22 Days: Weave, weave, weave!

Apr 21

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This is fun!

Today I worked with Diesel on his weave pole training.  I use Susan Garrett’s 2×2 method to train weaves – this is a great training method that builds a solid foundation by reinforcing directionality with entrances at any and every angle and distance.  I believe that this is Diesel’s 8th day of weave pole training (unfortunately April showers had caused some breaks in our training schedule!).  Now that I can send Diesel to the weaves from any angle and distance, we are going to start working on increasing speed and adding an obstacle before and after the weaves to work on collected entrances.  I am hoping that Diesel will make his agility debut this summer, so we’ve got an exciting goal to work towards!

And here are some clips from today’s training session.  Diesel’s reward is his tennis ball – as soon as he commits to hugging the last pole, I toss his ball down the reward line (imagine the weave pole base extended indefinitely).  This is why he races past the camera … and also why I almost hit the camera in the first clip haha!  Hopefully I will have a weave pole monster in the near future  🙂

About Kas

An occupational therapy graduate student, Virginia Tech alumna, positive-reinforcement trainer, and proud mum of 5 crazy canines.

Posted on April 21, 2011, in Agility, Countdown Project, Diesel and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 16 Comments.

  1. raisingdaisy | April 21, 2011 at 9:23 pm

    I think it’s so amazing how dogs can be trained to handle such incredible challenges with such grace and agility. We like going to dog shows in our area and it never ceased to amaze us how intelligent and well-trained they are – and how incredibly patient and caring their trainers are too. I can’t even imagine how many hours of work you put in!

    Reply
    • Kas | April 21, 2011 at 10:52 pm

      I too find it amazing how versatile and trainable dogs are – the behaviors that they can be taught to replicate are endless! I started playing agility with Evee in my parents’ backyard a few years after we first got her. Then in 2009, I took my first official agility class with Evee. I’ve been hooked ever since!

      Reply
  2. Oscar & Pauline | April 22, 2011 at 12:31 am

    Thanks for sharing your video of Diesel! I loved watching him in action. He’s obviously having a blast. 😀

    Reply
  3. didiwright | April 22, 2011 at 6:34 am

    That’s just fabulous. I love clever dogs and agility trials, and your little video is a perfect combination of both. What I like the most is the look of pure delight on Diesel’s face as he’s tackling the course. Brilliant!

    Reply
  4. Rufus' Food and Spirit Guide | April 22, 2011 at 9:43 am

    I hate to ruin the streak of dog gravatars, but I just wanted to say Diesel’s face in that first shot is just priceless.

    Reply
    • Kas | April 22, 2011 at 8:12 pm

      Haha no worries – and thanks! He does have a silly little grin in that picture, which matches the fact that he is quite the silly little dog 🙂

      Reply
  5. adventureweiner | April 22, 2011 at 10:49 am

    Good job Diesel. That takes so skill and it looks like he is doing well.

    Reply
    • Kas | April 22, 2011 at 8:15 pm

      Thanks! He really does enjoy it, especially when he gets his reward at the end (he just loves his tennis balls to pieces). And apparently I need to upgrade my subpar video camera as well … The low FPS makes things appear slightly choppy!

      Reply
  6. furfilled | April 24, 2011 at 9:46 pm

    I love your “weave” picture! Diesel looks psyched!

    Reply
  7. Sara | April 25, 2011 at 2:30 pm

    That really is amazing!

    Reply
  8. Robin | April 25, 2011 at 8:56 pm

    All I can say is WOW. He’s so fast! Very impressive; I loved watching it and the music was great, too!

    Reply

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