sooooo excited.......

[Ben's mum]

I've just ordered a set of weaves so I can have my very own set to practice on 

I've convined OH that its an investment and I need to have them if he ever wants to see Ben at Crufts  poor man believed me
Any way hopefully they will come soon, then he can have the pleasure of putting them together for me, I'm just sooo good to that man!!

Any top tips for weaving? We are really struglling which is why i wanted them, at our club different trainers have different ways of teaching weaves which I think has really confused us both.
Ben has been doing the weaves realy well at a very tiny angle for about a year, but as soon as the poles are upright he can't seem to see them and just runs up and down them barking.  Then it takes a couple of weeks to get him back to weaving at all, he gets anxious/excited not sure which it is, but really frantic and noisy now when he sees the weaves, so I need to practise calmly, but am stuck on making the transition to uprights.  any help appreciated - thank you!

Bens mum

[MrsMac]

Well done    Sorry I can't offer you any advice, we're still on the waiting list for our local agiilty club.  Good luck with it, I would love my own stuff - at the moment we practice with an early learning centre tunnel which is quite short but Melody loves it. 

[Cob-Web]

We (me and OH) made a set of weaves a few weeks ago 
http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=26398.0

We were taught to sit the dog in front of the first pole, in line so they can't see the rest of the poles, with the handler facing the dog. Then the handler walks backwards, luring the dog through the weaves, using the command "weave" when they move away from you ,and "come" to come back through towards you 

We practice for a few minutes nearly every day......it makes a huge difference - Molo is 10 times better already 

[Cayley]

I taught Sammy using the lure method and I've just started teaching Elsie with it aswell. I start with Elsie in a sit, then we walk up to the weave which at first is just 2 or 3 poles so that they understand the entry, I say 'weave' as we approach them then slighlty turn my body toward the weaves so I can direct her away from me to send her through the first gap whilst saying 'go', when she goes through the gap I bring my hand round the second pole towards me then when she walks through the second gap I say 'come' then praise her by saying good then give her a treat. I haven't practiced using channel or v weaves so I couldn't advise you about them  . 

[Spangle]

I would advise against walking backwards, because you really don't need to!

Try starting with just 3 weaves and then build from it.  You can use a treat or toy, but do yourself a favour and face forwards.   It can help to stick your inside leg out towards the second weave, to help guide Ben with his entry.  I did a lot of that, and also having a tub containing treats at the end of the weaves was a great help for getting the dog to work it out - only getting one when they did it right.   With Billy I ended up taking weaves into the house to practice, which really was a great help for him.  I would have him weave before he got his dinner etc, suprising how quickly he picked it up! 

Patience and practice is the key, it eventually will all just click into place, so Ben could soon be on the way to Crufts   

[Cob-Web]

I would advise against walking backwards, because you really don't need to!

Different methods obviously work for different people/dogs - our trainer does this with all her own dogs when training (some of which she handled in the Rescue demo at Crufts) as well as teaching us this way   

[Spangle]

Different methods obviously work for different people/dogs - our trainer does this with all her own dogs when training (some of which she handled in the Rescue demo at Crufts) as well as teaching us this way   

Of course and no disrespect intended, but trust me, by walking backwards you are actually making it harder for yourself than it needs to be.

[Cob-Web]

Different methods obviously work for different people/dogs - our trainer does this with all her own dogs when training (some of which she handled in the Rescue demo at Crufts) as well as teaching us this way   

Of course and no disrespect intended, but trust me, by walking backwards you are actually making it harder for yourself than it needs to be.

I've have actually tried both ways; backwards is definitely easier for me  It's only for training; when I run an experienced dog, then I don't run backwards

[Cayley]

I would advise against walking backwards, because you really don't need to!

Different methods obviously work for different people/dogs - our trainer does this with all her own dogs when training (some of which she handled in the Rescue demo at Crufts) as well as teaching us this way   

I would also advise against walking backwards, it's a habit that is difficult to get out of once the dog is used to it.

[Cob-Web]

I would advise against walking backwards, because you really don't need to!

Different methods obviously work for different people/dogs - our trainer does this with all her own dogs when training (some of which she handled in the Rescue demo at Crufts) as well as teaching us this way   

I would also advise against walking backwards, it's a habit that is difficult to get out of once the dog is used to it.

Mm, I might have a chat with our trainer tomorrow 

[sportsmonki]

At the YKC training day we were also shown the way that IWLass and Cayley described.  Storm only had a few goes at the weaves because it was just a short training session and she got the hang of it really fast.  I think once she understood the obstacle she would be OK if I moved away and didnt guide her anymore, so I think it just depends on what works for your dog and for you?

Hope you find something that works for Ben 

[clairep4]

We learned the weaves by luring, so we had the full set in a straight line (about 12 poles I think). We started with the dogs onlead for the first couple of goes to just show them what was needed but tbh Bella was much better when the lead came off as she kept trying to charge off with the lead on.

We use two commands, "in" to go left into the poles and "come" to come back through, so you're going "in, come, in, come," all the way along. Bella's not a natural weaver at all and for a while just used to get bored half way and leg it to the next jump, but in the last couple of months she's really got the idea firmly in her little head and she's great at them - she'll never be collie standard but I love seeing her little cocker body shuffling its way through the weaves... 

[Ben's mum]

thanks for the tips I'm off to practice whish me luck

Bens mum