A Few Good Dogs

Yes, plural. As in, The Dog wasn't the only hard working teamie this weekend at USDAA. We now can count The Pup among the few and the proud!!

***

I'm so (I repeat, SO) happy with The Pup. I ran her in just a few classes Sunday and she showed up to both!! Not naughty ADHD Pup who chases fuzzies. And visits. And runs away at the end of the run. No, it was my good fast girl. Who knows things and has a brain between her most giant alien ears. We finally saw a glimpse of her future, and boy. Shiny.

***

We followed Jen's advice. The hard bit about No Free Love. Only The Leader may bestow love and pets and eye contact. Essentially, all her friends largely were made to ignore her. She lived out in the car alone and only got to come in to play with me. We tried a new warm-up routine- sat and played ball before her turn, no arguing at all about paying attention to me. Much less stressful going in, I think. And those were only the beginning of the changes.

***

She was so much better dealing with the pressure and distractions. She seemed to acknowledge the people in the rings but had no pull to them. She could have left the ring to molest the crowd and steal a toy, but instead came easily to jump up after. Happy to be caught and get her rewards in due course.

The Pup fell asleep on my beer. Cute yet disturbing. 

As for the pressure, she broke a bit early on the first stay (on eye contact). She missed a jump towards the end of Jumpers and I ran her back, which wilted her slightly. She checked out a fuzzy right after but it was just a quick sniff where before the pressure of that redo would have put her to the point of all out fuzzy hunting and Pup-style validation seeking. She dealt with being 'wrong' much better than she ever has before.

***

The rest is just gravy. She ran FAST in jumpers before the missed jump. Like, hee-haw. Best extension yet in a show.

Until Standard, that is. What a great run. She held all the stays: start line, table, teeter. She ran her A and DW really well and stuck her weaves. Everything else in between was awesome too! She drove ahead which she hadn't seemed to feel like she could do before, and my was that drive in a nice gear.

AND we got another measure for 16"- one more to go before 3! Ga!

***

Lest we forget, my fluffy Dog. I figured something out. Why her brain broke. Or my brain. Whatever. Looking at this from the mental management standpoint, we were running in full Competitive mode with zero training of new things. Maintaining the machine through Cynosport. The machine had to be turned off during Recovery. Then our machine needed a reboot, so back to our foundations we went for Preparative measures.  Learning new things, modifying old. Our devices just haven’t been syncing yet with these developments, and in that case she reverts to thinking over doing.

I hadn’t realized this until most of the way through day two of our three day show.  I worried over the reasons for her somewhat hesitant runs early on- sad? Hurt? Issue with the facility? But then I had the lightbulb moment and I got smart and got clearer, and she turned around a lot. I'm not perfect. We had a meltdown in Steeple Rnd 2 even after I figured things out, but otherwise an awesome end to the weekend, each run better and better. Where we started with communication errors and carefulness, we ended on mind reading, good team work, and a fast happy Dog. It was very interesting.

Despite the weird that crept in, we still had a successful weekend on paper. (Although she ABSOLUTELY did NOT want to do her good 2o2o teeter. I asked her to the first run and she was SO SAD.  After that I didn’t ask for it and she offered a controlled-no boinking- 4 on the rest of the weekend.  I think I need to find a fun match to do some test runs before we pull that out again.)  We have our Steeple and Team Qs for Tennessee, we got TWO jumpers Qs (just two more to go before Gold ADCH!) and placements in all of our qualifying classes. She blazed through GP (one bar….GA!) so feeling good about future byes happening.   Overall actually, her standard type classes were really, really good. It was a weekend where I loved having running contacts. Sunday’s standard run was such a RUSH.  At the end both The Dog and I were like…heck yeah! If we were dudes we would have punched each other. That run is the perfect example of why I will not give them up, even if turns with her make me insane and sometimes it means we don’t qualify. 

***

No video. I agree, how lame. I so wish I’d recorded both girls’ standard runs yesterday.  But I have bruises all over from The Pup being caught and The Dog mauling me with joy afterwards, so that will serve as a tiny (painful) reminder for some time.

Nonpartisan Post

Sometimes I’m surprised at how hard it can be to find time to jot down my thoughts. I didn’t think I had that many? But I guess life has been pretty demanding. So that, plus a Leader living in her head equals not a ton of production and output for the past few months.  I thought though that I might try and shake a few things out to make room for what’s coming up. 

***

Pensive Pup lives in her head too.

It’s been some forced rest since the Nationals. The Dog showed me immediately after that she needed a break.  She pretty much mentally collapsed as soon as we got home; all agility knowledge fell out of her brain and she reverted to freezing and questioning.  We thought maybe it was all a bit too much, holding herself together so well for so many days in Colorado and in the time leading up, but there was likely also ME to blame: I needed a break too.  She is smart. She picks up on these things. So we broke so that we wouldn't end up all broken.

We are showing this weekend though.  Back at it, and then back off it for another month, taking it nice and easy through the rest of the year.  While I’d sure love some Jumpers Qs and a few things knocked out for Nationals next year, I think the reconnection with the dogs is a better goal.

***

Yeah. I said dogs. Plural.  Running The Pup again. We haven’t trained much agility with her. Just lots of time working on life skills. Like, How Not to Be an A$$. What to Bite Instead of The Dog, volumes one and two. Stop Barking and Go Lay Down.  I had noticed how much more focus and control she had back in the day when all we did was Smart Puppy (behavior) Skillz. Moving over to more agility training, less skill work was a bad move (apparently).   She knows equipment. She knows handling.  These are not what she needs to practice.  Hence, return to Smart Puppy.

This discovery was well-timed; Jen Pinder was in town last weekend and had many observations.  She was not fooled by The Pup’s excellent drivey agility and called her out for what she is. That would be, a thief. Among other things.  So having realized what she needed, I got a lot of ideas on how to get her there.  No telling that anything will have rubbed off in time for the weekend, but at least she is slightly easier to deal with in general.  Someday she will have patience. And coping skills under pressure. And the ability to drive and think at the same time. Surely?

As a note, I really liked Jen. The seminars focused a lot on contacts and I think it was the right move given her talents there. She had some fantastic observations, helpful ideas, and process guidance that was so in depth. Contact foundation to the extreme.  I audited most of it and came away filled with tips on training and mechanics and…everything.  There is a real science to it that I hadn’t realized.  I’ve been a bit, well, whatever, as long as you have criteria that you and your dog get that you maintain, it works. But the details of the position itself really matter for whether or not it will hold up over time.  There is really too much to say, but I think I will be a better teacher going forward and will be able to do things with my own dogs in an optimal way.

I will say though, I had a lot of Ah-Has! over The Dog’s teeter performance.  At the base is her issue with not liking the reverberation of the plank. And where she was “stopping” trying to hold a 4 on was right in the reverb sweet spot.  Add in letting her lay down on the teeter…  And not having her release forward… Ah-HA!  No wonder she hated the end and boinked off the side.  (Plus, I had let her run it sometimes. Oops.)  So I was at least on the right track a few months ago when I asked her to start doing a 2o2o, but now we have the rest of the formula and- wait for it- she actually is driving her teeter! And waiting!  She is a nerd; I should have known she would take to more criteria.  Now though, let’s see how well the Leader remembers to uphold it. 

***

After this weekend, a seminar with The Pup, and then like I said- nice and easy for a few months. I want to teach my dogs silly things again, have a life, and probably deal with some things I should have a year ago.

Er, but first I have to finish all the seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  

***

Can you believe how long I have been doing this??

Cynosport 2012 Recap-A-Palooza

Hello technology. Sorry to give you the boot the last week or so, but it’s good to spend time apart, you know?

I thought about updating during the nationals, but I opted to be selfish and take the week for me and The Dog. I don’t have the option to just immerse myself in agility so many days that I forget what day it even IS more than this one time a year- so why not?  I imagine others enjoy weeks camping in the mountains or wherever for the same reasons and this way I at least got to sleep indoors, take showers and have Panera coffee every morning.

***

Oh, what a week.  For all the hemming and hawing about nationals outdoors in Denver this year, the weather was great, the site was lovely, and no dogs were apprehended and arraigned on ten counts of being a pit bull. Sure, some hiccups occurred, but they probably always will. Life happens; it’s just in how you deal.

So that was goal number one this year. Keep calm. Move along. These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.  Last year I couldn’t shake the bad; couldn’t block out the crazy.  This year my new mental management skills provided a warm fuzzy shield. Bad run? Meh. Crazy? Deflected. Grumpiness? Hola, here is a smile for you.

I imagine others wanted to kill me but hey, so much better for me and The Dog to actually ENJOY the week.  At the very least I wanted to know that I had fun- sadly I don’t think everyone can say that.

***

Let it be said- I DID have fun.  Me and my rusty fat Dog had a blast.  I went in just plain glad we had the chance to run at all.  I knew we were (both) a bit out of our peak, but I also knew that just weeks before we’d been there and it probably wasn’t completely gone. I believed that all of the work we’d done this year would get us through.  I focused on our best moments of the year and decided that there was no reason we couldn’t do well.  Goal number two was set- individual placement!

***

We had a lot of chances this year.  We got to run in the team classes and semis, but also the IFCS as well. I figured our odds were good, even given the impressive competition.  The Dog has some tricks up her…well, not sleeves, but you know.   So every run, I went in with that goal in mind. It’s the NATIONALS. If you aren’t going to pull the tricks out now, then when?

***

Overall, The Dog was amazing. She had a good Gamblers run, and a GREAT Snookers run.  That was the only team class that had me scared- I had walked a lame plan and then realized there was time to be more interesting. So I went back and forth over three different (unwalked!) options all morning, finally settling on one as I went to get her out to run. I knew it was iffy, but in the end we pulled it off with time to spare.  That run ended up 13^th (one out of placement); so pleased with that contribution!

Then we had Team Jumpers, AKA the course that SURELY was meant to be the IFCS Jumpers course??? Nope, sorry! Apparently the judge from Asia wanted to um, challenge us. That was absolutely the most fun course.  So much fun to watch too!  The Dog aced it, and ended up with the 12^th best time, just 1/100^th from placement (at this point goal number two was just taunting me!!) behind a three way tie for 11th.

Our last team class was Standard and she nailed it. I can’t see anything I would change about that run. And it was good enough for 6^th place!  The score table told me there were 290 22” dogs running in team. Having my little Dog in the very top for multiple runs is so HAPPY MAKING!!!

***

Our group goal (and goal number three for me) was to make the dang relay finals.  Since our teammates (Black Dog and BFAM!) were amazing, we finally did!  We had a scary but not TOO scary relay run and ended up 8^th overall out of 170 championship teams. My secret goal was Top Ten (to get the good loot!) so I was beyond happy.

***

As far as our semi and IFCS performances: She ran clean in IFCS Jumpers but was unfortunately pretty sloppy on her contacts on the Agility run so no finals there. Her Agility run though was, I think, her best of the weekend otherwise and maybe my favorite run. She was so frickin’ SMART! That was not an easy course and there were a lot of Es, but she made it so smooth and put up an awesome time.

Her one bar of the weekend happened in the Steeplechase semi.  It was also the one run she looked a little hesitant.  I’m beyond happy that we recovered from that run to go on to some of the best she has had!  

Grand Prix semi: semi-filled with regret. The DW to weaves combo was the EXACT Achilles heel of our RDW training. We have worked this so much, but it still plagues us.  I have to have perfect timing and I didn’t- pulled her off the side, slipped and she ran into me. This greatly offended her so it took a bit to get back on track, but then she had an awesome end.  Per my camera timer, even being liberal, it would have been fast enough otherwise so… NEXT YEAR!

***

So, goals accomplished.  Next year we up the ante. I see what I have, and it’s really enough. She may not be able to win the finals, but there is no doubt she could be in them.  I have some homework to get us there (and it mostly centers on DOG WALK TURNS!) but I am thrilled with how far she has come in a year.  Guess what? I have a teammate!  This is what I’ve always hoped for with The Dog! The rest is just gravy.  

***

Video, of course (the song is sort of lame- YouTube made me change it from the awesome thing I had which was from public domain, so, huh?): 

And video of The Pup rocking the Lure for the Cure! She thought it was AWESOME until they tried to stop her from busting down the end gate to get the 'squirrel.' Jerks.

Playing Catch Up

After a mandatory and unwelcome three week break, I’m happy to report that The Dog is back.  She was most happy to be released from the injured list/bubble wrap and I was most happy to oblige and dust off the agility leash.  We celebrated her return in the best way we know how- a trial.

***

Hola, unrelated hiking adventure picture for post jazzing-up!

So many sad stories that could have been ours too: No Dog, or Long-term Damaged Dog or Dog Who Could Never Show Again.  I have been fretting over which draw we’d pull from the Outcome Lottery for weeks.  Considering that The Dog has STILL not let go of being bit by a fly several years ago, it seemed a very real possibility that she would not be ready so soon to deal with the dog show world; strange dogs, forward dogs, crate-guarding butthead dogs, all seemed so scary and PTSD-inducing now where before they went largely unnoticed. 

A wall! What we are looking for is the river though!

But, save some wide-eyed looks from her in the early morning on Saturday, she survived this first test.  How lucky we are that she seems no worse for the wear, physically or mentally. Terrible haircut, as I keep lamenting, but for all the trauma I still have my good Dog.  

Well there it is! Er, these coordinates seem off..

It was an uplifting weekend.  It will send me into next week with a lot of good feelings, regardless of how things turn out.  She did a great job.  Besides showing up happy and excited and ready to run (which is really all I was hoping for) I think we lost nothing in those three weeks.   Her jumping was awesome, teeters were better than ever (though not saying much, but she is applying a behavior instead of going WEEEEE!), Aframes were perfection… and just plain old good attention. (Side note of happiness: we got to help Black Dog finish off her Platinum ADCH! With the worst relay run ever! Black Dog rocks!) 

Our only oops/disconnect moments came immediately after the DW in both standard runs.  This was something I did NOT expect. I thought for sure her DWs would be sticky if anything given the courses.  The rings were very small and one course ran into a wall (And in GP, REALLY ran into a wall, so much I elected not to run it- scary!!) and the other had a 180 degree pull.  Surely sticky-inducing?  But no. Fast Dog runs DWs very happily super straight off…and then goes WEEEE! I think I was verrrry slow in my turn cues. I really misjudged her speed, but goodness was glad to see that confidence! 

Maybe try this vertical descent? 

So yes. We feel good. Some homework planned for the week, but much less than I thought we would have to deal with.  Mostly just have this feeling I am going to finally be able to enjoy a trip to Cyno.  

FOUND IT!! 

We are set with byes, so no round 1 stress. We get to play in the extra classes so won’t be as bored. I took a look at the schedule and based on the running order, everything is pretty ideal. And bonus, I sure like Colorado. It’s just all shaping up to be a fun time I think.  And who knows, maybe more doors opening?  I have to think that at some point in time, it will be ‘our time;’ so why not now? 

Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.

-Aristotle

Well that pretty much sums up my contribution to DABAD. See ya!
***
Kidding.

But basically, yeah. It takes a special person to be a good teacher. Anyone could run a group of people and dogs through sequences and spout some feedback once a week. Being a good instructor is more than the imparting of helpful knowledge... facts... information. Yes, instruction of this kind matters.  But if you aren't leaving these sessions with more than homework, something may be missing.

Does your teacher inspire you? Hopefully, you've connected with someone that you admire, for whatever reasons. Whether it's their talent and ambition, or simply that they really seem to like their dogs, your teacher should have some qualities that you aspire to achieve for yourself that you can't otherwise achieve on your own. If they've nothing to inspire you, how can they motivate you? How can you change?

Does failure present a challenge, or a conclusion? Failure is an opportunity. It is not a closed door, it is not the end. A good teacher accepts failure as such. Problems are for solving. The best teachers look forward to the toughest of problems with excitement. If a teacher has no interest in learning, how can they expect their student to?

Do you feel as though they truly want to help you along further than even they have been? A teacher will want to see you better. Not just better than the old you; better than themselves. The best. A testament to any good teacher is that they want the next generation to go beyond the first. Lead the way, open the door, and watch their student move forward alone. Celebrate your success with more joy than their own. If your teacher cannot lift you in this way, then they are only holding you down.

What are their reasons for teaching? Einstein said "Love is a better teacher than duty." He's right.
***
Even if it means I travel, even if it means I only work with my teacher a few times a year, what I need is understanding. And as an instructor, I will continue to TEACH, not do, every single week.

Why Weekends Off Are Bad for Your Health

Let it be written that I tried a weekend off, thinking after the last show that surely non-stop agility weekends could not possibly be healthy.

CLEARLY wrong.  There are FAR WORSE THINGS. 

***

I’m assuming at this point most everyone knows what I’m referring to.  If not, well, not sure you want the nightmares so maybe come back and visit another day.

My poor little bird. I keep thinking about it, and what could have been different: how it could have been worse, how could it have been better. These thoughts are unnecessary…torturous…dangerous. Sigh.  Can’t stop them from coming though.

We all remain shell-shocked.  I take the girls for a walk and wince at the site of other dogs with their owners.  Do these people, too, believe their dog is incapable of being a threat? How tight is their grip, how well staked is their line?  I see my once solid, confident, appropriate Dog try to hide from them in doorways.   I am so upset at the site of unattended dogs that I (the world’s most passive of passive aggressives) complain to property management and demand action.   I am so upset that even taking that step, I don’t think we will go for walks here anymore.

I’m sure she will be ok. Only a few weeks and I will have my girl back where in another reality maybe I wouldn’t.  I am buoyed by this. I am satisfied that the property management takes these things seriously and has already formed a plan. I am beyond thankful that my family was there in that moment and that my parents were champions for The Dog when my hands were otherwise occupied.  Grateful too that this meant my Pup is safe and whole.  But it doesn’t stop the heartbreak or the fear, can’t erase what is done and I don’t know what will.  Time makes things like this burn less brightly; fur grows back… but the marks will be there, just under the surface.  I can’t tell yet what this will mean for all of us.

But for now, looking forward, I will try to focus on being proactive and thankful and I am hoping that will move us through the shock and past those unnecessary thoughts.

***

Feelin' much better without the drain. Soooo.... ball? 

Mega holes. Ear on right. 

Damage.

In case anyone would like a drain close-up.

Blackmail photo. 

Why the Silver Medalist Cries and Other Things I Learned Last Week.

Our epic travels are done; a brave experiment was conducted as to whether or not traveling for two back-to-back Regionals was going to be a GOOD idea or a BAD idea.

Well, as most of our adventures seem to go, it turned out that wasn’t so much about the outcome as it was about the journey and what we learned along the way.   

***

Last year, you may recall, the NC Regional was the site of a Major Crisis of Confidence. It was one of those weekends that made me seriously reconsider well, everything.  My handling, my attitude, The Dog’s attitude, our combined mental fortitude, our knowledge, skills, abilities, etc etc… it was all center stage suddenly and not making the cut.  

It was pretty sad-making.

But as sad as I was, when the time came that I chose to continue or not, I picked continue.  I was not immediately rewarded. The Nationals dealt another blow shortly thereafter.  (I know this comes over as very dramatic- I realize none of this is life or death and in the end that the joy is where I make it. But- and I know I’m not alone- there IS a lot of joy in attainment and if you aren’t emotionally invested to some degree, then I’d ask you- why bother?)

***

After the Nationals, it became clear that we needed Change. There was no way I’d reach the level of Attainment with The Dog that I wanted without it. 

Enter: Daisy Peel, mental management and the best piece of throwaway advice I’ve ever received.

One changed the way I approached the course, one the way I ran the course and the other the way I felt about the course.  The end result was that, at least sometimes, and with growing frequency, we could run to our potential. And when it mattered!

***

Coming full circle then, after a year of what I would call True Investment, we land back at the NC Regional.  I had hoped there would be some amount of redemption- that I would be able to say THERE. Hard work pays off. See how different?  Truthfully, it was different. But the end result on paper? The same.  No byes. Still a sad car ride home, feeling very upset.  And then angry with myself for feeling very upset because I’d set a goal of getting through the weekend with a happy dog who could hold her own against some good competition and we had achieved that goal.  SHE did great. We had no melting or bad runs with Es and actually had some frickin’ fantastic moments with just some plain, old fashioned Bad Luck in the runs that really mattered.  But I could not stop thinking “a whole year later and I’m still sad in the car???” Silent Screaming and all that. 

So, while I initially thought the Russian gymnasts were being dramatic, crying over their silver medals, I sort of get it.  Because you HAVE to invest big if you’re going to even get to the Olympics.  Big investments = big disappointments if you can’t make it the most amazing performance of your life when you need it to be.   I decided that it was okay for the silver medalists to cry.   But then what?

Now again, I was at somewhat of a crossroads. After doing literally everything I thought possible to set myself up for a great weekend, and not (on paper) having the outcome I’d expected, I could likely look to the second Regional as DOOOOOOM…

But luckily, the night I arrived back home, I read “Freedom Flight,” a story of sorts that was a thinly veiled mental management guide.   The story was weak but the message was oh so strong. And appropriate.  At the heart of this book is the reminder that sometimes, it is just not your time…Yet. But if you want it enough, doors open.   Events do fall in line, but not until they are supposed to and until then you get what you need.  The first Regional…not ours.  But not time wasted. I learned exactly what to do to have success the following weekend.  Sure enough, from the moment we arrived, everything fell in line.  Doors falling open. I wasn’t worried about the outcome, because I already knew what it would be. 

Maybe it’s My Time to play the lottery too?

*** 

Pup and her Cat

Cat Wuvs Pup!

Whaaaa? I get to spend THREE DAYS WITH MY CAT??

The Very Serious Sheriff of Rm 108

Black Dog! Big Mouth!

Reunited! 

Solidarity!

More Big Mouth

Wittle Mouth

Posed for pouncing.

Artsy medal pose.

Medal jealousy and photo crashing.