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.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Agile Paws Blog Reinstated! 2x2 Tips & Tricks

Wow, it's been what.. 5+ years since I've posted anything on here. Goodness! Here's to reinstating my blog and an update on life:

 Now 23 years young.

 5 dogs:
  • Cody - 10ish yellow lab inherited from father in law about 4 years ago. Happy, protective, and goofy - loves being a pet
  • Indie - she's still around and kicking strong! Hip dyslpasia is her demon, but she still runs strong at 20" and full size international style courses - yay! We just take it easy, no hard core training
  • Millie - Oh, yes, this one is new since before. 3 years heeler/BC mix rescued from a guy who didn't have the time for her craziness. She reminds me of Swift, she's a bit schizo but man she has drive when she gets her confidence. We are working on agility training but it's a slow work in progress, she has a lot of stuff to get over
  • Aleo - This handsome man is new too! He is also 3, beautiful black tri border collie from Rock It Border Collies in Ohio. He is a dork for sure and lacking drive but we train every day and he's getting better. He is more of a lover and herder than an easy to train dog. He is my heart boy for sure, he came to me during a tough time and has been a healer for me.
  • Yahzi - She is 2 years and a Brittany. She is my husbands dog but I claim her as my own too :) She is definitely a bird dog, so training her in agility is a challenge. Keeping her little brain focused is hard but she's a lot of fun out here on the farm. She LOVES to cuddle and looks like a puppy still at 2 years.
I'm a mom! Yes a mother of an actual human ;-) Her name is Austyn Faith born March 9, 2014. I absolutely love being a mom and love my little one.

Oh, that means I'm married too. To my childhood crush and man of my dreams - Trevor. We have the most amazing marriage ever and I couldn't be happier!

Onto the not so good side of things... I still battle with my ulcerative colitis - hence, why I haven't trialed in so long. I have goals and plans to keep trying to conquer it and hopes of getting Indie and Aleo into the ring by July of this year. We shall see!

My beloved Swift passed away in 2012. It was a tragic accident I prefer to not talk about. She is deeply missed every day of my life but gives me to courage to keep going with agility in memory of her. (She is the main picture on this blog above)

Skye is still with us. She is 10 years old! She hated living on the farm, so she lives with my parents and absolutely loves being an only dog.

Aleo doing 2x2's

Okay onto the fun stuff of the day! Aleo is doing 2x2's and with my experience training an unusually unmotivated border collie - I've hit some strange bumps along the way and thought I'd share some of my tips and tricks.

1. Get your dog excited and moving before training. This is mentioned in the video, but I often forget about it because I'm more focused on the actual weave training. Aleo would stall out, get distracted, or not find value in the second set of poles. This was frustrating for me, but I found it was quickly fixed just by getting SUPER excited and getting him revved up before training. I kept this energy going in "spurts" throughout the sessions as well. I wouldn't always be loud and excited but I would every now and then after he was successful.

2. If you're dog doesn't like toys much, play more! Aleo isn't super motivated by toys when training. He loves playing by himself and will sometimes fetch and play with me, but works better for treats. If you play with your dog and get him excited with a toy, he will learn to love toys too! This takes time and lots of energy from you. It'll be a good workout for you too! Run, chase, tug, wrestle - get your dog amped up for toys. You're dog can learn to love toys as much as treats if he has fun and learns to find toys rewarding. If you don't have the time or energy to work on this - you can always buy those toys you can put treats in so you are able to move onto grass sooner. I've found it hard to stay on a flat surface too long because the dogs don't drive as fast as they can through the poles. 

 3. Don't set the poles straight until your dog is going through 4 poles! I saw this done with a trainer I worked with recently. The problem with this is too much too soon. The dog's often times stall out and you're stuck focusing on 2 poles for such a long time. I've found if you get your dog moving and weaving in 4 close poles and then start closing them, the dog's understand it much better and start actually weaving faster. Aleo would literally stop working when I tried closing the poles with just 2 poles. But when I skipped it and left them open at 8 and 2 o'clock and added another set at the same angle, he progressed much faster. He continued to grow an understanding and gaining value for the poles as we worked with bringing the poles closer together and closing them.

4. Vary your positioning. Sometimes run, sometimes stand back, sometimes send the dog. Work the arc, but also work distractions from the beginning. I noticed when I started running (because before I just stood there and tossed a treat), he forgot what he was doing. He was confused if we were now playing or still working.

5. Don't add a command and be careful about what comes out of your mouth. Don't always say "go." Don't say "weave." Don't consistently use a command to send him because you can easily unintentionally train in some sort of cue and then when you're dog is actually weaving and you stop doing or saying whatever you did during training, you're dog will regress and you'll be confused as to why. This is one of the few times that consistency is actually bad. Don't be paranoid over this because if you keep moving through your training it's likely the dog won't pick up on a cue, but be aware of this.

That's all for now! Feel free to comment with your tips and tricks on 2x2's. I will continue updating this as I continue training with Aleo and other dogs.

It's great to be back!
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