Flyball competition!

Well me and Ernie have just come back from a flyball comp! It's Ernie's 2nd flyball comp ever that hes ever competed in and he did fantastic! It was a lot different than last time, instead of netting they had wings so I couldn't run alongside him which caused a few hiccups. The first run he did well on, except he decided he didn't want to get the ball. Then, he realised that instead of jumping over the jumps, he could go round. That's exactily what he did, so I ended up having to run over the jumps ahead of him, waiting for him at the box, getting him to grab the ball and then running out of the wings again while my nan called him down the jumps. He did really well on the last few races, after lots of clicker training on him grabbing the ball in the break and in the 2nd half of the division he really got the game and did great. Altogether we came 3rd, his first ever achievment above a 4th! I am so proud of him!
The field we went to was absolutely beautiful. There was TONNES of dog-walking space, and when I said there was lots when we went camping, that was nothing compared to this. The field stretched on forever, woods outlined the field and all my nans dogs could be let off at once for a good run. I was so annoyed I didn't take my camera as usually at places like this the fields are tiny! Oh well, if I go next year I will defo have to remember my camera.
It was a great experience for Ernie, he met tonnes of new dogs and even played really nicely with Lexi the yorkshire terrier. Ernie is a very loud, rough player and it sometimes comes across as aggression to other people and dogs. When he played with Lexi he was pretty quiet except for the odd growl, and he was really gentle! Lexi camped with us at a flyball show one year as her owners were away so they knew eachother, but hadn't seen eachother in ages!
All in all a very productive day. I know what I need to work on in flyball now, Ernie's confidence in other dogs and people is really going up with all these socialisation acitivites but most importantly we both had tonnes of fun!
No new pics, I wish I had though!

Indi being a true spaniel!

Well today I went for a long walk down the closest sandy beach to us with my Nan's 7 dogs, her friends 3 dogs and of course my Indi and Ernie! It was a really nice walk, and both dogs had great fun!
Indi went in the sea for the first time! Before he'd just paddled on the edge not sure what to do, but today he went right in not scared at all! It was great to see him so happy, and doing the things spaniels love most! It was also a fantastic experience to help boost his confidence as his confidence has been really low recently. He did go over and start barking at a Labrador, but as soon as we said stop he came straight back. He was also very scared to get out the car, but once he was out he was happy and had great fun!
Not much else to report, I've got so much school work atm its unbelievable but I'm getting through it. So here are some photo's from the walk today!

Bumps in the road...

Well, training-wise we have hit A LOT of bumps. Both with Indi and Ernie. The first problem that has started is Ernie's obsession with animal holes whether that be rat holes, rabbit holes, fox dennes or badger holes. He has become obsessed and will go 'deaf' when he gets a scent of one and won't focus on me or anything else at all. I wouldn't mind this, as he is a rat dog, but as the only place we can practice agility and tricks is filled with holes this is a bit of a problem. It is partly my fault as last weekend Ernie found a hole and was really interested in it, he's never been before. So, as he is a rat dog, I decided to put him on the lead and let him have a peek in. Probably not the best idea, but after a week he is learning that I am more interesting than the holes. The first and second days of training were a nightmare but now its starting to get better. Today we did some agility on our logs, and some tricks and he completely ignored the holes which was great!

With Indi we have hit a bump in the road that I have never ever seen in any other dog or heard of in any other dog. Indi has become scared of the clicker, even though he's been clicker trained since he was 9 weeks old. It started when I started counter conditioning Ernie to not be scared of me blowing raspberries or blowing in his face. It worked really well for him, so I decided to give it a go with Indi. This was a bad idea. At first he was fine and just looked at me oddly and then ate the treat, but after a few goes he started running to the door when I blew and clicked. Then when I called him back and gave him a treat he spat it out. With counter conditioning most dogs would associate the bad thing with a good thing, hence the bad thing becoming good. It's worked for every dog I've seen been taught this way, including Ernie, but with Indi it had the opposite effect. Instead he associated the good thing with the bad, and so became scared of the good thing. Even when I was clicker training with Ernie, he ran to the door. I guess we've got a little challenge ahead of us. That's the problem with owning such a nervous, sensitive dog you have to be so careful but hopefully we will beat this fear, as the clicker is definantly something I don't want him to be scared of!

Other than that not much to report! I finally have a new video of Indi and Ernie's tricks! Oh and some agility on our log! I also have another video in the making, because its Ernie's birthday very very soon! I can't believe he's going to be 3! So, a video to mark the occasion!

Well heres a pic taken today of Ernie down the field! I took Lola and Ernie for a long hour and half one after school and it was fantastic! The weather was beautiful, both dogs had great fun and I finished filming for my video!

Juniour handler competition!

So I thought I'd do a quick update about a show we went to today. It was a flyball demo at a fair that I have been going to for the past three years. Last year I took Indi, before he was attacked, and they had the same competition and I came 1st with Ernie's brother Alfie in juniour handler! So, I decided to have another go with my own dog this time!
Of course, we didn't come 1st. Ernie doesn't seem to be able to win anything above a 4th! Yes, we came 4th! The thing was, it was a different judge and they judged different things. The one with Alfie was watching the bond between dog and handler more than the actual handling. This one was more about the handling. Nope, I'm not a very good handler especially when it comes to showing. Ernie is not a show dog, he's not even pedigree so I've never had any need to properly teach him how to be a show dog. He found the whole thing pretty boring actually. He wasn't motivated at all and dragged a bit when we had to run around. Also I didn't hold the lead up like your supposed to when showing. Ernie did stand well though, but that was the only thing he did well. We still came 4th though, and to be honest I'm surprised we got that high up!
I'm not really bothered about it though, it definantly showed me what we need to work on and what to do next time - if there will be a next time! I have a lot of work to do with all my dogs this winter, but as the long dark nights draw in there will be plenty of time for training! The whole show showed me a lot, and gave me a lot of new challenges! Ernie was pretty scared about the loud drums so that will be one thing to work on. He also refused to pick up the ball when we had a go at some flyball.
One thing I really need to work on with him is his confidence around new people. When he's at shows like he today its normal for people to come and pat him and say hi. He is not so happy to say hi to them, so we definantly need to work on that. If it means going around with a clicker and clicking everytime someone strokes him then so be it! It will probably scare a few people, but I really want to beat this problem. So plenty of work to do this winter!
I also have tonnes of work to do with Indi. His whistle training is going astonishingly well. He has grasped the idea so quickly, and when he's looking out the window at next doors dogs, all I have to do is toot the whistle and he turns away and comes to me! I wish I'd used this method earlier because it has worked so well for him.
So there the updates. No new photo's, although I do have some I will add them to my next post! I am also in the middle of making a new video. I still need to find time to film the rest of the new tricks, but I will hopefully soon!
Well no more news. I shall keep posting about Ernie and Indi's progress, mainly for my sake so I can see how they improve and keep track!

New whizz click!

I know I said I wouldn't post for a while, but I have some cool news! Yesterday my clicker broke leaving me clickerless. That was the 3rd clicker I broke, I'm not sure how there breaking but I put it down to over-usage! Anyway, I needed a clicker urgently as I was in the middle of training Ernie and Indi to do quite a few new tricks. I went down to the pet shop and they only had a really cheap clicker or the whizz click! The really cheap clicker was the one I'd had before, but it had gone up a lot in price! So, instead of paying extra for a clicker that I had paid cheaper for before I bought the whizz click!
The whizz click is a clicker and dog whistle in one. I'd never trained the dog whistle before so decided as I had it I may as well use it. After one day of training both Indi and Ernie have both picked up the idea really quickly. I only got it today, and on Indi's walk today he was actually listening to it and coming back when he heard it! He also listened to it when there were other dogs around! The great advantage of it also is that it has a clicker on it as well so when he got to me I clicked and threw a stone! It worked absolutely brilliantly. It's an amazingly useful thing to teach any dog, especially Indi. Ernie doesn't really need it as he has a perfect recall anywhere, but I am teaching him it anyway as maybe one day it could come in handy!
Well that is just about it. No new photo's or anything, but we do have a tonne of new tricks! I really need to make a video soon! Ernie has learnt to stack bowls, back up onto a ball cushion and stand in a smaller bowl than he's used to! We also bought a new bowl today, as I've always really wanted to train the stacking bowls trick but never had enough small bowls as I only have one small dog! I bought an extra one today, that was smaller than the first and we finally learnt this trick! It took him a while before he was comfortable holding the bowl, but he was soon fine!
Well, I'm back at school now, back to normal. Back to my normal routine of coming home and walking the dogs for hours. At the moment my main focuses with the dogs are:-
-Getting Indi to have a perfect recall in any situation
-Teaching Ernie to be more confident in using his hind legs
-Teaching Indi to focus on me with any distractions
-Having fun!

Oh and one last update. Indi's forwards weaving, he has finally started to gain a real speed and has learnt that maybe its not so boring after all! I will have to get a new video soon, there is so much to show!

The summer holidays are officially over

Yep, summer has come to an end. Of course, we can still enjoy the last month of summer but we just wont have as much time. It sure has been a summer to remember, with good bits and bad bits. We have been on tonnes of long walks, learnt tonnes of new things and had tonnes of fun!

The main achievments from the summer are:-
-Climbed Snowdon!

-Ernie competed in flyball
-Ernie learnt how to limp on both back and front leg

Not really that many, but when I remember the achievments from last summer it sure is a lot different! Last summer Ernie had no recall around other dogs, he was a very nervous dog and our main trick accomplishment was his shy trick! Wow he has come such a long way in just a year! He is such a little superstar!

This time last year Indi was a tiny little puppy, he sure has grown into a super dog! We may still have a lot of problems, but I am so proud of him and happy with what he has grown into!

So overall a good summer. I probably won't post for a while now as I will be busy with school stuff but I will try and post little posts when I can! I hope to make a new video as soon as possible!

Well heres a collage of Ernie's summer photo's, with of course his flyball pics in there!

Flyball photo's!

Well the flyball pics have been emailed to me and here they are! I also added one of Forest the Sprocker Spaniel doing it as well as he was in the same team as us! They're such cool photo's, I'm so proud of my little Ernie!