Class last night was a blast. We worked on multiple jumps going to the touch plate, a curved tunnel, downs on the box, and intro to the board and contacts on the board.
Makin did well on the jumps. I think that Lael and I need to get a little more excited so that she is excited and will be a little quicker. I did notice that Makin picks up speed once she is beyond us and realizes she is supposed to go to the plate. As always the first lesson is to teach the human to communicate so the dog doesn't have to guess at what is going on/where to go. We also don't have to keep up with Makin as long as we are clear on what she is to do with what we say verbally and with our body language. I also noticed that I need to relax. If I am tense then I am not going to have as much fun and odds are I am going to act like a goof!
We then went to the curved tunnel. The funniest part of the night! Katrin was holding Makin and Lael was to call her through the tunnel and back up to get Makin to shoot out with some speed. I must say here that Lael had a bad shoe choice for the evening. Well, Makin hit the tunnel and Lael started backing up caught her heel and actually caught some air on the way to the ground. I knew she was going to be fine which is why I threw out a hearty laugh. I also laughed because it is common knowledge that Lael has zero "ups" and she actually caught some nice air! The nice thing is the first wipe out has occurred and nobody else has to worry about being "that guy"! (Sorry Lael, it was hilarious) We definitely need some work in this department.
We also did some work on box downs. Last week there was no way Makin was going down on the box. We worked a lot on downs this week as a result. Makin was not quick at hitting the deck last night but she was doing it for us. I was very pleased.
Finally we worked on the board and contacts, getting Makin to run down the board with a wait on the end. Unclear messages from the people at the beginning made things a little more difficult. Towards the end we started to get it, as did Makey. We will need some work here on keeping the rear end on the board. I am not sure if her but goes off the board because she is trying to face us when we say wait. I think it may be the case so we will need to figure out a way to tell her to keep those back feet on the board.
It was a fun class. Can't wait to work on this stuff this week. Can you say addictive?
There may be some video of last night’s class that I can look at later which will help me see what I could improve on. Also, I will try to remember the camera next week for some action shots.
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2 comments:
I do want to go on record as saying that Lael and I discussed the fall and both thought it was quite funny. No cruel intentions intended in my post. Besides, I, as the flailing mushroom, can not make fun of anyone.
I also want to say that I LOVE this class. It is exactly what we were looking for. Doesn't hurt that it is a nice atmosphere to hang out in. All good people!
And another for the record- Lael's fall was not on camera. And sorry, but Julie's still hold the record for spectacular class falls (also not on camera). Julie looked like a tree falling. Whoomp. And she was in the dirt. Face 1st.
See- Nice Atmosphere- folks! (he fails to mention that it's about 30 degrees F in that same atmosphere.)
Glad you enjoy class so much! Very much enjoy having you both and your pups in class!
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