27 March 2008

Running a-frame the haul ass way-a primer.


So yesterday you saw how I'm teaching Gustavo his dogwalk. We patch it together on real dogwalks every time we see one (like how often do you just see a dogwalk?) or on my contract trainer of a wobbly patio table thing. A-frame though, is all about Hauling Ass. So we go practice on a real one every time we can. He gets a click when he hits the yellow paint (which so far is almost Every Single Time!) and then he runs out for the reward that I either throw or is waiting in his tupperware.


I can be pretty far away already, I always run really, really fast too. It is like a race.


I have to watch careful so I don't click if he misses it. But I think he's getting it. I think I'm going to raise it a bit soon.


He's the first dog I've trained all by myself. Without really asking for much advice, or having him in a class. Just doing things the way that I want to try and that I think will work for him. This isn't neccessarily a good thing. I don't have proven results to swear by and I'm not always the most disciplined trainer. I obsess on my canopy color and whether my shoes are ugly. My dogs screw up sometimes and I have never, ever won a Steeplechase Finals. Except with Hobbes. And I didn't train him so that doesn't really count. But I just have this feeling that this is all going to work. And it's just kind of funner this way.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Grammar Police:

My son tells me that many things in life should be funner, among them "funner" as a legitimate form of "more fun." "Funner" is just a funner word. I'm thinking maybe the key to life, not to mention agility training, is making it funner.

Anonymous said...

I agree. I hear it so much at work I think we should all say it. Agility is just funner than other dog sports. Hey, Jim and I liked your letter to the editor yesterday, Laura. Thanks.

Urban Smoothie Read said...

great running contact, gustavo!

i think training our dogs by ourselves had lotsa benefits, coz afterall we are the one that really understand them...n we know which training methods suit them best...

Anonymous said...

I am amazed you spend money on Ikeaware when you have all kinds of containers around the house. Plastic drink bottles, cool whip containers etc.

team small dog said...

One of the reasons I hate Ikea is that it is hard to get out of there without buying stuff like a $5 set of nine million tupperwares and 4000 tiny little candles for only a buck and then $50 later you have a carload full of crap and they actually were out of that thing that you went to Ikea for.