So today was a sunny and clear day with the temps in the mid-high 30s. I had trained both dogs earlier on the weave poles and pondered about bringing the agility equipment outside. Mother Nature has certainly been playing games with us and the dogs were getting tired of it, call it cabin fever if you well as earlier in the week it snowed! Tomorrow was suppose to have the temps in nearing 50 and the skies either partly cloudy or sunny I don't remember which but all that matters it was suppose to rain in the evening and for Monday. So why not?
So I took a jump and all the weave poles and set them out in the backyard then I had to get more equipment at the garage. As I walked past the house, you would hear the barks, yelps, and howls from Scout since he was still in his crate upstairs and I looked at the garage and noticed that FJ is dirty and probably still loaded with road salt underneath - if you can call it that nowadays! Did you know that they are now using compounds in which the by-product is hydrochloric acid? Now you know why I wanted to wash the truck! - That was one of my chores I did today. I washed the truck and cleaned the undercarriage after I was done playing with the dogs.
So I am there walking back and forth carrying more jumps and the table. The new neighbors were looking at me if I was a lunatic and probably assumed that it was all for me! 
Chloe knows what is going on and her excitement is building up. I can see her in the window and when I walked past the storm door she watches me and whines. She knows what is coming and thats fun time at full speed no more cramped indoors!
Now the backyard isn't pretty at this stage in Spring since the snow just thawed and the rain has been coming down, its just wet and muddy back there. Some might gasped and not even think about doing this but in agility, its rain or shine regardless what the state of the ground is. So I set the 12 poles and made sure there was no gap or channel and a jump which was followed by the table. On the other side of the poles, I set two jumps side-by-side so that I can work on some tight turns. I go back to get Chloe, a toy (soft disc), and some chicken. Oh man, she is all jacked up and trembling. She is about to bust at the seems.
As we get off the porch, she starts a b-line to the backyard and I called her back to a heel. She comes back whining and shaking - she has to use a lot of self-control or she'll just keep running because she is free to stretch out her legs - The first thing I want to do is work on some table down or table sit stays and then call her out to do a sequence. She gets on the table and she is so amped that she still is whine. She wants to go like now. I walk some 15-20' and then walk back to holding her stay on the table. Then I lead back out and do a part of the sequence and keep adding onto it and finally use different types of crosses. If done well, she gets rewarded by a throw of the disc. But she is so excited that she takes 2-3 laps around the backyard at full speed. Oh she is so muddy and she has a big smile on her face because she let loose. Going by the looks of her pole performance it is certainly faster on grass than on the mat and I did time it so more on that later. I worked on doing serpentine and threadles as well then called it a session.
Last year before putting up the equipment, I timed Chloe going through 12 poles at various gaps and as I looked back in my notes, at zero gap, she managed 2.79-3.11 seconds. In comparison to the indoor mat that I recently timed last Monday, she was 3.5-3.6 but that after 45 minutes of working on something else prior to getting to the poles so she wasn't as fresh. Today, she is going through them at 2.5-2.68. She has picked up some speed. 
Hopefully, we can get faster than that as time continues. Now I know she can't compete with some notable Border Collies on grass as they are pretty much 2 seconds and faster but for a little 12" dog and the amount of time she has on them - it will be a year on the poles in August -, I am impressed with her! Theoretically, Scout should be faster than Chloe due to his height.
I took Chloe immediately upstairs to rinse her off and I wasn't planning on hosing her off outside then it was time to get the big boy. I open the door and he has this dumb founded look like, "Golly gee, did you hear me outside?", you know something Goofy would say. I get him and I have to get the 30' lead to put on him. I want to work on recalls, sends (go), and stays. Chloe sees what is going on and she starts working herself up thinking that she is going outside. She is whining and wanting to go so she sees me walking Scout off the porch. He, just like Chloe starts to bolt to the backyard and I immediately call him back. He comes back with a Goofy-like expression "Huh, I wasn't suppose to do that? Golly gee. What are we doing then?" So I walk him past the obstacles in the yard and work with him in an open area. Mind you, I have no fence and this is a terrier that has bolted twice out of the house! I put him a stay and walk out about 10-15' call him to come. And he gets the idea. Then I use the disc and throw it for which I say, "Go", and then call him back, "here". After 2-3 attempts he lost interest in returning it because he started sniffing new smells. At one point he was tracking and I clapped my hands to break his concentration. So now I continued the training now using chicken which got him interested. I am thinking he is more of a ball guy so I'll bring out the football next time. He did well so far and now it was time to introduce him to the table. He got the idea of getting on it but can he stay on it? And that's what I continued to work with him on; familiarity with the table.
I wanted to try to do a jump with him outside and the brain fade begins, change one thing when a dog learns something they forget how it is done. He learned about the jump inside the house and now things have changed, it is outside. So he walks past it. Using my trusty chicken, he finally understands what I want. I walk by the poles and say "Go weave" and he has no idea what they are. Now he has done six indoors but now were are outside and there is six more with no wire guides. So I am going to have to do a refresher with him no big deal. See, dogs are funny about things. Once he learns what it is, he should be able to figure it out quickly. Its teaching him how to learn is all new to him because he never had to think or respond.
Our neighbor brought out his mini-Schnauzer for a potty break and I made sure that Scout was focused on me which 40% of the time he wasn't but what I saw that was positive because he wasn't anxious or curious about going over there and meeting the dog. No whines, barks or anything. He stayed near me. Now that I think of it, I should have done the "Look at That" game as part of the Controlled Unleashed curriculum.
So I wonder what we'll do tomorrow?
Scout: more recall work and walking through straight jumps.
As for Chloe, I have no idea but I could just give an off day which is probably a good thing.