Sen, Princess of Wildflowers

It might not be as nice as a Finnish forest, but sometimes we can find a bit of beauty. Of course it helps when you have another bit of beauty with you (Sen my sweetheart)

Mud Buddies :)

 

Chicken Camp 2013

Last weekend I made a big bucket list tick and finally got to go to Terry Ryan's Chicken Camp. Thanks to the lovelies at Paw Prints Pet Training, the dream was realised! I cannot recommend it enough to anyone wanting to be a better trainer, or to chicken enthusiasts in general!

What I learnt:
- Chickens are far easier to train than dogs in many ways. They see it, they get it. BUT - you need to be fast to catch it or they may not give you a second chance.

The chickens were able to learn 3-component behaviour chains in approximately 10 x 30 second training sessions - AMAZING!

- Following on from the above, it is wise to make very short very focused sessions. Meaning SHORT like less than a minute on one thing.

I have always used brief and focused dog training but I learnt that I will probably get better results if I make sessions even shorter and more focused that I currently do.

- CONCENTRATE! my mind wanders, and this is a big barrier to progress.

- BE STILL! I was a big mover, and chickens do not like movement. They want you to be still.

No doubt my dog training will also benefit from the removal of all superfluous movement too. This is really an unconscious part of focusing that I should work to improve.

The chicken preparation was great. Apparently it takes around 2 months to get them used to the intense handling, standing on the table, and staying in their crates.

If only the wider world could understand that all beings are highly intelligent; how then would the world be?

Sen Then & Now

I have been meaning to make this for a while now. Sometimes it is good to stop and notice that although I might not have much time to train, if I chip away in a focused manner I will get the sort of result I want. This video show the result of a slow two year's off and on work on Sen's seesaw. For a long time this was a problematic obstacle for her, but now we are getting somewhere!

Sen reflects

Mr Big and his bling

"Here I am looking most disinterested. I hate these bling shots, especially with my ratty hair"

Bigi and his new ADAA title ribbon, and State Ch ribbon (Novice Jumping 300) that has been lying around for some time now, awaiting a snap shot. Good on you my boy! Medical problems continue to improve and Sir is becoming happier every day. Bigi is the first Schipperke to appear on the ADAA website as having a title under ADAA (no way of knowing if their were predecessors in the non-digital age).

 

 

Six months of Aus agility

Last weekend's mega-fun ADAA competition brings the team to 6 months of competition Down Under. Let us summarise:

ANKC agility results
From 2 competitions (Western Classic and WA State Championships)

Sen:
Jumping Dog Title
2013 Western Classic Novice Jumping Champion (300)
2 x AD passes

Bigi:
2013 WA Sate Champion Novice Jumping (300)
2 x JD passes
He qualified in everything he entered :)

ADAA agility results

Sen (3 competition weekends):
3 passes (2 x CS and 1 x IN)

Bigi (2 competition weekends):
AAD title
1 x Teams pass (pairs relay)

 

(photos by Courtney)

And now for some pie (6 month run result flavour):

One cannot be anything but happy with just the fact that Bigi is back in competition. Thought that would never happen! He has not got quite back to his usual percentage of Q, but this is partly because he had a few runs at 400 height in ADAA before it dawned on me that the Regular Program height would be better for him.

I am also very happy with Sen. She is starting to relax more at competitions and do better work. I think she is actually doing exceptionally well given the amount of training she has had prior to starting competition.

The clear area in need of more work for Sen is handler focus. I so much wanted her to be independent that I think I might have over-trained a bit here - I did not mean "do the whole course as you see fit" :), irrespective of what it might actually be. This weekend she did some very very nice runs. Her most common error is leaving weave poles and I am convinced I am causing this somehow as it only occurs in competition. I feel it is a micromanagement issue and I need to work on just leaving her to get on with the job. For many of her runs this has been her only fault, but there have been a few departures of the ring to tour the neighbourhood too :(. At least no muggings of other dogs have occurred during these.

And now tis really time for desert,