Dog agility contact re-training

Here is stage two in retraining my dogs the 4 on the floor contacts

I am training them to run to the mat and lie down on it, hopefully facing in the direction they were traveling and not curving back to me. I think that bit will be difficult but I will keep working on it.
At the moment Ben seems to often have a nice striding pattern down the contact running all the way down with good seperation between his back paws - so that looks good for a possible running contact eventually
Mia I will have to work on more, she is going down the contact but the last step her back paws are together and she is jumping onto the contact mat - but still getting her contacts

Agility training contest

First time I have done anything like this - so I am a little nervous and excited
Please be gentle with me
This compatition is to raise money for Phoenix Flyers Dog agility club (a non profit training club) and Dogs Trust.
And the prize is your choice of breed of a small simple felted dog as seen in my 'value' range in my shop

Entries are open to Club members, Beginners and worldwide and are £1 per dog
You can join at any time while the contest is open (Up till Midnight 31st July 2012)
Either enter in person or paypal pamduthie@hotmail.com leaving a message with the name of your dog

Submit your compleated entry at any time during the month - either as a video response to my video

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEu4rggisLM

 Or to be filmed at training :) or post a link to your video as a response to this blog post.

The compatition is agility flat/circle work exercises. There are lots of training tutorials for this on youtube - check out

 

You get points for each level and the dog with the most points by the end of the month wins

Level 1

Walking with dog on left                           1 point

Walking with dog on right                         1 point

Level 2

Walking anticlockwise - dog on outside    1 point

Walking clockwise - dog on outside         1 point

Walking anticlockwise - dog on inside      2 points

Walking anticlockwise - dog on inside      2 points

Level 3

Running with dog on left                          1 point

Running with dog on right                        1 point

Running Clockwise dog outside               2 points

Running anticlockwise Dog outside          2 points

Running clockwise dog inside                  3 points

Running anticlockwise dog inside             3 points

Level 4

Walking front cross LHS to RHS             3 points

Walking front cross RHS to LHS             3 points

Level 5

Running front cross LHS to RHS             4 points

Running front cross RHS to LHS             4 points

Total of 34 available points - and my decision is final :)

Good luck, I cant wait to see how everyone gets on

Retraining the contact

When I started agility with Ben it was just a fun class - and he very quickly learnt to jump off the contact equipment.
Going to classes we were taught a 4 on the floor contact - this means the dog runs to the end of the contact and lies down on the floor. It works really well, except that I didnt have my own equipment to practise at home so only having a go every now and again in class ment Ben never really 'got it'
I did build my own 'inside agility contacts' which in my tiny sitting room wasnt ideal - but actually worked quite nicely

But again as I didnt have access to real equipment very often I didnt really manage to transfer the skill from the inside small plank of wood to actual equipment - also of course the most he saw contact equipment was at a show where I had to keep running if he jumped a contact - so things were getting worse

But now I have access to a field and equipment when ever I want it - so I have decided to attempt to train these bloomin contacts - and - gulp - to also record it so everyone can see my mistakes!!

So the cunning plan!
From 'Control unleased' (if you dont have this book and own a dog you really should get it!!) I have already taught my pair to run to and lie down on a mat

So I figured this is a good start - thats all a 4 on the floor is!!

BUT a problem with the mat - and many people also have with 4 on the floor - is that the dogs curve back towards you - when we really want them facing forwards

So for the past few days I have been working on teaching them to go to the mat but keep facing in the direction they were going in by clicking early - way before they lie down and before they even turn back to me - then chucking the treat overhead so they are expecting a reward infront of them.
Then once they are anticipating this and facing forward more waiting with the click till they lie down again

I also did a brand new thing (for me) rewarding with the ball launcher too - this is new for the dogs too so they did really well realising what I wanted from them

Every which way?? Agility training

Training today I thought I would share a little tip. I hope the images show up OK.
Often when people set up a course to train on they think about the way they would like to run it, train it that way then do something else.

I bet Im not the only one who at shows has this issue

You walk the course, you imagine where you want to be, you imagine where your dog will be. You work out all your turns perfectly in your head.
You get in the ring and your brain is putty and your excited dog is suddenly super-charged. All the plans go out the window - you are never in the places you thought you would be and you are racing to catch up.
That is why when I am training something I try and do it from as many directions and positions as I possibly can.
For example todays course was the one above. Bet you have looked at it and figured out where you should be, where your dog should be - right??
Here are three possibilities I worked on with this today






































Here is the first way I ran this.
I recall the dog from the weaves. Keep him on my right hand side.
I send him over jump 3, with no other direction from me the natural thing for the dog to do here is to curve to the left. Then a simple front cross here picks the dog up on the left hand to send him to jump 4
Then another simple front cross picks the dog up on your right hand side to send to the weave and then the final jump

This method may not be the shortest route for the dog but it has a few advantages.
With a fast long striding dog if the distance from 3 to 4 is tight this may be quicker than slowing him down to turn the other way
Also this way there it is always clear to the dog where you want him to go, this is the simplest way to handle because you are always curving your dog with you in the center point of the curve
This is natural for the dog





































The second run is very similar.
I start off exactly the same for jump 1 and the weave
But for jump 3 I flick the dog out to the right
This means I send him out to the jump but at the same time crossing behind the dog (rear cross) to direct him to turn.
I dont train left and right commands when Im running my dogs (cos I am rubbish at remembering my left and right) so with this one I cue the turn by bringing my left arm up as I am sending the dog on and stepping behind before he commits to the jump - this means he is already turning the right way before he lands.
It is important that the dog knows where he is going before he takes off else he may turn the wrong way, land heavily on his shoulder trying to change direction as he lands or even slip.






































This is the third run
This time I start on the other side of the weave. I keep the dog on my left had side tru the weave, push him out to jump 3 then its a simple post turn to jump 4 keeping the dog on the left hand side.
With this method is best if you can get in front of the dog slightly at the end of the weave, hanging back or a late signal and the dog may curve towards jump 4
To push the dog to jump 3 it can also be useful to indicate with your right arm as that turns your shoulder to face the jump even more than with your left arm.

So as you can see, three ways to do the same run - and there are loads more
You could even do the weaves with the dog on the left, front cross after the weaves and turn the dog left at jump 3 - or flick him right
Or a blind cross after the weave
Or or or
See lot of ways to do just one simple setup

and then of course you should do the mirror image

I know the writing on the images dosent show up - but it is more than covered in the descriptions here

Teaser 3

And here is the text that will be in the local papers

Club barking with joy after Glasgow Airport’s donation

A local dog agility club has received a cash injection of £2,500 from Glasgow Airport’s FlightPath Fund.

Phoenix Flyers Dog Agility Club, which was set up last year by airport security guard, Tony Gallacher, will use the funding to purchase the agility equipment needed to train the dogs.

Dog agility is a sport where a handler guides a dog over a course of jumps, tunnels, weaves and contact equipment. The airport has also provided the club with full use of land at the airport, near the picturesque Paisley Moss.

Tony said: “I launched the club last year with two members and we’re now up to 15. The club has proved really popular and to continue to grow we had to invest in some new equipment.

“The airport has really pulled out all the stops in their generosity to the club. Not only have they allowed the club free use of the land, which is in the perfect environment for dog training, they have donated a storage container for the dog agility equipment and £2,500 to help get the club started.”

John McConnell, Head of Commercial at Glasgow Airport, said: “We are only too happy to offer support to the Phoenix Dog Agility Club. I spent some time with Tony and the team and they do a fantastic job training the dogs. I wish the club every success for the future.”

Tony added: “Dog agility not only keeps you fit it improves the bond between dog and owner. It is a sport suitable for most breeds of dogs and we would be delighted to hear from anyone interested in joining the club.”

For more information check out www.phoenixagility.com

Picture info:

John McConnell joins Tony and the some of the club members for a spot of agility training.

Further info:

1. Tony has worked as a security guard at Glasgow Airport for the past 10 year
2. His dog was his bridsmaid at his wedding"

1. 
   

Teaser take 2 :)

This was our photoshoot to thank Glasgow Airport for their grant for our dog agility club

Phoenix Flyers update

A little teaser :)


Come back tomorow to see whats going on with Phoenix Flyers dog agility club

The secret is out

Following on from my shhhh post - Pat was almost correct!

In my street there are three of us who train our dogs at agility, and of course we chat to all the other dog walkers while we are out and about.

Lots of people have expressed interest in teaching their dogs agility and we have given them the contact details of the clubs and classes in the area - but people have been coming back to us and saying the classes are all full.

So we decided to start our own dog agility training club The Phoenix Flyers for Paisley, Renfrewshire and the surrounding area

The support we have got from this venture has been amazing. We have already got and refurbished a set of agility equipment, a local business has given us access to a secure field to train on and a unit to store the equipment and another local business has offered to cut the grass and keep the field in tip top condition

and we have actually started getting interest from the website even tho I havent even launched it properly yet

So here it it :)

Please click to see The Phoenix Flyers dog agility training club We are still building it just now so bear with us :) but feedback would be welcome

Shhh

I have an exciting secret

Im not telling :)

Heres a little hint - see if you can guess