| 26/10/04 Yet again I have let this slip and feel guilty every time someone asks when I'm going to update it. Trim is doing very well & continues to exceed all my expectations in her training and also in being my companion. She loves to work...at anything and gives me the 110% that her family is renowned for. A few weeks ago, we had her family come to stay with us for a few days and attended an agility seminar, given by Deb her breeder. Trim had a great time playing with her Mum, Aunt, Grandma & her sisters. She thinks they are the most exciting dogs in the world and really enjoyed being part of the team once again. 6 beautiful merles at my house was quite a sight to behold. I spent the 2 days running Bryte, Lil & Pepper in agility. Luckily Trim is still working on foundation stuff, because I still have a long way to go as a handler to run these dogs. They are so keen, so fast, so responsive and so completely honest. I had some successes but again, came away with a long list of things I need to work on. There are no second chances and again I learned the value of consistency in training. While I haven't done a heap with Trim in agility, I am really happy with where we are right now. We had a "puppy lesson" with Deb which included playing, figure 8's, following my hand and the beginnings of a 2on 2off contact. I was very happy with her attention & her happiness. We have been spending a lot of time proofing stays, using her meals, her toys and the back door. I have been working very hard at giving a consistent release word, delivered in a measured tone and she is responding well. This week I have started adding distractions, such as throwing toys, moving my arms around & talking while she's in her stay...so far so good. She also has the makings of a nice table performance. I am only occasionally asking for a wait on the table but mostly, it's "run to it as fast as you can, flip around in the air & land in a drop"...this she does very well. It is very important that Trim has fun on the table. Most dogs like this, don't want to stop, so I want her driving to the table right from the beginning. Like most dogs she loves the tunnel & will run through it whenever it is in the yard, as part of her play. I don't want her to end up tunnel obsessed but it is proving to be a useful tool in teaching her to send. We haven't done a lot on contacts but already she understands that "walk on" means get in to the 2on 2off position. I have taken her over the AFrame a couple of times and have let her sit on the apex & have a good look around. I wish I wish I wish I had some equipment here to practise on. She started with weave entries a few weeks ago, but as she was picking it up so quickly, I have decided to wait a while. She was starting to try to keep going on poles & I think she is a bit young for this yet. It doesn't look like it's going to be a problem for her to learn & we have plenty of time. We have also worked on some directional commands and I have decided to limit her commands to the following: Right, Left, Get out, Front, Close, Go on. So far she knows what each of them mean, but again we have some proofing to do before any sequencing. We also started running this week, and I will be throwing in some of these commands while she is running along side of me. She is quite toy/ball obsessed, so I have learnt very early on that right now it is not possible to have her run beside me while a toy is visible. Trim would like to say a big Congratulations to her very talented sister "Della CGC" |
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