Tire Jump

Alright! So we went to class last night, did some awesome object discrimination work (not usually our strength) and strung together some sequencing. All together things were flowing together nicely. Then we added the tire jump- oh the infernal tire jump. Pickle went around and under it, but managed to not go through it. All night the tire jump eluded us. So today, I decided that the tire jump was not going to me the death of us. I went to the hardware store and bought pvc and a dryer hose. I put the darn contraption together- and low and behold- the midget jumps through it... not one attempt to go around it. The little booger.

Spinning...

Why is it that hard to teach spinning? My dog will back up, but not spin! Grrrrr...

No Class :(

Will the rain ever end? I took Pickle and Bessie out to the volley ball court in my complex tonight to practise down-stays. Pickle is doing well- we acheived our goal of a 2 minute stay. (I'm adding 15 seconds each session) Quite honestly, my mom gave me the notes to the previous levels of classes. Instead of going through those classes, I am just doing the lesson plans on my own. We have achieved a major mile stone though- we are no longer fearful of the clicker... he doesn't love it, but then again, it doesn't send him running for cover anymore either. Things are starting to click more and more now!

First Fun Match!!!!

Pickle and I participated in our very first fun match!!! Pickle did so good, I admit- I did not think it was going to go so well. He was listening, didn't run off, and didn't get the sniffys (all major goals for me). We had 2 minor whoopsies, but they may have been out of our control... he popped out of the tunnel twice, later I found out that there was a jump standard left in there, and Pickle skidded down the a-frame, but it was steaper and slicker than we're used too. Afterwards, we practised on a different a-frame and did marvelous! All in all a very triumphant first time out, and a marvelous learning experience for us both. I am very proud of my Midget Racer! Over all- It was a very fun weekend!

Backs

We finally understand backs!!! We practiced backs to a single- once we figured those out, we threw in a second jump driving to a target for some distance work. This little guy trys so hard to please and makes it such a pleasure to work with. I can't wait to get video up!

Class double time!

Pickle was "on" today!!! We did weaves to jump-tunnel-jump combo followed up by a triple jump! He did everything full hearted- the handler (me) on the other hand was all over the place, I could use a little work. The midget did so well so he stayed for another class. Jamie decided to see what we could do- she gave us obstacles to do, but had us create our own solutions to navigate the obstacles... the speed racer definatly covered my butt for me!

Howdy!

I guess we're gonna start posting comments about our training successes and .... well, lets think positive ;)