Freya's ob and our goals to 2015

It has a long time since I have done really a obedience training session. New ob rules will come on 1.8.2015. Lots new things to learn but I have had a thought of taking Freya high level with the old rules. We will see how this goes. We would now have 8 months to do it. This means I really need start training on more than couple times a month. It's going to be a hard task for me to keep myself motivated.

So of we went to training ob. We started with attitude work. I hope built up better attitude for Freya than Pixie has for ob. Freya is a little serious to train with. When she starts to work, she is very focused and wants to do every right. I have tried to make her crazy while we work. It has been a little challenging when you have a dog that really thinks what it is doing. I have learned that good ob dog is a little stupid and has not that nerves to get that crazy speed all over again to the same task. I will have a huge challenge to make my little genius fly true every task all over again. I will really do my best to keep training really chancing and motivating for her.



Pixie has been on brake from all the training for 3 weeks and she will continue her brake for few more weeks. Our year ended really sad. Yet again we got a first reserve place this time on EO-team. I can only say that I'm super mad. Pixie is a super dog and yet again I couldn't make her run as super as she should have to get to the EO-team. She is one of the fastest dog Finland but we have had a bad habit of making one mistake runs. First we had a running A-frame problem and then one bar faults (my mistake most of the time). I can only feel shame not to make her shine as she should. Pixie is one of a kind, simply a super star from the first day she was born. I hope that we can get a reserve place to EO. She deserve show her talent in bigger arenas.

Only good thing out of misery was that I got huge motivation to make us better. Pixie will be built again to whole shine after her brake and I have goal to lose weight 15 kg. Learn again to run fast and be better at my foot work. Also my hunger for winning has only gone bigger. Only winning counts if we take a second place we could have done something better. Pixie isn't going to become any younger. It's time to make myself as perfect as possible. She wont lose another run because of me. She will fly and she take what is her to get.


That my thoughts for the year 2015. It will be full of work - blood, sweat and tears. But hell  we are going to do everything what is takes to chase our dream!

Happy new year 2015 to everyone!!!!!!

Freya's agility training

Slalom training

Freya is almost 1 year old so couldn’t resist on starting to train slalom.  I decided to use the same technique that I had used to train Pixie. I put clear plastic rails on the slalom sticks to create a tunnel for the dog. This time I used leash with a help to make her stay in “the tunnel” the first few times. On first session my goal was to make Freya understand keep in the plastic rails. This part went pretty easy.

Second session our goal was to make her do the slalom from both directions and to see does she change her focus from the rails to slalom sticks. This is the most import point in slalom training. When the dog changes the focus straight to the slalom sticks, it is time to start removing them. Our second session was super and Freya’s focus was on the slalom sticks but I only took 2 goes from both sides and left it there.

On our third training session I did first slalom with all the rails on the stick and after I started remove them 2 at the time from the middle. I ended the session with only two rails on the end and on the beginning. Freya was just super. She got the idea of slalom super fast and even tried to accelerate towards the end (this didn’t work out yet). We need to build a little bit of muscle in woods to make hold herself better in the slalom.  Freya has still some weakness in her back part of body and I think she is still growing a bit. So at this point our slalom training will be hold back to wait her get more body control. 

Running contacts

This has so much fun and Freya has been so cool!!!!!! We have started to do running dog-walk between two obstacles so that it will start to work as a part of a course. Also I have started to make handling maneuvers to the end of dog walk. I have made runs behind a jump and ask her to turn with a turning cue. Freya was super in this training session. She didn’t try to jump too early from the dog and turned really well in the end of DW and straight towards me. I always start and end RC session with straight line runs just keep her good spacing to a contact zone as good as possible.

I have also have done now our first real A-frame session. At this point she has just run it over to get used to the obstacle. I could only watch with great fear when she ran the A-frame to first time today. She jumped from front contact zone straight to other contact zone. She did hit the contact but this way of doing the obstacle was totally unacceptable. So no reward and she got another try. This time she really ran the contact obstacle with two canter strike on both sides. This was what I hoped it would be come. After doing a nice ground work with DW, the A-frame seems to come together pretty easy. Freya did 5 nice runs over the A-frame and each time did perfect. Now need to just make as part of course training so that I can do whatever I want and she will do the same way every time.  

Merry Christmass to everyone!!!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New year 2015!!!

With Lots of Love Team-S<

Puppy- young athlete - super star of agility

There has been a lot of debate about training with puppies and young dogs. Lots of videos has been shared and talked about how too young dogs take part of competitions or are trained with very complex parts in agility. So what is the right age for training? I have really thought about is many times.  I start training my puppies on the first day they come home. First teach them work with clicker and then use shaping to get behaviors that I want. As long as teaching is fun and it done in small amounts I only see this as a beneficial for a puppy and I.

Then comes the specific sport training like agility. When is the right time to start and what is appropriate training for different age levels? I don’t think there is right answer to this. I think it is import to see a puppy as individual because puppies can develop in very different ways. I really have had two really different bordercollies at this point. Pixies body was well developed the whole time she grew. She just got bigger and bigger. Freya on the other hand had lots of trouble with her body and she grew super fast to her full height. She needed to have physiotherapy to make her function normally. You need to have good eye and support team to make as good as you can have to you puppy.

Debate on training with younger dogs, is some times hard follow, because you don’t know which words and sayings means to everyone. I think the most dangerous thing is to have a famous person /trainer post a video of advance training video. Most of the dog owners are really clueless about dogs physics and what is normal movement and so on. This leads to over training and doing things that the puppy might not be ready for.  New dog owners don’t have the skills and knowledge to keep training session short and do things that are easy enough for the dog. Fancy videos don't always show the work and the little steps behind needed to be done to get this point. Amateurs can take it easily as an example and just do seen exercise without seeing his/her dogs skill level. 

One thing to consider is that do I train agility if I train basic skills with pillows, boxes, rock etc.? Or is agility training if I use agility obstacles as training tools? I think everything that I teach the dog that has end goal use in agility is agility training. For example I teach a puppy to use its rear end so that it has an idea of 2on2off position later on. I built a training plan to each sport and think which are the basic building blocks that the dog needs when it grows up. 

One of the building block is dogs body control and physical on condition. This is the whole base to every sport. This is something I value the most and this part of training must be done the whole life of the dog. One part of this work is physiotherapy. My dog go for treatment every month. For Pixie this very import so that she is able to give her best and also to keep her body function perfectly despite of her attack injury. Freya started to see physiotherapist from the age of 10 weeks. This has shown how she has grown and what are problem parts in her body. For me Freya has been an athlete from the day 1. My goal has been to give a change for her build a body that is strong as possible and give her body stimulation that helps keep it in a balanced stage. Agility dogs are the super athletes in dog so why not start the building from the day one. 

So should you train with you puppy? Yes, but you should always take one day at a time. Learn how your dog moves, learns and develops. Also take your time to know puppy so that you can really learn see how she develops mentally. This affects how training plan must be built. Take time to get information what is proper exercise  for your puppy at given age (I consider dogs as puppies for their first year of life) and also see your puppy as individual. Some puppies grow fast and some can take years to become ready for certain sports. Use physiotherapist help if you are unsure and from the professional you can get good help how to built up strong body for your puppy. Puppies can get hurt while running in woods or playing with other dogs so physiotherapy checks help you to keep puppy in balance even though something happens. 

This is somethings I have thought about training and young dogs. This is learning curve that never ends and every time I get a new puppy I need to forget the old things and see the new dog as own individual. Pixie was ready to go super runner. Freya needed learn to run after she got long legs and needed some help to become balanced dog. Next dog might be somewhere in between. Something that I have learned from Pixie and Freya listen, watch, learn, wait, seek of information, enjoy and in the end YOU are responsible of your dog. No one else. You make decisions. Remember your dog will do anything for you. Are you taking best care you can of your dog?

MLPF 

See-saw training

I have needed to valuate my training with seesaw before I started to train it with Freya. Pixie does to see-saw ok but she doesn't all to way down. She comes to a contact zone but not the all the way down which makes it little slower than it could be. So here is the way I have started to built Freya's seesaw performance.

1. Bouncing is super cool

At this stage I just but a jump wing under the end that goes down so that the other end stays a little bit of the ground. I use shaping to make a dog to go and hit the contact zone. Just to make is comfortable with the movement and sound.

2. 2on2off position

First I do this with the end of seesaw down. Just shape the 2on2off positions in a new situation. I have done 2on2off position in different object like box and stairs at home so that the dog has already idea what's going on. After the dog has the idea of 2on2off on handled, I change the game by combining the bouncing game. Again I put a jump wing to the other end to make the end of seesaw of the ground. Now the dog has to jump on seesaw to make it to 2on2off position.

3. Go to the end

At this stage I start make the dog run to the end of the seesaw while I hold it up. I reward as soon as the dog reaches the end of seesaw. I lift off the dog from the seesaw for the few first training so that reward come only from running to the end. I do this until the dog is very confident of going all the way till the end.

4. Starting to put it all together

Soon as the dog goes confidently to the end I start lower to seesaw to the ground and wait for the 2on2off position. I still reward the dog of going all the way till end of the board. Gradually I slow the seesaw less and less until it comes down by its own with the dog. At this point I usually start my training with going trough the previous steps just to make sure the dog is tuned to right idea. This helps that the you get forward in every training.

5. Seesaw in distractions and part off course

This is the work I do trough out the dogs life. I start making different distractions like running, turning, putting seesaw after different obstacles etc. This is some thing that has no limits in variation in set ups. Just lots on continuing work.

With this program Freya has pretty confident and fast seesaw. Actually she has made her own sliding style. 2on2off position still need a little patient but we are getting there. Freya is now in stage 4. Hope to move on the stage 5 soon.

That's for now.....

MLPF