# Riley and Avery's Training Tales



## AgilityPoodles (Dec 13, 2018)

*** Disclaimer: I am not a professional dog trainer nor do I portray one on television. ***

Hello all, I am starting this thread to track progress both Riley and Avery are making in their training journeys. I've slacked off some with Riley, so this thread will help me stay accountable and motivated with both boys. 

Riley is 10 years old and still going strong. We are focusing on agility at this time and lately really coming together as a team.

Avery is 1 year old and a blank canvas. We are focusing on foundation work at this time for both obedience and agility. 

First and foremost, we are having fun, so we hope you will as well when you read our tales.


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## AgilityPoodles (Dec 13, 2018)

*Avery's Week Ending 12/15/2018*

Avery has been part of the family for 12 weeks. In that time, he's completed his first obedience course and started attending weekly drop-in sessions. Drop-in sessions can have anywhere from 4-20 dogs attending. We do a variety of different exercises and games, so it is a lot of fun. I help with classes at the training center, so I have seen and feel comfortable with most of the dogs there.

During our pre-class warm up, Avery and I worked on look and watch me. Additionally, we spent time on reinforcement zone. I was pleased to see Avery putting himself into heel position with head up and an eager to do more look on his face. For reinforcement zone, I've been trying to focus Avery's attention on my knee so that he doesn't move out of place to look up at my face. He seems to prefer looking up, though, so we will continue on and see how we progress. 

For me, I am remaining conscious of the tendency to bend over too much and trying to stay as upright as possible.

There were 17 dogs in class which is probably a record. Luckily, the area is large enough to accommodate us all. The first half of class was predominantly spent on heeling exercises. I was extremely pleased with Avery at one point when we were told to stop moving forward and march in place. Avery automatically sat when my forward motion stopped. Additionally, we performed down stays and stand for exam. Both of these areas are works in progress for Avery. He did allow the instructor to lightly touch him with me by his side, so that was a large improvement. 

During the second half of class, each student received a Christmas word and had to come up with a command for each letter of the word. We were allowed to use some of the training equipment: jumps, cones, etc. to aid with the game. It was a fun way to spend the last half of class. Some handlers were more creative than others. The only bad thing about class was that it was the last one for the year. 

On the agenda for the week ending 12/21/2018 is crate games as it will be the foundation for a lot of our work in agility.


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## Charleeann67:) (Nov 6, 2017)

Love your post! I see I'm not the only one that will be doing foundational work with crate games! My mini is good with IYC and with a martingale collar he is good with loose leash. He is so excitable that it will be good for me to start the new obedience classes after the new year in addition to the other Recaller work I've been doing at home.


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## AgilityPoodles (Dec 13, 2018)

With Riley, I did two stints of Recallers but admittedly did not focus like I should. It's taken a lot longer for us to gel as an agility team than I would have liked. I intend to remedy that with Avery. We are enrolled in Handling360 and Agilty Nation this year, so I intend to use a lot of the foundation work with both boys.


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## Charleeann67:) (Nov 6, 2017)

I confess that I have not focused like I should. I have made it through collar grab, IYC, RZ and kept avoiding crate games. It seems there is so much to do once I get home and I always take Rudy out for a long romp after being crated while I'm at work. Training tells a person just as much about themselves as it does about their dog! I realized I need the training of Recallers but I also need the structure of organized or "formal" classes. That's why I signed up for another class. Also, this new place has canine good citizen CGC, nose work agility etc. so I can continue there once I see where Rudy's talent lies. I think I'm too old for agility! Ha! No way could I move like that anymore!


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## AgilityPoodles (Dec 13, 2018)

*Riley's Week Ending 12/15/2018*

Riley attends agility class on Wednesday evenings. There are typically six teams in the class, and we've been together for almost two years. The evening started off with practice doing sends behind a line (tunnel, jump, tunnel) a la gamblers. We had the option to start out further on the course to get our dogs in the groove, and I should have done that as Riley would not send to the tunnel. Note to self: Run the course my way and not how everyone else does it.

Additionally, we did an exercise where we put our dog on a wait and walked across the room. We stopped and stood with hands in front of us and backs to our dogs. Then, we turned our head to the left and called our dog. As our dog approached, we were to turn our head to the right. The object was to show how in tune our dogs are to our body language. The dog will most likely go to the side your head is turned, unless you're Riley. I performed this exercise twice. Both times, Riley came to the left. Early in Riley's training, I focused a lot on him finding heel position and coming to heel. It was evident that his early training was instilled in his mind because both times he came to heel.

The course for the night was a generous one with lots of speed early and no real jumping traps. The only issue we struggled with a bit was weave entries. The weaves were after the dog walk with an entrance that wasn't particularly tricky, but the weave placement at the back of the room where there was a bit of noise (ring gating, spare equipment, etc.) always seems to present an issue for Riley. In the new year, I am hoping to rent some floor time to work on some skills. This will be one of them. The earlier gamble was part of the closing sequence. Riley nailed it each time.

One more week of class to go this year, then it is a mini break for us. We will be working on foundation skills at home.


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## AgilityPoodles (Dec 13, 2018)

It is difficult to find time to do everything in a day. I use the boys' meals as training time, so that's how I fit most of it in. My resolution for 2019 is to stay focused. It sounds like you have found a similar place to the one I attend. There is a host of dog sport options available. I like trying them all and finding each dog's niche. You're never too old for agility, especially if you can get that distance work and verbals.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

We love having threads like this. It helps all of us stay honest about keeping up our work and we can get great ideas from one another.


Today we had one person who came for obedience routines and then it got so rainy that we all got flash flood warnings on our phones so we called or texted everyone we thought might be planning to come to my novice class and told them to stay home. We left early. I never even took Lily and Javelin out of my truck.


I am not done grading yet, but after tomorrow I should be and I have three Mondays off after New Year's to do some training time with two friends. We have rented obedience ring space at another facility for two hours each of those days. I also signed on the rent an hour each Monday evening those weeks at my own club and hope to get some private training time, I also have some match ring rentals in New Jersey. Keep your fingers crossed for the weather to be favorable.


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## AgilityPoodles (Dec 13, 2018)

The new year schedule for the training center was just posted today. Classes resume January 14 with one built in snow day for each session. Agility run throughs are being offered on January 7 and 9. We will watch the weather to see if we'll be able to make either of those dates. This time of year you wouldn't think the weather warning would be for flash flooding. Crazy!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

It was 60* this afternoon in the NYC metro area. One of my nearby friends said her rain gauge collected over 2.5" when we were texting this afternoon. I'll take the flash floods since if it was 25ish just think how much snow that would have been! I had to pass through some flooded spots, but no underpasses or severe low spots that might have been dangerously deep and most of the way I had vehicles in front of me that gave a sense of what was coming. I am happy for my full size SUV. Better than dealing with snow any day to me. I hope your weather lets you get to all of your scheduled sessions.


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

I love this thread! Yes, posting about our training keeps us all motivated, so thank you. Your dogs sound awesome. I can't wait to read more.


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## AgilityPoodles (Dec 13, 2018)

*Riley's Week Ending 12/22/2018*

Wednesday was agility night for Riley, our last class of the year. I've attached a drawing of this week's course. This is a rough drawing and not to scale.

On our first run, there was a pile of presents on the table. When we got there, we had to fill our arms and run the rest of the course holding the boxes. This served as a distraction for the dog as well as made us rely on more than just our arms to direct our dog around the remainder of the course. 

Each run, I was successful with a front cross at the end of the teeter to get Riley over the jump. Some of the other handlers struggled here either not doing a front cross or not getting their dog's attention to keep them out of the tunnel.

After the weaves, the jump called for a slice. Even with an armful of presents, I was extremely pleased that Riley got that. In days of old, he would have either gone around the back, missed the jump entirely, or jumped very wide on gone for the table. We did miss it on our second run, but I think I had crowded him too much. I got that corrected in the third run.

All in all, I was very pleased with this week's results. We had taken a lengthy break over the summer as it seemed like agility just wasn't fun for Riley (or me). He was refusing tunnels and not jumping with his normal enthusiasm. I took a long look at my handling techniques and knew something had to change as we were both frustrated. 

Riley is fast and will let me drive from behind. I knew I was not clear in my directions to him, either getting them out way too late or not at all. He was making up his own courses since his partner was letting him down. 

I have been working a lot on my own mechanics to make sure I am using my full arm and turning my head and shoulder to invite Riley in. Additionally, especially at the start line, I am making eye contact with him as I call him over that first jump. I'm also keeping my voice low and regulated throughout the run. These things are subtle, but have made a huge impact. We are really coming together as a team, and loving our date night.

In the coming week, Riley and I will be working on some flatwork exercises at home. I will be preparing a training journal for 2019 and getting plans in place.


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

I like that you decided to back up and focus on what you're doing wrong, rather than blaming the dog. That's a sign of an excellent trainer. It takes humility to realize that you're throwing off your dog in some way. Back up and figure out where you're screwing up, and make little tweaks. You dog is going to do great. I can't want to hear more.


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## AgilityPoodles (Dec 13, 2018)

*Avery's Week Ending 12/22/2018*

I didn't hit as many things this week with Avery as I'd hoped, but we had a good week nonetheless. We worked a few sessions of Crate Games. Yesterday, he was finally getting his "aha" moment and moving himself to the back of the crate when I touched the door. We will continue to work on the games this week.

Additionally, I spent time this week working on leaving Avery home alone (crated) without Riley in the house. Avery came from a home with multiple dogs, and I doubt he was ever home without at least one other dog present. Until now, he's always tagged along if I take Riley somewhere. Early efforts to crate Avery in a room other than the living room caused him great stress, so I was concerned that leaving him alone would have similar results.

I started by simply taking Riley with me to get the mail. I then added a little more duration by walking down to the corner (about 1/4 mile total). I could watch Avery through my indoor camera, so I could see that although he was alert, he wasn't overly fretful during these short trips. On Thursday, I took Riley with me to the local feed store. We were gone maybe 25 minutes. Before heading home, I checked the camera and saw Avery was laying down, but pressed up against the side of the crate. He would pop up at any little sound and then lay back down. At least he wasn't crying. In the coming week, I plan to take Riley out for more solo trips of varying times to gauge reaction. My goal is for Avery to be able to stay home at times when Riley goes to class, vet, etc. 

This week, I also did a preliminary introduction to stretching exercises. I've been guilty of not getting Riley warmed up properly for agility and don't want to make the same mistake with Avery. My mechanics were not very good on the early attempt, so we will try again next week.

We rounded out the week with reinforcement zone work and pivots. 

Up for the coming week will be working on some basic manners. At times Avery is that toddler who thinks everything is his, and he has to horn in. IYC, find your place, and just basic stays are on tap.


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