Jaakko and Tanja our VIPs for last week

We had Jaakkos training last week. Pixie and I had really good time and we found our flow feeling. I had still work with my foot work. Also I had problems of handling tunnels while I walked the course. This came out as a problem of not remembering what's next. So I had a really big thing to improve. Pixie just flied and turned really well.

I also trained with Freya for the first time with Jaakko. She was really good and she did really nice work with some difficult handling like away turn from me. I had some problems with my foot work again. I was little unsure of her work and didn't do my best relaxed handling. It is just hard sometimes to just do as normal when you have a new puppy in your hands. Freya hasn't show super speed. She concentrates really well and wants to do everything right. I that she will pick up some speed as we started work more and more in agility.

In Finland autumn is long on the way and we had few rainy days so we did some living room training and long walk in a forest. Here is our video where Freya does show some of tricks and Pixie works on her working dog trial ob.

Pixie and I went to competition last Saturday. We didn't do any clean runs but I learned a lot. First thing was that I watched people to walk the course and I could see how people looked around after every tunnel. Then I really realized what Jaakko said to me later on that week. People went really clueless after each tunnel if didn't really handle them. I also learned how my kneeling really affects my moving and how my dog works. I have unnecessary "kneeling" to each reverse turn. My thought have been to make Pixie collect more. So unneeded - she could read me better if I just did it and moved. This day learned more how to be on the right place on the right time. This is some thing I really need to work on because I do the unneeded slowing down too naturally. Yet again new habit to brake. Here is our few runs from the weekend:



We went to also do some training on Sunday. Pixie and I worked on our team work and I tried to learn the new things that I needed to improve in my handling. Pixie did also some super running A-frame work. Freya worked on her running contact work. I really hope that she will get as cool running contacts as Lilli ( Jenny Damns dog) has. She has started to get the idea. Some times she just jumps but most of the time she is starting to be super good. I also stared our Project Runway. This a training scheme that I teach her to approach a dog walk always in a straight line even if I send her in a steep angle. Here is a video of our work so far:



Today we went to see Tanja our physiotherapist. Freya is fine now. Her body has over come the problems she has had. YEE!!!!!!!!! Pixie has a hard stomach area again. We need see if it's the grains that I have in our training treats or something else. So trick grain free diet for her and we will see will she goes better. I can't thank enough Tanja. She makes my girls fly without pain. Now sport dog should without some physiotherapy in the training schedule. Especially agility can be really tough on dogs. Take care of partner!!

That's all for now....

MLPF

Agility hype

We had a nice competition last weekend. First course we took one bar, even though we had a change to do it again. Other it felt very easy and smooth ride. On the second course I handled Pixie to a wrong tunnel so no stories from there. Last we had a jumping course. It was very fast and straight lined. We might have our most perfect run. Pixie worked like a charm. I waited on the right spots and Pixie turned really tight. The reward was a winning run (1./69!!!!!!). I really felt like million dollars! Here are some photos taken by Jukka Pätynen (Koirakuvat)

Freya has also done agility and she getting better and better. Sometimes she still little unsure but when she get the point she goes with will speed. In running dog-walk she just discovered jumping from high over the contact zone. So we have had little conversation about that but after a few tries without reward she started to get the point- it better run all the way down. :D Here is some video of our and also some work with Louise.

OB

Freya had her first group training in ob. She did really good even though we had problems with her social behavior. She just wanted to meet everybody so I had to reward her a lot to keep her focus on me even though she went by another dog team. She did really nice training with "box" and Freya is starting find the right spot. Soon she can start doing the box from longer distance. She also did some nice heal work and recall training. Laying down is still a little hard task for her. Why should anyone be 2 min in one place?? There we have a big job to make it reliable. This time she was also heard two different gun shots and she was fine with them so at this point I could say she ok with shooting.

Pixie also did some working dog trial ob. Sending forward started to work but she still turn only side ways and not straight back to me when she goes down. I have used to toys, one in the end, one as a reward from turning. I guess I just have to do little bit more to make her turn back at me on a straight line.

Her retrieve has been successfully change to coming back in front of me. Also recall has been changed so that she come first in front of me. I have just used clicker to make this new place a super place. I have train everything ready in my living room and after this I have use these new cues in open field training. This change have been pretty easy but I know that old things might come up when she gets little unsure. So more work in different places and situations should do the trick.