Re: Cannot contain myself..... Sorry Angela only just caught up with your class report. Sounds like dexter did really well with all the distractions especially with the clicker. The more he gets used to it the better he will get. Good luck on saturday Jen
Re: Cannot contain myself..... Just caught up with this Angela , all sounds really good, well done to Dex and you too Stacia, hope Drifts tail is lots better soon
Re: Cannot contain myself..... Thanks Kate, we had more blood again today but much better than yesterday. I will have to keep visitors away, why do dogs find visitors so exciting ;D
Re: Cannot contain myself..... Oh Stacia we had to go on lockdown quite a few times,I really hope you get it better....I think Chris and I also suffered from 'Phantom Tail Syndrome' ( I've just made that up ) ie after Dexters final tail op we automatically bent down to catch his tail as he walked through a doorway or past a cupboard ??? Good luck xxx
Re: Cannot contain myself..... Thanks Dexter for your kind concern. Strangely enough Drif't tail has never knocked anything off the coffee table; Rourke's tail which so far has never been damaged, sweeps off all before him! Having had 25 years of owning German Pointers with docked tails, it has taken a lot of getting used to a tail I do understand about the 'Phantom Tail".
Re: Cannot contain myself..... Ooohh I hope Drift can contain his excitement long enough for his tail to heal ! And Angela, class sounds good. You'll be amazed how quickly Dex gets used to the environment. A few visits later and he'll take it all in his stride
Re: Cannot contain myself..... Lesson 2.....hmmmm what did Helen say in her post about a mixed bag? ;D Thankfully we weren't in the pick'n'mix room ;D and the other dog was late so we had a chance to demonstrate our marvelous ( we had practiced a lot) Target skills......then I got a bit miffed because the trainer gave me one of those target extendable sticks and told me to get Dexter to target that rather than my hand ......ok so all that proved was that I had taught Dexter that Target means touch your nose to my clenched fist..not touch your nose to any object I ask you to :-[ so I felt like I'd wasted a week of practising when if they'd told me to do it to a target stick I would have bought one and practiced with that! I got even more grumpy when we were spending time learning this and the latecomer dog was running through the tunnel and being allowed to target on a little toy it had been practising with at home,humph,humph,humph!..... (Hmmmmmm a slight bit of competitiveness starting methinks ;D)i knew I was grumpy because the trainer gave me a time out because he said I was showing frustration to my dog.......I didn't say it out loud but I was showing frustration with HIM not Dex, but it made me stop being silly and just focus on what we needed to do .Dexter got the idea so were allowed to 'familiarize' ourselves with the tunnel.......I knew full well Dexter would run through the tunnel no problems at all as it was only a big version of the ELC one that and I couldn't help myself but say it ( I'm going to get chucked out of this class aren't I? ;D) so the trainer asked me to try it and of course he ran through it....So then we were allowed to familiarize with the hoop...... I bit my lip ,I really did ,because he can do a hoop too!or at least he would run through a hoola hoop last summer until he got too big ;D We did as we were taught and Dexter was soon running through the hoop ,it was being held manually not up on a frame but it felt like we had caught up a bit then! I'm going back today to pick up a target stick : poor dog,yesterday he was just looking at me waving this red ping pong ball contraption at him saying Target!its made me realise I need to be really clear about what I'm going away and doing ! Something called back leg awareness next week for going over some kind of ladder like poles,on the meantime I need to find a bigger hoola hoop and recruit some help to hold it to get him to jump through!x
Re: Cannot contain myself..... Sounds like you and Dexter are way ahead of the trainer I can imagine you having an inside obstacle course in your house for Dexter! Hopefully Dexter will pick up the new 'target' quickly and next week will be better xx
Re: Cannot contain myself..... Oh Angela! I am laughing here imagining you being given a time out! ;D You and Dex are going to nail it though!
Re: Cannot contain myself..... You couldn't make it up could you Jacqui!? ;D I had to blummin stand on my own!!!!holding onto my sad looking target stick while the trainer took Dexter for a play! One more story in Desert Dog Dexter's Life! X
Re: Cannot contain myself..... Sounds good! It must be really nice to have something different to do. I get "student grumps" too - all the time. My Dad gets them big time whenever I need to show him how to do something on a PC. If you know that you do it and can recognise it, you can stop it.
Re: Cannot contain myself..... I'm not sure giving me a time out would have improved my mood Sounds like you're doing brilliantly though!! Go Dex! We will need videos at some point x
Re: Cannot contain myself..... Oh here Angela I am hooting with laughter at your time out...glad you and Dex are getting into this though, sounds like it will be great
Re: Cannot contain myself..... I was imagining you sitting on the naughty step ;D ;D Seriously though , sounds like you are really getting into the swing of it all , brilliant
Re: Cannot contain myself..... Oh that time out is just brilliant. I've never seen a handler given time out before....lots of dogs.....heehee and you tell it so well. Good luck at the next one!
Re: Cannot contain myself..... Be carful you might end up on the naughty step. ;D It sounds like Dex could walk this class so far Angela. Well done.
Re: Cannot contain myself..... [quote author=bbrown link=topic=4854.msg64682#msg64682 date=1396168605] We will need videos at some point x [/quote] Don't get too excited Barbara but I will try next time ;D The equipment so far is nothing like what you have at an outside agility course in the UK ....it's really basic ,I think I remember seeing Jacquis Lilly doing some agility and that was a PROPER course.I have seen a seesaw outside so I have my hopes pinned on that....but I think our pole weave is going to be practiced around some plastic cones...heavens Dexter is going to pick them up and run away with them,I can just see it! I'm such a square and goody two shoes,was never in trouble at school and I'm always held up as the pariah of good behaviour in the family stories that involve my siblings ;D.....so it really is quite hilarious I get disciplined at the age of 44 in my dogs Introduction to Agility Class....ha ha ha ha ha ha ! ;D
Re: Cannot contain myself..... I think some of these trainers should be given time out Sounds like you did eventually have fun and now with your 'stick' who knows what's going to happen next week ;D ;D x
Re: Cannot contain myself..... Now, Angela, I did suggest some pages back to teach Dexter to touch an object [quote author=Oberon link=topic=4854.msg60711#msg60711 date=1394743738] One thing you can start teaching him is to touch a target with his paw. You can use a coaster or similar (I use a square of painted timber...[/quote] Hope you've recovered from the humiliation of the time out. You harness that competitive spirit and let it fly in the Agility ring!!
