Fun with a ring sport helper

[Ravenbird]

I promised Asha a weekend of bitey fun and signed up for a 2 day work shop - actually it was 3 days but I just signed up for Sat/Sun. Since all I'd ever worked on was the IGP exercises I thought it would be fun to mix it up with different exercises. It was actually a bit confusing for her, we have only seen a helper about 3 times in the last 3 + years so a bit rusty on both our parts. LOL, she'd get into it for a bit, and then look at me and say "What IS this game going on here?". We did work on some IGP moves as well, barking in the blind and sending for long bite etc.

I have to admit, she was pretty exhausted mentally & physically before we were done. Neither one of us is in the spring-chicken category anymore, but a few times she showed her stuff well.

I like the screen shots from videos - takes me too long to edit for YouTube. Maybe later I'll upload some video to post here.

Jump over obstacle to helper:



Agitating then sending for the long bite:

 

[LifeofRubie]

She looks like she's having a BLAST!

Did you learn anything new?

 

[JanS]

Nice job!

 

[Two Dobes]

LOVE your photos!!! Looks so fun! And I love how Asha is completely tucked up jumping; her feet didn't even touch as she grabbed the sleeve! What a blast....Thanks for sharing!!!!
PS. I am feeling the 'not so spring chickeny' either!!! My collar bone hurts from sleeping wrong

 

[Ravenbird]

She looks like she's having a BLAST!

Did you learn anything new?

Always learning! My biggest problem (and Ashas, tho not her fault) is that I have had very little formal training in bitesports, no consistency to speak of, and in this weekend a lot of new games for the dog to work to get to bite the target. It was a lot harder on Asha than I thought (my bad), in her brain she knew certain things would happen to get to bite and they didn't happen, so she lost some confidence. The helper was great at getting to know her, helping her find the way to the prize etc. But yeah, learning curve for both of us.

her feet didn't even touch as she grabbed the sleeve!

LOL, she crashed into that tunnel several times by jumping on top of it to bound off. Of course it just collapsed. She did not once clear it completely without touching it at all. It was lower than the jumps we trained on for CDX, so I'm considering getting a check up at the vet since she was clearing much higher than this in better form. Or it could just be that she was not thinking of it like a jump but more like a barrier to be crashed through. My bull in the china shop that she was as a puppy finding joy in crash & burn. LOL

 

[Ravenbird]

One of her best efforts (not the same video that the screenshots were from:

 

[GennyB]

WOW! Look at that bite!
Do you have a head shot fron the side? Looks like she has some nice underjaw. So many dobes are missing that which can make bite sports challenging.

 

[Ravenbird]

Do you have a head shot fron the side? Looks like she has some nice underjaw. So many dobes are missing that which can make bite sports challenging.

Like this? No string leash, just natural, looking out the window.

 

[LifeofRubie]

One of her best efforts (not the same video that the screenshots were from:

LOL, she crashed into that tunnel several times by jumping on top of it to bound off. Of course it just collapsed. She did not once clear it completely without touching it at all. It was lower than the jumps we trained on for CDX, so I'm considering getting a check up at the vet since she was clearing much higher than this in better form. Or it could just be that she was not thinking of it like a jump but more like a barrier to be crashed through. My bull in the china shop that she was as a puppy finding joy in crash & burn. LOL

Seeing that video, I wonder if she just didn't have a lot of "runway" to land on the other side of the tunnel.

If the goal was to get her to bite while in the air, it might just be an unusual maneuver for her. She's amped so she's just launching herself forward and he's *RIGHT* there. I'll bet if she had more room, clearing it would've been fine. You know her way better than I do, though, so if you think there is something perhaps not quite right, please do get her checked!

 

[Ravenbird]

If the goal was to get her to bite while in the air, it might just be an unusual maneuver for her. She's amped so she's just launching herself forward and he's *RIGHT* there. I'll bet if she had more room, clearing it would've been fine. You know her way better than I do, though, so if you think there is something perhaps not quite right, please do get her checked!

That's a really good thought about the space. We did back her up to give her more running time toward the target. And yes, this is one of the things that makes Ring Sports so different than IGP. There is never any variation in IGP. It's a set pattern of set exercises, numbered steps, everything is basically choreographed to give every dog the exact same picture no matter how many times they do it. Done this way so that all dogs can be judged against the perfect picture, only thing changes is the field. With ring sport you have certain exercises to be done, but every trial can change the picture however they want to. The dog may be taught to jump over an obstacle to bite the decoy, but until trial day you don't know what it will be! And at the very intro level, it is done completely off leash, not even a collar on the dog. Tons of obedience! It's definitely challenging and for sure Asha had some second thoughts about what she was expected to do. We did do some familiar things with her - the bark & hold in the blind - and she showed great confidence there since we had done that many times. I was wondering about a physical problem mainly because she just didn't lift herself in her usual way. Not her usual power jumping. But as you say, she could have been trying to gauge how to land with that man in the way, how to get the bite and then where do I go? LOL, her poor brain must have been flooded. I've been watching her - she seems perfectly sound running around here outside.

 

[remy]

That looks like so much fun! I’m glad you guys got to go. I’ve always found ring sports more interesting to watch than IGP. I like the variety.

As for the issue with clearing the jumps, I wonder if that could be an iliopsoas problem?

 

[Ravenbird]

I wonder if that could be an iliopsoas problem

I will keep that in mind, since that is an elusive type of injury/soreness that doesn't always present as lameness. Thanks for mentioning it.

That looks like so much fun! I’m glad you guys got to go. I’ve always found ring sports more interesting to watch than IGP. I like the variety.

We did have fun and definitely learned a lot about how some of the impressive exercises are taught. I always love watching the helper come up and be friendly and chatty and shake hands with the handler and the dog remains neutral but watching. Then the helper puts 2 hands on the handler and the dog bites. Turns out that's not too difficult to train. I mean the process is not complicated, but it would depend on the dog to bring it to trial level. So much of it is just total fun & games for the dog. It is definitely like IGP, if not more so, in the importance of training with people/club and training often. Since all I've done in the last few years is playing short games with the sleeve with Asha, she had a very small picture of how to get the bite (bark) so almost every exercise we learned was new for both of us. There were 2 puppies there getting game introduction and I can see how beneficial it is for a months-old puppy to see all this stuff at a young age.

 

[jazzies mum]

Jazz had an illiopsoas strain that even the vets couldn't diagnose. Occasionally she'd yelp when chasing a ball and a reluctance to jump and duck down to go under anything was about it as far as symptoms. I did daily hind leg stretches with her by rubbing and massaging the illiopsoas area and she loved this. It took a few months to come good just letting her self regulate activities.

 

[Ddski5]

Always an absolute joy to see you two in action!

Great job!

 

[Ravenbird]

Jazz had an illiopsoas strain that even the vets couldn't diagnose. Occasionally she'd yelp when chasing a ball and a reluctance to jump and duck down to go under anything was about it as far as symptoms. I did daily hind leg stretches with her by rubbing and massaging the illiopsoas area and she loved this. It took a few months to come good just letting her self regulate activities

Thank you for that info. I vaguely recall you talking about an injury or soreness, I think. Memory is getting worse these days, but if you had a specific post here I may try to find it. This last year we've done very little active (fast/high/intense) training. Mostly hiking and general obedience tricks and focus and such. The last month or two I noticed when she got up off her bed that's on the floor she might take a couple of "off steps" in the front - never the hind legs - then move out normally. And her play and running and chasing a ball have all been normal. Just like me, first few steps out of bed or standing up out of a chair I gimp a few steps, work it out and then I'm good. No pain, just "tightness" I guess. No yelping on Ashas part ever. This was the first jumping she's done in a long time except what she does on her own when hiking. And I've been watching super close to see if she gimps after getting out of bed and nothing noticeable until tonight. A definite gimp in the front end that lasted a few steps, then smoothed out in just a few seconds. So as of tonight I'm thinking I should get her looked at. Biggest hurdle with vets is that you see something for 10 seconds that you can't repeat or show in the clinic, they either want to say it's nothing or they want to do a hundred tests.

 

[JanS]

Biggest hurdle with vets is that you see something for 10 seconds that you can't repeat or show in the clinic, they either want to say it's nothing or they want to do a hundred tests

So true for animals or humans.

 

[MichiH]

I promised Asha a weekend of bitey fun and signed up for a 2 day work shop - actually it was 3 days but I just signed up for Sat/Sun. Since all I'd ever worked on was the IGP exercises I thought it would be fun to mix it up with different exercises. It was actually a bit confusing for her, we have only seen a helper about 3 times in the last 3 + years so a bit rusty on both our parts. LOL, she'd get into it for a bit, and then look at me and say "What IS this game going on here?". We did work on some IGP moves as well, barking in the blind and sending for long bite etc.

I have to admit, she was pretty exhausted mentally & physically before we were done. Neither one of us is in the spring-chicken category anymore, but a few times she showed her stuff well.

I like the screen shots from videos - takes me too long to edit for YouTube. Maybe later I'll upload some video to post here.

Jump over obstacle to helper:

View attachment 159938View attachment 159939View attachment 159940View attachment 159941

Agitating then sending for the long bite:

View attachment 159942View attachment 159943View attachment 159944

Looks like so much FUN!!!

Keep us posted on her leg. Thinking of you guys!

 

[BG1]

Always an absolute joy to see you two in action!

Great job!

very inspirational @Ravenbird