Obedience Champion Tronic Pandora

It took only three trials in the highest level Ob and Pixie got three 1st prize results. The champion tittle came together pretty fast. It took only three weekends. Pixie worked really nicely in all the competitions. In the last one we made our best series of points but we failed in scent discrimination. We had to the scent discrimination only a few meters from mark that was used in controlled retrieve. Pixie went a mark objects and was really confused and didn't do the smelling part at all. So we got something new to train. The big question now is that shall we continue our obedience carrier and enter to National Team tryout or just get new hobby???

In agility we had really bad competition. First run went to just running :D. I did some bad handling choices and Pixie just flied. On the second course we did clean run but Pixie was just slow. I don't now was it the surfaces of the arena or something else. Last run was just awful from both of us... So in agility we have to do some serious work. It just gets really frustrating to train and give time and thought still we are doing bad in the competitions. I have just wondered to I think too much or too less? I have done agility for ten years and still I suck at it. I have only one option.. To keep on working. It must work one day.. I hope...

Here's the one run from last weekend:





That's for now!

Marianne, Pixie and Louise

What a feeling!!

Pixie

She got her second OB4 1st prize!!! One more to go before the champion title. Pixie did nice work at the trial. Laying down was our really low point. Pixie simply just hates it. She was yet again really really relaxed when I came out of the hiding place. We have still more than one issue to work on but I really like her overall work attitude on trials. Here is the video of trial:



I have been working a lot of Pixie attitude in OB. We have done a lot fun and high speed work. Healing between agility obstacles and trees so that she can go around tree or do tunnel etc. in agility. She really likes this game and it has given nice high drive to healing. I have also done some speed work to sit-down-standing  during healing. Pixie has sometimes hard time to stay focused after long healing to react rightly to the commands. So now have made her do sit-down-stand during a long healing and do them also from running and slow walk. She has improved a lot but I have still some work on this area.

Yesterday we had Jaakkos agility training. It has been a long time since our last training session. We went trough things that we have been improving and things I have still work on. After I moved to Turku I have started to my problems and I have been working on each problem at a time. I have never been natural talent in agility. I have always have think a lot and take time to make changes in handling and in my mind. My spring goal has been to learn to keep contact with the dog all the time. I have a bad habit of leaving my dogs running behind me and I'm looking around the course. Louise is slow enough not to react to it but Pixie will take any obstacle on the way that I'm looking. The contact with the dog has improved a lot since spring and I have started keep my hand a bit better in control.

A new goal from yesterday is my feet. I really haven't payed any attention my foot work and what is big part of body that dogs look at??? Do you also see the problem?? :D So hands of from handling and we can start working on my problem. I can tell you Pixie did some really nice work after I started to use my feet right and foot work started to have purpose. Sounds easy but I had to really work on it. I can run pretty fast but my running has been with no real goal. Pixie reacts really nicely to rhythm changes. Inside I have know this but I just haven't been able to make in to our work.

Those things above are just a tiny pit of work we did yesterday. Jaakko has really changed our way of working and my way of thinking. I can just say big big thank you to Jaakko!!!! We are on our way to become real team and showing what we are made of!!!

Aqua

I have been working with Aqua in a line. I started use clicker to teach him to go out when we do a line work and I clicked also when he changed pace correctly and fast. I also clicked when he moved relaxed and head nicely forward and down. I have never had so good connection with a horse. He had one ear towards me all the time and he really tried to listen. He worked hard even if worked on his worse right lead canter. More I have done clicker training with Aqua more windows have really opened. I also did some stop work. First I stopped while we walked and clicked if stopped too. Soon I gave the stop cue to the reaction and only few tries I could keep on walking and Aqua would stop to stand still. All this was work on a one session. He is so smart boy!!!!!!

That's for now!!

Marianne, Pixie and Louise 

Training ob and Aqua

We had really nice weekend. Pixie did well in ob trial and we had really nice agility training on sunday. In agility Pixie trained A-frame and dog walk in a course exercise. Louise did some course training and slalom.

In ob I made some attitude training using agility obstacles as reward for Pixie. Louise did some distance control and recall. We got really nice work from both dogs.

Today I trained distance control with Pixie. She has problem going forward when she does down-up-sit. She has too much weight in the front after rising up. I clicker trained her to shift weight on the rear end and I used backside reward to get the magnet even more to behind and off from me. She also did some mark of the controlled retrieve. Pixie wants too much to go and retrieve. I made her turn to me run back after going around the mark. It took few times but she started to do it really nicely.

Louise did some nice retrieves and square. She has done so well. I have been working with her to make work better and make her do some tricks even harder. My perfect perro.

Aqua has learned to give space and back on command. He has also started to learn to come on command and next we will start doing work on getting round work under commands and make him stop and stand in one place. Aqua has really quick learner and has been easy to work with. Horse isn't really that different to train. Clicker training is just fantastic way to open doors between animals and humans.

That's for now

Marianne, Louise and Pixie

Pixie 1st prize OB4

Finally I entered Pixie to a obedience trial. Today she did her first OB4 level trial and right away 1st prize. She did ok and got 279,5/ 320 p. Overall view was good but we have few issues to work on.

On my part I got again comment of my way walking and I lost some points. I really need to get it to video and train my walking style to make it better. I started to run so hard that Pixie took space after every running start so I really did something wrong to make her take room between us. I also felt that I could have been better helping Pixie to be more prepared to each part.

Pixie had some trouble reacting to a really low mark before sending to a square. We had never trained it before so had time to make few times. Pixie noticed a large rock better than the low marking object. I just wonder was it really right to use so hard to notice mark?

Pixie work the whole time in a little lower drive than she does in practice. We need some work and exprience in competition to make her better.

Just this quick note from the competition.

Marianne, Pixie and Louise

And then came Aqua the horse

It has been very exciting to get a horse that I can clicker train. Agua is four years old gelding. So his pretty young. I have now made three session with him. Here are things we have done so far:

Lesson 1

•  we did some click and treat work just to make understand
• he was really pushy at the start so we had next topic ready
• you could see his ears go around at the moment he understand the meaning of clicker

Lesson 2

• First we did some target work with a target stick
• my goal was to his focus off me and get it to a target
• this went really well and soon he followed and touch the target very nicely
• we also did some backing up work with the target stick

Lesson 3

• first task was just to shape him to keep distance
• first clicks he got from changing his weight to the back ( idea of backing up)
• next I wanted him keep his body half meter away from me or more
• soon after he got the idea we did little bit work with the target
• other issue was also his treat picking behavior which is way too dangerous to fingers
• offered him some treats and hold little bit from his halter to make him wait
• I clicked every time he took the treat nicely 

And my dogs... So much things has happened. Our major work has been now ob. Which both dogs work on OB4. Pixie has been entered to trials to hunt her OB champion title. Pixie has most of problems in sitting. She really get bored when she has stay in one place. So I have started give her food after sitting in place. We have been getting better results. It has really weird to have train stays. My other dogs just have done them. Well I have say, Pixie has learned everything else with little effort.

Louise has been shining so much OB training. She just work so nicely and the attitude is priceless. There is nothing better than dog going wild when you are working. In agility Louise has been competed with Maria as teaching master. They made clear round in their first competition and got third place. What can I say Louise in a one of kind Spanish water dog!!! <3 <3

Pixie has done some jumping technique work to make balance better on jumps and make body work better. She has been doing really nicely. It was surprise to see how much she had trouble at first time on a simple grid. Now she has done variable exercises to improve skills. We have done some serpentine jumping. She has had some unbalanced jumps at the competition so we have been working on with them too.

Quick note of our doings...

Marianne, Louise and Pixie

A-frame work has a breaktrough

I have been working on a running A-frame for Pixie. She has learned A-frame by clicker training and 2on2off technique. I started this project last autumn. Our first goal was to brake A-frame stops. This was easy on blank and piece of dogwalk and running dogwalk was ready in no time. On A-frame she just didn't know what to do: jump or come slowly to 2on2off.

I tried different helps to brake the running in A-frame. My first try was with the "box". It is square shaped frame made of pipes. Soon she run with it nicely. But when I took it away, everything just fell apart. Pixie came really uncertain what to do. After that I tried speed bumps. It stopped her from slowing down and getting more better at running over the A-frame but again she didn't get the idea after I took the bumps off.

So we were at the beginning. I finally what's the Running Contact video of Silvia Trkman. It showed so easy and Pixie had done nice job with the dogwalk. I founded two key factors that I had been missing: Jackpot and hitting contact with hind legs. So we started to use double reward. Pixie would get tennis ball from running over the A-frame and would get Jackpot reward if she did it without jumping the contact zone and gradually she got the jackpot only when she hit the contact zone with her hind legs and low enough. Soon we both the idea!!!!!

Now we are working on turns to right and left and changing tennis ball reward to another obstacle. This journey has really hard but I have learned so much. I actually learned more from this because I didn't watch Silvias DVD. Although it took us way way longer to reach the goal!!

Marianne, Pixie and Louise

Nose touch and making passing more calm

I have read now tons of articles about clicker training. The story of Emma Parson (author of Click to Calm) and Ben really stood out. She told about her aggressive dog Ben that lunged and showed aggression to other dogs. Emma's methods of curing Ben where just exciting. It was very interesting to read how clicker training worked to calm the dog even though it didn't even eat the treats in the beginning. Clicker has just a strong influence to the brain and how it handles to feedback. (Story of Ben and Emma).

We have few very lunging and aggressive dogs on our walking routes. Pixie gets really hyper and her mind goes anxiety state of mind from uncertainty. Louise react by protecting by barking and this behavior got stronger after Pixie got attack by another dog. So started to use clicker and nose touch to keep my own dogs calm. First time we passed a one of the aggressive dogs just said "touch" to Pixie and she started to poke her nose to palm. Pixie was calm and worked nicely with me. Louise was calm because Pixie has always been the provoker with her anxiety. Just making Pixie comfortable to the situation of passing aggressive dog made to whole team work better.

Now we have done this for several times and it's getting better and better. I hope this help us all the situations that might escalate to anxiety from Pixie and protective actions from Louise. These exercises on the walks have made both dogs much calmer and they have make me calmer too. It has been win-win situation to all of us and our team has become even better than it was before. 

I have to go back to reading... Can't wait to learn more!!! We have also made some changes in agility and Ob training.. But more later on!!

Yours Marianne, Louise and Pixie