OK, so end of Day Seven (Thursday) I'd had an idea about setting up the 2x2 weaves relative to a baseline rather than to the normal reward line (see 2x2 Weave Training - Days Six and Seven). This doesn't actually change the geometry of the weaves at all, it's mentally just a different way of looking at the layout. So why did I want to try it? Two reasons, firstly it makes adjusting the angle of the weaves to "turn back time" much easier (for me). Secondly, it makes the weaves look normal to me which would hopefully tidy up my body language.
Why is body language important - if your working high on the arc, the difference between your dog making any entry from this side of the weaves (the equivalent to working low on the arc) and wrapping the first pole is body language. Where you stand is virtual identical so they don't really get a positional cue. See below:
So if, for example, your having problems with entries one of the questions you need to ask yourself is, "Is my body language consistent?". Changing to a baseline view of the world made me more comfortable and hence would improve my body language.
So, did it work? Short answer, YES. Enya's behaviour and entries were much better on Day Eight. Even at this stage body language is soooooo important.
By the end of Day Eight I was sufficiently impressed by her progress that I decided to add the third set of 2x2's to the others. I've tended to find that I make a lot of the changes at the end of a day, especially if the dog has been working well. It's just a personal thing - if the dog has been working well, you need to stretch things a little. Doing it in the final session means the dogs have the evening to think about it and the night to sleep on it for the next day.
If you look at Susan Garrett's DVD she does adds the third set while the weaves are a still open (as Enya's are at the moment), if you read the workbook she closes up the two set first and then adds the third. This tells me that this change is a matter of personal preference and how you think your dog is working.
Certainly adding the third set caused Enya no problems at all. She took to it like a duck to water.
Saturday (Day Nine)
This started out as a consolidation day. I worked with 6 weaves (three 2x2 sets) all closed up to competition distance, but still in the 1-7 o'clock position. I worked the entries, and as the day progressed I gradually closed up the weaves. By the time we reached the end of the final session, we were as near as damn it closed so, with a deep breath, I decided to close the weaves up completely and see what happened. You'll note this is at the end of the day again.
This is a big moment for the dog - and this is what happened ...
Six weaves in nine days :-) OMG! What a little STAR she is! And look at the tail - that is a happy tail! She is getting such enjoyment out of this. The biggest problem I have at the moment is when I'm setting her up for an entry for the weaves. Unless I am very careful as soon as her nose is pointed at the weaves she will go and do them. There is an awful lot of value built into the weaves :-)
If you look at her action as she's weaving she's not paddling. However if the weaves are still open, she is starting to paddle. At the moment, with completely closed weaves she has think about it and check the head long blast that is the normal mode of Kilnhurst locomotion. To encourage the paddling motion I'm probably going to do some work with the weaves open as well as practicing with them closed.
As you would expect for something she's only be doing for 9 days, there are some strong points and some weak points. Entries are very strong, precision is weak, she sometimes skips poles - I suspect the later has to do with speed and drive. The knack of course is not to inhibit the speed & drive & enthusiasm, but to encourage the precision :-)
Sunday will be a day of rest - she's done a huge amount this week and she deserves a bit of a break. I certainly don't want to break that happy tail :-)
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