What does the next year bring?

That is always the question, what does the next year bring. After just finishing USDAA regionals I find myself starting to think about the goals for the next year now that my goals for this past year are beginning to come to an end.

Myself - Looking back on the last year I have come a long way. As a handler I handle the dogs more consistently, my body and mouth are more quiet. I have been able to be focused and stay calm and have a great run, but I can't always bring this to bear.

In the next year I want to work more on consistentcy.
1. In each practice I want to approach at least one run as if it is competition. Focused, calm, and handling to win.
2. I want to review foundation skills on a rotating basis with each dog.
3. Enter a trial every three months that I can devote to training in the ring. There is always something that one of the dogs needs to be called on.
4. Run each dog with the appropriate style--biggest difference is the Frame.
5. Get better at snooker.
6. Cue in a more timely fashion

Split - Little Splitty has come a long way in this last year. He drives through the courses, has some very good turning skills, teeter/dog walk are good enough so he doesn't get faulted. He still has a hard time if he has to wait at the start line, he begins to shut down. The Frame is a huge challenge for us still.

In the next year.
1. Get his frame contact consistent and his dog walk contact more appropriately 2o2o.
2. See if I can figure out how to avoid those really wild runs. He doesn't have as many as Tip, but when he does its UGLY.
3. Further refine his skills of checking in with me (might relate to #2)
4. Find a warm up routine that brings him into focus

Tip - WOW! Tip has come a long way in a year. At regionals last year I was ready to retire her I was so tired of fighting her wild nature. I could never predict which dog was at the trial with me. Now I rarely see a wild run out of her. She is focused, with me, and behaves! What made the difference? Age I think had a lot to do with it, having a much stricker standard for her when we practiced, and getting another dog so she was not the queen anymore.

In the next year.
1. Proof the start line again (it is not that bad, but it SOOOOO impacts a run when she breaks it)
2. Work with her on snooker skills. I think these skills will help her runs in general. Pulling through obsticles, collection/extension type excerises, long leadouts, etc...
3. Continue progress on knocked bars.
4. Regular foundation rotation. She tends to get rusty on things (like 12 weaves poles right now)

USDAA Nationals, here we come!

One of my goals this year was to qualify for USDAA Nationals with Tip. It has been an interesting journey to get here. Many lessons learned which is always a good thing right?

To get to Nationals you have to qualify with 2 Q's in the events you want to compete. The events are Team, Grand Prix, and Steeplechase. Tip earned her Team Q in January. In my view this feels like the hardest to get since you and your team mate have 5 runs a piece and you have to run all of them well. I didn't run the other tournments figuring I had the rest of the year to qualify for those. Lesson #1 learned--don't put things off if you can avoid it.

Tip was injured in March which took her out for about 12 weeks. During those 12 weeks there were several USDAA's that she could not compete in. It feels like there are not that many USDAA trials in our area and we missed many of them. I honestly wasn't sure if Tip would be able to run ever again, let alone make it to Nationals.

After Tip began to run again and it seemed clear that she would be able to do at least a couple runs a day (more on that later), I re-evaluated our goal and decided to stay on track for Nationals. That meant qualifying in the other two events in two trials! Very agreesive, but what did I have to loose?

Tip got one of her Steeple Chase Q's in July. First place with the most spectacular run we have ever done. It felt like one of those dreams where you just knew you weren't going to loose. I knew it was a winning time and run! She ran a marvelous Grand Prix run as well, but the judge called her on a contact (she GOT it many witnesses say). One more trial to get two Q's...

This past weekend, Tip got her second Q in Steeple Chase finishing her qualification for that event. The run was good, but she had to redo two weave polls which cost us in time. She got 4th, but still Q'ed. I can't even say her Grand Prix sucked because she didn't even take enough obsticles to call it a run. I don't dwell on the bad, so I am not going into much detail. Bad start...wrong course, just leave it at that! What I would do differently...get her focus or don't go on course, if she won't hold her start, don't start!

So, going into Regionals we are qualified so all we have to do is vi for position. If she Q's at Regionals she earns a 'buy' into Nationals' semi-finals. This would be a huge leg up.

In terms of Tip injury...she ran the whole weekend looking great. 4 runs per day.

Stay tuned....

Couldn't resist this photo of Split (yes, he is fast)

Splitty and the A-Frame

Well, I made the decision to move Split back to a 2o2o A-Frame. Not really happy about it, but I just could not figure out how to communicate the running contact with him (familiar problem from Tip's dogwalk).

Split is such an honest boy. Once he figured out the new rules, he is trying his best to comply and stop at the end. He and I just need to put some practice and many configurations on top of the knowledge and he will be as good as gold.

Last night I introduced front crossed at the end of the A-Frame. Threw him off a couple of times, but then was right with me and waited.

Interesting side note...in watching the contact 360 video, Amanda had a side note about the release word. Split will NOT release on his release word at the end of the A-Frame. He needs the movement with the word (he doesn't release on just movement thankfully).

Amanda Shyne, some notes

Training the dog walk, reinforcing the Independence in the contact
Charge ahead
Stay behind
Move away laterally
Release the dog either in motion or totally still. Reward, backup, run ahead and then release
Can be anywhere and send the dog to the target at the end of the contact
do it with speed
two jumps at the bottom of the A-frame. Dog jumps and gets into position

Approaches
put two dowels (or jump uprights and fade to dowels) at the start of the contact, about a foot away. Have the dog approach and line up straight. Reward before the dog gets on the contact. You are rewarding that the dog lines up straight. Train from all angels and speeds. Can do on a flat board.


A release word is a command. They dog must move upon the release word. Interesting, Split does not do this unless I am moving. So release is two things at the contact the word and motion

If you are throwing a toy to keep the dog moving forward, you have to keep moving yourself (a LM principal)

Teeter
Games...
Be at the end with a tug (standing to the side) , have the dog charge onto the teeter, and tug with them

Back from vacation...

We are back from vacation! In that week I decided not to think about two agility problems that I have been dealing with, one for each dog. Sometimes when I let problems sit for a while the solution comes easier.

I have been wanting to watch the Amanda Shyne video on contacts (http://www.agilityvision.com/dvd-contacts-360-amanda-shyne) to see if I could ferret out some ideas for Split's A-Frame. He is a long strided dog and will either jump over the contact or touch it with his back feet. The back feet are perfectly legal, but judges don't always catch that he touched the yellow. I haven't gotten any new ideas for Split, which is leading me to believe that a 2o2o might be the only answer right now. I am not a fan of 2o2o on the A-Frame because I think it is hard on their shoulders if they are speedy (yes, I am aware of the methods that people teach so that the shoulders don't get pounded). I have complete faith that if Split understood what I was asking he would do it. He is very biddable.

Incidentally, Amanda touched on dropped bars and gave me some ideas for Tip's issue of dropping bars. Amanda does jump circles with her dog Dilly. She runs them from the very center where she does not have to move that much. Then she runs them very close to the jumps, this creates more motion on her part which is what the dogs have trouble handling. This is true for Tip as well. In thinking through this it makes sense. Once the dog runs clean, you move a jump. It helps them gain experience in different jump lengths which can also create dropped bars.

I will begin to incorporate this into my training plan.

It is always the simpliest thing...

I am a programmer and have come up with a saying that seems to be true more times than not. "It is always the hardest problems to find that end up being the one line fixes". Translated, the problems that are the hardest to diagnose, can be the quickest to fix.

I have been working on serpentines for way too long with both of my dogs. I am trying to teach them the Linda M. way of doing serps. Well, it was pointed out to me this week (thank you Lori) that I was saying 'come'. What does 'come' mean to my dogs? Come to me without taking any obsticles--not the serpentine performance I wanted.

Today I tried using the work 'jump' with Split. Hum...he took the jumps. Good Boy!

Bud Houston's Laws of a Dog in Motion

Here are some good thoughts

1. The dog turns when the handler turns
2. The dog tends to work in a path parallel to the handler's path
3. The dog gets his speed cue from the handler's speed
4. The dog gets his direction cue from the handler's shoulders, toes, hips, & movement
5. A dog ahead of the handler tends to curl back to the handler's position