Recallers 3.0 Starts Today

Today is the official start of Recallers 3.0. We have been doing the Pre-Course games and logging our work. I am also going to Say Yes for four days of classes. We leave Tuesday night and have two days of traveling to get there. ~14 hours flying (Fly in the kennel the whole time and then a 10+ hour drive. The weather looks good right now. I am excited.

Ultimate Handling

The Ultimate Handing is going very well. Fly really seems to follow me. Acceleration and deceleration seem to be going smooth. This morning I tried something. When Fly has the frisbee in her mouth she come up and faces in front of me. If I step straight back she move with me and if I step forward straight she moves straight back. So I wanted to see what body positions would turn her. Wow what control dropping a shoulder and a turn and she followed. We did all sort of moves and I got Fly to go where I wanted.

Lesson 1 Jumping .m4v

Ok Here is the video from You Tube

Fly working on the Set point for Jumping

Here is a bit of a long video of Fly working on the set point for jumping. I am following Susan Salo's DVD.

Ultimate Handling Day 1

This lesson was easy and fun. I can't out run Fly but it is fun to try. It was snowing early this morning.

Now during the week all our training will be in the dark. Sunrise is about 9 am and sunset about 4 pm now with us loosing 7 minutes a day till December 21.

I also plan to keep up with Susan Salo's Jumping.

Fly and I signed up for Ultimate Handling at http://ultimateagility.com/ with Greg and Laura Derrett. Looking forward to understanding handling better.

Goal - Contacts Stop without command

Right now Fly knows to stop at the end of the contacts. We have been doing good with all four feet on vs 2 on 2 off. She will stop on my "Wait" command. She will stay until I release her about 90% with very temping distractions such as tennis ball or football.
My goal is to get her to stop and stay until I release her without me having to give the command. She sort of does it now but not well. My first contact will be with the teeter. She loves the teeter and has been know to play on it without me.

Long Gap

I wasn't home much this summer but Fly did learn a lot (good and some bad) this summer. We now have a yard full of equipment.

The Yard Needs Grass

Now that the snow is almost gone it will be time to get serious about the field and getting grass to grow after leveling it. The hill on the east side will have a terraced area for watching the action.

12 Weave Poles

April 14, 2011 my 2x2 weave poles arrived. That night we started training. I followed Susan Garrett's 2x2 Weave training DVD. We trained 2-5 times a day for 5 minutes. About 10 day in we had to take a break, the yard was either to muddy or too slippery with ice to train for about a week. For the last two days we have successfully run 12 weave poles 100% of the time. Fly is getting more drive through the poles every day now. We still need to build the confidence from a less easy angles on the approach. It is so much fun to see her run the weave. It is great she just knows what to do.

Tire Jump

This Saturday I built a new tire jump for Fly. We had been practicing run up to jumps and doing them, or the cone and circling it. So I ran with Fly toward the tire and she pop right through. She did it with me and Steve too. THe first picture is Sunday after some practice, the second picture is me running with Fly and the third is Steve with Fly. It was good to see her work for him too.

Valentine's Day

It is about -30F at the house this morning but Fly just doesn't seem to notice! We played ball for a while. Then we worked on so foundation stuff and self control in the presence of a flying soccer ball. She is getting good at that. My big this this week is to get a good retrieve. Fly goes and gets it and brings it back but then leaves again or drops it 10 feet away. I want her to put it in my hand. So we are work close in right now with the throw toy in a line so coming back to me is the only option.

Cold Weather

Winter up here comes with cold days -30 to -40 F. Fly seems to not notice how cold it is most of the time. She is too busy working. She has lots of things down solid and others that need work. The latest problem is herding shadows and light refections on the walls. FLy s lots of fun and she is really my dog.