me & my dogs our lives and adventures together!! Follow @Phoenix_Me
Back into it
Sorry, it’s been so long since my last post. I seem to have a bad habit of going of long periods of time between training dates.
Last I posted I needed to start working on heeling off lead for Phoenix’s rally advanced title plus his CD for regular obedience. So far because I haven’t been much the results are slow, butI have a few ideas on getting his heeling back on track. He tends to forg into me with his bum away from me , I’ve gotten a few suggestions on how to get him into correct heeling position training more often will probably get better results so I’m going to try that. We shall see later on how that does.
On a new note a few days ago I bought some ducklings . Their still pretty small, but they are growing so soon enough I’ll have pictures and videos of Phoenix herding training!! . Until my next post ( which hopefully won’t be so far out in the future) happy training everyone!!😃
Hey everyone I know it’s been a while since my last post!
Since the show back in May I haven’t really trained Phoenix much and I lost Desi , but I did train Phoenix just recently.
My next level in Rally is Advanced and so I need to get Phoenix heeling REALLY well off and on leash , so that is what I have been working on. I also have been working on the recall and ran across something in a book called Ring Ready where you take a binder clip and have your dog target it then work with it till you have it clipped to the front of your pants , I’ve been working with that to fix Phoenix’s recall so that he is coming in straight.
I also started working on the drop on recall , retrieve on flat, retrieve over high jump , and the broad jump. Phoenix has been doing great with all of them.
I also got a really great Photo of all our boys in the snow while we had it for a few days .
Rally Novice B @ Spokane Dog Show May 25, 2012
That day I was very nervous , but Phoenix came through and was my best boy and we came through with a score of 95 and 3rd placement despite how large the class was. Phoenix and I were the third team with the score of 95 but Phoenix and my time was faster than the others so we received 3rd place . Here is our course map below.
and here is one of the many pictures that a good friend of mine bought for me of Phoenix from Vavra Photography .
I had a great time and I think Phoenix did too. Now we get to start work on Advanced Rally , then it might be possible for us to work on our CD !Have fun training.
Getting Ready for a show +The Rest
Last Wednesday besides the agility class I put up my make shift 2x2 set up and started practicing that . Surprisingly I did well at doing a front cross a few times in a small course the agility intructor put up at class. Other then that we did contacts and a jump chute.
At home I’ve been working on Rally since I entered myself and Phoenix in Rally at the Spokane dog show to get the last leg of his very first title . I printed out some new rally signs , since new 2012 signs have been asigned to the novice group that Phoenix and I are in.
As far as agility goes I spend time working on 2x2’s on both ends , witch Phoenix is progressing in. Then for jumps I am working on Wraps , although since reading Linda Mecklenburg’s book “Developing Jumping Skills” I think I should work on some of the techniques from the book. I also have been working on 2on2off on the stairs at the other side of the house, with a target .
Phoenix is doing really well at everything , but I think I’m going to need to use the toy more after the exercises are over so as not oto take away the drive and enthusiasm Phoenix has for agility. Using the toy as his reward for doing the exercises has had to be taken down a notch since his brain doesn’t won’t register how to do the exercises the way he is suppost to do , so now I am using food primarily . Plus I’m needing to work on his focus for when we are around a crowd of dogs working together , especially for the ones who are using a toy as a reward.Me thinks it would also be good to read leslie McDevitt’s book “Control Unleashed”. Anyway have fun training your dogs ! And stand by for some training video’s.
What’s up lately?
I know I haven’t posted in a while , and I’m sorry about that . Since the last time I posted I have been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism along with moving from my home into the Spokane, WA area.
In April I started an agility 1 class at the Spokane Dog Training Club , that has been great fun . Phoenix enjoys all the jumping , he’s doing awesome on the contacts but needs work on his 2on2off at the end of the contacts. As of last weeks class contacts are being done without the tables beside them and Phoenix did , plus surprisingly enough he dod the teeter totter with absolutely no hesitation! I ended up purchasing the stuff I needed to make 2x2’s for practicing at home.
Besides the 2x2 stuff a home I have been having Phoenix go over jumps for practicing wraps , as well as helping me with my directional skills. Also now that the AKC has added new signs for the novice class I need to practice those so that I will be ready for May 25th witch is when I plan on earning the last leg of Phoenix’s RN title. On my next post I do plan on posting a pdf file so you all can have the new 2012. Until then happy training everybody! ;-)
I haven’t posted in a while , so now I will update you. Since my last post I have moved from Walla Walla to a small town out of Spoka ne . Phoenix’s training has been rather spotty , but now I am trying to train him more often between snow storms and rain. Recently I have started perfecting his heel work and all other regular obedience excercises, along with some trick training I tout him to “wipe your nose” just last week. Next I will be going back to training in rally , that is after I get him heeling better and straighten things out a bit in other areas.
Happy training
Sorry I havn’t been on for a while but I have been battling some hot weather here in the north west. Anyway I was able to train Phoenix today in the the Rally Novice exercises. Phoenix did really well in the exercises especially since I used string cheese , in fact that issue with coming in on the recall was better with string cheese than it was last time I trained him. Phoenix also did better at “heads up heel work. We are currently working on our last leg in Rally Novice. See you at the shows !! Hopefully soon I will be able to tell you how Phoenix is doing at Nancy Gyes’s “Alphabet drills” great book and nice program for Agility
Summer training
As you all already know I posted before that agility practice is now over as of June. Since then I have been doing some trick training and trying to deal with the heat. I would love to do more training outside were I can really practice some Rally.
I plan on getting Phoenix’s last leg at the Kennewick dog show coming up in either September or October. Or possibly other shows. It is supost to be cooler here than it has been , so I might get a better chance to work on his Rally. Then I might actually be able to get I great score like last time , plus I would at least like to try and get a leg in Advanced Rally as well.
I also need to work more on heads up heal work, and attention . Then more on Novice obedience exercises, like the recall and finishes. After that I should then put some attention on the Open Obedience exercises , like the retrieve on flat, the retrieve over the high jump and the broad jump. I have already started teaching the retrieve on flat and the drop on recall, which he is doing great on both but he hasn’t started on the retrieve over the high jump yet . if anyone has any impute on how to proceed in training with the exercise please by all means tell me! I have a pretty good idea for the broad jump as I remember how I started my last dog on that jump, and i think I’ll be able to use the same procedure with Phoenix , that being said if that doesn’t work I will ask you my readers and friends.
Agility over
We are done with agility classes now for the summer, have been for about two weeks.Now I need to work on Y some more to get ready for Tri Cities dog show.
I am still going to work on polishing Phoenix’s agility, however he needs to work more on novice and advanced rally stuff to be ready.
Hopefully (God willing) he will get the last leg to his Novice title and first leg on his Advanced title at the Tri Citis show in September!
This is for the last Agility class of the summer. I was glad that we were able to have one last class. Now it is just what we have learned that we can practice and hopefully move on to do more.
In the beggining of practice we started by just doing the tire jump, then we “back tracked” by adding two jumps and the table, which Phoenix did well
Then we moved on to do one jump, and “back tracked” to do two and three jumps. Then the table and tunnel and the tire jump all in one sequence, as usual Phoenix was awsome while I was just trying to keep up , but at least i didn’t trip and fall over!
Next came the “Crem’e De resistance”, we had our first try at a front cross and that was amazing, I think I did pretty well except for when I fumbled up my feet. It was a sequence of : table , tunnel, jump, front cross, jump. It was a fun experience. I will keep trying more as the summer goes on . But I will miss having someone who knows what they are doing to help me along and lead me in the right direction for the time being.
Besides Agility I also tried to finish up a trick I have been practicing with Phoenix were he covers his eyes , but I can’t seem to get him to do it without the prop that I needed to get his foot into the right postiion.
