Monday, November 29, 2010

Thanksgiving weekend trial

What a great Thanksgiving weekend! Dinner with family on Thursday and then Friday morning we headed to the Black Forest (near Colorado Springs) for a three-day AKC trial. Great judge and great courses (its so nice to see challenges other than big circles and pinwheels). My whole goal that weekend was reminding Summit of his contact criteria. After we returned from Nationals, he's been pushing them and I've been letting him release himself. Friday we got second in Jumpers with a nice run. Standard he ran his dogwalk and A-frame (I think the teeter too ;-)
Saturday he had a nice dogwalk and teeter and when we got to the a-frame, he self-released and we left the ring. Sunday he was a good boy and held all his contacts until I released him. He ended up second place with held contacts. We had a nice jumpers run that afternoon but I called his name while he was over a jump and he dropped the bar.

I'm very happy with his contact performance on Sunday. We have the month of December off from competition so I plan on doing some drop-ins at local arenas to continue to reinforce his 20/20.

Soleil was measured by the VMO. She only measured 13.5 inches tall. So she is still under 14". She was great at tugging and playing with me ringside (while dogs were running in the ring and others walking by her on leash). She was 100 percent focused on me. I did not get the same focus when I tried some training with food. She was a bit distracted everytime a dog would pass her. So obviously, playing/tugging still remains her primary reinforcement.

I've decided to train her to jump up in my arms after an agility run. Anyone have ideas on how to train this?

Here is one of Summit's jumpers runs. I really liked how I handled the serpentine on the outside. I think only one other person handled it that way. Everyone else either front crossed the landing side of the jump after the weaves to handle from the inside or rear crossed the second jump of the serpentine and then another rear cross on the fourth jump after the weaves. I preferred not to rear cross the 4th jump and be in position to send instead. Since I could leave Summit in the weaves (you had to be able to leave your dog in the weaves in order to be ahead to serp), I found this strategy worked best for us. I was also in position to restrict his landing to create tighter turns.



I received Mary Ellen Barry's Foundation video last week. Six DVD set! So far I've viewed the first DVD and have started working with Soleil on some of the things in the video. Some of the exercises are familiar but with a different twist. Hopefully I'll make it through the entire DVD set by the weekend.

We'll be hiking every weekend until the New Years weekend holiday when we have a three-day AKC trial indoors on soccer turf. I love this venue! There is a bar/restaurant upstairs where you can sit and watch agility down below.

10 comments:

Diana said...

congrats on your weekend. Beautiful run! Diana

Chris and Ricky said...

Wow - fantastic jumpers run! Your lateral motion out of the weaves into the serp was a thing of beauty! But Jenn would totally bust you for the "Here" near the end - LOL!

Here are 3 videos on how to teach jump into your arms - I am sure there are many more. I taught Ricky with the cushions on the chair method and he got it finally!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ttsi0QiiOw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSyaCVn2mH0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i3zQU7Rwuk

Chris

Kathy said...

I just got the Mary Ellen Barry set as well and viewed all the DVDs over Thanksgiving and the days after. I've already started some things with Revel, at home and at the Thanksgiving weekend trial!

Morganne said...

@Chris - I do not use "here" as a command in training, I don't use it in competition. I was totally floored when I heard it in the video. Summit has no idea what "here" means! What the heck! Where did that come from? ;-)

Kathy Mocharnuk said...

CONGRATS on those contacts on Sunday. I just got the Mary Ellen Barry DVDs too and am working through them, like you said just another little twist on some things we were doing but I really Like MEB. I just got the sylvia turkman trick video and she does the jump into your arms, and she starts with sitting in a chair and getting the dog to jump into your lap--always reward curling them around to the front...you want them coming up on your side and then curling away from you once they are on your lap. then you find a place you can be supported to stand partly up and just keep standing higher and higher.

Kathy Mocharnuk said...

ps beautiful run, beautiful fc before the weaves and gorgeous serp , funny if you did not even realize you said here, LOL

Christine said...

Super seeing Summit in action.

Brittany said...

I am always so impressed when I watch your runs. It was beautiful! Congratulations on your great weekend!

Chris and Ricky said...

That is too funny Morganne! I was watching some of Jenn's videos on YouTube last night (goofyguess is her channel name) and I think I heard her say "here" twice!!!! Gasp! LOL!

LauraK said...

You had some gorgeous runs this weekend! I'm so sorry I didn't get a chance to come introduce myself, things got a little busy or one of us was working. Hopefully at the next trial :)