Shame About the Handler

I haven't actually watched Greg Derrett's DVD of this name, but the quote came to mind when I watched my videos from practice this weekend.

In terms of finding her way around the course (with a few exceptions), my dog is leap years ahead of me. Marisa says I am outright spoiled with Marge and am going to be in for a wake-up call when I get my next agility dog. She has saved me countless times on course. And I mean countless.

Here's what I set up for yesterday's practice. I've been itching to do box work for a while, knew I needed to work on the A-Frame contact, and threw in the discrimination because we haven't done much of that, either.

The box part of the sequence was actually inspired by a sequence I did way back in Beginner Agility.. a sequence I previously aced. When I ran it back then, I front crossed between 5 and 6, and, since my front crosses currently leave much to be desired, I wanted to try my hand at in again.

Not so lucky, this time. Looking at the video, I think a rear cross would have worked ten times better. But, I was so bent on the front cross that I kept doing it anyway. It most likely made it harder for my dog and I.



The double pinwheel at the beginning was also trickier than I previously imagined. Because I needed to race Marge to get into front cross position, I pulled away before she committed to the fourth jump and she, as a result, didn't take it. It was fixed with a "go" (and/or lots of encouragement once she started to tire -- as you'll hear in the video) but I kind of feel like using a go-out in that scenario is like lying to her since she has to come in to me immediately after.

Marge was flying around this course. She came out of the tunnel, took the double and was suddenly a million light years ahead of me. I fell prey to my usual error and tried to beat her, rather than decelerating to cue her to slow down. Then, I made matters worse by getting in her path over and over again -- which led to either a bar down or a really tight turn by Marge. I could just smack myself! I also probably put the double too close to the wall, making the angle really hard for her to get over the next jump.

These video clips are from the end of the session, which explains all of the praising and rewarding - I finally realized at this point that we weren't really feeling this course, so I broke it down and made it more fun. After this, I went as far as to stop every 2-3 obstacles and just feed, feed, feed. Marge wasn't really stressed, but I felt like maybe I'd confused her or made things more difficult for her; since my first priority with agility is having fun, that's exactly what I did.

She tired out really quickly, probably since she was going so fast in the beginning. I wouldn't say it was a wasted day, but I feel like we spent ourselves early on and didn't really get to work on much. I think I tried so hard to incorporate front crosses that I used them when something else would have worked better. Way to be counterproductive!

The A-Frame contact -- it's coming along. The nose touch with the post-it as a target has helped tremendously. She's still slamming into it more than I like and creeps down it when she starts to get tired, but I'm still trying to find the perfect distance to put the target from the frame so that she gets into 2o2o position on preferably the last board. She's doing great with hopping up on the side and getting into position.

For the next rental, I think I'm going to take a break from the A-Frame and just do some simple stuff.. teeter work, table work, and maybe some novice-type front crosses. For my next lesson with my instructor, I'd like to work on tunnel sends (hers were god-awful yesterday) and some general handling things - AKA, training me.

Once again, I have to thank my boyfriend for coming along - I can't even move the A-Frame an inch without him. And, I would have never had the time to set all of that stuff up and run the course without his help.

In other news, we are now the proud owners of an obedience dumbbell - though Marge won't be competing in obedience any time soon (very possibly never), I'm having fun learning the exercises and training something that's a little less impact during our down time. Stay tuned for video later in the week.

Unexpected Life

We had a surprise coating of snow this morning. It made for a messy morning commute to my first day of classes, but Marge thoroughly enjoyed it when I got home. Here, I egged her on and she did all kinds of zoomy/bitey stuff with the snow.

Today, we saw a neighborhood teeny tiny Boston Terrier who Marge absolutely loves. We met one day in the field a while ago and on subsequent meetings, we would approach each other and they'd begin playing immediately. I was shocked upon approaching them today alongside the road when the owner said, "he bites!"

I thought maybe she forgot who I was, but she remembered me and Marge. The two dogs did approach each other, Marge play bowing and wagging her tail wildly, and he was okay, until all of a sudden, he let out a few big-dog-in-a-little-package sort of noises and the owner quickly pulled him back.

I do not know this woman well at all, but we spoke a little bit about it. She explained that one day, all of a sudden, the little guy just decided to get snarky with a neighborhood Schnauzer, unprovoked (at least to her eye), and after that, he's been iffy with dogs.

He was fine the rest of the time, as Marge sniffed him and he sniffed Marge. He looked like he genuinely wanted to socialize with her, even from the start. To me, I think he became either overstimulated or unsure for that one moment, "spoke up" to make sure he wasn't going to get hurt, and then felt confident enough to continue interacting. It could have been any number of things, but, to me, he did not look inherently aggressive.

I don't know the whole story, or if there was some other triggering factor, but it reminded me so much of when Marge's dog-selective (and wholly fear-based) snarkiness started in June. Here you are, an unassuming dog owner trying to do the right thing, when something goes horribly wrong and you get an unusual reaction from your dog. I wish that no dog had issues, but they are out there, so in one way, it's kind of a comfort to know I'm not alone.

It's so easy to fall into the belief that a given dog's behavior problems are uncommon or unprecedented - I am guilty of doing this myself sometimes. It's a real wake-up call to hear or read the stories of other dogs - some raised by their owners from puppyhood - who have similar or even more severe problems. As I become a part of the dog world, I now find that a very large number of dogs have at least one reactivity, anxiety, stress, or fearfulness demon that they and their owners have to face. Here I thought I was alone - but, I'm not!

I do hope that the little Boston Terrier and Marge can continue to see each other, but Marge isn't exactly the kind of dog who can take a lot of rude behavior from others - I have enough trouble finding suitable playmates for her as it is and don't need to make things any worse. I hope I will see them again in the field someday and hear better news about his behavior.

I think Marge will get a good old fashioned dose of Buddy the spaniel this weekend - absolutely no dog beats that happy, super social little guy who I trust to be a complete gentleman with my quirky girl.

Human Flaws

We just can't keep away from the beach. Here are a couple of shots from our pleasant romp there around noon.

The day started off well, but got a little rocky in the evening.

As many of you know, my father has not yet fully won Marge's approval, to put it mildly. She is leaps and bounds ahead of where she was when I first got her (though he'll never admit to that), but we do still have some problems. Her issues are mostly apparent when he comes home - I've been working extensively to get her to move away from the door when he is coming so that she'll not growl. That's been going well, but she does have her reservations about being too close to him, depending on the situation.

Food, however, changes the entire picture. If he has food, she'll (begrudgingly and anxiously) do anything that he asks. Tonight, he wanted her next to him as he sat on the couch. Despite my obvious disapproval, he chose to do what he wanted, and told Marge to lay down next to him while he intermittently fed her treats. That wouldn't have been terrible, if not for how much he petted her, asked for behaviors, etc. Marge, though not absolutely terror stricken, made it apparent that she was not wholly comfortable.

This, of course, got her hyped up, which, in turn, made her hyped up when my sister and her unassuming math tutor entered after finishing working in the adjacent room. Marge likes the tutor, but, due to the situation, got very nervous when she approached. Her hackles raised and she kept her distance; I did not worry because I know that the tutor never provokes her and mostly ignores her. My dad, on the other hand, ordered her to sit in one spot.

Sigh.

Don't get me wrong, my dad is great, BUT, BUT, BUT, he has the training all wrong with Marge and despite my nearly constant suggestions to him or criticism of his behavior, it has not changed. And, it likely will not change. He simply doesn't view Marge's issues the same way I do. I'm the person trying to change or manage these behaviors so my dog and I can go out and have fun. He's the person saying that Marge is Marge and her attitudes about various things cannot be altered. It's a different generation, a different mindset.

Later on, we headed out for a walk. I think it was doomed from the start. I should have known that I'd wind up analyzing every little behavioral response by Marge, linking it subconsciously to the prior dad/tutor/hackles situation, which was ultimately started by my dad, in my opinion, and deeming the day a massive failure.

It wasn't an awful walk - but I felt like Marge was reacting to tiny little things, turning her head to listen to various noises, and all that kind of stuff. As a result, I wound up walking longer than I originally anticipated, looking for that "perfect point" where Marge looked happy and engaged and 100% perfect - not just satisfactory or good, but perfect - to turn around for home. Though the tail end of the walk was actually pretty good, I know that I both walked too far and handled some situations incorrectly.

When we have these days where the cards just seem to continually come crashing down, even if it's just little things adding up, it's hard to think of everything in perspective. Yes, she started out at rock bottom and now is much better. But, when we encounter some bumps along the way, I begin to worry that we'll start crashing down again, for real, like we did over the summer. And that is my biggest flaw. Just like my dog, I can be a terrific worrier.

Fortunately, Marge and I went home and had the most super-positive happy and amazing agility/rally practice in the back yard. I think it was the best thing we could have done.

We'll start all over again tomorrow. What other choice do we have?

Tuesday Training 23

Holy cow.

Talk about a LOT of training!

We were at the training hall Monday for three straight hours. First was totally private practice, then was semi-private practice (a lesson with my instructor and another handler), and third was regular class.

Hour 1

Because I knew we'd be there a long time, I didn't want to overdo it in the beginning. So, I set up an APDT Rally Level 1 course from my club's last trial and ran it two or three times with Marge.

I don't think she was as enthused as she was at our Rally practice a couple of weeks ago, and certainly not as enthused as when she does agility (but that's a given). She lagged a bit and wasn't as tight as she normally is on her turns. It was pretty warm in the building, though - I was absolutely dying in that sweatshirt I was wearing - so that may have been a factor. Looking back at the video, she did better than I first thought she did.

What you can't see in the far right corner are three "married" signs - Halt/90 Degree Pivot Left - Sit/Walkaround - Down/Walkaround.

After that, I cleaned up the Rally equipment while Marge practiced sit and down stays. No problem with either other than the fact that she loves to slide into a down after sitting for a little bit. I have no aspirations for obedience competition any time in the future, but it's not a bad skill for her to have.

I then dragged out the teeter, and we did a little bit of work on it with the table underneath. It was the fastest I've ever seen her do the teeter; she slowed at the pivot point (which I actually want so that she doesn't spook herself flying off of it or anything), but had so much less hesitation. A few reps with the table, and then I removed it and she did it full height. Still looked very nice. I put the treats right on the teeter rather than feed them from my hand, so maybe she makes the connection that it's not a scary thing.

Hour 2

Next was my semi-private lesson. Marge did not take very kindly to the other dog who was with us, a young, adorable Golden. I tried introducing him to her before we started and she gave him nasty growls and a couple of snaps. Probably my mistake. We kept our distance the rest of the time and she was eventually more comfortable with his presence. If we have a lesson together a few more times, I think she'll feel better about him.

We worked the A-Frame mostly (sorry, no video). We've incorporated a nose touch to our 2o2o criteria and it seems to be helping tremendously. She hit her contact almost every single time with the help of our temporary target, a simple piece of paper. She's still not doing it as smoothly as I like, but she wasn't thudding into it like she did so many times in the last video.

She did do one silly thing.. I forgot to put the target on the descending side of the A-Frame (we were obviously switching which way we ran it) and she ran half way up, turned around, and performed her contact on the target. Marisa was hysterical.

She said to leave the target for a while, at least a month or two, and gradually make it smaller. Sounds like a plan to me. I'm not using a target on the dog walk.

Only other things we did were some bounce jumping, the dog walk and table to solidify criteria for those two obstacles, and a small sequence to practice using either a front or a back cross between two jumps.

Hour 3

Then, finally, we had class. Marge had to hang out in a crate while I helped set up and walked the course. I gave her a Kong and covered her crate with a sheet so no one would disturb her, but she whined for a good portion of the time. Almost every other dog in the crate room was whining, though, and I think it may have added to the stress.

(Later on, when I walked the second half of the course, I put her in a down stay and she didn't move. GOOD GIRL!)

Here was the course:

• Opening was simple enough; lead out to jump two (on the non-wall side of the jumps), and ran completely straight to get her in the right tunnel entrance.
• Back crossed over 5 and 6. Marisa told me to try to front the second time around, but I was already in back cross position and I got screwed up. Marge, I believe, spun in a circle, but then when I sent her on to 6 and told her to weave (I was way behind her), she did it beautifully. Way to make up for my mistake!
• Jump to dog walk to table was simple. Her dog walk looked great today. Didn't miss any contacts and had lots of speed.
• Still having some table sticky issues.. I don't think I'm clear enough to her that she is to DOWN and stay DOWN until I release her.. she gets her cookie and then gets up. I suppose I could try delaying the reward to really proof it first.
• Used my inside arm to get her over jump 11, front crossed, front crossed again after 12. No problem.
• The tunnel to A-Frame was pretty disastrous.. the tunnel was too short, which made it really hard for all of the dogs to find it. Both Marge and I were exhausted at this point and we kind of bombed it, but Marisa said to leave it alone, so I just told Marge to tunnel and sent her over the A-Frame without doing the obstacles before it.
• Closing wasn't bad.. just, again, had to basically run into the triple to make sure she took the right tunnel entrance.

This will be our last agility class until probably the middle of February, maybe longer. In the meantime, I'm going to practice during my ring time and take some more lessons. We're pretty much going full steam ahead for an early April AKC trial. I don't plan to trial heavily this year, but I want to make the most out of the trials that we DO do. I was told today that we'll breeze through Novice.. I really hope it's true!

A Quiet Morning

After Friday's noisy walk, I knew we needed a quiet time to go out and get some exercise. I opted to walk Marge instead of going back to sleep this morning. It turned out to be very pleasant - all we heard were foghorns out at sea and the sound of our own footsteps.

We walked down to the beach, as we do so often, but a large group of offleash dogs was playing in the distance, so we could not go far. We walked along this path and then turned for home. I could have stayed for hours, just watching the waves and thinking silently to myself. There is something so serene and enchanting about looking out to the open ocean, and this is one of my favorite spots to do just that.

This is my favorite picture from the outing. I did stage it by throwing a treat for Marge to run at, but that doesn't detract from how much I like it. Too bad I cut her back end off a bit.

Now, I'm in bed, and will only be for another ten minutes or so before I have to get up and start the day for good. Though I did want to go back to sleep this morning, I reasoned to myself: I could sleep any time I like, but I don't always get the opportunity for me and my dog to go out into an almost completely silent world.

Bang Goes the Hockey Puck

Today, my sister, Marge and I returned to a park that we haven't been to in a long time. I thought that it would be quiet at noon on a Friday - kids in school, people at work. Unfortunately, this visit wasn't all that different from our last visit (which was probably the most awful outing I've been on with Marge), because Marge was extremely sensitive to some of the sounds around us.

It's really hard to see her so confident and happy to start out, eager to get out of the car and explore the park, only to have her enthusiasm shattered a while later when something scares her.

The biggest culprit? - hockey. There is a small rink where people on rollerblades can play. When the puck hits the wall, it, as you can imagine, makes a loud noise. This sent her into such a panic the last time we were at this park (in September) that we had to leave, and it was the last straw before I took Marge to the vet, looking to find a solution to these issues. The other source of sound came from park personnel doing.. well, something. I'm not sure what.

In an effort to find a bright side, all I can say is that she didn't panic as badly as she did last time. However, there was still plenty of "get me out of here!" on her part, which makes it probably her strongest fear reaction in a long time.

I didn't really know what to do - she took treats most of the time, but she was pretty stressed out. She was fine while we walked on the wooded trails deep in the park. But, once we got back to the main part of the park, she heard the sounds again. So, we tried going on the beach. She didn't hear anything any more, but her heart obviously wasn't in it. She lagged behind us instead of excitedly jumping in front of us.

Eventually, towards the very end of our visit, I just sat with her in the middle of a big open field and slowly fed her treats as she soaked in the world.

It took a while, but she did start to look a tiny bit better - not much, but just a little. We walked in the general direction of the car, sort of zig-zagging our way to it so that she didn't just make a beeline for it.

She found something stinky to roll in - normally, I would have called her off of it, especially since she just got bathed last night. But, I thought it would make both of us feel better for her to just let loose and do what she wanted. After that, we went home.

This park confuses me. Marge has attended agility trials here (May '09 and August '09) and hasn't had much of a problem. Hopefully, we'll be competing here this summer, too. She used to LOVE going to walk on the paths, on the trails, on the beach, in the fields. Even when people were around. Were there no sounds then? Or, did she only become afraid of them now?

I've wondered to myself if Marge can be conditioned to these noises, just as she's become more conditioned to the sounds of my neighborhood. I don't know if it's better to avoid the park in favor of others, or to go to it often so that I can help her to realize that she sounds aren't going to hurt her. It's not a particularly busy park, which makes it nice - but, as we've found out, the hockey playing and seemingly constant park maintenance make up for the lack of traffic.

Day 572

That's how far we've come since Marge entered our home for the first time.

I can't believe I've already been blogging a year. What's more, I can't believe how much we've done since the first time I wrote here, in a slightly cynical and sarcastic post that I called "Day 207." We passed the CGC test, battled a summer of hell and fireworks and now well on our way to a career of competing in our heart sport, agility.

Fear, which used to consume everything that we did, is now only one theme in a great book of adventures.

My blog and my blogging friends are things I really look forward to every day. Excitedly typing in the details of our day-to-day adventures, uploading agility courses and their corresponding videos, and sharing with others what it means to live with Marge are things I wouldn't change for the world.

I've learned things about myself, too - what I'm good at, what I need to work on. Many times I've gone back and referred to old posts and comments to see where I've been and what I used to change things along the way.

I've met some amazing people through my blog as well. I've celebrated with them on their own victories - training challenges, trial successes, and the little triumphs of every day - and they've celebrated with me on mine. Others created comics and edited pictures to put a smile on their readers' faces. I have been one of those people smiling.

I've seen some bad times, too - the passing of some blog friends on to the next world, the sickness of good people, and various other struggles. I hope that I've been as supportive to you guys during your rough patches as you have been to me.

So often I worry that my posts are too long or not interesting enough. After all, not everyone trains in agility or goes to class or does the same things we do, but you all have proven me wrong by being faithful readers and most of all, turning into a whole new group of friends. So, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for helping me make MargeBlog what it has become.