It takes balls to run Pikachu

Yes, literally it takes balls to run Pikachu.

Its been a strange and at times very sad year for us. 

Everyone grieves differently and for me some things I like to keep very private so forgive me for not commenting further. Instead I will focus on our dogs progress since my last blog.

The last blog was about Chic aka Miss Perfect Paws as she continues to be. It'll be a while before she competes so as usual there is not much equipment training going on in the Laker scheme of things. Here a little clip of one exercise we have done.

Chic jumping exercise clip

It has been said to me several times that Pikachu will make me a better dog trainer. My reply is often I don't want to be a better dog trainer I just want a dog I can do agility with. Looks like Chic is not going to help my dog training skills ;)

So how is Pikachu doing? Well I mentioned that I had found the key to motivation with her and about her tennis balls. I just needed to find a way to put that to best use and develop a love of agility with me through being rewarded with her balls whilst not ruining our relationship by fighting with her to get them off her.

This is easier said than done, but the result is I have a dog that loves coming out to train with me and even more relevant will stay in the ring at a show, or better still enjoys competing. She can still get a little distracted on the start line and wonder if the person that has just taken her lead has also got one of her balls which needs a bit of work. TBH I'll just have to get even bigger pockets and tuck her lead in there too so she needn't worry. 

The other BIG thing is that I was struggling to feel we were together in the ring. I apologise to small dog handlers but I thought it was purely a size issue and the distance from my eyes and hands to her compared to previously running large dogs that I could touch without bending down. I wondered if I would ever feel that connection. I often can't see her!

She's behind you clip

Happily this is not the case and I can feel her commitment and drive (yes drive yippee) equally the same as with Rhyme. Admittedly not all the way round yet. I'm confident it will grow as she is a smart little cookie and has found the joy of running round an agility course together. She has a lovely turn of speed too so I think we will be able to look to getting up the grades...if I can understand how they work next year.

The time spent this season just getting her to thrive on my attitude to competition has been well spent. I now need to capitalise on this by developing fast reliable contacts and weaves over the winter ready to attack courses with a winning mind next year.

I am also on the search for a replacement for the balls in a toy that she will give back without a struggle but produces nearly the same amount of excitement. So far we have found she also loves one of these cut down a bit and will bring it to me to tug with!

Yep so if I can't find something better I'll be replacing the balls for something that will look no less dodgy stuffed in my pocket and earning comments like "are you pleased to see me or is that just dog toy in your pocket!!"

Socialisation - thinking inside the box

Wow how lucky am I.

Chic is turning out to be just what I wanted. She is stunningly beautiful, very cheeky and keen to learn. 

Initially I wondered if she was 'legally blonde' as sometimes she doesn't seem to take things in. Then I applied one of my own tips about training regarding timing. There are times when it's easier to learn i.e. with no distractions such as being hungry, some dogs learn in 30 seconds and other take 30 seconds to warm up to the idea and some times girls just want to have fun. I have enjoyed taking time to really know Chic and work out how and when she wants to learn and boy, when she's in the mood she would work forever if I let her. However, if its not on her agenda for that day then we just have to have a growing up day.

One of the first games I play with my puppies is getting in a cardboard box. From that game there is getting on a cardboard box, cutting an entrance and then finding a way into a higher box etc etc. I had collected many sizes of boxes for the fun of these games and with Xmas on the way I was sure to get more.
Chic took one look at the first box and did a perfect roll over but in no way was she interested in getting in it. The roll over was cute so that has stayed and the box was put away until today. This is the first time since that day that I have asked her to get in a box and I am glad I waited.

Training Chic to get in a box

Having eight dogs means you have to plan your time carefully, so armed with the knowledge that Chic can learn things easily at the right time means I can take my time and teach her things when she is ready and not waste time if she's not.

Talking of ready, another game I love is the 'ready' game. This is where I have an active game of tug and then go totally still whilst saying the word ready. Usually my pups have dropped the very dead toy and as soon as they do that I say go and make the toy exciting. Chic's version was when then toy went dead she would fly at my upper arm to bite me. Although this was hilarious it also hurt so I tried to temper down the way I said the word and ask for a bit of control. I also left that game alone for a while. When I came back to it this is her new version.

Chics version of the ready game

One of the key things with young puppies is socialisation. Coming from a busy home with people coming and going visiting pups, other dogs and cats Chic had a great start in this department. Once at our home we had Christmas and New Year so lots of visitors, different people and noises, our own dogs of various sizes, other dogs staying in the house and my customers and their dogs to meet. She has done well and taken it in her stride but she has a spooky side. This is strikingly more noticeable when she is tired  

or needing the toilet.

Again it is a question of timing with her and I know not to try to introduce her to anything in those circumstances. In fact I left her first puppy class early as she had been confident and bold and then went a bit quiet. Reading the signs I excused her. She is now able to stay all evening without any worry. 

Rhyme as a puppy was concerned about a lot of things and I took him to a lot of different places and he met lots of different people. I encouraged people to give him treats so they were not scary. I think he did benefit from that and now when he 'spook barks' I can often see a reason why and it's usually something out of place - a non-agility person at a show for example or a dog in a yellow 'give me space' coat. Chic 'spook barks' if something has changed in her world - the first time we put a tunnel out in our field this year you would have thought we'd unleashed a fearless puppy eating beast. Luckily we have the space for me just to walk past it and ignore it and so she did too. I don't think it would be of help to her if I tried to entice her near it at that time. Given the choice to run was good for her and her curiosity got the better of her five minutes later. 

I will not be able to introduce her to every scenario that she may encounter and wonder if sometimes people are encouraged to do too much when they are still small and tire easily. As I mentioned, she behaves quite differently when tired so I will leave some things until she is older to ensure I'm not asking too much too soon from her. The main thing for me is that she trusts me and that she will then be willing to work in any place at any time. 

To ease her into being able to cope with change I put her food bowl down in a few different places, move her toy box and leave toys in unusual places round the field to surprise her with. When I remember I also get her to walk over different surfaces e.g matting, over hula hoops on the ground etc. The key for her is building her confidence and our relationship by introducing strange things in a familiar environment first. I'm lucky to have the space and facilities at home and I am happy she will develop into a confident dog out and about at shows this year too where I'll let her play some of her favourite games so if you see me carrying a cardboard box ..........

Just one more glimpse into her loveable and quirky character

Chic invents her own game