Baloos agility journey

 

Baloos agility journey

21st Oct 2021 - !2:30pm. Sorry forget to get any picture today but it was a good day. Started with getting legs working over the cavillete and he was pretty sharp there. 

 

Then we moved on the directional walk ie going round in a circle, tried lure with a toy but his interest is still more food focused - he just wants the toy so he can rip it apart.

Then on to the A frame, oh he loves getting high - poor trainer was having a breakdown worrying he would fall off but hes so sure footed. We worked on his front 2 legs off the frame(on ground) and rear legs on the frame and then a release que. I have to try and remember all these new ques now.

Up UP is for staying on the frame with back two feet, OK is the release que.

  (For anyone who does not know what an A Frame is)

 

Then onto some jump work from a sit WAIT and again the release que of OK with a toy on the far point for him to get. He was doing really well on the sit waits. 

So all in all another positive session and luckly the weather was good for us today.

 

 

 

15th Oct 2021 - 2pm. Our 2nd agility lesson, during last week I have been working on the recall,arm out wide,180 pivot which has been going quite well but obviously today Baloo just ignored the instruction !!. 

                                             OK mum I'm ready to listen
 

Today we started with some focus work in his doing jumps to retrieve a toy, first 1 jump, then 2 then 3 and he did this really well for about 10 mins but then got bored of the toy (toys are not really his thing unless they are for chewing or pulling apart). 

So then onto the tunnel and rather than food we used a ball at the opposite end and again he worked well for half a dozen attempts. He is not quite sure on what he should be doing yet so he looks for clues along the way, which is great in that he is focused on me and responding to the clue. 

Then it was time to teach him his left from his right, doing this with food lures and saying the word 'left' or 'right' as I get him to follow his nose, on the food, in the relevant direction..first challenge was me remembering it was HIS left and right not mine. 

Again he started to pick this up slowly but was very good on the 360 spins. So all in all a good 30min session, he does get bored of toys and same food quite quickly so need to bring variety next time.  It does seem to tire him out all this thinking for so long....😁 ..bless.                                                                             

 

        Ok Mum I'm bored now

 

7^th oct 2021 – 13:30…this is where it all starts. I have done a very little amount of agility with my other dog, Bean, pre covid lockdown but he just could not contain his excitement to focus enough. I thought, now that Baloo is older and his bones are developed that perhaps I could see if he enjoys it.

Obviously, this is a big ask of a young (22mths) Tibetan terrier who has no interest in his owner, zero recall and as stubborn as a mule but lets see how it goes. The session is 30mins long so he does not get too ‘bored’

On the upside he is quite food focused, unlike Bean who is all about ball ball ball. Baloo has also been around agility equipment as a puppy so he was not scared of what was in the field.

 

We started with some sensory items like textured board, uneven platform and low poles which he handed well following his nose to find the food and picking up his feet over the poles.

Next were some sit waits..haha no chance.. so instructor held him while I rushed off, arm out wide and called him too me and did a 180 turn..blimey he actually came to me and followed the arm around the pivot..beginners luck I bet but I was very please.

Then it was a game of the tunnel..oh he loved that..human each end with favourite treats..he was super speedy from end to end with me shouting “tunnel tunnel” in a hope that this would become a known instruction in the future.  

So ended on that high..lots of homework for me (mm not my strongest trait). Will report back after the next session…its all outdoors so it will be weather dependent.