Agility - just one more way to have fun

It really is a professional field. Outdoors, but the entire thing is fake grass, flat as a pancake. Asha did slip a few times and the gal said they'd be putting more sand on it. I guess that's part of maintaining it and adding some traction. Never worked on fake grass before, but Asha has those huge slick pads and throws her weight into everything she does. Hopefully I will be able to slow her down next time. She was so insanely happy to be running around with no leash, and went over 3 or 4 jumps and the A frame by herself before we gathered her up to start teaching. I'll def get some videos.

Yeah, Rubie has always slipped around on that turf material. It is supposed to be cleaned because it does get dog feet "oils" on it, so I'm told, but not sure how they're supposed to go about doing that plus all ours have been indoors. She'll figure it out with practice!
 
:rofl::rofl::rofl::facepalm::facepalm::whistle::nono::scratch:

I'll have to tell more details later, and with my slow internet I can't get the video to You Tube until later... but the title of this thread is perfect, I just didn't realize how much fun a dog could have. To my expense of course. I didn't get it all on video, but the part I did, she decided that me running around with her and kind of crouching to point at a jump was like open invitation to play. So she started jumping on me instead of over the jump. Then I got to laughing so hard she knew she wasn't in trouble and it just got crazier and crazier. Needless to say, we had fun, but we didn't get much accomplished. Plus, (not on video) she took the first jump, which was toward the 7 cars and 10 people with dogs all lined up with their folding chairs watching, ran straight to the fence at them and did her roaring bark and hair up from withers to tail. Jeeeezzzuuuusss. Got chores to do, more details and a hysterical blooper video for your entertainment will be on the way.
 
Oh how I miss agility!!!! Love your videos....looking for Lacey hilarious! Beginner work is tedious as mentioned; but SO VALUABLE!!!! Here is a clip of our girl from years ago....I had started agility with her one place (that didn't really focus on contacts) then moved onto another club and had to re-train myself, and my dog how to work contacts. You can see our girl here fly off the dogwalk and the judges hands go up...NQ. Very important to put the time into the basics of how to play the game....so worth it once you get rolling into trialing!
 
That's a terrific run @Two Dobes! What a happy team you presented!

Yeah, I'm still laughing at todays antics. I realized my dog really isn't normal/mainstream and is extremely reactive and it's not just all bad training on my part. (I have to quit self-bashing and start laughing, right?) One person today said "It's a good thing she got that dog, because JQP would not be able to handle her". Not bragging, I'm embarrassed to pieces that by 2 years I still don't have a handle on this girl when emotions are high. I have worked hard in the past two years and there are pieces of her that I just can't reach. She is one tough witch. If I want to do Agility seriously, I will stop & back up to basics, but this was just an offer for using this beautiful field full of equipment so of course I had to go. Here's a screen shot from the video where she's jumping all over me:

Screen Shot 2021-12-05 at 6.30.33 PM.png
 
Here's the 3 seconds of video of her leaving the jump to go bark at the "audience". The gal taking the video turned it off, thinking I just wanted video of us doing the jumps. SOUND UP.

 
Here's when Asha got crazy with the jumping on me and we all got the giggles. But notice how she still jumps when I ask her to. I promise this won't happen again or any hope of doing agility will be dust. But it's so funny & she's so happy I'm glad I got it on film.

 
video of her leaving the jump to go bark at the "audience".
To add, I restarted her over those jumps with handfuls of treats after each one so she wouldn't take off toward the fence. (she did that 3 times). Once she could jump over and stop for a treat instead of running toward the fence barking at the onlookers we added the second jump with treats and did those two in a row a couple of times then moved on. She didn't rush the fence after that. But she did get the crazy-jumping-zoomies that you see in the 2nd video.
 
She's certainly got the energy for agility!

Whenever we had a dog in class get a little TOO amped up, our trainer would have us stop playing agility and just get a "sit." Try to refocus them a bit without shutting them down (it's a very find line for some dogs like Rubie). Get a sit, reward the sit, and then do the next jump and reward. Then see if they're up to a couple of jumps in a row, etc. The reward for focusing then becomes playing agility! Very similar to how you handle her rushing the fence.

A few quick thoughts:

She's look RIGHT at your hands instead of looking for the next obstacle (which comes with time and practice so not a big deal!). Will she work for playing tug? She obviously wants to interact with you but getting that focus on completing the task at hand and THEN interacting with you could be something to work on. If she will play for tug, get her over a few jumps and then tug tug tug. Send her over a few more and then tug tug tug. Getting her refocused on the game in between.

This video is early on in our agility adventures so I'm sloppy and giving her late verbal cues and confusing her with my body language but I get her focused in the beginning, tuck that tug toy out of sight, and then let her run around with after the run (she prefers to be chased than play tug hahaha).


Someone in your video commented on Asha's stride. Rubie, too, only ever ran and jumped in extension. I was successful a few times, again, with my body language telling her that we needed to make a tight turn. This is one of my favorite runs that we have on video (good for a Q!). You can see where me stopping stops her forward progress but at the end when we have that straight line to the finish, we're just going for it. This is about a year or so after the first video so a lot more training (for myself :rofl: ).


She's excited to be out there and doing something with you which is, ultimately, the goal of dog sports! She just looks like she's not clear on the game, yet, which is totally fine. She's a smart dog; she'll figure it out :thumbsup:
 
Thank you @LifeofRubie - I love your videos of Rubie!!! That first one, wow. Rubie just sails over the jumps, looks effortless. Maybe because the spacing is so wide between them? We need a new sport called steeplechase - like a Fast Cat with hurdles - LOL

Lots of good ideas. I did some obedience moves before going to the course: Fuss, sit, 1/4 turns with sits, Sidestep with sit at each step, looking at me etc. For the first jump I had her in a sit-stay while I moved to the side/front of the first jump and she was perfect, never taking her. eyes off of me. As soon as I said jump she took off and I guess in mid-air noticed everyone watching her and if you stop that 3-second video as soon as it starts you can see her mouth forming a bark before she even lands. It was totally unexpected. Once I got her back I thought well, she'll be fine, then she did the exact same thing. But we got it lined out with the food. Could be why she keeps looking at my hands?
Tug is a good idea if I can keep her sane about it. A ball or a tug trumps food and she is very food motivated. I've trained a little with it in obedience but she gets over-aroused by knowing I have it. And barks and barks... High drive is an understatement.
 
LOVE your videos Life of Rubie....are you in IL by any chance? I know most of those places look alike; but that first video looks like the place I used to take agility classes ;) I also had a boy at the time, who was very reactive. I did not put him in the ring to get his CD in obedience until he was 4 years old, then started agility with him. What a challenge to keep him focused on me while "on deck" waiting for our run...with all the border collies close, barking waiting their turn as well. I had done much focus work with my boy, and I did the same...did not take my eyes off him, and did spins, sit, down, go through my legs....I was able to get a novice title on him in agility before we moved. He was the dog that taught me everything. The harder the dog, the more you learn :yatta:
 
PS Ravenbird, I love that Asha is all over you :love: I know it's never the right time, but that is how my Sienna was...SO amped up. It told me she was having a great time ;)
 
Thank you @LifeofRubie - I love your videos of Rubie!!! That first one, wow. Rubie just sails over the jumps, looks effortless. Maybe because the spacing is so wide between them? We need a new sport called steeplechase - like a Fast Cat with hurdles - LOL

Lots of good ideas. I did some obedience moves before going to the course: Fuss, sit, 1/4 turns with sits, Sidestep with sit at each step, looking at me etc. For the first jump I had her in a sit-stay while I moved to the side/front of the first jump and she was perfect, never taking her. eyes off of me. As soon as I said jump she took off and I guess in mid-air noticed everyone watching her and if you stop that 3-second video as soon as it starts you can see her mouth forming a bark before she even lands. It was totally unexpected. Once I got her back I thought well, she'll be fine, then she did the exact same thing. But we got it lined out with the food. Could be why she keeps looking at my hands?
Tug is a good idea if I can keep her sane about it. A ball or a tug trumps food and she is very food motivated. I've trained a little with it in obedience but she gets over-aroused by knowing I have it. And barks and barks... High drive is an understatement.

Might be worth a try with the tug, then! I tuck mine in the back of my pants so she can't see it while we're running. Rubie isn't much a tug-for-reward type but she would go after her tug leash after a run about 25% of the time to celebrate.

One of Rubie's best runs EVER was after she had a legit meltdown over the dog leaving the ring. No clue why but something about that dog set her off. I set her up, she got over a couple of jumps and then rush the fenced. I was so frustrated, I leashed her up and was on our way out and one of the guys was like, Reset her and try again. I really didn't want to but we went back to the start line, I got her attention and off we went. It was an NQ, of course, but the guy came up after the run and remarked on how good it looked once we both had our heads in the game.

Oh, believe me, just as soon as I thought we'd worked through one thing or another, something entirely new would set her off. We could never seem to be able to get to a point where playing was more interesting than anything else which is why we don't compete anymore.

LOVE your videos Life of Rubie....are you in IL by any chance? I know most of those places look alike; but that first video looks like the place I used to take agility classes ;) I also had a boy at the time, who was very reactive. I did not put him in the ring to get his CD in obedience until he was 4 years old, then started agility with him. What a challenge to keep him focused on me while "on deck" waiting for our run...with all the border collies close, barking waiting their turn as well. I had done much focus work with my boy, and I did the same...did not take my eyes off him, and did spins, sit, down, go through my legs....I was able to get a novice title on him in agility before we moved. He was the dog that taught me everything. The harder the dog, the more you learn :yatta:

I am! I believe that was Dash K9 Sports in Geneva but it was several years ago and we only did ring rentals once or twice there so I could be mistaken?

Sorry for the long messages. I've always been so bummed that neither dog will let me full-fill my agility dreams and get really amped up when other people start playing! :rofl:
 
I knew that was Dash in Geneva! That is where I really learned how to do agility ;). And it was 7 years ago I took classes there...wish I had met you :). I used to rent the ring as well....here is a clip of me & my reactive boy working his weaves. I never trained the two we have now for agility...we live in the sticks, and all the training places are an hour away...but not like IL an hour away - not flat driving with street lights; dark ass roads with wildlife and no shoulder here! :sorry:. So I pretty much just train on my own....
 
I knew that was Dash in Geneva! That is where I really learned how to do agility ;). And it was 7 years ago I took classes there...wish I had met you :). I used to rent the ring as well....here is a clip of me & my reactive boy working his weaves. I never trained the two we have now for agility...we live in the sticks, and all the training places are an hour away...but not like IL an hour away - not flat driving with street lights; dark ass roads with wildlife and no shoulder here! :sorry:. So I pretty much just train on my own....

Ah, that's so cool! He looks quite happy and eager there! And no kidding, I would've loved to have seen you two work together :love:

And yes, we are very spoiled to have so many resources at such reasonable driving distances, here. We're in Lombard so anything from agility, to dock diving, to barn hunt, to rally/obedience, to any trainer imaginable is usually within half an hour in any direction. Unfortunately, it's all $$$$$$...
 
We need a new sport called steeplechase - like a Fast Cat with hurdles - LOL
UKC has it! Ripley LOVED it and blasted over the hurdles no problem. She has two Qs/3 for a title but unfortunately it's hard to find events for it as it's pretty new.

For the hand watching try putting the treat in your far hand then when she does something well, stop to reward but toss the treat Infront of her onto the floor with a command "get it!" This will hopefully help her be less focused on your hand and looking forward more. You can also use targets, like a plate, bowl, or lunch box with treats in it. The lunch box is great because you can load the treats up and they can't reward themselves until you open it up and say "get it!"
 
Ah, that's so cool! He looks quite happy and eager there! And no kidding, I would've loved to have seen you two work together :love:

And yes, we are very spoiled to have so many resources at such reasonable driving distances, here. We're in Lombard so anything from agility, to dock diving, to barn hunt, to rally/obedience, to any trainer imaginable is usually within half an hour in any direction. Unfortunately, it's all $$$$$$...
That is what I miss the most....being able to train at different places 3 or 4 nights a week. I was just west of you in Wheaton ;)
 
She's certainly got the energy for agility!

Whenever we had a dog in class get a little TOO amped up, our trainer would have us stop playing agility and just get a "sit." Try to refocus them a bit without shutting them down (it's a very find line for some dogs like Rubie). Get a sit, reward the sit, and then do the next jump and reward. Then see if they're up to a couple of jumps in a row, etc. The reward for focusing then becomes playing agility! Very similar to how you handle her rushing the fence.

A few quick thoughts:

She's look RIGHT at your hands instead of looking for the next obstacle (which comes with time and practice so not a big deal!). Will she work for playing tug? She obviously wants to interact with you but getting that focus on completing the task at hand and THEN interacting with you could be something to work on. If she will play for tug, get her over a few jumps and then tug tug tug. Send her over a few more and then tug tug tug. Getting her refocused on the game in between.

This video is early on in our agility adventures so I'm sloppy and giving her late verbal cues and confusing her with my body language but I get her focused in the beginning, tuck that tug toy out of sight, and then let her run around with after the run (she prefers to be chased than play tug hahaha).


Someone in your video commented on Asha's stride. Rubie, too, only ever ran and jumped in extension. I was successful a few times, again, with my body language telling her that we needed to make a tight turn. This is one of my favorite runs that we have on video (good for a Q!). You can see where me stopping stops her forward progress but at the end when we have that straight line to the finish, we're just going for it. This is about a year or so after the first video so a lot more training (for myself :rofl: ).


She's excited to be out there and doing something with you which is, ultimately, the goal of dog sports! She just looks like she's not clear on the game, yet, which is totally fine. She's a smart dog; she'll figure it out :thumbsup:
Wowee that's a lot of tunnels!! An agility dog's DREAM 😆 Y'all looked great!! Ripley is the same way with the tug... Would rather run around and parade with it. I have to have two tugs to convince her to come in to me 😩
 
here is a clip of me & my reactive boy working his weaves.
Beautiful work there!

He was the dog that taught me everything. The harder the dog, the more you learn :yatta:
Truth! It's exhausting though. I need to be 30 years younger for this type.

Oh, believe me, just as soon as I thought we'd worked through one thing or another, something entirely new would set her off. We could never seem to be able to get to a point where playing was more interesting than anything else which is why we don't compete anymore.
I have a terrible fear that this might be my case. When I have Asha's brain she can be brilliant in performance but when she loses focus it's pretty ugly. In Rally we worked at a public park and I would practice my long down while we set up signs and took signs down. With 5 - 7 people and 4 - 5 dogs around, she could hold the down. But it was "her" group. Anytime a new person came to watch or brought a dog she'd never met I couldn't leave her in a unattended down. Kids playing on swings off in the distance was fine, only someone walking into our group space. The line of cars/people/dogs that she charge at, we had just walked by all of them to get to the entrance gate! she knew they were there. It's totally unpredictable and uncalled for. And of course this group is anti e-collar, so if she learns she can do this fence charging/barking with no consequences I'll have to quit. I cannot let her build her confidence of getting away with behavior like that. I didn't know you had these issues with Rubie while competing - I'm glad you found Fast Cat since she seems to really enjoy that.

UKC has it! Ripley LOVED it and blasted over the hurdles no problem. She has two Qs/3 for a title but unfortunately it's hard to find events for it as it's pretty new.

For the hand watching try putting the treat in your far hand then when she does something well, stop to reward but toss the treat Infront of her onto the floor with a command "get it!" This will hopefully help her be less focused on your hand and looking forward more. You can also use targets, like a plate, bowl, or lunch box with treats in it. The lunch box is great because you can load the treats up and they can't reward themselves until you open it up and say "get it!"
Gah!!! UKC doesn't have anything in my neck of the woods. That's FABULOUS that Ripley is doing that too!

Great idea about treat tossing... and I like the lunch box idea maybe even better! Will try some of these tips for sure. And to be sure, the fence charging will bring some accountability and the pogo-stick jumping on me will be brought to an end. I'm usually a very serious trainer and no BS when in working mode. Ashas joy was infectious, but as you see, if she gets an inch she will take a mile every time.
 

Back
Top