As I'd hoped, Wall-e wasn't the least bit nervous of the fun match environment. Woohoo!!
I brought a container of fish in the ring for his first run because there were some spots that I wanted to reward at (after the weaves, after the teeter, after the chute, and after the last obstacle). He was focused on the container and as a result didn't see the 6-pole weaves until they were staring him in the face; he tried to collect, but ended up going around them. I had him nose-touch my palm (which he did very quickly!) for a piece of fish, then brought him around to the weaves again, and he got 'em. He had nice speed throughout the rest of the run. We ran the whole course except for the first few obstacles because the A-frame was the third obstacle (I had the contact hoop for the dog walk, but nothing for the AF, and I didn't want him to rehearse jumping over the yellow).
We got another turn at the same course later, again skipping the first few obstacles. This time, though, I didn't bring any treats in with me.
Wall-e ran his very first full course today; a Starters Jumpers, which is what he'll be running at his first trial in two weeks. And he ran it clean!! I would have liked him faster, but he was running at a good speed. He's not running full speed yet, but I'm thinking that he will eventually. I noticed at the last fun match that he seems to runs faster at 16" than at 10". (Either that, or it just seems that way because of the higher jumps, but I do think that he extends more while running at 16".) He was running at 10" today because that's what he's entered in for his trial. Well anyway, I was really pleased about his Jumpers run and it convinced me that he actually IS ready for his trial!
I also ran Mika through a few sequences in the practice ring. (Usually they only have a couple of jumps set up in the practice ring, but this time there were many jumps and a tunnel.) When an Australian Cattle Dog got loose and started chasing Mika along the fence, she was so focused on me that she didn't even notice!
Woo hoo!! What a successful day! I bet he'll get faster too as he gains experience and confidence, especially with your very wise approach that the dog is always right. You've done a great job getting him ready. Looking forward to his trial debut!
ReplyDeleteWow, sounds like things went great!! Good for you guys. Diana
ReplyDeleteAll very good news! Glad things went so well and I am looking forward to seeing Wall-e in his first trial (assuming there will be video!!)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds Wall-E had a good fun there. Good job.
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