Weaves 2x2 - outdoors

Today I took my 2x2 weave pole training outside with Ru. Since I'm moving from my confined & sterile living room to the spacious outdoor pasture, I wisely chose to start my weave work from the beginning.

Ru tends to get VERY excited when we go out to the pasture because that's our "play land". The agility equipment is out there, we throw balls/Frisbee's/bumpers and whatever other toy we have and encourage our dogs to stretch their legs and have fun.

Ru and I started tugging on our toy and when she just about ripped my arm off, I knew she was hyped (and I've never felt that much power from her before!). For the first 3 attempts, Ru passed by the weave entry with her eyes glazed over by enchantment for the rustling leaves, the coastal breeze and anything else that caught her attention. I have to laugh, I've never really seen her that hyped before!

The fourth time was a charm, she made the "entry" (going through the gate perpendicular) and off she went with her toy. It took a few minutes for her to burn a bit more energy off and bring the toy back. The next attempt, it was clear to me that she IS pausing at the entrance of the weaves (this is when I start to toss the toy). To get her to move her entire body through, I began tossing the toy only when her back legs were beyond the base. We did a few more reps (working both sides) and that seemed to do the trick.

Tomorrow we'll go back to the same place and do it again. My ultimate goal is to have Ru taking the "entry" from any side, any angle, driving through them and with any distractions.

I should probably note that Ru's training would more than likely move along much faster if I trained several times a day for about 3 minutes. I have to be honest, I'm not interested in moving it along that fast with her and prefer to work my 3 minute sessions on other base work. Burton, our other dog who is about 6 months older than Ru is a perfect candidate for the extended weave training.

Weave 2x2 - Chapter 2 on DVD

So my goals for today's mini weave pole session was

1. to have faith in the toy that I throw, so I've changed over to a braided material that is light (i.e. can't break vases or a window), is long enough for Ru and I to tug on and I can confidently throw
2. To observe how willing Ru is to go to and interact with the poles
3. To observe the number of repetitions and count how many are successful/not
4. Start with Perpendicular poles and move to the poles in the 8 & 2 o'clock position, keeping the success
   
5. As always, have fun!
6. Keep it short, to 1-2 minutes tops

I'm still in my living room and using 2 poles. I'm starting with the 2 poles perpendicular to me and we work only in 1 direction.

Just as I was pulling out the poles, I stepped away to move an unrelated object in the room and saw Ru dart between the poles. Yeah! That tells me she's recognizing them and knows the first action. We did the poles 3 more times (with me moving so the dog is on my right and on my left sides at different times). Ru was successful each time and without hesitation. I played with her after each rep as a reward and to get her nice and excited for the task at hand.

I then moved the poles to the 8 & 2 position. Ru easily continued the game and we did 5 more reps - all with success & play between reps.

In keeping with my goal of a short training session, we stopped there and continued our play. Ru is quite happy with the toy and gets very excited to be working.

Now that I'm confident with our living room training, tomorrow I'll move our session outdoors. Since I'll be in a new environment, I'll start our training from scratch (straight poles) and add a bit of distance. I want Ru to really drive to the poles - getting the correct "entry" of course!

Weave Training - Kind of....

Well, I had planned to do some weave training with Ru this evening, but after feeling not so well today, watching a puppy, teaching a few classes - I'll admit, the thought of coming home and just cuddling up with the dogs won out over training.

I have however, dug up a soft tug toy that I'm comfortable throwing (i.e. won't break a window if I'm indoors) and yet I can still tug with my girl.

I also started my beginner dogs on the basic "going through the gate" on weave work and I have to admit, I'm jealous. Dan and Burton did GREAT and Burton is far more driven than Ru is...I'll need to figure out - is it me not quite working enough drive with Ru, or is is Burton outdoors just thrilled with going after treats?

Tomorrow I'll do a test on both, indoors, and let you know! Then I'll move the experiment outdoors and...let you know!

In the meantime, sleep well and I'm off to care for my stuffy nose.

Weaves 2x2 Chapter 1 & 2

Tonight was the second mini-lesson for Ru on the 2x2 weaves. I started training in my livingroom and of course it snowed last night so there was no moving our training outdoors. To top it off, I'm sick with a cold so we'll only have 1 mini session today.

I started with the 2 weave poles perpendicular to us so the "gate" was the simple "go through the poles". After a very brief moment, Ru went between them and I tossed the toy and played with her. After doing that a few times, I moved the 2 poles to the 8 & 2 o'clock position. Ru got it right away, but it began to deteriorate after that first success.

Part of the issue is that she appears to be stopping/pausing (even though I toss the toy and then she continues) at the entry. Part of this may be I'm slow at tossing the toy and I also think that a part of the issue is that all of the things I've been shaping and rewarding has a "stop" at the end (i.e. her 2 on 2 off contact behavior, her stay, her play bow, etc.). Of course I am training in the house and I'll admit a little fearful of tossing a toy toward a window!

I can't wait to get outside so I can encourage her to run more and have the room to stretch and play on a larger scale. In the meantime, I want to be sure I'm not reinforcing a stop/pause prior to going through the poles....

A wonderful thing is that Ru has a ton of drive and really likes to play. Her tail just wags and wags and wags while we're training!

Weaves 2x2 - Chapter 1

Today I started the basics of weave training. I've decided to use Susan Garrett's 2x2 method since I prefer shaping obstacles and I like the concept of working entries immediately. Besides, I've trained with every other method and want to continue developing my Agility Skills.

I've started this method with some of my students and really liked what it did for them, however those that didn't have poles at home were less likely to succeed while those who did work at home progressed very nicely.

Things I like about the video so far (Introduction, Chapter 1 & 2):

• Susan talks about letting dogs figure things out on their own
• Encourages very short (1 minute) training sessions
• Promotes having fun and keeping it a game
• Shows how to do things with an inexperienced dog
• I like that the "line" or "path" the dog is to consistently take is reviewed and
• Susan addresses how the dog should only go in 1 direction at all times
  

Things I wasn't as excited about:

• The main thing that really caught my attention was the poor video quality. When paying almost $70 for a DVD, I was unpleasantly surprised by this. The picture is very grainy at times and I was constantly distracted by the squares on Susan's face (low pixel quality I assume) during "close-ups" while she is talking. Watching a distorted face was very distracting and might also explain the next bullet point.
• There's a lot of talking. I'll admit, I got bored quickly as some of the information was very basic (a good thing to have in a how to video, but things I already knew) - regardless, Susan is sharing a lot of great information that is good to consistently hear.

Overall, no surprises on the video so far and so I began with Ru.

• I first put all of the other dogs away as they have a way of barging in on the play!
  
• I kept my session short (maybe 3 minutes, including lots of play).
• I started w/ 2 poles in my livingroom, treats & a tug toy that Ru loves
• I started out with treats, but quickly went to the tug toy as it was more exciting to her
• Getting her to go between the poles progressed very fast. At first she offered up all kinds of actions (sit, down, play bow, putting her back feet on an object near me, etc.). I simply ignored those actions and when she looked at the poles, I tossed the toy so that she'd have to go through the poles to get the toy.
• After that, she moved in to the poles (to go between them) quickly.
• After I tossed the toy and she brought it back, we'd tug and play.
• A quick session and then we were done for the moment.