The Ruby Project, Week 8: Fun with Foundations

Ruby and I have now done three weeks of our foundation agility class and we started our domestic Good Basics class this week too. We’d had a pretty quiet week apart from that as I’ve not been feeling well.

I’ve also been a bit slack about keeping her occupied with food toys, and have had to confiscate a few items of contraband as a result.

Assorted treasure in Ruby’s lair – a sock, Able’s crackle ball, a roll of poo bags that had been in the same pocket as some yummy treats, and miscellaneous bits of fluff from a stuffed toy she pinched off the top shelf of the bookshelf.

Ruby also got to enjoy her first few 1-2 minute off-lead micro-walks this week, during one of our walks at Knottingley. Unfortunately it’s been quite hot so most of our walks are near twilight, when there is too great a chance of hedgehog-hunting antics to risk a repeat just yet.

Agility Fun

We have some good moments in foundation class but also a lot of not-so-good moments. I am struggling to get her to consistently chase and pick up any of her balls club. She will happily play fetch at the dog park (yup, I’ve become one of those people!) but there are so many more interesting things at club that the ball doesn’t rate a mention.

We had our first introduction to weave poles this week (one set of two poles) and she very quickly picked up the idea of going between the poles to get a treat that I’d throw ahead. A couple of stations later I was trying to get her to wrap a cone – something she’s learned with several different props at home – and every time I released her she’d wander up to the cone and wander right on past…

In between classes I am rationing myself to one session of training with agility equipment at home per week. We have plenty of other skills to work on so while I love doing “real agility”, it isn’t the main focus right now.

Last week’s agility session was a straight line over a single jump to a bowl. I tried something a bit different each time – changing the angle of the jump, trying a small lateral leadout, and we finished with her first time jumping her competition height of 500mm. She nailed all of it except the lateral leadouts (our sit stays were not up to that task!), and also learned to follow a treat in my hand back to the start position, rather than diving into the bowl that I’d just refilled.

For this week’s session I took my two raised dog beds outside and put the jump in between them. We did some reps where we went straight ahead over the jump to the other bed, and some where I asked her to wrap the jump and return to the start bed. The beds were helpful because her sit stays are much better on them, and she’s very good at driving forward to them. The temptation to blast forward to her bed when she was supposed to wrap got the better of her a few times, but I think we made progress.

Stronger Foundations

Last week’s agility session was fun (because she was doing very well at the actual jumping) but also mega frustrating. I found it difficult to get Ruby to line up and actually face the bloody jump, and then when I finally had her positioned Just Right she’d move out of her sit stay.

Ruby is a great companion during Friday afternoon meetings – unless there happens to be a fly in the room.

So focus number one this week has been sit stays. Some of the things we’re doing are:

  • The traditional boring one-step-at-a-time stay training. She’s improved a lot in the context of stay training sessions – once I feed her in position once she turns into a little statue who stays put. She was noticeably worse than usual on the first night of our basics class though, so clearly we need to do a lot more practice away from home.
  • Stays in everyday life – Ruby sits and stays in the car while I unclip her seat belt and/or harness before she gets out. She can now also sit and wait at the front door while I open it. The next step will be staying while I walk outside and walk back in – this is a difficult challenge for her because she really wants to rocket out the door and rush over to the car to make sure I don’t go anywhere exciting without her!
  • It’s Yer Choice games in her crate. Ruby waits in her crate (with the door open) while Able eats his dinner. I stand nearby and throw some of her own dinner in, one piece of kibble at a time. Sometimes they bounce out (human error) and she is super good at ignoring these ones, so I throw another one into the crate while I pick that one up and give it to her too.
  • Sit stays in a cardboard box – this was one of the exercises in our foundation agility class this week. It’s a bit easier for her to stay when she has an obvious target to stay on, so I tried to add the distraction of jogging on the spot. She couldn’t handle that at all! I had to scale back to just waving one arm, which was still pretty tough.

And focus number two is being able to line her up straight for her agility runs. For this we’ve been doing:

  • Pivoting. I discovered that my cheap Kmart stainless steel dog bowls are fully coated with rubber on the bottom, making them great perches for pivoting. She has learned how to do a couple of steps in each direction but is still relying on my motion to cue her to move. We’ll keep at it until she begins moving independently, eventually all the way into heel position.
  • Recalls into heel in the hallway. I give her just enough space between me and the wall that she has to sit straight. Getting her to actually stop next to me was the first big challenge though – I had to put three little targets (scrap pieces of yoga mat) along the wall to give her an obvious visual clue that she was supposed to stop. I’d leave her in a sit stay on each target, lead out to the next one and repeat.
  • Heeling in the hallway. Once she could recall into heel onto the targets, I started moving with her from one target to the next. I’ve now faded the targets out and moved a little further away from the wall, and she is able to sit much straighter!
  • Finding heel from tossed treats. This grew out of the recalls into heel in the hallway, as I was throwing a treat to the end of the hallway whenever we turned around to start another trip. I’ve moved it away from the wall now, which means I can now throw some of the treats so that she is approaching from a gentle angle. We’ll keep going with this and other exercises until she gets the hang of pivoting into position.
  • Middle position. I figure if all else fails, it’s much easier to sit her facing the direction I want when she’s sitting between my legs. Unfortunately it’s another thing where I need to train her how to get into position from all sorts of different angles though…

50 thoughts on “The Ruby Project, Week 8: Fun with Foundations”

  2. Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your site.
    You have some really good posts and I believe I would be
    a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off,
    I’d really like to write some content for your blog in exchange for
    a link back to mine. Please send me an e-mail if interested.
    Kudos!

    Here is my webpage :: дезинфекция от тараканов Архангельск

  3. I do agree with all the ideas you have offered
    on your post. They’re very convincing and will certainly work.
    Still, the posts are very brief for beginners. Could you
    please prolong them a little from next time?
    Thank you for the post.

  4. Thanks for one’s marvelous posting! I really enjoyed reading it, you may be a
    great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and may come back very soon. I want
    to encourage one to continue your great work, have a nice morning!

  7. Hello there! I know tһis is kind of off topic but I was wondering if yоu knew where I coukd get a captcha рlugin for my comment form?

    I’m using the sаme blog platform as ours ɑnd I’m having trouble finding one?
    Thаnks a lot!

    Feel free to surf to mу webpage … nfl retro bowl 25

  9. I ԝas more than happy to find this site. I need tо to thank you
    for ones tiume juѕt for this wonderful read!!
    I definitely liked every part of it and i also һave you book-marked to look
    at new information on your web site.

    My web sіte – unblocked games 76

  11. Hello, i read your blog frⲟm time to time and i own a ѕiіmilar
    one аnd i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam remarks?
    If s᧐ how doo you stoр it, any pⅼugin or anything
    you cɑn гecommend? I get so muϲh lately it’s driviing me crazy
    so any аssistance is very mucһ appreciated.

    my webpage; slope game

  13. I always used to study piece of writing in news papers but now
    as I am a user of web so from now I am using net for posts, thanks to web.

  16. Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your content seem to be running off the screen in Safari.
    I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet
    browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you
    know. The design and style look great though! Hope you
    get the issue fixed soon. Many thanks

  20. We are a well-known business setup consultants in Dubai ( officially certified ) with an impeccable reputation in helping our clients from across the globe
    in company formation in Dubai, business setup such as mainland company
    setup, Freezone company setup in Dubai, legal advise and
    PRO services processing etc in Dubai.
    All our experienced consultants work harmoniously together to provide a tailor made solution to the clients
    requirements. Our team of consultants includes experienced professionals, who offer comprehensive corporate services for individuals and companies

  23. Nice post. I was checking continuously this weblog and I am impressed!

    Extremely useful information particularly the remaining
    section 🙂 I maintain such information much. I was looking for this particular information for
    a very long time. Thanks and best of luck.

  25. My brother suggested I might like this web site. He was totally right.
    This post actually made my day. You can not imagine
    simply how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!

  26. Just desire to say your article is as astounding.
    The clarity in your post is just great and i can assume you are an expert on this subject.

    Fine with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post.
    Thanks a million and please carry on the rewarding work.

  29. Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular post!
    It’s the little changes that will make the largest changes.
    Thanks a lot for sharing!

  30. Hi there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be okay.
    I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look
    forward to new posts.

  37. Howdy! I realize this is sort of off-topic however I needed to ask.
    Does building a well-established website such as yours take
    a massive amount work? I’m brand new to operating a blog however I do write in my journal everyday.
    I’d like to start a blog so I can share my personal experience and feelings online.
    Please let me know if you have any ideas or tips for new
    aspiring bloggers. Thankyou!

  38. Just desire to say your article is as astounding.
    The clearness for your put up is simply great and that i could suppose you are an expert on this subject.
    Well along with your permission allow me to snatch your
    feed to keep updated with coming near near post. Thank you 1,000,000 and please carry on the enjoyable work.

  40. Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I
    could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter
    updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some
    time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this.
    Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.

  42. First of all I would like to say superb blog! I had a quick question that I’d like
    to ask if you don’t mind. I was curious to know how you
    center yourself and clear your mind before writing.
    I have had a difficult time clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts out.
    I truly do take pleasure in writing but it just seems like the first 10 to
    15 minutes are wasted simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or tips?
    Cheers!

    Also visit my web page … หวยหุ้นล็อตโต้

  46. I was extremely pleased to uncover this web site. I want to
    to thank you for ones time just for this wonderful read!! I definitely savored
    every bit of it and i also have you saved as a favorite to
    see new things in your website.

Comments are closed.