It's New Year's Eve: 2013 Goals

Wow, I don't get to blog very much any more. I think about lots of things I'd like to blog about ... it's time I don't have. Maybe I'll be better about it in 2013.

So those pesky goals for 2013. I've been thinking about them for several weeks. I like how Kathy Keats posed her questions in the conclusion of the Agility Mind Gym series in Clean Run's December 2012 issue, so I'll use those questions to frame my goals this year.


What have you learned about yourself in the last 12 months?


What a deep question, especially this year. I have learned to endure. I have learned to endure through pain and loss and disappointment and frustration. I'm not patient, so this is hard for me. I don't always do it well ... who am I kidding, I never do it well. But I find at the end of 2012, I might be at peace. Let's see if I can stay that way.

What have you changed about yourself in the last 12 months?

I'm getting serious about keeping my body in shape. Severe sciatic pain in mid-October when I couldn't walk for nearly a day and a half was my wake up call. I still have pain most days, but I'm getting better and I can finally move. I need to be stronger, and I'm working toward that goal.

What do you want to improve about yourself in the next 12 months?
I want to improve my physical condition, for my dogs and for myself. I demand a lot of my body, but only during part of my day. I need to have the fitness to continue what I love doing. It's hard to train dogs when you're in pain.


In my handling, I need to be more intentional while running courses. Neither of my dogs is ready for me to make assumptions (are they ever?). Devon feels the disconnect and stresses and heads for the ring gates. Page goes by jumps.

In my training, I need to be more diligent. Work on something every day. Fine tune when the weather is bad and I'm stuck inside. Take advantage when I have opportunities for more training.

Part 2 -- Ok! Enough about me! Onto the pups!

Devon
What have you learned about Devon in the last 12 months?

Devon can shake off bad training decisions on my part and the ghosts of issues past. She has shown me, especially in the last several trials, that she can literally shake it off and continue to run confidently. What could have been a setback isn't anymore.

I have also learned that I need to give Devon lots of time to work out training and become confident. While Devon is bright and learns quickly, it takes her time to be comfortable with training and learned exercises. I wish I had learned this earlier, because she's been telling me this for years. All the obedience training we have done for years came together this spring for her CD. I tried to rush her into the ring and she was stressed and unsure of herself. When she was ready, we got three straight legs with one placement and compliments on her heeling.

The same is true in agility. We came into 2012 with one MX leg, four MXJ legs and 38 MACH points. In spite of some struggles from March through May, Devon ends 2012 with 14 MXJ legs, eight MX legs, 180 MACH points and three double Qs. And more importantly than the stats, for the last three months I've had people stop me at trials and tell me Devon has never run better, faster or more confidently. People can't tell Devon and Page apart on course anymore. 

How has Devon changed in the last 12 months?


Devon is a much more confident agility dog this year. Decisions I've made to run with her from the start, jackpot problem obstacles and reward speed have paid off. She's within 2-3 seconds of Page on many runs. This confidence in known environments has paid off in new places. This year she has several Qs in other locations besides those where we train. This weekend she Q'd in a place she could hardly run in when she started there 27 months ago. She was fast and confident in her weaves. And even when stressed, she shook it off and moved on.

What do you want to improve in your dog in the next 12 months?
I want to continue to build on this confidences and translate it into fast confident runs that are clean with weaves on the first attempt. To do this, I need to be focused and purposeful while still continuing to jackpot her and reward her speed. Devon has shown me she can handle me maintaining criteria and only rewarding criteria, not just every try.

In obedience, I want to finish teaching her utility exercises and perfect them. Devon is solid on a couple of exercises, and spotty on most exercises. It's time to push her through to completion. Even though we are having a ball in agility, we need to begin to focus on the next phase of her career, which is obedience. With training and effort and using the same rewarding and jackpotting techniques I've used in agility, I see great things in obedience training. Now we need to complete that picture and polish it up!

Page
What have you learned about your dog in the last 12 months?
Page is working very hard to read my handling cues in agility. I can see her effort in class and in trials. And she's doing all this without losing speed. She's slowing down to read my cues, and as we become a better team, I'm sure she'll get faster at reading my handling -- and I'll get faster at providing it!

How has your dog changed in the last 12 months?
Page is maturing and not being as willful as she has previously. Oh sure, I still get a long discussion at the table, especially last weekend when I asked her to by pass a tunnel, which she did, only to present her with a table, which she didn't appreciate. But her startlines are become very solid, and we're doing a better job of teamwork.

What do you want to improve in your dog in the next 12 months?
Now that we've come to an understanding about staying for startlines, collecting into weave poles and most of the time stopping for the table (although she does tell me what she thinks), we must get these contacts in hand. I was encouraged two weeks ago when she acknowledged the A frame contact and decelerated and hit it and she even gave me 2o2o for the dogwalk!! But this weekend away from home they fell apart.

So that's our goals for 2013. We'll see how we do with them in about 12 months!

2011 Flashback: Devon's AX

I can’t let 2011 get too far in the past without a blog about Devon’s agility career. Agility has been tough for her, and a lot of it has had to do with training (i.e., it’s my fault). I took for granted the access to foundation training I had in Ohio, and I didn’t have it here. What I learned through Devon helped me create the agility foundation program I used with Page and now teach.

But Devon did come with a fear of movement and she’s very environmentally aware, so lack of confidence in her foundation along with those issues have caused training and confidence problems. And in Oct 2009, after earning her OA, Devon got spooked on the teeter in training and wouldn’t get back on it. It took her nearly 6 months to even start back with a board and a 1-inch dowel.

Then in June 2010, I pushed a weave performance one weekend during a 3-day trial when she was sore in her left shoulder (something she’s battled on and off for most of her career). That caused a weave confidence problem!

So 2011 was the year if we would figure out of Devon was really going to have an agility career. Other than tracking to finish her VST and some obedience training here and there, we focused on agility all year. And it paid off!

In 2011, Devon earned all three legs of her AX for her title, as well as her first MX leg. All three of her AX legs were earned at “home” training buildings. I had a slight worry that she’d never weave successfully away from home on the first try, when she earned her first MX leg in Zanesville, Ohio, proving me wrong! In addition to her first master’s standard leg, Devon earned three MXJ legs this year and a total of 30 MACH points.

While 30 MACH points in one year is certainly low, it represents a year of hard work for us. Most of her Qs and points came in the second half of the year. By December, Devon looked confident and happy in agility. Even though we didn’t Q all weekend in her last trial of 2011, I’m so proud of her attitude and performance. We’re getting there, and I can’t wait for next weekend when we get to step to the line again.

The one thing I have learned with Devon is it truly is a pleasure to step to the line with her in any venue. She is a happy willing worker, but she really does it so we can have fun together. When I remember that, magic happens!

2011 Flashback: CT Devon!

I cannot believe it's taken me this long to post about Devon's VST/CT pass. Devon is my first certified tracking dog, first TD, first TDX and second VST/CT dog. Devon and I have learned tracking together, and she has been a wonderful teacher. Without Devon, Page would never have earned her CT ... even though it was a year earlier than Devon's pass. I've told Devon since we got Page that her journey is going to take a different path than Page's - and that's OK by me!

Devon made the third draw in the Oct. 2, 2011, Glenbard Obedience Training Club's VST test in DeKalb, Ill., on the campus of Northern Illinois University. This was the second time I'd made the trip to this campus and this test. It was the site of Page's pass on Oct. 3, 2010, and of Devon's first VST test.

I was more than ready for Devon's VST journey to be over in October 2011. The first fall had been fantastic. Page earned her VST at her first test, and out of three tests in the fall of 2010, Devon nearly passed two coming within approx. 100 yards of the final article. I knew my dog could pass this test! I was content that most VST/CT journeys take several tries and a lot of time due to the difficulty of getting into tests and then passing them. I knew it was your track on your day, so I was fine to hold her over the winter.

But the winter of 2010-2011 was very cold and snowy without much tracking. Then we started entering spring tests and NOT making the draw. UGH! Here I had a dog ready and no tests! We finally made the sixth test we entered, the last test of the season in late May. It was a sunny day and the first 85 degree day and my dog was toast. At that point, I knew I'd have to hold Devon over the summer, and with work ramping up I knew it would be tough to track.

The summer of 2011 was HOT. I realized that Devon couldn't track VST above 75 degrees. As fall approached and the October VST test deadlines were looming, we'd only tracked about 7-8 times. Devon looked good ... but then I again was I dreaming she looked good? We'd hardly tracked, so was she really ready for the grueling VST test? I entered, trusting my dog, and we made the draw for the first test of our fall season.

It was good we'd been to DeKalb. I knew the area and was comfortable. It was also good I knew the route, because Sunday morning came with pockets of very heavy fog. There were times on my drive to the campus that I couldn't see past the hood of the van.

I got to campus very early and waited. I chatted with two wonderful people with Goldens, one new to tracking and working the test. Finally the draw came, and we got track #2! Yeah!!! I LOVE early tracks. I had hoped for an early track, because if it ran like the year before, the early tracks were on the west side of campus in the less populated areas. The down side of those tracks was geese, as I'd learned the year before. The downsides of the later tracks were people and squirrels!

In a last minute judging change, Darlene Bernard was joining her husband John as the judge because the original judge was ill. This was the same judging panel as I'd had the previous year. I stayed at the draw site, as they wanted each of the participants to stay there during the track before them.

I heard quickly that the exhibitor at track #1 failed, so it was our turn! I drove to the track, but there was no parking near the start, so I handed over my keys to a wonderful person in the gallery, got Devon, and we walked with Darlene to the start.

Here is where the test got REALLY interesting. Devon's start was almost exactly where Page's final article had been the previous year. I knew this was going to be tough for me not to want the track to be like Page's track. I was going to have to watch and trust my dog.


Darlene told me as we were walking to the track that they moved the start up because there was a bunny nest near it (i.e., don't let my dog go backwards!!). Then Devon saw a squirrel playing near her start as we walked up. I was NOT going to let her go squirrel hunting this year (an evil squirrel on this campus last year is why she didn't pass).

Devon started well, and indicated her first turn nicely. However, when she got halfway down the leg, she start circling. Unfortunately, she had to poop, which makes her very distracted while tracking. The first orange box on the map is the search area she made after she pooped. This was again very hard on me, because this was the exact search area Page had on this test the previous year. The track could have gone on either side of this street, and as much as I thought it was on the other side, I doubted myself as to whether I wanted it there because it was last year.

Devon finally dragged me across the street (the blue line) and came up with a plastic article. Later, Darlene said that was one of the nicest pieces of tracking she'd ever seen from a VST dog, and the fact that I followed her unquestioningly was a nice piece of handling. This was also the same location where Page dragged me back across the street last year to track to her pass. Things were very eerie for me!

Devon came up with the plastic article, but she did it coming perpendicular to the track. I suspected this, but when she started working forward, I let her explore. Again, I wasn't sure if I was reading her correctly or wanting it to be like 2010. Finally when she worked back toward where we found the article, I opened my shoulders toward either possibility, sat her, watered her and rescented her. When she worked along the purple line, I stepped out in confidence behind her. This was a difficult mental thing to do, because I had so many doubts.

We came upon a pavement pad between trees and a dumpster and imagine my horror to see the ground covered in broken glass (marked on the map in the red box). Lots of it! I took a subtle peek behind me and Darlene was still directly behind me as was the gallery (always a good sign), so I pushed Devon through the glass. When she wanted to circle, I guided her on through, not caring if I got a reprimand from the judges. I was not going to injure my dog! (I checked and washed her paws thoroughly after the test.)

Out onto the parking lot, and in VST, that means you are looking for an MOT, or Moment of Truth turn. For those non-trackers that's a 90 degree turn on a non veg surface where the dog cannot accomplish the turn by fringing on veg; typically it means no veg within at least 30 yards of the turn in any direction.

When Devon indicated a right turn, then double checked herself and indicated it again, I went. You can see by the blue line on the map, she turned a little early. As we tracked forward, I was searching the area for another article, knowing most judges will try and reward the dog with an article after the MOT if they can, and we had not yet had an article on non-veg (at least one article needs to be on non-veg). I saw the article about a split second before Devon winded it and headed that way.

At the article, I knew two things. First, I knew the track diverged from the 2010 track here, because Devon's article was at the spot of Page's MOT in 2010. Second, I knew the track went forward along the building and into the grass because we had no place else to go. We only had to find that last article, and we still needed one more turn, but we were close. In fact, Devon and I had been this close on two other occasions the fall of 2010, but I was determined we'd finish this time! We had only a little more parking lot and good lush grass in front of us!

After a water break and a rescent at the article, Devon tracked strongly across the parking lot to the grass. I could see the tracklayer's steps in the wet grass into the pine trees. Out of the pine trees, Devon started circling. The orange box shows you the search area, and the photo here is of us during the search. Devon looks confident, doesn't she? The final article is to my left up the hill, beyond it's crest and to the right of the two pines and shadows of the trees.

I think this is the only place I really almost panicked. We were so close, and we'd failed at this point two other times! My mental game slipped, and I was ready to put my nose down and find that last article myself!

What you can't tell from the map but can see in the photo is that we had to go up hill for the final article. After seeing the end of the track and the terrain, I do know why Devon struggled here. Remember I said it was very, very foggy that morning? Fog is damp and damp holds scent. I now know she was working the scent cone from the final article. It had traveled downhill with the fog and settled in that valley area, especially the taller cover she wanted to go into. The tracklayer's scent was trapped in the trees, but once she cleared them, Devon was exposed to this large fairly dense scent cone she needed to explore. Her early article search about gave me heart failure!

Finally we worked back to that pine tree area, where I knew the track was. I sat Devon and watered her and rescented her and she settled right back into her job, moving forward and uphill. As we crested the small rise, I saw a bright teal sock on the grass and as Devon crested the hill right after me, she saw it too. Devon made a beeline for it, and as soon as it was in her mouth I raised my hand in success!

Can you see me with my arm in the air on the hill in the upper middle of this photo? And Darlene with her hands in the air by the pine trees in the lower left. Darlene was all smiles when she saw Devon come back down the hill, sock in hand. She cheered in delight, as did John behind her and the gallery sent up a cheer, too. I think that's my tracklayer in the gallery with her arm in the air.

I was in tears as soon as Devon had that sock. I ran down the hill and threw my arms around Darlene and thanked her for passing both of my girls to their Champion Tracker. The first words out of her mouth were, "I know! And did that track look familiar???" What a hoot! I bet Darlene was floored when I drew track #2.

After a quick hug for John, Devon ran to the gallery to present her sock to each and every one of them. They all gave her the adoration she deserved! I was fortunate to have one other VST judge in the gallery, Beth Walker, who later passed with her Belgian Terv earning another CT. Jeanne Ramirez was also in the gallery, wife of judge Vince Ramirez and another multiple CT Terv trainer/handler. Both complemented us on our pass and me on my handling.

In addition, my tracklayer had Goldens and just started tracking. This was her first VST track she laid. She said several folks in the gallery remarked on my good handling. That's important to me because I've never wanted to fail my dogs by my handling. Several in the gallery also remembered Page's pass last year, and they were very impressed with both my dogs. At the end of the day, Darlene asked me when I was going to bring another Gaylan's Golden Retriever for them to pass to be another CT. I told them it would be a while! I had no more tracking dogs left in my house to finish!

Now for the details: Devon's track was 655 yards long, with 379 yards of veg and 276 yards of non-veg. It was aged 3 hours and 5 minutes. It had four turns (yes, really!), and leg lengths were 115 yards, 66 yards, 169 yards, 260 yards and 45 yards. Devon passed in approximately 25 minutes, which is very quick for a VST pass (Page took about 45 minutes). There were a total of 3 passes at our test, which is a very high pass rate out of 8 tracks.

As has been the case from the time Page entered our lives, Devon's pass is intertwined with Page's pass. Their journeys, while different, are so interrelated. The October Glenbard Obedience Training Club's test at DeKalb is the test where Page passed her VST/CT. For those of you who do tracking, you know that it is a random draw to even get in a test. Then, once you reach the site, you have a second random draw for tracks the day of the test.

There are 8 tracks at this test. Devon got the third draw and drew track #2. In 2010, Page had drawn track #3. Imagine my surprise when they took me to Devon's track, and the start flag was almost exactly where Page's final article was! The map here is an overlay of Page's track from 2010 (pink) with Devon's track from 2011 (purple). What where the odds that I drew that track when 75% of it was Page's track from the previous year backwards! It was incredibly difficult for me to handle Devon wondering if I was seeing what I wanted to see or she was really tracking what she was supposed to!

So that's Devon's story of her VST pass. While Page's was a great accomplishment, her journey was much shorter and straight forward. Devon is my first certified dog, and we worked for four years for this title. When Devon certified to track at 7 months, the first words out of the judge's mouth were not congratulations. They were, "Did you know what she did back there before the last turn?" My response was to ask if we'd passed; I'd never certified I dog before. Judge Steve Ripley said, "Yes you did, but did you see what she did?" I said no.

He then told me Devon indicated a 48-hour old cross track he'd laid in the field 2 days before. He asked me how far I wanted to go with this dog, and without really understanding what I was saying I said, "I want a Champion Tracker." Five years later, that dream came true! I have to thank Steve for teaching me what he knows about VST tracking. Steve and his wife Janet who laid hundreds of footsteps for Devon to track were an important part of success.

Devon and I learned tracking together, she taught me what I know about how dogs track scent, and she is my heart dog. Frankly, I'm glad our journey was longer; there was more to savor. What a great joy it was for us to accomplish this goal together! She is a truly wonderful dog.

Devon's adventures in the rally ring

This winter I decided to pursue Devon's Rally Advanced title. I was chairman of a local obedience and rally trial, and I didn't want to be 'bored.' Devon is a very environmentally-aware dog. She tested this way in her puppy test, and Gayle warned me I'd love it for field work and tracking, but it would be difficult for obedience.

As wonderful as Devon is in training, she is very distracted in new environments. She sees the smallest things I never notice, and that nose has gotten her in trouble! At a show and go this fall, she was obsessed with the high jump during and open run thru. She was so obsessed, I could not get her to heel at all even on leash. I decided to try a retrieve and go back to heeling later. As soon as the leash was off, she took off across the ring to the far standard of the high jump - there was a black wheel on the metal jump! I had not even SEEN the wheel, but she did from outside the ring. She had to go see it.

And as I mentioned, that nose gets the best of her, too. Here is her first attempt at Rally Advanced. The off-set figure 8 was 30 feet across the ring, and she had not been in that area at all, but she spied it off the startline and took off to have lunch!


Needless to say when your first run ends in being excused from the ring you have no where else to go but up! And this run became legendary during the weekend, with the judge even telling the utility B competitors about it the next day!

Devon's second trip in the ring earned her first leg with a 92 and a second place. She was better, but I think she was still trying to see if she would get lunch in the ring. She was also very distracted by the chalk in the ring mats. I'm not planning to "fix" this until she earns her VST, because sniffing chalk is something we've encouraged in that sport. But after the disaster of the day before, I was pleased she was with me and tried.



Devon's third trip into the ring came at a local Sibe specialty. It was a very small trial (19 total entries in all 6 classes). I had taken the girls to a show and go in Dayton the night before and got home at midnight, but it was worth it to continue taking Devon to new places.

I tried a new strategy at this trial to take her up to the ring and show her where she would be working. This was a great idea, because when she walked into the ring, she was more focused than I'd seen her in the past. She had a really nice run, with some sniffs and wide turns in the beginning. But she finished strong, showing what a nice working dog she is. Devon earned a 94 and first place for this run.


On May 8, we went to Ft. Wayne for Devon's forth time in the Rally ring. it had been 6 weeks since she'd been in the ring, and we'd done less training in those 6 weeks. I was concerned about how she'd do. I shouldn't have been.

I used the same philosophy of showing her the ring before we went in, and I worked her in that area. This was clearly her best run yet, with only a couple of sniffs. Darn that sniff before the jump causing her 3 points, because she ended up with a nice score of 96 and 3rd place to finish her RA!


I'm really proud of Devon earning her RA. She progressed well with each time in the ring. I feel like we learned a lot about each other, and it gives me good insight into what she'll be like preparing for obedience (which is a long way off).

Photos from an agility trial: Devon

Thanks to Virgil Sweeden of Paw Prints Life who took these awesome photos of Devon in action at the Pawsitive Partners USDAA trial on Sunday. It tops off a great day of Qs and placements!

ACI trial Feb. 19-20, 2011

I'll try and get posts up of previous trials during the next few weeks, but I have a minute to blog so I wanted to get this up. This is our third trial this year and we hadn't trialed since October 2010 due to Devon's heat cycle. I'm pleased with how things are going! Devon is training very well, and her teeter and weaves are solid. She's still having some stress in the weaves at trials, but we have been showing progress.

Saturday Excellent B JWW
Saturday was Devon's 5th birthday, and I can't say our first run, Excellent JWW, was a gift to her from me. I planned the opening so she would see the poles really well, but then I praised her in the poles and scared her to death! My voice was too strong and high and she popped right out. She went back in fine and weaved strong until a hand movement pulled her out and then we fumbled a rear cross on the flat. Poor Devon! She was so confused and stressed, she just stopped and shook herself off. You can see by the video I apologized. What a kerfuffle!

What I really like about this run is how she recovered. She took a couple of wide turns to say hello to the ring crew, but she is happy and fast. We were well under time even with the chaos at the weaves. Devon was still stressed, but she performed well.


Saturday Excellent A Standard
I wondered what Devon would do with the teeter as the second obstacle. She does prefer it early in the course, but it was against the wall and pointed into the wall. Although she looks strong on the video I felt she didn't charge it as she usually does. I was pleased that she was confident, because I think the teeter placement was difficult. It made me wonder what the Open and Novice dogs did with it later in the day.

No surprised after the earlier run that weaves were an issue. I did want her to give them an effort, and she did that for me. The rest of this run was fantastic, including her table performance. Devon slipped on her take off to the table, although you can't see it on the tape, for a split second I feared she might miss the table and crack her chin on it. Thankfully she recovered and you can't tell there was a problem.

Devon handled the A-frame to tunnel ending like a dream even though I had wanted to do a front cross before the A frame. What a good girl!


One thing different for Devon is that she didn't want to tug at this trial. That was unusual for her, since at past trials even in January I was able to get her tugging all the way to the gate. On Sunday I played with getting her more amped at the start. I think this really helped, and I could tell by her body posture she was more up. She also did less scratching before her runs.

Sunday Excellent B JWW
This was a really, really nice run. I was super pleased with Devon's weaves. She did pop the second pole but got right back in and weaved them strong when I asked. I actually got several compliments on Devon's weaves from folks who didn't realize she skipped two poles!

I was reminded watching the video that Devon is super sensitive to motion into her when I pushed her off the jump after the triple. I was distracted by the leash runner's position as Devon came around the loop at the front of the ring and held my position to make sure she wasn't also distracted. Devon did a great job, but I forgot the conversation I had with Kathy about running that line as a push after the jump to the tunnel if the dog was too far behind. I wish I had done the push to see how she would have handled it; considering it worked really well for Kathy and Emma I bet it would have for Devon.


Sunday Excellent A Standard
I think this was the best run of the weekend -- of course, if you ignore the weave poles as Devon did! I can't blame her, and I let it go because the run was so beautiful. Those weaves will come. What I was thrilled about was how well we both handled this course. She was very up for the run (again I did different things in our warm up and pre-startline), and I was super pleased with her speed. While this looks like a straight forward course, there were a lot of NQs on it.



Usually the end of February is our last agility trial of the "season" since we usually only do agility from October to February due to field training all summer. However, this year I'm going to focus on Devon's agility career and continue trialing. Now that Devon is pretty much done with her training issues and has a lot of confidence, we are a lot closer to Q'ing. I want to keep the momentum we have going and continue trialing to see if we can't work on those Excellent and Masters titles.

What is really thrilling me is the speed she's working on. Even with our mistakes, she's consistently 5-8 seconds under time in JWW and she was 15 seconds under time in Standard on Sunday. She is faster than Ian was by just a few seconds now, and I know she has more in her. As we relax and become a team, I can't wait to see where we go! Devon is just such a fun dog to run!

Devon's Teeter: The rest of the story!

I cannot let the post on Sunday's run with Devon failing the teeter be the end of the story -- because there is more.

As I mentioned, I train and teach at this facility. So on Monday, I was able to get Devon on the floor again. I planned a nice flowing sequence of chute, triple, teeter for Devon. I warmed Devon up and got out the turkey brownies. She knew I had them because I let her sniff the bag. I asked her if she knew what she had to do to earn the turkey brownies, and she did.

The criteria for the teeter is no longer just doing the teeter in isolation. Devon must do the teeter in sequence on the first try. She's proven she can do it confidently, and she's been rewarded for it. So I asked Devon for chute, triple, teeter ... no teeter. She played around on the downside but wouldn't go over it. I called Devon to me and gave her one more try: chute, triple, teeter ... again no teeter.

This really didn't surprise me because she hadn't done it on Sunday. So, we very neutrally walked off the course without any turkey brownies. I put Devon back in her crate where she had a view of the floor ... and I got Page out!

Jealousy is the highest motivator for Devon. Me working with Page is what got Devon over the full height teeter again back in May. So no teeter, and mommy plays with Page instead! Page and I did several sequences and she could hear the teeter banging and me cheering and giving Page treats (she wasn't getting turkey brownies, but Devon didn't know that).

After four sequences all including the teeter, I put Page up and got Devon back out. Devon was foaming at the mouth and blowing spit bubbles coming out of her crate wanting those turkey brownies! She about tripped over herself getting onto the floor. This time when I asked for chute, triple, teeter, Devon sailed over the teeter without a second's hesitation. And she got her turkey brownies! When Devon doesn't catch the turkey brownie pieces in midair, she catches them on the first rebound off the floor!

Devon didn't miss a single teeter in any of the following sequences. I'm really hoping this communicated to her exactly why she gets walked off the course and exactly how she can stay on the course and earn her turkey brownies. I'm planning on doing the same thing tonight in class at the kennel club. And for the next few months, these will be the only two places we will trial so I can hopefully get a solid teeter performance by spring!

Devon really is some dog! She's got a lot of heart, and she's very smart and very funny. I'm incredibly lucky she wants to work with me so badly (and the turkey brownies obviously don't hurt!).

Indiana Collie Club Trial day 2

The second day of the Indiana Collie Club trial continued my highs and lows. Trust me, I slept very well on Sunday night, because I was exhausted!

Devon's runs
The Excellent JWW course ate up a lot of dogs. It was deceptive in its difficulty. You can see the opening had another situation where two jumps were butted up against a pole restricting the handler. I saw two of my friends (one being Agile Gold) walk between the pole and the jump to get a lead out on that side. I wanted to cheer!

I would have preferred to lead out almost to jump 2 on that side and push, because I don't want to bleed off too much speed from Devon with a full 2 jump lead out. But I decided to do another forward moving front cross on the landing side of #2 instead.

Devon ran the opening beautifully up to the weave poles. I'm fully aware of my weave issue; Devon is doing them perfectly on the second try. This has become a habit, and I'm going to have to address it at some point. However, one issue at a time...

Devon also ran the closing beautifully. A lot of dogs didn't handle the turn to the jump with the tunnel entrance visible well (lots of tunnel sucking dogs). And a lot of dogs took the last jump as an off course instead of turning toward the jump and tunnel. My front cross was very, very late after that yellow jump before the tunnel, and I think the late cross (Devon commits so early) and knowing her jackpots were out there contributed to visiting the measuring tape near the ring gate.



Now for the Standard run. I have to say on Saturday, I was nervous for that Standard run. On Sunday I was not. I even made Devon turkey brownies on Saturday night! So before her run, I showed her the turkey brownies and her jackpot container with her triple and blueberries and we talked about how she again needed to do the teeter for her jackpot.

Going to the line, I sensed Devon was more stressed than the day before. You can see she scratches on the startline. The weaves as obstacle 2 didn't help. But I thought Devon's turn into the tunnel from the dogwalk was outstanding.

And then there was the teeter. I gave her a lovely entrance, but she refused the teeter. On the second try she went all four feet on, then bailed. I had already decided my strategy and boy was it tough to maintain. I left the course.

In leaving the course, I staying neutral; I didn't want Devon to perceive a "punishment." Devon expected her jackpots, and I know she was confused when she didn't get them. And no one spoke to her on her way back to the crate. I'm sure she wondered where her supporters were. I kept my voice up in my light chatter to Devon, and I made sure my body was relaxed on the way back to the crate. Devon looked for treats on top of the crate, but I just put her into her crate and walked away for about 10 minutes.

I really hated doing all this, but Devon made a choice out there and I could not allow her to make that choice. Devon proved she was no longer fearful of that teeter. She did it in competition the day before. Nothing had changed, except Devon's choice. And she doesn't get to play or get jackpots if she chooses not to take the teeter. The line was drawn in the sand.



I didn't like that walking off the course was the end of Devon's day. Later I brought her out and let her walk with me around the building. We "talked" and she had some petting before going back in her crate.

Page's runs
Page's runs were much better! In Open JWW, she popped out of the weaves near pole 10 or 11, but I kept going. I'm not sure if my arm swinging caused her to pop or not. It's very odd she would pop out, so I'm just letting that go as green dog.

I'll also have to work the dogwalk to tunnel turn more. I over did this turn with Devon as a young dog, and it took us a long time to get her to come straight off a dogwalk with a tunnel under it. I think I've done the opposite with Page.

And of course I was very late with my front cross before the teeter. But generally I was super proud of this run. We looked really good!



The JWW run showed I really need to get this tugging on the leash thing under control. Although we don't have video of Page's start, she was much worse on Sunday. It distracted her from getting a good sit at the start line in JWW. The poor sit (and she's a baby dog) caused her to go around the first jump, but again I let that go. I didn't want to put stress on her on Sunday. It's just something for me to work on.

I did fix the weave entrance, and Page didn't show too much stress over it. Her weaves were fast and focused. The jumping section after the weaves to the 180 I knew would cause us some trouble. I was very worried about showing her forward cues when she moved in front of me like I knew she would. I also thought I'd need to decelerate quite a bit to cue the turn after the first jump of the 180. I was afraid with all that speed she'd end up in the laps of the ring crew!

Instead, Page read my deceleration really well -- so much I pulled her off the jump! That really told me something about her! And she read my body position very well bypassing the first entrance of the tunnel even though she gave it a head flick and knew it was there. What a good girl!

I really worked the lateral send out of the tunnel, because Page sends forward better than laterally. I was very happy with the way she read that, too. Regardless of a Q, this was a really nice run. Page reacted to my handling very nicely, and her reactions told me how to handle her better in the future.

Indiana Collie Club Trial Day 1

This trial will go down as one that hit every emotion you can experience during trials -- from the extreme highs of success to lows from poor choices.

Devon's runs
Let's start with the highs. Saturday was Devon's day ... well maybe not at first! In our JWW run, we were just a little off from the start. I keep forgetting Devon commits really early, and she did commit to the wrong end of the #4 tunnel early and I didn't realize it. If I could have run the course over again, I would have done a front cross after jump #3.

As a general commentary on this trial, I loved the courses and the judge. However she did do one thing that drives me a little nuts. Both days in JWW she had two jumps butted up against a post. This severely restricted my handling choices, and I hate not having a full range of options for my dog. In the opening of this JWW course, you see that the #3 jump is up against a post and so is another jump so the handler was restricted from going on one side of the #3 jump. If I had my way, I would have preferred to handle the opening with a forward moving front cross on the landing side of #2 and running right at the #4 tunnel past jump #3 on the opposite side.

After we got about halfway through the course, Devon and I managed to get it together to end on a high note.



The best part of my day was Devon's Standard run. On Tuesday in class, we celebrated several big weekend successes, including Page's CT. Someone made "turkey brownies" for the dogs. Devon thought these were the most wonderful manna from heaven ever! She started getting really silly in class and taking off going over the teeter just to get more turkey brownies. It was too funny, so of course she got rewarded big time.

Today's Standard course was a beautiful straight run to the teeter, so I thought I'd try it. We train at this facility regularly, and she's confident in practice. I took her jackpot (tripe and blueberries) and some extra ostrich jerky and showed her it was sitting on a table right outside the ring. I explained if she did the teeter, she would get the jackpots. Devon understood completely (I could tell)! In fact, instead of doing the weave poles, she started looking for the teeter. The last time she did this she went off course to take the teeter!

Devon never even slowed down heading for the teeter, and once she hit the commitment point you can see her tail wagging. I had a couple of people stationed in the back to cheer if she successfully completed the teeter, and you know an agility trial is. If 2-3 people start cheering everyone else does too and they don't even need to know why!

This video is priceless! Devon KNOWS she was the star and everyone was cheering for her! After the run and she got her jackpots, Devon individually thanked every person standing ringside for cheering for her. One of my friends called it "Devon's Adoration Procession!"

Page's runs
So off the high of Devon's success, Page had to run. Page had a nice Standard run. I forgot that the on side angled weave entrance presented in this course is the one Page struggles with. She blew past the weaves and I had to redo them. That was totally my fault for assuming her weaves didn't need to be supported.

Page handled the rest of the middle section of the course very well. This was the same as the Excellent course, so it gives me a clue of what she will do in the future. I was very pleased with her going to the chute after the table. That was a very difficult section of the course in Excellent.

Unfortunately I pushed Page off a jump moving into position for a front cross. I forgot we already had a refusal, because I would have just gone on had I remembered. Turning her around put me out of position and I had to rear cross the teeter. At least Page told me she could do that! This was a really nice run for a baby dog! Too bad I didn't handle it better.



Now for JWW. You know when you want to just redo a part of your day to make it better. Well, Open JWW was that for me. It was a really nice course and I wanted to enjoy it. But I was worried about supporting the first jump. I was so concerned about where I was on course and what I was doing, that I wasn't connected with Page. Because of that, she came around a jump.

Page going around a jump should be no big deal, but I was mad at myself, and I said "Darn it." It was my biggest mistake. A month ago I said Darn it when she dropped a bar on course. I didn't notice any reaction from Page in that run; but the next day when she dropped a bar, she showed some mild stress behavior in the rest of the run.

Now keep in mind I didn't even say, "Darn it" very loud. No one in the gallery heard me, and you cannot hear it on the tape in either run. But it was enough for my baby dog. Page handles the two tunnels well, but she goes around the next two jumps. I supported the next jump and she went in the wrong direction so I had to call her. When she missed the weave entrance that was it -- she started sniffing the ground and then ran to a ring steward.

I was devastated. I stood frozen for what seemed like minutes watching my wonderful baby girl sniff the ground and not come to me -- and it was all my fault. Page is a strong confident girl, but I had forgotten she is only 19 months old. She's a baby. She may have skills above her age level and a work ethic that few dogs have, but she's a baby.

Page did come back to me (and the video shows it wasn't minutes and probably not nearly as bad as I thought it was) and we finished the course. But I made some pretty strong resolutions after the run (and Page got lots of screw up cookies from me!). I need to connect more with Page and work on our teamwork on course; that should be my only goal for each run. I also need to praise her more on course so she clearly knows what she's doing well. I also vowed that I would never react to mistakes again -- her mistakes or mine! I also realized that the tugging on the leash going into the ring that started a few weeks ago is likely stress. It's getting worse over time, not better.



At the end of an exhausting day, I was proud of my girls. I always am. I'm privileged to walk to the line with each of them and I'm the luckiest person who gets to take them home. And to support them, I took home some valuable lessons for me, too!

Devon's first VST test

I think Devon deserves her own post about her first VST test. It was also on Oct. 3 at DeKalb, IL. Devon drew track 7. Devon's track was 686 yards long, with 389 yards of non-veg, or 57%. It was aged 4 hours and 22 minutes. It was warmer when she ran. Her track was in the heart of campus, and there was much more activity from people on her track. Devon was foiled by an evil squirrel at the start of the track. He not only sat directly on the track and teased her from the ground. But then he also jump on a nearby tree about 4 ft. off the ground and chattered at her. He was tormenting and taunting her to come get him. Since this was a university campus, the squirrels were quite bold. Had the squirrel just run up the tree, I'm sure Devon would have gotten back to work. However, the taunting really fried her brain. After much rescenting and the squirrel finally going up the tree, Devon moved on. Unfortunately, she got a double whammy on the distractions. While she was dealing with the evil squirrel, about 10-12 people walked across her first turn. The building on the right is the library and we started the track at 1:37 p.m. on a Sunday; lots of traffic to the library! Devon did search left and I could tell by the lay of the land the track went that way, but Devon was all for the trees where she could do more squirrel hunting. She went forward into the grass and got wrapped around a tree so I had to step into the area after her. Once I was in the grass, it was impossible to work her back and she committed to squirrel hunting under the trees to the right. The purple line is Devon's path and the blue line is the track.

Once back on track, Devon got her brain back after turn 2 when she got into the grass. There she finally committed to a strong track. The orange line indicates a sunken courtyard with gravel and picnic tables and the track when through this area (about 4 steps down). Devon handled this beautifully. After the courtyard, the track went into the grass along this well traveled sidewalk and Devon did a great job picking out her article among the trash littering the area.

The pink line indicates a concrete bridge over the creek, and the track when up across that. Devon once again handled this like a charm. She investigated the base of the stairs and below the bridge before popping right back up and across the bridge. I'm sure both the courtyard and bridge would have scared most folks, but Devon has done these things in practice tracks. I'm sure once she realized the scent was drifting down off the bridge, she went, "hey I know this one!"

I was really thrilled with Devon's MOT and the article right before it was great. Devon shot past it but only by 15 ft. or less. The map doesn't show it, but they've added in a concrete sidewalk through this parking lot and reconfigured the parking, and that's what Devon was on when she made her turn and went into the parking lot toward the building. Devon was dead on the track at this point, because my tracklayer told me her landmark when we turned. This was nice because it proved to me Devon could handle a test MOT.

Once on the grass, she easily found her last article. I felt really good about how Devon ran this test and where she is. She nailed this track once she got committed. Normally Devon has fantastic starts, but the squirrel was just too much for her. There is doubt in my mind that if Devon gets a good start, we'll pass a test soon.

Hamilton Agility Trial

We just did one day of the Hamilton Agility Trial the end of September. I have wanted to return to this trial since I was there a couple of years ago, but it has never worked out.

Page had a very good day, her first in Open Standard and JWW. I was extremely proud of her in Open JWW. The opening was two jumps straight at a tunnel, but of course you didn't take the tunnel but turned 90 degrees to a jump. Page didn't even look at the jump. She also nailed her weave poles.

However, I learned a valuable lesson on this run. And in reviewing my runs from the Field Spaniel trial it's one I should have learned two weeks ago. I cannot rear cross Page out of the weave poles because I'll likely be too far behind her to support upcoming obstacles.

The rear cross after the weaves put me too far behind and I got a refusal and couldn't support the 180 further down the line. In fairness, all the fast dogs bit the dust at that 180. And the front cross before the weave poles was ugly. So we'll chalk this run up to a pretty good run and a valuable lesson learned!



Next up was Devon's Excellent JWW run. This run needs some background. Kathy and I shared a room the night before (with 5 dogs). Around 2 a.m. we woke up to the sound of someone getting sick. Poor Devon was really, really sick. She threw up about 8-10 times, once on Kathy's bed and twice on mine, not to mention all over the floor. Kathy wins best roomie award for surviving this night!

After an hour of clean up and a trip outside to potty (and seeing a cat that Devon wanted to chase), we finally went back to bed. Devon slept well; I did not. Page decided she had to potty again at 5:30 a.m. Not a popular decision in my book, but she was insistent. Needless to say, I was exhausted the next day.

After she was so sick the night before, I hadn't planned on running Devon at all the next day. However, as the morning went on, she was in a good mood and clearly feeling better. Sammy shared some plain cooked chicken, and Devon about ripped my arm off for it. I decided to run her and give her the cooked chicken before and after. I decided Devon would be more confused by not running at all than having a bad run.

It wasn't the most stellar run. The push out of the weaves that usually works well for us really tanked. But Devon was happy running to the end and she really liked getting more chicken. In the end I'm glad I ran her.



The last run of the day was for Page in Open Standard. This was a challenging course; not as difficult as the Excellent course. However, it was ripping and would get a lot of speed out of Page which I would have to manage.

As many times as I walked it, you would think I would have known where to put my front cross after the A frame. However, I was in the wrong place when I rotated. Imagine my surprise when I was standing in the middle of the jump bar. Bless Page! She acted like it was no problem and I did that all the time (I don't by the way). She jumped the bar keeping it up, and then when I reacted by sending her to the weaves, so sailed into them like she done that a hundred times. I took time to admire her, and then I realized I better get my butt up there for the rest of the run!

I was very proud of Page jumping into me from the triple. That was tough and the timing had to be perfect and the dog fully understand a serpentine. She didn't look like she was only 19 months old! The rest of the run was lovely with a small refusal and off course. I had lots of folks come up to me complimenting this run! It was a great way to end the day and get Page's first Open Standard leg!

GRCCO WC/WCX test

The third weekend in September, the girls and I went to Columbus, Ohio, for a WC/WCX test. It was a very small test, so we were done early but had lots of fun. I want to thank Megan McClung for some very nice photos to remember the event!

My thought process was that going to this test would give Page two opportunities (including our club's test in October) to earn her WC; or it would give us a free weekend in October to do something else (like a VST test or an agility trial) if she did earn her WC on the first try.

Devon ran the WCX test just for fun. She has passed two WCX tests already, but it's always nice to practice triples with shot fliers. Nothing is a "gimme" in field tests! Devon had added pressure this time when she got a "no bird" her first time to the line. I will never understand why GRCA thinks it's a great idea to use pigeons for a WC/WCX test. I'm not a hunter, but I cannot imagine trying to shoot one of those little pigeons out of the sky! Devon's first pigeon flew unharmed over the treetops (and the smart bird didn't return).

Our poor gunners felt so badly that they'd missed Devon's bird the first time, that they tried extra hard to get it the second time ... and they blew it into about four pieces! The judge nicely told me whatever part Devon brought back would be fine. Poor Devon was searching and searching for a bird in the "fallout" area but didn't find a thing. She finally came up with most of wing and brought that back for me. What a good girl; and she didn't eat it on the way in!

Thankfully water was uneventful and Devon came back with her third WCX pass. She earned a lovely rosette and duck band for her efforts. Actually, I usually say the ribbons are for me and the pigeons and ducks are her reward. However, Devon also wanted to carry the ribbon this time, too! Only two of the three WCX dogs passed.





Page has never done a "cold" double before. I've always "built" the double doing singles first. In fast, she hadn't done a double in about 10 days when we did this test. I was really proud of her, because she had added distraction on her double. There was a firing range about a 1/2 mile away from the test. By the time Page came to the line, they were firing. Page marked both birds and handled the go bird just fine. However, when she went out for the memory bird, the gun shots started in the distance and they sounded as if they were coming from the direction of her go bird. Page looked back about three times just to make sure they weren't shooting any birds for her, but she never stopped. After she got out about half way, she committed to the memory bird and stepped on it.

Page's water work was very nice, and she even delivered the second bird to hand nicely. I think she thought since the gunners were in white and continued to stand (and not retire like at hunt tests) they could be talked into throwing her a third bird. Page sat as still as a statue making eye contact and looking intent to the gunners begging them for another bird. I literally had to drag her from the line on leash before she gave up! Such a silly girl!

Page was one of four dogs who passed the WC test. Pretty good for her first try!

Catching up: Field Spaniel Agility Trial

Goodness, I'm behind! Here's a quick wrap up of our last two agility trials. The Field Spaniel Trial was at a local venue, and it was lots of fun. Unfortunately the courses were very tight and difficult (as expected).

Page earns her first agility titles!!
Page was a very good girl, doing a great job on very tough courses. She Q'd in Standard on Saturday, finishing her NA. I was very pleased with this run. It was nice and controlled, and much faster than it appears on video! I'm still working to hold all of Page's contacts so she understands her criteria long term.



Page did her very best on this very on her Novice JWW run on Saturday, but the course was just too much. The only dogs that Q'd were moderate speed and/or small dogs. The big fast dogs had it rough. The opening was a 4 jump serpentine, with a 180 into the wall to the weaves. From the last tunnel the dogs had to change leads about 4 times over the last 4 jumps and take the last jump into the concrete wall (again). Page had done a lovely job, so it was too bad when the bar came down (my fault, but the alternative handling caused the next bar to come down with the next fast dog).


I forgot Page started the day with FAST and earned a Q on a pretty little run. I think it's funny how she was all "oh hello there hi!" to the ring crew until she realized there was a course to run and then she couldn't have cared less!



Page's first Open Standard run was one I wish I had back. I didn't handle this run well at all and it was a disaster. I think I was really annoyed when another bar came down. I wasn't annoyed with Page, it was the courses that were getting to me (can you tell I didn't care for the judge?). They were just practically impossible with a fast dog.

This run also shows a slight stress issue Page has with the table. This has come up once or twice in training, so I was interested to see it come out in a trial. I'm sure it's stress related; and it does prove that as confident as Page is, she can feel stress from me.




Thankfully this trial ended on a positive note for Page. The Novice JWW run was again a big challenge. It was very similar to the Excellent JWW course, so I knew the pitfalls. That yellow jump we had to work around in the close had eaten up more than a few dogs in the other levels. Page read my body language perfectly and slowed herself down and was very controlled for the forward sending rear cross. I know I was supposed to do all forward cues and no sending in Novice, but with these courses it was impossible!

Good girl Page!



Devon's looking better!
Devon had two wonderful runs in Excellent JWW. Devon nailed her weaves in competition for the first time since February! I was so excited I got her excited and she bounced out at pole 11. Then I didn't keep eye contact and she sailed over an off course jump, causing me to completely lose my place on course. If you could hear the audio a little better, you'd be really laughing at what I was saying out there. I so didn't care about that run except that Devon got her weaves!





Devon's last run of the weekend was also very nice. I chose to run the very demotivating start with a rear cross to get some speed and motion into her performance and I think it worked really well. I'll have to remember that. She almost hung onto the weave entrance, but not quite. I was so busy watching the rest of her pretty run, I forgot to do my last front cross, so I had to make up the handling on the close on the fly. I think I did pretty good, if I do say so myself!

Derby City Agility Trial -- Devon

This weekend we attended the Derby City Agility Association's 3-day trial east of Louisville. It was a fun weekend with friends, and oh yeah I had to run dogs, too! While I probably am more focused on my runs when I'm trialing by myself, I did enjoy the fun times with good friends.

Devon had a good weekend. I decided not to run her in Standard at all, due to her teeter issues away from home and known teeters. I also pulled her from Novice FAST on Saturday since there was a teeter in the ring. I didn't want to stress her since I know she looks for that teeter as soon as she goes into the ring.

However, based on advice from Jenn Crank, I ran FAST on Sunday. I planned a "get in, get the points and get out" course that would be fun and motivational. As soon as I sat Devon on the line, I could see her ducking her head under the first bar and looking over it trying to see the teeter. She did see it in the back, but as soon as I directed her away from it on course, she started flying!

Devon did have fun on this course, earning 54 points in 17.72 seconds, for a Q and a second place finish.

Devon had three Excellent B JWW runs over the weekend. All three were very good, except for the weaves. I know I've got a ring/trial issue with the weaves. Devon hits the first pole and then walks out of them. This is what she did a couple of years ago when she wasn't sure how to collect. Now I know she knows how to collect because she's solid in practice/training.

I am asking her to redo the weaves in trials since I do want to have her give me effort. But asking for the retry is giving her stress in the ring. I also agree with a friend who suggested that because Devon is so environmentally aware, she may be having problems going between 22 inch poles and 24 inch poles. Most of our training is done on 22 inch poles, and she sees 24s in trials. I agree that weave spacing plays a part in the problem. This is just something I think we'll have to work through.

Saturday's JWW run was very pretty and it was a tough course. Devon went off course after jump 3. Before we started our run, we heard noise and movement behind the wall of the arena. When Devon went off course, I thought it was due to that noise; however when I look at the tape I realize she committed to that off course jump very early and I didn't give nearly as much indication of the turn as I thought. In fact, I think all my turns on this course were late for Devon. She commits much earlier than I ever realized. I think she's anticipating where the course goes trying to be helpful to me. That means I need to cue her a lot earlier than I am.

Sunday's JWW run was the best of the weekend. Devon was slow off the start, I'm sure in anticipation of the weaves. But she handled this course very well. Her weave entrance was very pretty, so it's really too bad she didn't hang onto them. I think my handling was much better on this course.

After many, many runs, I was really tired on Monday, and poor Devon paid the price. I was mentally not there for her JWW run. I didn't run the course as I had planned, and frankly I was lucky to remember it. Devon hung with me until an off course after the weaves. I'm not sure you can tell in the video, but after the weaves, she really blasted through the rest of the course. I could tell she was burning off stress, just like she did in her last run of the 3-day trial in June.

Photos from the ACI trial

Thanks to Virgil Sweeden and Rebecca Forrest of Paw Prints Life for their awesome photography at the Agility Club of Indianapolis trial in June. Virgil is a very talented photographer, and Rebecca is the best at helping pick out just the right shots. If you see them at an upcoming trial, make sure to ask Virgil to take shots of your dogs. You will have fantastic memories!

Devon's photos:

See, I can do the teeter!

Mom, it's a sit on the table. Can't you hear she's not counting?

Told ya!

Page's photos: