Over and Back - TUG!

Yep, it's flyball homework time. I have an ongoing problem with Spoiled One. He's 60lbs of klutz regarding jumps. He's a GSD/Aussie mix, so he bounds over the flyball hurdles like a bunny rabbit, but when doing homework involving over and back over a hurdle, he wiped out all my jumps. "Over" crunch! Ooopsie. I've tried various things. Styrofoam gets destroyed pretty quickly. He wipes out wood. Slippery plastic wrapped toilet paper rolls go flying every which way. My latest attempt involves plastic roof gutters. I have figured out a hacksaw doesn't work well to cut gutter. Those little wire nipper things rather suck at it as well. Oh, well, eventually a section about a yard long was separated from the rest, the longer remainder was slipped behind the couch (causing a very fluffy cat to emerge from the other side) and we set to work.

First was Weasel, to bolster my faith in the potential of this to work. Besides, once I finished with Spoiled One, I would be too frustrated and discouraged to work with her. My little suck up Weasel performed as expected, happily bouncing over and back like a ping pong ball, over the gutter. I quickly moved to the practice box and she did that spiffily as well. My courage thus fortified, I put her up and brought out Spoiled One.

Sigh.

How can one dog be so klutzy? That gutter went flying every which way. It's like he's not even aware of his own feet! I tried showing it too him, and he would slap a paw on it, or try to pick it up. Anytime I tried the over and back though, he landed right on top of it, feet going everywhere, eyes fixed on the tug. I think most of it is handler issues, though. I need to be clearer in my communication, and more patient. It probably would be good to chop up the remainder of the gutter, lay them out in a random pattern, and make him walk back and forth over it, like is done with horses to teach them awareness of their feet. Or, I could do the agility ladder thing. I do own a ladder now. . .

OooooooOOOooooo The LADDER. That's an idea!

oowie oowie

Weasel missed the tug and got my hand at practice today. Hurts. I enjoyed a few hypochondriac moments wondering if it were broken, but all the fingers still work. Stiff, swollen and changing colors, though. Kind of interesting to watch.

The good part about it was that she was going for the tug. I think I am making real progress with her. I'm working her going straight back from the box now, instead of over-rotating her, and it seems to be going well. Spoiled One was going all the way over the prop sometimes. He didn't pull the "miss the first jump" thing he was doing at previous practices, either. He is tending to jump over the jump to the box, then bound off the box wide, instead of heading back down the lane. I was starting to make some progress by screaming for him just before he hit the box, while standing on the opposite side of which he turns toward. He was tiring, though, by the time I discovered that.

On the whine and grumble list: We ran a line up first thing, and the dogs were bobbling because they weren't used to the prop, so they took it out :( How will they get used to the prop if it isn't there? How will the dogs progress if they aren't challenged? Frustrating. Alas, the world doesn't revolve around me and my opinions. However, I did get boxtraining sessions in with both of them with the prop on their own. And, I've bought some gutter which I am going to use during the week with the practice box.

I'd really like it if we could somehow do a skill training/boxwork session midweek. I'd be willing to plan it if I could be sure of at least one other person showing up and if I knew of an indoor place with lighting where we could work. There are no lights in the field, and by the time I get off of work, it's dark. I live in a residential area, so I can't just set something up in the garage and do it due to the barking. grumble.

Anyway, nothing earth shattering. Pretty typical practice.