By now we have a regular Sniff It routine here – we do our homework every morning – Bear thinks this is a wonderful way to earn breakfast.
This week in our class, our first assignment was to make things more challenging happening for our dogs by adding more containers, more boxes and more containers in boxes. We are still only hiding one food filled container but the dog now has to find it! Our second assignment is to observe our dogs and see what kinds of ‘signs’ they give us when they have found the food container.
As far as the box searches go, I think things are going nicely. Bear will still occasionally pick up a container and remove it from a box but he always leaves it if it is not the correct one. As before, I remain neutral any time a container is picked up and only give him attention (and food!) when he finds the correct container.
With the container search this week, I have been waiting a little bit longer when Bear finds the right container to see what he does. He typically starts by scratching at the container with both paws and then eventually lays down. I think that having done some article indication work for tracking helped but it’s still cool to see the light bulb turn on! Now the next challenge is to get this behavior with containers hidden in boxes!
Two weekends ago, after our disastrous attempt at CKC Rally, Bear and I attended an agility trial hosted by Canine Agility Racers here in Brandon.
I entered this trial weeks ago but to be honest, I was not looking forward to it at all – mostly because I was exhausted. A trip to Calgary plus the fact that Sean has been immobile due to surgery has meant a lot of work, a lot of driving, as well as, cooking, cleaning and shoveling snow for 2 when I usually have help. Did I mention I teach two classes a week and attend two with Bear (1 in person, 1 online). This leaves very little time for sleep and I felt like a zombie – a tearful, tired zombie.
I did go, however, because it is a local trial (no travel expenses), Bear has been working very nicely in agility class (when we can make it), and I was hoping we would qualify in at least one snooker run and be able to finish our SGDC title.
On Saturday, we started the day with a nice jumpers run, very little barking, no sniffing and only one refusal – I was very pleased.
She who is late on the serpentine shall lose her knees. Photo by Tom Will
Then things went down hill with both Advanced Standard runs. So bad in fact that at one point, I just decided to call it and leave the ring. I was way too frustrated to deal with the amount of barking that was coming my way. To be honest, most of our problems were handling (my fault) weave pole related.
At the end of the day was our Starters Snooker run. I decided to try the 7 point obstacle 4 times. We managed to do it 3 times and collect 34 points overall to and earning our Starters Games Dog of Canada Title! We earned the first leg of this title back in New Brunswick in 2007 so I was thrilled to finish it.
Bear and I with Judge Dave Langen after earning our Starters Games Dog of Canada Title. Photo by Tom Will.
On Sunday, things went a little bit better. Our first run of the day was the Advanced Gamble. We collected enough points in the opening sequence and made it to the third obstacle in the gamble but Bear could not leave the tunnel alone. The distance was not too far – he just could not think through his insanity. The Advanced Standard run was equally bad with a lot of general stupidness around the weave poles.
By the time we got to the Advanced Snooker run, I was hopeful…there were weave poles in the closing sequence but if we managed to complete the 7 point obstacle 4 times, we would have enough points to qualify – we went for it. The 7 point obstacle was the teeter which Bear loves and the 2o2o contact we have slows him down enough to keep the insanity at bay. We managed to keep it together enough to get to the teeter 4 times so I decided to try for the closing sequence but stop before we even got to the weaves to finish on a good note. This plan worked and we managed to qualify for a second time that weekend in our first Advanced Snooker run!
She who is late on rear cross shall lose her dog. Photo by Tom Will
The last run of the weekend was an Advanced Jumpers run. The first half of the course was a bit tricky…with some tight crosses and call offs but I knew if we could get past the first half that the ending would be fine, it was basically a giant jump line…Bear’s favorite! Bear was very attentive, there was a bit of grumbling at my late crosses but no barking and we finished the jumpers run cleanly earning our 3rd qualifying ribbon if the weekend.
Looking back, I am actually kicking myself for not practicing the weave poles more. If we had managed to get every weave entry, we likely would have Q’d in at least 2 of the 3 Standard runs over the weekend.
My winter agility project is to make our weave entries as predictable and successful as our contacts – in the last 15 runs, Bear has only missed a contact once….If we can do that, then I actually think we might be able to get to the Masters Level before Bear turns 10!
This week our assignments involve making things more difficult for dogs and encouraging them to use their nose. We used two exercises to do this.
The first exercise involved hiding containers in boxes. One container was filled with food, the other was empty. The dog’s job is to find the food container, my job is to make him think he’s the most brilliant dog in the world.
In the beginning, Bear is rather convinced that ALL containers must be filled with food, however, he quickly learned that there were many containers but only one food find.
The second exercise involved Bear identifying one container out of three that contained food.
The container exercise seemed like more of a nose workout. I don’t know why? Maybe because the boxes trap scent better? Regardless, Bear is quickly getting the hang of things and I can’t wait for next week’s assignment.
I decided to enter Bear in one CKC rally obedience trial at the Excellent level last weekend. We had successfully been trialing in different venues (besides home) without food on the course and I thought we might be ready.
I was wrong.
There were 5 dogs in our class. I knew the dog ahead of us and the one behind us so the honor exercise wasn’t a big concern. We did our warm up – Bear seemed focused and ready to go.
We approached the ring as a friend came in to say “hi”, I quickly said “sorry we’re going in the ring” but it was too late, Bear had spotted her and as soon as we were in the ring, he was looking for her – or something else (anything else!!) in that direction.
To say the run was a disaster would be kind. Suffice it to say after a ton of sniffing towards the honor dog (too close for my liking) I took Bear by the collar and asked to be excused.
In hind sight, I probably should have signed up for floor time Thursday night and I should have asked to be excused earlier on in our run.
Compared to other recent ‘failures’, when I left the building on Friday, I wasn’t overly upset, surprised or humiliated…I was…ambivalent…I wasn’t thinking up plans for training for future CKC trials, or going over the performance to see where I might have done things differently – I was just glad to be going home!
This ambivalence combined with the high cost of CKC trials has led me to the conclusion that maybe I need to forget about any more CKC trials with Bear. We have so many other fun things to do right now that I can’t be bothered to waste any more time , money and energy on something that leaves me feeling so…blah!
This week our assignment was to hide the food container out of sight and have the dog find it. Since we were at home when the assignment was given and there happens to be lots of nooks and crannies. I recorded our first session last Sunday.
We have played this game before, hiding Bear’s favorite toy but playing with food added a certain element of….excitement as you can see.
That being said, playing at home was interesting for a few reasons
He always checks out places he’s found the container before.
Sometimes he walks by the container, his nose within inches of the container, clearly looking with his eyes not his nose.
Other food distractions do not seem to be a big draw.
For our second session, I brought Bear to work with me. I was not sure if it would be easier because there are fewer places to hide containers or harder because there would be more competing smells. I think that the ceiling fans gave him a bit of trouble but otherwise he did equally well!
I have really been looking forward to our online Sniff It class with Sumac Grant-Johnston of Wag It Training in Maine, USA.
Online training is the perfect opportunity to train at home and on my own time – attending class here means I need to find a class on a night that I am not teaching and I need to have time for a 1 hour round trip drive. Between work, trials and Sean being immobilized due to ankle surgery, time is at a premium in my life and classes with Bear are low on my priority list.
Our first week’s lesson was relatively straight forward and involved teaching dogs to wait and target a cookie filled container in exchange for praise and food rewards. This stage is relatively easy for us since we use a lot of targets in agility and rally and trick work.
As you can see from the video, Bear was rather enthusiastic and I’m going to have some fun channeling that enthusiasm into something other than container hockey!
Two weekends ago, Bear and I attended our first herding trials ever.
We attended a few classes this spring and Bear is getting better and better with the sheep. I am also getting better at handling so I was hopeful we would be able to at least achieve either a Herding Tested title under CKC rules or a Junior Herding Dog under AHBA rules.
FRIDAY
Our first run ever went much smoother than I had imagined, we made it around the course, Bear did his downs when asked and did not even try to grip sheep. It seemed like the run lasted forever but we were done in under 3 minutes. In hindsight it was the nicest run of the weekend and the judge even said it was one of the nicest Junior Herding Dog (JHD) runs he had seen in a long time – I was thrilled! There is no score in JHD runs, it’s a pass/fail evaluation, but we received “good” (highest evaluation category) for each element of the course!
Our very first Junior Herding Dog (JHD) run on September 28, 2012
SATURDAY
Our first run on Saturday morning was a CKC Herding Tested run. Bear was quite rested and wound up so I decided to use my ‘down’ cue a bit more to keep Bear off the sheep. He was quite vocal and I was worried that between the barking and trying to come around to the front of the sheep, the sheep might just decide to make a run for it! Of course, if you ask Bear, getting the sheep to change direction is a wonderful game – but it makes for a less than smooth run. That being said, we made it around the course in under 2 minutes and qualified in our first CKC run.
Our very first Herding Tested (HT) run on September 29, 2012
Our second run on Saturday was well after lunch, the sun was blazing and it was around 25 degrees. The heat did not dampen Bear’s enthusiasm and we made it through the run quickly and efficiently, earning our second Herding Tested Leg and our Canadian Kennel Club Herding Tested Title! My videographer was in the city shopping so we didn’t get a recording of the run – just imagine it was nice!
Our third and final run of the day was just around supper time – it was around 30 degrees Bear was fresh as a daisy and held it together (no gripping!!!) and once more, we made it around the course successfully, earning our American Herding Breed Association Junior Herding Title.
Our second Junior Herding Dog (JHD) on September 29, 2012
SUNDAY
After earning our Herding Tested title on Saturday, I decided to move Bear up into the next class – Herding Started. I already knew we could make it around the course obstacles – even if I was no longer allowed to lead the sheep through. What I was not certain of was whether we would be able to get the sheep out of the sheep pen successfully and safely or if I would be able to call Bear off the sheep. The pen anxiety was a result of a not so successful experience in a round pen and the call off concern was a result of never having done an off-leash call off.
The first run of the day was a bit nerve wracking. We actually successfully took the sheep out of the pen – I went in with Bear and gave him the easy cue as the sheep were nearing the gate and a down cue as they left. I then called him out of the pen into a stay while I closed the gate. By this time the sheep were on the other side of the pen – Great. Another less than successful experience came to mind. The one with sheep running all over the arena with a large black blur behind them. The one where I was running all over the pen and left out of breath and hoarse. This went on for about 5 minutes. I was able to collect the sheep and make it through an obstacle but the sheep were quite wild and running like crazy for the exhaust pen gate. Finally the judge said “thank you, that’s enough” and I managed to collect Bear and leave. I was thrilled with maintaining control in the take pen so considered the experience an education. Next time, I get sheep that wild, I will call it much, much earlier and leave the pen before Bear has the opportunity to be silly.
A few minutes after the run, I was told that one of the sheep in the group I had was actually removed from the trial flock the day before. She was young, too flighty and (I assume) likely to injure herself. I assumed that the luck of the sheep draw was part of the game but we were going to be given the opportunity to re-run the course again, once all the other classes were complete.
The second try of the first run was at least a million times better. The take pen was under control (Yay!), we made it around the course without the run looking like a game of sheep-bowling (WooHoo!)….and Bear actually walked away from perfectly chase-able sheep…YEEEHAAAW! We re-penned the sheep and I left the ring feeling so much better about things. I had no idea how herding is scored so I was not sure if it was a qualifying run but I was sure that it was a huge improvement from the first try.
Guess what? We QUALIFIED! I know we placed 5th, I can’t remember the score.
The second run of the day and our last run of the trial was even better then the one before. Sheep made it out of the pen safely, around the course reasonably and Bear heeled away from the sheep with me again! we qualified for a 6th time that weekend and came in second place, earning a pretty red rosette!
ALL IN ALL
Bear showing off his weekend loot!
All things considered, I was (still am) beyond thrilled we earned two titles and I learned a lot about herding in general (saving that for another post). After watching some more advanced runs with some really nice scores (98-99) I can see we have a lot more to learn and I can’t wait.
Having been to lots of dog events, I am never sure what to expect when I go to trial in a new venue. Bear was the only Rottie there and actually only one of two dogs in the trial not in the CKC herding group (the other was a terrier). I really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and how encouraging people were. A few people mentioned how nice it was to see a Rottweiler working and both judges mentioned the Rottweilers they had worked with/judged/evaluated and I have a few more kennel names to add to the list of people to check out whenever we’re ready for another dog.
Last weekend, Bear and I, along with our friends Bella and Renee went to Regina to judge the first ever rally trial held by Encore DogSports. Since I was judging two half days, I had the opportunity to enter Bear in 6 c-stream runs.
The trial was in a venue we had never been to. I was unsure how things would go for us, but I hoped we get the last two legs we needed for our CARO Silver award.
The planets aligned and we managed to qualify 3 times, earning the silver award and a pretty purple New Title rosette. We are also now one leg ahead for the Gold award.
New Title? What’s a title mom? Do I get a cookie after this?
Needs Improvement
Bear did have some sniffing issues around corners of the ring. Especially those corners with doors that led out of the arena and into the boarding kennel. I can only imagine all the interesting smells wafting in.
Bear’s stand for exam seems to have deteriorated. He does stand but moves towards the judge a bit. When I give him the second cue to stay, he holds the stay but the movement and the extra cues lose me 4 points. we only have 10 points to play with in C stream so this is something we need to fix.
The value of salmon brownies seemed to fade on day 2 when Beef liver and a game of tug was the reward of choice.
Working Well
We had food bowls in 2 runs on Saturday and Bear did not even acknowledge they existed. the bowls contained dried rollover chips that many dogs found tempting.
I remembered to use our ‘rally routine’ of settle plus a bit of work prior to our run.
Bear was either with me 100% of the way, or able to recover from wandering off. Anytime this happens, I consider the run a success – especially when it happens in a new venue!
The building was rather echo-y and one of the dogs in our class likes to bark – a lot – this did not bother Bear at all.
I managed to stay cool and not get too frustrated during the one run where bear was particularly distracted.
Work Ahead
This was a great way to finish the year with Bear. I’ll be judging at the next trial in the area, so I’ll likely leave Bear home with Sean. We have a CARO trial planned for January 2013 when we’ll be offering the Versatility Excellent class for the first time . The main things we need to work on for January are:
Stand for exam
Figure 8 with distractions (maybe add toys since food has apparently been conquered)
Advanced and Excellent exercises on the right hand side!
Last weekend, Bear and I were entered in our first 2 day agility trial in many years. We were entered in gamblers, snooker, standard and jumpers on Saturday and gamblers, steeplechase, standard and jumpers on Sunday. I was unsure what the weekend would be like, especially since we had missed the last two classes before the trial.
8 runs over the weekend and most runs were less than a minute long. This means less than 10 minutes of work in the ring but the 12 hour days left us both exhausted. I won’t bore you with the run by run details breakdown because I think I sum the weekend up fairly easily.
Bear wondering when he can RUN again. Photo by Marne Birch
Needs Improvement (I’m not using the word ‘bad’ anymore)
A bit of wandering, sniffing and general drifting from Bear, especially in Gamblers on the send out.
We only accomplished one weave entry out of 5 all weekend.
Arriving at 7am and finishing at 7pm was a long, tiring day.
Our distance work is non-existent in the gamble. I know we can do these distances in practice but after running the opening sequence Bear is a bit over the top which means lots of barking at me and not so much looking for the obstacle.
Good
No barking and lunging in/out and around the rings in a very busy trial environment.
No apparent lameness – and I was stretching poking and prodding.
100% on all contacts with a couple of rear crosses, something relatively new to us.
All the rear crosses in jumpers worked well for us I am glad we got to do a lot of work on them in class.
No knocked bars.
3 qualifying runs
1 Starters Snooker Q (first of 2)
1 Starters Jumpers Q (second of 2, on to Advanced Jumpers)
1 Advanced Standard Q (first of 3)
I did not get any video recordings, but my friend Marne took some lovely photos during our qualifying Advanced Standard run.
Do you think he likes tunnels? I think he likes tunnels. Photo by Marne Birch
Work Ahead
It is really clear to me that whatever 2×2 weave work we had done before is completely gone. Bear always got the weaves on the second try so it’s not the weaving but the entry that’s an issue. I am pretty sure I said I would work on weaves after the last trial and guess what, I didn’t – so I can’t really expect much improvement.
Now that we are at the Advanced level in just about every class, weave entries are going to determine weather we qualify or not.
Our next trial is another local one in November – I need to remember to get the 2x2s out of the garage and do some work!
Last Wednesday we made the trek to St. Norbert for our last chance at herding before the trial at the end of the month.
On the weekend we went down to Bottineau, ND where I purchased a stock stick so now I look like I know what I am doing. My stick is plain white with a black handle and it’s nothing fancy – it cost $13.99(USD) – but it’ll do.
After Bear’s sheep biting episode the last time we went herding, I decided that I would approach herding like I try to approach other high arousal situations. We did some settle work before it was our turn and in between runs. We played the “look at that” game with the sheep and were generally able to keep the barking down to a bare minimum outside the working area.
This week the sheep we were working with were less cooperative than they have been before – meaning that the instant we walked in, they ran to the other end of the field and when we walked towards them, they bolted again. Bear was in quite the lather by the time everyone was settled enough to let him off leash. He managed to hold his stay, round up the sheep and bring them to me….then we actually tried a Herding Tested course which involves walking around the ring through 4 panels. The sheep were so sensitive that they did a lot of running which turns Bear’s prey drive on big time! However, I managed to position myself (by running) close enough to him that I could tell him to ease off with a verbal cue. I had to do this a lot and by the end of the run, between the running and hollering ‘easy’ I was tired and my throat ached. That being said, Bear was very reasonable with the sheep – not nearly as much dive bombing. Quite a few times, he tried to come around and head them off at the front but apparently, this was because I was using too much pressure to get him back off the sheep which meant he naturally moved to the pressure-free zone up front. Even with the flighty sheep, we were actually able to move them sheep around reasonably getting at least one sheep through each panel which would be a qualifying round at the herding tested level.
The second time around, we were on the same sheep, the dog before us had a real hard time moving the sheep off of the fence. They would stand and stare at him, even when he was literally standing with his nose almost close enough to sniff their bums. I was worried about these flighty sheep turned sticky because I didn’t know how Bear would handle things. Would he bite? Would he dive bomb? Turns out he did neither. He shoved his shoulder in between sheep and fence and nipped at the sheep, but not the high arousal, clamp down kind of bite like before. The instructor said this was acceptable, given the sheep’s reluctance to move. It took us a few tries to get the sheep off the fence but we managed to do it, get them around the course again and return them to their favorite pen. Bear was much more responsive this time, almost no barking.
This is it for us and sheep before the trial at the end of the month. I entered 4 Herding Tested runs and hopefully will come home with a herding tested title, if not, at least we would have had the chance to get out on sheep 4 times with a knowledgeable person. Hopefully I can convince someone to come with me to be my personal videographer/photographer.
Ayoka Bubar BA, CPDT-KA 