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Focus help

Basenji Training
  • wizardW

    Oh my oh my – so many things to mull over -- I now have a copy of C.U. but not the CDs yet. I wish my instructor was better trained in CU, I can see a lot of things now that she did wrong - or at least wrong for hypersensitive dogs.
    I'm not anxious to compete so I think I have time to work on these suggestions.
    Thanks everyone !!

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  • agilebasenjiA

    yea, ideally, the agility ring becomes your "box" as in boxwork. I think it would be fun to play with that idea in training for agility. You start with one jump in a small box, then 2 jumps in a small box, then 1 jump one tunnel in a slightly larger box, then 2 jumps 1 tunnel in a slightly larger box, etc. I have done a little of that with Zest.

    I did check the CU videos are at cleanrun under the video on demand but the GDarrett stuff is not. the video on demand will give you access to the videos for 2 weeks, but it's not yours to keep.

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  • NemoN

    I like the CU DVDs, they were a good supplement to the book. They could use some editing but definitely helpful. I got them for Christmas and I'm still working through them. Leslie shows several examples of dogs that react to stress in different ways and how she suggests to address it. Lots of focus stuff that I've found helpful in general with a highly distracted dog. :D

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  • agilebasenjiA

    Nemo -
    did you get the second set (the games set)? i've only gotten the first (foundation) set. So much info! i thought i'd heard there was a basenji in the second dvd set???

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  • NemoN

    @agilebasenji:

    Nemo -
    did you get the second set (the games set)? i've only gotten the first (foundation) set. So much info! i thought i'd heard there was a basenji in the second dvd set???

    I got the foundations set that you have. Once I get through that I'll probably go for the games set at some point.

    Connect with the Basenji Club of America on Facebook

    http://www.facebook.com/basenji.org

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  • wizardW

    One last question – Is it worth our while to continue with this novice agility class? Should I drop it until we have better focus and try again later?

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  • agilebasenjiA

    did you take some sort of foundations class??

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  • wizardW

    Yes we had three foundations classes (working on individual obstacles and other basics).

    The current class started right off the bat with a dozen or more obstacles in sequence off leash - and because my beastie would take the first 1 or maybe 2 obstacles and then zoom off, we get sidelined every class so we have yet to do a full sequence anyway. That's why I'm thinking to drop it now and pick the class up another time and go back to work on focus basics.

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  • agilebasenjiA

    I think only you can answer that question. if you're only practicing undesirable behavoirs, dropping the class might be a wise choice. could you take some private lessons and slowly build to more obstacles? or just rent the agility area? could you just reward after two or three obstacles, then reward after 2 or 3 more and slowly build? i wish you lived closer to me!

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  • wizardW

    I've talked with the owner of the facility it was interesting that the owner had a similar situation in her class but caught the problem the first night. She suggested stay on leash for the sequences and treat more between obstacles (just as suggested here), so I guess we'll try and finish the class after I talk with the instructor and probably take it over with a different instructor. And the owner offered to do a private lesson with us so I'll jump on that chance too.

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    All good suggestions so far for you to try. Here's my suggestions based on my experiences. 1. When mine first came to my home I would arrange a bit of vacation time so that the first day I was with them totally, then the next day I would disappear out the door for 15 minutes and then for longer times, then the third day I disappeared for an hour or more, etc., until I could go to work for half a day then eventually for my full regular work day. This took me about a week to train the dog to be home alone. 2. The second basenji that came into my life had been broken of his crate training by an ignorant owner so I never could get him back into it. Instead I blocked off a corner of the kitchen for him with a bed and toys for him to stay in for the first several days. Gradually I allowed him more wandering room until he was trustworthy enough to have access to the whole house. This took about a month. 3. Be sure to give your dog a variety of toys and especially the kind that you can put kibble or other food in (such as "Kong" toys). Basenjis need mental stimulation or they get bored (=destructive). My current basenji gets frozen raw marrow bones when I go to work and sometimes she'll still be nawing on it when I get home. I also save old bones and fill the hole with kibble and yogurt or pumpkin and then freeze and give this to her sometimes. 4. Someone mentioned rawhide but I've never had luck with that - it's not digestable and has caused problems with my dogs (one time a piece got stuck in the digestive tract and he screamed "bloody murder" with every movement). Never give your dog a treat unsupervised until you know she can handle it or doesn't have an allergic reaction to it. Once you know its safe then okay - but even then I never give the stick type treats to mine unless I'm home to supervise. Hope this helps.
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