Smudge is finally becoming a teenager!!

On Sunday we went to a friends sand school to set up the same sequence from Saturday. Unfortunately we didn't have a tunnel so we had to adapt it slightly and use the A Frame instead. Didn't really work as the A Frame makes it a totally different exercise! The A Frame slowed the dogs down. It was the speed they built up in the tunnel that created the problem!! It made me realise how differently a sequence can run just by changing one obstacle though! Maisie was her usual reliable self. If we get faulted it is always my fault. I really need to think about giving her commands early enough. She is quick, so if I am a second late she will be over the wrong jump. I have been putting so much effort into Smudge, and have started to just rely on Maisie getting it right (as she normally does!) but with Crufts coming up I need to really put the work in with her again.

There were a few things that I wanted to do with Smudge that we haven't done for a while. The slalom was one of them. I am fairly pleased as he is fairly tight to the wings and is running quite a good straight line. The first time (where I recall him over the first jump) he is wide. That is totally down to me and I must work harder there. The other times I am sending him over the first jump, and I am happier with those, much straighter and tighter! I need to set him up at a better angle to start with, then he would be even straighter I think. After this we did some pull throughs, then some combinations of both....pull throughs one way and slalom the other. Couldn't get those on film as the battery ran out! I just need to sort out my handling! The poles are down as I had a slight worry about one of his legs. In the morning he had been lame for about 2 minutes when he got up. Although I was fairly sure it had just been stiff I didn't see the point of jumping him just in case. He was still learning the principles, no harm in lowering the jumps! Luckily he has been fine since. I am just a natural worrier! At the end there is a really short clip of Scooby. Doesn't show a lot, but you can see his contact which has improved loads! Paul has been working hard on that!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Well as the title said, Smudge is becoming a proper teenager! A friend of ours brought her entire bitch up to training, and boy did Smudge suddenly find it difficult to concentrate! He has never done this before and it was very interesting to see his reaction. His nose was permanently in the air, he wasn't really as focused on me as normal and he kept coming around jumps! His brains certainly weren't in his head if you I know what I mean!! It was a good experience for him though as he is going to have to learn to work with these distractions around. I was pleased that he did stay with me and carried on, I could just tell that he wasn't 100% on me.

This weekend I also tried removing his target from the bottom of the contacts and asked him to target without it there. On the dog walk it worked fine, but on the A frame he jumped it. Perhaps I have rushed this, so the target is going back out for a while. Trying to run before we can walk I think. I guess if you don't try, you don't know!

I have finally managed to get back out walking proper distances again. Must make an effort to get fit again. Running is a major effort at the moment!!!