# Boo Weaving



## Joe (Apr 9, 2005)

I can't believe how fast he is. Very nice video. I love it.


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

I am VERY impressed! Boo really tore those weave poles up! Great job.


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## Tailer'sFolks (Feb 27, 2007)

Are those Yearling Zoomies? Wow that's a Fast Pup!!


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

That's the one part of agility I wonder about with Samson.....how do you teach the weaving?


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

Thanks guys! 

I kind of did my own thing to teach his weaves ... the most frequently used method is to separate the poles into a channel so the dog just runs through the channel, and then you move the two lines of poles closer together until the dog is weaving ... but Boo was scared of channels (WEIRD dog) so I ended up using an exercise pen to make guides on one side, and then click every time he goes through a pair of poles away from me and reward back on my side of the poles ... if you plan on teaching Samson to weave yourself I can draw you a diagram and/or explain further :


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

katieanddusty said:


> if you plan on teaching Samson to weave yourself I can draw you a diagram and/or explain further :


Sure.....I'd love that....


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

The top diagram is with the dog on your left, bottom is dog on your right, practice both evenly so you don't have to do any crazy maneuvers to get him on your left all the time ... you can start with 6 poles or 12, I started with 6 because I didn't have enough guides for 12 ... the blue lines are guides to keep him from bouncing out of the poles, I used 24" tall exercise pens, you could also use guide wires made specifically for agility ... the path the dog takes is red ... start at the left end (on the top diagram) with his nose almost between the first two poles, wait for him to move forward, click when he's in the yellow blob area (far enough between the first two poles that the click won't cause him to come back between the first two), then give him a treat from your right hand at the purple X, wait for him to move forward again, click at second yellow blob, treat at second purple X, wait for him to move forward again, click at third yellow blob, and throw toy or large treat to last purple X ... when he's on your right side, you'd click when he moved past the first pole, and treat from your left hand ...

Once he's moving forward as soon as he finishes the previous treat, you don't need to click anymore. Sometimes treat at the purple X and sometimes have him keep going through the next pair of poles (still throw the toy/treat to the last purple X). Then once he's doing the whole set of poles, move the guide x-pens a couple inches away from the poles or slide the guide wires down a few inches, go back to treating each time, and gradually fade the treats again, then move the guides more, and so on ...

Depending on the dog you'll then want to work on his footwork so he's weaving as quickly as possible and weaving the poles as an entire set rather than as units of 3. The usual method to improve footwork is to slant the poles slightly from the center line so they form a V shape, and then gradually straighten them again. I have no idea why that works but it does : I didn't have to do that with Boo because he did the correct footwork on his own, all depends on the dog.


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

Thanks Katie.....definitely something we'll have to try. I've got to find a local course, just to mess around on.......


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## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

Question....what breed is Boo? Is he a mix? He reminds me of our Lab/border collie (we think), that we put down last year. Just curious.


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

Carsonsdaddy said:


> Question....what breed is Boo? Is he a mix? He reminds me of our Lab/border collie (we think), that we put down last year. Just curious.


If I remember correctly, Boo is straight Lab......


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## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

RickGibbs said:


> If I remember correctly, Boo is straight Lab......


Thanks. It was hard to tell in the vid, and Charlie was tall and lanky like that.


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

Yup, he's purebred Lab, goes back to field lines which is why he's lighter-boned and all that. My grandfather swears he's mixed with Greyhound though :


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