy got in WCFO Freestyle! I realized that after she qualified. And to me that is a big deal. Granted, he struggled with different issues that prevented him from going further, but getting as far as he did was a huge accomplishment. Tessa has now matched it.
I can't ask for any more of her than that! To me that's kind of like she earned her own little Championship title! She may not be the dancer he was, but she got herself to the level where he finished!
Finally . . . I feel like maybe I can actually do this. Creating that routine, even under very, very odd circumstances, was like some kind of breakthrough. Like the ability was still there all along, but I just couldn't access it. But now I did. That is the first good routine I have actually created, from start to finish, since losing Speedy. It took almost a year, but it finally happened. And - it was a great routine for Tessa - perfect for her, actually. I kept the paper I wrote it down on and I mean to practice it with her, tweak it just a bit to smooth a few pieces out, and perform it with her at the Swing next summer. I honestly don't care if she ever gets that last Q to earn the title. I really want to perform her routine to enjoy it with her. She and I have a routine now and that feels great!
So, we came away from Bark-a-Ritaville much better off than we went into it! I am actually looking forward to getting ready for next year! Bandit had a great experience, too, but I'll write about him in his own post another time!
Congrats, Miss Tessa, on a truly great achievement!!
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