Caution: Dogs at Work

Working with the dogs today was AWESOME.

We did our pre-class run in the cold, which definitely demotivates me. Both pups were in high spirits, however, and I had to hold them tightly to keep them at heel. (If they didn't run at heel, they'd just trip me.) So my run doubled as an arm workout.

Maxwell's class started normally. We worked on various obstacles and skills while we rotated through a table-jump-weave sequence. Several things happened, though, that made today special.

1. He went through a curved tunnel for the first time.
   
2. He charged across the full length of the dog walk for the first time.
   
3. He went through the chute for the first time (not fully collapsed).

The tunnel was tough for him. He'd been through a straight one on two occasions, but didn't know what to do when he couldn't see the exit. After a few minutes working at one end, he finally took it. I gave him a jackpot of cheese, and that was it! He would charge through from that end every time. It fell apart when I asked for the other end... until he finally took it, got tons of treats, and he would take it every time thereafter. Talk about single trial learning! Interesting tidbit; while trying to get him into the tunnel the first time, he kept offering behaviors in the hopes of earning the click. When pawing the entrance, jumping onto the tunnel, and popping in and out of the entrance didn't work, he tried a new one... peeing on it!

I think the dog walk was just a confidence thing. He's gained much more self esteem over the past few months, and not just in class. So when he darted up the ramp and actually RAN across the top, I was thrilled. He even hit his contact!

I decided to try the chute more out of boredom than anything. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love classes. But we were rotating into running a course around the perimeter of the room, and the only things in the middle were the dog walk (which I didn't want to fry him on) and the chute. So I put him in a sit/stay at the entrance, held up the end of the chute, and called his name. No hesitation, came into the chute at a decent speed to collect his treats. By the end of a dozen or so reps, I could lift the cloth only enough to see him (about 5 inches) and drop it just before he got to the end. I have never had a dog work so hard for me, as he did today.

Sadie had some of her Labrador goofiness back. She found things to sniff on course, but only messed up her first run. She is still doing fantastic with the distractions, and she hit her contacts. I need to work on communicating speed better, since at her tunnel exit she charged right past the dog walk entrance that she needed to take. She corrected when I called her, but it was an ugly up-ramp. I gave her better information on the second run and it went much smoother.

I need to work on Sadie's table criteria. I want my dogs to auto-down when they get on the table. Sadie used to do this, but has gotten less willing lately. It started in the first trial, when she simply refused to down on the table at all. Not really a problem, since AKC doesn't specify a table behavior, but frustrating nonetheless. Now she will barely do it in class when asked. Next time I rent, we'll definitely have to work it it. Send to table, no treat until she downs, preferably without me asking.

Wish me luck tomorrow... We have an AKC trial in NJ. Sadie will be running STD and JWW. Maxwell is coming to cheer her on. And it will be the first trial for one of my classmates! I'm excited to see her run, and just hope she can relax and enjoy it.

Happy training!