It's Grandma Julie!

Ian had a surprise on Saturday when his "Grandma Julie" (a.k.a. Julie Hite, his breeder) came to see him. I don't think his tail stopped wagging the entire time she was here! Ian showed off his house and all the photos his mom has of him. He also showed off the training building, although he would only do a tunnel for Grandma Julie; Mom runs him you know! He also got to show off how he plays ball. My dad taught him that particular game. However, Julie threw the ball in the largest snow drift, and he thought her aim was a little off!

And Ian got to play with his half-sister Donita. She traveled to Long Beach, CA, and back with us in December 2007 when Ian went to the AKC Agility Invitational and Donita when to the AKC/Eukanuba National Championships. Ian thinks he's way more impressive than Donita does, so she always has adjusted his attitude! Ian (left) is pictured with Julie (human) and Donita (dog on right). Gosh Ian looks like his sire Hank in this photo!

By the way, I've had a reader request to see more of Ian on the blog (bet you can't figure out who THAT came from), so I'll have to put him in the rotation!

Balancing multiple sports

I was going back through some of the comments on the blog this week, and I reread a comment from Lora asking I how balance training multiple dog sports. I thought going into the new year, it was a good topic for a blog post.

First, I think everyone needs to figure out what their personal dog training goals are. Some people just want to enjoy time with their dog. I commented recently to a friend as we watched another local competitor run his dog that he needed to be thinking about a new puppy since his dog was starting to show her age. My friend turned to me and said, "With him, it's not about doing agility, it's about doing agility with this dog." Wow, what an insightful comment.

Do you just want to do agility and excel in it? Do you love a particular breed of dog, and you want to do dog sports with that breed? Maybe you have family obligations and you can only attend local trials. Think not only about your dog and your life, but what are your resources (time, money, access to training, access to trials, ability to travel to trials, etc.)?

I think everyone needs to have a realistic goal for their dogs and their lives. Dog training should be about the Journey and not just about the titles and the trophies (but that's another post that I did back in August!). So I think the discussion about doing multiple dog sports or doing multiple venues of one sport needs to start with your goals and resources.

For me, dog training is about the accomplishment of working with a canine partner to achieve as high a level of training as possible. If someone holds out a goal in front of me and thinks my dog and I can do it, I'll go for it.

Here's a couple of examples from my situation. Ian is mildly reactive and people-shy, but he showed incredible performance abilities as a puppy. We tried conformation when he was very young, and he learned growling at judges made them go away (to his credit he really didn't know what he did the first time he growled at a judge, but it worked so he repeated it).

Since conformation wasn't my favorite sport, it didn't break my heart to end that part of his career. I knew he'd also never be an obedience dog, because to earn a CD he had to do a stand for exam where the judge goes over him. So Ian became an agility dog. I chose this puppy because of his performance abilities; and while we had several rocky periods, I knew he had the ability to be an excellent performance dog. His agility career speaks for itself, and when rally came along (another non-judge intrusive sport), he again proved his abilities. So for Ian, I considered his limitations, and we selected sports he would excel in - and he excelled to the highest levels.

Devon has been a completely different story. I originally got her to do agility and obedience; I wanted a MACH UDX Golden. Gayle asked me to put a JH on her, and I agreed. I figured what the heck I'd learn something new and it wouldn't take too long. I found an excellent pro trainer willing to give me private lessons, Mitch White. At our first lesson when Devon was 5 months old, Mitch was throwing a duck for her and she was retrieving it back to him like a big dog. Mitch said, "Devon you go tell you Mommy you want to be a MASTER Hunter, not a Junior Hunter!" That day a dream was born and a new sport was added to our list.

When Devon passed her tracking certification test at 8 months of age, she indicated a 48-hour old cross track. Steve Ripley told me what she had done, then asked me how far I wanted to take tracking with this dog. When I said I was thinking of getting a Champion Tracker, he said he would help me get there. That day another dream was born and another sport was added to our list.

And I love Devon so much, I jumped at the chance to get Page and work both girls in multiple sports. So now I have two amazing girls, and I have high level goals in four sports. Although I enjoy other venues of agility (USDAA, CPE), my goals are too broad based to do multiple venues of one sport. Because AKC offers me high level titles in all four of my sports, it has become my venue of choice.

I learned several years ago that achieving high level titles means foundation, foundation, foundation. So in the girls' early weeks they were started with foundation for every sport. At about 5 months, I began concentrating in areas depending on the season. Spring, Summer and fall have been about field work and tracking since those sports are outdoor sports, and late fall and winter have been about obedience and agility since I can do those sports inside.

The other thing to keep in mind when balancing multiple sports is that as you begin to train the tough, meaty content of the higher levels of each sport, other sports must take a backseat. It's impossible to train advanced levels in all sports without something slipping.

This year was a good example of that for Devon. In the spring her VST tracking looked really good. We worked hard on tracking from late February into early June, and I began to think about VST tests in late fall. But in late June I began a serious push with advanced field work to get Devon ready for her Senior Hunter tests in September. By August, Devon's tracking fell apart and she lost confidence.

I was frustrated, but I knew the problem was our focus on field work and training at high levels in both sports. As difficult as it was at the time (and I appreciate Janet and Steve Ripley forcing the issue), I decided to back off the tracking and push through on the field work. Devon was much closer to the SH in the fall than the VST. It was the right decision, because now that we've gotten through the SH and given her a break, her tracking looks much better.

And going into 2010, I'm faced with another difficult decision: getting the VST title or pushing on to the Master Hunter. The jump between Senior and Master is a lot less than Junior to Senior, and most dogs earn their Master Hunter fairly quickly after their Senior. However, pushing on to Master would leave Devon's tracking in limbo for at least another year, and I'm not sure I want it to stagnate that long.

The other factor in my decision making is Page. She isn't mature enough to handle Junior Hunter tests yet, but she is working VST very well right now. So it's looking like in 2010, field work will take a back seat to VST training (and that's a preview for another post on goal setting!)

When you are working multiple sports and getting into the higher levels, something has to give. You cannot maintain many sports and push the dog in all of them when the difficulty increases. For me that has meant less time spent on sports I really enjoy (agility) and pushing off other sports until later that my instructors would rather not see me do (obedience).

But in the end it all comes back to the Journey. And on my current Journey, I have two amazing girls, and I'm enjoying every bit of training we're doing.

Comfort

The bonus room where the computer and the day beds are has become our "family room." It's the place where the dogs nap and I work on the computer and occasionally watch TV. Since Ian is still intimidated by Page, the boys are often gated outside the bonus room. Today, Page is napping in her crate, so the boys have said, "Finally! We've gotten to sleep on the daybeds!" You see they wasted no time in taking over!

And don't feel sorry for Page. She's likely in her favorite sleeping position, shown here. How she can balance on her back and sleep, I have no idea!

Happy Birthday, Ian!

Ian is now 7 years old! He's still goofy. He still celebrates each morning in his bouncy way (which is why he sleeps in the dog room). But the little bit of white frosting on his chin has now moved up to his muzzle.

Ian has had a remarkable performance career. He was the second Belgian Sheepdog to earn an RAE title, and he has 7 (out of 10) double Qs towards his RAE2.

He is an incredible agility dog, about as consistent as they come. He has 43 career double Qs and 1,098 MACH points. Even more important he has qualified for two AKC Agility Invitationals and two AKC Agility Nationals. He's the only Belgian Sheepdog to ever make the Finals of the AKC Agility Invitational.

All this is remarkable because he's a bit people shy. I was able to work him out of most of this, but not all of it. I'm very good at predicting what Ian will react to: a man walking by with his toddler on his shoulders appears to be a two headed alien to Ian. Julie (Ian's breeder) tells me I'm good at thinking like a Belgian. I'm not sure that's a compliment!

I remember when Ian was 6 months old I was so frustrated with his "issues" I decided he'd make a decent pet, and that's what he was for a few months. But I couldn't help myself. I had to train him. Every dog in my house gets trained and gets titles, so I forged ahead.

And when I moved to Indiana and he decided all contact obstacles were evil, I continued to train him. I've had a lot of people tell me how remarkable I am as a trainer to have the patience to work him through that even though it took a year. But I have to admit that at the time Reece had blown out his ACL, and Connor wasn't doing agility at all. Ian was the only dog I had left to run, so I really stuck with him because not running him meant not running anyone.

In spite of his insecurities (and they are many), he's trusted me to lead him through everything. For that I am grateful. He turned into a remarkable performance dog who accomplished so much and gave me memories for a lifetime.

Now that I have two girls with incredible potential and a more limited budget, Ian's active career has ended. It's a bittersweet thing to know he's moving into retirement. And while he loves to work with me, I must admit there weren't many "new" goals for him to accomplish.

So now Ian runs agility in the backyard and occasionally at the kennel club. He's become an avid ball chaser and occasional farm dog with my Dad. He's still happy and still has a great joy for life. I guess now he's that great pet I said he'd be 6.5 years ago!

Ian the farm dog

In the last month as the girls and I have been traveling to hunt tests, Ian and Connor have been spending the weekends at my parents' house. Connor is a home body, and due to injuries Reece and Holly also stay pretty close to home. However, Ian is my Dad's big buddy. If Dad is outside, Ian wants to "help." Here are some photos of Ian supervising Dad power washing one of the mowers. I think he was also hoping Dad would find a baby pool to fill with water, but no such luck.

Dad has also taught Ian to "play ball." Who knew Ian could be such a good retriever? Since I keep forgetting to take a ball over to their place, Ian and Dad make do with sticks. Ian's finding a great second career as a farm dog!

Making Ian's day

Friday was an open training day at the kennel club, so I decided all four dogs would get a treat. As I pulled on my shoes, Ian watched intently then turned and trotted obediently to his crate. Mom was leaving and he was getting left behind again. But when I asked if he wanted to go, he about turned himself inside out! Oh joy, oh joy! He barked and carried on until I took him into the garage and opened the crate. Once in the van, he laid down and waited for the adventure to begin. Connor wasn't far on his heels!

Page got worked first (since she had more adventures to come). In reviewing Page's training, I realized I haven't done any foundation work with her in a good two months since I've been concentrated on getting Devon's Senior Hunter. This lack of obedience has led to some of the issues I've seen in her field work. So Page is getting reminded of her earlier training.

I worked stays and releases to a tug toy. This went very well. I also worked at getting her into heel position. For agility, we worked sending through standards and coming back to me. She also saw a tunnel again and did a very good job even on a curved dark tunnel. I also put her on the table for an automatic down. She did a good job, but I need to get back to this kind of work on a daily basis!

Devon was next and we worked obedience. She had already worked the agility course, and she did a good job of it earlier in the week. I wanted to take her to a run through on Saturday, so it was time to revisit obedience again. She absolutely loves obedience. I think her love of the game will be what gets us through the titles. I like obedience, but I don't love it. Maybe Devon will make me love that game, too.

Next Connor got to come into the building while I reset the agility course for Ian. He had a ball running around and acting goofy. He took the lower jumps and ran through tunnels and the chute. I asked for the weaves, and he gave me about 5 poles. Weaves were never his favorite. He accidentally sailed over a couple of 24 inch jumps. This wasn't a wise idea, and I noticed later in the evening he was a little stiff. It's tough when you're 9.5 years old and out of shape!

Finally it was Ian's turn. After more than 6 months off, we were a little rusty. The course was a USDAA Steeplechase course. Ian handled it pretty well the first time through, even nailing a difficult weave entry. Once we were warmed up, he did a fantastic job on the second time through. Ian just loves to play any game with me. I should get him out more often since I know he's bored hanging around the house with nothing to do. At least I could make his day on Friday!

The demise of "Ian's Tree"

When I moved to this house, it had a cute little ornamental evergreen in the back yard. It didn't take long for Ian to find it and use it as his own personal toilet. He's the only one of the boys who lifts his leg, and you can see by the first photo that after the first year it was pretty dead.

Once the needles came off, Connor started snapping the lower limbs off of it. He's always loved to play with sticks, and he's been quite disappointed in my selection of tree-less backyards in the last two houses. Only a few limbs remained at the very top where Connor couldn't reach. At this point, Ian's Tree was also called Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree because it looked so bad.

So for four years, this poor stick has been called Ian's Tree. Unfortunately, Ian's Tree is no more. At 6:15 a.m. this morning, Devon and Page were having a grand game of chase in the backyard in the dark. Devon is used to avoiding Ian's Tree, but Page wasn't so fortunate. Page ran smack into the tree, breaking its base and probably seeing stars herself. After giving herself a shake, she adjusted very quickly -- she started chewing on her new toy and trying to pull it out of the ground.

I'm not sure how Ian will adjust without his personal toilet tree. He used the back fence today. If I can get him trained to go all the way around the fence, I won't have to worry about weeds growing up under it. Hummm, do you suppose I can clicker train that behavior?

A post from Connor and Ian

Earlier this week I got a voicemail from my friend Julie, a.k.a. "Ian's Grandma," checking on Connor and Ian. She said she wanted to make sure both of them were still ok since Devon and Page had taken over the blog. You know it's serious when Julie actually asks about one of the Goldens! But I know she has a soft spot for Connor since she used to dog sit him (just don't ask her to evaluate his intelligence level).

You can all rest assured that Ian and Connor are getting two meals a day, full supplements, plenty of out time and the usual spoiling. Connor still sleeps in the bed (when Devon doesn't kick him out); in fact Connor sleeps anywhere his little heart desires.

Ian feels he needs to be trained more, and he's still not sure about that wiggling little monster that invaded the house a few weeks ago. The most often used phrase in our house these days is, "Don't chase the black dog!"

However, I just realized a couple of weeks ago that it's Ian's fault he's getting chased these days. He's starting to engage with Page, and as soon as she engages back - and she's very appropriate when she does - he freaks out and runs away from her. Poor Page can't figure this out! He was the one who wanted her attention! Maybe she should just follow him and see if he needed her! Now you see why I'm saying, "Don't chase the black dog" at least 2-3 times a day.

Things are slowly getting better. Ian actually got the nerve up to stand still and be sniffed by Page after he engaged with her yesterday. I told them how good they both were, and everyone went about their business.

Today was actually a good day for the boys. The kennel club has member training a couple of times a month, and today was one of those days. So I loaded all four pups in the van and we trained for a couple of hours at the kennel club. The agility course that was set up was challenging for Ian, and I was able to run several sequences after I ran the course. Ian did great.

Connor even got to come in and run the course and some sequences before I changed the jump heights. Here's a little clip of the retired agility dog having fun.

I know Connor has lost muscle tone since being retired, so I made sure I warmed him up pretty well before he ran. Even so, I noticed he preferred to run with his rear legs together for more stability as older dogs do. I'm not worried about his hips, but it was a little sad to see he's starting to show his 9 years of age.

Flying Paws Agility Run Thrus

Today we drove to Bloomington for Flying Paws Agility Run Thrus. This is a fairly new club, and they did a great job with the run thrus. We had fun and enjoyed great people. The whole crew got to go, and Ian and Devon ran. Connor got his required time out and thanks to Ana for giving him treats and telling him how smart he was. And of course Page made her presence known.

Devon is entered in her first outdoor trial next weekend. It's a 3-day trial, and she's entered in Open JWW and Novice Standard all three days. She only needs one more NA leg, so my goal is to get her out of Novice Standard and maybe a leg (or two!) in Open JWW. She was running really well this winter and the only reason her Q rate was low was a weave pole issue. We've fixed that problem, and she's working 12 poles easily now.

This run thru was going to be a good test of her confidence on equipment she's never seen before, especially the teeter. Devon has only been to one trial on completely new equipment to her, and she did a great job. However, we haven't trialed in three months, so I didn't know if she was still that confident.

I have learned during the last several classes that Devon wants me to run with her from the start. I can't lead out even to the first jump or she goes around the first jump. This is something I plan to work on, but I'm not ready to do it just yet. I do believe it's just a confidence issue and with more trialing and experience it will fade. Unfortunately with field work and VST ahead of her, she won't have an opportunity to be "immersed" in agility for at least another 6 months.

Below is Devon's very first run. It was a straight-forward Novice course. I decided the two potential problem areas would be the dogwalk and the teeter. The dogwalk is from Affordable Agility and has a PVC base. Devon is very environmentally aware, and she notices anything new or different with equipment especially the dogwalk. The teeter of course has been a problem area in the past, and it was a new teeter in a new place.

I worked hard to make this a trial setting. I packed up last night and this morning. I packed special jackpot treats (tripe and blueberries). We got up early and she only had a half ration of breakfast. I used our same trial pre-run routine: trotting, stretching, tugging and finally food right before our run. For food, I stuck with hot dogs from my right pocket. After thinking about the potential stressors of the dogwalk and teeter, I decided to put three pieces of steak in my left pocket. That was the side I would be on for her contact performances, so I put them in my pocket if needed but didn't show her in any other way I had them.

Devon knew the dogwalk was early in the run when I set her on the start line. In fact she almost went around the second jump because I made an assumption she'd take it. She committed to the dogwalk just fine, but I knew she because a little hesitant on the way up because of the PVC bases. There was also a U shaped blue tunnel under the dogwalk which caused her to slow even more on the middle. 

At this point I decided she had been extremely brave and deserved a reward for the dogwalk. It would let her know I had food, but I felt she did work hard and I should reward it. When she came down on the dogwalk, she was all ready for the tunnel, and the little bit of steak caught her completely off guard. She was thrilled, though!

The rest of the course was very nice, including the teeter. I knew when she hit it and went up she'd be fine. I rewarded her with two more pieces of steak and her tail shows how pleased she is! I did realized that when I praise her at the end of a run I shouldn't grab at her. She didn't like this and showed stress, so with later runs I asked her for an "UP" or just cheered her as we moved to the leash.

On Devon's second run, I selected the same course. She was much more confident through the whole thing and much faster. However on the start line, she looked for her videographer. When she didn't see him she looked around like, "Mom, we can't start until my videographer is here." You know how this girl likes a crowd!

Below is Devon's third run. I tried a different course and asked Leslie to act as judge. I thought I'd try a lead out, but it didn't work. I wasn't sent or confident in my presentation, so it wasn't all Devon's fault. I just have to accept right now we aren't going to get it. 

The rest of the run is very good except the from the tire to the double. We were running down hill and Devon started to curve into me after the tire toward the A frame. I did push her out with my left hand which she seemed to read, but at the last minute she started to come in again and I was slightly behind her. At this point I had to slow down and stop because I would have run into her and/or tripped over her. 

I work hard not to show Devon when there's a mistake on course, but this one I couldn't help. The resulting stress caused Devon to jump on Leslie (who I don't think was expecting all 60 pounds of Devon full force on her). Once I got her collected, she finished the run very well. 

I had planned the third run to be Devon's last, but I didn't want to end on that note. I decided to do that course one more time. Devon was very confident again knowing where she was going. I had decided to "give her" the A frame on this run, but she was also being considerate of me! She decided to run straight at the double even though I did cue the A frame. I adjusted in a split second and supported the double and she ran confidently onto the teeter and finished the course. 

The only thing I saw I didn't really like was a deterioration of her table performance. She is supposed to have an automatic down on the table, but it fell apart. I'm going to have to work the table more and reward the auto down.

Overall Devon had a great day; and  because of this run thru I'm confident going into the trial this weekend. She's a great dog who works very hard to do the right thing for me. 

Ian also played in a couple of runs. I ran the master's course they had set. Here is his first run, and you can tell we are really rusty as a team. He broke his start line, then went around the first jump when I lead out. Now in fairness I didn't give him the best direction, but he's a pretty seasoned dog and should have read it. There were also several tight turns, and I can tell I was a little late in cuing them and he wasn't reacting quite as fast as if we'd been working regularly.

Because it was getting warm and I had to work harder on Ian's runs (since the course was harder), I got pretty wiped out running him. I was there more to concentrate on Devon's runs, so Ian only got two times out in the ring. I think he enjoyed himself, and he was very willing to do more. He howled and screamed from the van when I was running Devon (the cacophony probably drove everyone batty for a minute!).

I should take a minute to talk about Page, who was a real trooper. She did some barking in her crate and not always when the other dogs were barking. At one point I told her "quiet" and she was. I let her wait a few seconds, then I tossed a piece of steak into her crate and told her it was a good quiet. I was waiting for her to bark again just so she could get a quiet and piece of steak. I've been reluctant to reward with food because I didn't want to "train" the problem. However, she continued to be quiet, so a minute later I tossed another piece of steak in and told her good quiet. From then on she only barked when the other dogs threw a fit (which was when I was running Devon).

Page also showed some "shyness" at a new object for the first time. This was extremely mild, but enough for me to notice. Thank goodness we have a nose touch! She shied at a short metal trash can with a plastic bag in it. I said, "Isn't that the funniest thing?" in a really high voice, and Page started to wag and go near it. I praised her, and she investigated it, most of the fear gone. I encouraged her toward it, and she offered a quick passing touch of it with her nose - and out came the hot dogs! That was it! She continued to nose touch it and even gave me a paw on it. The fear was gone and she had a good experience!

Homecoming of a wild goose

On Wednesday, we were up and out of the hotel early, headed to HYBAR for an obedience lesson with both girls. Before we headed out, Page made me laugh by sitting in front of the TV and watching the Weather Channel. She was probably hoping for an end to our rain! 

At HYBAR, Devon spent an hour working on open and utility exercises, with Linda showing me the progressions so I could work ahead at home. I can't wait to continue working Devon's heeling, fronts and finishes and moving on to some additional exercises. After an hour, it was Page's turn.

Luckily we could skip the proprioception exercises since I already know how to do them from agility. We did go over a useful "settle" command that will translate well into any venue. We then went right to learning proper ways to sit, down, and stand for the obedience ring. I also learned how to teach her puppy go outs, puppy recalls, foundation for heads up heeling, finishes, and fronts. We also talked about starting scent articles now, before she does pile work for field. Pile work is one of the few things that contradicts her obedience work, since in pile work the dog just needs to bring back any bumper and with scent articles they need to search the pile for the right article. 

After 50 minutes, we called it a session. I was really proud of this little one working so hard with me, when she had only been with me less than 48 hours. We have a lot to work on over the coming weeks!

And after all the driving the day before, both girls got back in the SUV and fell fast sleep as we headed toward Columbus. The photo at the top of the post is what Page looked like during most of her time in the SUV! After a stop for gas and a stop to visit "Uncle Dave," we were finally headed home. I told Linda this poor puppy probably thought she'd been placed with a homeless woman who just drove around all day and slept in hotel rooms!

Finally we arrived home! The girls had a grand time in the back yard, then they watched as I unloaded the SUV. After looking at this video, I have a feeling I'll get questioned if these two are mother/daughter!

Outside, Page showed what a great job Lise and Gayle did with teaching them proprioception. How many other 9 week old Goldens are this good with stairs?

Devon took the time to show Page where the toys where after the house was cleaned. Devon's such a good big sister!

 

And then it was time for dinner before she met the boys.

I decided to introduce Page to the boys on fairly neutral territory, at my parent's place. I got the added bonus of having Reece around to meet her too. As expected, Connor thought she was pretty neat on first inspection. He didn't play right away with her, but he did like her. Next, I brought out Reece. He is really great with puppies. And remembering Devon's reaction to seeing a black dog with pointy ears for the first time, I thought I'd get Page introduced to him before Ian. As the clip below shows, Reece really liked Page!

Finally, I held Page on my lap as I sat in a chair and we let Ian out. I was most interested/concerned about Ian's reaction to Page. When I introduced him to Devon, I expected him to be thrilled with a girl in the house. Instead he was terrified of her, and Devon quickly learned he'd run from her. Being chased by this strange creature Ian terrified him more, so they had to be separated for several weeks. 

However, I was pleased with Ian's initial reaction. He remembered what puppies where from his terror 3 years ago, and he had his ears up and tail wagging as he met her. He danced away and didn't want to stay long, but it was a much better interaction than his first meeting with Devon!

We ended our Wednesday with me cutting and repackaging Bravo in approximately 1 pound chunks for easy feeding. Page watched and commentated from her crate in the kitchen as I talked with Kathy of Agile Gold and updated her on our trip home. Kathy can testify to the tenacity of this litter to BARK! 

There's nothing like hearing a puppy bark for most of 90 minutes to make you thankful for a good night's sleep. It must have been the barking that wore her out, because Page slept from 10:15 p.m. to 5 a.m. this morning. Aaaaaahhhhh! The benefits and joys of sleep are never overrated!

I'm a RETRIEVER!

I bet you're thinking this post will be about Devon, but you're wrong. It's about Ian. Today we headed to southern Indiana to spend some time with Agile Gold. We let Ian, Connor and Devon run in Kathy's big pasture. 

Devon brought a bumper with her from the van, so I threw it for her. Ian raced with her down the hill for the bumper, and when he reached it first, he didn't know what to do with it. It wasn't a ball! My dad has taught Ian to play retrieve with a ball, but this was a long, orange, knobby thing with a rope. It didn't look like a ball!

Well, Devon sure knew what to do with it. She swooped in and grabbed it right from under his nose and turned and raced back to me. Ian was left trying to catch up with her. I threw it a second time, and they both raced down the hill again. Ian beat Devon to the bumper again (those longer legs and lighter body weight really made a difference), and this time he reached for the bumper. Devon backed off, but Ian still wasn't sure exactly what to do with this weird thing! Finally after a couple of drops, he picked it up on one end and ran back full speed at me with this long orange bumper hanging out of his mouth - he looked like he was running with an orange Popsicle in his mouth and all I could think of was I hoped he didn't trip and shove it down this throat!

This lead to a game of "fetch" with my Belgian Sheepdog (Devon could never beat him to the bumper, so she gave up). Ian had a so much fun running back and forth retrieving this bumper. His tail was wagging 100 mph, and he looked absolutely beautiful as he posed for his bumper with his black eyes dancing and raced down the hill at top speed with fur flying in the wind.

Ian is truly a beautiful dog, and when he's comfortable and having fun, he forgets all his worries. He's happy and bouncy and very goofy. I was so happy he could be comfortable and share this side of himself with Kathy. So few people other than my family and his breeder ever get to see this side of him and it's why I do really love this boy. He does make me laugh (usually at him).

Since Ian loves birds so much and is now retrieving bumpers, Kathy wondered if we could enter him in hunt tests. It's an idea! We can tape his ears so the fold down and maybe people will believe he's a Flat Coated Retriever! 

"I had fun. I don't know what I was doing, but it was fun!"

I think this is Ian's motto for life. I have to credit Janet Ripley for this one, but she is so right after watching Ian track on Sunday. Steve and Janet were wonderful to lay two TD-type tracks for Ian and follow along behind us to help me read him. 

Janet laid the first track which was a U-shaped track of right turns. It was aged 20-30 minutes. Ian's nose was down more than it had been last week. He was also showing the "track for 5 yards and then get distracted" behavior he showed last week. 

As we were completing that track, Steve laid a second U-shaped track of left turns. On both tracks Ian "hit a wall" after the second turn and really lost focus. He started stronger on the second, fresher track; but he still didn't track very long with his nose down before wandering off.

The conclusion by all is that he really doesn't get the game yet. He is having a lot of fun, and he wants to do it. He just isn't really sure WHAT it is he's supposed to be doing! And he was enjoying himself so much, he really didn't care too much that he had two people following him. Of course, his barking and growling don't phase Steve and Janet, which confuses him all the more!

We also had another great discussion about teaching older dogs who have been competitive in other sports the game of tracking. All the other games we play surround me telling the dog what to do. The only two games Ian has every played are agility and rally. Both require him to absolutely focus on me and do what I ask. 

Tracking is the opposite. I need to rely on Ian to tell me where the track is and pull me through it - especially on a blind track. Often this training issue is solved by having someone else handle the dog through the teaching stage and then returning the dog to the original handler after the dog understands the game. We discussed this with Connor who has this problem, too (Connor's second problem is the lack of drive to push through a test). However Ian isn't a dog who can work for anyone else.

So, I guess Ian and I have work to do. We'll be running fresh tracks that aren't too long to get him to understand the game. The good news is just like agility, he really likes this fun new game ... he's just not quite sure what it is he's having fun doing! Sigh, I do love this dog!

Today's weave training and other adventures

Devon discovered exactly what happens when she shows too much energy in the morning - she gets to go work! I got home from my exercise class and Devon was wound. A great time to get in a weave session before training later this afternoon! So out to the agility yard we went.

I put two sets of 2 poles first, then a set of 6 then the last set of 2 poles. This was a little tricky since the bases are quite different. I angled the first base so the first two poles were easier for Devon. I wanted to work those tough right entrances. 

Devon was ready to go and she nailed the first attempt from a low challenge area very well. As we moved down the entry arc to the higher challenge entries, Devon started occasionally entering with the first pole on the right. Just when she got the entry correct, she'd pop out at pole 10. I couldn't reward that! 

I'm sure the reason she popped out here was the difference in the weave bases since she hasn't shown this behavior before. After this happened the second time, I removed the 6 pole base and just worked these tough weave entrances on three sets of 2 pole bases. There was no reason to fight two battles, and what I wanted to work on was her entrances! Although I totally believe in teaching the dogs on 12 poles and moving to 12 poles as soon as possible, I see no reason to work 12 poles if you're having an entry problem. As this session demonstrated, there are other problems that crop up on 12 poles, so why battle two separate issues and end up not being able to reward at all?

OK, off my soap box and back to her session. Devon worked very hard on these right hand entrances. She was close to an 80% success rate, and she was able to get an 8:30 entrance (if the first pole was in the middle of the clock and the poles ran to 12) successfully. Although she didn't want to come back to me very quickly when she failed, she was pulling to get back to the poles and try again. I was really pleased with her work ethic.

This afternoon, I headed to the kennel club for members' training. I was able to have the building to myself since I went so early. A full 1.5 hours to work all three dogs in that building is priceless to me; well worth the price of the membership! 

I decided to work Devon on the 12 poles for the first time in this building. Based on her success on Tuesday with 6 poles and her success yesterday on 12, I was sure she could do it. I first asked for the weaves alone, and she was strong and confident on 12 poles. Then I asked for one jump to the weaves. It was a right hand entrance on the edge between a low challenge and moving into the high challenge. She missed the second attempt but came back strong.

Next I back chained two jumps to the weaves. Devon was very successful, so I asked her to take one jump after the weaves before her reward. Next I asked for a three jump pinwheel before entering the weaves with a low challenge left entry. Success! Then I turned the pinwheel around so she had a high challenge left entry; again we had success! Finally, I worked the first two jumps again to the weaves, but ran it on the left and then with a rear cross; these were also successful, including when I front crossed coming out of the weaves. 

To end the session, I did a sequence with two jumps to the weaves, front cross at the end of the poles (and I purposely front crossed early so she'd see my rotation while she was in the poles), pinwheel to the teeter and three jumps back out. Her weaves were perfect. I could not have been more pleased with her success on these sequences! 

She also worked through her teeter issue and was very strong working it today. In fact, she kept volunteering the teeter and I had a hard time getting her back to working other equipment! After a short break where I worked Ian and then let Connor have some fun, Devon came back out to work another set of sequences which included the A frame and dogwalk. 

I set a nice flowing course that included a "backy-uppy" out of the tunnel over a jump before racing to the A frame. I worked the backy-uppy separately, which was no problem for Devon with her one-jump, recall to heel foundation (Ian had a little more work to do before he read it). Then I back chained it with the tunnel before having Devon do the sequence leading up to the backy-uppy. I rewarded her and then put it all together. 

Devon handled this section equally well, and she stuck all her contacts. She had a very successful agility training session. I gave her another break and then worked on some obedience in the small training ring. She did a lovely job heeling and working fronts. It's nice to have mirrors to see her progress! 

And not to leave Ian out. He also had a great agility session. It's incredible how much faster he is when there's no one around. He's a different dog! He was moving so fast, I was running as hard as I could to keep up with him. It was such fun to let loose and really work him. At this point, I was very glad for my exercise class that I've been taking for a month. The muscle tone and flexibility I've gained saved me today.

Connor also had his big adventure today. I took him out on the floor with me as I was resetting bars from 24 back down to 20 for Devon. Just like last week when I let him into the barn at Pawsitive Energy, he ran around like a crazy puppy. He wagged and ran. In fact, once he jumped over a bar still set at 24 inches. He still has beautiful jumping form. He sailed through a tunnel and up the A frame all on his own, but he put on the brakes when he saw the 24 inch double. He looked back at me as if to say, "Hey mom, can you get over here and fix this? It broke my flow!" Funny how being 9 years old suddenly makes the yellow contact zone on the A frame more appealing! 

The only down side of our training session came when Devon had an accident before she started her second agility session. She likes to "boing" or jump straight in the air from a stand when she's excited. It looks something like what an Aussie or Border Collie would do, and she jumps so high she can look you in the eye or give you a kiss on the cheek (and I'm 5'6"). 

Devon was so excited to come out of the crate the second time to work (after watching both her brothers work), that she was boinging. On the third jump, she hit a table behind her with her behind, about three inches below her tail. Luckily her tail was tucked or it would have been very bad; however it was bad all the same. When she landed, her legs crumpled under her and she landed pretty hard. She kept her tail tucked when she got up and you could tell it hurt. I let her walk it out and moved her to the padded agility flooring and walked her out to make sure she didn't have an injury. As she moved, she recovered and actually volunteered obstacles, so I continued training. 

Tonight she got a traumeel, because I'm sure she's sore. I'm going to walk her out and stretch her very good before we do any training tomorrow. I'm sure there's another appointment with Dr. Bonnie in her future! She's exhausted after two good agility sessions and "helping" this afternoon with equipment. As usual, I'm sure she'll sleep well tonight. She deserves it after the great training day she had.

Tracking Ian: how one robin can change your plan

I had a lovely turn track set for Ian yesterday. It was in a new field for him. It was 70 yards to a right turn with one food drop and a glove at 15 yards past the turn; 40 yards to a left turn with one food drop and a glove at 20 yards past the turn; 125 yards to a right turn with no food drop but a glove at 15 yards then 80 yards to the final glove. It was cool and sunny, and I aged the track 55 minutes before we ran it.

As always, Ian was ready to go track. He started strong but then got distracted by scents other than his track. He peed; he pooped; he kicked up grass with all four feet (at this point I informed him there were NO pretty girls in the area to think he was studly); he peed again - all this within the first 60 yards! I was so proud...

I'd say the turn wasn't spectacular, but he did pull nicely around the corner. He got a little more focused on the second leg (hey, it was only 40 yards). He turned a little early, likely because he scented the food drop. He found this one and tracked to the glove. Then it happened ... he saw the robin.

I don't know why this dog is so obsessed with birds! I know they herd geese, but this boy is just obsessed with birds of any kind. He stood watching this robin finding worms and eating breakfast. Now, I love to be outside with my dogs tracking. I like the peace and the quiet and the nature. But I was not nearly as interested in the dietary habits of robins as Ian was - I wanted to track. I will say, Ian was absolutely beautiful as he posed there ears up and stacked watching this robin. That did make the hour long groom session the night before worth it.

Finally, it was clear I'd been taken down by this robin. I decided to let Ian go check out this bird or we would never get anywhere. Of course, when a big black furry beast came his way, the robin took off. You would think now that Ian couldn't see the blasted bird, it would be over and we'd get back to work. Well, if you thought that, you don't know Belgians.

Now that Ian could no longer see the robin, he wanted to know where it went and what was down that big hill it flew over. Maybe the robin was just on the other side of the hill and he could go watch it some more. Needless to say, there was nothing remarkable about the 125 yards of the third leg of Ian's track other than my blood pressure raising higher than it should and several threats on Ian's life.

I finally got Ian refocused about 15 yards before his last turn. Since this one had no food drop and Ian had been very distracted, I wasn't sure what he'd do. He did search more for this turn, but did come up with the correct direction and get the glove reward at the turn. He tracked on to the final glove, and to his credit wanted to continue the game. The great thing about Ian is he's not bright enough to take my threats on his life seriously. He knows I love him and won't give him away no matter how much I threaten (trust me, he's tested this to the max in his agility career).

This was one of those days I considered hanging up Ian's tracking harness. I figured I'd give it a few days so I could get some perspective, and even 24 hours later I feel better. He's going to take a lot of work to get him to understand the game. The good thing is he likes to do it. I think I'll give him 2 days off between each tracking day to make him enjoy the task more. Besides, I might need that much recovery time between each session!

Tracking Ian: today's adventure in turns

Ian continually surprises me with his desire to track. He was once again a spinning, whining, blur of black fur when he came out of the van to track. His track was 270 yards total, with three turns. His first two legs were 50 yards, his third leg was 100 yards and the final let was 70 yards. I gave him three food drops every three steps after each turn and a glove at 15 yards. The track was aged 50 minutes.

Ian tracked strong off the start. He doesn't totally have the idea to pull me, and this may be because pulling me has always been wrong for him. I also noticed that when I stopped when he was off the track, he stops too. This was the first time I've noticed this, and it might be the source of the repeatable stalling out problem I've had on the turns. I decided to play with this a little as we tracked. 

Ian got the first turn beautifully because of the food drops. His head went right down on the first one, and the next one led him onto the new leg. He was very excited about the article. He indicated it then tracked on, not caring about the extra cookies in the glove. 

On the second leg he tracked stronger. He came up with a loss of scent indication just before the turn, which was likely due to the wind direction. The food drops were again helpful to pull him onto the correct leg. His article indication was just like the previous turn. 

On the third leg, I experimented with something in my handling to help his "stall outs." When he went off track, instead of stopping I continued to move my feet but I moved them "in place" so I wasn't actually moving forward. This sound of footsteps was enough to give him the confidence I was back there and still coming, but it didn't continue to push him forward further off the track. It worked like a charm! He realized he was off track and came back to it, but he wasn't worried I'd somehow left him alone in the field (God forbid). 

I continued handling this way and he tracked this long leg nearly flawlessly. He actually gave me loss of scent indication and turned on the new leg before I realized he was on the turn. Unfortunately he also started tracking with his eyes, looking for the glove. He spotted it, after also spotting a couple of leaves that could also be articles. 

Ian's interested in the articles and realizes they are part of the game, but he'd rather track than get the cookies. I like this reaction, and it's much like Devon was when she was learning the game. She could have cared less about the food, because she was having so much fun tracking. 

Ian found his last glove and I gave him the cookies out of this one to show we were ending the game. He still tried to continue tracking until he realized he had a handful of treats! After we emptied the glove, I asked if he wanted it back. He played tug and then shook it to "kill" it. Finally, just like the Goldens, he carried his prize nearly all the way back to the van. I kept asking him if he was a retriever!

I am very pleased with what I'm seeing out of Ian. On our next track I'll try to diminish the food drops at the turns. Mostly, I'm glad Ian has found a sport he enjoys so much! 

Shaking off the rust on Ian's tracking

Ian loves to track. I remember telling his breeder for the first time that I laid a track for Ian, and she thought I misspoke! In fact, most people still can't believe I'm tracking Ian. However, Agile Gold knows why I'm tracking Ian. When I got him out of the van, he was so excited to track (and yes, he knew he was tracking), he couldn't contain himself. He was all tail wags, moving black fur and excitement. I asked if Kathy had ever seen him this excited to do agility, and the answer was a resounding no. Ian likes to track better than he likes agility - and that's saying something!

Now, the key is for me to be able to read him well enough for us to get somewhere! I laid a very straight forward two turn track for Ian. The track was aged approximately 35-40 minutes. It was 60 yards (with a 30 yard flag), left turn (which was triple laid) onto a 50 yard leg to a right turn (which was single laid) and 50 yards to the glove. Now, I could have been nice and actually put some food on the track since Ian hasn't tracked since October. I could have also done only one turn, since he's only done three single turn tracks in his life. But I guess I wasn't worrying about the details!

Ian did a nice job on the start. He does circle a lot, and he drives me nuts by pottying on the track (he does BOTH - boys!). However, he does nose down track and really pull me. He knows his job and clearly the age didn't bother him.

However, having a single follower behind him did bother him. Agile Gold is very good about not being bothered when a big black furry beast turns and barks at you ... three times! One would think he'd remember she was back there, but as my mother can swear to, he has a very short memory. In the past he's been a demo dog for my Introduction to Tracking Seminars. While he noticed the gallery watching on those occasions, they were farther away and not "stalking" him. Clearly if we ever make it to certification, this will be an issue. 

Ian again presented the same behavior on turns as before. He gives nice "loss of scent" indication, and he circles to find the track. At some point, I believe he locates it; however, I'm not reading his indication. I wait and wait and wait. Finally, Ian stalls out always pointing in a 45 degree angle directly on the line of the track and he looks at me. I'm sure he's saying, "Hey lady, I've already told you three times it's right there, but you aren't following me. Since I don't really know this game well, and I won't go anywhere without you, I'll just stand here until you decide we need to go down that leg." If I take one step in the direction of the new leg, he goes nose down to the track. Clearly, we need to communicate better than we are! 

Janet gave me a good suggestion today to use rewards to get him pulling around the turn in a way I can read him. I like this idea. I also think I just need to work with him more (what a concept) to really learn to read him. I've also thought about asking others to follow us (which will help get him used to that) and observe him to help me see what I'm missing. Reading Ian is much more difficult than reading Devon. However, if I'm actually going to be a good trainer, I need to figure this dog out.

I remember one of the first things a very good dog trainer said to my friend Linda Smithberger when she got her OTCH on her Novice A dog Max. Linda was told, "Congratulations! Now let's see if you can do it again!" (BTW, she did do it again.) To me, the hallmark of a good trainer, is that they can repeat their success with multiple dogs. I have an incredibly talented tracker with Devon. She has taught me more about the sport of tracking than any text book. Now let's see if I can "do it again!" 

GCDOC Agility Trial, Ian's runs

Ian had four lovely runs this weekend. He ended the weekend with three Qs, but I'm not unhappy with anything he did on the course. We have had an incredible 2 months of trialing, and I've really enjoyed running him. He is responsive to everything I'm doing on course, and he's more relaxed than at any time in his career.

Saturday's Excellent B Standard

There were 19 dogs in our class. The course was 173 yards and SCT was 61 seconds. Ian ran the course in 52.6 seconds and was one of only 5 dogs who qualified (a GSD took 1st followed by three Border Collies and then Ian).

It was a lovely flowing course, with a difficult weave entry. Ian came off the line so fast, I wasn't sure I was going to make the push into the the third jump. Luckily he read it beautifully. He just did a lovely job on this course. He was so fast across the dogwalk, I wasn't sure I would make it to the end for the front cross. His weaves were the best of the weekend, and the did the sharp 45 degree turn back to the tunnel very well. 

Saturday Excellent B JWW

There were again 19 dogs in our class. I cannot remember the Q rate, but the course was lovely and flowing. It was 148 yards and SCT was 39 seconds. Ian ran it in 35.32 seconds. His weaves were nice, but not all single tracked. He was still confident. I almost mishandled a very straight forward tunnel entrance. I made sure I didn't do that again. Generally, this was again a very nice run.

Sunday Excellent B Standard

There were 24 dogs in our class. I didn't write down yardage, but I know SCT was 66 seconds. I've debated a lot about what to say on the blog about this run. I will say Ian had a lot of reactive stressors before entering the ring. He was spooked by two dogs and two people for various reasons. We also were a part of an encounter with two children not managing their dog around reactive dogs waiting to run. 

Finally, with all this stress, we had to wait a very long time before our run. There was a tunnel on course that was taken by the dogs twice that they could not keep in place with sandbags. Big dogs hit this tunnel with full speed twice, dislodging sandbags and moving the tunnel on every run. So between each run, more than one person was out rebuilding the tunnel. You'll see on my run I wait on the line for more than 25 seconds as they tweak the tunnel.

So as much as I tried to manage Ian's stress level, it was high when we entered the ring. It didn't take much to push him over the edge. All it took was the judge walking toward him as Ian was moving between the teeter and the table. I wish this judge had recognized the stress signs in my dog before he did. By the time he backed off, we had incurred the refusal at the table, NQ'ing us. I was too firm with Ian calling him to the table because I was mad. I realized I needed to move to help him and once I did he got on the table. In hindsight, I also should have stayed with him at the teeter, as I knew at the time he was stressing and slowing down.

I can't say I'm really proud of my actions as a handler. I let my frustration in the moment get the better of me and I forgot my dog training. However, I share the run because the whole of the run minus the table was really beautiful. I commend my dog for bouncing back and finishing this run to perfection, including a very lovely set of weave poles where I pushed him by getting a lot of lateral distance. There was a time not too long ago where Ian would have left the ring. Instead, he showed a lot of heart and finished the run in style. This is really a Q in my book any day!

Sunday Excellent B JWW

There were 23 dogs in the class. It was 160 yards long and SCT was 43 seconds. Ian ran the course in 41.41 seconds. Although Ian's speed wasn't there, he did a lovely job considering his morning run. He was far less stressed before the run, and he was happy on course. I have a feeling he was aware of the judge at all times due to the morning run, which likely affected his speed. However, his skills were solid and it was a good run. 

I was very glad Ian and I could end the weekend on a positive run. It will be a while before our next agility trial, and I was hoping our last run would be good.

GCDOC Agility Trial general comments

I usually really like this trial site. However, this weekend it was very cold. I'm not sure if it was the cold wind outside or if they had less heaters, but this weekend it was nearly unbearable. I arrived each day by 7:20 a.m. On Saturday I left at 5:20 p.m. and on Sunday I pulled out at 3 p.m. Two long days of being very cold, and I must admit that probably affected my attitude on the "little things" that happen during a trial.

I was also worried about the dogs and warming them up properly. I took extra time to walk them before doing any stretching or jumping. Ian was in a great mood for most of his runs (more on that when I recap his runs). 

Devon was ready to go every time I pulled her out of the crate! It was interesting that she warmed up well and tugged in the crating area, but the minute we stepped into the arena where the rings were located, she wouldn't tug and I had to move to food. She also sniffed the dirt in the arena area more than she did in the crating area.

Generally, I'm not sure I'll return to this trial site again. In the future I may crate in my car to avoid the dirt that invaded everything I owned, from my clothes to my crates and blankets to my vehicle. It was so cold, I opted for inside. However, several folks said their vehicles were warmer than inside due to the sun.

My dogs did run very well, so overall it was a successful weekend for them. I guess I'll just have to make those decisions next year.

Dogs in hotels

My dogs have traveled so much, they are used to the hotel routine. I usually leave the fan on the air conditioner running, and at night I leave the bathroom fan on. This drowns out a lot of exterior noise for the dogs.

At this hotel, two interesting things happened yesterday. First, the fire alarms went off shortly after I arrived. This is the second time in our "careers" this has happened. Our room is a handicapped accessible room, so the alarm was very loud and a strobe light was flashing. Both dogs were extremely stressed.

I have a routine in hotels, too. My coat, purse, key to the room and dogs' leashes all go in the same exact spot. I can find them even in the dark and leash up the dogs. This routine is exactly for a fire alarm and us needing to evacuate quickly. I leashed up the dogs, grabbed my pursue and coat and held them tightly as we left the room. I put them quickly into the Escape. I also got in the Escape and was prepared to pull it out of the parking lot to a nearby parking lot when the alarm stopped. I move the vehicle so it doesn't get trapped in by fire trucks and emergency vehicles next to a burning building. Vehicles with full fuel tanks don't do well next to burning buildings.

Luckily, it was a false alarm. However, I wanted to share our routine with blog readers to get you thinking about it for yourselves. I've heard stories of people assuming it was a false alarm and leaving their dogs in the hotel. Then they weren't allowed back into the hotel for hours and at one location there was a small fire in the kitchen. I prefer to assume the worst and get my dogs out safely, then investigate.

The second thing I'm pleased with was the way both dogs, especially Ian, reacted to neighbor dogs who occasionally barked yesterday evening. They were small dogs, and their owner did a good job of keeping them quiet, but they did have several rounds of brief barking. The only reaction Ian gave was a low growl a couple of times. He immediately quieted when I asked. Devon never reacted. When the dogs barked in the middle of the night, neither dog stirred.

I was very pleased with my dogs in the hotel. And too bad I don't have a camera right now. Ian is sprawled on half the king-sized bed. He loves hotels!

Agility Club of Indianapolis Trial, Ian's Sunday Runs

I can't remember a time when Ian was so fast and so accurate. Incredibly, Ian had another perfect weekend, double Qing today with two 4th places. 

Excellent JWW

This was a beautiful run. Every cross was perfect and his weaves were incredible. 

Excellent Standard

The Standard course was a typical twisty, turny AKC course (not Annette's usual smooth flowing courses). Ian earned less MACH points on this one and weaved more slowly. However, what you cannot see on the video is the chute staring the dogs right in the face as they came through the weaves. The chute was an off course, and it sucked in easily half the dogs in Excellent and I'd guess 90% of the open dogs. Ian was a champ and didn't even look at it.

However, after four clean runs on the weekend with placements, I was a bad mom at the end of the standard run. I was turning towards Ian and unknown to me, he was jumping up towards me for a hug. I accidentally caught him right across the face with the back of my hand in a karate chop! His jaw slammed together so hard, my friends heard it across the building! Poor Ian! You can see it just barely on the end of the video clip as his head goes jerking back! Thankfully, he forgave me pretty quickly!

On a final note, I have to comment on Ian's attitude this weekend. It was really great. He was happy and tail wagging all weekend. He didn't really spook or shy at any one or any dog. He went up to most everyone who spoke to him. For him, he was incredibly relaxed. And there were lots of intact male dogs running in 24 inches with us, and the holding area was quite small. Ian even wagged and put his head in AKC Rep Diane Craig's outstretched hand! 

And I'd like to publicly comment that Diane is a classy dog person. I watched her measure dogs yesterday, and she was so very good with each dog and each individual. She relaxed the dogs, speaking kindly to them and made them comfortable; and she gently instructed the handlers. When she talked with Ian, he knew right away she was a genuine dog person. I think we're fortunate she's in our area as an agility rep.