We started off working on rear crosses into a straight tunnel, the broad jump, and the table. Hobbs had a little bit of a hard time with the broad jump because he was too focused on me. He would get to the jump and not know what to do with himself. So he stepped on it 3 or 4 times, but seemed to get it in the end. Rear crosses are also a bit of a challenge because he gets patterned doing it one way and then doesn't watch me and just continues to do it the same way. We will be working on that this week.
Then we started on the sequence.
This isn't the whole thing. The obstacles to the right got cut off. Click to enlarge and see the whole thing.
It was pretty straightforward until the last three obstacles. It was Jump, Jump, Table. The only problem was that the first jump in the ending sequence was the last jump in a straight line of jumps where the dogs couldn't pick up a lot of speed. When I first looked at it I figured it would be easiest to do a front cross, but then I realized how fast Hobbs could be going. So I thought about doing a rear cross, but his rear crosses are bad in tunnels and then are REALLY bad over jumps....like non existent over jumps.
Our instructor said she thought I would be able to do the front cross so we tried it! It would have been much better if Hobbs had a get out command for jump #4. Instead I had to get pretty close to it and then haul my tush to beat him to #7 so I could do the front cross. The Table was visible at the end of the line of jumps which was very tempting to Hobbs. He never went all the way to it though! We got to do it twice all the way through, and from jump 4 to the table about 7 times. I never did try the rear cross because all but 1 of the times I beat him to the 7th jump. Lol, the one time I didn't was pretty funny. I got to jump 5 about the time he got to jump 6 and when I realized I wasn't going to get there in time, I thought I had just mumbled "crap" but apparently I shouted it. The other two ladies in the class laughed and I tried to finish the sequence as I was laughing too.
We also did a little sequence:
It was pretty straight forward, and Hobbs didn't have any problems with it.
My home work for this week is to re-create that situation and get him watching me better so that I can get a smooth front cross after a line of jumps. And we are going to work on some rear cross exercises. As of right now we can't even get them right on the flat ground so I need to figure out why and how to fix the problem. Also I am going to work with him on his "get out" command.......it is not going to be easy. "Get Out" is the command we were working on in the spring with chairs, a trash can, and a tree and he thought it meant to jump on or try to climb all three. I am going to triple my effort and get him OUT!
Next week is the last week of class :( The other ladies in the class are going to keep going to the barn every week at the same time and I think we will join them. Then we are going to start another class on the 14th of December and just work around the holidays. I am starting to realize how fast March is approaching and how soon Hobbs and I could be competing in our first trial!
On the subject of Hobbs' fitness, I have been putting him on the treadmill every couple of days and we have worked up to 20 minutes of trotting at 4.2mph at a 1.5-2.0 incline. Today he seemed a little tired, but wasn't completely pooped after the workout. I have also been teaching him some stretches. I really want to teach him to do the big bowwing stretch that dogs do first thing in the morning. I will just have to keep a clicker by my bed and try to catch it.....lol I will be amazed if it works!
2 comments:
Just a bit of thought on rear crosses...one of the reasons I struggle with rear crosses is because I work so far out in front of Chelsie. Another reason is that she moves to my speed - so when I slow down, she slows down. This is sort of problem in rear crosses because the dog needs to be ahead of you to effectively do a rear cross. Yet another reason I am very careful about where I use them is because I tend to distract her over jumps, which causes knocked bars..and I am not 100% confident in my timing on rear crosses.
In my last class, my instructor got all over me about rear crosses and my confidence in Chelsie's ability to do them. I have really started to challenge myself on the rear crosses and force myself to do them in class...it only took 4 years. Of course, most of the time, she does it just fine and keeps moving. :) My next dog will probably be an all rear cross dog, go figure. :) I do use rear crosses in trials, I am just very careful about where I use them. If a rear cross is the best option and there are no off course opportunities, I will use one. But it is rare.
You should TOTALLY be able to trial in March. I will see if I can pick a few more courses from Scott so you can see them. Just remember that jumpers course...
You have beautiful dogs. Thanks for putting the courses up, too, as the place I practice at is long and narrow, so I always need funky ideas for obstacles to set up. My dog needs tremendous work on obstacle discrimination when it comes to the A-Frame, so that could be really useful to me.
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