Distance Down

On Wednesday for our agility class, Meg was quite ornery. I think it was partly my fault because I lost track of time and had to rush us out the door so we weren't too late getting to class. Once we arrived, Meg immediately decided that the German Shepherd that was there from a previous class was out to get her (though he was ignoring her) and she barked, growled and lunged at him several times. *sigh*

Meg was all alone in class today, so we started her on the teeter, since that is where she needs the most work. On her second time getting on the teeter, she growled a little and showed her teeth at the trainer to show just how much she dislikes the teeter. After a couple more tries on the teeter, we moved to the A-frame. She tried going around it all together the first couple times (last week I couldn't keep her off of it). Same with dog walk. Then we moved to the tunnel. She likes the tunnel and started to settle down a bit after that, so we started stringing obstacles together. Curved tunnel to table, jump to tire, two jumps (angled) then tire. She liked that, but I need some work here. I have to remember to say "yes" every time she does something right. If I don't she keeps trying different things to figure out what it is I want, even though she's already done it.

Meg was in a great mood for Prep School today. When we arrived, Dharma and one of the labs were playing in the yard. Lise (trainer) suggested I try Meg out in the yard with the lab (after Dharma had worked with her a bit). We went out and Meg did very well. She even tried to get the lab to play chase, but then decided that was a bit more than she could handle and told the lab to stop (with a high pitched bark). This lab doesn't have much self control so we stepped in to help Meg out, and then all was well. Then the terrified little chiweenie Skippy arrived. Meg went up to sniff him, he was ok at first, then growled so Meg backed off (good girl!). She was ok with the German Shepherd puppies too!

During class, Meg started to play with Dharma. They get along great and it was fun to watch them swat at each other and play bow. Then Meg also went to the end of her leash to meet Skippy again. Skippy was feeling a bit more brave and let her sniff him and even came up to her to sniff her.

Last Saturday in our Prep School class, we started working on a distance down. Once again this week, due to work and the shorter days of winter, we weren't able to spend much time training. Today in class, we continued to work on a distance down, but Meg doesn't quite have it. If she is stationary, it doesn't matter where I am or how far away I am, she'll go into a down. But if she's moving, she wants to come all the way to me before going into a down. Telling her to stay before telling her 'down' doesn't seem to work either.

We'll keep trying. Hopefully we'll be able to train more this week and make some progress.

A Breakhrough (of sorts)

Wednesdays agility class was pretty uneventful. We just practiced on the equipment again. Meg loves the A-Frame, Dogwalk, and Tunnel. Jumps are a bit confusing, but we're getting there. The Teeter is out to get her! (she doesn't like the 'bang')

A few hours after class though, we had a bit of a breakthrough on Meg's dog-reactive issue. We went for a walk and as usual Meg flipped out and started getting all tense and barking the second we heard then saw another dog. Only this time I had the clicker. I did nothing and just waited. When she stopped barking for a couple seconds, I clicked the quiet. It was awesome...as soon as she heard the click she immediately relaxed and turned to me for her treat that she knew was coming.

When she started barking again, I waited and clicked the quiet. She again relaxed and looked to me for a treat. I got in four clicks for quiet and didn't hear another bark on the whole walk (though she was still tense and searching for dogs at times).

Never have I seen Meg completely relax so quickly after she goes into her reactive state of mind. Even if I have her sit and look at me, she's still tense. The clicker is our new friend that will continue to go on walks with us.

Prep School, Class 2: Dog Interactions

We had a great day at class yesterday. We were the first to arrive, so we took Dharma and Meg out to the yard together. Thy got along great. Then a young yellow lab pup (5 mos old ) arrived and joined us. Meg had not met this pup yet. The pup was bouncing all over and getting in Meg's face. Meg showed her teeth and snapped at the air to warn the pup off. Pup wasn't listening. So Meg gave a bark (high pitched, half yelp). Pup still didn't listen. Lisa (trainer) stepped in to deal with the overly exuberant lab pup that was being disrespectful. Meg wasn't happy, but she proved that she is not the slightest bit aggressive even in situations where she has cause to be.

The other hyper lab and two German Shep pups arrived then. The bouncing labs went inside while the more mellow dogs stayed outside. Meg did well with the German Shepherd pups who were much calmer.

After everyone had a chance to meet, then settle down, we worked on clicker training again. I even got clicker trained by Lisa (rewarded with a dollar!).

Meg needs to work on Stand this week. She does great at the focus exercises.

Watching Meg interact with the other dogs was fantastic. I learned a lot about her this week!

Why go over when you can go under?

Meg and I began our Agility 1 class with Penney Morse today. Unfortunately, there's only one other dog in her class so it won't do too much for getting her used to working around lots of other dogs, but we still had fun.

First, Meg got to try out the tunnel. She thought it was great and wanted to go through again and again. Then she gave the A-frame a try...that one was a bit scary the first time, but with a little help, she got the idea and went over 2 more times, getting faster and more confident each time. Then we worked on the wobble board a bit, followed by the dog walk. The dog walk was scarier than the A-frame and Meg tried to jump off onto my shoulder on her second time over, but by the fourth time she was trying to run it like a pro!

Then we gave the pause table a shot...that was easy! And we listened to the teeter bang against the ground...Meg found that a bit scary, but tolerable.

And last came the jumps. Meg loves to jump and leap around at home, but these agility jumps were not impressive to her. Why go over them when you can go around? Or better yet, just go under? Or best off all, knock the bar off with your head and just walk right through?

With Penney's help, Meg finally started to get the idea after many tries with the jumps so we called it quits while we were a tad ahead. We'll have to work on it at home.

All that new stuff wore Meg out. After just 35 minutes of class, we came home and she curled up on my lap and was out! I don't think I've ever seen her snooze so soundly. It only lasted about 20 minutes, but I'm glad to have finally wore her out for a change.

Prep School

Yesterday was our first Prep School class with Lisa Lucas. We were the first to arrive which gave Meg a chance to settle in and to meet Dharma, Lisa's dog. Dharma is very calm and polite. Meg got to meet her off leash and did great. Meg was very unsure of the second dog to arrive, a bouncing, hyper lab.

We learned quite a bit in the first class. We started clicker training 'focus'. We also worked on 'Causing'...getting the dog to understand that their behavior is what causes the click then reward. We first asked them to lay down with a cue/hand signal, clicking and rewarding when the elbows hit the floor. Then we removed the hand signal and just waited for the dog to figure out what we wanted on her own, clicking and rewarding when they did it. It was great watching their minds work. Meg was the demo dog for this one and caught on very quickly.

At the end of class, Meg got to meet a German Shepherd puppy (off leash) and she did great. She also sniffed the lab, but when the lab started to get hyped up again Meg started to get nervous.

Lisa brought up a few interesting points about Meg and her reaction towards and interaction with other dogs:

1. She's a bit insecure. She gets very tense when the other dog tries to meet face to face. She's much more comfortable with sniffing the rear (the end without teeth).

2. She's a bit of a control freak. When other dogs are a bit wild and all over the place (like the lab mix in class), Meg feels the need to control the situation (typical of Border Collies I'm told).

3. She feels trapped by the leash. When she freaks out at other dogs on our walk, she is most likely trying to tell them to go away because she feels insecure and can't run away.

We'll continue to work on getting Meg comfortable on leash and trusting that I can handle the situation; she doesn't need to.

Looking forward to next weeks class! (And agility on Wednesday!)

Exciting Week - Pictures!

Meg had a great weekend. On Saturday she got to go to the tire shop (to fix a flat), to the bakery, and to the hardware store. She loved it and was well behaved.

On Sunday, we went to Valleyfest for Responsible Dog Ownership Day, where we watched the disc dog competition.

When we first arrived, Meg was a bit touchy and barked at a few dogs, but she soon settled in (hiding under a picnic table for a while) and focused her attention on the flying discs. Boy oh boy, did she really want to catch one! Perhaps next year.

We also visited the many booths for local shelters and dog-related business. Meg brought home bag full of free goodies including a new toy, a Petfinder bandana, and lots of treats to share with Bear. There was a ton of dogs everywhere and Meg did quite well at ignoring most of them. A few she focused in on and gave the Border Collie stare...we'll continue to work on that.


After Valleyfest, we went to lunch and then for a hike along