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| Working Trials; Does anyone compete? | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 28 2008, 05:15 PM (1,216 Views) | |
| RJL | Apr 30 2008, 08:04 PM Post #16 |
Chatterbox
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I don't have a video camera unfortunately, but I will try to get some action shots on my big, fancy camera
:) I've found a US working dog site with lots of videos of Malinois, GSDs, Dutch Shepherds and the like doing WT and schutzhund exercises accompanied by hard rock tracks. I'd love to put up a short film of Dill doing all his exercises to really silly music :P |
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| Red Rascal | May 1 2008, 01:25 AM Post #17 |
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You and Dill had me laughing as usual. Love to see a video of this little chap in action. Please keep posts coming, really great reading. :) |
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| RJL | May 4 2008, 05:47 PM Post #18 |
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Today, it rained again :rain: For once, my questionable driving skills came in handy, as Dill was nevertheless only too happy to jump out of the car. Things I need to learn: We have started to increase the distance in the sendaway, so I need to make it more fun and get him really wound up before he goes. Did I mention it was raining? When you are marginally bigget than a ferret, it probably makes sense to do a detour around the really wet-looking bit - but this is BAD :angry: but with some encouragement - :yippee: I can now fake excitement over a few scraps of fish skin so well, I could probably be the next Mrs. Rick Stein - he managed to fly staright in and even risk drowning by lying down :) I need to stop giving treats after each jump now and just a big one after the scale. Dill needs to focus on the long jump - not one a person standing a few feet away because this results in a crash-landing before the jump has finished :doh: We also took the carpet bit off the top of the scale - and he popped straight over without stopping to view the world as taller specimens see it. :yippee: Best of all - the heeler-ramps have gone - he can clear a solid 3 foot fence no bother! (I am sure one day I will regret that - but for now I'm happy!) I also need to keep practicing the retrieve - I overdid it a while back and he got bored :doh: My fault entirely! 'If you don't want to lose that :x: bit of pipe - why do you keep throwing it away?' was his reaction but a couple of weeks ago. Now it's coming on better. I got so inspired that later on in the park, we did a short sendaway up some steps and then a 'hold' command because some idiot had left an empty fag packet lying there. Being a a tidy little doglet - Dill managed to pick it up, come back down the steps and hold it until I took it off him. It was soggy :cry: and horrid - I've got to get a life!!! Tracking is going really well. I managed to hold the lead properly and Dill wore his new harness - yes - I found a plain black one with no camp embellishments :) Just as we packed up - the rain stopped. All the dogs had a play - Dill almost managed to keep his cool :phew: but the other dogs were very respectful. He also managed to convince everyone else to had over their treats - which all came in large-dog portions and appeared very colourful - I fear I may confront a crate of the runny stuff tomorrow morning, so I keep shoving him out and begging him to perform ;) Next week it's a big training day on Sunday and search & rescue dogs on Saturday (to which Dill is coming along for fun) |
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| Tafia | May 5 2008, 12:14 AM Post #19 |
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Total Gas Bag!
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Looking forward to next weeks installment already! Keep them coming please |
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| RJL | May 14 2008, 07:11 PM Post #20 |
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On Sunday it was a BIG training day! Lots of dogs from all over the north west. The weather was fine (which is apparently unusual) and we began with an article search. Dill sat with a suitably eager expression as I said 'Oh look! Things! Things!' and pointed to the long grass. He trotted dutifully into the area and despite the grass being as tall as him, he found his first article and brought it back very proudly
:) ...and the second! After that, he got a bit bored and was struggling, so the instructor (who he loves) went in and tossed one thing up in the air for him to find and this renewed his confidence. The only thing he would not pick up was a short length of metal chain, so we have to go away and practice with metal. Next, heelwork :yawn: Not our strongpoint at all! Fortunately, the grass was so long, it slowed the little :x: down a bit and the heelwork instructor was really lovely and just made us do short bursts before moving to the jumps :yippee: This is where Dill decided to show me up by ducking under the highjump bar and making a beeline for a box of shapes lying close by! He also forgot totally what the long jump was for :help: I decided he was looking a little dehydrated because his ears had started to wilt, so I took him back to the car for a drink. When we got back somone else was playing on the scale :yikes: Dill's face was just pure indignation! He loves the scale - how dare anyone else play with his fave toy!!! At last, he got to do it :yippee: and flew over - sat - and flew back. Later on, we did the high jump and scale again with no problem, although he did need a bit of encouragement on the long jump again. I think the poor little chap was exhausted anyway, as the day before we had driven up to Langdale to body for SARDALakes. Dill got to do a couple of run-aways (basic find sequences) and then he was tied up at the bottom of the hill with all the other dogs, while I went and hid. When I was called down, I radioed for him to be released - blew my whistle and he shot up the hillside like a little rocket - much to everyone's amusement. We saw a teckel in the pub afterwards - fantastic little dog :wub: She was a 'pin-coat' which is sort of midway between short and rough and her colour was 'mahogany' which is like black and tan in reverse! Yesterday, I hid some articles for him and for the first time, he searched with real purpose and woudl not give up! :yay: Today he is exhausted :yawn: as we have been surveying all day! Someone on Sunday took a picture of Dill on the long jump - when it arrives I will post it! |
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| Tafia | May 14 2008, 07:51 PM Post #21 |
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Total Gas Bag!
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RJL I think I'm living vicariously through your working trials posts! Can't imagine how on earth you'd persuade a dog to carry to metal chain in its mouth? But I can imagine the look on the faces of my two if I was to ask them! |
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| RJL | May 19 2008, 08:39 PM Post #22 |
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Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Here he is doing the long jump. He needs the extra height for now to prevent premature crash-landings / running over it instead of jumping! |
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| Tafia | May 26 2008, 12:27 AM Post #23 |
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Total Gas Bag!
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Oh RJL can't you publish a larger picture? Love to see Dill and the long jump in greater detail! |
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| RJL | May 26 2008, 06:45 PM Post #24 |
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:) That's as big as I could get them - but maybe Laura could do something? I was a bit worried that the second shot looks like I've just kicked him up the bum! Yesterday we changed venue to farmland and with a howling gail and a field full of cowpats (why does nobody make dung-flavoured training treats: I'd buy them!) I was convinced I would be shown up something rotten. Anyway, it was me who got my wrists slapped - in a nice way, because despite my best intentions, I was slipping back into the treat-trap :yikes: and using treats as a safety net for me, rather than keeping Dill's attention with my own enthusiasm and confidence. Being a smart little chap, Dill was starting to take advantage of my lack of confidence and deviate off into his own little world, until I felt obliged to show him the reward up-front. :devil: This is something I just KNOW is so wrong, but I suppose I'd managed to convince myself it was necessary with the howling wind and cow pats when I should have just had faith in myself and my dog. After working like a little genius at his article searches at home and out on walks, Dill decided that they were just :yawn: boring! Who needs little bits of pipe to hold when you can stick your nose in a pile of cow poo? I need to sort this out and get him really into the game - likewise with sendaways where he is starting to run towards the target with a little less drive than he used to. I need to make it more fun again :yippee: Tracking is definitely not a problem. He goes nuts now when the harness goes on :hyper: He wasn't the only one who got excited by his success yesterday. I got so excited I needed a substantial clump of bushes to hide in, but had to make do with the shelter of an old shed with nettles growing round it :yikes: So, my task this week is to lay off the treats (as I convinced myself I had done weeks ago) and really get Dill focussing on tuggy games again - as well as being more enthusiastic with the praise :yippee: I took him out today and there were sheep in the next field, which was only fenced with 1 strand of wire. He was about to run at them - but I blew his sit whistle and he sat!!! Result!!! I yelled 'Good Dill!' and was all :yay: - whipped out the rubber chicken and he just looked at me like 'You are being soooo embarrassing Margaret :no: !' I felt a complete idiot and somewhat deflated.... But as nobody else was around I carried on doing my rubber chicken dance and seconds later (seemed like hours) he joined in and enjoyed a really good tuggy game :phew: I continued to use the game only as a reward throughout the walk and he did get more and more into it. He everything I wanted him to do without the need for bribery, so I feel my confidence is nearly restored. |
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| Tafia | May 26 2008, 07:07 PM Post #25 |
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Total Gas Bag!
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You have my total understanding about relying on bribery by treat ..... only in reverse! Having spent so much time with bc's my memory muscle went into automatic, once something was learnt I just presumed it had become law totally forgetting about free thought. :blush: Last week on holiday in Devon Boo disappeared from view for about 30 seconds only to come back covered in manure. On a common, far away from rivers/streams/sea and just five minutes after they'd drunk the last of their water. Such a sweet dog, it's a pleasure to have her around. So impressed with the sit whistle/sheep/one wire event, he sounds like a paragon of virtue which of course is down to his training. |
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| RJL | May 28 2008, 07:46 PM Post #26 |
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:angry: Little sod decided to do a bit of stock movement under his own initiative today. He gathered a good number of ewes and moved them accross the fell! He did come back though - which I was pleased about - but it was obviously too soon to put the temptation of more flighty sheep in front of him. He's also getting really obsessed with his rubber toys again.... I hope he's not turning into a collie :yikes: Looks like it's back to the long line and the old failsafe command of ' :x: well sit you little :x: ' I know it doesn't feature in any of the books, but it has served me well over the years :P He's definitely improving though. I have to keep reminding myself I've only had him just over 7 months. I've gone a bit mad with the training recently and he's been exhausted, poor little chap. He's had to cope with a major change in routine too as I've changed jobs and he's now in a new office, although he has coped really well. |
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| Tafia | May 28 2008, 11:26 PM Post #27 |
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Total Gas Bag!
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Isn't it just awesome watching them do this for the first time purely on instinct! |
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| RJL | Jun 8 2008, 07:31 PM Post #28 |
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:yay: :yippee: :yay: He did brilliantly last week and even better this week. He's just so keen. I think :crossedfingers: we've finally cracked the heelwork, because I've been brushing up on my acting skills and I've finally managed to convince us both that it is terribly interesting and fun. He did his long jump perfectly first time today - in fact he went through all the jumps faultlessly and walked to heel between them off-lead :smug: I think tracking may have usurped the scale in his affections too! He's still at the baby stage where he watches the tracklayer and he goes absolutely beserk: like a thing possessed! After the week before last's comment about more enthusiasm, I began to play more interactive games and upped the feed a little and it worked a treat. He got so excited, he bounced from standing, head-butted me in the mouth and burst my lip open. Of course, being a tidy little chap, he then gave me a filthy look for bleeding all over Pink Fluffy Duck (the love of his life) who had got him all fired up in the first place. We've got a break from formal training for 5 weeks - but I've got lots to be getting on with (including a trip or two to a rabbit pen and finally, finally, some stock work) Our first trial will be in November :yikes: |
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| Tafia | Jun 8 2008, 07:45 PM Post #29 |
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Total Gas Bag!
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:lol: I was just thinking that November is ages away but it'll be here before we know it! :yikes: |
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| Red Rascal | Jun 9 2008, 01:45 AM Post #30 |
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:lol: :lol: :lol: I love reading these posts about little Dill, he is a very entertaining little chap and your writing and descriptions of him are marvellous. :) He seems to be really enjoying the Working Trials training, and is constantly improving, well done the two of you, all that training, even in the rain has paid off. :yes: |
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