April classes

Keegan - April 30, 2012:
Keegs seems to have more problems with heat than Kiah does; he is my slobber, drool boy during classes. I will have to watch him carefully to make sure he doesn't overheat at a trial. We now have a set of 12 weaves a friend is loaning me for the summer so we will be able to practice more often. My weaves are all made out of PVC and they continuously fall over. I don't want to glue every connection or they are too hard to move to practice. The weaves my friend loaned me are more like the weaves at a trial, so much better!!!!!

Will start Kiah's in the May classes section.

Keegan - April 10-23, 2012:
Missed classes on the 16th but was able to be there on the 23rd. Still having issues with weaves but a friend is going to loan us her 12 pole weaves for the summer so we should be able to get in more practice. I have to keep going and not wait for him, if I slow down he gets distracted and then he misses obstacles or knocks bars. His next trial isn't until the middle of June so we have a fair amount of time to get extra practice in.
Kiah - April 12-25, 2012:
Missed her class on the 18th too. On the 25th we worked on distance, she is awesome with distance commands and we only had one area where we had some issues. At a trial I wouldn't have run her the way the instructor wanted us to run in practice so I don't think we would have that issue. It is good to practice different ways to see what will work and what won't work. Kiah's next trial is next weekend so it is coming up fast.
Notes:
I don't think I will ever get as much distance with Keegan as I do with Kiah and that is OK. He is a different dog and he has a different personality. I can't box him into a running style that doesn't work for him, just find the way that works best for him where he has fun doing agility.
Kiah and I continue to do obedience several nights a week with a play session after with both dogs. Her spirits are still up when we run and seems to be having fun. No stressing at trials, have to keep that in mind and you will notice I keep writing it to remind myself.

Keegan - April 1-9, 2012:
Keegan is beginning to pick up on commands, still a lot to work to do but there is a big improvement especially on his weaves.  We are beginning to get some distance and he is doing some "sends" to equipment.  He appears to really like contact equipment since he will take those if he is confused about where I want him to go or we walk by them. Keegs won't be trialing until mid-June so we have some time to work on our weak points.

Kiah - April 1-11/2012:
Kiah continues to do really well in class.  No problems with weaves in class only at trials so I have gone back to treating or throwing a toy at the end of the weaves.  She still watches me and is awesome with "sends" and go outs.

Notes:
Last night's class was so much fun, a really fast and challenging course practicing front, rear and blind crosses.  The first couple of runs we did really well but on one of the last runs I was apparently flapping my arms so Kiah had no idea where she needed to go.  Once I kept my arms up, she did well and took the jumps.  That is one of the things I will need to keep in mind not to do when we are trialing.

Another thing, before the first run I was warming her up and playing with her (no toys or treats) and she was having fun.  That first run was so fast and she really paid attention.  I didn't do that on the following runs and she was still fast but not as fast as the first run so another reminder "To have fun with your dog"!!!!!!  I have gotten better but still need to relax at trials and keep it fun for Kiah.