DIY Platforms

 So I just received my Michele Pouliot "Step Up to Platform Training" DVD. I rushed right out, purchased 2 packages of those foam puzzle piece exercise mats, matching duct tape and made 4 platforms. Now I can train any position I like, dog in Front facing me, dog in Front facing away, dog in heel facing forward and backward, dog on the right facing forward and backward and dog behind me etc.

Zoe was first up, I was sitting in a chair with the treats beside me on a TV table, camera in my lap and facing the mat. You can see Sassy girl waiting her turn on the couch.


 

Zoe progressed very quickly from 2 feet on to 4 feet on to 4 feet on facing me straight on. Don't know why she was so quick to pick this up. Usually she's the one that takes 2 or 3 sessions to be comfortable. Good Girl!  Exercise done.

 


Sassy on the other hand was sooooo excited to have her turn she was offering everything from spins, to sits, to downs.


  


She even went so far as to offer all of the above with her head turned away from me.She finally slowed down long enough for me to click all 4 feet on and standing on the platform.
  


This is the look I got, as if to say:  "Well why didn't you say that in the first place!" LOL funny girl.

Stay tuned for our next installment of platform training.  Here's the LINK to Michele's site if you want to order your own DVD.

Good Girls!

Exercise Done

Backing Up is Hard to Do!

So what happens when you make a mistake and scare the C$@& out of your soft little dog? You get to start all over again is what!  A couple of weeks ago I was working with Sassy Girl at a venue that has some pretty slippery floors.  I was a little caught up in how well she was working and decided to set up the jumps and have her do a retrieve on the flat. I totally intended to use the jumps only as a picture and only do the retrieve on the flat. But I got carried away and sent her over the high jump. Well silly me, I forgot about the slippery flooring, sent my soft little girl over the jump after her dumbell. And brave little soul that she is, she actually attempted the jump. Of course she couldn't stop in time to collect herself and ended up crashing into the jump.That was my Big mistake #1.Then on top of it all, instead of lowering the bar and asking her to at least walk over the jump I just packed them up and used words to comfort my little girl. Big mistake #2. Now I have a soft little dog with a huge heart that has had her confidence absolutely shattered concerning the jumps, that she really really likes to do. So here we are all the way back at the beginning, showing her she can jump and not be afraid.

We started with some cavalettis in front of the jump and me running beside her encouraging her to jump, jump, jump those little bars and then over the lowered high jump at the end. This really helped with her stuttering in front of the jump. She didn't have time to think about the jump coming up only that there it was and over she went. So we did some work with this for a couple of sessions, her confidence was starting to come back. We made a game of who could get over the jump first. I called Ready, Steady let's go Over and she really got into that. Fun versus fear won out in that game.

So on Friday we went to Nanaimo for a fun match. We warmed up in the Novice ring with some nice heeling, beautiful figure of 8, a very nice stand for exam, and an enthusiastic recall. Sits and downs were a breeze. She is so ready to trial at this level. Then we had a go at the Open ring. With nice off leash heeling, a sit on the drop on recall along with a very confused look at me (apparently my down didn't sound like it usually does), and a very enthusiastic retrieve on the flat. Then we played with the high jump, did a couple of run by, ready, steady Over games and then the actual retrieve with excellent results. We did the same with the broad jump. In the end she did very well, I was so proud of her. She has truly grown up alot this past year and is proving she can bounce back from my mistakes and still have fun.

Good Girl, Exercise Done!