Run Forrest Run!!

We have just returned from an agility marathon of sorts – class on Thursday night, an AKC trial on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, class on Monday night, and finally, helping out with the Intro to Agility class on Tuesday night.  Whew - I am beat!  I could not be more proud of how well Jefferson has performed during the last 5 days.  He is a real trooper!

As per our modus operandi, we aced our classes on Thursday and Monday nights.  He was especially fast during Thursday night’s class and Standard run – finishing clean in 35 seconds.  Not too shabby for a Cocker Spaniel!  I was so excited about our 3 day AKC trial and looking forward to the implementation our training plan from Stuart Mah.

We were signed-up for 4 events each day:  Open FAST, Novice JWW, Novice Standard and Time 2 Beat.  I knew it would be a challenge for me to uphold my end of the training plan – whenever Jefferson took an off-course, I am to “go with it” and make-up my own agility course without attempting any corrections; rather, keep running fast and with enthusiasm like this was the planned course.  I have to say – by the end of the weekend – I was getting pretty good at agility course design.

Despite this, we did have a few good runs – especially in Open FAST and our last Time 2 Beat when he finally ran the actual course that the judge designed.  I especially enjoy FAST (much like USDAA Gamblers but not as fun) because the handler gets to make-up his/her own course in order to accumulate points to gain the “Q.”  We missed the send bonus on the following run – by missing the first jump – but he accumulated 42 points in 27.7 seconds (course time is 35 seconds and 55 points needed).  Such a fast little boy…so proud of his enthusiasm!! 

Run Forrest (ahem...Jefferson, I mean...) RUN:

One of my favorite runs is “our” Novice JWW because it is totally made-up but looks like the actual course.  My goal was to keep Jefferson running and happy so here is this one:

By the end of the weekend, he was running very fast and even made it through the last Time 2 Beat course as it was written.  Unfortunately, I did not get this run on video; instead, over 5 minutes of grass, talking and views of all our butts and shoes….

Overall, this weekend was such a training success for Team J-Dawg.  The temperatures were in the mid to upper 80s all three days and I was very worried about keeping Jefferson running.  Last year during a very hot trial, he either slowly trotted the course or just stood around looking at me.  Cocker Spaniels especially are known to get tired pretty quickly and not be too keen on the heat.  So, the mere fact that he ran – and ran fast – is a huge accomplishment. 

Another competitor came up to me after one of our faster runs and said that she noticed how well I was handling Jefferson to keep him motivated to run.  She shared a few nuggets of wisdom with me that really hit close to home. 

In order to get a clean agility run, your dog must run with joy, confidence and speed.  Most of the times when your dog blows a contact, will not go “down” on the table, or refuses the weave poles during a trial, it is due to one of those three things lacking:  joy, confidence or speed.  As the team leader, the handler is responsible for ensuring our partners are experiencing joy on the run.  If they have joy, the dog (and handler) will run with confidence and speed.  I was so glad to hear this – talk about the “right words at the right time.” 

 

A good book by Marlo Thomas by the way…

Looking forward to keeping up with our training plan and continued success during the coming months! 

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver."

~Proverbs 25:11

Rome Wasn't Built in a Day

It has been a week since Jefferson and I took a private lesson with Stuart Mah.  And, it was the first week of not having any tasty cookies AT ALL in the field during our classes or practices.  Stuart had recommended quite a laundry list of do’s and don’ts to incorporate into our training.  Some of his suggestions include:  staying exceptionally close to Jefferson during front/rear crosses so he will not have the opportunity to make up his own course; work up from 5 seconds of praise to 15 seconds at the end of the run and before dolling out cookies; teach him to jump up on me at the end of our runs; and absolutely no cookies in the field or in my pockets during classes and practices – reward at the completion of our run and OUTSIDE of the ring.  Oh, yeah…last but not least, no corrections during our runs while at a trial.  If Jefferson takes an off-course, I am supposed to go with the flow and make up my own course. 

So far, so good…well, not so good actually!  I have gotten Jefferson to “shut down” during class and practice by not feeding him treats inside the ring.  Normally, tasty cookies line my pockets during our runs and I will deliver the treats quite frequently.   Jefferson is such the chow-hound:  he really looks forward to earning his agility cookies each time we go to the field.  Apparently, my over-treating was a bigger problem than I had suspected because without treats in my pockets, his agility behavior quickly erodes.  This is much like his behavior during the last few trials at our field.  As I reflect about the differences in our everyday practice/class and trial routines, I have determined that the method and frequency in which I deliver the cookies to Jefferson differs.  During my practices and classes, I am now keeping all treats outside the ring; making Jefferson successfully run a sequence of obstacles; praising him for at least 5 seconds; and exiting the field prior to delivering the cookies.  In essence, what I am working on is transferring the value from the cookies to me and running agility.  Here is an explanative blog post by dog agility trainer Susan Garrett that contains great training information about using effective triggers and the transferring of value:  http://susangarrettdogagility.com/2012/03/building-effective-triggers-into-your-dog-training/

I am amazed at how fast Jefferson has caught on to this new routine (and new triggers) and am encouraged by our progress.  I am looking forward to incorporating the latest techniques and becoming a better dog trainer.

We have an upcoming AKC trial this weekend so I will be able to put this new training “to the test’ so to speak.  I am not setting lofty, pressure-filled goals for this trial either – like “Q”ing every run and moving out of Novice and Open.  Rather, I want to stick to the plan that Stuart helped design.  And, of course, remember to have fun!

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is a good, consistent agility team.

“Training positively is getting into your dog’s head and knowing what he needs to be joyfully connected to you so that you can bring out the best he has to give.” – Susan Garrett

The Third Time's a Charm - Starters Gamblers Title!

Jefferson and I earned our 3^rd “Q” in Starters Gamblers at this weekend’s LCDA Trial.  It was our Starters Gamblers Title and a long time in the making – one year to be exact.  I was so proud of my pup that I actually cried tears of joy (and relief) when I saw the “Q” pop up on the computer screen.    We got the gamble –  again, not our problem since we excel at distance work – but I was not sure that we had accumulated enough points in the opening.  Our start was great and Jefferson was running fast.  We had a beautiful running dogwalk (the 5 point obstacle:  1, 2, 3, 5 with a 30 second opening) and I had planned to run him back over the dogwalk but Jefferson had his own plan.  So, I went with his plan and got him to take the tire and tunnel – in between his standing around and peering at me with “that” look I have began to dread.  Luckily, we had enough points in the opening.  When the buzzer sounded, I ran him to the closing and we had a great gamble.   I am so proud of our run!

Here’s the video:

“That” look was our theme for this weekend’s trial.  It is so very frustrating to know that your dog has demonstrated excellent agility skills and can perform all the obstacles without fault during practice; yet, during the trial – especially at our home and practice field – shuts down and will not run the courses with me.  We practice 4-5 times during the week, some structured classes in which we almost always accurately perform the skill sets, and other times on our own.  We have not missed our 12 weave pole performance during our practices in months; yet, we only weaved one time during a trial in our last 2 shows.  Exasperating to say the least.  To be honest, I have contemplated quitting the sport and retiring back to my life as a couch potato and casual, weekend runner and beer drinker.  But, once you have been bitten by the agility bug, it is hard to imagine your life without agility in it.  There is no greater feeling than to run a course in synch with your canine partner.  So, we will persevere and keep working through this minor set-back.

As lady-luck would have it, we had a private lesson with dog agility great and IFCS World Agility Championships team member, Stuart Mah on Monday after this weekend’s trial.  It was our good fortune that he had witnessed Jefferson’s shut-downs and trial behavior.  Stuart had us re-enact the trial atmosphere and trigger the same shut-down as we have experienced in recent trials at our home field.  Although the shut-down during the lesson was not as dramatic; nonetheless, Stuart gave us expert advice and a plan to implement to get past this roadblock to our progress.  More than that, he gave us hope that we can run a course together as a team.  It may take us a bit longer to move up the ranks like our peers, but it can be done with patience and revising my training methods.  His encouragement and belief in our skills appeared to me at the right time.

As the old saying goes, things happen for a reason.  I believe that all circumstances in our lives serve a purpose to teach us something.  You just have to be willing to look for the lesson and be open and trust the process.  I am excited about the possibilities of Team J-Dawg and look forward to future clean runs. 

"Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this.  For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward."
~Henry Ford

Fun is Good!

This past weekend, Jefferson and I traveled to Columbia, SC for the AKC trial at the horse center.  Being the first day of my spring break, I was both excited and relaxed for our runs.    I had entered us in all four events:  Standard, Jumpers with Weaves, FAST and Time to Beat.  A few major revelations that came to me while I was running Jefferson.  First off, we had a great run in Standard – even though we didn’t “Q.”  He was fast, focused and having a blast while he was running.  Really, our only missteps were those darn weave poles; albeit, we seem to mess up six weaves more than the twelve in USDAA!  But, I tried to re-start him twice and failed to give him a clear set-up for an entry so he did not get them.  It was my fault but rather than shut down, we kept going and finished off beautifully.  I was very proud of myself for front crossing him after the teeter.  While I walked the course without a front cross, I spoke with an agility newbie at her first trial about the best strategy to handle the course.  I told her that the front cross was best after the teeter but I would not do it because I was “afraid” that Jefferson would not “get it.”  What exactly was I “afraid” of?  Not “Q’ing”?  Looking stupid?  Falling face-down in the dirt?  It was then that I decided to handle the course in the best way and face my “fear” head on, even if it included the dreaded front cross at the teeter.  Well, guess what…nothing catastrophic happened.  In fact, we looked good! 

Jumpers with weaves was next and I seem to have some mental block for running JWW or any kind of strictly jumping course.  Ugh.  I (or we) enjoy the challenge of the contacts in Standard.  I was worried, rightfully so, about our running start – jump to weaves.  We had trouble getting those weaves.  I tried to restart him a few times without much success so I chose to continue on the course.  We did have a good pinwheel before J-Dawg darted off from the last few jumps.  Oh, well…he was running fast and having a good time.  More importantly, not shutting down despite our mistakes.  Yay!

Next, we ran Open FAST.  I really enjoy the gambler style courses like this because the handler gets to make up his or her own course in order to collect points.  In this case, we needed 55 points.  So, I made a flowing route on the right side of the course knowing how much Jefferson likes to run fast.  I was not even worried about us getting the joker – only a jump and tunnel taken either direction so it was pretty easy for our team.  I sat him down for our running start when I headed to the right and he headed to the left of the field.  Oh, crap!  I did not even pay attention to the points of the obstacles on that side except for the weave poles being 9 points.  So, I ran after him and had no choice but to modify my plan.  Got him through the weaves (12 of them) but he did pop out.  Next, I tried to re-direct him to the 10 point obstacle – tunnel and jump combo.  I knew that we had little time left for the joker so I better get him back over to the opposite side of the field!  The A-frame looked good so I got him on there and sent him to the joker.   He had a beautiful joker but the buzzer went off in the middle of the first obstacle so we didn’t get those points, the tunnel and jump points, or the 20 points for getting the joker.  But, a bigger victory was had by our team – I got him back on track in the middle of a run and got him to complete the obstacles that I chose.  Yay!  This was our nemesis at our last trial so I was thrilled that we finished strong!   Maybe Jefferson is learning to forgive me for my mess-ups!

Lastly, we were in Time to Beat.  In retrospect, this was probably the biggest eye-opening event of the day and it occurred to me during the walk-through.  In this event, there are Novice and Excellent handlers alike competing and running the course trying to earn the fast time, a.k.a. Time to Beat.   At first I was intimidated by the competition - national team competitors such as Dudley Fontaine – were out there with little ole me (Novice handler with a little over a year trial experience) walking this course!   But, as each of us walked the course, the agility handling stars were walking the course pretty much the same as me.   More importantly, I noticed their demeanor was calm, relaxed and centered.  They were even joking among themselves and talking about other topics rather than the course at hand.  It was at that moment that I realized how important being calm and relaxed is in being a successful handler.  They had a quiet confidence that almost made me want to run the course for them!  Rather than being worried about my run, I was actually the most relaxed when running Time to Beat.  The hardest part for us was the start – with a running start for jumps 1 and 2 – it was quite difficult for our Novice Team.  We were very successful on the opening line but did not complete the weaves.  I went on and then made-up my own course to complete.  J-Dawg did not know any different.  But, I feel like I learned my biggest lesson from this run. 

Have fun.  Face your fear.  Enjoy your dog.

"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing."

-Dale Carnegie

Agility Handling for "GR8NESS"

What a week!  The University of Kentucky Wildcats Men's basketball team won the NCAA National Championship on Monday.  It was the 8^th National Title (Gr8ness!) for the Big Blue Nation – and as a Kentuckian – I was (and am) so proud of my team and state…sans the couch burning.

As I watched the television coverage and award ceremony, I reflected upon our year and a half journey in competing in dog agility.  While we may never compete in the USDAA Nationals (not too many Cocker Spaniels can run faster than border collies and shelties!), I intend to learn as many handling strategies used by the agility "greats" such as Linda Mecklenburg and Daisy Peel so that Team J-Dawg can master running more advanced agility courses.

During one recent class, I learned a very useful handling technique – the reverse flow pivot (RFP).  This is a great tool for me to have in my arsenal as we begin to face more challenging courses that require obstacle discrimination and other complex moves.  While at first the reverse flow pivot seemed quite awkward, I learned how to better handle this move.  In a reverse flow pivot, the handler turns into the dog and toward the last obstacle taken like a front cross, but once the dog changes direction, the handler then pivots back and picks up the dog on the same side and redirects the dog toward the correct obstacle; hence, the name – reverse flow pivot (RFP).  We used this handling technique to help the dog discriminate between an A-frame and a tunnel, getting the dog to take the tunnel.  Below is an example I gleaned while “Googling."  I really loved this diagram!   The handler would use the RPF to redirect the dog's path from the A-Frame to jump #6.

Here's the link for more information:

http://www.prodoggroomingsupplies.com/dog-forums/showthread.php?t=44528

In another instance, we used the reverse flow pivot to run a line of threadles.  Team J-Dawg had more success with handling the threadle – only because we have practiced that move before I knew the fancy name for it (RFP)!  Since Jefferson is an obstacle-focused dog, I have learned to strategically use his name whenever I want him to become handler focused and check-in with me for directions.  So, whenever I pivot into him during this handling move, I say his name so I can re-direct him.  Through trial-and-error, this seems to work like a charm.

Another handling technique to which I have learned to pay attention is to be more aware of my motion as I run a course.  I have been reading Linda Mecklenburg’s book Developing Handling Skills for Awesome Agility Teams and she has a very detailed explanation of the handler cues that a dog reads while running a course.

  According to Mecklenburg (and from my limited experience in agility!), motion is the primary cue because it is the “natural” cue, i.e. the cue the dog responds to without excess training.   This explains why when I am running full throttle toward the tunnel and give Jefferson the verbal command “go teeter” he takes the tunnel ;-)  He was reading my motion cue and NOT my verbal cue.  Obviously, verbal commands are much lower on the hierarchy.  So, my job as the other half of Team J-Dawg, is to capitalize on the “natural” cues that Jefferson reads.  I have been working on being more cognizant of my motion, the direction my feet are facing, and my shoulders. He reads the subtlety of all these “natural” cues.

Overall, it seems that I have quite a bit of work left before the upcoming weeks’ trials!  I feel very positive about our progress – or should I say “my” progress in becoming a more attuned handler.  Being a great dog agility team is definitely about the journey and what we learn along the way.

"Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals."
-Dorothy Height

March Madness: Basketball and Agility

This past weekend marked the 2^nd straight year that the University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball team progressed from a field of 68 NCAA teams to the Final Four.  And to top it off, the UK Wildcats will be playing in-state rival, the University of Louisville Cardinals – coached by ex-UK Coach Rick Pitino.  What a show-down for we Kentuckians!  We love our college hoops almost as much we love our Kentucky bourbon.

What does any of this have to do with dog agility?  Actually, quite a bit.   Both are team sports.  Basketball has five players on the court that have to work together to score points – both offensively and defensively.  The 2012 UK team is an impressive group of freshmen who have learned how to read each other, handle the ball selflessly and mature their play beyond their years.  The same is true in the sport of agility.  The handler and the dog must work together as a team.  The handler has to be able to read the course, read the dog’s body language all while guiding the dog through the course to score their “points” during a run.  Likewise, the dog reads the handler's movement, body language – including eye movement, and verbal cues.  

Besides playing together as a team, both basketball players and dog agility teams have fun and love the sport.  Watch any great basketball game and one can see the love of the sport and the ease at which the teams play.  When Kentucky beat Baylor this past Sunday, the players were making seamless passes and slam dunks look easy.  Man, these boys can play!  And they love it.  Same with watching a master handler like Stuart Mah run his border collie, Ares.  They move together effortlessly as Stuart navigates Ares through threadles, serpentines and independent weave pole entries.  They make it look easy because they are having fun and really love the sport.

Finally, basketball and agility require gumption on the part of the team.  Look at the University of Louisville Cardinals.  They lost the last four of the regular season Big East games; they had multiple players out with injuries and were overlooked by the critics as having a “snow ball’s chance” of winning the Big East Championship, let alone make it to the Final Four.  Rick Pitino did not let that get in his team’s way; rather, he coached his team to work hard, play smart and disregard the criticism.  As a result, the University of Louisville won the Big East Championship and this Saturday’s Elite 8 game coming from a double-digit deficit to beat the Florida Gators to be the first team named to the NCAA Final Four. 

Similarly, dog agility teams have gumption or “stick-to-it-ness” to learn a skill that will result in clean runs.  We handlers work hard on learning new handling techniques and training strategies to help our doggies learn how to better read our directions.  We train running contacts, 2o2o, 2x2’s, weave-o-matics, training wires, Susan Salo jumping, Linda Mecklenburg’s handling, and so many more techniques to help us “play smart” with our teammates.  On any given day or night, the LCDA practice field is populated with dog agility teams who are working hard to train and practice for upcoming events.  

So, basketball and dog agility are more alike than I bet you even had thought.  As we go into the Final Four this weekend and you watch the teams play in the Big Dance, think about how you and your doggie can be the best agility team.  I sure know that I will…

GO BIG BLUE!!

"Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We."

-Phil Jackson

Let's Shake on It!

Today’s blog is a hodgepodge of my recent agility revelations.  First of all, I am addicted to using the clicker to train Jefferson.  Training tricks is a blast and Jefferson really enjoys working for me and the “click.”  Recently, I taught him how to “shake” and it took all of 5 minutes.  My boy is such a superstar!  I am excited to build our “trick” repertoire and to continue expanding our working relationship.  He responds so well to the clicker and offers behavior just to hear the "click" and get some cheese.  Clicker training is surely da' bomb diggity!

My next revelation is about making small but powerful handling refinements.  I am currently taking an Intro to Handling 2 class with an extremely observant instructor who has the natural ability to identify my handling errors and advise me on how to better communicate with J-dawg.  Although I have only been in the class two weeks, I have learned many great tips.  For example, whenever I set up Jefferson for a running start, I need to angle him more effectively – pretty much parallel – to the first jump, so that we are running together to turn so he doesn’t pull off the 2^nd obstacle to follow me whenever I have to “run” around the wing.  This was great advice because he had done this at the last trial.  Now that I know how to better set-up our start:  problem solved!   

Also, whenever we are taking a pinwheel set of jumps, Jefferson has been pulling out of the 2^nd jump. 

The instructor suggested that I square my shoulders to the 2^nd jump and not rotate as quickly to get him around the sequence.  Eureka!  This worked.  Yet another handling error solved from our last trial.  These subtle, simple corrections in my handling communicate clearly to Jefferson about what he is supposed to do. I am so energized to learn how to be a proactive handler rather than a reactive one.  I have built my confidence in handling Jefferson and us working together as a team.  

My final agility revelation for the week is to celebrate how far we have come since our very first trial.  I was nervous and Jefferson was thrilled to be off leash and run crazily around the ring!  He was also very hungry and happy to leave the ring to try to grab a burger from a spectator who was sitting a little too close to comfort by the fence.   Also, my dad was my first agility videographer and had no clue how to operate the camera.  His skills add to the whole "agility debut" effect.  This video is priceless and still my favorite.  Enjoy!!

Happy training everyone!!



"It's all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you're properly trained."
- Elizabeth II