SpotOnAgility.com

I've had some amazing agility dreams for several years and thanks to some great people in my life, I'm going to move forward with them.

It all started out with the 2on-2off Contact Training DVD that is in full-swing and going very, very well.

From there, my 'team' pushed me to create SpotOnAgility.com.  Not only will SpotOn produce my agility DVD's, videos, audios and e-books, but it will also offer specialized agility training, topic discussions and more.

My goal is to have on-line agility training solutions that are flexible, compatible and complimentary with all types of training and handling options.

Besides the 2on-2off Contact Training DVD, my next several projects will include a page designed for Novice Handlers and other agility training materials specific to front crosses, rear crosses and more.

While we're still in development, I wanted to share our new logo.

Stay tuned for more to come!

Lisa

Star Trek Photo Shoot

Tonight Dan and I got to spend some time playing with the digital camera. He's a great teacher on the mechanics of the camera and I'm more creative so it works well together. While playing with the various shutter, aperture and other settings, the images above are what we came up with. 

The moon was so bright that the camera couldn't pick it up (image on the left). However, we ended up with a unique mirror image (on the right) that is actually clearer than the actual moon.

I think we should submit them to Star Trek for consideration! I love the creative outlet the camera provides.

Tonight's photo shoot was just the icing on the cake. Ever have a day where you think WOW! Well, I've had two days like that and planning to make it three (tomorrow).

Dan's work schedule recently changed and he's working 4-10 hour days so  Friday through Sunday he's at home. It's a bonus day with him each week and we've been really enjoying it!

Each day we've picked a manageable project to work on and then spent the remainder of the day doing fun things. I'm feeling very spoiled at the moment.

We've had amazing weather the last few days as well. Sunny, warm with a nice breeze and the yard looks really good this year. Having a peaceful place for me and the dogs to hang is simply wonderful. You can see in the way the dogs play how happy they are and that brings a huge smile to my face.

Also, filming for my contact DVD is going amazing. Everyone involved in the training/filming is happy, their dogs are having success and at the moment, everything is clicking along great. I'm feeling blessed in every part of my life.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!

Lisa

Stopping to smell the roses...literally

It's a busy place in my household right now. With the 2o2o Contact DVD in production, judging, my dogs, hubby/family time and the usual day-to-day obligations, it would be easy to miss the small, but enjoyable details around my house.

Flowers have always fascinated me and I have hundreds of photos in my personal album. So when my new rose tree started to bloom, it's not surprising that the first thing I did was grab my camera for a little break of creativity time.

I'm definitely taking the age-old saying 'stop and smell the roses' literally.

In the next couple of photos I used natural direct sunlight and added a bit of water for an unexpected dewy glow.

I was also lucky enough to have another bud opening at the same time so I was able to include that in my creativity time as well.

So not only did I get the welcome break of enjoying some of the beautiful landscaping in my yard, I also had the opportunity to express my creativity via the camera to capture natures beauty.

Well, I'm heading back to work as I have a large project plan that needs to make its way onto paper.

Enjoy the pictures everyone and don't forget to stop and enjoy the roses in your garden of life.

Lisa

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.

Does This Magazine Make Me Look Fat?

Today was not my day for beauty and no amount of inner glow was going to make me feel better about the hair that was stuck to my head.

I had a little snafu yesterday in what should have been a simple color touch-up. For those that know me, I love to play with hair color. Sometimes a little touch of red, sometimes a few blonde highlights. Just depends on what the mood is.

It's summer and I've decided to move lighter in the shades and found a color with highlights I just love. While multi-tasking yesterday, I inadvertently grabbed my winter hair color. No problem, after it was done I just grabbed my summer hair color and then did the highlights. But thanks to the varying base colors now in my hair, the highlights didn't turn out like they should have. So I thought I could just start over with the lighter base color.

As I've now found out, the more color you add (even lighter colors), the darker your hair becomes. By morning, my hair was just about jet black and definitely NOT what I was hoping for. So off to the salon I head so I can pay someone to get me into the hair color I had when I woke up yesterday morning.

So when I entered the salon in my baggy pants, loose t-shirt, zero make-up and hair that I wasn't feeling the love for, I wasn't feeling all pretty-like. Hell, I couldn't have faked it if my life depended on it! To make matters worse, while waiting for my hair-savior (stylist) I opened up one of those hip fashion magazines. There staring back at me were tall, skinny, young models with perfectly colored hair, beautiful spiked heals and wearing the latest and greatest in clothing that is well-above the Kohl's price range I normally shop in.

To add insult to injury, they didn't have a single piece of dog hair weaved into their fancy clothing (in contrast to my life-style which means I'm always accompanied by dog hair of all colors).

In my hair-weakened state, I found myself thinking "I want to be that skinny", "I want my hair done up like that", "oh those dreamy shoes" and all kinds of envious stuff. Even the Venus razor ad with her beautiful legs had me turning green.

And then I found myself mentally calculating all of my flaws. I hadn't shaved my legs since Saturday. There was no way my practical feet were going to stand 20 minutes in those 5" heels. The hair was a completely lost cause and this 5'2" vertically challenged girl was never going to have long, tall, lean legs no matter how hard I worked out or how long I stayed on a stretching rack.

Now tell me again why we have these magazines that feature fake people, shown in borrowed homes, wearing clothing with price tags that add up to a house payment, in hairstyles that require 10 pounds of hair product and a small monthly loan just to afford them?

Dang it, I almost fell for the marketing machine techniques which tell me that if I buy Product X, Y and Z, I'll have everything I never knew I was missing. Luckily I put the magazine down. I confidently walked over to my SuperCuts salon gal who is a treasure (Yes, I'll admit that I used to go to a top-notch salon and pay almost $200 for a cut & color). My gal worked her magic and by the time I walked out of there (with a brow wax to boot!), I was feeling pretty, pretty, pretty! Hell, I even came home and threw on a little make-up to go teach my dog classes.

As an added bonus to my now normal base color, I have some wicked blonde highlights that lighten up my mood as well as my hair. I have to say, I'm feeling the spark again and I've vowed NOT to open up one of the damned magazines again! Those things are BAD for your health!

Gearing Up For Colorado

I've had a small bit of time at home to re-energize and focus on several of the fun projects evolving in my life.

First is the Spot-On 2-on-2-off contact DVD which is coming along nicely. I'm working with 5 new people at varying skill levels and dogs from puppy hood up to retraining an Excellent level dog.

We're a couple of weeks into filming and I'm currently working on written material to accompany the video portion.

But more importantly, I've been spending great quality time at home in the garden, taking pictures and with my pups.

All of the dogs have been so happy and actively playing with each other when they're not hanging with Dan and I.

Rylee's agility training is coming along great. She's a unique character in that she really needs to think something is her own idea. So in keeping with her wishes, I haven't pushed her to do anything. In return, she offers me a heck of a lot more each time we work together.

Rouge has made it a daily habit to offer me toys to entice me to play. Today it was a large piece of wood from the yard that she brought into the house. I have to laugh because she was so proud of herself! As I write, she's sleeping next to me.

Zulu just celebrated 1 year with us. I can't believe how fast time has gone! His latest thing is that he has made it his place to lay on the back of my chair to look out the window or place his head on my shoulder to sleep. I love the fact that I can smother him with kisses and he comfortably lays there and then returns a few when I'm done. Yes, he is a Momma's boy!

Well, Dan and I leave for Colorado in a few days for a judging assignment. I always miss my dogs when we're gone and I'm hoping to use my plane/hotel time to catch up on some courses that are do in a few months.

Oh, I have peaked at my courses for this weekend and I'm excited to see them run! As is typical, there is a challenging part on each and I'm very interested to see how handlers work through it. While I'd like to go into more detail, sorry, there won't be any hints : )

Colorado, we'll see you soon!

YES, the 1/2 Day Agility Trial is Possible!

See the empty chair* pictured on the right? That symbolizes my home on weekends when I'm off showing at an agility trial. Imagine the possibilities...I could be at home reading a book, holding my husband's hand or snuggling a dog. 

Don't get me wrong, I love agility. 

There are times I spend hours thinking about a particular agility-thing, entire evenings spent enjoying it with my students and 4-day weekends watching it while judging. That's my choice and not only am I comfortable with it, but most importantly, I love it.

However, as a competitor, the continued trend of spending entire days sitting around at an AKC agility trial for more than 5 hours waiting to do a 60 second run is not one of the things on my 'love-to-do-list'. To be honest, it easily falls onto my "absolutely-can't-stand-to-do-page". 

Why? Well, if it were just me hanging around it would fall into the "who-cares-area" of life, but it's not. It's about my dogs. It's about life-balance for all of us. It's about being well-rounded as individuals. It's about doing laundry, spending time with family, weeding the garden or simply cleaning the house.

Specifically, I'm not fond of having to get my dogs to a location by 7:00 a.m., then asking (no, it's more like requiring) them to wastefully wait around for 3+ hours until their first run, followed by more mind-numbing downtime for up to an additional 5+ hours until their second run, leaving by 4:30 p.m. (if we're lucky), driving home, getting in late, snarfing down dinner, sneaking in a few chores and then doing it all over again the following day.

Sure, I could use my trial-waiting-time to practice tricks, do some training, visit with folks, network and assist with the trial event (and believe me, I do all of those things). But imagine a trial where I wasn't required to devote my entire day waiting around while my other life obligations and commitments were asked to take a back seat to my hobby.

Specifically, I miss the days where AKC, Excellent classes (all of them) were run first (there were a few trials where I was back home by 10:30 a.m.). Open folks arrived around 10:30-11 and Novice folks showed up around noon. Sure, the Open & Novice folks might have to wait around for a bit until it was time for their classes, but they weren't required to arrive at O'-too-early AND stay until O'-last-dog. The schedule I mention here is far more dog-friendly, ensures handler-happiness and most importantly, life outside of agility goes on as usual.

I've heard the argument that this type of schedule makes it harder to obtain volunteer workers. Honestly, I say bull-hockey! Why? Well, the other schedule (where Excellent is first and last of the day) falsely assumes that because Excellent handlers (the largest group) are forced to wait around, they are more likely to volunteer. First, you can't force anyone to volunteer. Second, they already feel they're making personal sacrifices just by attending for the lengthy day and third, they're hyper-aware of the already looming time commitment and simply don't want to take away from their personal lives any more than they have to.

Case in point, if on Saturday small dogs run first and there is a separate walk-thru for the large dogs (after small dogs are done). The large dog people won't show up first thing because they know they're already going to be there until the end of the day. Even showing up late, that means they're probably going to be forced to hang out for 7+ hours. Since they arrive later, that means they won't be available when the first dog enters the ring. Vice versa with the small dogs. They were forced to arrive early and so when their runs are completed (6+ hours later), they want to go home and so they're not available to help at the end of the day.

The other argument says that there are more conflicts when Excellent is running in both rings. Again, this is not necessarily true since there are just as many, if not more, conflicts when Novice and Open are running opposite Excellent. At the very least, there is more pressure since on Novice and Open since those tend to be smaller classes and if you miss your run there, you may be out of luck if they are already moving on to the next course change. And who wants to be rushed with a young dog? (hint: nobody!)

No matter what the running order, there is no doubt that volunteers are hard to come by and conflicts will arise. However, forcing people to stay and volunteer just isn't the answer because this doesn't create the pay-it-forward, feel-good moment everyone wants in agility. 

I'm an optimist and while this might come back to bite me in the butt (especially if I'm judging and need ring crew), but I think we should allow people to make their own decisions and handle their time as they see fit. People may surprise you. One day someone might not be in a rush and so they stay until the end. Another day they may have an obligation. Either way, it's a win-win for everyone involved and we're encouraging and facilitating BALANCE.

Whatever the running order, the days of spending 10 hours a day waiting for two agility runs needs to end. Nobody (or dog) can remain sharp, fun and relaxed for that amount of time and  who wants to be held captive at an agility trial. (again, nobody!)

* If you like the chair pictured, go to this link to learn how to do it yourself.

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!

Judging Stories - Maine June 2010

Lucky me, I got to spend an extra evening in Maine! Due to weather in Chicago flights were cancelled and delayed so that meant I wasn't able to get in to catch my connection.

Not to worry, I'm resourceful and got myself a seat on a US Airways flight. With ticket in hand I start to board only to be told they gave me the wrong coded ticket. Long story short, the United Rep had no idea how to 'unlock' my reservation which meant that US Air couldn't get paid. So it was with a bit  (okay a TON) of disappointment I got to watch as they closed the door and the flight took off. Once again, United will be hearing from me...not that they ever do anything about it. They have a way of not answering customer complaints or simply loosing them.

Could things be worse? Absolutely! Portland, Maine is a nice small airport and it was easy to get back into my comfortable hotel so I was able to get a good night's rest. So today, I feel much better!

But back to this weekend, part of the reason I had so much fun was judging with my old friend Kim Ingraham. It's nice when you can hang out with someone you enjoy and we were both up for seeing the sights.

We went to a few places. The picture at the top was taken around Fort Elizabeth (I believe it was called) and the rest of the pictures were taken at Two Lights.

You can see Kim in one of the pictures standing on rocks that, thanks to the constant touch of the sea, looks like petrified wood. Every step we took we just kept saying 'amazing!' and it was!

After we were done sight seeing, we stopped in at The Lobster Shack for dinner. Wait, I should say an amazing dinner! I took a pre-feast picture of my soon-to-be carnage and Kim giving me lobster gutting lessons, I managed to eat like a queen.

At one point I was having trouble with a claw that just didn't want to give up its' meat and the cracker gizmo was only getting me so far. With cracks in the claw already started, I put it flat on the table and proceeded to pound on it until the claw was ripe for ripping into. Surprisingly, nobody around us seemed to notice my desperate act.

Well, I'll be boarding with my new tickets here in a bit (5:45 a.m. flight) and am hopeful I can make the connection in Washington/Dulles in a timely manner and be home by early afternoon.

Happy Monday everyone! Lisa

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 : )

Spot-On 2o2o Contact Training

Well, today I officially jumped off the deep end and committed to making a DVD on how I train my 2-on-2-off contacts. Nope, my methods haven't been featured in Clean Run Magazine, I've never seen them in print and each time I tell someone about them (and how flipping easy it is), I always get a wild-eyed look of amazement. Oh, and the light bulb goes off for the handlers too.

Now that I've made the commitment, there are so many details to attend to. Some things are factual in nature and some things are a bit softer and not so obvious. Specifically, I didn't come into almost 15 years of training experience by living in a bubble. There are so many people who have shared tid-bits of information with me over the years. Those tid-bits add up and here I am leaping off of a cliff to pursue a new adventure in my professional dog training career.

This personal project of mine has been developing in my head for the last few years. But specifically over the last year I've felt a directed pull (or should I say push) to move forward. A few things fell into place for me and my comfort level and tested practical experience are exactly where I need them to be.

But what really became the final 'test' or catapult was when I happened upon someone (half-way across the country) who was at their wits end when it came to contacts. After asking if she was open to an idea, I showed her the base of my training during the 20 minutes we spent together. I left her with easy, but specific homework and I guided her through the remaining steps in just a few e-mails. I did get weekly updates via Facebook that she was double-queing, but it wasn't until she sent me a video of their training results that it hit me. Her contacts were beautiful, spectacular, a work of art, amazing and well, perfect!

I don't want to take away any of the credit from the handler because believe me, she did her homework and worked it, but I can't help but know that I had at least a little bit of a hand in the transformation. It really makes me feel all warm-hearted!

So, that was the final push, that little thing that said "Get off your butt, put away your fears and JUST DO IT!" So here I am, planning to either share my knowledge with the world or I may fall face first into a mud puddle. Either way, I'm going to enjoy the journey and hope all those details I mentioned above work themselves out in a smooth manner.

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.

Tweet!!! Dear Handler, Your Dog is Lame...

While running an agility course, it's discombobulating to hear the judge whistle you. You've got a plan, you're thinking about the course, you're directing your dog and by golly you can't help but think 'Why in the world is the judge interrupting me with that darned whistle?!'

Mentally you're thinking:
* Am I running the right course...check.
* Did my dog hit that last contact...check.
* I didn't start before the timer said okay...check.
* What the heck...?

Physically, adrenalin is coursing through your veins and you are in overdrive. So when the judge says 'Your dog is lame...' understanding exactly what that means may not process right away.

Things Handlers Have Said - Here are some real conversations (and possibly a lesson on what not to say) that have occurred after having whistled and informed handlers their dog was lame (H - handler, J - judge).

********
H: "No, he's not!"
J: "Really, he is. I would suggest checking the rear right paw"
H: "He's not lame!"
J: "I'm just sharing..."
Note: turned out the dog had a burr burrowed between its' pads. The handler did come and thank me later.

********
H: "No! Do we really have to stop my run?"
J: "Yes! Your dog is lame and I'm just looking out for them"
H: "I know...I just wanted to finish running the course."

********
H: "Oh he's not in pain." and the handler takes the next jump, turns to judge and says "I'll explain later"
J: More whistles and an interception mission begins

********
H: "He just has a cut on his pad"
J: "Well, that explains why he's lame. It must be bothering him because he's limping"
H: "But the cut doesn't bother him all the time"
J: "Looks like he needs a little more rest and healing time"

********
H: "But that would have been my title!"
J: Speechless

********

What Is Lame - For the heck of it, I looked up the definition of lame at Dictionary.com:
1) crippled or physically disabled, esp. in the foot or leg so as to limp or walk with difficulty. 
2) impaired or disabled through defect or injury: a lame arm.

With a definition that hints or implies a lifetime stigma, no wonder people seem to immediately jump to denial!

A Better Definition of Lame - So I kept up my search and found what I feel is a more appropriate definition from the Longman Dictionary Online:  1) unable to walk properly because your leg or foot is injured or weak: a lame dog

What a Judge Means When They Say Lame - What I'd like to encourage handlers to think is that when a judge says "Your dog is lame", they're not making a medical diagnosis or saying that a dog is forever crippled. Instead, they are sharing that in that moment of time, there is an issue that is preventing the dog from having a normal gait. Remember, we can only go by what we see and if a dog looks lame (doesn't have a normal gait), we must error on the conservative side (i.e. what is best for the dog) we must whistle and excuse the dog from the ring.

What Should You Do - When whistled and told that a dog is lame, in most cases you should:
* Stop - Immediately and look at your dog.
* Think - To hell with the run!
* Ask - What was he/she doing (i.e. limping, holding a leg up, etc.).
* Decide - Do I pick-up my dog or let them walk off the course.
* Investigate - Go back to your setup and thoroughly check your dog out
* Plan - What the next steps will be, keeping in mind what is best for your dog.

Final Words of Wisdom - Remember, we care about the well-being of your dog. While it certainly can be disappointing to be unable to finish a run, your dog's safety and well-being is our first priority.

Pre Judging - Travel Day in New Mexico

Today began at 3:00 a.m. with the blaring alarm clock and a deadline of being at the airport by 4:15 a.m. Oh, did I mention I still had to finish packing and I hit the snooze button?

Luckily this weekend's judging assignment only required repacking last weekend's summer clothing (yes, it was washed) and we were out the door by 4 and at the airport by 4:30 (for a 5:30 a.m. flight). With no checked luggage and only 6 people in the security line ahead of me I had more than enough time to wait around at the gate to board my flight. By the way, I don't recommend this time-frame for any flight departing after 6 a.m. since your security lines won't be nearly as short.

After a connection through Denver, I arrived in Albuquerque around 12:45 in the afternoon. I collected my car and immediately headed to my favorite jewelry making store, New Mexico Beads and Fetish in Old Town. Made a few purchases and headed out on the highway for the 3.5 hour drive to Clovis, NM.

* My first surprise was that a portion of my trip included the historic Route 66!
* My next surprise was The Monument of Perpetual Tears, which I never knew existed. It is a National monument for those victims of DWI (driving while impaired).

Next I visited Fort Sumner, a historical site and last, but certainly not least...

I stopped and visited Billy the Kid's grave and tombstone (see picture below).

The tombstone has been stolen several times over the last 75 years (see picture below with details on the tombstone's history) and so now they have it shackled in concrete and surrounded by a metal cage.

Billy the Kid is a legend in the old west and it was a fun place to stop and photograph. It also made the 3.5 hour drive more memorable!

I'm off to bed now as it's been a long day and I'm going to be a busy judge tomorrow.

Night everyone.

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

A few hours ago my post from last night which outlines what I THINK will be the challenging parts on today's course was posted. Gotta love automatic delivery at a scheduled time : )

Now here's the report on the reality of the course.

* The line from jump #2 - 3 was definitely something to be dealt with. For those few slower dogs, most handlers were able to successfully run with their dogs and shape this line nicely.

However most handles wisely chose to lead out for this sequence. Where a handler was seemed to play an important role on a dog's success in keeping the jumps up and taking the correct obstacle. While nobody went into the tunnel, knocked bars at jump #2 or 3 were fairly common.

When I designed the course, I envisions handlers starting about halfway between #2 and 3. My thought was this would give  the dog landing space and also time to process and successfully maneuver over #3. I noticed that handlers who started right next to jump #3 had quite a few knocked bars. It didn't seem to matter if handlers remained stationary or did a RFP (reverse flow pivot), the outcome was generally the same.

* As for the #20 off-course option, not one dog fell for that trap : )

* Coming out of the #5 tunnel, I was so pleased to see handlers execute the front cross on the landing side of #6 and it really was pretty! As expected, several handlers did do a rear cross at the weave poles as well.

* For sequence #8-9, several people successfully executed a front cross between #9 and 10 while others did a rear cross after #10. The challenge with that option was to keep the dog off of the wrong-course #2 jump. A gentlemen with a Malanois did an amazing job with this rear cross. The difference was that he clearly had his dog's head as she did the rear cross so she never looked at the off-course jump and turned in tight toward #12. On a different note, I was surprised that some handlers attempted a rear cross after #9 which generally resulted in the dog pulling off of #11.

* While some dogs did pull off of the #14 jump when their handlers left early, the majority of dog/handlers worked through this sequence nicely. Until jump #17 that is...after pulling the dog down to jump #16, the #17 jump required a clear push out. Handlers who neglected to focus on this jump prior to moving down the last line of jumps usually incurred a refusal/runout as the dog curved in toward the handler prior to taking this jump.

* As for my concern about the off-course #4 tunnel. Not one Excellent dog took or even appeared to look at this potential option. Looks like the AKC is right when they consider obstacles beyond 21' a low risk off-course option. : )

Some side notes on the trial. Dan and I really love judging for this club. They seem to have beautiful parks for the trial, great ring crew, a wonderful secretary and the exhibitors always seem to be in such a lovely mood! We never fail to have a great time and as always, I made so many new friends.

I really want to send a thank you note to my Diabetes friends down here. They never fail to support and encourage me and lately, I've really needed it (I may blog on it later). In the meantime, thank you, thank you, thank you!