# Nino's Agility Progress



## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Instead of just making a thread for each new level, I decided I would just start a thread to document all of his progress as an agility dog.

Nino started his "Beginners" class this past Monday. This is the competition readiness class, and most of the other dogs in the class have already competed at a trial, they are just hanging back in Beginners to refine skills. This class focuses much more on the handling aspect of agility (crosses, distance, dog-awareness), as Foundations was mostly an intro to full-height obstacles. It was all very new to me, but the instruction was wonderful.

We ran a 13 obstacle novice level course together with no faults, then a 10 obstacle novice course, also no faults. After only 7 prior classes of "real" agility, I would say that's pretty impressive  I am beyond proud of him. We started working weaves (our channels are all the way open hehe) and the best thing...Nino finally overcame his teeter fear. All it took was a little chicken liver bait from the show this weekend 

Looking forward to next class.


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## LittlePapi (Oct 27, 2016)

Congratulations! It sounds like you both are enjoying agility immensely!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Congratulations!!!

I had agility today... Panda did fine... I fell flat on my face! I'm fine, except for a swelling knee, but she was so funny. She ran to the end of the teeter, jumper off, and ran back to me. You could almost see her asking, "WHAT in heaven's name, are you doing down THERE?!?!" :laugh:


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Glad you weren't hurt worse, Karen. Panda was probably racing to find what you'd found on the floor that was so good and which she had missed.


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## boomana (Jul 9, 2015)

That's wonderful and very inspirational to me. Lola starts a foundation class on the 22nd. I've never done agility and not sure my bad ankle can handle it, but we'll enjoy the change in classes/learning even if we can't go further. My cousins have always had Border Collies and Shelties, and have been involved in agility for as long as i can remember. About 15 years ago, they came from Michigan to Florida with two of their dogs for a gigantic agility weekend. Other than their dogs herding my cat, all i remember was being around hundreds of the happiest dogs on earth and meeting great people. That feeling was a big part of my decision to get my first dog in life at age 53. It's something I would like to be a part of, if I can, and i know Lola will love it (okay...she loves everything, so that's easy).


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Sheri said:


> Glad you weren't hurt worse, Karen. Panda was probably racing to find what you'd found on the floor that was so good and which she had missed.


Yeah, my knee is pretty swollen today, and I have a bruise on my shoulder. But otherwise, I'm fine. I think Panda was actually worried. She came right to my face, and started sniffing me. Poor thing!

I once fell with my horse going cross country at a gallop. He hit a ditch in the grass that neither of us knew was there, and went [email protected]# over tea kettle. Obviously, I came off, and I dislocated my shoulder. (something you REALLY want to avoid, BTW!!!  ) It all happened very fast, and he immediately scrambled to his feet, unhurt except for a couple of scrapes. But I'd had the wind knocked out of me, AND had a useless arm, so was not ready to get to my feet. Oliver stood right over me, looking down in my face, as if he was saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean for that to happen! You don't belong down there!" Fortunately, friends were able to get him back to the trailer, untacked and drive him home, while someone else took me to the hospital.

Yup falling with dogs is MUCH less painful!


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## Chi-Chi's Mom (Dec 10, 2015)

Chi-Chi starts Foundations on Feb. 1. Pray my knees hold up.


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## Ollie"s Mom (May 23, 2014)

Way to go little Nino, I think you are a natural. I just posted about Hershey's first agility class last night too. I think he will like it. Karen I hope you are feeling better soon, falls are never good and when you are not a child they are always scary. Good for little Panda being so caring.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Chi-Chi's Mom said:


> Chi-Chi starts Foundations on Feb. 1. Pray my knees hold up.


I find that the hardest thing on my knees are WALKING front crosses when walking a course. When I'm running, when really doing the course, I'm in the air during the turn, so it doesn't torque my knee. The rubber soled shoes on the rubber mats are torture.

Also, were a brace on your knee, even if it feels fine. Better to wear it BEFORE you need it than after you injure it.  You'll see lots of <ahem> middle aged people with ankle and knee braces on in agility!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Ollie"s Mom said:


> Way to go little Nino, I think you are a natural. I just posted about Hershey's first agility class last night too. I think he will like it. Karen I hope you are feeling better soon, falls are never good and when you are not a child they are always scary. Good for little Panda being so caring.


Oh, I'll be fine. I'm a tough old bird!


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

krandall said:


> Yeah, my knee is pretty swollen today, and I have a bruise on my shoulder. But otherwise, I'm fine. I think Panda was actually worried. She came right to my face, and started sniffing me. Poor thing!
> 
> I once fell with my horse going cross country at a gallop. He hit a ditch in the grass that neither of us knew was there, and went [email protected]# over tea kettle. Obviously, I came off, and I dislocated my shoulder. (something you REALLY want to avoid, BTW!!!  ) It all happened very fast, and he immediately scrambled to his feet, unhurt except for a couple of scrapes. But I'd had the wind knocked out of me, AND had a useless arm, so was not ready to get to my feet. Oliver stood right over me, looking down in my face, as if he was saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean for that to happen! You don't belong down there!" Fortunately, friends were able to get him back to the trailer, untacked and drive him home, while someone else took me to the hospital.
> 
> Yup falling with dogs is MUCH less painful!


Aww, sweet Panda. They can be pretty sensitive to their Mamas, can't they?

Regarding your horse story... I loved horses and had them in my younger years. Simple, farm & country style riding. One day I was loping my big bay across a pasture, riding bareback, when I did something, (maybe sneezed?) and gave a leg signal for him to turn sharply. He did--I didn't. Ha! I went right off the side and landed still holding the reins, trying to catch my breath. My horse stopped on a dime, before the reins even pulled out of my hands, and looked down at me, nosing me. "What are you doing down there? You told me to turn..." Fortunately I wasn't hurt. But, I've always remembered how he was tuned into me and my falling off.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Sheri said:


> Aww, sweet Panda. They can be pretty sensitive to their Mamas, can't they?
> 
> Regarding your horse story... I loved horses and had them in my younger years. Simple, farm & country style riding. One day I was loping my big bay across a pasture, riding bareback, when I did something, (maybe sneezed?) and gave a leg signal for him to turn sharply. He did--I didn't. Ha! I went right off the side and landed still holding the reins, trying to catch my breath. My horse stopped on a dime, before the reins even pulled out of my hands, and looked down at me, nosing me. "What are you doing down there? You told me to turn..." Fortunately I wasn't hurt. But, I've always remembered how he was tuned into me and my falling off.


That's what the good ones do.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

krandall said:


> Congratulations!!!
> 
> I had agility today... Panda did fine... I fell flat on my face! I'm fine, except for a swelling knee, but she was so funny. She ran to the end of the teeter, jumper off, and ran back to me. You could almost see her asking, "WHAT in heaven's name, are you doing down THERE?!?!" :laugh:


How's your knee feeling today Karen? I have yet to take a spill, but I have stepped right on Nino a couple times. He screams like it's the end of the world, then trots off happily as soon as everyone in a 10 mile radius is looking his direction :laugh:


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

Bravo, Nino! You're Shama's inspiration!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> How's your knee feeling today Karen? I have yet to take a spill, but I have stepped right on Nino a couple times. He screams like it's the end of the world, then trots off happily as soon as everyone in a 10 mile radius is looking his direction :laugh:


Yeah, you're not 60-something yet, Sophie! :laugh: I'm a bit sore, but I'll be fine in time for our lesson next Thursday!

I am SOOO aware of stepping on my guys. You don't get any second chances with little dogs in obedience. They HAVE to learn to heel close, and if they don't trust your feet, they won't be where you need them to be. Fortunately, we WANT a bit more distance in agility!


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Forgot to give my weekly class update 

Nino continues to impress me (and others) with every passing week. This week, we again did big courses (13 and 14 obstacles respectively). He kept getting sucked into a tunnel trap off the a-frame on the first course, which was a combination of handler error and him being a little [insert 4 letter word of choice here]. One of the instructors threatened to shave him if he went for the tunnel again, which had me rolling. Too funny. He did great on speed and distance work (which is HUGE for my velcro boy) and his turns were the tightest I have seen them. Second course was darn near perfect both times we ran it, which was exciting because it involved some very difficult discrims and maneuvers (threadle jumps...yikes!) We also worked on weaves, and Nino made quite a bit of progress. His weaves went from being all the way open to halfway closed in just a few rounds. And his DRIVE! Couldn't ask for a better boy.

It will be very fun for me to look back on this thread once Nino is (hopefully) achieving great things with his agility career. Made the decision to take him to the Hav National in September last night, at least for agility. Looking forward to it


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> Forgot to give my weekly class update
> 
> Nino continues to impress me (and others) with every passing week. This week, we again did big courses (13 and 14 obstacles respectively). He kept getting sucked into a tunnel trap off the a-frame on the first course, which was a combination of handler error and him being a little [insert 4 letter word of choice here]. One of the instructors threatened to shave him if he went for the tunnel again, which had me rolling. Too funny. He did great on speed and distance work (which is HUGE for my velcro boy) and his turns were the tightest I have seen them. Second course was darn near perfect both times we ran it, which was exciting because it involved some very difficult discrims and maneuvers (threadle jumps...yikes!) We also worked on weaves, and Nino made quite a bit of progress. His weaves went from being all the way open to halfway closed in just a few rounds. And his DRIVE! Couldn't ask for a better boy.
> 
> It will be very fun for me to look back on this thread once Nino is (hopefully) achieving great things with his agility career. Made the decision to take him to the Hav National in September last night, at least for agility. Looking forward to it


I'm HOPING to have Panda ready for agility, and at least novice rally, if not BN obedience! In any case, we'll see you there, because I'll be there with Kodi, and Panda will come along!


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

krandall said:


> I'm HOPING to have Panda ready for agility, and at least novice rally, if not BN obedience! In any case, we'll see you there, because I'll be there with Kodi, and Panda will come along!


Rally/obedience day will be our down day (the only one, it seems), so I will make a point of coming down to see you and your herd if we don't see you agility day. We can see just how similar are little ones look in person


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Videos will be posted from this coming class. I have been too caught up in memorizing the courses to even think about recording or asking someone to. Very new stuff for me.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> Rally/obedience day will be our down day (the only one, it seems), so I will make a point of coming down to see you and your herd if we don't see you agility day. We can see just how similar are little ones look in person


We'll be there the whole time, and it's not THAT huge an event that we won't run into each other, one way or another!


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Nino was an absolute nutcase at class last week, so I refrained from updating. He has always had "tunnel vision" (I don't know what is so fun about that tunnel, but he LOVES it), but last go around he was deliberately going off course to run a tunnel that wasn't even in his line of vision. His weaves improve greatly each week, and he is now running a full 12 with channels open only 4 inches. Yay!

This week was much, much better. He was back to running clean again, and we got to try something new which you will see in the video...serpentines! His a-frame has sped up significantly since we started this session, and things are starting to click for him. Foundations really focused on the dog learning things, but this class focuses much more on the dog and handler as a team. I'm still not the most graceful with crosses and I need to be more aware of my body language, but I'm getting there. I would love to see an experienced handler run Nino just for hoots and giggles. The course not shown in the video should have been easier for him, but after 2 weeks away from the teeter, he suddenly decided that the obstacle he was once terrified of is his new favorite. He's a goofball, but I do love him.






Still trying to figure out how to move my arms as I run. They are either stuck up by my chest like a t-rex or down by my hips like an Irish dancer. Just need that happy medium :laugh:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

He looks AWESOME, Sophie!!! he IS a natural!

Don't worry too much about your arms... it will come. And what YOU are doing is MUCH better than the alternative that many people do... flailing arms in all directions. THAT really confuses dogs. Because you are keeping your arms so close, you aren't giving "mixed messages". I suspect that's part of why he's serping so nicely at this stage, when many dogs aren't ready for that... he's following your shoulders, as he should, because your arms aren't distracting or confusing him.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

krandall said:


> He looks AWESOME, Sophie!!! he IS a natural!
> 
> Don't worry too much about your arms... it will come. And what YOU are doing is MUCH better than the alternative that many people do... flailing arms in all directions. THAT really confuses dogs. Because you are keeping your arms so close, you aren't giving "mixed messages". I suspect that's part of why he's serping so nicely at this stage, when many dogs aren't ready for that... he's following your shoulders, as he should, because your arms aren't distracting or confusing him.


He is catching on so quickly, even with me holding him back. I do think the timing of his birth and my search for a second dog was something of fate...he is just perfect for me!

I figured as much. Right now, I want him to understand to follow my shoulders and verbal cues. Once he grasps that fully, I'll focus on how I look while running him. This was the first video I have gotten in awhile and I couldn't help but think "Oh god...I look like THAT?!" :laugh:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Hey, agility isn't about looks... it's about getting around fastest, without faults. Who cares how you look, if you get the job done? Believe me, all us "middle aged and something" ladies learn not to worry about "how we look", or we wouldn't be doing it at all!!!


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## LittlePapi (Oct 27, 2016)

You two look amazing!! Congratulations, Sophie!


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

Yeay I was going through this whole thread hoping to find a video! He is AWESOME! So stinking cute and look how much he loves it. What a doll. I considered doing agility with Sophie but even though she's so much better I think that would be too risky for her tummy darn it. I'll just enjoy watching you guys!


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Congrats Nino that's awesome!


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## Ollie"s Mom (May 23, 2014)

Nino looks fantastic and so do you. You guys are doing great. What a little star Nino is.


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## whata_dog (Sep 10, 2015)

That was great! 
You two are a wonderful team! 
Can't wait to show this to my daughter. 
She sets up a super-mini agility course in the living room complete with a cardboard tunnel, a pvc pipe on the floor to "jump" and a wood box to sit/stay on while we wait for our Lil Girly to get older for "real" agility. lol This video of you two will inspire her!
:grin2:


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## Layla's Mom (Feb 1, 2016)

Love this thread! What a good idea to post Nino's progress. We all enjoy it, but you also will have a blast looking back on it. He is doing awesome and I think you looked great too. I think we are all our own worst critics anyways :wink2:


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Class went well last week. His weave channels are only 2 inches wide at this point, so we are very close to getting a full 12 with weaves closed, with him still sprinting the whole way.

The focus of the courses was backsides, something Nino does really well with thanks to his "around" and "loop" commands. I am very pleased with his teeter performance at this point. No more lining treats the whole way up or just plopping him at the tipping point and treating the whole way down. He runs right up to the tipping point then continues on with just a little coaxing. Good boy Nino!


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Just got word that we will be doing the course from the Westminster finals in class tonight. So far, all of our courses have been novice and excellent level courses, but they have all been under 15 obstacles. This one is 20. The course itself has a lot of teachable situations, including many crosses and discriminations, so I think it will be fun. No one expects a clean run :laugh: wish us luck.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

He is fun to watch! He's fast! Have fun tonight.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

I love to read about the successes of HF havadoggies whether it is competition in conformation, obedience, agility or as a photo supermodel or as the world's best lap dog. Congratulations Nino, you do us proud!

Ricky's Popi


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## Layla's Mom (Feb 1, 2016)

Wow, he is doing amazing and so are you! He looks like he's having so much fun! Keep it up and keep us posted :smile2:


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

On our second try, we ran the Westminster finals course clean in under 1 minute. The little refusal at 13 was from me calling him off the jump. It had been a problem area our first time running it, but judging by his speed and trajectory, would have been fine without calling him. That said, it was run as a T2B course in the finals, so the refusal was not technically a fault  Proud of my wild guy.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Awesome job, Sophie!


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## whata_dog (Sep 10, 2015)

Great job! What an awesome time you guys achieved! 
I am trying to catch the rerun of the Agility Cham. @ Westminster this weekend on Sunday since we missed it.

What height is Nino jumping? and when did you start letting him jump & do weaves? 
Asking because I am eyeing a Juniors Agility Camp that will be near us this summer for my daughter, but they restrict the dogs to 18 months+ so my Lil Girly cannot attend, but
they did say my daughter (and other that come from out of state that cannot travel with their dogs) could borrow a trained dog as the camp is for the handler to learn,not to train the dog in agility, so I thought it would be good even though we cannot bring our pup until the following year.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

whata_dog said:


> Great job! What an awesome time you guys achieved!
> I am trying to catch the rerun of the Agility Cham. @ Westminster this weekend on Sunday since we missed it.
> 
> What height is Nino jumping? and when did you start letting him jump & do weaves?
> ...


Pups under a year can do WIDE OPEN channel weaves, just to get the idea of running through, with no actual weaving. Actual weaving should not be started until the dog is a year old. Similarly, puppies can be introduced to the CONCEPT of jumping with "jump bumps" (usually PVC pipe cut in half) or bars on the ground before their first birthday, but any repetitive jumping over higher jumps should wait until after their first birthday. Large breed puppies don't physically mature until later than our small breed, so it is often advised that they wait longer.

I suspect there are two reasons for the 18 month cut-off for your camp. First, if this is a camp to learn handling, that is impossible until the dog understands and is comfortable on all equipment and is running sequences. (several obstacles in a row) That takes a MINIMUM of 6 months in most cases. Second is that because they have no idea what kids of dogs people will have, they made the cut-off "safe" for most breeds. (though some giant breed people wait until their dogs are two before starting)

Most Havanese jump 8". Some of the taller ones jump 12". (those over 11" tall) But in practice, especially with young dogs learning, it is common to set the jumps lower while the dog is learning, and slowly raise the height. We started Panda at 4" when she was just figuring out what jumps were. Now she's running sequences at 6". Her competition height will be 8", but for the time being, I want her to be able to concentrate on what she's doing, without having to even think about the jumps.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

whata_dog said:


> Great job! What an awesome time you guys achieved!
> I am trying to catch the rerun of the Agility Cham. @ Westminster this weekend on Sunday since we missed it.
> 
> What height is Nino jumping? and when did you start letting him jump & do weaves?
> ...


What Karen said, essentially. Nino jumps 8" the majority of the time. In our class, it is typically the large dogs that jump lower than their height as they are typically shorter at the shoulder than the jumps, whereas Nino is 9.75" at the shoulder (when you watch the Westminster agility, you will notice the little dogs go more horizontal and the big dogs more vertical).

Nino was just jumping the bar on the ground until just under a year, when we raised it to 4 inches (he was jumping that high anyways, bar set or not). He started weaves with the channels wide open (12 inches or so) in Foundations. When he started Beginners a couple weeks after his 1st birthday, we began closing them, and he is now at only 2 inches wide. In general, owners of big dogs have to be a bit more cautious with weaves as their dogs will take longer to be full grown and their back end does a heck of a lot more swinging than small dogs do. The GSD that moved up with us is still at 10 inches for his channels.

And again, what Karen said. Since the seminar seems to be geared more toward handling, bringing in a green dog that isn't proficient in all obstacles would be a burden. Our trainers say Foundations is for teaching the dog the equipment, Beginners is for teaching the handler, and it has been completely true. Your daughter is going to have so much fun  It is an absolute blast, and AKC is so good to their agility juniors (should she choose to continue to pursue it).


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Nothing too eventful happened last week. Nino is definitely a teenager and has started to get a bit sassy if we repeat a section too much, but he's doing wonderfully otherwise.

I decided to stay back from class this week. It has been go time for Nino for quite awhile now, with class every week and open ring most weeks, a couple hikes a week, trick training, and a travel show complete with a stay in a hotel. He deserves a little time to rest


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

It's always good to know when it's time to back off a bit. Panda has benn in heat, and just sort od mooning around. She has still been willing to work, but I've tried to keep it short and light, with lots of play mixed in.


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

Shama is getting an all-day playdate with Nino on March 9! Stay tuned to the Forum for really cute photos of the two of them!


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