Mile High Golden Ret Club of Denver - Sun Exc Std

Attached is my Sunday Excellent Standard course.

After setting it up, I was a little worried it would be viewed as too technical, especially when compared with yesterday's jumpers course that had quite a few straight running lines on it. However, once it got going, I really enjoyed it and had quite a few compliments on the course.

The course started with a tunnel and surprisingly, a few dogs had trouble with this. If I had to guess why, I think handlers assumed the dogs would go for the entrance and they took it for granted.

The course path ensured I had no problems judging the dog walk and there were no close calls with wandering handlers. Very few dogs went straight into the off-course tunnel, however several handlers had to fight to keep their dog on track and heading toward the jump.

My favorite handler path was when exhibitors would go to the landing side of the #5 jump so they were calling the dog over the jump to them and the dog would approach the a-frame while they were on the left side of the handler. It was a beautiful line and set up the next sequence nicely.

The a-frame, double jump to the chute posed no problems and barely a handful of dogs went into the #1 off-course tunnel. Several handlers were able to stay on the landing side of the #10 jump and there was some really nice maneuvering to call the dog over the #10 jump toward them and then work the dog on their left heading up the teeter.

After the table, the #13 jump to the weaves was a challenge. Quite a few bars were knocked at this jump as handlers were afraid to allow too much extension for fear the off-course tunnel would work it's sucking magic. Some dogs just had to have the tunnel no matter how hard their handler called them.

The closing sequence had some handlers working hard to push their dogs out to the tire and triple and the best handler path I saw was a front cross between #15 & 16. Most people were able to leave their dogs in the weaves so they were able to get up in to place very nicely. Another challenge for handlers who kept their dogs on their right through the closing sequence was that they had to be sure to pull their dog over the #16 jump toward them or the dog would simply by-pass this obstacle.

Again, another great day in Colorado and we're on the plan just about ready to start our descent. I love having WiFi on board! Any way, thank you for a wonderful trial and for such a fun time.

Lisa

Mile High Golden Ret Club of Denver - Sat Exc JWW

Here's my Excellent JWW course from Saturday. I LOVED this course!

My favorite part was from jump #10 all the way down to #14 tunnel. Dogs were cruising and it was neat to watch handlers work 1) around the weave poles and 2) to push their dog into the correct end of the tunnel.

Let me back up for just a moment, I really have to compliment this crowd on how easily they made #5 through the #8 weaves look.

There were a couple of ways handlers maneuvered #8-10. The majority of people did either a rear or front cross at the front side of the poles so their dog was on their right side through this sequence. However, a handful of folks kept their dogs on their left while they did the poles and then very successfully sent their dog out to #9 & 10 which worked well in helping them to be down toward the tunnel entrance.

I also loved the line from #15 to 16 and wanted to note that only 1 dog ran past the run-out plane of the #16 jump.  Those handlers that shaped their dog over #15 so they were already heading to #16 had a beautiful line for the closing. Some handlers even went so far as to do a front cross on the front side of #17 so they had a nice tight turn from #16 down to #18.

There were a TON of qualifiers and it was a very fun course to watch. Thanks for great runs everyone!

On to non-trial things, we were in Castle Rock, CO and I wanted to recommend a wonderful restaurant the club took us to for dinner. The place is called Sienna and it was AMAZING! It's in the heart of town and the food was absolutely wonderful. I was pretty tired after dinner and was asleep by 8:00 p.m.  Too much fun I guess!

Mile High Golden Ret Club of Denver - Fri Exc Std

It's been awhile since I last blogged and it certainly hasn't been due to a lack of topics! Life is busy and Dan and I flew off to Colorado for the weekend to judge for the Mile High Golden Retriever Club.

We were really excited to be back in Colorado. Lots of good friends and lots of great dogs to visit with. Oh and the weather was great too!

As for course review, let's start with my Excellent Standard course from Friday.

I started this course with a chute, which I'll admit, I do like to do. As with all chutes, handlers really need to be sure they're supporting this obstacle all the way down to the end. If they don't, it gives the dog permission to curl in toward the handler even more than normal. That was the case with a few dogs here and once they curled in, dogs generally had a less than optimal approach to the triple jump. In this case, it wasn't the angle that was the concern, but instead the shorter distance/notice for the spread jump.

The next area that was a challenge was from midway up the dog walk to the landing side of the teeter. Now let me clarify, it was a challenge for ME as the judge! All was going well for the first 175 dogs and then we hit the 20" dogs. Once we got to this group, I was left guessing if the handler was going to follow the dog down to the end of the dog walk contact or were they going to do a surprise peel-off down to the landing side of the tire. I have to say, it really messed with my judging path and I just about required each person to complete a flight path before their run.

The next area that caught quite a few handlers was the line from the teeter to the weave poles. It didn't seem to matter which side of the teeter handlers were on as dogs were squarely facing the off-course jump rather than turning toward the weaves. Ironically, after the handler path guessing game from the dog walk, the 20" class consistently handled this line the best.

The next area was the off-set serpentine from #7-9. In my humble opinion, this area simply looks different and it's more of a mental challenge. Those who worked to keep their dog in tight to take the jumps at an angle were more efficient than those folks who allowed their dogs to take the jumps straight-on which resulted in a much wider path and a few more call-offs.

Oddly, quite a few dogs knocked a bar at the double. It's possible the tunnel on the landing side was a big attraction or simply that handlers started to open up and run again heading into this sequence. As expected, a few dogs took the wrong side of the #11 tunnel.

After the a-frame and on their way to the table, a few dogs headed toward the teeter, but most didn't bother.

After the table we have the reverse serpentine with a pull into the #17 tunnel. the same issues with this serpentine and very few dogs had a problem with the correct tunnel entrance.

Friday evening was a lovely night and after a little shopping at the very nice outlet mall across from our hotel, we picked up Outback, grabbed a blanket and headed out to sit on the grass and enjoy the meal. Several exhibitors joined us and it was a fun evening.

Courses - Maine Sun Exc Std

Here is my last Excellent course from the Collie Club of Maine's trial. Handlers did a great job and it was really fun to watch everyone work their skills. As an added bonus, we were done 30 minutes before the rain!

Here are some points on the course:

* Quite a few handlers did a front cross between #3 & #4. As a side note, I noticed several dogs went very wide. I've run similar sequences elsewhere and hand't noticed this previously, but I consistently saw this in Maine. It could easily be the course, a late signal or a need for additional cue training. Just something to think about.

* Handlers made sequence #7 - 10 look like a breeze. They handled the offset #8 & 9 like champs.

* Handlers not driving down to the teeter was an issue for some dogs.

* After the table, some dogs had already made up their mind they were heading toward the incorrect side of the #12 tunnel. Regardless of the handler's clear signal, they took what was immediately in front of them.

* Few dogs took the off course jump after #13.

* The line from #14 through to the weaves was quick!

* From the weaves on, some handlers did a front cross at the end of the poles so the dog finished the course on the handler's left. Those handlers that did independent weave poles and then pulled their dog over #18 with a pick-up to #19 clearly had practiced this as they executed it with confidence and precision.

There were some AMAZING working dogs at this trial and some really, really cute Canine Companion Dogs as well. I'm still tired and am heading to bed, but I wanted to thank the club and everyone there for a wonderful, wonderful time!

Courses - Portland, Maine Fri 6/25/10 - In REALITY

Sorry for the delay in this note, but the internet at the hotel went down yesterday and didn't go back up until some time today.

But I do have some interesting things to report!

* First, as expected, most errors began around the #9 jump. Not a single handler front-crossed after the weave poles and then rear-crossed between 8 & 9 like several on-line folks had suggested.

* #8 to 9 was a problem for some folks. Not one person did a front cross in this area, however some did push their dog off of the #9 jump when they failed to wait for the dog to cross before moving in on its path.

* Handlers who did a front-cross between #11 and 12 had a VERY wide dog path and many of the dogs went off-course over the #8 jump.

*Several dogs pulled off of the #13 jump.

I was worried handlers wouldn't like the course, but I've received compliments all weekend so that made me feel good!

Lisa

Courses - Maine Sat Exc JWW

Today's course was pretty straight forward with a couple of reoccurring themes.

* Quite a few small dogs started off by heading in to the wrong side of the tunnel. That's a heck of a way to start a run, but handlers recovered quickly and moved on.

* Some dogs pulled off of #3 when handlers began moving early to handle obstacles #4 on.

* Jump #4 went down a lot. I suspect the speed coming from the tunnel added to it as well as dogs accelerating in anticipation of the off-course #16 jump, and then having to abruptly change direction to head toward #5

* The #8 tunnel didn't give anyone trouble.

* The surprise problem on this course was the #10 jump! Dogs were pulling in and going from #9, past #10 on the upper part of the course and heading toward #11. For some dogs, a push and/or a bit of support to #10 was needed.

* Great weave poles by a ton of dogs!

* After #16, if handlers didn't check their dog's head and pull them in just ever so slightly, they went over the off-course #4 jump.

* Teams out here had solid sends down the straight finish line.

Great job everyone!!!

Courses - Portland, Maine Fri 6/25/10 - In Theory

Here I am in beautiful Maine. I've never been to this location and I'm really excited to be here!

Not only do I to watch and play with dogs, but I get to go to some kick-butt locations. I love going places and getting a feel for the culture, the people, the history and much more. Oh and an added bonus, I get to judge with an old friend who used to live in Illinois.

For me, it's a great line-up and I'm hoping my courses add to the fun of the weekend. I really like looking at courses ahead of time and gambling on what I think the challenging locations will be and then seeing how close I was.

Since I've never been to this part of the country, it will be interesting to see what their handling preferences are. Do they like front crosses, rear crosses, lots of verbal cues or do they rely more on physical signals? We're close to the Canadian Border (assuming the map I'm looking at is correct - this is a poke at my blog from last weekend were an oversimplified map told me I was near the Oklahoma border when in fact I was near Texas!) and I wonder if we'll have some Canadian folks as well. So many possibilities!

OK, on to the course. Here are my guesses as to how they'll handle it:

• I think they'll start with their dog on their right at the tunnel and front cross so the dog is on their left going down the dog walk.
• If handlers don't have some distance/lateral at their weave poles they may end up doing a bit of reactive handling after jump #7 as the dog potentially curls in to them and heads toward the dog walk. The other possibility is that as handlers step around the dog walk they may inadvertently push their dog into the tunnel.
• I'm going to guess and say that handlers will do a rear cross at jump #9.
• The challenge for the pinwheel will be slowing down. The first part of the course was a place where handlers had to run and now they'll be faced with a part where patience may need to come into play.
• I think it would be GREAT to see a front cross between jump #12 & 13. I think this would be a great way to keep the dog motivated and moving and allow the handler to switch sides and get up to the teeter area.
• Heck, if handlers get a front cross in above, they may be able to do another front cross either before the #14 teeter or after. I'm going to go out on a limb and say before the teeter.
• The last running line begins with the jump after the teeter and works its way down through the end of the course. 

In case anyone hasn't figured it out, I really like running courses. But, I really like to add a handling place as well. In my mind, I love the running areas for the dogs and I love the handling areas to mentally challenge the handler. For me, this combination seems to bring out the best and allows the team to work, well, as a team!

Well, I'm off to bed to start my exciting day in Maine. I know we've got a Lobster Shack on the water planned for dinner and a trip to one of the light houses for more photo opportunities. 

One last note, back in my reality world of Washington State, my hubby took down a couple of small trees that were precariously perched on some rotting nursing logs so that we would have a clear and sunnier place to plant the new Dogwood Tree I bought last week. I plan to use the newly cut trees to build a natural trellis with the logs and branches. 

I'm off to bed. Enjoy the post, but don't worry, it won't be public until late in the afternoon : )

Courses - Clovis NM Sat 6/19/10

Today's Excellent Standard course had a few challenges right from the start - namely the #2 winged jump.

This jump was not centered between the tunnel and dog walk so handlers needed to be aware of their dog's path, speed and plan how they were going to get around this obstacle. Some handlers went down the left side of the dog walk, while others had their dog on their left when they exited the tunnel and had to work hard to get to the landing side of the jump.

A few inventive handlers set their dog up facing the #1 tunnel entrance and then 'led out' (or back in this case) to the landing side of the #2 jump. They had obviously practiced this because once released and pushed, the dogs went confidently into the tunnel and then came back over the jump.

After the dog walk, again dogs had great weaves. Heading toward the teeter, most handlers kept their dog on their left. Other options included handlers doing a rear cross at the teeter and a few did a front cross prior the teeter. Several dogs went to the off-course jump prior to the #7 tunnel since that was the first obstacle in their view.

After the tunnel, dogs easily performed the #8 through 12 sequence with only one or two dogs going into the off-course tunnel after #8.

After landing after the #13 jump, several dogs headed to the weave poles (I did mention they have great weave poles down here, right?), but just about everyone recovered and got their dogs safely into the chute. The ending sequence was well handled with handlers either doing a front-cross before the triple, a rear-cross over the #16 jump or simply keeping the dog on the handler's left side and pulling the dog over #16. I believe only two dogs went to the off-course table.

Teams did a great job on this course and there was some very nice distance as well. Speaking of distance...here is the Excellent JWW course.

This was a fast, flowing course where handlers used some great distance work.

Most handlers lead out to around jump #2 or 3 and started with their dog on their right side. The next side change came in prior to the weave poles with handlers doing a front cross prior to the triple or a rear cross after the triple. The challenge with the front cross was that several handlers over rotated and dogs came in too tight after the triple and missed the weave entry.

The next side change occurred around jump #10 where handlers again either did a front cross before #10 or a rear cross after. This group of dogs had great distance work and most handlers were able to send their dog to the #12 tunnel.

However, too much distance was also a negative for some teams as the handler was way ahead of the dog as they exited the #10 tunnel and pulled in to the handler, missing the #11 jump.

Since the #11 jump needed to be supported, handlers did their last side change around the #16 jump. This was done using either a front cross before #16 or what was more common was a rear cross after #16 and an easy push down the last line of jumps.

The fastest dog was Jane Simons-Moake (I believe with Suzi) with a time of 22.?? Unfortunately, Suzi had knocked the side of the triple (although it certainly didn't slow her down!) so she NQ'd. Regardless, it was a beautiful run. The next fastest dogs were in the 23.?? time-frame so you can see this was a quick course.

On a different note, I really want to compliment the club and exhibitors for such a fun event. This was only the club's second trial and it was very, very well run. The hospitality was terrific and the exhibitors were a lot of fun. Thank you to everyone for a fantastic weekend!

Courses - Clovis, NM Fri 6/18/10

This past week I had the opportunity to spend a few lovely days in Clovis, NM (it's along the Oklahoma border).

Just like last weekend, I had planned to do a pre-write up ahead of time on what I thought would be the course challenges. But as I drove into town, I felt myself being transported back in time and forming some non-agility related preconceived notions.

Clovis is an incredibly cute town that hasn't been spoiled by time. Drive-up food places were abundant and so were ladies in old fashioned hair curlers. When I arrived around 7:30 p.m. on a week night, the town had a relaxed, sleepy appearance and I wondered if the agility trial was going to be the same way.

So out of respect for those attending, I decided to hold off judgement and relish what might come. Boy am I glad I did!

My first clue that Clovis and its residents were not lost in history was the nice hotel with all of the modern conveniences. My second clue was the amazing fairgrounds were the trial was located. This huge building holds rodeos, had a nice red dirt surface, stadium-style seating and HUGE swamp coolers that kept the indoor temperature very comfortable. Good thing because it was about 99 degrees outside!

The club and exhibitors were great. There were folks attending from Arizona, Texas and Colorado and the handling was very good. I was glad I didn't let the sight of hair rollers sway my opinion!

Excellent Standard was first and there were two main challenges and two minor challenges that caught my attention.

In the beginning of the course, I was surprised at how many dogs missed their dog walk contact. Jumping ahead, I want to add that after 2 days of contact observation, I came to the conclusion that in general the problem was that either:

1. most handlers hadn't trained a proper 2-on-2-off, 
2. weren't consistent or clear on their expected criteria, 
3. moved forward too quickly in the training or 
4. hadn't properly proofed the behavior and 
5. therefore resorted to a deep threatening voice to 'make' their dog hit the yellow. 

Don't get me wrong, there were several folks with great contacts and some beautiful running ones as well, but unfortunately the louder more threatening folks consistently caught my attention since I was standing within 10 feet of them and could hear every word.

On the other hand, the weave pole performances were consistently solid and very nice to watch. After the poles, a few dogs headed to the a-frame, but most handlers opted for a front cross to push their dog to the teeter.  Several dogs did take the off-course jump after the teeter and as expected, some dogs did go into the wrong side of the #6 tunnel. The next sequence was one of the major challenges on the course.

Most dogs were on the handler's left side coming out of #6 and handlers were well ahead of their dog. For the large dogs, the issue was the #8 panel jump which was knocked down often. Ironically, not one small dog (4-16"s) took the panel down. The rest of the course ran as expected all the way through to the #15 chute and #16 triple.

In this sequence, dogs were flying out of the chute and either taking the off-course jump or completely missing the triple. Most handlers did a front cross after the chute which had some dogs going behind their handler (between the triple and off-course jump) and others pulling in prior to taking the triple and heading toward #17.

Those teams that did successfully make the triple weren't out of the woods yet as handlers had to be sure to wait and pull the dog over #17 before focusing on the last jump. As I'm sure you've guessed, several dogs by-passed #17 and if they were clean up until that point, it certainly was a disappointment for those teams to NQ right at the end.

Next came Excellent JWW.

One of the things I love about traveling about is to see the different handling styles. The beginning of this course had handlers working the first sequence in such a way that I was a little puzzled. I hadn't anticipated the maneuver and I'm still not certain that it provided the dog with the best vantage point.

So here's the scenario with the handler's path shown in green and the dog's path shown in red. Basically, the handler lead out to past #2 and situated themselves on the right side of the #3 jump. This was obviously a practiced maneuver because once released, the dogs were clear that they were taking jump #1-2. However, every single dog landed very wide after #2 (probably because they were staring at the #9 jump) and just about had to face-plant to turn toward the #3 jump. To complicate matters, handlers then had to work to 'push' the dog toward jump #4 (presumably because they were staring at the off-course #7 jump). While most handlers did this successfully, it generally didn't come off as smooth or efficient for the dog's path.

The other area that caught handlers was the #11 jump. While working up to this jump, teams did a great job (awesome weave poles again) pushing their dogs through and were well ahead of them...maybe too much so because handlers started pulling down toward the #13 jump prior to dogs taking #11, which caused quite a few run-outs/refusals.

On the other hand, teams did a great job of working through the #13 - 16 sequence and finished with flying colors.

Courses (In Theory) - Terv Club Sun June 13, 2010

So in keeping with my weekend theme, I'm writing about tomorrow's (Sunday, June 13, 2010) Excellent JWW course BEFORE it's run. As with today's post, I'll set tomorrow's blog to automatically post in the afternoon and later write about the reality of what happened.

On to the course!

I think the challenge of obstacles #1-5 for handlers will be determining exactly where or how far they should lead out. Handlers will need to balance their actions so they can support the minor direction change from #2-3, but not put too much forward motion in since the dog will need to do a 180 degree turn into the #5 tunnel. Oh and don't forget the off-course #20 jump.

After the tunnel and on the landing side of the #6 jump, I would love to see handlers do a front cross. Granted, it would require the handler to trust their dog to drive out of the tunnel while the handler drifted toward the landing side of #6, but on paper this seems like a perfectly do-able option. However, after having seen many successful rear-crosses at the weave poles, I'm thinking the safe bet will be that option.

For sequence #7-10, I expect most handlers will have their dog on their left while in the weave poles and will work for a front cross between #9 &10. This would put handlers on the inside track through #14.

As for jump #14 on, I think the key may be to aim for being ahead of the dog to 'lead' them through this fast ending sequence (I love fast flowing lines for dogs as a great way to end the weekend). Which means that after #14, handlers are either going to have to work their way around the #9 jump which has the advantage of  drawing the dog up to #15 or if behind their dog, handlers may have to layer #9 and meet the dog back down at the landing side of #16.

I have to admit, I'm excited to see how folks work through this sequence!

My last concern on this course is that dogs may curl in after #19 and rather than push toward the #20 jump will spy the off course #5 tunnel and veer off-course at the last second. If handlers are behind, no amount of calling will save their butts from this last-minute kiss of death. By the way, the off-course tunnel is not considered an option by the AKC because it is over 21' from the #19 jump. So in theory this obstacle shouldn't be a big draw to dogs.

On a different note, technically this course has up to 11 challenges (9 are required for Excellent) and 3 side-switches (3 are required for Excellent). Can you identify where the challenges and side switches are? Remember, a side switch is defined as a change in direction.

Stay tuned for the Reality version of this course after it is run.

Lisa

Courses (In Reality) - Terv Club Sat June 12, 2010

Yesterday I blogged on what I thought might be the challenging areas on the attached course from today. Now, here's the low-down on what REALLY happened.

* Dogs coming onto the course to start - in all fairness, I did brief folks that I'd like them to come on to the course when the dog ahead of them was on the table/in the tunnel and my gate stewards were great at sending people in as well. However, understandably some people were hesitant to come into the course.

* The #3 double jump. Most large dog handlers did a wonderful job in allowing their dog to naturally extend over this obstacle and land in a position to maneuver up the a-frame.

Channan with Icon (think AKC World Team) took this one step further and improved on this sequence in a way so that Icon knew BEFORE the double that he was going left. I noticed it immediately during the run and lucky for me, Channan put the video up on her blog so we can watch it. Little things like this make for an efficient run and are very dog friendly (physically on their bodies).

* Most handlers did great handling the #5 jump and I really enjoyed watching the dogs land, dig in and make the turn toward the dog walk.

* #7-9 was definitely one of the challenging place on this course. Interestingly, quite a few dogs spied the tire and no matter what the handler did (including a front cross that should have directed the dog to the #7 panel), dog after dog felt compelled to head in that direction. Note: the off-course tunnel only caught a few dogs.

* #10 teeter - as expected, handlers had to work to get around the #7 panel jump and pull their dog away from the natural path leading up the dog walk. The majority of handlers did a great job on this and several had some very close calls.

* #12-16 Sequence - as expected, this was my favorite part of the course. Handlers needed to balance their support to the #13 jump and their ability or wish to do a front cross prior to the weave poles. While some folks did a great front cross prior to the weave poles, others chose a REAR cross and then handled #17 & #18 in a serpentine fashion with the dog on their right. I have to admit, I hadn't thought of that handling possibility!

Keep in mind that these trainers have worked hard to accomplish independent weave poles and I really have to applaud the work they have accomplished on this. The nice weave pole work was noticeable in the Novice & Open levels as well.

* #17 & #18 - Most handlers kept their dogs on the left and pushed out to the last two jumps. But, as I mentioned in the bullet point above, several folks were on the opposite side. With the help of independent weave poles handlers were able to work their dog on their right. This allowed handlers to call their dogs over the #17 jump toward them, meet them on the landing side and keep them on their right going over #18.

I think this last handling maneuver and sequence will make a GREAT upcoming class lesson.

So now I'm off to write what I think will happen on tomorrow's Excellent JWW course. Stay tuned as it will automatically appear tomorrow afternoon with a Reality Update to follow.

Courses - Terv Club Sat June 12, 2010

I'm actually writing this blog the day BEFORE the attached course is run. Why? Well, I thought it might be interesting to write my ideas down ahead of time and then compare them to the real world. Don't worry, I'm going to set this blog to post on Saturday afternoon (after the course is run) so nobody will have an unfair advantage.

Also, another benefit to writing this in advance - it makes for a bit of a twist on the usual "Here's how they did on today's course..." write-up.

I'll be honest, this course is a partial take-off on another course that was run previously, specifically (obstacles 1-5). Now granted, it was mirrored, but I really liked the beginning and (more honesty), from a judging point of view, it gets two of the 3 contact obstacles out of the way immediately so I get to watch the dogs and admire their athletic ability.

So let's go through the course obstacle by obstacle.  First, it's my belief that the start line in the middle of the course is going to throw people off a bit and my guess is, slow things down just a tad. People aren't used to walking into the middle of a course and understandably, they're concerned that they may somehow be a distraction to the dog on-course. However, the dog on course should be well into the opposite side by the time they're needed and the a-frame should act as a nice barrier as well.

I'll be curious to see if handlers will let their dogs stride naturally over the #3 double jump or if they'll pull them in tight due to a concern that their dog will head toward the weave poles. While not intentional, this part of the course is reminiscent of this past week's class course where I setup the triple to the a-frame. For the class course, it is ironic since I did not move either the triple or the a-frame obstacle (and didn't look at this week's trial courses), but simply renumbered from a previous week's creation.

At the #5 jump, I hope folks work that obstacle before thinking of the dog walk so that they don't pull the dog off of the jump itself.

Sequence 7-10 is a simple pinwheel, however it will be interesting to see if handlers over handle due to the tire after the dog walk or the tunnel after #7 (which is not actually counted as a challenge by the AKC because it is over 21' from the #7 jump to either tunnel entrance).

#9-10 may be a challenge depending on how handlers move themselves around the #7 jump.

On the entire course, I'm most interested to see how handlers work through #11-13. This area requires patience and it will be interesting to see if anyone rushes this area because they are concerned about getting around the tunnel and down to the weaves. If I had to guess, I would say that most handlers will opt for a front cross on the front side of the weaves with another front cross on the landing side to guide the dog over the last two jumps.

Just like with the #5 jump, handlers are going to have to focus on #17 and let the dog fully commit to that jump prior to turning their focus on the #18 jump.

Northwest Obedience - Sun Std Course

Today was an awesome kick-butt day at the Northwest Obedience Club Trial and I really loved watching my Standard course being run.

Okay, it seems like I say that a lot (and I do), but it's really giving credit to those competitors who do the course justice with incredible handling and to the dogs for their amazing athletic ability.

There's nothing like watching a course come alive in the 3 dimensional world. When courses are first created they are on a flat piece of paper that is a snapshot from an aerial view. There's nothing exciting about them and they're in the concept stage.

But then when a course is setup at a trial, it's like adding water to a sponge, it just magically grows right before your eyes.

Then add a 'live' dog and handler team to interpret your design and the whole thing becomes magical.

The best part of being a judge is to watch handlers & dogs run my course creations. In those 40-65 seconds when a team is interacting with my concept, they unknowingly give my design the final character and heartbeat needed to become something worth remembering. When things are nicely clicking along for a team, my course momentarily gives back by providing an addicting rush of FUN for both the human and the dog.  As an added bonus, that addicting happy feeling resonates and is contagious so everyone watching has an opportunity to get that momentary high as well.

Then, after the run is complete and a team is done, my course goes back to being just a bunch of metal or wood obstacles waiting for the next team to contribute that necessary heartbeat of life...and so the cycle continues throughout the trial.

Today's course was one of those moments where you could feel the rush of FUN in the air. Later when I was showing my hubby the course on paper, I was disappointed that it just didn't exude the feeling (of FUN) it had at the trial. My treasured course once again looked flat, lifeless and boring. That's when it dawned on me exactly the power each course I design potentially has and how powerful the exhibitor's contribution is. At that moment I realized we couldn't create FUN without both parties contributing a small, but momentary part of themselves.

So when I say the course was fun to watch, I'm really saying thank you to each team for adding life to my design and an even bigger thank you for creating the feeling of FUN.

Happy Handling everyone!

Northwest Obedience - Sat Std Course

OK, lots to talk about from today.

First, in MN the AKC World Team tryouts. I don't normally pay too close attention to this type of thing, but I have to say this year the caliber of teams who also happen to be truly nice people has me hooked because I want them all to win!

At any rate, I did want to send a hearty congratulations to those who have already won a spot on the team and to those who are close behind and looking to win the remaining places. World Team winners or not, there are some pretty spectacular folks competing this year.

On to today's JWW course. As the official spectator in the ring, I really enjoyed watching teams on this course. The surface here is field turf so dogs can dig in, land softly and get in some amazing speed.

There are two sections I specifically want to focus on.

First, from jump #6 - 9. I drew a solid red line which shows the actual average dog path. Running Dalamatians in a Border Collie jump height has forced me to pay close attention to the most efficient path and when I look at the solid red line, I can't help but think there are a few places I would have loved to see tightened up a bit.

For example, the landing after the #6 jump. It seems wide to me. After thinking about it, handlers were racing up the line (from #5 and squarely facing the double) and just ran off toward the landing side of #7 without giving their dogs notice that they had changed direction ever so slightly. It wasn't until handlers were in place at the landing side of #7 did they call their dog to come in toward the #7 jump.

Next was the dog's path from #8 to #9 which tended to be the most yardage area for dogs. I would have loved to have seen someone collect their dog's stride before #8 to shorten up that path quite a bit. I just can't help but wonder if that would have shaved a second or so off off the majority of the dog's times. Yeah I know this is nit-picky, but what the heck else am I going to think about while watching 300 plus dogs today? : )  So anyone out there willing to give this a comparison try and let me know what the difference is since I'm short an Excellent level dog?

(I'm secretly hoping someone takes me up on the above challenge...hint, hint)

On to the next section which is the dotted green handler path. This represents the most common path handlers took after the weave poles. If folks were in place (i.e. hauling down the line!) it worked great. However, if they were even a step behind at th #14 jump, the dog was likely to curl in and take the off-course tunnel.

After watching the dogs, there was one specific way I would have liked to try and lucky me, one handler did it and did it well! Below is a diagram and the red dotted line is the path I would like to try.

Basically the handler did a front cross on the take-off side of #13 and easily put in another front cross on the landing side of #14 which gave him and his dog a nice flowing path. Now granted, he was a tall guy with long legs and independent weave poles would be a must before attempting this exercise.

It's times like this that I really miss my BC Spot. He was up for ANYTHING agility related.

Any way, this is another place I need a volunteer to give this a try and let me know how it goes....anyone?

Fri - Northwest Obed. Club, IL, Courses

Day one back in the Midwest at my favorite former 'home' club, Northwest Obedience Dog Training Club.

It was so darned good to see my old agility pals. I really do miss them a ton. : ) 

Tonight Dan and I (Okay, mostly me) steered the club toward taking us to Portillos, which is a Chicago favorite and about 2 steps above fast food (although they do have one heck of a drive thru!). Portillos has REAL Chicago Vienna hot dogs and I had the roast beef with Italian sausage and mozerella cheese on French bread (called a Combo) which I like 'dipped' or 'wet', (they dump the whole sandwich in the au jus). Very, very nummy.  Dan thought the hot dog was great and that my combo was amazing. I think we're going to have to get more before we leave : )

We sat and chatted with old friends for quite a long time about subjects that were just plain funny, goofy and simply good-humored. It was so much fun!

OK, on to today's course!

I judged Standard today and overall, I was very pleased and enjoyed watching the dogs run the course. It was challenging, but there was a ton of room between obstacles and as always, I would love to set this course up in my yard to train on. Moving on to the course analysis, here it goes.

After the #2 weave poles, some handlers were attempting a front cross and were moving straight ahead (mostly in a backward walk) toward the unnumbered off course jump. At least 2 handfuls of dogs took this jump, believing their handler was signaling it in some new cryptic maneuver. It became even more interesting when the handlers stared at their dogs like they'd lost their mind for taking the jump. I wonder if those handlers had the run on tape so they could review their motion which I'm sure, they were unaware of.

The big trap on this course was from the end of the #5 dog walk to the #7 tunnel. Specifically, a large portion of the dogs went up the off-course a-frame rather than go to the #7 tunnel. Handlers who went to the end of the dog walk with their dogs were left trying to manuever around the #6 winged jump and forced to push out to the #7 tunnel. Most dogs didn't buy into the cue and went up the a-frame despiste desperate pleas from handlers.  I also think the winged #6 jump forced handlers to plan their path carefully as well.  Diane Snaders did a great job of working this line by supporting the on-ramp of the dog walk and then allowing the dog to work the down side of the dog walk independently while she went to the landing side of #6 so she was in an optimal position to support the tunnel.

The other trouble spot on the course was from the #16 tire back to the #17 jump. Most handlers were on the left side of the course (as you view the map) and assumed their dog was going to naturally pull in to the #17 jump toward them. While some dogs did, most handlers were surprised at how they had to work the #17 jump.

It was a fun course to watch run and as always, I enjoyed watching the various handling strategies.f

Courses - Columbia, SC Sunday

Today I judged JWW and have attached the course.

The majority of the course was designed by Barry Hall with a few minor changes by me as well as some additional spacing.

Surprisingly, a few dogs missed the #2 tunnel entry and went behind the tunnel. When this happened, handlers took off immediately after the dog committed to the first jump and simply assumed the dogs would find the tunnel entrance.

Most folks did a cross around #5 and I would have to say it was pretty evenly split between a front and a rear cross.

In anticipation of the cross around the weave poles, some handlers did a front cross on the take off side of #9. Unfortunately, this generally didn't work so well and sent dogs directly from #9 over the #12 jump. On the other hand, handlers who did a front cross on the landing side of #9 had a better chance of making the weave pole entry.

The biggest challenge on the course was the #14 jump. Handlers needed to push out and support that jump or dogs were tempted to by-pass this obstacle and head straight for #15.

The last line of obstacles was fast and had both dog and handlers running to reach the finish line. Again, there were a lot of great runs and it was a blast to watch some of these teams RUN this course.

Of course my personal favorite is Mark Ogle with his Dalmatians. Mark does an amazing job and all of his dogs are terrific.

Thanks again to a wonderful club!

Courses - Columbia, SC Saturday

Saturday had me judging Standard and Excellent FAST.

The Standard course is a take-off of the course from the original judge with a few modifications to accommodate my short legs. Here's a break down on how the course ran:

Obstacles 1-3 were an easy no-brainer for these handlers. However, things weren't as smooth from the a-frame into the weaves. Several factors came into play. First, those with a running contact who were hell bent on getting in front of their dog at the bottom of the a-frame generally succeeded in increasing their dog's speed to the off-course #8 jump. Most handlers were able to call their dog's off of the incorrect jump, but were then left with an odd angle over the #4 jump which had the dog heading to the #10 jump and not directly to the weaves.

Obstacles #5 - 8 were straight forward with the dog on the handlers' right hand side. Quite a few dogs went up the a-frame rather than pull in toward the #9 jump. In most cases, the handler assumed the dog would come in toward them and it was too late once they realized their dog was heading straight for the a-frame.

The line from #10 through to the teeter was beautiful and ran very smooth.

The area that caused most handlers a degree of difficulty was the #15 jump. The majority of handlers had their dog on their left side and planned to rear cross this jump. However since the dog was coming off of the table, handlers were ahead of their dog and their timing was off for a rear cross. Quite a few of the handlers turned in to their dog early and caused their dog to turn left prior to taking the jump which incurred a refusal.

The remainder of the course went smooth and while the #18 jump caught a few teams off guard, most finished this course beautifully.

Next was the Excellent FAST course.

This was a fun little FAST course that had dogs moving around the entire ring and potentially accumulating a lot of points.

Better yet, the send bonus was very do-able for this group and they did a lovely job.

Great job everyone!

Courses - Columbia, SC Friday Course

Before I get into a discussion about courses, check out the GREAT ribbons the AKC is handing out regarding Mixed-Breed dogs  participating in AKC April Agility trials!

To help celebrate the inclusion of Mixed Breeds, today we took a 'Freshman' photo with the Mixed Breed newcomers participating in the trial. It was really, really neat and I'll post it as soon as I receive a copy of the picture. I know I was personally very, very excited to be asked to participate! 

On a side note, the Mixed Breeds that ran at this trial were so excited to be participating. Not just the handlers, but the dog as well. A beagle/shepherd mix literally SMILED around the entire course - it was great to see.

On to a discussion about courses....

This weekend I'm in Columbia, South Carolina. I wasn't originally scheduled to be here, but the club needed a replacement judge at the last minute and so I was asked to fill in. That means that the courses I'm judging are a combination between the original judge's design and are slightly modified to incorporate a bit of the wide-open spaces I prefer on a course. 

For the heck of it, I've posted the course we ran (shown above) and the original course (the 2nd course posted). In reviewing the two courses, I realized that I have a specific course style preference and couldn't help but wonder if perhaps I've gotten myself in a bit of a rut on my design thinking.

Original course:

Regardless of the course style, it ran well and I was especially impressed with the weave pole entries. I was originally concerned when I looked at this on paper, but these guys made it look effortless. Nice job folks!

Courses - WI Rapids Kennel Club Fri & Sat

I haven't been timely in uploading courses so today I have Friday's Excellent JWW and both Excellent courses from today (Saturday).

First is Friday's Exc JWW course which had a nice Q rate.

At jump #1, most handlers started with their dog on the left and did a front cross on the landing side of #3 which set them up nicely for the correct end of the #5 tunnel.

On the #6 landing side, most handlers did another front cross to set themselves up on the inside (dog on their right) for the long line of jumps leading to the weaves. I have to admit, I was proud to have gotten such a nice open running space in this smaller sized ring.

After the weaves, most handlers did another front cross (so the dog was on their left), heading for #14. The surprise on this course was that quite a few dogs missed the #15 jump. As you can see from the dog path (the red line drawn on the course), handlers who picked their dog up at the end of the weaves and assumed a straight path from the end of the weaves through #15 were shocked when their dog curled in and bypassed #15. I have to admit, I was equally as surprised!

The #17 jump required a bit of patience and most handlers did great in this area.

Next we have Saturday's Excellent Standard course.

The first unique feature is the start line which had handlers starting with their back toward the middle of the ring. The second unique feature had the #6 jump taken four times - a new record for me!

The surprise on this course was the number of dogs who, after jump #7, took the off-course #15 tunnel exit. It was like dogs were possessed and even when handlers were standing still, dogs gleefully accelerated while handlers tried to call their dogs back.

There didn't seem to be an overabundance of Qualifiers and I'll have to take an unofficial survey on what people thought of the course. I do know the 24" dogs didn't fare well, while the 20" dogs did much better!

Next came Excellent Jumpers with Weaves. Luckily for me, the course seemed more popular with handlers and the Qualifying rate was higher - yeah!!!!

Most handlers started the course with the dog on their left side which allowed them to 'pull' their dog to the correct end of the #4 tunnel.

Next handlers did a front cross either before or after the #5 jump which set them up for the inside path as dogs headed through the tunnel and up to the weaves. Most handlers then did a front cross after the weaves.

For the serpentine, handlers were split as to who handled it on the right side of the course and who handled it on the left side of the course. Either way, the surprise on this course (get the feeling there were surprises on all of the courses so far?) was that several dogs weren't pushed far enough out to the take-off side of #12 and would end up on the landing side of #12 without having come full around to the take-off side.

When landing from the #13 jump, quite a few of the dogs were pointed down toward the bottom of the course toward the #6 jump. On the other hand, some handlers did a beautiful job of turning the dog's head so they would land heading toward the top of the course and toward the correct #14 jump.

After #17 quite a few dogs were wide turning toward #18. Again, in contrast, some handlers did an incredible job of working the #17 jump to gain the advantage of a tight turn to #18.

Over all, these courses were different than some of the designs I've done in this building in the past and I liked that. We'll have to see what tomorrow's courses bring in terms of challenges.

Have a great night everyone, I'm off to bed!

Belgian Sheepdog Club, WI - Jan 24, 2010, Exc JWW

A few weeks ago I was judging in one of my personal favorite places to go, WI.

There are a TON of places I love to visit and always enjoy, but since I'm originally from the Northern IL/WI area, going back is like coming home. I grew up in Agility with these folks and I've known them for over 14 years. It's natural that I really, really miss them and so I always look forward to visiting and I always leave refreshed.

This trip was no different and as always, everyone was amazing.

The facility is indoors on thick horse stall matting and a unique ring size so I get to be creative. The challenge for me is to come up with a unique course that meets AKC's standards, has flow and allows handlers to be creative in how they chose to get through the course.

A perfect example of this is the choice of direction available from #3 to #4.

I have to admit, I was curious to see which direction handlers would chose to go and was surprised when the choice was an almost even 50/50 with half going to the right and the other half choosing the left. Now granted, I was not keeping an exact count (something about having to judge ), but in the end several of us decided this would be a fun sequence to time to see which direction was faster.

Anyone up for taking that challenge?