Nell, my Border Collie....

Lonewolfblue

Well, Nell's class went well tonight, we were the only one at the class. The other dog had to see the vet during the day, and couldn't be there. So we had a short class, as Nell was really getting the zombies, lol. We started out working on crosses, both front and rear crosses. Nell needs to pay more attention to me, any time I move, she has to get ahead of me. And I don't want her to go ahead of me unless I tell her to, lol.

After the warmup, we then worked on the weave poles. We had 4 set up, it's going to take her some time to learn it, lol. But she did pretty well for a first try at 4. After the weave poles, then we worked on the Teeter. Instead of putting it at the lower setting, I decided to leave it at full height. Nell did really well, she really impressed me. She's getting better and better at the Teeter. We were going over it with Nell on my right. But then when I decided to try it on the left, she jumped off. So we worked on it a few more times, and got to the point where she was doing it well on my left as well. So that was good.

Then we started working with sequences. We had a small course of 7 items, the Tire, Shoot, Weave poles, Tunnel, Jump, Jump, and Teeter. The first time we tried it, Nell did really good on all but the weaves. We did it a couple more times, and she did good. Then we started working on some more jumps. I could tell Nell was starting to get tired, and wasn't keeping up with me. Started getting the zombies. So we stopped for a break and broke out the frisbee, and she wanted to kill the frisbee, lol. She was having fun. After the break, we started on some more jumps and the tunnel again. She was becoming more and more like a zombie, so we called it quits for the evening. But before we ended, I wanted to do a couple more teeters with her, and she did well. Then we called it quits for the evening. The class was supposed to be an hour, but with being the only dog, she was becoming a zombie after 40 minutes, and that's when we stopped. It was enough for today, I was really happy with how she did. Just wish there were other dogs there so we could have short breaks between each run. I think we were trying to push her too hard, lol. But overall, we had a good class.

Lonewolfblue

Well, class tonight went excellent. Because the other persons dog went to the vet last week and had stitches by the tail and rear leg, they were at the class but just worked at a slow pace, and only for about 25 minutes. So we pretty much did the class alone again. But it was also cooler tonight and Nell didn't seem too hot and tired like last week. We did the whole class, and sat for a little bit while the other dog did some work as well, and it gave us a short break. But Nell didn't want to stay sitting too long, lol, she wanted to get right back in there and hit the Teeter, lol. It was funny when we were taking a short break, and as the trainer was going over things, Nell would go to the teeter and go over it, then look at me like, 'Don't I get a treat for that?', lol. So I would throw her a piece of cheese, lol. She's no longer afraid of it now, we conquered all her fears now. So the biggest thing we need to work on is a little more focus and control, and weaves. She still wants to charge ahead and then we lose control. Other than that, she did excellent.

As for the obsticles, we did several jumps, dog walk, teeter, shoot, tunnel, and weaves. There were 10 obsticles set up, but we only worked with 4-5 different combinations at a time and not all 10. It was great, we loved it. Nell had a blast.

As for Chloe's class now, I talked to my other trainer, and she just got a computer. So she's going to trade me a few free classes for some training on the computer. Cool, lol. Will start the first class tomorrow night, then Saturdays class for Chloe is free. So that's cool.

Sonny is doing great. Got home from the vet this morning, he went to be neutered, and all went well. He's doing great, it's hard keeping him mellow, lol. He keeps trying to wrestle with Chloe, lol. I keep telling him, in a week, lol.

Lonewolfblue

Well, we went to class today, Chloe went first to her Obedience class, then Nell in Agility. Nell did awsome tonight, she hit everything with all she had. And she was FAST. She wasn't thinking straight last week, but this week she was like a Pro on some of the obsticles, and was quite focused. We had a lot of fun. Then we tried the weave poles with 4 poles. She wasn't quite getting it, so we took a break. Then we went to do it again, and she slipped by me and did it perfectly, so I threw a party, lol. I wasn't ready, and she did it. It was cool. Then we started doing some sequences, and Nell was like a rocket. We did Jump and Tunnel combos, as well as Jump, Tunnel, and A-Frame combos. We even threw in the Chute a few times as well, then added a couple tricky turns. One time she flew by me, missing the jump, then hit the Tunnel and 2 jumps like we did before, lol. So the next time, I got her to slow with a treat at that point, then hit the proper jump and then to the tunnel and 2 jumps. The next time we did it, she didn't need the treat, I got her to make the quick turn to hit the jump, then the tunnel and other 2 jumps. It was great. Another sequence we did was 2 jumps, the tunnel, 2 jumps, then a 180 and hit a 3rd jump, back into the tunnel then the last 2 jumps. And she did it, and fast. And I barely kept up with her, lol. I got it to where I was calling the tunnel out at a distance, then going away from the tunnel and by the time she exited the tunnel, I was between the last 2 tunnels and she rocketed her way over the last 2 jumps. We had a blast. And she was pumped up, lol. Overall, we had a great night.

Sheltiemama

Wow! Sounds like she was a major speed demon! Good for you both!

Criosphynx

haha sounds like fun...are you using guides on the weaves?

I hate when they do som'thing right and your not ready for it...its like AAAAA YES YES! and then hope they understand what you were marking.

Lonewolfblue

Nope, no guides on the weaves. I don't think they have any.

Mikey

I just saw this thread What a gorgeous BC !!!

Lonewolfblue

Well, it's been a few months since I've updated here. So here it is....

Update, we just got home from Agility 2 class again and Nell did fantastic. She's now hitting the teeter at full height without jumping off. Also, she's finally starting to catch on to the weave poles. But lately, she's been hitting them perfect the first time through, then if we go through again, she either misses the entry or the exit, but the middle is perfect. So we still have a little work to do. And this is with the weave poles in a straight line, and not opened up. But the good thing is, if we did decide to try out at a trial, she will most likely hit them perfect, since she's almost 100% on the first try. It's just consecutive weaves where she loses it. As for the rest of the course, she's doing great, and is way too fast for me, lol. I can easily lose track of where I am because she gets way ahead of me, lol. But as we progress, I want to be able to work with her more at further distances and equipment names, as well as body language (pointing). She also knows Go Out pretty well, or things like Go Jump, or Go Tunnel, and she goes out to them about 75% of the time, sometimes better. So we can start working more distance so if she does get ahead, I can get her to the next obsticle without her turning around and getting confused. But overall, she's really been turning it on, lol. And she's fast.

Lonewolfblue

Nell is getting the weave poles down. She's going to be fast once she's got them. Can't wait.

Took her for her vet appt this morning about her toe. She's now on antibiotics and anti-inflamatory. But it's looking really good. He broke the sore open again and let it bleed out some. If it flares up again after the antibiotics, then he said there might be something in there, and may have to put her under and go in and see what's causing the problems. I think what happened is when we were on a hike up Saddle Rock, she probably had a thorn or something poke in the side of her pad on one of her toes, and it got infected. Also said I need to cut back on her meals, lol. She's 53.6lbs, lol. But she doesn't look fat. The vet said we should be able to feel her ribs but not see them, and we can't feel the ribs either, lol. I'd like her to get back down to about 45-47lbs. But now that spring is about here, we will be more active through the spring, summer, and fall. Didn't do as much this winter as I wanted. So will cut down a little on her meals.

Lonewolfblue

Well, after Nell's downtime I thought she would be rusty on the weave poles. I broke them out today and set them up. She's actually better than before the injury, lol. In fact, she not only did them perfect, but she also did them fast and hit them so hard, she actually snapped one of my stick in the ground weave poles off, so now I have to make another one, lol. Guess the caps that came with the spikes were cheap, lol. So I may have to redo them. She's never done this before, lol.