Cadbury, Sparrow, Merlin, Swift and Me
Merlin has had a funny fortnight, what with his tummy troubles, and his confidence has dropped, but we are improving again, he is feeling better and getting back his agility mojo. On Saturday we went to Agility Ability at Euston park, a beautiful venue even if the ground is not ideal for running on. The... Continue Reading →
I'll be honest, my brain was not on the game at WAG. What with a new puppy in tow and concerns about Merlin, who has been tentatively diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, my mind was not focused and I fluffed four courses and was really not running my best. But there were good bits, and... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/xIdbD6qVcMY When Sparrow recently had her birthday I decided to make her some extra special pupcakes to celebrate. I often make pilchard cake for the dogs as training treats, so I adapted the recipe and gave it a few extra ingredients, while also keeping it as healthy as possible. I used soft cheese for the... Continue Reading →
Shaping is a method of training using a clicker. Instead of luring or showing the dog how to do something, the behaviour is developed through clicking and rewarding desirable movements. The handler gives no verbal cues and the dog is effectively leading the trick training. To make things more interesting there are two types of... Continue Reading →
Time to introduce the newest member of Team Jackson! Little Swift arrived on 19 April 2017 and set to work settling herself into the team. First impressions went very well, with Merlin and Angel welcoming her, Cadbury taking a wide berth (as usual) and Sparrow watching from a distance. As the first week progressed, Angel... Continue Reading →
Easter weekend and time for the first big Kennel Club show of the year. I woke excited but then the nerves kicked in and by the time I was at the showground I had managed to knock my confidence by stressing about the day ahead. Not a great start and my tension fed straight down... Continue Reading →
Running contacts are not an easy thing to teach, but I am determined to succeed with little Sparrow. We have gone from flat work to now being on a full-size dogwalk set at a low height. Sparrow has been doing good, but on our Wednesday session I was concerned she was over-reaching at the contact,... Continue Reading →
This week at Broads we were working on various sequences. The first was a series of jumps that could be done in a variety of ways, and the trainers certainly found some inventive layouts! I have been working hard on my body language for Ketschkers. In all honesty in has taken me two years to... Continue Reading →
What a fab way to spend a Monday afternoon, training with the amazing Helen Anderson! Both Merlin and Sparrow had their turns. Sparrow is working on tunnel avoidance and it was clear her issue was understanding turning away from the tunnel. We worked at breaking down the exercise and we achieved some success, but have... Continue Reading →
We had T&A at the weekend. Merlin was back after his grazed paw the month before, and we had two of our trainers judging classes, which is both fun and slightly nerve-wracking. Team Stats Merlin: Clears 1. Faults 0. Eliminations 3. Sparrow: Clears 2. Faults 0. Eliminations 2. Cadbury: Clears 0. Faults 0. Eliminations 1.... Continue Reading →
Team Jackson 