Dog Agility Blue Belt?

Quick reminder – my husband and I met training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  Strange, huh?  We basically wrestled the first time we met, but it seems to have worked out ok.  Anyway, hubby still trains BJJ and I gave it up some years ago.  We still talk about it, and use BJJ training analogies.  I remember one Christmas we were talking about present wrapping and I joked “I’m pretty sure I’m an advanced purple belt in present wrapping…you’re a white belt.”

I think it was 2006 when I earned a blue belt in BJJ.  Typically having a blue belt means you’ve spent adequate time on the mats gradually learning escapes, defending attacks, and gaining technical knowledge of various submissions.  Everyone begins BJJ as a white belt.  When someone is no longer simply a beginner with limited experience- they progress on to the rank of blue belt.  A good way to think of a blue belt is as a bridge between beginner and intermediate ranks- maybe like advanced beginner.  Of course, across various training academies and individuals the actual skill level of blue belts can vary pretty widely.

Anyway, I give all this back story to say this – I feel like Hendrix and I are just on the cusp of the equivalent of earning a blue belt in our agility training.  Of course, there really isn’t a ranking system in dog agility.  I remember from BJJ that white belt phase generally felt like I didn’t know what I was doing, but gradually I built up some knowledge and skill.  I started to understand how to do things and then start putting things together in a sequence.  Finally, it became pretty apparent that I stood apart from true beginners in BJJ.  This lead to moving from training primarily with white and fresher blue belts to training more with advanced students.  All of a sudden, I felt like I didn’t know anything again.  Obviously, that was not true – I clearly knew more than when I started.  However, training with the more advanced partners upped the challenge and many weaknesses were again exposed.

Basically, I feel like the same thing is currently happening in our agility game.  I started Hendrix in agility right before she turned 8 months old (sometime in January 2012).  At that point in time, she was still VERY MUCH a puppy.  We had already completed puppy and intermediate obedience classes, and we earned AKC’s Canine Good Citizen certificate some time after Thanksgiving.  Puppy class revealed Hendrix had a lot of enthusiasm for the beginning agility obstacles (tables, planks, wobble boards, etc.)  Seriously, you could tell jumping on those things & being rewarded was very exciting for her.  Our intermediate class revealed Hendrix would likely continue to benefit from additional socialization (around people with good dog sense and dogs with general good manners).  So, having NEVER done anything like agility before – we jumped right in.  We’re almost finished with our fourth agility class.  (Incidentally, we train at What A Great Dog! Training Center in Prosper, TX – soon to be relocated in Frisco.  I HIGHLY recommend What A Great Dog…HIGHLY.)  Since January we’ve pretty much had a weekly agility class – that makes about 5 months of learning agility.

Back to my analogy- I took Hendrix outside to practice her weaves this morning.  I’m hoping to get another set of 6 weave poles soon so she’ll be up to 12 poles total – but for now she’s still running 6 poles.  She pretty much nails it 90+% of the time when the weaves are inside.  Also, inside she’s almost more excited now to play for a game of tug than for a food reward.  Outside presents some different challenges.  Hendrix being part beagle is very nose oriented, and constantly wants to smell her way around the outdoors.  Our success outside with 6 poles is a bit hit or miss.  This morning she nailed the first 2 for a toy, and I added 2 jumps prior to the weaves.  She’s definitely done this before, but today she was not getting it.  She would get the jumps and pass up the weave entrance or get the jumps and enter the weaves past the correct entrance.  So after a few attempts not getting it right – I thought I’d break it up.  Jumps – reward then weaves – reward.  She basically decided to forget how to do weaves at that point looking at me like I was asking her to fly to the moon.  Ok…I get maybe she got a little worried.  She’s not worried that there will be punishment- but I can tell she’s doesn’t like when she doesn’t get rewarded.  She loses her motivation to attempt.  In an effort not to end on a confused note, I put away the jumps all together and went for some straight forward weaves.  She was still kind of entering late or popping out early.  So, I went inside and got a spoon of peanut butter & the Kong toy.  I sat down and let her see that I had a Kong with PB, and I waited for her to weave on her on.  She did and I tossed the Kong as her reward.  So, we were able to do that correctly 3 or 4 times and I finished on that note.  It’s a few incidents like this that make me feel like I’m asking her to do things that she doesn’t want to or that she’s not that interested in…or that she’s just confused and I need to figure out a way to help her understand better.

I feel like we’ve hit this spot on several occasions in the last month, and that’s why I wonder if we’re actually entering into the equivalent of BJJ blue belt territory.  Clearly we’re not beginners, but we’re also not really intermediate either.  I guess we’re advanced beginners: we can tackle individual obstacles (tunnels, tables, jumps, chutes, A-frames, dog walks, tire jump, and teeter) and we can put some in a sequence.  The sequencing and me actually handling/directing her is where it gets a little tricky though.  I’m hoping it’s just a growing pain that we’ll be able to work through, right now the idea of being able to complete a full course of obstacles seems like a pipe dream.  I guess we will just have to keep plugging away and experimenting to find out what motivation techniques work the best for us.