About Agile Paws Training

Agile Paws - K9s & Agility is run by me, Christin Fritzler (Swetnam). I am a small town farmer's wife in Northern Colorado who has been training dogs and competing in agility for 10 years. I currently have 5 dogs of my own, 4 of which are active agility dogs. Cody, Indie, Millie, Aleo, & Yahzi.

This blog was created to show people the process of my training methods, thoughts and ideas I have, and general doggie fun. It will show day by day videos and/or blogs about what we have done and our progress. Here is a little bit about why I chose this method and what this method is about.

I first decided to completely change my method of training when my oldest agility dog almost completely shut down. She seemed very depressed and was not excited to run in agility. She started to slow down and would pass by obstacles and blow me off. I could see it in her eyes and she was no longer enjoying herself. This is when I decided to change the way I trained. (This was about 7 years ago with my first competitive
agility dog - Skye).

While researching, my friend, Hannah, gave me a link to Silvia Trkman's website to learn how she gets her famous running contacts. I was so inspired by all she has achieved and the dedication she has to her dogs that I looked further into her training. I was so amazed by her success that I began looking up more World competitors. I also looked on Clean Run for some videos or books by famous handlers. I came across Susan Garrett's 2x2 weave training. I didn't know much about it, but it really caught my eye. In February 2009, I got her DVD and watched the whole thing. The way she trains her dogs made so much sense to me. If you punish a dog for something they don't understand, it only makes them not want to work for fear of failure. Teaching them that failing is okay is something we teach children, so why wouldn't we want to teach our dogs that!?

The method I am using is commonly known as positive reinforcement and shaping. For some tricks, I may have to shown the dog what I want, but for others it is something that they can figure out on their own. It works by introducing the dog slowly and encouraging any kind of behavior that may lead to the final trick you want to accomplish. You then begin challenging their minds by asking for more. This teaches the dog to think through each process and keep thinking about what I want and how to get that treat or toy.

Instead of corrections when the dog makes a mistake, a laugh or a "whoops!" or "oh no, try it again!" with a still happy, but not praising voice will teach the dog that failing isn't bad, but it isn't what is wanted either. They then try again and if they make the mistake, do the same thing. This will teach them that training and working is fun and failure is okay. They learn that if they do something wrong, it's okay, just try again and when it is right, they will get the toy or treat. When they catch on, they will continually repeat what is wanted with joy and pleasure because the behavior was reinforced, not corrected.

I have been training this way since I first learned about it and have had tremendous success! All my dogs LOVE training and love me and it's so fun for all of us. I can have all my dogs off leash together on the farm and they are all looking at me for something to do because they know how fun and rewarding working with me is. This is so much better than correcting a dog for every little mistake.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

New Weekly Updates

March 29, 2009

Due to my busy lifestyle, I decided it would be easier to do weekly updates rather than daily. As you can probably tell, it has been difficult to keep it updated.

After each week of training, I will post an update, probably Sundays depending on trials. So keep an eye at at the end of each week!

Today I just did videos of all the girls doing all the tricks they know so far. Their knowledge will only grow!

Click here to see Skye's Trick Video

Click here to see Indie's Trick Video

Click here to see Swift's Trick Video

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Thursday, March 19, 2009

Foundation Training Day 3

March 3, 2009:

Foundation Training Day 2

Skye is probably doing the best at this point. She is responding well with the treats and positive reinforcement rather than corrections. Swift is also doing well, just working on focusing on what is at task, then ball and play. Indie is well in the morning, but did a lot worse in the afternoon. She did not respond well at all.
I am adding challenges to the ones who are improving consistently. Right now mainly Skye and Swift. I am asking for a "hand" when my hand is above their head, I am doing their other tricks then asking for a "hand" to see if they are understanding the concept, and I am putting them in a stay in an area where they can't see me then releasing them and asking for a "hand." Skye is responding very well to this and showing me that she knows what she is doing.

Trick: Hand Touch
Command: "Hand"

Skye (Australian Shepherd-4 years)

Skye is doing awesome, by Session 5 she already knows what she is supposed to be doing and is working on the actual command now. She is doing an excellent job, I am very proud of her! Skye had the highest success rate and the least number of stalls today! Go Skye!

Session 1 (5:30 am)
Stalled Out: 4 times
Success Rate: 78%

Session 2 (4:30 pm)
Stalled Out: 1 time
Success Rate: 92% (14% increase!)


Swift (Border Collie-10 months)

Swift is showing improvement and catching on quickly as well. She is being very responsive. She is beginning to focus on the task rather than the ball, but still has her moments. She is doing great though!

Session 1 (5:30 am)
Stalled Out: 2 times
Success rate: 85%

Session 2 (4:30 pm)
Stalled Out: 4 times
Success Rate: 80% (5% decrease)


Indie (Border Collie-2 years)

Indie is very good this morning, but not so well in the afternoon. I think the biggest reason is there wasn't enough value in what was being asked and she wasn't motivated and driven enough to try. Session 1 I used treats and was in a small room. Session 2 I used a ball and was outside. I like to vary what kind of treats and toys I use so they don't associate one toy or treat with that trick. So I varied it up for Indie and she must not have liked it so much. I will use treats for awhile and occasionally throw in a ball when she is motivated to work for a toy.

Session 1 (5:30 am)
Stalled Out: 3 times
Success Rate: 83%

Session 2 (4:30 pm)
Stalled Out: 4 times
Success Rate: 63% (20% decrease)

Click Here to see a video of today's training

Thanks for reading!! Feel free to contact me about any questions you may have.
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Saturday, March 14, 2009

Foundation Training Day 2

March 2, 2009:

Foundation Training Day 2

Overall, each dog is beginning to understand the concept of this training. They are beginning to learn how to use their brains and think through each process. They are investigating and experimenting to learn what I want and then repeating it for success. Exacltly what I want. They haven't quite understood that failure is okay, but then again, this isn't a trick where a dog can really "fail." They are all doing fantastic!

Trick: Hand Touch
Command: "Hand"

Skye (Australian Shepherd-4 years)

Second day went even better for Skye, she did awesome in both sessions and is showing improvement and catching on quickly. She is being a little too greedy about the treats, but is learning that she must work for her treats. Overall, she is donig just great and catching on.

Session 1 (5:30 am)
Stalled Out: 3 times
Success Rate: 81%

Session 2 (4:30 pm)
Stalled Out: 3 times
Success Rate: 87% (6% increase)


Swift (Border Collie-10 months)
Swift is doing very well at this. She is catching on quickly, but still very, very focused on her ball. She will learn that she can't earn her ball by staring at it! She did good and increased in success rates between each session. She is showing tremendous progress.

Session 1 (5:30 am)
Stalled Out: 6 times
Success rate: 70%

Session 2 (4:30 pm)
Stalled Out: 5 times
Success Rate: 77%


Indie (Border Collie-2 years)
Indie did well, she worked with treats today and responded better. She is showing great improvement and is really enjoying this method. I think she will, in the long run, love agility and working for me a lot more. She decreased in success rate slightly, but that is understandable when learning a new trick. It can take time to remember it and keep up.

Session 1 (5:30 am)
Stalled Out: 3 times
Success Rate: 79%

Session 2 (4:30 pm)
Stalled Out: 3 times
Success Rate: 77%

Click Here to see a video of today's training

Thanks for reading!! Feel free to contact me about any questions you may have.
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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Foundation Training Day 1



March 1, 2009:





Foundation Training Day 1


Trick: Hand Touch
Command: "Hand"

Background: I decided to use the hand touch as our first foundation training because it is easy. It is easy get the dogs to do without luring them and they respond to it quickly. I believe this will be a good first step to teaching them using positive reinforcement.








Skye (Australian Shepherd-4 years)


First day went well. She responded nicely. She stalled out a few times, not surprised. She has not been shaped a day in her life and is new to this type of training. She did well with the treats and positive training. I'm proud of her!





Stalled Out: Not available due to video not fully converting.


Percentage: " "





Swift (Border Collie-10 months)


Swift did great at this. Her main issue is focusing too much on the ball and not enough on responding to the training. I have no doubt that with time she will focus her attention to working for the reward. Building value is crucial and she will begin to see the value in working and being willing to work. She responded well, but stalled out as well. She wasn't trained like this as a younger puppy, but I think she will catch on quickly.





Stalled Out: Not available due to video not fully converting.
Percentage: " "





Indie (Border Collie-2 years)


Indie did well. She responded well and was happy to work for her ball. She loves her ball, but I think a mix of a yummy treat and a toy will work wonders. Just as the others, she hasn't been introduced to this training method until now. I expect her to catch on just as quick as the others, however, I predict my challenge will be in keeping her motivated to do tricks. She prefers to run and do agility and herding rather than silly tricks. But, tricks are important and I want her to learn that. I think she will soon =)





Stalled Out: Not available due to video not fully converting.


Percentage: " "





Click to see video of today's training


*NOTE: Indie is not in this video due to clip not converting correctly.





Thanks for reading!! Feel free to contact me about any questions you may have.
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