Last one before the BIG RODEO

Ugh, having the plague sure is demotivating. I place the blame on coworkers and also Hortonville’s active horse barn trial location.

Speaking of- back from Hooville. Interesting weekend. Highs:

*Team Qualifier for 2011 out of the way. First place with a baby dog team, too!

*12/15 overall Q rate.

*Finished her Standard Championship, Snooker Bronze and Gamble Bronze titles.

*Jumped very well on dirt.

*No misses on the A frame… at least, none were called.

*No off-courses on some exceedingly tricky designs (seriously an achievement).

Things I probably have no right to complain about given the above but will cuz I want to!!!

*Frankly, not the best times. No placements above forth

*Dog walk problems!!!

*No Grand Prix Q! Very disappointed as this was my secret goal.

Not sure what was up with her times this weekend. No video opportunity so I have to guess. I think she ran very well, all things considered with those courses. They were very trappy and jerky. When you could open up into speed *BAM* speed trap into an off-course option! The Dog had a great attitude even with frequent call-offs and kept it GOing through each and every course. My guess is that in the effort to not cut her speed by micro-managing her stride and keeping her close, she had many a trip to China. So that tells me we still need work on moving into me with speed, not just moving away with it. Homework assignment one for the week. Also I think we lost a lot of time re-directing from the off-course options-which were many! She tended to “shop” each option and look at me for a yes/no (Dog says They all looked good to me!!). So homework assignment two for me will be to get more active in these situations. I can stand and call or I can go and show.

And REALLY not sure what was up with her dogwalk! She was very slow (compared to last weekend and many practices) over the whole thing, even with a huge fast run onto it. She was going 2o2o by the last day, which she hates, so that tells me something was really up in her head making her think too much. I thought at first that the rubberized contact had something to do with it, but it seems more likely that the types of courses and the layout of the dogwalk on course were just bad enough to make her second-guess her running performance. It was pointed out to me that we were running into the wall a lot and often the dogwalk seemed to head into nothing or have a sharp turn to the side. Thinking about it, I have been targeting to a jump or tunnel, so there was nothing to drive to in many cases. Homework assignment three!

Ugh ugh less than two weeks until the Nationals. I’m trying to think of some realistic goals for her so that we can both have fun. List time!

Good Dog.

I heart the Dog.

Weekend is over. She was such a good girl. In standard, she received a "fly-off" call on her teeter. I suppose most people would not think of that as being a good girl, but she actually had a very nice teeter. The Dog has a running teeter and SOME judges (mostly in AKC...hmmm...) don't really judge it for what it is- in control, in the contact, and touching the ground before she departs it. OH WELL! She did her job. I won't change it because a few judges dislike it. We have faced some 'discrimination' before on the Aframe contact zone. Now as judges are getting more used to running contacts, the margin of error on the calls is getting smaller. So I won't complain TOO much more. Anyways, I am happy to report that her standard run was really amazing. FAST and smooth. The dogwalk and Aframe were exactly how I envision her performance to be.

Jumpers was very fun. She ran clean and finished her OAJ. She was also very fast- she actually got about half a course ahead of me and finished the last 8 obstacles on her own with directionals only. The crosses I snuck in were very much on the fly and, like yesterday, did not disrupt her stride. Going to keep working on this. She just started being ok with this type of cross and I am liking it!

So, this week we will be working on the high A again and full dogwalks only. Also have to work on actually laying DOWN on the table since she got by this weekend with a stand. 2011 qualifier next weekend and I'd like to get Team and a Steeple Q out of the way for next year! Also need one snooker and one gamble for her 15 Q titles and one more standard for the 10 Q title. The main goal will be to get her on the dirt and see if we can maintain her jumping and SPEED. Last shot at trialing before the BIG trial!!

Noms and TV are deserved after being so good all weekend.
No one said the Dog wasn't part sloth.

This week is going awesome(ly?)!

Dog: Whatchya doing?
Me: Shhh... having a moment.
Dog: Ohhh... whats that?
Me: You know, when you take a minute to like, reflect. It's supposed to be quiet reflection.
Dog: Ohhhh.... sorry.
Me: It's ok. Why don't you try reflecting too?
Dog: Ok.
(silence)
Dog: ...Reflect on what?
Me: The week! The nice week we had!!!
Dog: OOOOooohh... OK. Well, I chewed my bone, and played outside, and ran around, and-
Me: No, to yourself, reflect to yourself!
Dog: OOOOOHHHHHH... I don't get it.
Me: Never mind. I'll go blog about it instead.
Dog: OK... could you throw my toy first?

We had a few good days here. First, obedience Thursday. Apparently, one has to heal with their dog OFF LEASH to show in Novice. Surprise!! Figured we should give that a go in the safety of class. And-even bigger SURPRISE!!! the dog was pretty dang near flawless. We had a different instructor who had us go through the exercises in a new order. I have to say, the Dog's mind was blown. I had no clue how very concrete sequential she was until that moment. We usually do long sits and downs after the stand, but instead did a recall exercise. Poor Dog looked nervously at all her classmates releasing to her owners but stayed firmly in her sit, believing wholeheartedly that every other dog was stupid to fall for the oldest trick in the book (Dog says Don't they know- wait means WAIT! Duh.) by actually coming when I called when she was sitting. It was very interesting and I am glad for the insight.

Then we found out that...drum roll...we managed to secure a few working spots for the upcoming Silvia Trkman seminar! Running Contacts and 'Fine Tune Handling for Competitive Teams.' I literally jumped for joy. After trying to apply a lot of her methodology in the last couple months on my own I am overjoyed at the opportunity for help first hand. I am very hopeful that she will be able to help us through some of the motivation road blocks. I am also auditing her 'cik/cap' jumping session and a session on starting a new puppy... just in case. Really looking forward to it all!

Last, today was day one at the AKC show- BOTC. We are fervently trying to get her through Open quickly, and she gained some ground by qualifying in both classes. Though, she had an off course in Standard. (Dog says Didn't you know- 'teeter' is... uh... French ...for 'jump!') She had terrific contacts though so can't complain a whole lot. It was just kind of silly. Jumpers involved two incredibly close calls, but both times she came off to the correct choice. I drove from behind for much of it so I was really happy to keep her head in those situations. Also proud of me for delivering some front crosses on the fly- she didn't even break stride and picked them up amazingly. Very nice times, even with all the almost off courses (and one real). She RAN the whole time, which always makes me happy. We'll see if tomorrow goes as well, we just need one more Q in each for the titles.

Brrr... let indoor agility season commence!

Yeah, I'm cold. I will admit it. I am not hardy. The Dog LOVES the weather though. Nothing gives her the boost to GO like a breezy, drizzly day. Sigh. So out I go into the cold.

Class Tuesday was great. Happy Dog. BUT worrisome in that she missed all her contacts the first time. And since she will be even more high at the AKC show this weekend, does that mean that I have to kiss my standard Qs bu-bye? Or maybe I should get up even earlier and go run contacts before the show starts. Although when you have to get there at 6am to get crate space, this route does not seem likely.

So we went out last night to just run contacts. Two misses on the A. One leap on the DW. I am learning that if I am too far behind on the DW and she can't see me, she will leap. If I move too far ahead, she will slow into the 2o2o. NOT SURE WHY, except that maybe she is anticipating a turn or something? I really wish I knew why 'me in front' came to mean 'STOP' to her. Huh. Animal Communicator, ho!

I've also learned that her Aframe is wonderful at USDAA heights, but she cannot use that stride for the lower AKC heights. She needs an 'easy' command to check her when its low. Must remember this weekend! SO prefer USDAA heights where she can just GO! Even if it's easier for her, we will be needing to work our butts off to get the stride running correctly again for next weekend's USDAA three day in Hortonville. Flipping back and forth seems to confuse her. Confuses me at least.

Probably will go out again tonight, braving the chill (though hopefully not the downpour again, like stupid last night). At least all our shows will be indoors from now on, even if practice is outside for awhile longer.

Back to school

Since we've been so busy showing and training in agility we took a break from obedience class for the last part of the summer (I do like to see the inside of my house at least one night a week!). But the Dog has been growing increasingly naughty with this departure so I decided it was time for her to go back to school this week too.

She surprised me by doing better than ever on her heeling; finally she is able to keep her eyes on me. (Dog says I think it's silly that I'm supposed to watch you instead of where I am going. You are clumsy and might walk us into the gate-again!!) I did NOT walk us into the gate last night or into the pole person during figure eights, so I am getting better too. I would say she is ready to start showing there except for her recall. Much like her agility lead out, it is very slow and it's clear she is not comfortable with the concept. I am thinking I will start having someone help me do restrained recalls because it's getting kind of ridiculous. I see that she thinks something is going on or going to happen when I face her, but I just don't know what is in her mind that makes her come in so tentatively. I know part of it was that I would put her on the wait to lead out and when she hears "wait" that means "wait forever until I hear 'ok'." So when I started saying "OK, Come" it improved but only for about 2/3 of the run to me. Gotta figure out how to get that last third GOing!

After class we did some agility- weaves and fun jumping exercises. She really is starting to love the 24" weaves and actually gets some footwork going. Jumping went great, she was really moving with speed and confidence. I was good and remembered to reward the bursts of speed in the right direction with her toy.

We ended on some A-frame runs on the AKC height frame in practice for out next show. Awesome! Now that I understand my job (run forward!) she gets hers too. She was even flying the apex and still striding down and normally its one or the other. Yay! Her A is a total Go.

Dogwalk= GO

Reason for retraining...

Last night the Dog and I worked about two 15-20 minute sessions on board running. First we tried it with the board all the way on the ground (2^nd or 3^rd time doing this). Her hit rate was pretty solid, but I can tell she didn’t fully get it. (Dog says But I got to get the BALL. That was the point, right?)

Then I tried elevating about 4 inches. She REALLY liked it then. I tried several variations to see what produced the best stride. Note that each time we start her pretty far back from the plank (5-15 feet), and played “ready….steady… WALK” as the release. I also mark it by saying “YES” since I can always do that (usually lose my clicker…) and letting her get the toy.

1) Me even with her at the start of the plank, toy in front, 10 feet out: I think she thought I was trying to trick her (It was reminiscent of proofing of yore.). She slowed into 2o2o and looked back at me for a release.

2) Me in Front, dropping toy: same, but worse. She was really anticipating having to do SOMETHING.

3) Me even with her at the start of the plank, rolling toy out in front from behind after sending her: Worked well, and kept her very low, but hard to time and caused her to have to look back if I was slow on the toy or threw it badly. Probably why most people leave it way out in front…

4) Tried the same as 3), except told her to “go” which means go straight ahead: LEAP!! She really would RUN, but also took a huge leap in the process.

5) Me even with her at the start of the plank, but when I released her onto the plank I ran with and rolled the toy out in front: Better. I liked her momentum, but not as consistent a hit rate as 3).

6) Tried 3) again, but this time put a jump out as a target: Some would say this is not the way to go, but it did actually keep her moving ahead and had a good hit rate. I was able to run with her too eventually.

I also tried-once- putting guides (sort of a hoop) around the end zone to run under. NOPE! I forgot that she does not like to go under things (Dog says I have a fear of getting stuck! That and being put on a diet!) and will instead opt for the OVER path. She leapt the guide from halfway down the plank. Yikes!

So my rules appear to be:

-Do not say GO. (Seems kind of counterintuitive for the project though, huh?)

-No guides/apparatus/regulators.

-Push don’t pull. When I get in front that translates to her that it’s time to slow up for a turn.

IN SUM.

I’m going to keep playing with 3), 5) and 6) or some combination thereof.

P.S. Since I do still have her entered in upcoming trials, as a test to see the damage incurred I ended up running her over the whole DW after we were done for the night. It. Was. AWESOME. I know I can’t expect her to be perfect on the whole obstacle in shows while we retrain it at home, but I feel better seeing that I haven’t totally ruined her and feel like the training might be helping!

MAC Day Three Team Tourney/How did it GO Review

Day Three (Team) was ______ (still trying to fill in the blank!).

Gamblers to start- the Dog felt a bit off. Still sleepy? In an abnormal occurrence she ran around the first jump for the gamble. Whistle!

Jumpers- better. One bar down, but since it was that or an off-course I will take it! The bar made her a bit sad, but she recovered a few jumps later to finish up a tricky (pipe tunnel filled!) course nicely.

Standard- better still. Another trappy course; my screams (“auuughhh! NOOOOO! COME! LEFT LEFT LEFT!!) resulted in one bar down.

Snookers- UGH! Who stole my dog!? I had a nice FUN plan filled with everything she likes and it was still like pulling teeth. No, like it was her first run. In agility. Ever. Practically walked through the first 6 or so things. Then when she started to go all of a sudden, she was gone. We made it through 5 in the close before time buzzed and I tried to leave with some dignity, but she got stuck in a tunnel vortex and kept running around and around, each time surfacing to peek at me with a ‘nah nah nahhhhh’ look on her face before diving back in the tunnel for another spin through. UGH!

Relay- finally had a happy dog again. Something about playing with the baton really peps her up.

Overall the Team ended up in 2^nd with a Q, which was awesome all things considered. To be fair, the courses were super tricky with a lot more off-course options then we have seen recently.

Now let’s review the weekend goal situation. Keep in mind that the courses were atypical for the judge- very much NOT ‘run from behind’ as I had hoped/expected. Most situations forced a front cross or similar maneuver from the front.

Video from the weekend...for review!!

*Dog RUN from start to finish. To achieve: I will stay out of her way as much as possible (rears instead of fronts, TELL not show what to do). I will pick courses in flow when I have the option. I will mark it ("YES! GO!") asap when I see her committing to the right obstacle. I will run and run some more.

Well, over all there was more consistent running from her. Just a few classes where we really lost the momentum and for pretty obvious reasons. I certainly tried the flow thing and think I was ok with marking her choosing the right things.

*Will Dog’s contacts will hold up. We’ve been doing a lot of racing, especially on the DW to enforce it in her mind that she no longer should stop. Will they be fast? Will the show hit % be as good as the practice %?

I think she did amazing on her DW contacts. They were much faster than usual- she really launched herself up and over the obstacle, where in the past she kind of loped over the whole thing. She did not try to stop on the bottom once. YAY! Note though- I watched the video and they look much more “iffy” on tape then when we ran, so we will keep working to get one extra ‘safety’ stride.

*Competitive times, particularly in Jumpers. So many jumps, so many options, makes for so much thinking aka hesitation. To achieve: set lines and let her run ahead. Hopefully the courses will allow this

Quasi-Fail. I think the jumpers courses required to much control for this to work. When I did try to let her GO and run ahead she was very uncertain due to all of the off-course options. BUT getting much better time-wise on standard classes, which is great to see!

Lots to work on now for the next show. (AKC in two weeks, USDAA 2011 tournament qualifier in three weeks). Tomorrow we will do some basic board runs on the dog walk plank. Also have to try to find something that will work to motivate her to run with confidence for the big outruns in Snookers from the get-go.