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He did awesome. I fully expected him to be skittish about the equipt. and nervous about going on/through/over things, but he loved every minute of it! I used the clicker/treats/and praise as lavish rewards, no corrections at all, and before long he was flying through the tunnel, walking over the catwalk (I don't know what regulation is, this one is set low maybe 4 feet off the ground at best).
This is not a trial training class, it's a yearly club membership and they set the equipt up and you work your own dog. I plan to, perhaps, in the future take classes at another facility if I decide to do this as anything more than something fun and courage building (for Dante) every week. For a puppy who had very weak nerves, it's amazing what positive reinforcement and regular training will do for that! I kept the jumping very much to a mimimum because he's only 6 mo, and I of course didn't introduce speed into anything, focusing more on his confidence and touching contacts, etc. I did send him through the tire jump and over a few of the low pole jumps, and they didn't phase him at all. The A-frame is low, so the first several times I set smal treats on each of the foot holds (?) and he'd take a step, click and he'd get his treat.
He flew through the tunnel! I thought for sure it would scare him, but not a bit!
What are the best books, videos, etc for self teaching? This facility does NOT advertise they will help you train a dog for trial, it's strictly a fun class and they're very clear about that. I asked if I could use a clicker and they said no problem, people pretty much did their own thing. So even though I was the only one using a clicker, Dante responds very well to it so I'll keep at it. People were very kind and friendly and there were some great dogs there.
This is not a trial training class, it's a yearly club membership and they set the equipt up and you work your own dog. I plan to, perhaps, in the future take classes at another facility if I decide to do this as anything more than something fun and courage building (for Dante) every week. For a puppy who had very weak nerves, it's amazing what positive reinforcement and regular training will do for that! I kept the jumping very much to a mimimum because he's only 6 mo, and I of course didn't introduce speed into anything, focusing more on his confidence and touching contacts, etc. I did send him through the tire jump and over a few of the low pole jumps, and they didn't phase him at all. The A-frame is low, so the first several times I set smal treats on each of the foot holds (?) and he'd take a step, click and he'd get his treat.
He flew through the tunnel! I thought for sure it would scare him, but not a bit!
What are the best books, videos, etc for self teaching? This facility does NOT advertise they will help you train a dog for trial, it's strictly a fun class and they're very clear about that. I asked if I could use a clicker and they said no problem, people pretty much did their own thing. So even though I was the only one using a clicker, Dante responds very well to it so I'll keep at it. People were very kind and friendly and there were some great dogs there.