Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 4:13 pm Post subject: Sherry and Ozzy's Agility Training Diary
Why agility?
We are very lucky in having an excellent agility club near us – Dryburgh Abbey have qualified for Crufts several times both in team and individual competition. They run weekly training classes, a beginner’s introduction class on Mondays, competition standard classes on Wednesdays, and fun classes on Thursdays.
I’ve been going to the fun classes for the past 3 years with Sherry (who’s 6) and have just started the introductory classes with Ozzy (just 8 months). He’s far to young to jump yet – they shouldn’t jump until they’re a year old – but it’s great to get him used to the various bits of equipment and start getting him to go in the right direction as early as possible.
Sherry has taken part in a few competitions – though I’ll never be a serious top flight competitor – and occasionally manages to get round a course without getting eliminated for going the wrong way. She tends to set out like a bat out of hell, and you just hope that she’s going in the right direction! That's why I’m working very hard just now on “waits” with Ozzy! _________________ Liz and the Brats
Ozzy missed the last 2 Mondays so I wasn’t sure if he’d remember anything. We started off just walking on the lead round the edge of the field, starting on the left, then on the right – in agility you have to get the dogs used to working on both sides. Then all the dogs are put in a down – again a way of getting them used to having to wait.
The class is split into absolute beginners and slightly more advanced dogs and handlers. Ozzy is in with the babies. In the first half we have various bits of equipment – jumps (poles at ground level for the young ones), the tunnel, the A frame, and the table. (The table is rarely used in competition these days, but it is a useful way of getting the dog to sit or down and wait.)
Gradually the pieces of equipment are put together into a course – wait at the start, jump, tunnel, jump, table, jump, A frame. He’s doing super waits at the start and on the table, a little hesitation going into the tunnel, but no hesitation about the A frame.
Then we move on to the second set of equipment. Again a short course of jump, dog walk – very pleased with the way he did that as he’d only done it once before, then a right turn over a couple more jumps, then another right turn and jump, long jump, jump.
Then we finished off with a couple of runs through weave poles (at this stage they’re set up in 2 lines about a foot apart and the dog runs through the middle).
Very pleased with the way he did everything – as you’d expect with a lot of young dogs about they didn’t all concentrate 100% of the time, and did the occasional circuit of the field, but he came back very quickly each time. Much better than Sherry was at the start! _________________ Liz and the Brats
oops
Thanks for that link, I copied it onto excel and dumped all but the Scottish ones, will check the distances later. A good few are more than an hour just glacing at the list, so I hope there are a few closer than that.
Wasn't sure if training would be on tonight for Sherry - big black clouds with thunder in the air
We went ahead with small equipment - just jumps, weave, tyre and the seesaw - so if the heavens opened we could get it packed back in the shed quickly.
Sherry was very interested in sniffing around - there were a lot of rabbits in the field when we arrived - but she is paying far more attention to me these days. I think it may be she's a bit jealous of the amount of attention Ozzy gets, and she wants all of me when we're out alone together.
We were focussing on directional work - getting in the right and left turns - and weaves tonight. Trying to take things slow and steady and accurate rather than her usual mad dashing.
SUCCESS - I REALLY THINK SHE'S MASTERED THE WEAVE It's taken 3 years, but she managed to do it relatively smoothly, without jumping up and biting me all the time. (I've still got a beautifully bruised arm from last week )
Anyway we managed an hour's training before the heavens really opened and everyone had to make a dash for cover A good session, even if a short one _________________ Liz and the Brats
Ozzy's beginners class again. This week the new piece of equipment was the tyre. He did it ok - once he stopped running round it. We then did some going ahead straight up the course - tyre, jump, a-frame, jump, jump. No problems. Some dogs don't like to go ahead of their handler - waiting for them to tell them what to do, but that's not a problem with Brits. Think of it, we want them to go ahead of them when hunting, so it's pretty natural to them.
Then we did that course in reverse, with a couple more jumps at the start going across the way, so we had to put in right and left turns, also pull the dog in without going over the jump. Apart from a pretty wide detour on the turn, he did that very well.
The second half was jump, dog walk, tunnel, then a couple of jumps. He tried to launch himself off the dog walk - not a good idea! He also didn't want to go into the tunnel. However a bit of persuasion helped!
We then did it in reverse, with an extra jump and the long jump at the start, and he did it perfectly. Clever boy
As a PS to Monday's session - one of the girls (well she's a couple of years younger than me actually ) took a fall, and we thought she'd just twisted her ankle. Turned out she'd broken it - agility can be dangerous _________________ Liz and the Brats
As a PS to Monday's session - one of the girls (well she's a couple of years younger than me actually ) took a fall, and we thought she'd just twisted her ankle. Turned out she'd broken it - agility can be dangerous
Oh how I agree, the wrist in plaster when I got Chase was courtesy of agility - sadly the owners agility is often brought into doubt .
Sounds as though Ozzy is doing great Liz. _________________ Sue, Chase and the non-Brittany boys - Brice & Piper. Pets first and foremost.
SHERRY WRITES: LAST NIGHT I WAS BAD We'd started off doing the usual little runs up and down turning left, turning right, over the dogwalk, through the tunnel, and stuff like that. Easy peasy. Then we did a longer faster run over everything round the edge of the course, and as I was on the top of the seesaw I thought THIS IS BORING - WHERE ARE THE BUNNIES
So I rushed right past everyone to look for bunnies in the woods round the field, and had a lovely time chasing after them for ages. Then mummy got hold of me and put me on the lead and without giving me time to get my breath back made me go round again very slowly
So we tried different bit of running round, but I got fed up after the weave and I just did another jump and started running round and round the paddock again. Did you know I can run faster than mum and I went right through the fence and into the cottage gardens, then I ran down the driveway to the big hotel, and through the fence into the field where the cows were. But when I saw them I thought I'd better come back to mum.
Then she made me do the round again ON THE LEAD and she didn't even do that right cos I know I should have gone through the tunnel and she didn't go through there. Says she's too fat.
So she didn't let me do any more running and I had to wait in the car till they'd finished. Still that wasn't too bad. She had to spend the rest of the evening picking up poles
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A good session, even if a short one 
) took a fall, and we thought she'd just twisted her ankle. Turned out she'd broken it - agility can be dangerous 
