Bungee - Master Jumpers FEO

Here's Bungee running in her 2nd AAC trial. The class is Master Jumpers. She was entered as "FEO" (for exhibition only), as she has not qualified through all the necessary levels to run in Masters, the highest level, for points yet.






This past month of March, I have kept Bungee & Guinness very busy in training and classes, and at long last, starting to work on our own field at home! Hoorah!!! The snow left a bit early this year! The ground is not really ready for us to run on yet, so we are still a bit careful about where we work and how much equipment is left out.

Meanwhile we're due for some rain now, which perhaps will thaw the ground, and cause us to stay off a bit this week as we don't want to damage the turf. But, after being away with the dogs trialing, performing & working the last 5 days, including working 38 of the last 48 hours, and coming down with a chest cold as of yesterday, I have not been out on the field yet this a.m. to see where it's at. But I still see no snow and that's a beautiful thing for a trainer, even if the grass is still brown! Today is rest & relaxation for all of us, and maybe tomorrow too!

Happy Training...It's About Love!

So what have you been up to?

Bungee At Training Camp



Training progress this week
Focus on serpentine handling, distance & motion challenges on contact training, moving up from 6 to 12 poles, and speed circles of 5 jumps mixed up with 3 sets of 2 X 2's to create entries with speed. I will also be adding poles after tunnels & out of chutes for the same thing. We found some weakness in one particular kind of 180 situation for both Bungee and myself when we went to work with Sarah yesterday so we have that going too. I learned at camp that Bungee only understood a 270 for a limited distance (maybe with jumps up to 10-12 ft. apart?). When jumps were set on square 18' - 20' (ft.) apart, she really needed a lot of support to stay on her outside line and not come through the gap. So we'll work on that too. Lots of the work is mine to do, to find the sweet spot between the how-to & amount of support she needs and not getting myself stuck, flat-footed in a gap when I really need to be moving down a line. As always we finish any box work or technical sequences with simple speed circles of 7 - 10 jumps (heights & sets always in flux, never the same twice) just to let her open up and release a bit after technical work.

On a personal note
I have been feeling so cut-off and frustrated with our still-dismal internet situation. I was pleasantly surprised to be able to upload one medium-sized picture of Bungee to my blog this morning without timing out - amazing. The line-of-sight internet company told us they are planning a new tower for our area early in the new year. No solutions now :-( Meanwhile my husband was in touch with our county office as they are also doing a high-speed upgrade project for several areas, however our road was not included on their mapping!! When my husband contacted the county administrator in charge of the project, the man asked my husband if he was one in the same as the person that authored a certain whitepaper on MS Exchange. When he found out that indeed my husband was the same individual he really got excited telling him our county is in the process of deploying that same architecture now and he's the architect in charge and agreeing how much we REALLY need the bandwidth and how happy he was to meet him and so on. Maybe we've found a new ally who can actually come through with high-speed for us - fingers crossed. In the meanwhile, I am still stuck with going to an internet cafe for out-bound high-speed or a friends house. Both are possibilities in the near future the trouble is just finding the time.

But moving on to more positive subjects, fall is here in all it's splendor and it's just gorgeous to be outside. Fall days are so fabulous, especially here in Ontario. I don't know how some Canadians can take this season for granted to go about their days in the same hum-drum fashion as always. I never get used to what must be the most beautiful fall color to be seen on the planet. I really just love this time of year. I wish I could put up so many of the beautiful pictures I have been taking here at home. The temperatures have been perfect for working dogs, the colors are glorious, the sunshine is brilliant, this year the grass is plush from the wet summer, it's just hard to stay inside.

Of course Bungee would like to train 8 hours a day in any weather, so she's really all for any day when I'd rather be outside than in! In between training sessions I can find endless odd jobs to do, all the business of being a "good squirrel" and getting ready for winter. Somehow fall always creates an urgency in me to take advantage of every spare minute of sunshine. Perhaps it's the days getting shorter, or recognizing that every day of green grass is a gift this time of year that creates a desire to pack every minute of a training you can into day.

I may only get one picture up at a time but I can make many short notes to the blog when I have uploading success. Videos are still just out of the question from home but I'm looking for alternatives all the time.

Happy Training! It's About Love!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Greg & Laura Derrett Seminar

Bungee and I had the good fortune to attend 4 seminar workshops with Greg & Laura Derrett, during their latest visit to Say Yes Dog Training here in Ontario last week. We took our RV to stay in at the school. I am very disappointed to again report there was NO high speed for us to use the entire time. There is quite a lot of construction going on there and nothing was available with the temporary interruption of all the work. This was disastrous for my husband who had planned to work, and frustrating for me, looking forward to spending spare time in the evenings uploading videos. We had to come home Thursday & Friday for my husband to be able to work, but we returned on the weekend for two more days of training.

I was concnerned that all of it would be a stretch for Bungee who has never done any sequences that size before. But Susan and Laura assured me if we hit areas that were too advanced we'd just break the work down. That was very encouraging. I knew going in that Bungee would hold her own with all the skills she's learned to date and her attitude for the work.

Bungee worked full days in "Double Box Day", "Lead Out's & Positional Cues", "Driving Lines & Cueing Turns", and "Deceleration, Acceleration & Turning Cues", the last being a sort of culmination of the whole week's training as well.

We had a great time in the seminars. Bungee was the yougest dog there and was holding her own very well. Her turns are excellent and her talent is obvious. Finding & driving lines was/is a needy area for her progress and acceleration & deceleration is a needy area for me to work on. I have to improve my running. We shot lots of video and took some pictures too, soon to come.

Now we are again overloaded with agility homework plans, besides the on-going weaves & contacts, but it's great work we will enjoy. The fall season is upon is and it may be the most beautiful time of year in Ontario, the colors are incredible and the warm temperatures and sunny days have been glorious.

Happy Training...It's About Love!

To Sarah & Gabby

Please note this blog will be on hiatus from Sept. 22 to Oct. 1, 2008.

A Special Tribute
This is a little retirement tribute to Tamsu's Special Angel, "Gabby". It's especially fitting to post Gabby's video as I depart for the World Championships, as it was Gabby and Sarah who 1st introduced me to world-class agility. They have inspired so many things in our lives, it was a special treat for both of us to be there for Gabby's last trial - The 2008 AAC National Agility Championships! Gabby, now 10 years old, excelled at every run, winning 1st place in the aggregate scores from the Veterans class, and taking 2nd place from the Veteran's class at the Steeplechase finals. What an awesome weekend for such an awesome girl, this one's for her! We love you Gabby!




Happy Training...It's About Love!

Susan Garrett & Encore & "The Journey"

Susan Garrett & Encore's winning run at the 2008 AAC National Agility Championships, Steeplechase Finals event.






The 2nd video entitled: "The Journey" is very special.
As the agility world prepares to come together in Helsinki, I can't think of a more fitting time to highlight the tremendous message of Susan's video: "The Journey". I will be filing this one under "Inspiration" to be sure.




The story behind the video:
Susan was invited to be the keynote speaker at the 2008 Agility Association of Canada (AAC) National Agility Championships. Her program included this magnificent creation: "The Journey". We were so moved by her presentation that we urged her to share it on YouTube and even someday as a published pocket book of inspiration. "The Journey" received tremendous applause and recognition at the Nationals Banquet & Awards ceremony, with nary a dry eye left in the house, as the message touched one heart after another. It has now received huge acclaim on YouTube, as it SHOULD! Yesterday it passed the 50,000 viewers mark on YouTube! Wow! Richly deserved!

Susan Garrett owns & operates Say Yes! Dog Training Center, Inc. in Alberton, Ontario, Canada. (Bungee's 1st Canadian school :-) Click on the "Say Yes!" link above to visit Susan's website, tell them Bungee sent you!

Happy Training...It's About Love!

Toys, Toys, Toys - Agility Training Update

Sept. 12, Training Update...Can you believe it's already the 12th of September?

Toys
The over-riding elements in all of Bungee's agility training right now, be it as reinforcers or challenges, are toys. Toys have tremendous value to her. So rather than use toys less, since she has to work hard to be correct in the presence of certain toys, we leave the toys where they are and let her work through the distractions and challenges until she can be correct, even if it means breaking down the work, enlisting the aid of a coach or friend to help, and adding a lot of screw-up cookies to keep her motivated that she can still win this new version of our training game. Bungee has always had to work through toy distractions, but they are proving to be big challenges in contacts and handling, which is great information!

Most of the time we set up a small sequence to be run one of several ways so that we can put the pressure on, then let the pressure off. This also helps keep Bungee in the game and highly successful despite the increased difficulty of the work.

The circle work we did has created incredible responsiveness in Bungee. I have been amazed since the beginning of her sequence work at the obvious result. Her understanding of Greg's system is already phenomenal with what part of it she has been exposed to since we started working small sequences. We know she understands her Reinforcement Zone (RZ), and thus my Blind Cross Body Line (BCBL), we know she understands a Front Cross, we know she understands deceleration. So, the challenges we create with toys are fair challenges.

The reason we know these toys create big challenges is by pushing the envelope and putting the most desirable toys exactly where they will be potential stumbling blocks. Embracing the weaknesses rather than avoiding them. That's exactly what you want in a training challenge - one where you've really accomplished something big when you work through it. How better to prepare the dog for the thrill of the competition field?

Bungee loves training agility, no matter what it is we are doing, but she loves her toys more. As Sarah said yesterday: "Right now toys are the most valuable thing to Bungee, but as you continue to train, eventually the jumps will have the same value to her as these toys." So, much to Sarah's credit, we use these toys to their full potential, not just as fabulous rewards, but as challenges to grow by.

Contacts
Nose touches are really nice now. Turning up the heat with toys, motion and/or distance. Putting teeter games back into the picture with nose touches. Still undecided on frame.

Weave Poles
Working 4 straight poles w/ 2 X 2's. Working 6 straight poles with 1/2 of a regular set of 12. 3 sets of 2 X 2's and 2 sets of 6 poles are set up in various places on our field now. So she's seeing a lot of poles! Her speed & desire for the poles is beyond adequate, but I am intentionally using food more than toys on 6 poles to develop 1-step footwork. Letting her race through as she would prefer, she switched to 2 paw pulling in a moment. Obviously needing to correct that immediately, we slowed her down to food rewards for correct footwork. Right now entry variations and correct footwork are the emphasis. Since I last posted at any length on poles Sarah helped us create proper bending at the 3rd pole so as to avoid popping it later on with fast, angled approaches in couses.

Jumping
Haven't done any big session of grids lately, we're definitely due. I keep a set point jump set up as a warm-up jump on my own field, and one grid at almost all times. I change the one grid I leave up frequently so she does see a variety. She has been introduced to my new double & spread jumps at competition height, in a very simple setting here at home. In small sequences at competition height she is keeping the bars up nicely, handling now being the critical component to that picture too.

Handling
We're working on small sequences, 3 - 6 pieces. Each little sequence is "handling heavy" with the emphasis on learning to read turning cues and various parts of Greg's system. FFW continues with Crate Games being particularly usefull.

Overall Work
Excellent! Bungee is an awesome dog to work with and very impressive to watch. That said, Bungee would probably tell you she's teaching me more than I'm teaching her and that's probably right!

Happy Training...It's About Love!

Cutter Joins Our Blog

Sarah Mairs-Heaslip & her young, male, Golden Retriever, Cutter, making his Nationals debut.





Following the video a few photos from the beach at one of our vacation stops together after National's. Bungee & Guinness are in a group shot at the end near a lobster trap we found washed up on a deserted beach on P.E.I.

Sarah runs the agility program at Tamsu Learning Center, where we train 3 nights a week and some time more. Sarah's father John, runs the obedience program as well as owning and founding the school 20+ years ago. Tamsu is like our 2nd home, at least I'm sure all the dogs think so!

Back to Mr. Cutter...I think he is Bungee's favorite playmate, after her "brother" Guinness. He was our stud of choice in our early hopes for Ketchy. He is a phenomenal dog. Starting his agility career running 7 y.p.s., the sky's the limit for him. Our biggest congratulations to Sarah, Cutter, Gabby & Jiggy on all their successes at National's. Great as he is, the big 1st place silver bowl in the awards pictures actually belongs to Cutter's mother, Gabby, who won her division!

Fantastic job on the video Sarah! LOVE that song! :-)) It really speaks for Cutter: "put me in coach! I'm ready to play! today! Look at me! I can be...Centerfield!" I think Miss Bungee is singing that tune to me too! Speaking of which, I better get her back out to our "centerfield" right now!!! :-)))


Note: When you see Sarah doing what may look like "weird distance handling" these are Gamble runs. On the ground there is orange tape staked down as lines or boxes, you cannot always see them in the video. In a gamble course you earn as many points as you can in your opening sequence which is a course you design for maximum points, according to the obstacles given to you in the opening area. The opening may include "mini-gambles", which offer higher points if you can get them. To get any gambles you cannot cross the line on the ground the judge has laid, you must send the dog to the gamble, and handle from a distance which may vary, but which is always behind the line. At 40 seconds into the opening sequence, a whistle or horn blows, and you must proceed to the main gamble and complete it in the remaining time allowed. Usually you have about 20 seconds or less to complete the main gamble. If you complete the main gamble it doubles your opening points. You must earn a minimum # of points in the opening sequence and complete the main gamble sequence within time to earn a qualifying score. Highest points with fastest time of those qualifying wins. Gamble courses are very challenging when you are trying to be consistent with your handling (for your dog's sake back in regular standard & jumpers classes)!

At AAC National's each dog gets 2 standard rounds, 2 jumpers rounds and 2 gamble rounds. There is also an optional, separate Steeplechase event with elimination rounds to a final selection round, which is often a money round with a cash prize.

Happy Training & Hugs to the dogs!...It's About Love!

Handling - Why Greg's?

Why We Chose Greg Derrett's Handling System. (click on the link for more info)

Initially, it was simply what we were taught at the schools we attended. Of course at that time, I was not aware of handling as a system, per se. There is so much for the novice to learn in agility, one can "barely see the forest for the trees" at times.

It was not until I got my 2nd agility dog, the very fast Miss Ketch, that I had the sudden need to become a better handler, and fast! I became very passionate about learning Greg's system as well as I could. As that is the handling system we had started with, I felt I had a vested interest in sticking with it, especially for my dog's sake.
I'm glad we did.

Greg's system brought Ketch and I together as a team in a way I wouldn't have believed possible had I not been there myself. With a lot of help from Sarah & Susan in learning the system, and seeing Greg & Laura only a couple of times, Ketch and I were able to go a very long way in a very short time. Our performances were terrific and always a thrill. Ketchy's career was cut tragically short when she developed cancer at 3 years & 1 month of age, she passed away last November, at only 3.5 years old. But by that time, between her ability and my improved handling, it was clear to all that we could have gone as far as we wanted in agility, if we'd had the chance. Talk about a dog that was all heart, I owe her so much, everything really. But back to Greg's system...

Looking back to my 1st agility dog, Guinness, I believe had I been as consistent with his handling and understood as much about the big picture of the sport, I would have been much more effective about developing his drive and speed too. But hindsight as they say is 20-20. I am still very proud of what we have accomplished and the fine work Mr. Guinness has done and continues to do.

I was very impressed with the fact that I was able to improve Guinness's performance by cleaning up my own act in handling and how well he understood it, once I started handling in a consistent manner. I do believe that is a key ingredient for any team, with any style, but particularly important with Greg's system.

Now of course, we're off to the races with my 3rd agility dog, the young Princesse Bungee, and quite enjoying putting all we've learned to work.

Greg's system is what I know, it works, it allows me to be competitive, I really like using it, and most of all, it provides consistency in training and trials, and that is the essence of being fair to my dogs. Being fair to the dogs is one of most important factors in anything we teach or do. This is one of the reason's I have particularly enjoyed learning from Susan Garrett. She takes being fair to the dogs, as seriously as I do.

The system has evolved over the years, there have been subtle changes, and I assume there will continue to be changes in direct correlation to the sport's evolution.

Greg's system remains the most popular system here in Ontario, and that means it is also the system with the most instructor support available to agility teams. Still, there is much room for improvement and growth in the instruction department, as Greg's own appearances are extremely limited. Perhaps if Greg truly realized how popular his system is here in Ontario, he would provide more access to instructional opportunities either with developing more instructors or making more appearances.

Still, I compliment him highly on making the effort to come to Canada and share how he accomplished what he has in the sport of agility and also Say Yes Dog Training Center for hosting him to Agility Ontario's greater benefit.

My Thoughts On Other Systems

Agility is a fascinating and exciting sport. I enjoy seeing the variety of handling styles in agility as much as I enjoy seeing the wide variety of dogs in agility. I continue to strive for consistency and proficiency in the use of my own choice of handling system - Greg's.

But what I care much more about than what style of handling one uses is seeing lots of dogs who LOVE agility, paired with handlers who love and appreciate their dogs, no matter what happened out there on that course!

I personally think the difference in how competitors get from start to finish is what makes the sport of Dog Agility the most exciting and entertaining shows in the dog world!

Circle Work

The goal of circle work is to create value for the dog in being at your side, a.k.a. in the "reinforcement zone." derrett greg derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrettderrett greg derrett laura derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrettderrett greg derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg
Bungee & I doing some circle work this past winter, "Florida vacation style!" :-)


The first 3 pictures show desired position of dog, next 3 show dog being rewarded in correct position. Note the even ratio of 3 pictures working to 3 pictures rewarding(!!) Reward often is the point. Please note: the dog was rewarded frequently throughout the entire circle. But photos with the dog being rewarded on the far side of me, away from the camera would not make good examples for you to see dog or delivery of reward clearly. Looking at these, the work would seem lopsided with the dog only getting rewarded on one side of the circle. I assure you this was not the case. Double click on any photo to enlarge for greater detail.
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Circle Work Explained
Greg teaches that he is looking for the dog to run at our side, neither forging, lagging or bouncing, nor pushing your line, nor shaping the size of your circle for you. The dog is never crossing in front (flanking a.k.a. "father flicking"), crossing behind (blind crossing), spinning away, or turning away from you (flicking). The dog is able to stay in position at your side, with acceleration and deceleration. The handler being particularly careful in deceleration that the dog does not swing wide & away from you as it slows (flanking), or moves ahead of you landing facing you, (major flanking), but instead remains at your side keeping the body aligned forward in the same direction as you are running. Run good, large circles with the dog on outside and dog on inside, in both directions and changing paces.
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Equipment needed: Flat collar (ONLY! NO Corrections!!), 6 ft. or approx. 1.8 m. leash, small bite-sized food rewards to start, tug toy(s) to advance
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Start: circle work at a walk with dog on leash with small bites of food ready for rewards. (Tie leash around your waist if food delivery is a problem, food rewards best at this stage). Find an object to circle such as a barrel on it's end, or the chute, set up on end. As you walk in a circle with the dog on the outside, feed the dog for being in position but do not lure the dog with the food. Work in both directions so dog works on both sides.
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Note: As you work, keep the dog on the outside, this allows the dog to correct itself from flanking. If the dog is on the inside the barrel prohibits the dog from flanking and that is a lesson the dog has then missed.
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Break it off and play frequently. Little tug games are perfect stress breaks! Don't worry about an awkward or rough start. The dog will soon catch on to what you are doing. Make sure your rate of reinforcement is very high at this stage. Susan calls this stage: "shadow handling".
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Advance your circle work: When the dog can circle with you and stay in position (still on leash) advance to a trot and then running circles as described above and start carrying a tug toy as a reward. Once you can run with the dog you no longer need to circle a fixed object. A big open lawn or field is ideal. Again, do not lure the dog, but give the toy as a reward for correct position - often! Lots of reinforcement! Let me repeat myself: lots of reinforcement!!! Carry the toy on both sides, next to the dog and away from the dog. Work through the dog trying to take the toy before it is given as a reward.

"What is reinforced is repeated." Bob Bailey
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The key to success in circle work is good reinforcement, that means rewarding the dog frequently for being where you want them to be. Bailey Basics dictate: "what is reinforced is repeated. "IMO if you only learn one thing about dog training, that is the best one to learn! In circle work, we are reinforcing for position and I pay my dogs very well!

Important tip #1: Be mindful about where your dog is when going to & from circle work sessions. (If you're serious about Greg's system, this is a valuable habit to make all the time). Keep the dog on one side and reward for staying there. Do not let the dog cross your path, flank you, flick away, spin or blind cross you when you transport it. This is never motion you want to see your dog doing on course, so don't allow rehearsals of it when you're not on course. If you allow such random behavior, you are undoing the good work you do in the circle work itself, and one of the main elements of Greg's system is "consistency"

Important tip #2: Do your circle work away from equipment, pretty much forever.

Important tip #3: Have FUN with your dog with this! This is playtime for Bungee & I; just always careful to maintain criteria of what we're doing.

OK, that's all there is to it. Simple as pie, but expect good results. I didn't plan on writing this much about circle work. But I also didn't want to give anyone just enough information to be dangerous, or start trying to do circle work from an intermediate level, which I quickly realized was possible from the email questions I received after the brief information I first posted.
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You can see Greg demonstrate Circle Work in his first video/DVD: Agility Foundation Training. (click on the link to check it out).

At some point much later on, as you advance and get closer to small sequences on jump equipment, you may want to start mixing in some straight-line exercises to proof acceleration/deceleration such as a two-toy game and some Focus Forward work (FFW) such as with the One Jump exercises from Susan's DVD. (click on the link to go to the Agility Success with One Jump site). You can also introduce Front Crosses in your Circle Work, Two-Toy Game and One Jump exercises. One Jump exercises actually allow the opportunity to teach 17 different agility moves - brilliant information too.

So, on behalf of the dogs, who deserve a fair approach to training here you have it as my small gift to them. Our dogs, hearts of gold you know! They deserve the best we can give them. From this point forward you will need to find an instructor and/or get yourself Greg's videos to continue learning his system. (click on the link to go to Greg's site.) IMO they are EXTREMELY worthwhile if you're following his system. You really do get your money's worth, and a lot to work on.

The agility schools in Ontario that I can recommend to you to best learn Greg's system are: Say Yes Dog Training Center, Inc. with Susan Garrett and Tamsu Learning Centerwith Sarah Mairs-Heaslip who also teaches Greg's system exclusively. (click on either link to visit the websites for those schools) greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg
Almost forgot! Should tell you when to do this with your dogs and for how long! Short answer - before they ever see equipment! Ideally you are starting your pups at the shadow handling stages and working your young dogs in circle work once or twice a week, for the full year before they EVER see equipment(!) as in multiple jumps, sequences, etc. This is OK because young dogs aren't really jumping or weaving before their growth plates are closed anyway. If you are one of Greg's own students, he tells that you are doing circle about a year before any of his student's dogs are proficient enough to pass his test that enables them to move up to working on sequences. greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrettderrett greg derrett laura derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrettderrett greg derrett laura derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrettderrett greg derrett laura derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett laura derrett greg