Ob Tryout at Winner Show in Helsinki

On 14.12.2013 we had a national team tryout in Helsinki. It was our first time at a big ob trial. So lots of people and dogs. We had also second last number so we had to wait for three hour to do our trial. Pixie wasn't that good. She was really slow and didn't do as well as she could but it was a nice experience. We have still lots of work before challenge Finnish OBs best and you can say the worlds best dogs. I think Pixie got some pressure from and from the situation. We need work on our ability work as team in more harder trial scenes. Here are our best part from Helsinki:





Yesterday I really got my best Christmas present. Pixie had her last physiotherapy treatment for this year and she was just perfect!!! I has been almost two years since the dog attack and now she is finally fine. Although Pixie has a permanent damage in her back muscle, she has started to recover from her rest of the body. So long process to get better. All the best to all the owners that are going to through the same. It takes time, set backs, hope and a lot of work. But there's nothing better that having your best friend back to herself! I have thank so much to Leena Piira and Tanja Kotti to helping my diamond <3 <3 <3 <3

Clicker training work

At the moment we have been working on a new trick. This trick was a little challenge from Canis- magazine. In the magazine was an article that trained a trick where dog has back up around an obstacle. We have using a chair as training tool. This trick has been trained only with shaping. At the moment a can make Pixie do half circle around the chair. We a critical point going on. I think she will get the idea after she moves the next step. She can back up around me and between my legs to she know the basic idea. I just have to keep on shaping. Louise has started to do the back up between my legs. On that I have used finger target just to make the dog take to few first steps backing up.

Jihaa!!! I just did some more training and Pixie did the whole circle!!!! I used my divan sofa to block her from just backing up and she got idea going aroung the chair!! Next step is to make it stronger and then start to do it in different environments. So cool!!!





That's for now!! Wonderful Christmas to you all!!!

MPL

Seasons last agility competition and heal work seminar with Mia Skogster

Yesterday we had our last agility competition in this year. I competed also with Louise and she two nice clear round. My eight-year-old perro was so on fire! Pixie and I did two DQ and one clear round 2nd place. I have to better get in to rhythm with Pixie. I was way too late way too many times. I need also get in better shape so lots of training for me. Here are our clear rounds from yesterday:



Today we went to heal work seminar of Mia Skogster. She was really enthusiastic and intensive teachers. I really liked her pedant touch to training but I thought her methods were little out date. I know her dogs work like charm and she has got 100/100 from IPO obedience but there is just so many ways to get to a goal. I really didn't like use of luring in the puppy training. She used a lot of luring in the beginning and lots of hand work to make the dog to do heal work right. There wasn't much room for dogs own thinking. Just like little "box" that the dog had work in.

Second thing I didn't like was the use of force. Mia used pull from the leash as a mark of unwanted behavior during healing. Of course force was followed by reward but do you have to use force for corrections?? Can you just stop and reward when the dog does it right? Other thing I didn't agree was that you can't teach motion levels with clicker. Of course you can! You get what you reinforce. I can click my dog to calm down in some situations and have more energy in others. But its a richness to have different kind of trainers then we can really challenge our training methods and how they work. This seminar really gave lots of things to think about.

That's for now!

MPL

So cool ob training!!!!

Pixie did the best stop ever during recall!!!!!! We have been working make Pixie really push weight to back in the stop in recall. I have been using a reward that is left behind a tree or other object that she runs around. The goal has been to built force to go back to toy and this creates really nice full stop. Today I tried on real competition recall set and it was so COOL!!!! If this work next weeks Saturday in the team tryouts, we might get record score. I'm so happy! Yet again it was just a little thing that made a big difference.

Pixie and Louise also did some contact work. Pixie made super running A-frames without the box and we did some turning training with the box that went also really really well. Louise did also some super dog-walks. Perro has improved a lot back to her perfect 2on2off contacts. I shouldn't have say this out loud but I'm so proud of her.

Training can be so rewarding and I have started learn to keep training session short. I have fallen to make the famous "one more repeat". Maybe I have finally learned to stop after successful repeat. It will still take time to learn to really make every treat count and really plan everything. I know how to do it but my laziness takes sometimes the control. I know I'm weak person in that area but I'm confident that I'm on the right road to change.

Happy Independence Day to Finland!!!! Just a perfect country to live in!!!

Time relax and get ready have fun in a competition tomorrow!!

MPL  

What a nice day

I had so cool weekend in Kuopio. Pixie and I train some Ob with Pirjo from dogschool Pondera. Pixie had her good moments. She did nice work with scent discrimination. We have to work little bit with speed. We did heal work with different distractions. First Pirjo called different commands and Pixie did what she was ask for. So we have some work to do in that area. Then came the balls, which was even harder but she started work well after while in both cases.

Today we did some work with running A-frame. Pixie did superb with box and without it. We did little pieces of the course and she worked really well and I remembered to keep my on her. We also did some work with tight turning. Just a perfect little training session.

I also did some distance control with a little plastic stick which I use in front of her back paws. It has given her the idea of keeping the back paws in place. With the same excercise by a malls front door to practice distractions. Pixie did really nice job. She also did some heal work and sit-down-stay from heal work at the mall. Yet again she handled the distractions really well.

Louise started to work on the slalom between the legs and this time doing it backwards. I use finger target to make her to back up and I click every movement that she does backwards roud my right leg. So its just first stage. It will take time to get it all together.

That's for now

MPL