Practice

Weaves: 12-wams only. 1st pass, several inches off center: Good. 2nd pass, 2 inches of center: Great! Speedy, enthusiastic, and single-stepped the whole way. 3rd pass, 2 inches off center: Was slower and popped at 10. 4th pass, a few inches wider: Good. Have scratched him from the standards in next week's trial due to the weave popping issues but it was too late to scratch from this Sunday's two standards. Should probably run him past the
weaves but... will give it a try, at least the first run. After that no more weaving in trials until the weather cools this fall and he gets his normal speed back; in the meantime we'll get in lots of wamming.

Out: More progress! Still not 100% by any means but he does seem to be catching on. Used side by side jump and straight tunnel as well as a side by side teeter and jump which he had more trouble with. Sometimes asked him to take the close obstacle to make sure he's actually thinking. Realized today that the trouble we're having learning "out" totally reminds me of the trouble I had getting Walter to graduate from offset wams to fully upright poles back in the fall of 2006. At the time it seemed like it was taking forever and it felt like I'd never be able to teach a dog to weave, but it was the best feeling when he finally did get it, and in retrospect it didn't take that long, just a few weeks of frequent short practices. So hopefully later this summer I'll look back on these initial "out" practices with a grin knowing that he's "got it". :)

Pip: Tried pip from dogwalk to tunnel. At first he steadfastly refused to move from 2o2o when I said pip. Instead, he offered to bow, which is what once upon a time I required for 2o2o. Silly boy. Tried again and this time said "ok" before pip, and he got it no problem. Silly me. Forgot he was trained to require an "ok" before moving from 2o2o.