Experiences of a late-comer to the agility competition scene -- our training, trials, life-style changes/challenges, RV adventures, and observations on the sport, the people, and dogs involved in it. Begun July 17, 2010.
Anita and her Loquat Tree, in
Broadmoor Subdivision
Introducing my puppy to diverse new environments led me to visit my dog club friend Sheryl's new house last week. She moved just a couple of miles away. We took Winnie Pooch, Charlie and Sam for a walk in her beautiful forested neighborhood. Only four houses down I spied a Loquat tree in one front yard just loaded with ripe fruit, and began salivating. Loquats are rare in Baton Rouge. The trees are sold as Japanese Plums, an ornamental, and I don't know anybody who eats the fruit, except me. They fruit right around Easter. They don't taste like anything else -- sweet and tart, with a hint of almond.
Sheryl called on her neighbor the next day to see if we might pick some, Anita said sure, she didn't even know they could be eaten, she'd love to help and learn, and show us her dog, so last Sunday morning we showed up with buckets. Anita came out with her laddar to reach high branches while we picked below, we played with her dog, she took our pictures and we took hers, and we quickly became fast friends. Amazing the doors dogs will open!
The seeds are large, 1, 2, or 3
per fruit. The pulp is tart and tangy,
and smells like almonds.
Sheryl and I went back to her spacious new kitchen, blanched the skins off of 2 buckets of fruit, peeled them on her gorgeous covered patio while the dogs socialized, netting us 16 lbs of fruit. I took them home and seeded them while watching TV the next night, netting about 10 lbs of usable pulp. I also got busy rounding up, washing and sterilizing every mason jar I could! Other people might find this tedious work, but I love fooling with food. It keeps my mind contemplating earth's bounty, my hands busy, and my imagination active dreaming how good it will taste when prepared or given as gifts. It's healthier for me being "near food" than just eating it all the time.
L to R: Michele, marking Sheryl
as "my Easter Bunny"
Tuesday morning Sheryl came over to my house, we got busy and in 3 hours made 20 pint jars of jam, three kinds: Loquat/Mint, Loquat Spice, and Loquat/Apple Spice. I designated her as my 2012 Easter Bunny, because she brought me lots of Easter joy! We laughed a lot. Girlfriends are so much fun!
After the Agility Trial next week we're going to take some to Anita and have a tea party in her back yard! She offered us to come back and pick all we want, and I may pick another small batch to experiment with not peeling the fruit. But otherwise I think I got my Loquat Fix for awhile, and enough jam to last a few years. I still have a kitchen to clean up! Baah! That's the only part I don't like!
Our results, in an assortment of jars, mostly
donated by friends or saved.
I don't bother making jams and jellies of things readily available in the store. It's too time consuming. I concentrate on fig compote because my Dad loves it, plus elderberries and muscadine grapes I harvest in the wild, and loquats. They all have a very distinctive taste that you just can't buy, and I experiment with different seasonings like peppermint, basil, nutmeg and various spices. All that's left is to see if it sets, and make the labels.
My 2 working agility dogs were NOT introduced to the see saw in the following manner. They did the low teeter for 6 weeks as our club teaches it, then it was gradually raised over several weeks.
However, still part of the Fat Tuesday experiment (previous post on Tunnel Relays) with training 10 year old Portia to train a puppy, seeing how long I could hold her interest, and seeing what I could get out of 5 lbs. of fearless Papillon from the first attempt, here's a composite video of what we accomplished over a 10 minute session. I would not attempt this with a timid or overly rambunctious dog, but it worked out well for 4 month old Honey Bear (aka Winnie Pooch).
I do insist on a front entry as shown (with guide gates at first), a nose touch at the bottom to lower their center of gravity and get a solid "halt", and I require a release before they get off. A side exit from the bottom is allowed, but only after the halt and release.
As you can see, Honey Bear has no fear of the seesaw and ran right to the end on his first attempt. This is not typical of most dogs I've seen in Intro. He was, of course, running to get his Cheerio. I am convinced that the placement of the treat at board level, creating a nose touch behavior within 2 inches of the end of the board, is why neither of my dogs have the fly off, get off, stop in the middle, refusal problems I see in so many other agility dogs. Even with my experienced dogs, I still bend down and treat at the end of the board at least half the time in practice to keep their performance at its best. Or, if I'm a good distance away, I click when they get to the end, then release them for a treat.
For more tips on see saw training with "around the clock" exercises, follow this link.
Relays are one of my favorite agility training methods, though I've never heard mention of them outside of Flyball. They are very effective, fast moving and lots of fun. The video below will show that clearly.
A few notes first: Training a puppy is one thing. Training a child to train a puppy adds another dimension of difficulty, even with my neighbor's 10 year old daughter, who has a strong affinity for animals and an intense desire to work/play with them. Most kids can't stay focused on anything for long, are somewhat spacially challenged (left/right, distance, coordination), and easily distracted, as are many adults. By any standard, Portia did amazingly well.
This, our first lesson, was on Mardi Gras day, and we were fortunate to have her mother running the camera. I was well pleased with Laura's ability to keep her mouth shut when her daughter acted silly, didn't catch on to something right away, or if I corrected a mistake. That is hard for most mothers to do. Also, very pleased with Portia's and Honey Bear's enthusiasm lasting a full 30 minutes (tunnel relays AND Introduction To The SeeSaw (next post).
Honey Bear (aka Winnie), at 4 months and 3 days old, has meandered thru the straight tunnel in my back yard several times on his own, but has not worked with me or Portia on the below, or ever done relays. I call him to me several times a day, but have never "sent" him to anything. He shows absolutely no fear of either the full-length tunnel or full-height seesaw from the first attempt. As with Maxie, he gives his full attention if there are Cherrios involved.
Portia had no idea I was teaching her too, as I told her she was just "helping me train my dog". And come to think of it, that's much like Beginner Agility students who think their dogs are the ones coming to school, and they're just holding the leash and dispensing treats. HA! Little do they know.
Here's the video:
Introductory See Saw training followed immediately, and I'll report on that in my next post, still part of the Fat Tuesday experiment with encouraging Portia's interest in dogs. Both exceeded my expectations again.
New puppies provide fresh opportunities to play "guessing games", what Susan Garrett calls "It's Yer Choice" games, and push those games to their limit. These last few days, with a 13.5 week old papillon I'm calling Winnie Pooch, aka Honey Bear, I set up my wobble board outdoors, and we've had a blast playing the guessing game and videoing the process (see videos below).
Underneath, a stack of 3 wood pieces
screwed to the board,
slightly off center.
For those who don't know, a wobble board is just a short plank or 2' to 3' square board with 3-5" of something (wood, pvc pipe) affixed under it that makes it wobble whenever the dog hops on. It's used in Agility to desensitize green dogs to a moving surface under their feet, in preparation for the see saw. You can purchase fancy ones, but my homemade wobble board is made out of scrap wood--old, weathered, and beat up--and it's worked just fine for years.
In a nutshell, the GUESSING GAME is when the dog does something you're looking for without you asking for it, you CLICK then TREAT. Dog does it again -- CLICK, TREAT. Repeat 10 to 30 times. Dogs LOVE the challenge of trying to figure out what they did that got them a treat, and puppies seem to catch on more quickly than adult dogs. I wrote earlier about how to play guessing games which I won't repeat here, but it's important to do it right.
WOBBLE BOARD/CLICKER TRAINING: To start, you may have to lure the dog to pay attention to the board, then CLICK, TREAT when they put a tentative paw on the board, eventually 2 paws, then all 4 paws. Papillons, however, don't show the slightest fear and jump right on and dance around. Every few days you can advance the guessing game by CLICK, TREATing only when they do things like:
sit or down on the board
enter from the high end of the board
keep only 2 back feet on the board
jump off the board
etc
It's important that they be trying to figure out what you want rather than you telling them, but be sure and wait until they master the previous exercise. You'll know when things become routine -- their performance becomes blaze' and they act "entitled" to a treat without thinking. The beauty of clicker training, you can increase your distance from the board by several yards and still deliver the "treat" at the moment the desired behavior takes place.
I videoed 3 days in succession of Winnie Pooch running from me to the board. At first he was distracted by everything and making wide haphazard circles around the yard (major distractions), but by Day 3 his performance was phenomenal, running straight to the board again and again from over 40 feet away! Training sessions lasted only so long as the puppy invited me to play. I kept my clicker and jar of treats on the table at all times so the game could commence any time he offered the desired behavior. Here's a composite video over 3 days. I only videoed a few sessions of the many that took place.
Gosh golly, this is so much fun! Honey Bear, you be smokin'!
I didn't video the steps of introducing Winnie (i.e. Honey Bear) to the board and couldn't repeat them since he was already familiar with the board, but there are lots of YouTube videos on the first steps. I haven't seen any on the distance work we've accomplished.
Later I had John video me introducing the game to Maxie. Surprisingly, due to 3 years of me training him NOT to take an obstacle unless I indicate it, he was unwilling to get on the board until I gave a signal, then increasingly unwilling as I moved further away. Well, well, well! I had no idea I had trained the "wait for my signal" skill so well, and I suppose it would NOT BE WISE to "untrain" it. I sure don't want him "guessing" in the competition ring. Here's a video of that session, which is fascinating in its own frustrating way!
It has never been hard for me to name my pets. The name just burbles off the tip of my tongue, and sticks. With Maxie, I picked him up from the breeder and on the way home I just knew he was ACE MAXIMILLION. His father's name was Ace. He was full of maximum attitude, and my heart was so full of love for him, he was worth a $million to me. Ace Maximillion von Fry. Easy.
Lucky was easy too. She was so lucky to have been found on the side of the highway at 5 weeks, adopted by me and John at 8 weeks. She was so long legged, loose-jointed, floppy eared, and malleable, Lucky Loosey just flowed off the tongue. Nothing could hurt her, stop her, or scare her. Sometimes we added Lu-Lu because she was so loopy. She could wiggle out of anything. Loosey became spelled Lucy on the AKC CAR paperwork. Lucky Lucy Lu-Lu von Fry. Easy.
Fooh Fooh was easy too. As our first foster dog, we thought he pooped so much at about 10 weeks of age (4 times a day seemed excessive, so little did we know), we just called him Poo Poo. We weren't planning on keeping him. Fontenot came from a cajun notary joke circulating at the time. Poo Poo Boudreaux goes to a notary to have his name changed. He said "I'm so sick of people making fun of my name, I have to change it." Notary replies, "Yes, I can certainly see why. What do you want to change it to?" The cajun replied, "Poo Poo Fontenot!"
That cracked us up. (Perhaps only funny if you're from the South and/or hear a lot of Boudreaux Jokes.) But then you can't go around the neighborhood calling "Here, PooPoo". Well, FoohFooh rhymes with Poo Poo, and since we found out FoohFooh means "the crazy one" in French, and FoohFooh was/is so crazy, his name devolved into Fooh Fooh Fontenot von Fry. Easy.
"Winnie" at 13 weeks.
Naming this new pooch, though, is proving a tougher job. Winnie The Pooch is a great working title for a few weeks until I get him sold. He's so open-minded, patient and docile. Marshmellow would work as well - he's so soft, sweet, squishy and white. A comfort dog, always yearning to be in my lap, nuzzling my neck. Eyes on me all the time.
But calling him Winnie is beginning to grate. It's a girl's name. I thrashed all night mulling over a more suitable name, then wrestling with the FACT that I don't really need to come up with a better name. I'm not keeping this dog. But I so often call his name, he needs a better nickname.
Then, I ran across this photo on the internet and couldn't help imagining that with Winnie's similar markings, ample snow white coat and long plummage growing 1/4 inch a day, he might one day look very similar to this AKC conformation champion. With his excellent lineage from The Pines Papillons kennel (good genes) and good looks, and being still intact, he would make a superb first sire if I decided to become a breeder. In which case, he would really need a better name. Not that I'm keeping him. Jester would be cute, and accurate. He's very entertaining. Boomerang would describe his nature of retrieving and scampering back to me with whatever I throw out to him. A retrieving Papillon? Tugger? He tugs vigorously and for as long as I keep it up. Digger? He loves to dig. Does a name have to describe a dog's personality traits? I can't seem to settle on anything. How about Honey Bear?
Dearie me, someone better buy this dog AT ONCE. I'm on dangerous ground. With a tough year of training/trialing with 2 dogs I adore who won't be retiring for 8 more years at least, this dog can't be mine. How could I manage 3 competitive dogs, struggling as I do with 2? Do I want an intact male in my household? Followed no doubt by a female? Or two? What does that entail? I don't know. Every pet I've had has been neutered or spayed except for Annabelle Lee, but that was 30 years ago. Will there ever be another dog I like as well, with all the traits I see in Winnie Pooch/Honey Bear? Will I regret letting him go, or am I just a sucker for all puppies? Yes, darnit, I've loved them all so far. Whoever dares buy him will have to prove they will provide the best of circumstances to this awesome little champion of a pooch, and when he leaves there will be a another big hole in my heart.
Meanwhile, I'm busy polishing him up every day, and he's learning very fast.
It's not a very glamorous project to start on the weekend when all my agility friends are at the Kiln trial racking up MACH bars and/or Double Q's, but all last week I was home dealing with the Acorns Galore problem I wrote about earlier. And grappling with a hard truth -- the wall-to-wall acorns in my training yard won't disappear on their own, and my dogs won't run on this "sea of marbles". Because the acorns have quit raining down like hail and most of the leaves have fallen off our trees, I'm thinking NOW is the time to reclaim my training space. Whatever it takes, I HAVE to do it.
What's left AFTER the mower has sucked up
all it could.
I started by running the push mower with vacuum attachment over the training area , (about 80' x 60') very slowly vacuuming up as many leaves and twigs as I could. Then I mowed over the whole area again, even more slowly, picking up more debris and exposing those devilish acorns, which, it turned out, still had no intention of being sucked up by a lawnmower!
Disappointed but undaunted, I called to my husband, "Bring me the shop vac and a 100' extension cord". We have a big one with a 3" diameter hose and mightly sucker attachment, and I felt empowered -- like Napoleon. Then it got too dark to continue.
Next day, shop vac on full blast, I attacked the problem, and in about 15 minutes was only able to tease up the acorns nestled in a 3' x 3' patch of grass. At that rate I calculated it could take me 2 months to cover the whole yard, plus which the vac kept clogging up with twigs and a few times I had to turn it off due to the smell of something burning. All I did was 3 wee patches before I was feeling like Custer towards the end of his last stand. John later reported the vac bag was full. Not the anticipated victory.
The only method left was the dreaded leaf rake/push broom/flat shovel method and after 5 hours of raking, raking, raking the yard into piles (over 3 days) then shoveling them into large wheeled trash cans, we ended up hauling 14 cans of acorns out into the woods.
It was a nasty job, with acorns continuously needing chasing as they popped out thru the tines, making me momentarily question the joys of living in the woods under majestic oak trees. But now that the blisters are healing, my back isn't aching any more, and I've successfully reclaimed a useless yard where I now have a Backyard Dog course set up, with great shade to practice in, back on track again with my training program, and getting ready to compete in Mobile a few weeks from now, I'm feeling victorious. We do what we have to do, and work with what we've got, right? It feels good to know I have some grit left in me.
Not to mention, I'm able to work with the new papillon puppy, now re-named Honey Bear, who yesterday raced Maxie thru the 15' tunnel over and over without the slightest hesitation, has brilliant recalls from 50' already, and is coming along nicely with It's Yer Choice games, clicker training and the wobble board. I'm working on a video of that for my next post. Puppies! What joy. They are amazing!
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