A fun time was had by all

Devon, Page and I packed up this morning and headed to Pawsitive for drop in classes. We had a blast! The girls ran great, and there were lots of fun folks for me to hang out with, too.

We had an interesting standard course set up. Devon ran the first class, and she was pokey off the start. I think it was a combination of two things; first, the start had her running toward the teeter and I think she was anxious about when she would be asked to do the teeter. She has been pokey at the start lately and I think it's concern/anticipation of the teeter.

Second, I had trimmed her nails this morning and just nicked one too close. It didn't bleed much, but once she started running it broke open and bled. I think her toe was a touch sore. Shame on me for not doing this the previous day as I had intended!

Devon's teeter confidence is so much better in places where she routinely trains. However, in the last two weeks she's gotten into the habit of bailing off the teeter the first time over it, then going up and over on the second and all subsequent attempts. Today she again bailed the first time but then went over confidently on all other attempts. This was very exciting because the teeter was different today, and she wasn't rattled by the change in equipment. So it's just confidence in new places we need to work on and not fear of the equipment. That's a good sign!

Devon is entered in Standard at this weekend's trial, but I don't think I'll run her. There's a very good chance she'll bail off the teeter on the first try, and with the 4-paw safety rule I must go on. I want to wait and trial her where I can give her multiple attempts (like in a FAST class) and have her succeed.

Page will be debuting at this weekend's trial. At 16.5 months, this dog is looking amazing. I never in my wildest dreams imagined she'd be ready before fall at the earliest. But she's handling challenges very well, and she's learning from my consistency on her small problems.

Page held every start line today, and most of them were right handed starts. She nailed every contact except the first time over the teeter. I anticipate that will be a tough one for her this weekend. The opening of the first course had two forward moving front crosses, and it was a challenge. I was thrilled that Page held her start, and we nailed front crosses.

Page's other recent challenge has been the table. Remember that I hadn't planned on trialing her until this fall, and I knew AKC was considering a table change rule. I've taught Page an automatic down on the table; I did that with Devon and I love the performance. So when the positionless table change came out for Sept. 1, I thought, "Great, I don't have to worry about a sit!" Oooops! Now I'm trialing.

So the first time I asked Page for a sit on the table, she looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "NO, MOMMA! A box is a down!" She wouldn't even sit for a treat! So the last 3 weeks I've been working on her going from a down to a sit on the table. Bless her soul, she has put that together this week! Her tables looked great today.

One of the other courses we ran was a JWW course with an awkward set of 6 poles. I am so glad we got to run this course, because I wish I had a video of the look on her face the first time Page went into 6 poles. She got the first two poles and then kind of fell out and blew by the rest of them, then she stopped and looked around like, "What the heck happened to the rest of the poles?!?!" I turned her around and we did them again and she figured out there were only 6 and did just fine.

The other funny thing about this course was after a pinwheel going to a second set of poles, Page went running straight out in front of the jump. Liz stopped me and said, "What happened there?" I said I hadn't the foggiest idea. Then she asked what I had said, and it was "GO." Then I said, "Well that's her weave command and it shouldn't have meant go flying out in front of me." Liz very calmly said, "Yes, and where did she go to?" DUH!!! She went flying to the other set of weave poles in front of her, and not the weaves 180 degrees behind her! How stupid was I that I didn't see that! Liz said she was doing exactly what I asked of her but couldn't figure out how to make the weave entrance.

Once I changed my handling to a rear cross on the flat and directed her to the poles I wanted and THEN said, "GO," Page handled the sequence just fine. Bless Liz! It's so handy to have someone to see these things! Liz was also considerate enough to remember some of us would see a broad jump this weekend, so she set one up and we did that, too.

In addition to Liz's wonderful eye and kind kicks in the butt, it was fun to see friends I don't see often. We got to share in Ada Mae's Senior Hunter cake, brought by her proud mom Jane. I was so glad we got to help celebrate their accomplishment. Ada was owner trained and handled by Jane, and I know they have worked so very hard together!

We're off to bed with visions of agility trials dancing in our heads! The bags are all packed and jackpot are ready to head to the trial site in the morning!

The best laid plans...

So much for planning ahead. We should be at a hunt test this weekend, but Page decided to come in season for the first time last week. Really, she's waited this long (she's nearly 16 months old), you think she could have looked at the calendar and seen our trial/test schedule and waited until July. We only had training in July!

Oh well! I'm sure if she really knew she was missing hunt tests and the opportunity to get nice fluffy ducks, she would be disappointed. So finishing that JH will have to wait for a while, and we'll push off her WC until a fall test. If all goes as planned/hoped, she should be out just before her agility debut the end of the month. Let's hope this first cycle sticks to the plan!

The good news is that after initially trying to rub the panties off by writhing across the living room floor, Page gave up and is quite content to look silly. She's better than Devon about wearing panties, because she can even be crated in her panties and not shred them (if you take your eyes off Devon for a minute, she's shredded everything). Once again I'm so very amazed at how different Devon and Page are. Devon, Ms. Perfect, is the shredder and Page, Ms. Bizzy, is the contented one. [On a similar note, Devon, the momma's girl, sleeps on the day beds or off somewhere in the room, and Page, all confidence and can do it on her own, is always as close to my chair as possible or even curled up on my feet.]

Page is even fine running in agility with her panties on, not missing any speed or accuracy in weaves or with her contacts. I've worked to be very consistent on reinforcing startlines and contacts. Her startlines look much better, and she's much quicker to sit and stay steady. Contacts are probably 90%, with her dogwalk contact looking the best. She's starting to creep down the A frame, stopping at the top or halfway down. I'm not making eye contact, but simply waiting her out. I'll probably have to go back to clicking when she hits the board, since I don't want this to become a habit.

Other than those little issues, I'm very pleased with the rest of her agility work. After going through a week of popping out of pole 12, Page seems to have worked through that and does all 12 at great speed. What I'm particularly pleased about in her Tuesday night sequencing class is that she's starting to realize I'm lining up obstacles in her path with my handling and she's starting to take them.

Like any green dog, Page had been curving into me when obstacles were a little farther out in front of her and she had to seek them out. Now she gets to look for what's next. If there's a slight push, she's now responding to it and taking the obstacle. Unlike most fast, green baby dogs, Page isn't overly obstacle focused but does want to play the game with me and look to me for instructions. She's also responding to rear crosses on the flat and forward moving front crosses, too. By far her best handling skill is wrapping a jump. She reads deceleration quite well in those situations.

And the biggest thing I can say about Page's agility training is she is months ahead of where I would expect any dog her age to be. She really is an amazing partner.

Devon's first MXJ leg

Really? It's been almost 2 months since I've posted to the blog? Wow, time flies.

Even though it's been a couple of months ago, I want to get the video up of Devon's first MXJ leg. It was at the Gem City Agility trial in Lewisburg, Ohio, on Friday, February 26. I was working in the other ring when I saw them walking my course. Unfortunately when I asked if someone else could take over, none of the people in the area knew how to scribe. Great! I scribed the last dog standing up and then raced to the other ring.

The judge was starting to fire folks out of the ring but she said those with conflicts and workers to continue to walk. I wasn't too worried even though I had not checked in, because I figured they would leave Devon in her "A" running order at the end of the 20 inch class since I'd just moved up. Imagine my surprise as I walked out of the ring past the first dog coming on line to check in and realize we were up in 8 dogs!

I should have just moved Devon down and taken a breather. That would have been the sane thing to do. But I didn't stop and think. I ran outside, switched my shoes, grabbed Devon from the car, pottied her and in we went. By the time I was in the door, we were next in the course. I had a second to review the course and then we were on the line. I had my back to the ring crew and heard a timer box say, "GO" but it was so quiet I thought it was for the other ring. Then I could practically hear crickets chirping. I turned to see the judge shrug and raise her arms as if to say, "Hey, I'd really like to judge you if you'd ever get off the startline." At that point what little composure I had was gone!

Devon bolted off the startline and I knew there was no way I'd get in that front cross I had planned after the second jump. It was onto Plan B, and I really didn't have a Plan B. Actually, Plan B was all rear crosses, and remembering the course when I was on the opposite side of jumps than when I walked it. Thinking fast and running hard, we pulled out a clean run for Devon's first MXJ leg and first 8 MACH points!

While this was a fast and furious run I'll remember forever, it did show me two things that have given me a lot to thing about. Devon nailed this course with rear crosses. She was driving forward and moving fast with me out of her way. I had to do that last front cross near the end of the course because I knew I wouldn't remember the course if I couldn't get it in. Devon noticeably pulled up and slowed down after that front cross.

I have always known Devon runs faster when I'm rear crossing and out of her way, and Friday's course showed it. I wanted to try something similar the next day. But on Saturday, I didn't like the flow of the JWW course. It seemed awkward for me. I was determined to rear cross, and the course called for it.

I don't think Devon really liked this course either. Before the video starts, I actually pulled her off a jump so we didn't Q this run. I felt it was slow and sluggish, but when I checked her time, we were still more than 5 seconds under SCT. Not a fast run, but not bad.

After looking at this run and seeing how Devon noticeably slowed toward the end of the run on a rear cross, I think the key with her is staying out of her way. She doesn't like me jammed up with her on jumps. I will have to work on driving with motion and being out of her way.

I also think a very short warm up time is also a key with Devon. On Saturday we had a much longer wait at the gate, and she was a different dog going into the ring. While I like to be prepared, Devon doesn't need a lot of time to think about her job; she just needs to go do it.

Agility Club of Indianapolis Trial

This weekend was the Agility Club of Indianapolis trial. This was our first trial back from Devon being in season, and she only had one class since coming back. The nice thing about this trial was that the Excellent classes were first, so most folks cleared out for the Open and Novice courses. As with most of our local trials, we were among friends, but we did miss Agile Gold who didn't make this one.

Saturday's run

Big dogs ran last on Saturday. The Excellent JWW was nice and flowing; I usually like Jeff Ipser's courses a lot. I only saw two areas of concern for us. The first was the final pinwheel after the weaves. After building up speed over the double, the dogs were staring at the off course jump #1. Jump #15 was hiding behind a post. It would only be visible to the dog if the handler cued the dog to turn after #14. The next area of concern was jump #18 after the second time through the straight tunnel. It was a very flat 180, so I knew I'd have to support jump #18 and not move on too early.

I hate that first run after we've had a break from trialling. As much as I try not to, I do get nervous. Because Devon and I are still a green team, I'm still not totally confident and that makes me nervous.

I think on Saturday we were just a little out of sync. Devon tugged well up to the ring area; but after she stopped tugging if I wasn't actively giving her treats for tricks, she would start scratching, which I knew was stress. I tried not to let it make me anxious and didn't crab at her for it.

Devon started the run a little sluggish, but we worked through the opening well. My first mistake came at the last weave pole. These were 24 inch poles and she's only seen them a couple of times. As she was in the poles I could see she was adjusting her stride from her usual striding for 22 inch poles to the 24 inch poles. I thought we had the poles and stepped laterally just a split second too soon and Devon popped out of the last pole. She wasn't fully committed to that last pole.

I didn't react and pushed forward with the run. However, I made a second mistake on her commitment point with the turn from the straight tunnel to the #18 jump. I even told myself each time I walked that course to stay by the wing for her until she was committed, and I can see by the video I didn't support it long enough.

I always hang onto my mistakes longer than I ever do if the dog makes a mistake (probably because if my dog makes a mistake it's lack of training which is my fault). It was a nice course and Devon ran it well; but I made a couple of small errors and one I even identified and still screwed up! I will say the other thing that struck me in watching the run is that Devon did speed up when I relaxed and started pushing for my position after we'd NQ'd. That tells me her speed has a lot to do with my nerves. Here's the run:

Sunday's run

I felt better Sunday after a good night's sleep. Big dogs ran first, and Devon was the very last 20 inch dog to run. We had another beautiful course, and this one had an interesting close. The line from 15 to 16 pushed slightly to the right before the course turned back to the left. It was a deceptive push with off course potential on either side.

Most of the big dog handlers were walking it with a rear cross, but I didn't want to be stuck behind the wing of the triple way too far behind my dog to make the turn back to 17. Even if you got the #17 jump, you were risking the dog turning back to you because you were behind and taking the off course before reaching 18.

With a front cross before 15 you still had to get around the jump standard for a slight push for the triple. During the walk through, I finally decided on the front cross on the landing side of 15. It showed the dog his path and with the tunnel it gave me enough time to get to where I needed to be.

The 14-17 sequence was the problem area for the big dogs as expected (as a side note very few of the small dogs struggled here because there handlers were able to show the pull and still get around the triple to support 17). Very few big dog handlers did a front cross; most chose the rear. A lot of people got the off course to #3 if they didn't show enough pull to their right. A lot of people got stuck behind the wing of #16 needing or choosing to do the rear on the flat after the triple and got hung up before 17. Those who did do the front cross after 15 just squeaked it in.

Needless to say after watching all the 26-20 inch dogs, I was concerned for my plan. But I decided to run my plan, trust my dog and push to be in the right location. I wasn't nervous at all for this run. And I told Devon all the folks around the ring were there to watch her. She always loves to perform for a crowd, and of course all the little dog handlers wanted to get at their walk thru! I even had to hand Devon off as the dog in front of us went to the line when I realized my shoe was untied. That threw Devon a curve right before going into the ring.

I ran with Devon off the line, and she loved it. We had a much better start than Saturday. My front cross before the 180 was late, but Devon handled it well with minimal affect on her speed. Devon was prepared for the 24 inch weaves and handled them beautifully. After the tunnel, I hauled it to my front cross spot, and I know I broke my connection with my dog. However, Devon was perfect and followed my direction and nailed this section of the course. You can hear my yell of satisfaction when she landed after the triple!

What a beautiful run! Not only did this run win the Excellent A class, but Devon finished her AXJ on it. When I looked back, Devon earned her AXJ with three first place finishes and earned two of her legs on Jeff Ipser courses (I also finished Ian's MACH on one of Jeff's courses, so he's lucky for us).

And once again I was reminded that when I'm relaxed and concentrating on getting to where I need to be (i.e. getting my job done for the team), Devon does her job just right. As someone said after watching Sunday's video, "You guys both looked like you were having fun out there." We were!

CISSC Agility Trial

Devon is back to agility trials after a 6-week holiday break. This is a fun local trial. It's small and mostly everyone knows everyone. The only thing I don't like is the change in the running order this club made back in November and repeated this weekend. They ran all standard and all JWW classes together. So both days Excellent exhibitors had to sit through Open and Novice before running their second class.

Don't get me wrong: I'm very supportive of Open and Novice dogs and handlers. In fact, one of the biggest reasons I don't like this running order is because of the pressure on the Open and Novice dogs and handlers. The building is congested with dogs and people, and many very nervous first time green teams are being watched by seasoned old-timers. Open and Novice dogs and handlers are much better served when the building is quieter and there are fewer dogs when they run. It just makes a very long day for all dogs and handlers - not to mention parking is terrible!

Well, back to the fun part! I really enjoyed hanging out with Kathy and Emma. I think I saw Emma was at least 10 seconds under time in one of her JWW runs! Amazing! And Zoe and Terrie are hot in Excellent B! And we got to see several folks make their agility debut this weekend: Sammy and Columbus, Laurie and Dusty and Steve and Archie. All three teams did fantastic for their first time out and some even earned ribbons! Teresa and awesome beagle Jordon have been bit by the bug in their second trial and promise to make it a 2-day affair in February. Let's see if they can talk the others into the same thing (Laurie). I had a lot of fun standing behind the ring reminding Novice teams to breathe and connect with their dogs. Thanks to Kathy who took on video duty for Novice on Sunday!

Now for Devon's runs. I thought we were a bit rusty on Saturday. We ran in the afternoon, and Devon had a busy morning here at the house. I only gave her half her breakfast as usual for a trial, but since she ran in the afternoon I probably could have given her a full meal. Plus I'm sure she did not nap in the crate. Considering she shredded another crate pad, I know she wasn't napping (why oh why do I continue to feel sorry for her and put them in her crate)!

The error you'll note on the video clip is that Devon popped her weave poles. She has been doing that in practice off and on, so this didn't surprise me. But she hasn't popped them in a trial at this facility. I realized as I turned her around she was worried about the moving shadows on the ground from the Big Ass Fan. I was pleased she did the poles correctly on the second try.

Devon also ticked the double after the chute pretty hard. I was surprised the bar didn't come down. I'm sure this was because she wasn't as prepared for it coming out of a chute. It worried her, and I struggled to keep connected with her on the next two front crosses. I made sure I stopped and connected so we could keep that teamwork.

I felt Devon was slow on course, and her time reflected it. I was concerned she may be sore or need an adjustment with all the rough play she and Page do. I decided to not worry too much and see what she did on Sunday.

Sunday proved to be a much better run for Devon. The running order was tall to small and JWW ran first. Devon was eager to run, and she tugged up to the back of the ring, which is a first. I got worried when Devon started stress scratching at the start line, but once she was on course she only ran faster and faster.

I didn't know how the rear cross on the 180 would work, but she read it beautifully with a nice line. She handled the send to the landing side front cross on the next 180 well, too. I was really pleased with the very tight line she gave me after that front cross into the weaves. There were two places through there where she gave me a couple of sniffs, which had to be stress, but she didn't seem to break stride. She had very nice weaves, which were a little slow but accurate.

I almost didn't get that last front cross in. As I was rotating I knew it was the wrong choice. I also could hear Kathy in my head saying we'd get a wide turn if we drove too hard and showed too much extension getting into position. That was true! But Devon saved it, and we had a lovely run. This run earned Devon her second AXJ leg and a pretty blue ribbon.

Although Devon's speed was good, it was not as fast as she has been. I still think she is likely sore and in need of an adjustment. I also continue to wonder what handling works best for Devon. As this Sunday run shows, Devon runs very well when I'm out of her way and giving her space. She can handle tight turns, but she doesn't seen to like them as well (note the sniff on the collection before the weaves and the slow down I felt on Saturday). It makes me wonder if she thinks she's doing something wrong when I completely decelerate showing that much collection.

We are still a very green team. Now that we are executing pretty well, I'm going to try and pay more attention to what handling she prefers and give it to her. I like her running happy and fast, even if we don't always Q!

Greater Lafayette Kennel Club Agility Trial

Whew! This 2-day trial ended a busy week for us, which included two days of field training in Ohio on Thursday and Friday (more on that to come). The girls and I got back Friday evening to unpack the SUV of field training and cold weather gear and reload it for an agility trial.

I was thankful to only be running Excellent JWW, which was the second class of the day. I didn't have to get up early! But I am a member of this club, so I had some duties to accomplish when I got to the trial site each morning.

Saturday Excellent JWW

Devon ran a flawless course; she did everything I asked of her ... including when I cued the first tunnel about 2 steps too early, causing her to go into the wrong entrance. I knew it when it happened; while I gave her a call and rotated my shoulders, I didn't try too hard to call her off of it. She was searching for direction and I gave it to her and she committed.

According to the judge and AKC it was an NQ, but it was my fault, so I celebrated a perfect run with my girl. She doesn't care about ribbons or qualifying scores! I got a lot of compliments on her last line of jumping. I cued extension and boy did she read it!

Sunday Excellent JWW

Today's course was shorter but more technical. I love technical courses when I ran them with Ian. I'm still not as sure with my handling of my baby dog, so I didn't jump up and down for joy at the challenge our judge presented us today.

But I planned my run and stuck to my plan. Front crosses to pull speed and give good direction. There was another dratted tunnel where we had to pull to the far end. I was determined to cue this one correctly!

This was a lovely run! Even though I can pick it apart (which I will), it was still a clean run and Devon's first AXJ leg! Yippee!!

Now for the critique! Both days Devon showed startline stress by scratching, and she was slow off the startline. On Saturday's run she recovered nicely. Today Devon was distracted on course and wanted to disconnect several places during the run; I worked hard to keep her connected. I wonder if the disconnection was stress due to the more technical course that required lots of side changes. I'll have to keep track of this in the future.

I wonder if the scratching/stress at the startline was simply four weekends in a row of trials. I was exhausted, and I'm sure Devon was too. Plus we had two days of field training outside the two days before the trial this weekend.

Devon's course time was fast on Saturday, running 4.49 yards per second (YPS). Today's shorter more technical course dropped Devon's speed a little to 4.04 YPS. She's still well above where she was this summer, and she's looking confident.

I was thrilled about Devon's weaves this weekend; they were lovely! She was a little slower than she has been, but after last weekend's struggles that's to be expected. I know these weaves are 22 inches, and I know she does well on 24 inch weaves. Since last weekend's weaves were 20 inches, and that answers the weave question for Devon. Last weekend wasn't Devon's lack of skill at weaving; it was her lack of experience on various weave spacing.

Finally, I think we're all looking forward to taking the next 6 weeks off from trialing. We have a seminar to attend in a couple of weeks, but other than that we'll be sticking close to home and training. We've had a busy fall beginning with 5 weekends of hunt tests, then lots of tracking and tracking tests followed by 4 weekends of agility trials. It's time for a rest!

And Devon also did me a huge favor by listening to my request and reading the calendar. Devon was due in season Dec. 1 by the calendar. I asked her to wait until Dec. 7 so we could get through these trials, then she could come in and be out before our next set of trials. She's not in yet, but I'm certain she will be shortly! What a good girl she is!

Illiana Collie Fanciers 3-day trial

We spent the 3 days after Thanksgiving at the Illiana Collie Fanciers Agility Trial in Merrillville, Ind. I've attended this trial at least twice, and I really like the location and judges. Crating never seems to be a problem, and there are good vendors.

Friday Excellent JWW

This was Devon's first attempt at Excellent JWW. There were nearly 100 dogs in the 20 inch class, and Devon was about 3 dogs from the end. Even though we were the first jump height, it was a long wait!

Due to a technical error on my part with the camera being set wrong, we don't have a video of this run. It was a really nice run. Unfortunately when Devon turned to the weave poles, there was lots to look at, including a chair sitting in the goal area, the goal area itself, the empty room behind the goal area, and the numbered cone. By the time Devon got all that looked at, she couldn't possibly make the weave poles!

I restarted her in the weaves, but she went in at pole 2 and then weaved them out. Because she did most of them well, we went on.

The other thing I found with this run is because I ran the shorter path on the inside, I could focus on Devon. I could see when she was starting to lose her focus on her run and look elsewhere and I could stop my motion and give her a name call to keep us connected.

Considering Devon nailed everything but the weave poles, I considered this run a success.

Saturday Excellent JWW

This was another fun, fast JWW course. After a long wait on the start line, Devon was a little slow off the line, but I was pleased not to see any stress in her. Except for only a little hesitation, she read the rear cross very well. Devon also had a little hesitation at the first tunnel. These two tunnel entrances were actually very straight forward, and I wondered if Devon thought they should be harder than they were.

I thought I had Devon lined up for the weaves pretty well, but she blew by them giving me little effort. I turned her around, and she again gave me no effort in the weaves. This aggravated me. After two weekends of beautiful weaves, Devon suddenly wasn't weaving and not giving me effort. I considered making her do them again (you see me hesitate), but then decided not to pick a battle over the weaves in a trial when she's so green.

We went on, and it was a good choice. She runs the last line really strong. I had originally planned to put a front cross in two jumps before the end, mainly to prevent the distraction of the ring crew for Devon. After watching 90 dogs run this course, I decided a pull would be the better way to handle that since the few that tried the front cross barely got it in. Since I only walked the pull once, when I disconnected from Devon to check my location on the course, she did what I expected and was distracted by the ring crew.

In all, I wasn't very happy with this run. It was the worst she'd run in the three weekends, and I was unhappy that she didn't give me much effort at the weave poles. I was probably a little hard on Devon, because the opening and most of the closing was lovely and fast.

Sunday Excellent JWW

The third day, and this was our second 3-day trial in a row. I wondered what Devon would do today. On Saturday evening after the trial, I tracked both Devon and Page. Devon did a lovely job, but Page was too tired and I ended the track early. I woke up with a headache, and Devon took her own sweet time doing her business that morning. She got to spend about 30 minutes walking around the area of the hotel, so I think she had a lovely morning!

We had another great JWW course. Devon gave me just a little lip lick on the line, which was her first sign of start line stress in three weekends. I didn't notice it until I uploaded the videos on the computer, and you see from the start she doesn't seem stressed.

Devon read the pull after the triple like a pro. The third bar of the triple came down a lot, so I was pleased with the opening. Even better, after jump 5 in the pinwheel, you hear me give her a loud name call and hand clap. That was because she was landing facing the judge, and I didn't want her to go say hello. She didn't even flick her head that direction, so I was super proud! The rest of that line into the tunnel was just terrific.

Now we come to the baby dog moments. She came shooting out of that tunnel and saw me really far ahead and came right in to me. This was really my fault. I should have supported that jump better for her, but I was so worried about making that front cross. Devon was a good girl and came with me even though she went around two jumps.

We again had to make two attempts at the weaves, but Devon did go into them and give me effort so I was happy. After the weaves, I didn't trust my baby dog enough and didn't show her enough lateral motion on the 270 for her to get the landing side front cross. Poor Devon does give me a couple of head shakes through here to show me her stress.

We ended the course nicely, and Devon didn't go see the ring crew too badly after the last jump. In all, I think this was a nice run for a green team! P.S. Devon is sporting a new pink leash, which I bought for Page. It looks really good on Devon, and if it breaks in better than her purple one has, Devon will be running in it along with Page!

Overall I was thrilled with Devon's performance this weekend. She had some really lovely fast runs. My goal going into this month of trialing was to keep her speed up. I think we've done just that! Devon is now running at 4.5 YPS or faster. Ian's average JWW run was 4.22 YPS, with only five career runs over 4.5 YPS. That means I'm having to learn to run a faster dog than I've ever run before. Combine that speed with being a green team, and I don't think our mistakes are really all that bad!

The second thing I know about this weekend is that the weave pole spacing was only 20 inches. I found that out last year, and I remember it took Ian 3 runs to get his footwork down on those poles. Devon hasn't run on 20 inch poles in a long time, and she's a green dog. She doesn't have the experience Ian would have to stay in the poles and adjust. Since Devon's poles were fantastic the previous two weekends, I want to see what she does on "home territory" this week in class. I think if I don't make the weaves an issue, they won't be. However, I think some extra weave work over the holidays wouldn't hurt!

One final note on our runs. I tried a different warm up routine with Devon on Saturday. I don't notice that Devon relies a lot on her warm up routine, but I do have very consistent routines in all of our sports. Devon's weakest run of the weekend was Saturday. I went back to the "normal" warm up routine on Sunday, and she did much better. I was also able to get tugging into the ring area on Sunday and clear up to the practice jump. This was new, and it showed me she was very comfortable on Sunday.

Devon, OAJ -- Central Indiana Shetland Sheepdog Club Agility Trial Day 3

We ended this trial on a great note! After two days of beautiful runs, Devon did one for me today. She qualified with a clean run to finish her OAJ, with a second place (8 seconds under SCT) and 0.27 seconds behind a Border Collie.

Devon has continued to improve with every run. Her weaves were incredibly solid today, and she was fast. I led out to just past the first jump, which was new for us. When I said, "OK" to release her, I saw Devon lift straight up to come off that start line, and I knew I was going to have run RUN!! That push was a little harder to get in today than it was on Friday! No worries about her going around the first jump any more! I'm seeing none of the startline stress I saw the last time we trialed in June.

I was worried about the tunnel entrance because of yesterday, but Devon read it correctly. I heard her flying through the tunnel and knew I had to get into place to cue collection for the turn to the weaves just over the next jump. Devon handled that weave entrance like a pro and I think her weaves were faster today than yesterday.

After the weaves, you had to pull 90 degrees to the right with an off course jump pretty close in front of them. As I walked the course I knew I could show no forward movement and depending on how fast Devon came out of the weaves, she could catch me flat footed. I wanted to do a front cross two jumps after the weaves; but when Devon came flying out of those poles in the correct direction, I knew I wasn't going to make it. Looking at the video I think I might have made it, but it would have been close and I would have risked the off course.

The rest of the course was lovely, with me pushing for a front cross and then almost running into a post doing a pull to the finish. There were lots of compliments for Devon coming out of the ring! And I had a couple of people say I made that run look effortless. HA! I'm pushing for every step out there, and that wasn't easy! I'm just glad I have a fantastic partner!

Central Indiana Shetland Sheepdog Club Agility Trial Day 2

Today was an earlier day since JWW was first, followed by Standard. Since we're still in Open JWW, I got to work big dogs for Excellent JWW. It was great to sit in the ring and watch what was working and what was a train wreck. Unfortunately it didn't help me much. Judge Scott Chamberlain is being sneaky! He's nesting courses so there are hardly any actual jump changes, but he's making the path completely different from Excellent to Open.

As challenging as the courses have been over two days, I have really enjoyed them. I don't mind a challenge, and the dogs do get to rip on Scott's courses. Today's Open JWW was no exception. When I looked at the opening the first option I saw was to run the dog on left and rear cross the weave pole entry. The other option included a two-jump lead out push or a front cross after the second jump or a straight push (all variations of the same handling).

After walking the course, I decided on my initial thought of a rear cross into the weaves. This is something Devon handles well and has done in competition before (in June). I felt it was also my best option for getting speed off the startline by running with her.

Next, the course required a front cross after the weaves. Again a skill Devon does well, but then I realized I was doing two of the hardest handling moves at the weaves on an Open dog. Oh well, we'd see what she could handle!

The only other concern I had on this course was the front cross with an off course tunnel in their face. Even though I didn't like this option, this was similar to what the Excellent dogs had. The handlers who chose to pull and then rear cross the jump before the tunnel struggled. The dogs didn't read the rear back to the tunnel and thought they were going forward to a jump, causing a very wide and ugly path for the dog. I didn't want to potentially shut Devon down with this handling because I was concerned even if she went wide she would think she was wrong.

Below is our run. Devon handles the weave poles like a dream! Unfortunately I was slightly late on my front cross near the tunnel and Devon was already fully committed to that tunnel way before she took off for the jump. You can see she does look at me before going into the tunnel, and bless her buttons she knows exactly which jump to take and in which direction when she comes out of the tunnel! What a good girl! After I got situated, we finished the course very strong. The rear in the close worked fine, but I felt like I could have had time to do a front cross. Unfortunately with the pole and how tight the jumps were through that section, I think a rear was my best option.

What a great run this was! Yes, I would LOVE to get a Q ribbon and get out of Open JWW, but I could watch those weaves all day! Devon is just looking so strong, and it's giving both of us confidence. This was my goal, and as long as she's looking good, I'll continue to be happy.

Oh, and day two of the mesh crates is still going just fine. We had a couple of problems with Page's toys mysteriously disappearing from her crate. Surprisingly they showed up in Emma's crate. Hummmm. However Sadie the Golden showed up when Emma was out and Page's bone took a tour of the building with Sadie. After Sadie gave it up (with a little persuasion), it went back to Page's crate.

I think the girls got Emma back, though. After she left, Devon and Page grabbed her toy off her crate and it made a tour of the building and parking lot on the way to our van. Never fear, it's back safe and sound on Emma's crate tonight! What will these Goldens think of next??

Central Indiana Shetland Sheepdog Club Agility Trial Day 1

Our first 3-day agility trial in months! We got to sleep in on Friday since we were only running Open JWW and the trial started with FAST, then Standard and finally JWW.

We arrived around 12 noon with lunch (including a yummy Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake from Steak 'n Shake - I love this time of year!!). I am trying an experiment this weekend. Both Page and Devon are in mesh crates. Since Devon has eaten her way out of one as a puppy, I've kept her in metal crates for 3 years. But recently I tried mesh crates at a run through and they worked fine. I had the van with me so I had metal crates available if something went wrong. But so far so good!

Devon had an absolutely beautiful run. It was a challenging course, but I decided to stick with my goal of getting fast, drivey runs regardless of Q rate. I also decided that I would handle Devon as I would a seasoned dog. I can trust her. She knows her job, and she's confident.

The opening was ideal for a two-jump lead out push. However, I never did those in competition with Ian. Even though he could handle the skill, he was insecure sitting on the startline so far away from me. Instead I would lead out and just do a push.

Leading out past the first jump is risky with Devon. In the past she's been insecure about being left and will come around the first jump. So my plan was to get at least to the jump standard and then run like heck! It worked like a charm! What a good girl!

Next were two pinwheels both needing front crosses. Devon did this very well. She wanted to disconnect in the second pinwheel, but I never let the connection slip away.

Devon's weave entrance was beautiful, as were her weaves ... until she comes out and visits a bar setter. I was so shocked to see her come out of the poles, and halfway to the bar setter I think she realized she wasn't supposed to do that. To keep her from worrying, I didn't react and got her back on course to a lovely finish. I had been worried about that tunnel entrance in the close, but Devon a fantastic job with it.

So in spite of Devon's brain fart in the weaves, this was a fantastic run. And both girls spent the whole day in mesh crates with no escaping! That makes set up and tear down easier!

Bearded Collie Club Agility Trial

On Saturday, we drove to Lewisburg, Ohio, and Circle G Arena for the Bearded Collie Club's Agility Trial. I only entered Saturday, because Page was entered in a TDX test in Chicago. Of course, with her pass last weekend, we allowed someone else to take her spot, and we didn't have the pressure to get home to rest.

Because of the running order and not entering FAST, I got to sleep in and didn't rush to get to the trial. It's been almost a year since I've trialed in Ohio, and it was wonderful to see all my old friends.

Devon's teeter fears have returned in the last 3-4 weeks (more on that in a future post), so I pulled her from Standard and just ran JWW. We have not trialed in 5 months with hunt tests and tracking tests. Devon has become a very confident agility dog in that time, running Excellent/Master level courses with ease. I was excited to trial this weekend to see if her confidence in class transfered to the ring.

Our Open JWW course by Lisa Rieves was a course I liked. When compared to Excellent JWW, it had the same opening (1-6), the same entrance into the weaves (8-11) and the same close (11-18). The Excellent dogs ran the course well, and several big dog handlers came out smiling and said it ran well.

I saw two options for handling the opening. Option A had dog on right from the start with a landing side front cross after 3. Option B had the dog starting on right and doing a take-off side rear cross on 5. Either option had me doing a landing side front cross after 6.

For the close, I again saw two options. Option A was a landing side front cross on 14 with a pull to the finish. Option B had a rear cross on the flat after 15.

Based on the Excellent dogs, the start was demotivating for most dogs, with an opening pinwheel and the dog headed right into the ring gate off 1 and 2. A landing side front cross on 3 worked well for a solid, seasoned dog who trusted their handlers and for fast drivey dogs. However, that bar on jump 2 came down a lot or dogs pulled off jump 2 as handlers moved in the opposite direction to get into position on jump 3.

The Excellent dogs handled the close very well, so either a front cross on 14 or a rear after 15 worked. Hummmm, what to do? Based on her history, Devon has preferred me to get out of her way and rear cross at trials. It's not my comfort level, but I need to support my dog. So after walking it several times, I decided to rear cross on the take-off side of 5, front cross on the landing side of 6 and rear cross on the flat between 15-16.

Now that my handling was decided, I reviewed my only goal for the run: to stay positive and see a very fast drivey run like I've seen in class. This is why I'm trialing Devon in JWW even when I'm not running in Standard. I want her to learn trials are fun and she needs to run fast. I don't want her to feel pressure and slow down to a crawl.

Analysis of our run: Devon was in fine form going to the line. Although she stopped tugging the minute we walked in the building, she was really pumped. She loved the high value treats (steak and ham) and was foaming at the mouth for more. Jostling outside the ring when I set our stuff near where they posted the results only to find my way blocked three times didn't faze her. And we went in a dog early when the dog in front of us who had checked in wasn't at the gate. Again, Devon wasn't bothered.

Devon sat quickly at the line with none of her past startline stress. She was ready to go. She was slower off the start line than I expected, which was probably caused by the demotivating start I had already identified. I was glad I decided to continue to support her through jumps 1-3 and not pull off for the landing side front cross.

However, I think I showed a little too much motion and acceleration through 3, 4 and 5 because there was no stopping Devon! She was flying and didn't pay any attention to my lateral motion to cue the take off side rear cross and took 14 as an off course. Oh well, the qualifying score was gone with that off course, but I still needed to reach my goal of staying positive and having a fast drivey run.

Devon came back to me with a good attitude at jump 7 and did a lovely job into the weave poles. The off side entry wasn't easy. On the video you hear Kim complimenting Devon's weaves, and they did look fantastic. All the work we did this spring and the confidence she's gain in classes over the summer has really paid off.

In the close I probably should have done the landing side front cross after 14. First, I was standing still to get the rear cross, which always means you would have had time for the front cross. More importantly, with me behind her, Devon was able to focus outside the ring and get distracted, causing her to miss jump 17. Kim's comment of "devil" was pretty accurate!

Overall, I think I met my goal of staying positive and getting a drivey run from Devon. She was happy out there, and her tail was wagging clear to the end. While I saw a lack of focus a couple of times (not surprising because she is so environmentally aware), I didn't see stress of slowing. Even better, she was more than 9 seconds under SCT even with the off course. That's a great improvement in her speed!

I wonder if our past experience with rear crosses working so well in trials had more to do with me staying out of Devon's way (i.e. not micromanaging her) and trusting her to do her job than the rear cross itself. I think I should trust her in trials and push for more seasoned dog handling, which includes landing side front crosses. We perform them well in class when I push and trust her, so it's time for me to relax and work them in the ring. We'll have lots more practice, because we have three weekends of agility coming up!

Agility club of Indianapolis Trial on Sunday

Wow, I have a great dog! JWW was our first class. Edie Allyn gave us an awesome flowing fun course. It was a blast to walk and I knew it would be fun to run. She also plugged her MP3 player into the speaker for the timers, so we had fun music to walk to! I love exhibiting under Edie!

I thought the opening was a straight forward two jump start to a front cross; but off the start, Devon was tentative. After the first jump she headed for an off course jump, which I called her off of but she went around the second jump. I started to go on, but then I realized we were in Open so I had one refusal. I wanted to Q; I'll admit it. We've had so many beautiful runs without a Q, I wanted that green ribbon.

So, I turned Devon around to get that second jump. It wasn't pretty, and she was stressed. She almost went off course again, but I got her straightened out and at least flowing again. I think at this point I said, "Ok Devon, we're back on track! Let's go!" and we did! I can't remember a time when Devon ran so confidently. She did an incredible job with this course, and I was no where I had planned to be.

It wasn't a pretty score, but she did Q and earn 3rd place for her second OAJ leg. Even more impressive to me was that she was only 3 seconds over course time with all the fussing around we did at the second jump. That means she was moving really well!

I was intimidated by the Open Standard course because it look really challenging to me on paper; it was a lot like the Excellent course. I was also completely wiped out before we ran this course. The two days of working had hit me by this afternoon. I have to say with all the work Liz and Annie did to help me in the JWW ring, it wasn't a tough job. And have you ever been to a trial where you had to turn away workers? We had so many workers! But being on my feet and watching the ring and rearranging schedules took it's toll. I was really glad we ran 1.5 hours earlier in Standard today than we did yesterday.

Once again Devon came through. She was hot and tired, too. And the batteries for the timers failed between the 24 and 20 inch dogs, which delayed her run. Those two things were minor, because worst of all I was micromanaging her on course. I knew it, and I couldn't help it. But I have a great dog who ran clean, did an awesome teeter and sprinted to the finish without even looking at the off course tunnel.

This clean run gave Devon her OA in four trials in two weekends. I'm so very, very proud of her!

I learned two things this weekend. First, Devon is a great dog who knows and LOVES this game. She's really starting to have a good time out there. Second, if I relax and run her, Devon runs great and fast. If I micromanage, she slows down into "being perfect" mode. I definitely want more of the great fast runs, even if they come with no green ribbons.

This is our last weekend of trialing for a while so we can concentrate on field training and tracking for the rest of the summer and fall. We'll still keep up with weekly classes so we can be ready for late fall and winter trials. I can't wait to start this girl's career in Excellent and start relaxing into an awesome team!

Free Friday training

The kennel club offers free member training on a couple of Fridays a month. Today was one of those days. I was able to go up early in the day, and I had the building to myself for 2 hours. What a great way to spend a Friday afternoon!

After I ran the boys, I brought Devon in for a couple of agility sequences. The course that was set up was the same one she ran this week in class, so I did some sequences that we didn't do earlier this week. Devon was very strong in her weaves, and I was pleased with her work.

After I ran Devon, I let her stay crated in the building while I trained Page. I have done some work with Page putting her through standards here at home, so I thought I'd do that in a new place. They also had the 8 inch table out, so I thought I'd play with that, too.

Devon has an automatic down on the table, and I really like it. I've been planning to teach Page the same thing, but she was slower in learning the down than Devon was. But now that the down is coming along very well, I decided to try the table today. Yes, I know I should really teach things at home first, but why worry about silly things like that!

The clip below is the second session that day on the table. You can see she picked up the concept in no time; she's very smart. I pushed the session way too long; but she was so stinking cute, I couldn't help it. This pup just makes me laugh all the time! BTW, the protesting in the background is Devon. She is jealous when her sister works!

Next we worked sending Page through the standards. I was really glad to work this here on different jumps and with the cone and other distractions. The next time I'm able to work in the building, I'll add in the wings on the jumps. I'm very proud of her work here. And as a side note, I set the camera on the 16 inch table, and Page jumped up on that one to do her automatic down, too!

The final agility exercise I worked on with Page was a tunnel. Once again I should probably introduce these things at my place first, but the tunnel was handy and she volunteered to go through it! The next time someone comes here to the house, I'm going to have to have them help me put Page into my tunnels.

Page also went into the obedience practice ring to work her walking on a loose leash, sit, down, and leave it. She's finally getting the leave it concept, which is good.

After Page's session, I brought Devon back out for some obedience work. I think her obedience is coming along very well. She still sits a little wide from me, but she's very straight and her gait changes are beautiful. Below are two clips from her obedience session. The first is her "get close" where I'm asking her to work close beside me in heel. The second is just some heeling practice.

I had four tired but happy pups on the way home!

Hoosier Kennel Club Agility Trial Day 3

Today was a MUCH better day! I was worried about heat and humidity, which was supposed to come in today. However, it stayed overcast much of the day which helped with the temps. We also had a nice breeze all day.

Today I also repeated what I did on Friday on how I handled where the girls were crated. I parked under some trees away from the rings near other doggie friends. It was cool and quiet back there. This is where I usually set up because Ian is so reactive in the crates/van. However, with the cooler temps and just the two Golden girls, I parked up by the rings behind our tents yesterday. I noticed both girls were awake and sitting up a lot yesterday, and I wondered if that had to do with the difference in Devon's speed.

I only came back to the van once this morning to put sunscreen on, and both girls were sleeping soundly. When it was about time for Devon to run, I moved the van up behind the tents next to the ring. Based on Devon's speed and performance today, I think this was the right thing to do.

The Open Standard course was a nice flowing course, and I thought it would be perfect for my plan to run fast and happy. Devon didn't want to sit on the start line, and I think it was because she wouldn't be facing the interior of the ring; you know how she has to make sure all her fans including the judge sees her on the start line!

I was patient and finally got a sit for the start. I took a deep breath and released her and executed my plan; and it worked to perfection! The run below is flawless. I was driving to my spots on course, but I was keeping an eye on her to keep her engaged. I gave her a beautiful line to the weaves, and she nailed the entrance and kept on going.

I also held my criteria on the table, and she looked less stressed. Yes, I lost maybe 3 seconds by making her lie down when he had already started counting when she hit her sit. Oh well! Devon was clean, earned her first Open Standard Q and was 10 seconds under time. Most importantly, she was really happy!

Since there were only 12 dogs in Open Standard and the Open JWW course was built and tweaked, we had a quick turn time to the next run. Devon was the second dog in the ring for this run. We walked up as they were getting in place and the first dog was on the line.

The JWW course was more challenging that the standard course, and I wanted to run it with several front crosses. I also knew from yesterday that by running with her from the start, I would have to precue all my front crosses so she'd know where we were going. Therefore, I knew I'd have to trust Devon to do her job as I pulled her through the course. As I walked, I made sure I knew where the spots were to keep her engaged as I turned.

We got to the line, and Devon was solid for the start and sat right away. However, much to my shock after she took the first jump, Devon headed to the left away from the second jump to the side of the ring. I was shocked and I was worried at first she was so stressed she didn't want to run. Then I realized what she was doing and what must have happened. The judge had been removing the numbered cone off the first weave pole and throwing it to the ring gates all weekend. As we walked up, I'm sure he did this again and my awesome little field dog marked the throw. She had to be patient until the first dog ran, but then she was going to return (i.e. retrieve) the cone to the nice man in the middle of the ring. Devon is so considerate!

Unfortunately as she came back to me, Devon back jumped the second jump for an off course. We wouldn't Q this course, but I was determined to work it (and now even harder) just as I had planned. Devon did an awesome job! She was tired and hot from her first run, but she did a fantastic job on this challenging course. I gave her a great line to the weaves, and she nailed the entrance once again. She was 4 second over course time, but she wasted more than that when she went off toward the cone at the beginning of the run. This is a "personal Q" in my book any day!

I learned a lot this weekend about me and my dog. Susan, you were right. I do need to trust her more to do her job. And because I'm running with her from the start, I also need to precue all my front crosses to give her the information earlier. I still need to watch for those wandering "environmental" moments and keep us connected, but she is ready for me to stop micromanaging her. I also learned that Devon does need her quiet time to rest so she can focus and be ready to run.

Devon is an awesome dog, and I'm blessed that she tries her hardest for me whenever I ask it of her!

Hoosier Kennel Club Agility Trial Day 2

Hummm....I'm not sure how I feel about today's runs. At first I was going to say I wish I had today to do over again, or I wish I had yesterday's day today. However, after reviewing the videos on a bigger screen I'm not sure today was all bad.

I was very laid back and relaxed before our first Open Standard run. In fact, I was so relaxed I think I made myself nervous! For some reason I felt rushed and funky before our run. I shouldn't have. Devon tugged and warmed up really well, and I knew the course.

In the opening I had an out-of-body experience where I looked down on myself and wondered why I was shouting commands at Devon like a boot camp drill sergeant. Apparently the message got to my brain, and I did start telling her she was brilliant.

When I walked the course I thought that A frame would be too tempting for Devon. I thought I had pulled her out far enough, but I see I pushed her right back at the A frame. At this point I made the decision to turn her around for the tunnel. I shouldn't have. I should have gone on to the weaves and chalked this up for a training run. When I did aim her for the weaves she had a refusal and was stressed.

After the weaves we got it together for a lovely run. Her teeter was again awesome! I didn't push the automatic down on the table, and I probably should have held my criteria. However, I could tell by the head shakes I was getting at the end of the run, Devon was stressed.

I knew the refusal and the off course cost us time. However, I found it interested that Devon was more than 15 seconds over standard course time. As I watched this run, there was 14-15 seconds with the off course and the refusal. That means at her speed, Devon would still have been over standard course time if she had run this course completely clean. Right now I know Devon's not the fastest dog in the world, but she is cantering through this entire course. Needless to say I know why many dogs weren't making time in Excellent today. Only one dog out of all the jump heights (15 dogs running) qualified in Open Standard today, and that was our buddy Ripken and handler Holly.

My goal for Open JWW was to have a happy fun run. Devon had to run this course within 20 minutes of the Open Standard course, and it was getting very warm. I debated using a front cross after the triple into the 180 or a rear cross in the 180. Because a rear cross on a 180 went badly in class this week, I didn't try it today and opted for the front cross. Devon didn't have much warning on it since I didn't precue it so she went wide before the 180. Bad handler.

From this point I thought the course went pretty well. Devon clearly thought the people in the tents just south of the ring where the weave poles were had something great to eat. She air scented something before she went into the tunnel and at the weaves. And I didn't help by giving her a horrid line to the weaves.

We were over time on this course by 9 seconds, mostly from the wide turn after the triple and the refusal at the weaves. If Devon had run this course completely clean she would have made time. Pretty frustrating. However, I was in very good company; there were no qualifying scores in any jump height in Open JWW.

Tomorrow the runs are all about having fun and trusting Devon a little more to do her job. Because I have to run with her at the start, I'm going to have to trust her rear crosses. I do have to stay connected with her because she's distracted outside; but I have to balance that with not micromanaging. Generally, I need to lighten up and realize we're going to be in Open for a while, which is fine with me!

Hoosier Kennel Club Agility Trial Day 1

This was Devon's first outdoor trial and only the second time she's trialed on equipment brand new to her. I've been taking some classes outside for the last couple of weeks and (no surprised to me) she's very distracted outside. I wasn't really sure what I'd have today!

We had a beautiful sunny day in the mid-70s. The breeze was just right to cool things off. I'm realizing I need more sunscreen tomorrow! This kennel club is primarily a conformation club, and they run this one agility trial a year. It's not run like any trial you've ever experienced if you're a season agility person, so you just have to sit back and enjoy it! That's what I've learned to do since it's 10 minutes from home and I get to enjoy my own bed at night.

First up for Devon was Open JWW. This was Devon's first time in Open JWW, but I was confident she could handle it. The opening was straight forward, but there were a few interesting little traps on course especially for green dogs. Both tunnel entrances had off course jumps only a few feet away.

Although I wanted to be in front of Devon pulling her through the course, I decided on two rear crosses for better flow. Both accomplished their goal; however the second one almost caused an off course. Devon felt my motion but because she was distracted she never checked in and continued forward. A hard call saved the off course, and I hate doing hard calls with her. I can see I didn't follow it up with high praise, which I'll have to make sure I do if I'm in that situation again. To Devon's credit, she didn't melt with the hard call and we finished in fine style.

Devon Q'd this course and took 1st place for her first Open JWW leg!

Novice Standard was immediately after Open JWW, and with so few dogs in Open and Novice, it was a quick turn around. The opening to the A frame was very tough for a baby dog. It was two jumps spread very far apart along the ring gates to a 90 degree turn to the A frame. To accomplish the proper line, the dogs had to slice the first two jumps. After the A frame was a pinwheel with an off course tunnel in the distance to a tough angle teeter entrance with the A frame calling their name. After the teeter, I thought the course ended fairly easily.

Devon was picture perfect on this course! Her teeter was very confident, even with the duct tape at the end to hold down extra weights. You'll see I did a good job of praising her on the teeter. Her table performance was also very strong. Her weaves were lovely even with the refusal. Although both videos look like she didn't see the weaves, I think her refusal on both were more about her being distracted. Both times she gave me lovely weaves on the second try.

Devon Q'd this course to finish her NA with a 1st place ribbon! She's moved up to Open Standard tomorrow!

Puppy socialization and training

Today we took our puppy training on the road. We visited our friends Raquel and Angela at Silver Square. I wasn't sure if this office building was ready for Page, but it was a fun place filled with young professionals interested in everything. 

As I've come to expect, Page trotted into the building on her leash in the steady rain as I carried a large umbrella. I took down the umbrella outside away from Page, and she wasn't fazed. Inside there was two sets of metal stairs with no risers (you could see through them) with a landing between them, again little Ms. Page followed me right up both sets. 

Page trotted down the hallway which included a catwalk across the lobby below and boldly walked right up to meet Raquel. In fact, she liked Raquel so much, Page followed her back down the hallway! She also loved Angela, who took advantage and got in some puppy cuddles!

Of course, I brought props and treats to take advantage of an audience and a new training situation. Page showed off in style, and the audience didn't bother her one bit. She did her sit, stand, back up, tug and pivot on her perch. For some of her tricks, Pete the Planner was in the "audience," and he thought Page was way smarter than his baby daughter.

After our socialization and a nap for Page, we went back out to the building to tape all of Page's training so far. In the first clip, you can see Page sit on command. This is followed by me asking for a kick back stand. That didn't go so well; I only got a couple that I really liked (I figured out why later). Next I did some agility groundwork or worked her in circles on both sides in a loose "heel" position followed by some front crosses. Finally, I asked Page to back up using the command "beep, beep."

Next we did some perch work. This is probably Page's favorite game (and mine, too). First, she puts her two front feet on the perch to the command "feet." Next she spins around using her rear legs to walk herself around in a circle. The command I use here is "dance." Page is better in one direction than the other!

Next I asked for something very hard, to switch to toy/play drive from food drive. I also asked for playing in the same area that I just fed her. I used a high value sheepy tug toy (thank you Agile Gold for finding this toy for us, because it's Page's favorite). In this game, I'm waiting until she gives me a sit and I want her to stay until she's released with a verbal "OK, Tug." 

I'm very pleased to see her learning curve increase with this game. In these clips you see she stays while I move and even take a step or two. This is real progress, as is her "give" when I take the collar and ask for the toy back. She does get distracted by the food on the floor once, but I like how she came back and worked for me.

This last clip is of a hand touch that I will soon move to a target. In reviewing these videos, I had the "AH HA!" moment why she wasn't getting her kickback stand today. I'm presenting the same picture to her in the kickback stand as I am the hand touch. I need to move the kickback stand to my side anyway, so there's no time like the present!

Shattering the myth

I have to share one of my pet peeves. It is the myth that you use front crosses with slow dogs and rear crosses with fast dogs. In my career with Ian, I've had many people tell me they could never do front crosses like I do because their dog is faster than Ian. 

Congratulations to Denise Thomas and her dog Zippity for winning the Challenger round of the 2009 AKC Agility Nationals. I heard what a magical weekend they had from many mutual friends, and I'm really proud of them. Below is Denise and Zippity's winning run from the Challenger Round, and it is one of the best examples of pre-cuing front crosses I've seen. And please note: There is only one rear cross on the whole course, and I think Zippity is a heck of a lot faster than Ian!

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.