Sunday, May 25, 2008

Weavin' Machines

I started Teller on weaves two weeks ago. I decided he was physically mature enough to start them and now that it's finally spring here in Vermont (I hope so anyway) I can nail the weaves into the ground so that they don't move around as he moves through them - somehow I thought he might be one of "those" dogs that really move and groove through the poles. This has proven to be the case to some small extent - he's still learning so he's not hitting them with his shoulders all the time, but I see that with confidence he's going to need them bolted to the ground {giggle}.

My routine the last few mornings is to feed the dogs, get myself dressed and showered then head out to the yard to work weaves - half a stick of cheese worth for each dog in the weaves and another in stays: Murphy does a sit-stay while Teller works weaves and then Teller "honors" while Murphy weaves. This has done two things - it makes it a whole lot more convenient for me to work stays with good distractions and it's made Murphy's weaves better - he's moving faster and I can push him - I haven't been able to push him in the weaves before and that's consistantly been a problem in competition. I can't wait to see if this holds up when we go to Southern Berkshire in a few weeks.

We went up to Ruthie's today to play agility - it was Teller's first time working agility anywhere other than my backyard and inside at Waggles, I wasn't really sure what to expect - I should never doubt Teller. There was a minimal amount of sniffing (lots of wildlife there including a weasel observed on the other side of the pond {gasp}) and some pretty good smells. He never left me and he stayed in the game. Mentally he's got about 5 minutes of really good work and then he's "done" and I've got to watch him for those signs. Another really fantastic tid-bit from today is that Teller saw 12 poles for the first time today and did them all on the first try - I know it shouldn't work like that - but today it did! Teller also saw a full height dog-walk for the first time too and again - it just wasn't an issue.

Murphy worked well but suffered a bit more from the "we're outside and there's good smells, oh my god I've got to play" syndrome, but they were shorter than last year and far less dramatic. For Murphy this is progress.

The boys came home and had a 30 minute swim - well over 70 degrees today here - and have spent a good portion of the afternoon sacked out in a semi-conscious drool state (even Teller), though they do both still get up to accompany me to the restroom - so helpful!

Here's the newest youtube video, I call it "Summer Weavin'" - get it?

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