The Zim Family Cocker Spaniel Forum

Here we come!

We have signed up for our first agility trial Sept. 8th! I only signed up for one day of a 3 day trial ~ just to get our feet wet. (STD & JWW) I'm plan to use this as an opportunity to see where we are in our training and what needs more work and how she (me too) handles the stress of the trial.

We have three more classes before the trial. Poor Chessie has been boarded for the last 16 days with no training so it should be interesting.

I am begging for any first time hints and tips you can think to give me. Any advice is welcome!

I'm very interested in how you handle feeding prior to a trial. Should I withhold food after a certain time so she doesn't need to go at just the wrong time? (I vividly remember last year when a poor girl trialed her two dogs and both of them stopped to... well you know at about the same place)

Good luck!!!!

I might go back to do agility with Heidi after she gets her CD title (I know she can finish her BN, but I know she can do better). This time around, I will train with a serious trainer. I will be watching you and Chessie closely!!!!

My best advice is be early, earlier than you think you could possibly need to be. That way you won't be rushed getting set-up, walking your course, and getting ready to run. And for my guys, I like to have time to either take them on a long walk or play fetch for a few minutes before we start our day. It helps me to wind down and gets some of their energy out after being asleep all night and then in the car for a long ride.

As far as feeding we follow our normal schedule without any problems.

Have fun and good luck! I can't wait to hear your report afterwards.

Lisa

No advice, but to have hubby take a video!!!!!!! It's a requirement in the "fine print" on the zim forum rules

sunk by my own words.

I'll take the camera but not many people show up early ~ nor stay late for the novice runs. (Novice runs first for jumpers and last for standard) So unless I can find someone I know to take video I won't have any... DH probably won't be there and my son has tried to video us before... but he forgets to move the camera and follow the action. I have a wonderful video of some agility equipment if you want to see?

Thanks Lisa... that's good advice for me ... thankfully I have my jump card so I don't have to worry about measuring. I'm hoping to set up the day before so I don't have to juggle the dog and her crate.

That's cool! I doubt I'll ever do obedience (I talk to Chess too much LOL) but I would like to do Rally some day. Chessie loves agility so as long as she stays injury free we'll see how far she can go.

Hi Lisa,
I agree with your decision to do just one day of a 3 day trial. I usually only do the first and last days of 3 day trials. Three days is very exhausting.

Feeding -- in general there is very little change in what is normally done. This assumes that the first run will be at least a couple of hours after breakfast.

Use Rescue Remedy for yourself if you think the nerves are a problem.

Your schedule of running early in the day and then at the end is really rough. So take the entire day as a "laboratory experiment." You just don't know, nor can you predict, what is going to happen. Trials are so different from practice, just go with the flow!

Colleen

Have fun!!!
I personally do not feed before the show. I give lots of goodies before we go in to keep their attention so that's enough. Good choice doing one day only...got to know your dog and how they react.

Hope you get video!!! We wanna see!!!

So glad you are venturing into this world that can be so rewarding!

A couple of things...

Make sure you walk your dog before your runs so that they don't even think that they have to go potty during their run.
Be on time for the briefing and attentive to any specific requests the judge may have such as when to go in the ring, etc.

Depending on whether it is indoor or outdoor, have proper shoes for weather and attire for temperature. I've learned the hard way all along and only got good cleats after an ugly fall. I also have learned to shop for proper water proof or wind proof gear.

Have cool coat for your dog if in hot weather and a cool pad for crate as well. I also use a memory foam pad in her crate to keep her extra comfortable.

Star tends to get crazy as we wait to go in the ring, she pulled so much that she pulled her neck out and ended up limping. I now use a harness instead of a collar at trials so observe your dog's behavior and see what you are likely to need the next time to make things better.

I have different treats depending on how she does. When she accomplishes what we've been working on she receives the Q treats. In our case it is when she keep up all the bars.

I think that is all I can think for now, but most of all think of it as a wonderful bonding experience that you can enjoy a lot!

Sylvia

Leigh...

I don't know about all cockers but my agility instructor says that Chessie has an odd kick to her gallop. Several of the Cockers I've seen train around here have a very cute prancing style of walking. Sounds like Arlo loves going to agility class!

Colleen,

Normally Chessie gets fed at 6:30am and I take her out and she goes solid around 9:00am. The trial opens at 7:00am... first dog on the line at 8:00. I'll leave my house by 6-6:30am (assuming I can set up her crate the night before) the time she usually would eat. The novice class usually has less than 25 dogs total so I expect it will go fast. My current thought is to take her breakfast with me and use it for treats.

I'm going to take your advice and go with the flow. As my instructor says.... Breathe deep and go to your happy place......

Michelle,

I think I'm going to use Chessies breakfast as treats. Between the timing and possible nerves I just don't trust her having a full tummy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Sylvia,

I remember your hard fall.. OUCH! Good advice I'll keep in mind if I do any outdoor venues!!! Thankfully this trial is in an air conditioned Sportsplex.

Good idea to use different treats for rewards! I'll have to remember some high value treats for Chessie runs. (using positive thinking here )

I may have to find an easy on/off harness. Chessie is fine if she's off leash but she pulls like crazy if she's leashed! (in spite of the loose leash classes we've taken )

In the meantime I have to buy her a flat buckle collar.... wish she could wear her Erika bling!

Aren't you going to run her naked ? No collar? Rosey wore her bling collar into the ring at Cocker Nationals (I don't use it in dirt arenas), but she runs naked so the collar is acceptable.

Colleen

Hi Lisa,

Star also runs naked and you may want to consider that because if you ever run USDAA which is lots of fun she HAS to run naked no collars no nothing.

As far as a harness goes the one we use is the Comfortflex one which was recommend by the Wizard of Paws, Debbie Saunders who is the big deal dog rehab person in this area. I take the snap off before going in the ring and then I just undo the velcro once there.

This is where you can find one:
http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fusea ... entCat=202

Good luck!

Sylvia

Colleen and Sylvia,

Our venue allows the dogs to run with a buckle collar. (no tags) Since this is our first trial and I'm not sure how well Chessie is going to listen to me at the end of the run. I want to have something that I can grab in order to leash her. They move the dogs in/out so fast I don't want to delay the next persons run while I maneuver a wiggly dog into her collar. I have a slip lead that I use during our class but I have to hold her collar in order to get it on her. She tends to scoot backward away from it. (she doesn't like things over her head)

I'm going to try working with her to see if I can get her to accept over the head better. Perhaps by her next trial...

Hope Cheesie doess good. Enjoy and have fun.

Lisa -- what venue is the trial? AKC, USDAA, CPE, etc?

Does Chessie wear a snood for eating? If so, you can transfer a command for putting her head in a snood to putting her head into a slip lead. My husband used the word "help" when putting on Rosey's snood. So when we got Solo, we continued using that word. As in all training, the actual word doesn't matter -- it is the behavior-word association.

So if you ever meet Rosey and Solo, you will see that if I say, "help" -- they remain still and accept something being put on their head/neck.

Colleen

My guys run without collars too since we compete in CPE and they have to be naked. We use slip leads and Lady's not crazy about the other the head thing either.

I usually make a huge loop and ask her to target my hand or have her give me five - it's her favorite trick - and since she sits to do it she can't back away from the collar. Just a couple of thoughts if you eventually want to move away from having her wear her collar.

Colleen,

Our venue is AKC and for now that is what I will stick with... I don't want to confuse myself with the different rules just now.

Chessie does wear a snood to ear her raw meal in the evening. To tell you how much she dislikes over the head ... even knowing she is going to get food after it's on she hates wearing it!!! Even if she were good about it ... I just can't see myself saying. "SNOODLE!" at a trial.

I've been working with shaping her throughout today with my slip lead (which she hates). I've gotten her to the point where she will put her head through the lead on her own. If she continues to do so well I'll probably name it "get dressed", unless I come up with something else that sounds good. She is very trainable I just never put the effort into this skill.

Lisa,
Good idea for training. She knows target too - that would be another tool to use.

I started this afternoon shaping with my clicker. In two 5 minute sessions she got from touching the loop with her nose to where she would voluntarily put her head through the loop. By the third session I could move the loop to different positions (right/left/center) and she physically had to move to get to it. I'll continue working tomorrow and see how much she remembers from today.

Thanks!