Performance Newsletter January 2006

By Jane Eno

So far, here in Rochester, NY, we’ve had an amazing January. Temperatures have been reaching the 50s, not the usual teens. This means I’ve been able to take some long walks with Jessie and run him through his weave poles outside. Something I find difficult at best during a typical January in Rochester. That said, it is still very muddy, gets dark very early, and has rained a great deal.

When the weather is working against you, keeping the weekend warrior performance dog safe and fit is a challenge all of us face. Injuries, as we know, happen to dogs that are out of shape more often then those that are fit. There are some gentle exercises you can do in your house, even a small house, to keep them in better shape for trials.

Upstairs – Downstairs
This is a game I teach all my dogs for exercising indoors. A hallway can work as well if you don’t have stairs. Start by placing a target with food at the top of stairs making sure your dog knows it’s there. Get your dog really excited, and release him saying “Upstairs,” and let him run to the target. Once he’s gotten this treat, yell “Downstairs” and have a treat waiting. Repeat this a few times. (Yes, you get exercise too doing this!) Then yell “Upstairs” with no treat up there. He’ll probably run upstairs thinking it will be there. Follow him, right on his tail, and when he reaches the top, give him the treat. Tell him “stay” and go downstairs and yell “Downstairs.” Repeat this. You will soon be able to send him upstairs, tell him to stay, then call him downstairs and give him a treat for the whole thing. You can work contact behavior this way by placing a target at the bottom of stairs.

Tug-of-War
I know many people believe this game makes a dog dominate, so only do this if you believe it’s ok. Tug-of-war is great for building back end strength. The dog must do the tugging, though, for it to help build strength. Don’t do the tugging while the dog stands there. They should be in a bow position, teeth clamped hard on the tug toy, then jerk backwards. This pulling is very good for the back end of the dog, plus it’s a fun release of pent up energy for them.

Dancing
Have your dog stand up on her hind legs for a treat. Don’t let her sit on her butt, but make her stretch up to get the treat, holding it way above her head and hold it for a few seconds. She will gain strength quickly and be able to hold it longer and longer.

Hallway Go-Outs
Either find a long hall way, a shoveled sidewalk, or a path dug in the snow. Put a barrier at one end or for a more experienced dog you can leave out the barrier. For a dog that doesn’t know the go-out, place a target or retrieving dowel at the end of the go-out. Send them for to the target, following them out. Once they eat the treat of pick up the dowel, call their name and tell them sit. This actually does help them learn a long straight go-out – they can’t make a mistake, and they are learning to run fast away from you in a straight line. When staying at a hotel for a trial, my friends and I sometimes entertain ourselves doing go-outs in the hallway. Just make sure you don’t annoy the other guests!

Pivots, Spins, Finishes and Find Heel
These are all great things to work on in the living room in the evening. You can work all of them, or just one or two. Try testing every finish you know, one after the other and see if your dog really knows the difference (left finish with hand signal, right finish with hand signal, left finish with voice only, right finish with voice only, right finish with voice or hand from heel position). Teach your dog to spin on command too (lure with food in a tight circle to teach, great stretching exercise and teach both directions). Then set up crazy hand signals patterns with it going from drop to spin, to sit, to down, to stand to spin again. Your dog will get really happy and excited playing these games. Practice pivots going in different directions and vary the degree of the turn.

Stretches
Go to your old copies of Clean Run and pull out the stretching exercises and try them. There is also a great article on teaching the dog to keep its weight back on the A-Frame that helps strengthen the dog as well. Stretches help strengthen as well as limber up your dog.

First & Foremost Rating for Open A 2005

Tontine’s Once In A Blue Moon
J Porter 12

Wildside’s Quiet Man
P Sontag/W Sontag 3

These two Kerry Blue Terriers competed in Open A over the 2005 show year. To receive First & Foremost points they must Qualify in Open A.

Tontine’s Once In A Blue Moon was also #10 for the Terrier Group! Congratulations!!

BRAGS

From Sharon Burnett
Seattle WA
I ran at the Puyallup Dog Show Agility Trials this weekend. It was her debut in the Open Preferred Class. As Martha Stewart would say - it was a good thing. Rascal got to jump 12" which she really likes. My back is getting better so I could actually do her some justice. We earned our first Q's in Jumpers and Standard toward her Open Preferred titles. (Both Q1 so she also got a toy. We were the only team in the class so if we Q'd it would be a first place.) Rascal ran fast and stayed happy. I actually got to cross behind which is an energizing move for both of us. (Rascal will be 10 years old on Feb. 6). This was our first Open Jumpers Q in almost 3 years. Next stop: Seattle KC in March.

I had Rio the Redd Raider out for a couple Novice Jumpers runs. Holly moley! Hang on to your teeth - this is one fast kid! Good thing I am in training!!!!

Finally, from the Gabby watch
She's very close to MACH 2. Janet will send me her point status and we'll start the status reports. But it does look like MACH 2 in Seattle in March.

From Jane Eno
In January Jessie finished his Novice Agility Preferred and his Novice Jumpers Preferred title. He also picked up his first Open Jumpers Preferred leg.

Last Updated: 02/04/2006, 1:42 pm