More on getting past the OK Plateau
Monday, February 21st, 2011 Posted in training | Comments OffAnother article in today's New York Times is about Greg Louganis, who was one of the greatest Olympic divers ever and who is now one of the top dog agility competitors (I bet you were wondering how I was going ...
“The OK Plateau”
Monday, February 21st, 2011 Posted in training | Comments OffIn the middle of the New York Times article on memorization the author mentions the OK Plateau, a place where things are good enough that you stop making an effort to improve. Several techniques for getting past the OK plateau ...
More on teeter training…
Friday, February 18th, 2011 Posted in training | Comments OffAfter the last AKC trial in early January, both Debbie and I were disappointed that Dancer was so nervous about the teeter. I suggested we start again from scratch; Debbie didn't think it would be necessary. We let it go ...
Agility rules by breed
Monday, February 14th, 2011 Posted in life with poodles | Comments OffHow to make agility more fair for different breeds: Require that standard poodles never touch the yellow zone on contacts. Allow shelties two or three spins in every run. Ignore that off-course tunnel if a border collie is running. Insist that aussies bark while ...
Weekend report
Monday, February 14th, 2011 Posted in training, trials | Comments OffI took Dancer and Elly to Elma, Washington this weekend to the Rainier Agility Team's annual Sweetheart trial. It always amuses me because they do a whole Valentine's Day thing--and yet most of us are there without human partners, just ...
Elly’s fine now, but…
Monday, February 14th, 2011 Posted in poodle IBD | 3 Comments »Warning: "oh my god, that's disgusting!" level of this post is pretty high. I'll try to give a heads-up when it's coming, but be prepared. Elly has IBD (irritable bowel disease) and has shown symptoms for at least the last five ...
Cheap thrills…
Monday, February 14th, 2011 Posted in trials | Comments OffNADAC has published its 2010 list of the Top Ten Dogs by Breed. Dancer is the #6 standard poodle in Jumpers. Only six standard poodles qualified to be ranked.
Poodles are not retrievers…
Monday, February 7th, 2011 Posted in training | 1 Comment »Some poodles retrieve quite happily, of course, but that's not my story, not today. I took Elly and Dancer to the CAT barn today (where I worked teeters and contacts and weave entries) and during training I gave the two of ...
Dancer’s opinion of the teeter
Monday, February 7th, 2011 Posted in training | Comments Off[caption id="attachment_1476" align="aligncenter" width="504" caption="Just in case you\'re wondering how Dancer feels about the teeter (photo by Joe Camp)"][/caption]
Teeter teeter teeter
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011 Posted in training | Comments OffAll I think about these days are contacts and teeters, teeters and contacts. If you're bored with those, stop reading right now. Yesterday, I took Dancer to the barn and the actual teeter where she developed her phobia after her ...