Hog Dog Trial

We had an awesome time today at the Hog Dog USDAA trial in Millersville, MD! It stormed all night so the grass was still very wet this morning. Soda was a trooper and did not mind at all! His first run was our very first time in P2 standard. I was a little concerned, but Soda did just fine. I didn't hold on to him long enough on the dog walk/tunnel discrimination - but that was my fault. He was awesome otherwise. He launched right off the end of the teeter. Whoopies! Of course, Super Soda was not phased. He kept right on hauling fluff butt around the course. Here are some pictures of his standard run our friend Rubina (Parker's mom) took.

Our next run was P1 pairs relay. We had no partner! Not only that, but the only other P1 dog was a 22 inch German Shepherd. It turns out, the odd couple made a great pair. We had to run with big dog time (a few seconds faster than little dog time). We Q'd and both dogs finished their P1 Relay titles! Here's the odd couple (photo by Rubina again):

The day wasn't over yet! The grass dried up and the sun came out. It was 87 degrees out when I went back to the car after the last run (parked in the shade with the dogs in it). Soda does not do heat well (he has some upper respiratory troubles). I wet him down a bit and off we went for P1 Snooker. We don't call him SUPER Soda for nothing. He had a lovely run, Q, and new title. Here's the video:

P1 Snooker run

We had a lovely day. I was very pleased to say there was not anything I was unsure about handling. Soda was fast, even in the heat. Things seem to be falling into place (thanks Audrey). Now to get packing for Nationals! 

Thanks Rubina for hanging out and taking photos. We miss trialing with you already! 

Jackie & Jami's Carbonated Beverage, CGC, CDX, RN, NA, NAJ, PD1, PS1, PJ1, PK1, PR1

Takin' it Slow

Soda is making progress on slowing down. Last go-around he only grabbed once and worked up to all 12 articles! I'm almost ready to take this show on the road. I'll see if I can get some video up soon.

We have an agility trial on Sunday. Soda is running snooker, relay, and standard. Hopefully we will get a little weave time in this week. The weave polls I have are probably 18 inches and a set of 6. Thank you Auntie Audrey for letting us use them! However, Soda weaves very differently with much wider-spaced weaves (22 and 24). It takes him a time or two through to adjust to the difference. Hopefully we will have a Super Soda Sunday, especially out P2 std debut!

Setting Goals...

by Jim Poor Photography

I figured I should start my training blog just as I would start any of my clients' journeys into dog training - with a goal. For most of my clients, it is a behavior problem they want to resolve. In Soda's case, a goal often begins with a title. Our current goal is to finish all of his P1 titles as well as giving a decent performance in rally at AMA Nationals. Our back-burner goal is to work on our utility skills. Those are very broad goals. The objective of this blog is to follow the training it takes to get to these large achievements with our smaller, day-to-day training plan goals. 

Today's adventure was a problem-solving session for Soda's articles. Soda's articles seemingly broke down with the pressure of a "judge" looming over him. We have been working with people and even the "scary coat and hat over the ring gate." I noted a lack of progress with my systematic addition of people pressure. Today I removed the people and set him up with a couple of scenarios to see what I had. 

1. A relatively tight grouping of all articles. Hesitation on the first send, with 2nd command success. 

2. All of the articles in a pile, so he actually has to sift through the pile to find his article. Success.

3. A looser grouping. Hesitation and he hurriedly grabbed any article to get out of there. 

My conclusion was he is worried about working a spread out grouping of articles because his "timer" goes off. His body language was clearly worry. 

I played a scent game in the house and he was not worried about the game. 

Training goal for articles: Teach Soda to take his time and work the whole pile. Include various distractions and looming people. 

I started with 3 metal articles on a variety of spreads. Soda is less likely to grab a metal article than leather. I used verbal encouragement for the first 2 attempts, but cut it out quickly. I kept the distance of the send short. We worked up to 5 metal and 2 leather. 

Plan for next 2-3 session: Repeat the same, starting with no more than 3 articles, adding 1 more article at the end of each session. Re-evaluate at the end. 

Things to Note!

Watching your dog's body language often clues you in on your problems. 

Removing levels of difficulties 1 by 1 can help determine the problem. When I got the same response despite removing what I thought was Soda's problem (people pressure), I knew I had another underlying issue. 

Failure can build strength in your training. Soda is learning that if he fails with his articles, he must continue to work with me. He can trust that I will help him succeed. This skill has been priceless to us in agility. Yes, you can teach your dog how to fail and come back.