Bien Bebe

Class was really fun tonight! I think Pickle has been going through a ton of puppy stages, but this one I love! He has been so "on" reading my body language, his focus has improved exponentially, and his speed is increasing! He gave be 100% of his attention during class tonight. Class tonight was a culmination of several things we've been working on such as wraps, distance work, serpentines, and backs. I like that Jamie gives us harder courses than what novice will be, so that when we start showing-> the courses will be so simple. One thing from class tonight that we will have to work on will be our sends- he likes working at a distance laterally, but does not like to get to far in front of me... somethin' to think about.

Finally...

I've been without internet for almost a whole week... AHHHH!

Our tuesday class was awesome!!! Pickle does so much better in smaller classes (less distractions). Let me preface by informing you that Jamie was not in the best mood- which means that the class is harder. We worked on distance work so that our dogs could work more independently from the handlers. My boy was a champ!!! He is definately a star! He worked so hard for me... we gradually increased the difficulty as the class progressed, eventually to leading to multiple obstacles between us and the pups.

*I'll add more later... sooooo tired

Bonus Class

Well, of course it rained today, therefore class was canceled. Luckily we decided to do a drop in class yesterday. Besides his need to play with the other pups at the beginning of class, it was a very productive lesson. We worked on directionals and wraps (tight turns).

*I'll add more later

**Will the infernal rain ever end!!! We worked on handling techniques that helped us tighten our turns and help the dogs read our body language better. We accomplished this by working on "wraps." Wraps are turns in the shapes of tear drops. We did very well after he got rid of his zoomies. Pickle is no longer allowed to play with other pups until he is done working... I hope this will help with the distraction aspect.

Keeping fingers, toes, and paws crossed class doesn't get rained out tomorrow.**

Better

We seemed to do a lil better in our class today. We are still going to have a lot of focus work ahead of us. His recalls are getting markedly better though.

We also did object discrimination tonight! Usually, this is not our strongest area, but tonight- he was awesome! He did not suck to any particular obstacle (usually the a-frame)!!!

On an even brighter note- he was sound, no stiffness, no soreness!!!

Uh oh

Class was not a stellar success today. We definately have some new obstacles/ challenges ahead of us. Apparently "da momma" is not his favorite any more... his classmates are way more interesting. At home we do not have the distraction of rowdy friends and he is a baby genius- then it comes to class time and he runs off to play (GRRR).
On another note... very worrisome- Pickle seemed a little ouchy on his right hind. I had him out at the lake yesterday, and he did run for an hour straight with Boomer. I am hoping that he just ran a little to hard and that is what made him a little stiff. Will definately be watching those legs!

Distance work

Tonight we worked on distance work- what that means is that we have the dogs in front of us, it allows them to be more independent from the handler. How we started was to have 3 jumps in a row then a pause table at the end. The pause table was baited with a piece of kibble. The first run through, we released at the final jump sending them to the table... next run through we sent them through from the second jump... then from the first jump. Pickle excelled at this exercise (he'd rather run the courses by himself sometimes). In the end, I was running pickle through the weaves, sent him to the a-frame, then through the jumps, to the table. This kind of distance work gets us ready for the gamblers class. Gamblers class is game division where for the first (45) seconds each obstacle has a point value, then a whistle is blown and the gamble begins. In a "gamble," there is a line on the ground that handlers can not pass, but must instruct their dogs from that line and negotiate obstacles. To qualify in a gamblers class, you must have meet the minimum point requirement, and complete the gamble in the alloted time. I think this will be my favorite class.

Table Work 2.0

So, its not a good idea to practise table work with the table against the wall. I decided to move it today... yeah, we're just bouncing off the other side. So tonight... we got to start completely over again with the table... lesson learned! Live and learn. :(