Training

We had a good session at training last night. It was very cold and there were quite a few people missing for one reason or another. So, in our first class with only 5 of us we were able to practise a few different things that we don't always get time for.

I really enjoyed Naughty Niamh's class although we didn't get much right! One of the sequences we had about ten attempts at and I just couldn't get in the right position. I did the same sequence with Poppy later in the evening and it worked fine. Although I think I've stopped 'babying' Niamh I haven't really. I still tend to watch her and over encourage where she doesn't need it. One of the things I really enjoy about training is trying stuff that I wouldn't normally do.

The particular sequence we worked on last night was quite challenging and the way we were attempting it wasn't necessarily the best way but it was good to practise this sort of thing for the times when you might need it (in this instance being able to layer a contact and recall your dog off it.)

Below is a diagram of the sequence with the dog's path (little dog) and the handler's path illustrated with a red line. I would have chosen to do the manoeuvre by running between the A-Frame and Jump X but Al ran first and did the layered version and it was very impressive so we all decided to try it. I always forget that my legs are much shorter and slower than Al's but I can't resist a challenge! I love Niamh's class for this reason as we all support each other but also encourage each other to push and try different things.

You could of course handle that sequence from behind but we all found by doing it that way you were left too far back for the collapsible, jump finish. You needed to get up on the sequence to get a fast finish. I couldn't get it right with Niamh as she kept taking Jump X towards me rather than coming to me and pushing away over it. That was because I was in the wrong position each time I tried. I eventually got it right after several attempts all of which caused the rest of the class much amusement! When I did the exercise with Poppy it worked really well, I still think I'm more intuitive with Pops. She has more drive than Niamh and so something like this is possibly easier with her. The sequence was made more difficult for us because Andy had made us run a simple loop to start the class which was the same start but straight into the weaves off the A-Frame so of course the dogs had that in mind ......... adds to the challenge!!


Kizzy also had a good session last night. She was doing the three jump, pipe tunnel combination in lots of different ways. We also used the three jumps to do lots of left and right turn exercises. At one point we did the three jumps and turned out of the sequence to the jump in front of the seesaw which I had moved to create a box but Kizzy decided the seesaw was still on offer and executed a perfect seesaw and target position (without Andy or the target!) So the seesaw was moved after that!