My First Time :-)

HI Everyone!

OK, first off let me say I am not a "blogger" so anyone who reads this, enjoys it, and, gets something productive out of it can thank my dear friend Amy who has twisted my arm into a pretzel to get me started :-)

I admit it is a great marketing tool and an even better way to reach gazillions of people who are equally obsessed with dog training, more specifically, agility training. I am just not incredibly good a tooting my own horn, or keeping up with this type of thing. You could also fit my technological savvy in a thimble, these are a lot of strikes against me embracing the blogging format.

With that said I want to do this not only to spread the word about C Spot Teach but also to talk about agility training!

It has taken me a while to even know where to begin, but I had an epiphany when I was out training my dogs yesterday and it continued with the phone conversation with a friend, described herein, so here goes.

Blog topic no. 1: The value in paying attention to your dog and deciding on what behaviors to teach and how, based on your dogs comfort level and understanding of of different methods.

This is quite a mouthful I know and here is how it came about. I was on the phone with a friend and we were discussing various learned behaviors and how important criteria maintenance and clarity is in the overall picture that you are trying to create with your training, I mentioned that amongst my many dogs there are a vast number of differences in the cues as well as the methodology used to teach agility behaviors. This includes flat area cues and behaviors as well as obstacle performance criteria and training.

For example, I am currently competing with 4 different dogs and they each have different variations of start line and contact behaviors. One dog learned a 4 on the floor contact performance, another has running dog walk and A-frame, another has a running A-frame and 2on/2off dog walk, and the 4th a modified version of all of the above! :-)

On the start line, 2 of my dogs have a position cue and a stay command and 2 have no position cue and a stay command. I am presently training a pup that has no stay command just position cues that have a built in "stay".

It is not my desire to perpetually live in a state of confusion by teaching an inordinate number of behaviors to my various dogs, but, my fondest wish is to get the best possible performance with the greatest level of accuracy and consistency out of each and every one of them.

I have found that the best way to do this is by "listening" to the dog and adapting my training to fit their understanding, physicality, level of athletic ability, temperment, etc.. Veruca learned a 4 on the floor contact performance although truthfully it is not a method that I would ever choose on my own simply because of the number of dogs I have witnessed miss the contact while they are diving for the drop after the obstacle. This is not, nor should it be construed as an anti 4 on the floor testimonial as I am sure that in many cases it was perhaps missed steps in training, but it has just never appealed to me as a first option. Anyway, Veruca is a rather short backed stockily built BC who I knew was not set up for a 2on/2off or a running contact so my initial plan was to do am modified running or moving contact utilizing a foot touch as the catalyst for shortening her stride. In the process of teaching the foot target I just kept shaping more and more criteria until she was racing to the board and laying down. At this point it still did not occur to me that I was going to do a 4 on the floor. My plan was to place the mouse pad or board on the end of the contact in the yellow area and cue her to hit it before leaving the obstacle.

It was purely accidental that I had the board on the floor a foot or so away from the contact and Veruca ran to it and laid down on it.

"Lightbulb moment", why not use what I taught her and shape it in a way that made the most sense to her. Although I am sure that subconsciously I have been training to my dogs strengths for many years this was the turning point in truly making this a part of my conscious thought process when deciding on what methodology or behavior criteria I am going to use with any dog.

Dog's are not cut from the same cloth or made with a mold, they are all different and it is important to respect those differences within any training program. The need for consistency and clarity never changes but the methods you employ to get from point A to point Z certainly can.

I think it is going to be fun to share ideas and bounce some of my thoughts off of the agility public! Thanks for listening and input is always appreciated.

I guess I left you hanging on the start line issue, oh well another topic for another day..

Stacy