Last Thursday was our first class at PA Agility. Joule didn't seem too worried about being at a new facility. She quickly got to work, in spite of being almost attacked by a little Yorkie right off the bat.

This was her first time with the full height teeter. Interestingly, she did it fine the first time but kept bailing after that. She actually jumped off, tripped and landed on her cin which had to have hurt. Poor little suasage.

I have started the 2x2 training in earnest and have no one to 2 sets of poles at 12 and 6 and 2 and 8. We've only done one session but she seemed to have a fairly high success rate, about 75%. She looks up to see her treat sailing over her head...not a good habit. I will have to figure out how to solve that one.

I am also starting her at home on 4 jump pinwheels. I can get her to out about 6 feet and jump. However, she often misses the third jump as she goes wide and around. I think we will do some one jump work with the idea of getting her to narrow that parabola.

Tonight we start rally.

Work continues for Miss Joule. I am just now starting her with the 2x2 weave method. We are working 2 sets of poles, one in front of the other. I am trying this on the lawn but I find that it is difficult for her to see the reward and this results in much time spent searching for her treat after going through the poles. I think I will try scraping an area down to dirt in the dog run and see if that helps. I am now going to attack this seriously and will post a training schedule for our progress soon.



We have had our first set of puppy agility classes and this past Thursday, ran our first course. very interetsing. She loves it. Good start line stay (yeahhh!) and lots of flat out running. I was amazed that she completely ignored all the other dogs during her run. I noticed that she was easily pulled off an obstacle by me moving away. not surprising for a young dog but this indicates we will need to do some lateral work. Also, there was a tunnel curving under the A-frame. This required me to send her into the tunnel and veer away to get around the A-frame. She could not go trhough the tunnel. Hmmm!

WORKING THE BALL

It must be almost the hardest thing in the world to be a pug in training in my house. Joule loves to play ball. lately, I've been adding extra elements to our ball tossing games besides just fetching. Sometimes, she just has to lie down before I will throw the ball. Occasionally, she thinks the ball has left my hand and tears off madly. Once she realizes there is no ball out there and turns around, I ask for a down as she is in mid-flight. I am hoping that this will translate to a snappy drop on recall in the obedience ring. Sometimes, she must stay in a sit or down or stand until released and then she can chase after the object of her desire. Sometimes, she must stay while I play with Jin right beside her. Other times, she must stay while I hop around, flipping the ball about by its rope and generally making a fool of myself. While she loves to retreive, these games seem to make the adventure even more exciting. I like to mix it up and keep her guessing so that its not boring. each time I through the ball, she is asked to do something different than the previous time.

In a recent puppy class I was in with Dana Pike, she talked a lot about start line stays. When her dog is in a stay at the startline, she says "ready, ready, ready" to build excitement before releasing the dog to run. Not that a lack of excitement is much of an issue in this household ( after all, I have pugs...not those lazy bcs) but I like the idea of the speaking to the dog at the start line with something other than the stay command, something that tells them they should stay put but that good things are ahead. So, I am incorporating this into my ball games. When Joule stays, I tell her to keep staying but I have added "ready" and then her release. My clever plan is to lay the foudnation for a start line stay. I have no idea if this will really work but its worth a try. And, the main reasons I started this blog were to keep track not only of our trianing but also to have a record I could look back on to determine if the methods I used had the desired results in the end.

In addition to taking the edge off what is a very edgy bitch, I find that the added intellectual component of our playtime really does help quiet her mind and make her a bit more bearable. I will have to devise some new activities to add to our game to keep both her and I on our collective toes.

MORE ON THE ART OF SELF CONTROL

Yikes! Now if that doesn't look like the hound from Hell, I don't know what does. This is Joule on a down, waiting to be released so she can have dinner. She has to lie on this mat with her elbows on the floor, nice and still and quiet. Not an easy feat for a hot rod! Note the flews pulled flat in disgust and impatience.

I waited to ask this of her until I was sure she understood what was expected when she was asked to stay. Her stay was not yet consistent but I could see the comprehension was there. Interestingly, this has proven to be an excellent method of very rapidly improving her stays. I never thought about it before but I suppose the reason dogs struggle with the command (once they understand it) is, in many instances, just a lack of the ability to control themselves when faced with distractions and/or urges to do something else. I am thrilled with the progress she is making and also, how this crazed, frenetic little beast is teaching me more and more about the secret ways of a dog's mind.

It's All About Self Control

Joule is a maniac and one of the things we have been working hard on is developing her self control. This was hard when she was younger but now she is beginning to grasps the concept. She learned long ago that she was not to rush out the door without being invited to do so. However, that still continues to be a problem when company arrives. She gets into such a frenzy she just rushes out and buzzes all around them as they enter the house. Obviously, we need more work on this. I want to work on her stay at the door but will wait until she is a little better at holding still so that there will be an opportunity to do the right thing (if even for a few seconds) and be rewarded.

One of the things we do to reinforce that good things come to those who wait are Joule's feeding time exercises. She is fed second. She must go to the mat in front of the sink and lay down, elbows, chest, belly and hocks flat on the floor. There she must stay until she is released. I have been gradually lengthening her waiting time although I won't make it too long. I don't want to punish her, just make her control herself a bit and not indulge in a frenzied pre-feeding frenzy. When she is released, she must go to where she gets fed and do a nice, straight obedience style sit and once she does that, dinner is served. Originally, we started with sitting on the mat rather than the down position but because I was working on her downs, I asked her to switch. She is well patterned and offers the down so now it's time to mix it up a bit and ask for something else. Again, I don't intend this to be a punishment even if it sounds strict. Joule is a very drivey, motivated, energetic dog and she needs to be worked and challenged to keep her from going off the rails and getting into trouble.

Introduction

This is my blog to help my keep track of the education of Miss Joule. I probably should have done this ages ago but nevertheless, here we go. Right now, the little miscreant is snoring away at my feet, sleeping off the after effects of last night's New Year's Eve party.

In the picture at left, you can see her after we first brought her home. Other than size, not much has changed since then. She is still a little naughtster!

Joule has been clicker trained from the start. Just to keep things straight, she has the following commands in varying degrees of completion:

1. heel
2. come
3. front
4. park (aka stay)
5. get in (left side finish)
6. finish (right side finish)
7. down (verbal and hand signal)
8. sit (verbal and hand signal)
9. stand
10. drop on recall
11. get it
12. get on it
13. go
14. starting out
15. off
16. tunnel
17. table

As well, she has numerous other day-to-day commands like "crate" and "get you coat on". She is great at running out and around various obtsacles (cones, vinegar bottles, jump standards) on command. And, she immediately stops whatever mischief she is up to when I say "Joule, what are you doing?".

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