Leapin’ Labs

Tonight was Midas’s Agility class and we had an absolute blast. He was an angel and I just can’t think of a time where I enjoyed working with him more. He was quiet, he never made a move towards another dog and he was 100% focused on me. He did amazing on the course (weaves still iffy), had no problems calling him off/sending him to different things. If he was like this all the time…well anyway.

We started out in different stations. Midas and I started on the A-Frame with a jump and a collapsed tunnel to add in as we practiced calling off of obstacles. I practiced my timing on the Wait command as he topped the A-Frame - he was stopping so hard there were skid marks - awesome!

Our next station was the weaves, a couple of jumps and the collapsed tunnel again (there was a lot of timing going on to make sure we didn’t use the same obstacles at the same time). The weaves took up pretty much all of our time. He’s about 50/50 on going through them correctly - once that percentage is higher we can work on speed…

The dang guides on the weaves really confuse him - he either wants to jump them (frequently) or, this week, he thought he might go under them instead - silly dog!

Next was a series of jumps and a tunnel, later adding the tire - he did terrifically at this:

Next we worked on the A-Frame, then added some jumps. This was neat because I led out almost to the end of the A-Frame, gave my command and he walked it perfectly!!!! Seriously, this was the best class ever!

He missed a couple of jumps because of faulty handling - I gave the signal too late. While it bums me out I did this, I’m also ecstatic that he bypassed the jump because I didn’t tell him to do it - even though we were sprinting right by it!

After going through all the stations, we took a little breather - Midas was hot too - you can tell by his sweaty pads:

Before we did the whole course, I decided to go through the weaves a couple more times:

Next we practiced running and sending our dogs out ahead to the Table to do either a sit or a down. We started at 3′ away and slowly went to 6′ and 9′ - he did really, really well.

Then we did the whole course - it was exhausting - LOTS of jumping for the pooches (and she moved the jumps up from 18″ to 20″ too. Midas did FANTASTIC, seriously, just amazing - I couldn’t be more proud of him this week. Our final obstacle was to get on the table and we made it!

Tonight Kya and I started Intermediate Obedience at the Humane Society, the same place that Mason went through classes. She did better than I thought she would. She was a little scared but there was no slinking like some demented snake. Her tail wasn’t thoroughly tucked, but definitely down. She took treats from my fingers with no problems, so I was very relieved. The best part though, was that her head and ears were up the whole time, taking everything in. There was a lot going on too.

There were dogs being walked that she could see out the windows, there were dogs in the back pens, running and playing, then there were the dogs inside barking and the dogs in class whining and barking, plus all the people. I chose a seat next to a little wall so that she could sit with her sides covered if she got uncomfortable. She did slink in there when the instructor passed out and collected our paperwork but was peering around my leg the whole time.

My goals in class are different than everyone else’s so we work on different things. The main objective in the beginning was to work on the Look command. She has never been asked to do this because in the beginning she wouldn’t even look in our direction, let alone give consistent eye contact. She caught on quickly though and was soon doing it like a champ.

The next thing was to practice heel and sit (she doesn’t do Down yet and the instructor said to wait on that until she’s more comfortable because it’s such an extremely submissive position) in our area. She was soon comfortable right in front of our chair, and even gave me a couple of tail wags. So, I extended our area out. She heels almost perfectly and her sits were solid for the most part.

Then the instructor set up cones for us to walk around and sit next to. I thought she would be scared of the cones but she was only curious. She had the hardest time focusing when other people let their dogs feed out their lead and whine and try to get in her face. She would get overexcited and whine too but otherwise she was really good on focusing on me.

We did work on stay a little bit and coming after the release (she’s only been asked to stay and then been released to go outside or for food so coming to me was new). Towards the end she started to get her happy face when she would come to me . Overall I think the instructor has a fantastic outlook for Kya’s continuing classes and I think Kya is a very smart girl who catches on quickly and just needs the chance to open up. That was pretty much it for our first class.

We were late to class tonight . There was an accident on our road, I needed gas (and didn’t know it) and I was just late. We blew into class and things started out a little rocky but ended up going fantastically!!

There was a new dog in class so Midas of course had to get all loud and obnoxious but that quickly passed - a huge relief . There were different stations set up. We started out with the A-Frame station. A jump, A-Frame, another jump, table. Well our first time through Midas thought it might be fun to jump off the top of the A-Frame - a BIG no-no!! So, we had to practice just that by itself until he remembered what was appropriate. Also, I had to practice the timing of my Wait command. Instead of giving it as he’s approaching the yellow contact (like everyone else), I have to do it as soon as his front foot clears the top, that way he’s already skidding to a stop before he reaches the bottom . No cheating and jumping because I’ve already given him another command. The jumps and the table were fine.

Our next station was the weaves, with NINE weave poles, a tunnel and a jump. He’s finally getting the weaves!!! He seriously was looking at the poles and doing wayyyy better!! I’m so proud and excited!! I still have to do a little hand guiding but it’s not much at all. He doesn’t hit them right every time but more often than not he does! The tunnel and jump were easy.

The next station we did was a series consisting of the dog walk and then the tire jump. The dog walk was really wobbly the first time he went flying up it, and instead of bailing like he used to do, he slowed down and took it carefully - also wonderful! Tire jump was same old, same old .

Our last station was a jump, the teeter and another jump. This one was slow because after the jump I have to leap in front of him to grab his collar and slow him down on the teeter. He started to respond to my Easy command on his own, but not enough to trust him on it without my restraining hand yet.

For the last half hour, we ran the course made up of all the stations. The first time it was a jump, the A-frame, another jump, the table and a sit (for the full 5 seconds), the weaves, the tunnel, a jump, the collapsed tunnel (ooops forgot about that in my stations explanation), two jumps, the teeter, the tire and the dog walk. It was awesome. We were going so fast! The first time through we made it all the way to the jump after the collapsed tunnel and the new dog jumped out at Midas, I was so excited he ignored it and listened to my next jump command that I then directed him the wrong way and we had to start over . Totally my fault!

After everyone had gone through the course in that direction, we reversed everything and did it again. This time it was two jumps, the collapsed tunnel, a jump, tunnel, weaves, table and lay down, the A-frame, two jumps, the teeter, the tire and the dog walk. We nailed it that time, perfectly - he was doing soooo awesome! The best part is that we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and got a great work out.

The lady with the new dog let her dog jump in his face again and he did some odd warbling but settled right down when I told him to hush. He also sat next to one of the Goldens that in the past he’s felt the need to scream at and was perfectly fine - more than once - progress! Tonight was an excellent work out, I’m looking forward to next week.

Tonight was the boys’ last class for Rally. I brought a kennel again, Midas was much better behaved in it this time around. Preferred to sit and mope, with his nose smashed to the grate and look pitiful. Perfect

Midas was on tonight. There were some things where he was being pretty lazy but for the most part he did really well. We had some distraction (a toy and a food bowl) that he did fine on and two jumps which he had no problems with. His Swing command was the cleanest I’ve seen it but we still need to work on the Stand command. We went through twice and he was pretty focused the whole time. I talked to the instructor about his waning attention span and decided to give him a little break from Rally. We will be going to her open sessions later when possible with a hopeful competition date of October.

Mason was terrific as usual . He nailed the jump tonight so that I had to speed up because with his new confidence he was starting to twist, looking for me. His Close command is really, really coming along. He does excellent with sit while I walk around him and with lay down. We need to work on the Stand command quite a bit though. His heel is perfect but the first time we went by the distractions he didn’t do well. The second time though, my Leave It command was enough, he glanced but did not even take one step toward the distraction. Our biggest trouble is making sure his wagging tail doesn’t take out the signs lol. I may consider doing more Rally classes with Mason, I haven’t decided yet. Perhaps I’ll just work him at home and then wing it at the same event Midas is going to. Will have to think about it.

Class #2 : 5/15

Tonight I was alone at Rally again, with the two boys. Midas was quite naughty. Very loud and distracted on the course, resulting in a distracted instructor who didn’t see Mason on the course either time. Mason on the other hand, was awesome! He is so focused on the course that I think we could do it off-lead, if he knew what I was trying to get him to do haha. I can’t wait to continue on with him.

Class #3 : 5/22

For class tonight, I packed Kya’s wire kennel and a sheet. The boys took turns covered in there, practicing being quiet. If worked quite well. Midas wasn’t distracting the instructor this time so that was good, although I am not sure she saw Mason go through the course anyway. He does so good that I wonder if she is thinking I’ve done other classes like this with him before, which I haven’t. Midas was completely and totally distracted, we only did the course once. He doesn’t seem to enjoy it as much as he used to .

Mason’s Canine Good Citizen certificate came today!! I couldn’t be more excited for the little dude.

Here it is:

To read about the test, go here.

Tonight was our last Agility class of this round. Eric got to come so there are some great photos to share! It was a smaller class tonight so I tied Midas to the wall not far from a friend’s Golden to see if he would be able to control himself:

He was totally fine . I complained about his lack of skill in the weaves so the instructor brought him through a few times:

Then when class started, we have the dogs stay in a lay down and walk around, he did pretty well. He didn’t break when other dogs did but he did when I had another dog come to me.

For some reason he also refused to jump the Broad Jump

It was set up with different stations this time, we each got to go through until we did it right and then we split off and did them on our own.

One set was a tire jump, a regular jump, a tunnel, another regular jump, a collapsed tunnel and then through the tire again. Midas did really well at that, but it was tiring to keep running through it!

Then there was a series by the door that was just a bunch of jumps and the table:

The last series was the biggest and the hardest. We started with the teeter-totter:

Then it was the broad jump, then the dog walk, into a tunnel, through the weaves…

…over the A-Frame, a final jump and we’re done! It was pretty fun. Midas and I were both pretty tired at the end.

Tonight we had Agility. Due to some spectacular planning, Eric couldn’t come (therefore no photos). So, it was just Midas and I. We had a good time. He was a little obnoxious but not too loud…just mostly non-stop.

There were some new obstacles, and I can’t lie, I was really nervous about the regulation height A-Frame. Midas has a tendency to think he’s invincible and jump off of things he shouldn’t. But, he didn’t, he was a good boy. He was also rock-solid on the dog walk tonight - thank goodness!

The teeter-totter was a new aluminum-framed piece and he approached that with the same zeal that he always does - full speed ahead. I had to block him every single time and make him wait…I hope he learns that soon.

The weaves were still completely hopeless . We will keep practicing! We set a jump up to the height he would actually have to do in competition, it seemed so big, but he flew over it now problem and the instructor said he had plenty of room to spare .

He had no issues on the chute-tunnel or the table or any of the jumps really. Class went over about an hour so he was getting pretty lazy towards the end. But, he completed everything correctly. Our major distraction for this evening was a dog that alternated between staring, unblinking at him and flopping around on the floor with a giant stuffed toy - but I blame the owner, not the dog. *sigh* there’s one in every group it seems. All else went well and we had a lot of fun. He was exhausted on the ride home and I look forward to our next class .

After Mason’s last Intermediate Obedience class I asked the instructor about enrolling him in her next Canine Good Citizen class and then taking the test at the end. She said she thought he could pass without it. A month after this class ended and limited training geared toward the CGC test I emailed her and asked if he could take her class. She basically told me no lol. She repeated again that she thought he would do fine…and he did!!!!

There were only three of us that showed up to take the test. Because of this, we didn’t have much of a “crowd” for the Walking Through a Crowd task. So, we started out with that task and the instructor had the volunteers for the Humane Society come over to stand in as our “crowd” (it was closing soon so they would be leaving). Mason went first, he did very well. He did sniff two people on the way by but when I said “Leave it!” he went right by, no tug on the leash needed.

Next we did the Reaction to Another Dog test. In this one the instructor had two dogs sit about 8 feet apart and the remaining dog (the one being tested) had to do a figure-8 and then sit next to one of the other dogs. We went first again and as we went around the second dog, it started sniffing Mason and then jumped on him! He was such a good boy though, he just ignored the dog at my command and kept eye contact with me and we made it through!!

The rest of the test went really, really smoothly and quite fantastic really! I heard several comments about Mason’s amazing eye contact . There was one part that I was really nervous about, the Sitting Politely for Petting task. He had to stay in a sit/stay while the instructor came up to pet him and he couldn’t lift his little wiggle-butt off the ground. We only practiced this a handful of times with Eric and Adam before we left so I wasn’t sure how it would go - he did it!!!!! He glanced over and checked in with me once but kept his little behind firmly planted! I was SO proud!

For Appearance and Grooming he started out standing and when the instructor knelt to check his sides/feet, he collapsed onto his side - it was hilarious - the whole group laughed. When we did sit and lay down he was really good. Then he had to sit/stay (and we’ve been practicing me walking away with my back to him, it worked ) and when I walked to the end of the room, I paused and then I said his release word and Come - he raced towards me - making everyone smile again. He’s so darn cute!

Our last part of the test was supervised separation and he did fine, no problems what-so-ever. We signed our form to send out and as we were walking out the door I heard the other two ladies that were left say, “We shouldn’t've let him go first, now our dogs are going to look way worse”!!!

Tonight’s class was interesting. We worked mainly on being able to call our dogs off of obstacles directly in front of them. For example, the first set had three jumps in a row. After they jumped the first one, we were to call them to us, then they could jump the first two then come to us, then the first three and come to us. It’s so they don’t assume they just take the next obstacle in front of their noses.

Midas has this completely mastered. In this photo you can tell how quickly he was turning to respond to my Here command:

We also were supposed to send our dogs out in front of us with the command Go Out! and they were supposed to jump the big jump - that was more difficult for most of us but I had our little treat container to toss over it so Midas hopped right over no problem. He got distracted on his way back to receive his treat because one popped out the end and he treated himself lol.

The first time we went across the dog walk it wobbled a little and Midas didn’t care for it but he went to the end:

So, I steadied him the next time after we firmed up the frame:

At the end of the dog walk he had to Wait and then hop up onto the table and Lay Down and Stay.

After that we worked on our A-frame and Waiting at the end:

We also got a chance to work on the teeter-totter some more. We’ve added another command for Midas, he has to Wait while it lowers and then again when he comes off the end - hopefully to help him quit barrelling off the end and whacking himself:

We worked on weaves again but it was…eh - he’s still not clicking…

We had some tunnel work:

This photo would’ve been awesome but the stupid tab got in the way

After we had practiced everything, and calling them off of everything a couple of times each, we each had the opportunity to “run” the course, hitting as many obstacles as possible. I had my route all worked out in my mind.

We’d start with the series of jumps:

From there we hit the A-frame, the tunnels, and then the table, released from the table to the dog walk and…Midas fell off. I half-caught him, scraping the skin off my pinky finger in the process, but that didn’t phase him. He tried to jump right back on…Instead I grabbed him and our instructor picked him up and placed him from his jump-off point so that he could learn he was safe and could be balanced there.

Midas, once he trusts you, trusts you implicitly so he plopped down and leaned over on the instructor, to the point where if she moved he would have toppled off:

He went down fine after that and we finished up with the weaves and teeter:

The rest of this day’s photos are here. Watching the new person and their dog made me realize how thorough our instructor has been to teach each of the obstacles separate, in a separate order and to make sure our dogs are listening to us and following directions, not just rushing through where they think the next obstacle is. Pretty neat to see.