ID-tracking

Can there be more fascinating than watch dogs do tracking job? Tail waiving and all the focus on the ground. Just something that our dogs where built to do. Pixie and Louise have both made forest and field tracking. It was very interesting to learn about ID-tracking. Major difference is that dog must follow a specific scent. Scent discrimination is also used for example finding bombs and solving crimes.

So we went to get some basic skills from Saara. Pixie started task by learning how smell from a glass jar. Idea is to give scent example for dog to smell from glass jar and she must find the pair from jar line. First the dog has to learn a mechanical skills of smelling from glass jar and then to work on scent jar line. Basic skills are teach with empty jars just learn environment.

Then we introduced neutral smell (steril cloth piece) to Pixie and she had to mark it from the one jar. Idea was teach her work with jars that had something in them. Next phase was to put neutral scet jar on the line with empty jar, so Pixie had to first time find the pair. First rewards where given to her from the good smell of the right one. From this on I just have make task harder and introduce more scents on the line.

It was just brilliant to see how much Pixie's brain just burned from the work. It was really fun to do. Now I just keep making it harder and use scented samples. So don't worry if collect cloth pieces to glass jar from you... I'm teaching Pixie find especial you if needed :D I hope to make this scent discrimination work during winter so that I can teach to tracking part in the spring. So cool to learn something new!! I think both my dogs will just love this job! :D :D

Marianne, Louise and Pixie

Training idea

I have thought always how to make perfect training session. I just read from new Canis-magazine article about it and I have really similar thought. The major problem is really to keep the plan and make a plan to every training session. This is basic structure I plan my trainings:

• Set goal to training session
• in agility for example handling sequence or obstacle training
• in obedience I set goals to each movement I train
• Also I might train just drive 
• I plan every step of training
• I might even make some trouble shooting before hand to make plan if some training errors occur
• I want to make why reward and what I want to gain by rewarding certain behavior
• I check how our training have been going before and plan the exercises according to that
• I vision my training session in my head and try to get picture how it should look
• after training I make summary of the training session
• how did it go
• what we have to improve
• most importantly I write what things went super good!!

In total I plan before and plan after. Training dairy is my best friend. There I find answer more than often to my questions and remember good training exercises. Sometimes I write thought about training and overall what we have done. I also set some long term goals from time to time. I also might analyse some other training methods and make pros and cons list.

After writing this, it feels like I do a lot. Reality is I do this much as I can but sometimes I just train what ever comes to my mind. I have seen, that planing and taking time to really think what I want from my dogs, makes  big difference. I can save time. Make better training results and also give better training to others. Best way to be better trainer for my dog and other handlers is to understand why we do things to way we do. It's never ending story.. And every must write their own!

Marianne, Louise and Pixie

Obedience competition

On Finland's independence we went to obedience competition in Varkaus. Pixie did super well. She got her first 1st prize result from winnerclass (=OB3) and got permission to compete in OB4. It was just perfect although Pixie didn't work as well as she does in training. I have planned to keep long brake before entering OB4. We need work on drive and accuracy on every aspect. I need to get her work in competition as well as she does in training.

Here's the video of our competition:

Louise competed in OB4 and got 2nd prize. Louise froze again in distance control. We have been doing lots on rewarding in that, but still need to do some work to make it work in competition. But healwork was so good!!! Only mistake was when I started running. I was too fast and it didn't look good. Louise has yet again shown some excellent competition head. She just works so nicely. Sometimes I think I can't ever have Spanish waterdog  as good as she is. My perfect perro <3 <3

Here video of Louise's OB4:



That's for now! I have to go to do some training... Then writing about our training.

Marianne, Louise and Pixie

Agility Season ending

25.11.2012 was our last agility competitions for this year. It went pretty well and got back tough to better runs. Louise was 4th/65. which is pretty good for perro that is only 3 mm from medium class. Pixie did four nice runs, but I did some handling errors. I have some times mix the dogs in handling and it really gets in to trouble. But I'm learning...Louise is very handler focused and Pixie is very obstacle focused. When I realized this difference, it really changed my way of choosing handling maneuvers to each dog. Janita had to tell me it. I had seen the difference in my mind but just couldn't but finger on the real problem. This learning curve is still on going progress.. But here are videos from our last competition for season 2012:

We have lots things to do on agility brake. Need work on faster contacts, handling techniques, my work on course, how to make better handling choices and so on. This is why love this sport. You can't never be ready. Agility is a life long journey of learning and wonderful times!!!

Obedience training and competition

We have training and training obedience. My is to get OB Champion titles to both dogs. Since the last competition we have working with Pixie with eikka problem (changing handler during OB training). She has done pretty well have some disturbance training. She has done recall from different angels so that there are people between Pixie and I. After few time of training she finally started to come to me. With square recall I ran after recall and that worked like charm to get Pixie come to me.

Louise has been on brake for 6 months in obedience. She hasn't done any retrieving trials even though makes ten point retrieves at practice. So started to train Louise few weeks before the trial. Every time I used someone elses retrieve object. Louise worked really well every time so I decided to enter her trial.

Here is the high light from the ob-trial in 10.11.2012:





Some work to do... But both dogs worked really well! So new trial comming up!! Hopefully we will get nice 1st prize results!!!

Direction and obedience

Yet again I find myself training more OB than agility. Oh well, both dogs are going to compete on Saturday  Louise in OB4 and Pixie OB3. It's going to very exiting!

Last Saturday I did do some running dogwalk work with Pixie. She has wonderful in blank work. I need start doing it on raised dog walk again. My goal is to have 2on2off and running dog with word discrimination.   We will see in the future how still will end up.

We also did some cik/cap work. I changes cip command to tik. Cip was just too close to our contact work kii. Yet again Pixie got he repeat mode on and really trouble of getting anything right... She just jumped jumped... I did fine solution to use leas for while in the woods, just to get her concentrate. It took just few right and calm repeats and we had nice turning in correct directions. Still we have lot to do, but she has done nice job going round object with directions commands.

On Saturday we also did some work in OB. Pixie did winner class parts. Recall had new troubles. Pixie didn't want come on first call. I had do it again few times to get her going. She also got up on the first round. In the end we got nice recall with stops and extra person standing near the line. Pixie didn't do eikkas... :D

In square Pixie did some early starts, so I had took her back once. But most importantly she came to me! Not to other person standing on the way. Both retrieves where nice. Metal object is still really nasty thing. I have tried to make her more keen to it by giving speed retrieves with only metal object. Hopefully it will pay back some day!!

On Monday Pixie did the whole winner class. She did it pretty well. Yet again we had some problems in staying recall and square. With one correction she did both of them wonderfully. I did reward her on both times on staying in place. My smart little girl starts to be too smart and thinks she knows best.

That's for all for know.... Louise did some training too... I just don't have the energy to write about it.

Marianne, Pixie and Louise

Rear crosses

We got homework to work on our rear crosses so went did some work. On Thursday I built really simple training to work on handling from behind. Pixie has tendency to run away from my handling when the distance become too long from me. My goal was to keep the exercise as simple as possible to get lot of rewarding changes. It was really easy training with Pixie. Next time we shall do tighter turns and going round the jumps.

 We also did some cik/cap work from Silvia Trkman ideology. We started with going round a tree and  a light post. I used clikker and Pixie love to run. I have used running aroung trees and light post for obedience training so going round was all ready build in. Now I just had to catch the directions. Pixie got it pretty quickly. Sometimes she got repeat going on we had to take brake to make thinking again. On thrusday I also did some cik/cap work with wings. It went pretty well. Still some work to make directions clear to her.

I so love teach some new tools to agility! I hope to have lots of new stuff when spring comes!

Marianne, Pixie and Louise