Yesterday we went to an obedience competition, the first competition since I started training in the obedience class in early August. Do you want to hear the result? Well, I'd rather not tell it. But, I think I don't need to keep it secret either. I got the fifth place. However, to tell the truth, I was the last or the second from the last in the competition. Nevertheless I got a placing, because there were far less entries than usual.
In our run the biggest problem was that Mum and I walked too slowly in the heelwork. Otherwise, we did great. Mum says that she couldn't speed up because I was walking very slowly. But, I want to say the same thing back to her! She is the handler. So, if she walks slowly, I walk slowly! That's what an obedient dog should do, isn't it?
For the too slow speed of our heelwork, we got two points deducted, a big loss! After our heelwork, my dance and obedience instructor came to us and said "Too slow!!" Also, she said "YOU have to speed up" when my Mum said apologetically "But, Cinnamon was so slow." See? It was all Mum's fault!!
However, I can tell you that Mum was not so disappointed, or rather happy, because I behaved very well while I was in the competition venue. I didn't bark even when several other dogs around me started to bark, so she gave me lots of treats and praises, which was very good!
Sorry there is no photo of me competing this time. But, instead I will show you a photo of Mint and me waiting in front of a bakery while Mum was buying some bread. Mint barked when he had to wait there for the first time, but he doesn't bark anymore :-)
Cinnamon, my mom used to do the same thing with heelwork. Then she started using this weird clicky thing (she called it a metronome? I guess it's a piano thing?), and walked around the house in time to it for days. Then she had me heel with her while it was clicking away. Now she walks much faster during our heelwork.
ReplyDeleteLove, Maisy.
> Maisy
ReplyDeleteThank you for your advice! Actually when our instructor showed Mum how to walk in the heelwork for the first time, she told her to practise heelwork, singing a song to maintain a steady pace, but Mum hasn't been doing it. As we don't have a metronome, I guess Mum should sing a song!
Cinnamon, I have no idea why mom has a metronome. Heaven knows she doesn't have any musical talent!
ReplyDeleteSinging a song is a good replacement though. Well, not for MY mom, but hopefully yours sounds decent when she sings! :)
Love, Maisy.
Hi Cinnamon!
ReplyDeleteYou still did well in our books! Worry not, you'll have competitions and we bet you will win lots of medals still.
Mint is really growing up so fast! =)
Love,
Piappies Fudgie, Princess, Frappie, Mocha, Sugar, Wai-Pai & Wai-Max
If the speed of your heeling was your only complaint then I think you did fantastic!! You should be especially ecstatic over her non reactivity! I too need to remember to walk quickly and just trust that my dog will keep pace.
ReplyDelete> Crystal
ReplyDeleteIt's easier said than done. My mum is not a great singer either. I will let you know how it goes.
> Piappies friends
Oh, thank you. Yes, Mint is already taller than me! He is still lighter though.
> Laura
Apart from the slow speed we got 1.5 points deducted; 0.5 for a lag at the beginning of heelwork, 0.5 for being wide in heelwork, and another 0.5 for crooked-sitting in recall. But, that still is not too bad I think.
Well, actually, to keep me under control Mum had to keep entertaining me so that I didn't get over-stimulated by things happening around us. I know it was not an easy task for her. Hopefully I will eventually not need Mum's help to keep myself under control!
Oh, sorry it was Maisy!
ReplyDeleteMom Beaglebratz here - Cinnamon, I think you did a very good job! Considering all the negative stuff I have heard about Beagles - stubborn, a challenge, dumb and can't learn. You and the Beaglebratz are testaments to just the opposite. Well, sorta - Beagles can be stubborn and a challenge but moms (and dads too) just need to learn to be patient and find what motivates a Beagle to learn but then keep up the practice too. We moms (and dads)do have problems occasionally forgetting things and that our Beagles just do what we ask them to - or forget to ask them to.
ReplyDeleteI also want to let you and all our blogville know that we are currently without our Internet service - not sure when it will be bak, hopefully before Shasta's birthday or else she will never let me forget it.
Oh and you and Mint are doing great - I could never leave Shiloh and Shasta fastened to anything while I go into a store - just wouldn't happen unless whatever they were fastened to was bolted down with 2 or 3 inch bolts into concrete - they'd be gone hunting in nothing flat. Hopefully we will be bak in blogville soon.
I think it sounds like you did super. I think that each time you go out and give it a go you learn so much, and it really motivates you to keep training and do better. We were going to come out on the weekend to Ardmore but I was working again grrrr.
ReplyDeleteGood job Cinnamon! Sounds like you were perfect. Maybe you need to take you mom to more obedience classes so she can improve her heelwork! ;) Glad you had fun.
ReplyDeleteHi Cinnamon! Long time no woof! Thanks so much for coming to visit me while my humans were away and not forgetting about me! :-)
ReplyDeleteI think it sounds like you did very well at your Obedience comp - after all, something like the speed of Heeling is quite easy to fix where as barking at dogs is not so you achieved a much harder thing! So tell your human that! I think she is much too hard on herself - she must remember all the wonderful things she has achieved already (and is still achieving) with you and Mint - considering that everyone says Beagles are IMPOSSIBLE to train! I think she should be very proud of herself.
I also read your last post about your walk on Tamaki Drive and I was sorry to hear that your human was so upset. But please tell her not to lose heart - reactivity to other dogs is one of the hardest things to conquer and especially when you have 2 dogs, things can get very complicated! It took my humans of working about 6 months intensely with me (using Flip's method) for me to stop reacting and be able to walk past another dog at close distance - and a whole year before Hsin-Yi could really relax and trust me.
But even now, it depends on the other dog - if the other dog is very reactive and jumps or barks or lunges at me, then I might sometimes still react also. So Hsin-Yi tries to make sure that I don't pass too closely to dogs like that which can trigger me into bad behaviour. So maybe your human can do the same - because practising doesn't mean we have to pass EVERY dog we see - it is better to choose the "right" kind of dog to pass (calm, in control) so that we can be set up to behave well also and then each time we achieve that, it helps to cement our behaviour and also helps our humans gain confidence. Whereas if there is one bad experience, it can really knock the humans' confidence and make you go back several steps! :-)
So I think your human should watch other dogs and actually AVOID any that seem quite reactive as well because that is just too much of a challenge - at this stage, only let you pass dogs that are calm and well-behaved. Then as you get better, you can try passing more reactive dogs. But remember that everythign you are practising is harder to manage because there are 2 of you together - in fact, if there is a behavioural issues, it is almost impossible to train & work on it when trying to handle 2 dogs at the same time. I know it is hard to do 2 separate walks but maybe if you're planning to specifically work on "passing dogs", it would be better to just go out with your human alone (without Mint) - and then when you're walking together, better to walk somewhere where there are less dogs or more distance between them so less chance for you to react.
Remember also that these things can take a looooong time to fix! (unfortunately!) Especially if you got into a bad habit of behaviour before - it can be very hard to change. That is why it is so important not to let Mint learn this behaviour too.
But tell your human not to feel bad - she is doing great and there are SO many situations where you do NOT bark (when you would have previously!) - so she should focus on the positive achievements too. She can't fix everything overnight! :-) But you are already so much more focused and calmer than you were before and I think going to places like Ardmore and learning to remain calm & quiet with lots of doggies around you is very good for you.
Good luck!
Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane
ps. OH - my human wanted to say that the reason Taiwan has so many Japanese restaurants and Japanese style things is because it used to be a Japanesew colony for a while! The Japanese occupied it during the 2nd World War...and so many Taiwanese picked up Japanese culture (and many older Taiwanese speak Japanese). Hsin-Yi thinks it's very nice - it makes the Taiwanese different from the other Chinese people!
> Beaglebratz
ReplyDeleteThank you for your encouragement! I hope your internet connection will be back soon.
> Pepper
Are you going to the ribbon trials on the 10th next month? We are thinking about going.
> achieve1dream
I have passed your message to Mum. Yes, you are right. She too needs to pratcise more.
> Honey
Thank you very much for your encouraging comment! It has surely brightened Mum's day! You really are a great mentor for us!
My mother makes me wait in the car while she get bagels and coffee. I scratched her dashboard because I was angry, but now I think I understand her need for coffee.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Mugsy
(Pug)
> Mugsy
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting our blog! Yes, you just need to know what is going to happen. Once you know it, you can wait, can't you?