# I know it's not much...



## Finkie_Mom (Mar 2, 2010)

but this run meant A LOT to me! After all of the issues we've had with focusing, this made my day at training on Tuesday 

All off leash, with other dogs in the vicinity (some on leash, some off leash), and she even stuck a good 2o2o at the end of the a-frame, which we have worked very hard on!

And of course, any comments/criticism is appreciated! Though you can't really see a whole lot at first, LOL. 

Enjoy 

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAgilitytraining?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/BSzn2GQqTxs


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

> I know it's not much...


"NOT MUCH" ? .. Bah ! .. I would say that's actually a GREAT accomplishment !

:clap2:


Sometimes it's not quite as evident to others, exactly what it is WE know and feel in our own hearts .... and << THAT'S all that matters, really.


Nice job !


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## Finkie_Mom (Mar 2, 2010)

petpeeve said:


> "NOT MUCH" ? .. Bah ! .. I would say that's actually a GREAT accomplishment !
> 
> :clap2:
> 
> ...


Awww thanks!!! I'm nowhere near where I need to be to compete with her, but this gives us hope that we can compete one day! And of course, it's all for fun


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## amavanna (Nov 20, 2010)

wow that looks like so much fun! You guys both did fantastic!


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

I am sure people thought I was crazy when I got so excited at the last trial I had Kiska in, when I leaped all over the place and told her what a great dog she was when she finished the course. She had missed a jump so hadn't Q'd so they probably wondered what I was so excited about. Nobody realized what Kiska was like when I first started in Agility with her. I was lucky to get her over one obstacle before she left the ring, now she ran a complete course with her tail wagging and raced through the obstacles and was so happy doing it.

Your dog looks like she will just keep on improving as she is obviously enjoying herself.


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## Finkie_Mom (Mar 2, 2010)

amavanna said:


> wow that looks like so much fun! You guys both did fantastic!


Awww thanks! We always have fun at agility even though it can get a bit frustrating at times, LOL.



Kyllobernese said:


> I am sure people thought I was crazy when I got so excited at the last trial I had Kiska in, when I leaped all over the place and told her what a great dog she was when she finished the course. She had missed a jump so hadn't Q'd so they probably wondered what I was so excited about. Nobody realized what Kiska was like when I first started in Agility with her. I was lucky to get her over one obstacle before she left the ring, now she ran a complete course with her tail wagging and raced through the obstacles and was so happy doing it.
> 
> Your dog looks like she will just keep on improving as she is obviously enjoying herself.


That's exactly it! It's the little victories that make it so rewarding 

How did you work with Kiska to get her to focus more? I'm always looking for more tips to keep the down time interesting for Kimma. Once she loses her focus, it's so hard to get it back!

I hope she keeps improving! She seems to love it so much!


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## LynnI (Mar 27, 2010)

What do you mean it isn't much? Looked like a nice sequence for the level that you are at to me. Don't get frustrated, agility isn't anywhere near as easy as it looks and everyone has their struggles in it. And you shouldn't compare yourself against anyone, those in your class or even us on line because you may struggle at one level while everyone else appears to be having it easier (notice I didn't say 'doing better'?). Because next week/month you could be progressing at a rapid rate and they are now struggling. That happens and should be expected


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## amavanna (Nov 20, 2010)

yea and besides now your dog is a star on dog forum in my video


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## Finkie_Mom (Mar 2, 2010)

LynnI said:


> What do you mean it isn't much? Looked like a nice sequence for the level that you are at to me. Don't get frustrated, agility isn't anywhere near as easy as it looks and everyone has their struggles in it. And you shouldn't compare yourself against anyone, those in your class or even us on line because you may struggle at one level while everyone else appears to be having it easier (notice I didn't say 'doing better'?). Because next week/month you could be progressing at a rapid rate and they are now struggling. That happens and should be expected


Haha I know I shouldn't get frustrated, but unfortunately I'm a bit of a perfectionist and that can make training difficult at times. I try not to train while I'm anything but happy/relaxed, but at class, I don't have the option, since I'm paying for it and it's at a set time and all 

But I am really proud of all we've accomplished. She even got her first rosette for that run! And of course the week after that run (Tuesday), she acted like we have never done any training whatsoever hahaha. Story of our lives! We did some focus work and didn't touch any equipment, so hopefully next week will be better. 

I also think we may take some time off of agility classes in order to work on some more obedience. She's getting worse and worse off leash, and I honestly can't pay for both right now, so switching gears while still doing some agility practicing at home might be a good plan 

But thank you for the compliments!!! 



amavanna said:


> yea and besides now your dog is a star on dog forum in my video


Hahaha it looks a lot more impressive in your video 

Thanks for adding us in last minute!!! It looks great


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## LynnI (Mar 27, 2010)

There is nothing wrong with being a perfectionist but be careful........ I have a student who is one and that person if allowed will drill their dog into the ground 'trying to get it right'. They also had a former trainer that allowed it. The result was a very shut down dog that didn't want to play agility on any level. A dog that the second it saw the equipment, got a glazed look in it's eyes and wouldn't look at it's owner, a high drive dog that avoided the equipment and wouldn't/couldn't do a sequence of 4 obstacles after a year of training. They had less than 30% success rate at doing just simple jumps and tunnels sequences. When they came to me, they couldn't get around the sequence in your video.
Good news if by finding the dog's motivators, not allowing any drilling, setting them up for success and making agility fun, the dog now doesn't want to stop, refuses to leave the ring (that also isn't allowed lol) and now loves the game of agility. They are now training at a high level and will be soon competing. It took us six months to bring them back and to this day I still watch the owner like a hawk to ensure they don't drill


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## Finkie_Mom (Mar 2, 2010)

Yes, I know. I try to not drill as much as I can. It's really difficult at times, but Kimma is good at letting me know when she is done if I'm going a bit overboard. So far, she never wants to stop and loves playing, but it's her focusing on ME that we're working on a lot. I don't think she would ever leave a ring, but she would be very likely to just go off and do her own thing, LOL. Which also isn't good 

Like with weaves, we're doing the 2x2 method, and it's soooo difficult to stick to the 2 min practice session rule. But I'm getting used to it, and seeing how quickly she's progressing, it's definitely worth it. I will set a treat limit (like 10 pieces of whatever I'm using), and once we're done with that, we're done. 

Our trainer also watches me like a hawk to make sure I'm not drilling LOL. She's good at making me stop before Kimma or I get frustrated


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