2011 Flashback: Devon's AX

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Devon's Teeter: The rest of the story!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Indiana Collie Club Trial day 2

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

Woulda, shoulda, coulda ... UGH!

I'm getting this post out of the way, because it's depressing. After all the positives we've had this summer on the teeter, Devon has had a couple of set backs this week. Of course, just like last year, the set backs are right before a series of upcoming trials.

About a month ago, Devon refused the teeter at the kennel club when it was back in a dark corner. After having success lowering the teeter in that location, I moved the teeter to the middle of the floor. It was so interesting to see Devon work through her issue. She wouldn't leave the teeter until she went over it. Talk about dedication and heart! This is why I love this dog!

I was concerned that this would cause an overall setback in her teeter performance, but it didn't. For the last month, Devon has been confident on all the teeters she has been on. So I had no worries going to an agility trial on Sunday in Evansville. I could only make Sunday's trial, and there were 3 VMOs at this trial, and I needed a permanent height card for Ellie, a Golden I started running for a friend, and a temp measure for Page. I'm so glad to have these girls off the measure list! It makes my mornings go so much better.

I walked the Excellent Standard course for Devon. The course looped around where they landed off a jump facing the teeter, but instead had to turn to the right and do a 360 degree loop of 4 jumps before circling around and actually taking the teeter. I thought about cutting out that 4 jump loop completely and just sending Devon to the teeter when she saw it. However, I went against that idea because she had been so confident on the teeter that I thought I'd just run the course as usual.

The plan I did come up with was if she did head for the teeter I was going to step in and support the teeter and let her take it. I didn't want to call her off the teeter. I'd rather her go off course to take the teeter as she has been doing, sacrificing the short term Q for the longer term goal of a solid teeter performance.

Well, here's where the woulda, shoulda, coulda comes in. I shoulda gone with my first instinct and cut out that 4 jump loop. Devon actually committed to the turn and jump, which I didn't anticipate and I stepped in on her. This caused her to doubt her decision on the jump, but I quickly altered and supported this jump. I told her she was a good girl around the loop, but the small handling bauble in front of the teeter had done it's damage. When I supported the teeter, she wasn't sure of it and came off.

UGH!! Her first refusal of a teeter in competition. Something I NEVER wanted to happen in her career. And to fall into the coulda category, I coulda taken her special teeter treats (jerky treats that she only gets for a successful teeter and she loves; she even blows spit bubbles for these treats) and broken them up and showed them to her before her run and left them outside the ring like I do in training.

And I woulda walked her off the course so she didn't learn that refusing the teeter meant the game ended, but I forgot that too! I don't want to punish her for not taking the teeter, but I don't want her to learn that it's OK to bail off the teeter and then get to play the rest of the game. No teeter, no game. Sorry!

One other note about Devon's run. She spotted the teeter as she came out of the #3 tunnel. She's looking for it which tells me there's stress associated with the obstacle. No surprise, but noteworthy. Here's the run:

We didn't do the teeter in class this week, mainly because it was back in the dark corner where she had refused it a month ago. After a difficult time at the trial, I didn't want to follow it up with another bad training session.

Yesterday, I took a trip to the Louisville area to get Devon on a different teeter. I took the teeter treats, and she was happy to run to the teeter. After jumping off of it once, she went up and over it -- just once. She got lots of treats for that one time over it, but I could tell when she came off of it, she hated it. It was a hollow aluminum teeter and it made a loud hollow thud even on grass.

I was never able to get Devon over it again. I tried treats; I tried putting her up and working Page; I tried moving it to another location; and finally I tied her to the fence and had her watch Page go over it and get treats. Nothing. UGH!

We are entered in a 3-day trial this coming weekend and a 2-day trial the following weekend. This weekend we have FAST class the first two days, and it's the first class. Devon is the only one running in FAST, so I can concentrate on her. And if she is not successful in FAST, I will not be running her in Standard.

Unfortunately, she has never run at this location, which I wonder is part of the issue. Will she take the teeter in locations where she has trialed before? Or should I not run her in Standard in new locations and just stick with working in known locations this fall?

And the other consideration I have is preparing her for VST tests this fall. I learned last year that I cannot stress two sports with Devon at the same time when she's working at a high level in either of the sports. Right now VST tests are a top priority for us, so I'm leaning towards pulling her from Standard this fall until we get through her VST and then worrying about the teeter after that. I do think that working the other sports and not trialing consistently in agility has contributed to this teeter problem. Once we get a solid teeter, I need to stick with it and trial to build her confidence, pushing everything else aside.

The other thing that isn't helping is a weave issue, too. Back in June at the ACI trial, Devon had a a jammed shoulder and it was affecting her weave entries. This turned into a training issue. I worked through it and she has lovely entries in training, but as you can see by her JWW video they came back to bite us in that class, too.

Poor Devon. I'm just at a loss on how to support her, and it seems I'm making all the wrong decisions right now. Time will only tell how this issue is resolved.

DEVON DID THE TEETER!!!

I am just busting I'm so proud of Devon! Today she did the teeter at the Agility Club of Indianapolis trial. She had been looking so strong that I entered her right at the closing date. But as the trial neared, Devon started bailing off the first time over the teeter, and she was hesitant to do it in a new environment.

So as of this morning when I left the house, I was still torn whether to run her or not. The dog trainer in me said not to. She was not solid on the teeter even in known locations, and this was not a place we trained. And if she bailed off, I couldn't put her back on it. But my gut said try it. I know this dog. She's feeling pressure from Page who now shares equal training time. Today was Excellent only and crating was tight so Devon was the only dog there. She felt very special. And I know she steps up for a crowd. She loves to be admired. I didn't think we'd do much damage if we tried it and she bailed; I just wouldn't ask her to run again this weekend and I would know where we stood. So as I walked out the door this morning, I grabbed a second jackpot for Devon.

I chatted with a friend, Dr. Bonnie, who actually helped put me on the road to this retrain. We discussed all the reasons I had made the decision to enter her, and Bonnie agreed I should try and run her. She also felt if Devon didn't do the teeter, I should very neutrally walk off the course and not finish. She would also get no jackpots, but again I would be neutral. Bonnie advised me to explain to Devon ahead of time what the plan was, so I did. It might sound silly, but I got her out of the crate, and we "talked" about how she was very special and I knew she could do the teeter. But if for some reason she didn't do it, she couldn't do the rest of the course. But I thought she was so smart she was going to do the teeter. As always, Devon looked very solemnly into my eyes (as she held a stuffed yellow duck in her mouth) as if she understood every word.

So I walked the course, which was strange because we haven't run Standard in exactly a year! I had my plan. As my marker dog came up, I was nervous. When I got Devon out, I warmed her up as usual, but as our turn came closer, I felt like I did before Ian's MACH run -- about to puke! The girl in front of me warned me if her dog broke the start line he was coming off. Sure enough he did, and we were up. We had lots of friends who were in the stands who knew this was a big deal for us, and I knew they were all pulling for us.

The course was dogwalk, chute, tunnel, teeter, table. My plan was to go with her to the tunnel and meet her at the tunnel exit praising her all the way and running with her to the teeter. You will see in the video clip below, Devon saw the teeter as she exited the chute. She started toward it, but I said, "tunnel." She took one look at the tunnel and said, "Nope, Mom, I'm doing the teeter!!" I realized she was right and we were going to the teeter.

Have you ever seen a more confident teeter?? Trust me, I've never seen a better one from Devon. And she even went off course to take it!! You can hear the crowd cheering, and Judge Carla Boudrot turned to the crowd and said, "I guess she was having a teeter problem?" My plan was as to tell Devon how brilliant she was the entire time she was on the table. But you see Devon was so proud of herself, she jumped up and put her paws on my shoulders as if to say, "I KNOW!!! AREN'T I SUPER COOL!!" I was so thankful that the judge understood and didn't whistle me off. I thanked her profusely during the next walk through!!

So here's the run. You can tell how super proud of herself Devon was.

Devon's JWW run was actually first. It was a nice run, but she was moving slowly and she was very distracted. As I front crossed in the middle of the course, I realized she was distracted and looking around. I got distracted and lost my place for an instant and pulled her off a jump. I felt just terrible. However, Devon nailed her weave entry, and she's been having problems with that entry, so I felt like it was a huge success.

I got to redeem myself in JWW, though. About 10 dogs out, Jane Glier asked me if I wanted to run her Corgi Kip. He runs in the 8 inch class, and I've run him before in class. I really like this little dog, so I said sure! I already ran the course, so I had a plan. Jane said he didn't rear cross well, and I said that was fine since my plan didn't include any rear crosses. Well, I underestimated how fast that little stinker was! I had to rear cross, and as you can see, Kip handled it just fine. It's so much fun to run a well-trained dog, and Jane is a great trainer. Kip and I Q'd and he earned a 4th place! The funniest thing was hearing folks in the crowd wonder what the heck I was doing out there with an 8 inch dog!! Here it is on video!

We're back for another two days, and I can't wait to see how the rest of the weekend goes!!

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!

A little jealousy ...

... never hurt anyone, least of all Devon. Last week I was on Cloud 9 about Devon's teeter retrain. The hard work was paying off and Devon was more confident on the teeter. We to build more confidence, but she was going over it and looked solid.

On Saturday we went to a training place where Devon does not like the teeter. This is my "bellwether" teeter; if Devon will do it confidently, she's really doing well. I took Devon out to the floor to do the teeter in isolation, and she was up and over it completely confident. I have to say I was shocked. Just two weeks before she had flat refused this teeter, and that morning she was doing some tough sequencing on it.

While I was thrilled at the new attitude with the teeter, I have to say I started to wonder what the sudden difference was. As much confidence as the retrain gave her, I always thought there would have to be some very large motivator to give Devon that final push to once again do the teeter. And then I started going back in my mind about our training time frame and the pieces fell into place.

About 2 weeks earlier, Devon had just started to give me a full height teeter. She wasn't totally confident in every location. Devon had done the teeter at the kennel club when the building was quiet and she was the only dog. However the first time I asked for a teeter in class 10 days earlier, she refused it. The rest of my week got very busy after than, and it also got very hot. I really didn't have a lot of time or energy to train, so I only trained Page the rest of the week. Completely by accident, I had put Devon up and not trained her after her teeter failure. Then we headed off to the hunt test, and Devon had to spend the weekend sitting in the van with all the attention focused on Page.

Apparently, I unintentionally found that motivator: jealousy. After 6 days of watching her sister get mommy time in agility and field, Devon had enough. Memorial Day she ran to the backyard and went up and over my teeter confidently. Since then in the last 10 days she has been on three different teeters in multiple sequences, she's only bailed off the teeter once.

Devon is no fool. She realizes Page is doing agility and now doing field and getting ducks. As much as she likes her little sister, she doesn't want Page to outshine her with me. Devon still doesn't like the teeter, but she's doing it confidently. She even did it with her Aunt Susan handling her (which I think is the first time anyone else has ever handled Devon). Susan said that's a sign that she's really ready to be confident on it.

So I guess I found my motivator! And since Devon is giving me the performance I want, she's received equal training time with her sister. I've been working various entries and exits off the teeter to build confidence, and Devon is doing very well. I hope this confidence continues so we can earn that AX title and start working on double Qs to go with those first 8 MACH points!

Devon's teeter retrain

Devon achieved a major accomplishment Tuesday night: she sequenced the teeter in class for the first time since October 2009! Devon is a confident dog and had all positive experiences as a puppy, including lots of woods walking and on wobble boards. However, the teeter has been an issue for her from the first time I asked her to put her front feet on the lowered end of the board and it sank under her.

Although Devon had a teeter performance and earned her NA and OA very quickly, I knew it wasn't a confident performance. Then back in October she got spooked by my shadow going across the teeter in front of her and she bailed off. She refused to get back on it, which frustrated me. Thanks to my reaction, a potentially small blip turned into months of refusing to do the teeter and a huge problem.

Over the winter, I clicked and treated any interaction with the teeter. That worked for confidence around the teeter and on the bottom of the board, but she still would only go to the pivot point and refuse to go over it. By February as this problem continued to lurk, I began talking with good agility trainers I knew looking for another solution. The hard part about this teeter issue is it's not a "training issue;" it's a fear issue. Somehow I had to overcome that fear.

Also, I was convinced even though Devon had a "performance" on the teeter, she never really understood she controlled the board. I felt this lack of understanding that she was in control was the root of her fear. What caused the initial fear was when I asked her to play the "bang game" for the first time on the up end of a lowered board (she was almost 12 months old). The very first time she put her paws and full weight on the board and it dropped out from under her, she was done. Yet I knew she would have to learn to do this if she was to have a confident teeter, but because that was the source of her initial fear it was the hardest thing to overcome.

As I talked with other trainers, the idea of working out the problem away from the actual equipment was born. It was followed up by another friend who said one of the dogs she worked with who had teeter fears started first on a wooden board that moved. Wobble boards were out, because they don't have predictable movement. However, it gave me an idea for something else.

In February I stopped asking Devon for the teeter completely; we wouldn't even go near it in class or at home (but she had to watch Page work the teeter, and Page has a great teeter). I got a 1" x 12" x 12' board and cut it into 3 pieces (three 1" x 12" x 4' boards). Then I nailed three dowel rods under the middle of each 4' board. One dowel was 1 inch, the next 1.5 inches and the third 2 inches.

I started with the 1 inch dowel board and at first ask Devon to use her front foot to bang down the up end of the board. She got very high value treats that she only got for this particular exercise (thanks to Agile Gold for buying out the supply of elk jerky, buffalo jerky and ostrich jerky from a specialty pet store for us!). After she gave me a foot bang, I asked for foot bang then full weight with the front feet on the board. This was critical and probably the hardest thing for Devon to do. I did do some luring at this point instead of just shaping, but once she got the idea of what I wanted, she had to offer the behavior I wanted. Finally asked Devon to bang down the up end and pull her body onto the board and walk into a 2o2o position.

Once Devon was banging the board from the pivot point and walking down it, I asked her to walk back and forth across the board banging both ends. She was now giving me the teeter bang game but on something different than an actually teeter where she associated so much fear. My goal was to get her to understand that she moved and controlled the board off the teeter thinking it would transfer to the equipment.

The second key to my re-training is that I started clicking at the pivot point and rewarding her immediately there. I know this sounds obvious, but Jenn Crank caught something when Page got spooked by her teeter at our lesson the end of April. Jenn said I was clicking in the yellow contact zone and not the middle where I needed to reward the brave behavior. I bet I did that with Devon, too, it just took someone else listening to my clicks to catch that I was clicking late.

Each session was very short. I would only take 12 pieces of jerky out with me and when it was gone our session was done. In about 6 weeks Devon worked up to the 2 inch board. Once she was happily giving me the behavior at home, our little board went on the road. I knew Devon was ready for more when I was at a different training building and after working on her teeter board I used a longer teeter board they had with a 6 inch pivot point and she had no problems offering me the behavior I wanted.

Once we had confidence on the road, I dropped the teeter here at home as low as possible and asked for the behavior on the teeter. Once she was banging the low teeter, I asked Devon to walk back and forth across the low teeter, just as I had the boards. It took her no time at all to become confident on the low teeter, and I'm sure it was because she figured out she controlled the movement on the small wooden boards.

From the low teeter, I just started raising my teeter here at home a couple inches at a time until she was at full height. A couple of weeks ago I lowered the teeter at the kennel club during a private training session. Devon successfully did it and I kept raising it until it was full height. We also worked at a second training building with success on a low teeter but she wouldn't do the full height teeter. After that minor setback, I lowered my teeter here at home, but she was so confident I went right up to full height in one session with only 8 cookies.

Last night before class started I took Devon to the teeter in class and asked her for it. She went over it on the second attempt, and earned a huge party from me and a jackpot (interestingly I had forgotten the special jerky treats, but she didn't seem to mind). After a few more times doing the teeter in isolation, Devon successfully sequenced it very confidently in class!

I'm going to focus the rest of June on getting a confident performance on a full height teeter at the three locations where I train. Devon is still crouching low to the board as it tips, but she's confident and her weight shift is forward. I believe in time she'll become even more confident and not lay as low.

When I feel like she's confident in known locations, it will be time to take her performance on the road to less familiar equipment. There are 4-5 locations in neighboring cities and states that offer run thrus, open training or building rental. My goal is to have her teeter performance trial ready by fall. I'll start her with a local CPE trial, followed by AKC trials that offer the FAST class where I can get her on equipment in another run and I can repeat the teeter if it's in the ring.

So, that is the story of Devon's teeter retrain. It's been a long road, but I believe Devon's performance is far more confident that it was because she now knows she controls the board. Victories are always sweeter when they are harder to attain, and I know her first Standard Q after this retrain will be pretty special!

A great day of training

Yesterday the girls and I headed to the kennel club for training. Over the last 10 days, Page has accomplished not only a full-height teeter, but also a full-height dogwalk. Putting the dogwalk in my small building has been tight, and it takes up at least half of the building. My primary goal with this training trip was to see how Page's teeter and dogwalk held up in a new location.

My secondary goal was to see what I had from Devon. A week into her heat cycle, Devon suddenly stopped working. She didn't want any part of training agility or obedience at the kennel club or here at home. First we took a trip to the vet to make sure all was progressing fine with her heat cycle (which it was). Then she was seen by two different massage therapists. She was tight through the neck and shoulders, which was part of the problem. Finally, it was decided that this heat cycle was different than her past cycles and she just didn't want to work through this one. So she got two weeks off.

On Monday I noticed a change in Devon's attitude. I cannot tell you what was different about her, it just seemed like she was happier; and not so coincidentally she was finished with her heat cycle. Devon's change in attitude prompted our woods walk on Monday. On Tuesday, Devon pushed Page out of the way in the expen and wanted to work; so I worked her. She was absolutely back to normal wanting to work. She's trained obedience all week here at home, looking like she hasn't missed a beat. So my second goal for this training session was to see if Devon's training held up away from home, including agility.

Page's dogwalk

This was the first time I asked for full-height equipment away from home. I suspected Page wouldn't have any problems with the transition, but you never know. We started with the dogwalk. I asked Page to hop up on the downside of the ramp and give me her contact performance (2 on 2 off with a chin touch). She did this a couple of times without any problem.

Since she knew what was expected of her and had probably figured out which piece of equipment she was on, I turned her and asked for the complete dogwalk, and she performed it fine. The only difference in her performance at first was to walk or trot across the top of the dogwalk; she continued to canter the ups and downs.

Below is a clip from her second training session on the dogwalk. You'll see at the end of the clip one back foot slips as she gets to the top of the up ramp, but it didn't bother her. I gave her a third session on the dogwalk before we left just to make sure she was fine with the equipment, and she never showed any hesitation on it.

Page's teeter

Next we moved to the teeter. Again, I "introduced" it to her before asking for the full obstacle. I lowered the up end so she could grab it and bang it down and do her contact performance. After this, she turned and grabbed the board before it could go back up, banged it down and went up and over it (banging it again) and did the contact performance on the down side. After she was so confident doing this, I knew she was ready for the full piece of equipment.

Below is Page's second session on the teeter.

The A frame

Now if you're thinking, "Deb never mentioned she'd worked Page on the A frame," you would be right. The only time Page has ever seen an A frame (other than when she's watching other dogs run agility) was when she was about 10 weeks old. We put her over the contact equipment when she was very young when she knew her proprioception and knew her edges and ledges. This is done because we want to introduce them to everything they will do in their life (as appropriate) before they are 16 weeks old. If you look back at the clip, you'll see she was well supervised on her trips across the equipment.

You will also see by reading that clip that Page volunteered a full A frame before I could stop her. Well, yesterday after we finished the dogwalk and teeter, we were walking by the A frame and Page turned and took two acceleration steps toward it. The A Frame was lowered to 5 feet, and I had planned to start her on an even lower A frame and work her contacts. However, if she wanted to volunteer it, I wasn't going to stop her.

I said, "You want to run it?" And took a couple of steps that way, which was all she needed. In a flash Page was up and over the A frame no problem! As her Aunt Marcy said, "See wood, get rewards!" Yes, this girl has had lots of rewards for contacts lately and since she's so confident, she was just thrilled to find something else she might get treats for!

Below is her second session on the A frame. As you can see her contact performance transfered over without a problem. I didn't even have the plastic runners I've been using to keep her straight since I hadn't planned on her going over the A frame the first time. This proved to me she no longer needed those runners, so I've removed them totally now.

Page's jumping

I just started Page jumping in the middle of the week. This was only her forth day of jumping, so I knew I was pushing it a little to do it in a new place. We need more work and confidence in her job, because Page does like to limbo under the bar. The problem is she's so stinking flexible she usually doesn't touch the bar when she limbos! Below is her jumping and limboing!

In all I couldn't be more pleased with what Page gave me yesterday. She was in a familiar location but had never worked on the contact equipment in this building. Her contact performance was solid, even on a contact she'd never done before. On the dogwalk and the A frame she was consistently hitting the last slat or below with her rear feet. She's a little higher up on the teeter, but that's ok for controlling the board.

Her jumping could use work, but I knew that. In addition, she was doing very nice sends to a curved dark tunnel and looking for me on the exit. She also did a lot of nice table work. Page does need work on staying in position as I move when she's on the table. I've taught her an automatic down on the table, just as I did Devon. I decided to move forward with the automatic down even though there are agility rule changes under consideration with AKC that call for a positionless table. The automatic down will still be needed in USDAA if I trial her there, and it's a good thing for AKC even if it's just to keep her on the table regardless of position.

I'll probably put her over the dogwalk one more time in my building and then take it down. The building just isn't functional with the dogwalk up, and I need more room to train obedience with Devon. From here forward, I'll train contacts at the kennel club when I can until we get rid of this snow and I can get the contacts outside.

And now for Devon

Devon had a fantastic day of training. I warmed her up really well before we started working. I only asked for 3 obstacles in sequence at first, and she was very confident. Her weaves looked amazing, and I could hear her digging with her rear legs to power herself through them. One thing I've realized some time back and confirmed yesterday is that Devon works better for toys in agility than treats. I always carry treats with me, but she really enjoys the toys more.

We took a break and let someone else use the equipment while I worked Devon in obedience. Her heeling skills, as well as fronts and finishes, are really looking incredibly sharp. Devon makes me enjoy working obedience because she loves it so much.

To end the day, I wanted to get some video of Devon's weaves. For the second set, she ran a line of three jumps and the tire to get speed entering the weaves. I was really happy with how far in front of me she was and how much distance I got on the weaves. And yes, that's Page you hear in the background protesting it wasn't her out in the ring!

Page and the teeter

I've been so busy, it's been hard to find the time to blog. But rest assured we have been training. Not as much as we could be or probably should be, but we're getting some things done!

Because I'm confined to my small training building during the winter, I thought this would be a good time to work contact foundation. I thought it would take me until late March when I could get the equipment back out and have her working low contacts. However, Page continues to amazing me with how very smart she is and how quickly she learns, and we're moving much faster than I imagined.

I described in my Dec. 31 post about Page's agility foundation that I was working from several sources for contact work. Page breezed through the board work and is very confident even on angled boards to 24 inch tables. It also only took about 2 weeks to get all they way through the proofing of her 2 on 2 off contact with a chin touch.

I then started on the bang game with the teeter. Because I'm limited with space, I decided to transition the 2o2o to the teeter first. I know most folks would think this was the hardest place to transition it, but Page didn't know the difference!

Page got so confident banging down the board, and she had all that angled board work done, she thought nothing of turning around and walking right back up the board. I quickly realized I needed to get it off the chair it was on and put a table under the other end. Again, nothing really fazed her and she started jumping on the teeter and banging the up end, then spinning around and walking across the board to the table. Within a few sessions, I had this:

I had planned to use the two table method of teaching the teeter to Page. But when I went back to the Clean Run teeter articles by Jen Pinder, I realized I had accidentally skipped right past working both tables and jumped to the end of the training. Ooops! I guess I can chalk this one up to being flexible and working at the dog's level!

Although the Pinder article says once the dogs are going from a 16 inch table to the ground they are ready for a full teeter at 18 inches, I gave Page one more step. I had her go from an 8 inch table over the teeter. I'm glad I thought to take this extra step. Because Page hadn't done the two tables, she wasn't used to the teeter banging or moving twice as she went up and over the base. With the base at 18 inches and the table at 16 inches, she didn't feel this second movement with the 16 inch table. She did feel it with the 8 inch table, and it was good for her to work through it.

On Saturday I was at Pawsitive and I wanted to expose her to their teeter. Unfortunately I couldn't adjust the height, so it was at 24 inches. What I did was put a 16 inch teeter on the down side and had her "land" on an 8 inch teeter. I calculated that although she would be higher in the air by 6 inches, she probably wouldn't actually be falling any farther than she had been at home on the 18 inch teeter.

My plan was successful and she didn't miss a beat on the higher teeter. I removed the 8 inch table from the landing side and she did the full height teeter from a 16 inch table. She was now falling from a full height teeter and she didn't even show she noticed the difference. I decided not to push it any more that day, but I was very happy.

Back at home today, we started where I left off last time with the 18 inch teeter and she was starting from an 8 inch table. After a few very confident repetitions, I removed the 8 inch table. Page had no problem doing the full teeter with her 2o2o contact. I even got her running through a tunnel first and then going over the teeter.

That is Page's first complete teeter! I'm so very, very proud of her! She just loves playing on the teeter, probably because she gets a lot of treats on it. After I took this clip, I raised the teeter three chain links, so it was probably 21 inches, and worked her some more. She didn't even notice the change in height.

I'll work her the next couple of days and will likely have her on a full height teeter here tomorrow or Thursday. On Saturday I'll take it on the road to Pawsitive. That's a good place to have her first "away from home" teeter, because we both own Mark's Agility Equipment so it's the same brand of teeter. I don't anticipating we'll have any problems.

It's almost anticlimactic that Page is handling the teeter so well. And now that she's done the hardest contact obstacle first, the dogwalk and A frame should be a piece of cake!

Page's agility foundation training

It is winter, and we've had snow on the ground for more than a week. My equipment is inside in pieces being stored, and it's been too cold to work VST. So, one of my winter projects is to work on Page's agility foundation.

When thinking about Page's training, I have reflected on my other dogs' training. I think I'm good at teaching my dogs handling and jumping. This is due to my foundation in the sport of agility through Linda Mecklenburg's Awesome Paws system that I learned through seminars and camps as I was beginning the sport. It was solidified through years of classes at Wild Weavers of Ohio and with private lessons with Jennifer Crank of Incredipaws.

After struggling to communicate weave poles to Devon, I found the 2x2 weave pole training method. I took Susan Garrett up on the challenge of 12 poles in 12 days, and Devon was weaving 12 poles in 9 days. She was right! This was an incredible way to teach weaving to a dog, and I will use it for training weaves in the future.

But so far I haven't been happy with the way I've trained my dogs' contacts. So my goal for Page was to have amazing contacts (as well as the handling, jumping and weave pole skills my other dogs have).

I knew I wanted a 2 on 2 off contact for the dogwalk and teeter. I like the results from the nose touch method, so I taught a nose touch to Page. But something wasn't translating in my brain until Lise Pratt (Page's co-breeder and owner of Suffolk Nassau Agile Paws) and I talked and she pointed me to a series of articles in Clean Run's October, November and December issues. These articles made it all click!

The series "Training a Two-on, Two-Off Contact" by Rachel Saunders put the nose touch and the 2 on, 2 off together for me. Rachel says in the introduction she had a nagging issue with the nose touch, and I did too. Her issue was why teach the a nose touch when you would eventually fade it. And while I see her point, the nose touch does give the dog something to do at the end of the board and it keeps the dog's head straight.

But my nagging issue came with transitioning a nose touch to a 2 on, 2 off. I couldn't figure out how the dog was supposed to figure out what they did with their nose translated into their feet on the board. And Rachel helped me out by saying she teaches the 2 on, 2 off and then adds back the nose touch. Yippee! That was what I needed to hear!

Page and I are now off and running on teaching her contact performance. (BTW, I already know how to proof her contacts because I have Rachel's Bridging the Gap dvd which I also like a lot!) He's a video clip on Page's 2 on, 2 off work. I'm at the stage where I need to take it on the road, which I was start doing Saturday. I also want her driving to the position on the travel board with me being in various positions. But so far I'm really happy with what I have.

I'm also doing a lot of plank work with Page. I took several articles written by Tracy Sklenar in Dog Sport Magazine on building a confident dogwalk and teeter and I've been working through the suggestions I found.

One of the big "ah-ha" things I've found is getting the dogs comfortable on the boards. Devon and Page both have outstanding proprioception (thanks in large part to Gaylan's puppy raising system). Even so, Page is the first dog that I've done this much plank confidence work with, and I love the results. Hoping on and off and turning around on low boards has given Page confidence on them. And when she has slipped off, it wasn't a big deal. She jumped back on!

I'm now working the up side of the board to a table. You can see the turns and the hop on/hop off we do, plus the racing up and down the boards. This is one of my aluminum dogwalk boards and it moves and makes a lot of noise since it's not braced below, and Page has no issues with it. I'll continue to work entrances from various angles on this higher board (I've already worked entrances on a board to a lower table and she did fine).

Finally, I've worked on the teeter. Also in the Clean Run October and November issues are two good articles on teeter training by Jen Pinder. I've used the two table method in class to teach the teeter, and I liked it. These articles update the method, and they dove tailed nicely with the 2 on, 2 off articles because both authors train the contacts the same.

What I did do differently is work the Bang Game first, before I had the 2 on, 2 off performance. Because the Bang Game was so unsuccessful with Devon, you can imagine my apprehension at teaching Page. I know this is the best way to teach the dogs; and I know Page is a completely different individual than Devon. But I was a little tense the first time I asked Page to do this game.

Page was fine with the Bang Game. The first few times she pushed the board down, my aluminum teeter made quite a racket. Page's ears flattened against her head, but that was the only sign of stress she gave and she jumped right back on the teeter again! Below is a clip from our last training session on the Bang Game. At the beginning of the clip, you see a very naughty Devon escape from the expen when I asked for Page. This is funny because I know Devon isn't really volunteering to bang down the teeter!

The next steps for Page are doing the 2 on, 2 off on the end of the teeter and then starting with the progression of the two tables.

Page is actually progressing more quickly through the contact work than I expected. She is also working on some recalls to heel and recalls to heel through standards in the various positions for the Awesome Paws Handling System. She's learning collection out of tunnels (and boy does she blast through tunnels). And she's learning control and stays with tug games.

I'll end this post by telling a story that shows how much Page loves to work. When I trained in the building yesterday, I worked Devon first. Page hates to wait her turn, and it's good for her. When I was finished working Devon and getting ready to step up Page's session, I realized I forgot the video camera.

So I let Page out of the expen, we left the building and we headed back across the yard. We got all the way back to the deck and I was opening the back door when Page realized we were going inside. She got a horrified look on her face, turn and bolted off the deck and raced across the back yard. She didn't stop until she was in front of the door to the building, and then she turned back to me with this crushed look on her face as if to say, "But MOM! You FORGOT to work ME!! I didn't get MY TURN!!"

Page would not come back to the house for anything but continued to stand at the door to the building waiting (I swear she was stamping a paw she was so irritated). I went inside and got the camera and came back out to work her. She was so happy that we were going back out to the building. What a work ethic!

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!

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!