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As far as phasing out treats, look at is exchanging reward types or chaining several things together in sequence. Keep in mind you always want to reward the right behavior (which incidentally is following your directions and may mean not running the course correctly)
If your dog is distracted they use what you have to to get your dog's attention....clapping, calling (mind you only call once if you are confident your dog will recall), whistle etc... In class you can also use treats, in a trial toys and treats in the ring are a big no no.
The problem with using gates and wire guides that I see are training entrances and angles of approach. In a trial you do not know which side the course will present for the weave poles and having that gate or wire in the way from a right side approach seems counter-productive. The dvd for the 2x2 is well worth the cost. If you are in an agility club, you may be able to borrow it from an experienced member, or your club may have a library (mine does so I was able to check it out for a a month.) It is well worth the cost.
One thing I am seeing in your set of pics looks like a version of the weave pole dance as it looks as your instructor is stepping in towards the poles to body block your dog through the pole in the gates.
Betsy had a weave pole break through today! After the trainer doing the weave pole (with guides) dance with her while she was on lead, I decided to take a gamble and see if she could do it without his help. She first ran pass the weaves, but once I set her up at the right entrances, she weaved all by herself, in and out of the guides. Our biggest obstacle from advancing to the intermediate class has been these weaves so this is one big step in progress!
Betsy was ready to work today too. I brought three varieties of treats to mix up her reinforcement and used down time to train sit/stays with the numerous distractions--other dogs, incoming train noises! She did great today! I'm so proud of Betsy!
I've decided to take Betsy out of class. One of the doggy classmates kept wanting to play with her---wouldn't focus on anything but her to the dismay of her handler---and since Betsy has a history of being harassed by Maggie, it was stressing her out. Of course, we always ended up next to each other in line. Betsy was distracted and whenever her "boyfriend" the Keeshound (now in Intermediate) show up, she just wanted to see him. I don't think she's bonded with any of these beginner dogs. Plus, I think she needs more training; she's not reliable and attentive off-leash outside (in the house yes...). One of these days, she will go to intermediate. One of these days...
Wicket wrote:I've decided to take Betsy out of class. One of the doggy classmates kept wanting to play with her---wouldn't focus on anything but her to the dismay of her handler---and since Betsy has a history of being harassed by Maggie, it was stressing her out. Of course, we always ended up next to each other in line. Betsy was distracted and whenever her "boyfriend" the Keeshound (now in Intermediate) show up, she just wanted to see him. I don't think she's bonded with any of these beginner dogs. Plus, I think she needs more training; she's not reliable and attentive off-leash outside (in the house yes...). One of these days, she will go to intermediate. One of these days...
It's actually all under your control. If you keep ending up next to the 'wrong' dog, you take your dog to another place in the line
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
There are a couple of dogs in my agility class which are big, entire labs.....Dylan is OK with them, but at the beginning they would try to stare at each other. I just made sure we were standing not near to those dogs! Its hard now because Dylan has taken a liking to the owner of one of the labs, so he likes to keep an eye on where she is.....so now I try to not stand near them for THAT reason!
I only do agility in our backyard with self-made equipment but he loves it!
"If you talk to animals, they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them, you will not know them, and what you do not know you will fear. What one fears, one destroys."
I have trained my Chihuahua agility and ALL of the obstacle which with time she did amazing on. I took a class with the city but the teacher was EXTREMELY unsuccessful with training my chihuahua to weave poles. She used the channel method and said it would take 6 months to a year to train her fully to weave. I got impatient and after about a month of classes I bought some pvc pipes and stuck them into the ground in my back yard in a straight line. I taught her with treats and toys. I would throw a treat (or toy) through the pole and say "out!". I would then call her back to me either offering another treat or having her bring the toy back to me while saying "in". And repeat, repeat, repeat. until the dog completely understands. It took me about a week to train her how to weave perfectly!! I spent 15-30 minutes a day working with her in 15 minute sessions.
Since then I have fostered and trained MANY puppies (foster puppies from an animal shelter) to weave withing weeks before they are even 6 months. I do not compete with my dogs and I am NOT in any way a professional. I am 16 years old and just put a little time into it! Hope this helps you!
-Carolyn
Last edited by emmabeth on Wed Sep 25, 2013 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason:Edited to remove link
but he loves it!
Hope this helps you!