Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Wednesday Rain Break


We got to go to an agility field today.

WOOHOO!!!!

Riff was very happy to be out. We practiced weave entries and 180's. Our instructor invited me into her house to watch a couple of our Open Standard videos, and get some feedback. She diagnosed a few of our problems. (There are many.)
...

My NOTES:
Watch yr startline...make it REAL....add some TIME between turning yr head back to yr dog and yr release. Give yrself a sentence to recite? Practice practice practice.
Work on laterals, sends and serps.
WORK IT MORE when the obstacle "goes to nowhere."
If yre restarting an obstacle, take more time to regroup. Guide yr dog with your feet, and work on clarity of motion.
Riff thinks a restart means "blindly bolt in front of my handler." Practice!
Celebrate the good stuff.
Use a stronger cue, sooner, on big sweeping 180's.
U might need to RFP in a desperate "rescue it" situation. Think!!
Make sure yr feet are facing the direction u want yr dog to go.
Work the table exit. Let yr feet do more.
Practice more with yr dog having a lot of momentum. Yre losing it on the "momentum" sections.
...

But she also pointed out (more than once) the areas in which we've improved. She was encouraging! (Insert WARM & FUZZY here.)




So when I went back out to the sand arena for the second half of our practice time, I was filled with hope. Sometimes I'm pretty sure that HOPE is what makes the world go 'round.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm thrilled that you were able to sneak in an agility lesson between the rain. BOTH of our classes were rained out this week... boo hoo!
How awesome that you got such helpful and encouraging feedback from your trainer. Riff is certainly looking awesome. Your last several videos in particular have looked wonderful. His weaves are SO fast!!
Leda sends a smooch to her big bro.

Tara

 
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