Foundation Work

We had great session last evening with Aurora. Thankfully, I had started a notebook when Cosi began agility classes two years ago. Either during class (if I had the time) or right after class I would write—in detail—the exercises we did and the goal of the exercise. Anna is eager to begin working with Aurora in agility, and it was fun to read the notebook and share this information with her.

The other funny piece of this activity was my four dogs all trying to get into the act! There would be Anna trying to get Aurora to touch a target. Next thing you know, there are four pointed noses (three shelties and a poodle) poking at the same target (a clear lid I got off a peanut can). We laughed at the differences in muzzles. There was Aurora’s lack of a nose on her little pushed-in face and my dogs’ long pointy noses.

I learned a valuable lesson here: Keep working the foundation games. Just because you went through them once doesn’t mean you’re finished. I’d forgotten what enjoyment the dogs get from these simple games. I’m definitely going to put them back in my regime of games to play even while waiting in line at a trial.

Here are some of the games we worked last night:

Touch a target - hand touches or touch an object like a lid or a pantry door knob

Perch work – Aurora was so small, we used a very thick Yellow Pages phone book. To up the difficulty we put a yard stick in the book so she would have to step up over it. This game helps build body awareness. Aurora has to use only her back feet to move around the perch.

Plank work – I have a plank that is about 4 feet long. First we worked on getting Aurora onto the plank with all four feet. Next we’ll use it to teach a 2o2o position.

Go out – We used the laundry basket to have her leave Anna’s side and go out around the basket. I reminded Anna she can use any number of items on the walk (a tree, a hydrant, a flower pot). This is fun stuff to work at the park.

People often think beginning agility work means jumping and working with obstacles. These foundation games are the building blocks that make the obstacle work that much easier for the dogs. Plus with winter (and snow today!) here, these are easy games to play indoors with not many props.

Company's Coming

O Happy Day. Today's the day that my Anna is coming for a long visit. I'm as excited as a five-year-old child at Christmas.

My grandmother was from the coal regions of Pennsylvania. Part of the culture there was to put a possessive pronoun in front of any family member's name. Therefore, it wasn't Uncle Ken, it was our Ken. I knew my friend Janice was accepted when my grandmother referred to her as our Janice. She's family now! Anna is like that; she's not related to us, but she's our Anna.

She's bringing her Boston Terrier with her. What a lovely little dog--no trouble, well mannered, playful, sweet tempered. So you can see that I'm having a double-blast of fun when our Anna comes to visit. She told me that she'd like to begin some agility foundation work on her dog, and that got me to thinking about some of the fun exercises we do to prepare our dogs for working with us.

Here's one of my favorites. It's a game called Rule Outs. The "goal" of the game is to have the dog ignore what he wants (a fist full of treats) and give you his attention (eye contact) instead. It's great for teaching attention, impulse control, and is practical at an agility trial. People often feed dogs before they go into the ring, and sometimes the smell or litter of tidbits is everywhere. Instead of having Fido sniffing and scrounging for leftovers, you can play Rule Outs. My dog Mike is the master of the Rule Outs game.

Here's the process: Take a handful of small treats and sit in front of your dog. The dog's position is irrelevant--sit, stand, lie down, whatever. Present your *closed* fist to the dog. He'll sniff, perhaps paw at your hand. The bank of treats is closed. The key to open the bank it is to look at me. You are QUIET--not a peep. When he looks at you (sometimes as if to say, "Come on! Help me out here!), open your hand and give him one of the treats. If he comes towards you, simply close the bank (fist). He'll quickly learn that to look at you is the key. To up the criteria, keep your hand open and put it close to your dog, on the ground, anywhere. He'll ignore what's in your hand (it's ruled out) and look to you for a reward. NEVER let him eat the cookies from your hand. He only gets treats from you as you give them to him. Then you can put treats on the ground, on his paw, anywhere, and he'll ignore them. My agility instructor used this game to teach her dog to back up. She'd toss the cookie between his front paws. When he backed up, he got a second reward. Fun stuff!