Hasten's practice and mouth wars!

So, my sister has some agility showing off to do---below are some clips of her practicing agility. Mom got a new camera so there are a bunch! I think they are quite boring but I  hear humans like watching these things.  The last clip is of my sister and me. My mom caught me playing with her...busted! But, I was having fun and I don't have to like her ALL the time! 




Wait:

Tunnel combo:

Aframe

Small combination:

Big combination:

Mouth Wars!

TTFN!
Barclay!

toy drive...by Hasten

Hi everyone!
I LOVE agility and so I have taken over my brother's blog---while he is outside looking at squirrels.
I got to practice on the equipment last night and that always makes me happy. My mom has decided that I need to learn to play agility and use toys as motivation...that is ok---I like them--but food is SO much better! I can't think of toys if I know food is coming!

Here are some clips of me playing with the toy for reinforcement.

The one above is my favorite---and the following clip---I figured out that I DO love toys...and no one can have them! Hee hee! Listen closely and you can hear my ferocious bark!

Gotta go...barclay's coming!
Hasten...the less than feral spider monkey

Playing, Destroying and General Slowness

Hi everyone,
There has been no time to post updates lately--so here goes:
1st I went to a three day agility trial in Lexington, VA (site of this year's AKC Agility Nationals!) just 45 minutes from our home.
I was signed up to compete in FAST,  Standard and Jumpers. In the FAST class, I renamed---SLOW. I was thinking about other stuff and not capable of going really fast. Mom had to really cheer--so the the timer went off as I was most successfully going to complete the "send." So, no Q for me or mom.

Friday: Standard class--well, I don't know what was wrong--but I felt very sad as I started the course and mom had to PULL me along---begging, pleading and I just didn't really want to play along. I did like the last 4 jumps. They always make me happy--I can see the end!
Jumpers--Mom handed me over to Wendy. She tried to run me. But I mostly walked for her too.

Saturday: they thought they would trick me. Samy played with me before the run and I was SO happy! I was tugging and playing and then she took me in that dreaded ring and as soon as she touched me to take off my collar...I deflated. I walked through most of the course--trotted some. Yeah, I am not into speed right now.

Sunday: Same thing... I did have a little bit more interest in the scary course with the dreaded "box" that everyone was talking about all day.... but I was still well over time. Samy did a good job handling me...I just didn't feel like going fast.

I am a VERY accurate dog. Some say, it's hard to be inaccurate when you go that slow..but they are just haters! (probably border collies!)

Hasten has been having fun. She had her first official agility class this week and that's all she has been talking to me about. She really likes it and gets really happy when there is equipment. I will say that when I watch her play on the equipment with mom and get treats, I am a tiny bit jealous...but not THAT much.

Mom has some video of Hasten playing with her new friend (and my friend too--I LOVE this dog!) Sully. He is a very cute Jack Russell who I have known longer than Hasten. He is about a month older than her.

Hasten has been destroying many things...toys, garbage, pens, and for some reason the little freak likes baby wipes! Who knows what goes on in that girl's mind.

Here is her pretty pink camo jacket--which she ate the front off on the way to the trial.

No brains in this monkey!

Sincerely, 
Barclay, the REALLY reluctant agility dog

This week in... agility and life

Hi everyone!
This was a great week. Mom was home with us a great deal and we got to get in a lot of great walks in the Arboretum! I LOVE walking---I get to see EVERY single squirrel and try to chase them down.

 Since mom has started taking Hasten with us on our walks I am fine...I just told her, "Keep up with me or you will be left to drag! "  I know that sounds mean--but hey! these walks are awesome and I have stuff to see! She is doing really well and she doesn't bother me at all on these walks. She is a bit confused...she keeps looking at mom every few 50 or so yards...as if to ask..."Is this all there is? Where are we? When do we get THERE?"  Today, we both found a mole---it was black and hairy and smelly and we almost had it...I could feel it near my mouth....but darn it--it got away. Mom was relieved for some silly reason.

This week in agility I went to LOAL on Friday---we did "sends" and I did ok...I think there is a trial coming up so mom is trying to get me ready. I usually like doing the sends---I have no problem working away from my mom.  I have had a nice vacation but we will find out next week how I really feel....things could change at any minute!

Hasten has been practicing her free shaping and her agility. She is really fast! I have tried to tell her that speed is not THAT important--but she didn't listen...she actually cries and whimpers if she can't go fast enough--what is WRONG with that girl?

One thing I have noticed about my new sister. She is a garbage junkie! She loves to take things out of the recycle bin and carries them around, sleeps with them, chews on them--and if we get near...she runs out the dog door with them! This girl is weird!

There is proof that she actually sleeps! She curls up like a hedgehog usually. See below:

Here is a rare shot of her still and in mom's lap.

Below are some clips of Mom and Hasten training. 

Waiting is NOT her thing. This is the 1st time we have had a wait before an obstacle.

The 1st one--great wait--but blew the tire---so I took her to the tunnel--seemed like waiting AND the tire was just too much. 

2nd video--she is showing how frustrating WAIT is!

On the left: Here she is showing her ability to do a combinatino of obstacles.
Right: Her wicked fast dogwalk w/out a leash!

Happy New Year and Hasten's Training

Hi folks! I am wishing everyone a HNY!
The agility training has started back. I had about a month off and mom took me to Love on a Leash on Wednesday night and I ROCKED! I was fast and very interested...I guess I needed a break!

Mom wants to take over my blog tonight to talk about...you guessed, it HASTEN. (Imagine snarly face here.) I guess I will let her. I have been liking Hasten more...see below for proof.

Hasten had a set of good experiences on her trip to Pensacola. She flew with us since she is not housebroken and asking any one to dogsit her for 5 days is asking too much. We had a great new dogsitter...Wendy took care of Deliah and Barclay. Both told me they were well taken care of. Check out Wendy's new website here:
http://www.peakperformancedogsports.webs.com 


She also met her first cows and horses. The cows really seemed to bother her...I guess all that staring makes her uncomfortable. She also found the goat "Stranger"  that showed up on my parents' property about 2 years ago. That was very funny--she actually did a double take(Which one of these is not like the other one). She handled all the new experiences nicely. 


She also went to her first beach. We went to Ft. Pickens and to the Gulf. 

The waves of the Gulf bothered her---they wouldn't stop chasing her! 

Tonight I took Hasten to the training building to work on a few things. We had some really great experiences. To start with, I should mention what I have been working on at home:
-targeting (touch and pounce)
-teeter banging (with teeter about 6 inches off the ground)
-running the length of the teeter (mostly flat)
-sending over a jump
-going through a baby tunnel
-running on flat boards to simulate the beginning of running contacts

So, at the building we started with her favorite thing...the tunnel. We 1st worked with the big almost U-shaped tunnel under the dog walk. Going toward the bottom of the  dogwalk, I forgot that she is just a baby dog---just turned 5 months and that when I step away to go around the dogwalk, she is going to see me out of the corner of her eye and go with me. So, we did the other end 1st a few times and then I tried the dogwalk end--but supported it with going into the slot a little--in two times she had the confidence and the know-how to fly through with great abandonment!

Then we tried the S-shaped tunnel under the Aframe. Again, she did fine with me on the same side of the tunnel--but not when I ran around the Aframe. I went back to supporting it, and she got it in 3 tries. I then added a jump at each end of the tunnel and worked on that combination. I did work on waiting. This is NOT Hasten's strong point...but she is getting better. She is trying to be patient.

Next we worked on 2 x 2's. I have not worked on these with her before--so we just started with the 1st step--and worked on turning it to a small angle. She caught on pretty fast---but I need more instruction before I can go any further.

As I was adjusting the 2 x 2s, Hasten became impatient--in her VERY operant mood--and decided to go take the whole indoor chute by herself...twice! She has done the chute about 8 or 9 times before but with someone holding it up, just a little. Clearly, we don't need the help anymore. So, I built from that---we added the tire. Hasten had not met the tire until tonight. She did very well--- when she was too focused on me, she ducked under the supports...but that only happened about 3/10 times.
So, now we have the chute and the tire in sequence. No problem---other than me needing to move my butt faster! I then added a 90 degree winged jump after the tire. She rocked it!

We then worked on her contacts. Scott had been out in the car listening to Sirius radio and the Packers game, but he came in to help me with backchaining her contacts on the dog walk. I brought out ham and I thought she was going to lose her mind! Scott held her on the lower end of the dogwalk and she wriggled and struggled freaking out to get to the ham!!! I waited at the end with the sacred ham. The 1st few looked pretty similar to dog diving...so we took her down even lower---right above the line between yellow and blue. That worked and we backed up from there and had great contact practice for about 20 reps.

We then moved to the aframe. Scott and I lowered it and began. We did not have as good as luck on the aframe---she got really hoppy--no matter how low we started her. There were about 6/10 good ones---so not awful--but not very consistent.  I realize that I am probably overly sensitive to the weaker contacts--but I don't want to have any bad habits starting.

Overall, it was an excellent time of working with her. She is eager and happy to work and is showing how more operant she is becoming every day. She is demonstrating one really funny behavior. When you don't give her enough information quick enough...or for instance, when I ask for her to "wait"--she makes these funny half growl/half yip sounds that sound likes she is saying "Hurry up woman and give me some direction! YOU are not fast enough!" She made Scott and I laugh so much tonight. She is a delight to train--I only hope we can keep this up! She never tired...never looked bored, would have worked forever--but she had received ALL the calories she needed!

Well, that is all for now. Happy New Year everyone!