We didn't Q in either of our runs today. However, Mimi ran both courses in full. We got two refusals in Standard and two in Jumpers--only one is allowed in each course in the AKC Open class, so no Qs. But we were OH SO CLOSE! And I can't believe that she is doing so well.
On the down side, I think I carried Operation Jealousy a bit too far. Mimi and Gracie's mutual aggression has stepped up to fearsome levels. The video below was taken on Friday. I filmed Mimi while I played ball with Gracie--okay, that went according to plan. Mimi was excited but still in control. But when I put Gracie in the car to head home that afternoon, you can see the result. (And I do hope that those of you that were wondering if I am crazy to separate the sisters all the time now understand why.)
This morning, when I brought Mimi into our crating area, she began to freak out and when I put her in her crate, she totally destroyed the dog bed that was in there out of frustration that she couldn't kill her sister. Stuffing was flying everywhere. I pushed their crates about a foot apart for fear that they were either going to break teeth on the wires or grab a piece of the other dog and try to pull her through. Both bitches were frenzied! It took me quite some time to calm them even after I rearranged the crate covers so that they could no longer see each other.
So I kept Operation Jealousy very low key today. No taunting or teasing. Mimi never really knew when Gracie was going out because I would flip the crate covers down entirely so she couldn't see and I picked Gracie up and silently carried her some distance away from the crates.
Still, even without the taunting, Mimi ran just great today. I had tail wagging at the start line! She was jumping on me just like she does in class when we were in the gate area. I mainly used peanut butter as her gate and after-run treat today. She seems to prefer this over every other treat I have tried, including vienna sausages, boiled chicken breast, homemade fish fudgies (I don't offer these anymore because the smell makes me gag), beef brisket, and deli turkey.
I am posting the video from our Standard run. Mimi went around a jump on the far side of the ring (refusal 1) and missed her weave entry (refusal 2) but otherwise it was a super great run. The commentary you hear on the video is from my instructor Debbie, who volunteered to tape the run for us. (Debbie got a MACH on her Sheltie Cameron yesterday!) I can hear Gracie barking in the background--she has a very distinctive, deep throated houndy bark. You know it's a small trial when you can recognize your other dog's bark on the video!
I need to enforce Mimi's 2o2o contacts better (she does actually touch but I release her very quickly) but I'm so pleased that she survived the scary recorded voice coming over the PA system telling us to "GO!" and the scary table--together we negotiated a complicated course! And to be honest, that was a tough weave entry right out of a tunnel. She is more than capable of nailing it but this simply wasn't the same atmosphere as class.
The difference in her demeanor and attitude are lightyears from where she was two months ago. We are so close to hitting our stride!
3 comments:
Congrads! At least now all you are dealing with is normal agility challenges and not some nutty psycho terrier thing!
I agree, now that Mimi's forgotten about the ring monster, you may need to just cut back on the jealousy activities. Sounds like just knowing Gracie is there is enough to keep her focused. This is a good thing. Maybe eventually she will think of Gracie as an indicator of fun with agility!
-D
She looked great. The last few obstacles were gorgeous! Keep at it. She's doing great.
About the "crate dog"... I think it can be hard for people that don't own terriers to imagine what it's like when they go at each other. It's pretty astounding.
Good on you for being so diligent with these two dogs. It's can't be easy to manage.
I have seen two JRT's just go at it and it is not pretty. They do not back off at all. Nice runs and it must suck having to separate them but I can see for good reasons!! Yikes!!
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