Monday, April 19, 2010

Patrick Shanahan Clinic - Coldstream, BC

We spent a great weekend in Coldstream, at a Patrick Shanahan clinic. The weather was fantastic, the field was out of this world, and a good time was had by all. If you have a chance to go to one of Patrick's clinics, I *highly* recommend you go. He has a way of making the things very clear, both to you and the dog, and he's pretty fun to boot.

On the first day and part of the second, we went over double-lifts. Then we each tried it, while the rest judged. It was interesting to see how different people took points for different things! Luckily, everyone was a good sport about it and no blood was shed.

As interesting is double-lifts are to do, they make for very dull photos. So instead, here are the usual "dog staring at stuff" pics.

Lee's Chica


Ruedi's Teak




Jennifer's Max





Ian's Imp Jo Jo





Holly's Rosie




And finally, Susan's puppy, True, who is True-ly lovely.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Weave, Wick ... WEAVE!

Inspired by Nicki Gurr's series of videos documenting her young dog learning to weave via Susan Garret's 2x2 method, I decided to bite the bullet and re-train the Wickens.

As a background, Wick learned to weave about 7 years ago, but over the years, it became apparent (!!) that we had some holes in our weaving foundation. I bought the Susan Garrett 2x2 DVD and we've been following it closely (I hope!).

Here, the two sets of poles are slightly open, and a couple of inches apart.

Wick's 2x2 Training from Kristi Oikawa on Vimeo.


The next session that same day, the poles are almost closed, and barely two inches apart.

Wick's 2x2 training, second session, April 12 from Kristi Oikawa on Vimeo.


The next day, the poles are straight up. We start with four, then go to six. Oh, and we added a jump!

Wick's 2x2 Training, April 13 from Kristi Oikawa on Vimeo.


For our next session, we will add a second set of six poles, about 10' from the first set.

And for your amusement ... Wick weaving, circa 2003. :-)