Competition Courses - Spot 4-12-2009

The courses today continued to have some unique challenges and were fun to run.

First is the Exc JWW course. The biggest challenge on this course was embracing patience! With the two pin wheels starting at #7 through #14, handlers didn't have to run to get places and keeping it simple was by far, the best way to handle this sequence.

Next is the Exc Standard course. The first subtle challenge the #5 tunnel to the #6 jump. Dogs tended to curl in and handlers had to be sure to push forward toward the #6 jump.

On the approach to the weaves, this was a place to let the dog land a bit wide to give them a nice approach to the obstacle. This also gave the handlers plenty of time to get a front cross in. Another note on the front cross, those handlers who stopped their movement until the dogs loaded were generally more successful than those who continued moving since it allowed the dogs to enter on the 2nd or 3rd pole.

The approach from the #9 chute to the #10 teeter was tough. On paper it looks ideal, however it somehow didn't translate the same in reality. No fault of the judge's and it could easily have been the way I chose to handle it (with a front cross after the chute). Remember, it's the handler's responsibility to ensure the safety of their dogs and this was one of those times. 

The next really fun part was #13 - #17, the double serpentine. This is where a stay at the table really comes in handy as I was able to lead out to just before #13. As Spot was approaching the #13 jump, I was sure to say his name so that he was collecting over the jump and turning into me on the landing side. I worked the rest of the sequence on the landing side of #13 and made sure my movement was the cue Spot used to know which obstacle and which direction we would be heading in once he landed.

Check out his videos below. We had a great weekend with 5 out of 6 qualifying runs : )

Pug Power! Client Dogs Succeeding

There is nothing better than watching your students succeed. Watching them maneuver through an Agility course, tackling the challenges, working their strengths & weaknesses and ultimately earning that well deserved clean run.

Sharlie & her wonderful Pug, Chubby are featured in the first video on the Exc. Standard course. Great job!! Thank you to Cheri for allowing me to rope her into filming since I was just about to run in the Exc. JWW ring.

Next we have Jill & Amos (a Corgi) running in Novice JWW.  This clean run gave them their title so now they move up to compete in the Open JWW class. Check out their nice run!

Competition Courses - Spot 4-11-2009 and Junior Handler Kady & Shelbie Exc JWW

Today was another great day of trialing with some fun courses. Spot and I had a great time and I felt we were VERY successful.

Unfortunately we did not qualify in Standard due to an invisible force field around the table that prevented Spot from seeing it...yeah, that's it! But, the run was incredible and since we only need Double Q's for a MACH2, that gave me the freedom to play around in JWW - which I really enjoyed!

Back to Standard, my goal again today was to stay ahead of Spot which meant pushing myself to create efficient lines for both of us, to trust my dog & the training I've done and to RUN!

My two favorite parts on the course were:

1) #2 thru #6. I chose to keep Spot on my left from #1 thru #4 and was sure to beat him down to the end of the a-frame so he would know the direction we were heading next and I pushed up to #4 so that I could peel off and get a front cross in on the landing side of #5. I was sure to keep my arms in close to my body so as not to inadvertently signal a "get out" with flailing arms!

Because I was ahead of Spot, I was able to easily get down to the chute and was pulling toward the end so the direction I needed him to move toward was very clear. This allowed me to easily be down by the end of the chute and moving toward the tire as he came out and I continued the running/pulling motion all the way down the dog walk and into the correct side of the tunnel.

2) My second favorite part was from #14 thru #19. After watching the 4 - 20" dogs run the course, it was clear that the triple jump angle was recking havoc with the dogs.  If a handler tried to work the entire sequence with the dog on their left, they found themselves in a foot race down the last line and then had to unexpectedly push into the dog's path to get the last jump. That's usually when the triple jump would come down.

My My objective was to put Spot on my left at the weaves, push out to the #15 jump and once Spot's head turned to the right over the #15 jump (so that I knew he'd be wrapping the wing), I kept an arm out to support his path, but left so that I could get in an easy front cross before the triple. It was a fun line and my plan worked great. If we hadn't incurred a refusal, Spot would have taken 2nd place...oh well : )  At any rate, check out the video attached.was to put Spot on my left at the weaves, push out to the #15 jump and once Spot's head turned to the right over the #15 jump (so that I knew he'd be wrapping the wing), I kept an arm out to support his path, but left so that I could get in an easy front cross before the triple. It was a fun line and my plan worked great. If we hadn't incurred a refusal, Spot would have taken 2nd place...oh well : )  At any rate, check out the video attached.

Next was the Excellent JWW course. 

Since Spot only needs Double Q's for his MACH2, this run was completely for training - mainly for me! It was a great course to have some fun on and gave me another opportunity to work some distance, leave Spot (i.e. trust him to do his job) and for me to practice timely front crosses at speed.

My favorite line in this sequence was from #11 thru #19. I was able to easily get ahead on this line, more so than I thought and ended up having to slow up from #15 to #16, which actually put me behind for the way I had wanted to handle #17 to #18. I thought this would be a great opportunity to pull Spot over the #17 jump, keeping him on my left and then pushing him into the tunnel. The plan wasn't so perfect in its execution, but will make for a great training opportunity!

Check out Spot's JWW video below. I'm very happy with how he did and how I tried new things : )

OK, I wasn't the only one facing the challenging Excellent course. One of our favorite Junior handlers, Kady, was back on the competition front with Shelby the Sheltie. You may remember they had an incredible Exc JWW run yesterday and today they were back for more!

Juniors are Amazing!

Jill is a great sport and handed her Sheltie named Shelby off to Kady, a junior handler who takes lessons from me.

It started last night at Agility Class when Jill was running her young dog and mentioned in passing how Kady should run her more experienced dog, Shelby.  Well, one thing lead to another and Kady took her over and ran her...quite well I may add!  From there, Jill handled Shelby over to Kady to run in Exc. JWW.

Seriously, the team did AMAZING! First, Kady's not in Excellent so the course level was a unique challenge, second, this was only the second time she ran Shelby! Attached is the video of the run - the team was absolutely incredible and we look forward to seeing their runs together tomorrow. 

Competition Courses - Spot 4-10-2009

Today's Trial was Excellent only with one of my favorite judge's, Kurt Matushek. I've known Kurt from Chicago when I first started running agility 13 years ago. He and his wife Jean are wonderful, wonderful people.

Kurt's courses were a lot of fun and I ran them with my Border Collie, Spot. Spot and I haven't been training or trialing for several months, regardless, I've worked hard to train Spot so that both of us can pick up right where we left off and run a good race.

It was great to see Spot's eyes when we entered the building as they were as big as saucers and he was so excited to be getting back to Agility and to be working together again.

On the Excellent Standard Course, one of my favorite challenges was to get a TIMELY front cross in between jumps #5 & #6. To do this, I started my cross well before the #5 jump, made sure I had my dog's attention & didn't drive in to the landing side of the #5 jump. Instead I allowed my dog to curl into me and made sure my path moved toward #6 and not the off-course tire.

My next favorite challenge was to do a front cross between #12 & #13, the a-frame. By using the table to accomplish a lead out and by keeping a very efficient line which allowed me to stay ahead of my dog, I was able to get a front cross in before the a-frame which took out the off course jump at the end of the a-frame. 

A very fun course! Attached is a copy of Spot's Exc Std Run.

Next was the Excellent JWW course. It too provided a couple of really nice challenges while still providing a fast, fun and flowing course.

My first favorite challenge was between jumps #5 thru #9.  The challenge of handling the 270 and not sending the dog into the off-course tunnel was a great way to work the power of a handler's movement. If a handler pointed or pushed in the wrong direction, the dog was sure to shoot off in the wrong direction.

The next challenge was to get a timely front cross in after the tunnel to work the ending. Quite a few handlers chose to hang back and do a rear cross over the #18 jump. In contrast, I chose to keep driving forward and do a front cross before #18. I started my front cross very early, as Spot was coming over #17.  I stayed in the cross and continued moving backward. I stayed facing Spot's line so that I could que the #18 with my left hand AND pick him up on my left as he landed after #18 and already rounding to #19.

Over all, I was pleased with the maneuver, but in hindsight would have taken one less step backward to tighten up Spot's turn around #18.

Below is Spot's JWW video, enjoy!