Finding the Groove

This fall has been super busy.  The crew and I have been working hard on trial-related issues, which included some FEO runs in ASCA, training in NADAC, and some foundation training on the side.  Zoe has been much more confident with the teeter.  Ever since I splurged on my own personal teeter, we have done short practices a few times per week to build up her confidence.  No longer does she flinch when the teeter hits the ground for the return.  Instead, she perks up knowing that she can do it again!  In trials, she seems to be about 80% there.  I have gotten more solid performances than meek ones, so I know that things are getting better.  I suspect that her confidence issues with the teeter will never completely disappear, but for now, I am happy with where we are at.

My goal for Breeze has been contact retraining.  I have gotten too loose with my criteria at trials and now it's time to get serious.  CPE doesn't allow for training in the ring, so I thought it would be way too demotivating to continually end the run for a poor contact performance.  Instead, we have trialed in venues that do allow training so that I can go back and get the performance I want.  This has been very helpful and I will need to continue to avoid settling for less at trials.  Unfortunately, competition will have to wait for Breeze for a bit since she is out with a calf muscle strain.  It is nothing serious, but I need to give her some time off from high activity to heal.  In the mean time, we have been polishing our obedience and I plan to do a rally obedience class with her so that I can keep her mind active and give us a chance to work through distractions in a class environment.  

All in all, I am happy with where we are at in our journey.  Zoe is getting back to her consistent, happy self and the timing of Breeze's injury worked out well in the sense that training is more important right now than trialing.  Winter is arriving, which means clearing the yard of agility equipment and keeping a vigilant eye on the weather before traveling to trials.  I know we need the snow this winter, but I am hoping that travel will be less treacherous than it has in the past!

It's been a while...

It has been a busy summer, but I have been taking some time off from writing.  Time to think about our goals and what writing in a blog really means.  I mean, I am definitely not your super agility competitor, but I also want to share my journey.  I don't obsess over running contacts and back sides of jumps.  I enjoy being competitive in agility, but I also strive for balance.  As much as I love going to trials, I also love getting home and letting my dogs just be dogs.

Earlier this summer we trialed in USDAA agility for the first time.  The weather was cooperative and the other exhibitors couldn't have been nicer.  Many of the classes were similar to other venues, so I felt pretty comfortable.  Zoe had great runs in gamblers and standard.  She did an awesome teeter and did her down on the table...tail wagging the whole time.  Breeze dealt with the higher jump height beautifully and didn't bail on her contacts.  Both dogs were a bit distracted being that it was their first outdoor trial and a bit warm for them, but I was happy with the focus that I got.

We also played in NADAC earlier this month.  I used this as an opportunity to work on Breeze's contacts so that she didn't always get away with running through them.  She had a couple of nice runs, but she wasn't as focused as she normally is, so it was kind of an off weekend for her.  Zoe had several beautiful runs, one of which was her very first Q in Elite Chances.  She is still not 100% confident working that far away, but she is getting much much better.  On the second day, she was really close to qualifying in chances again, but the distance she did show was a personal best for her.  After that weekend, I made the executive decision to move her to the skilled division.  There were so many runs where she was still over time by a second or two.  Being in the skilled division would allow her more time so that it would be more likely that she could be under time by a second or two instead.  I think this change will make NADAC more fun for us and make a NATCH a little more attainable some day.

CPE was also on the schedule for us this summer.  Last weekend we played in Rochester at a wonderful soccer facility.  Breeze showed an amazing amount of maturity and was focused for almost every run.  She ran through her contacts, but she did not blow any completely.  She was well-behaved between runs and in the hotel - practically a perfect angel for a full trial weekend!  Zoe had some teeter issues again, but otherwise had beautiful runs.  She thoroughly enjoyed being in a hotel room again.

Outside of agility, the pups are enjoying the summer.  Breeze and I have done a couple of disc demos and will do a couple more at the Ren Fest later this summer.  She continues to do well at these - it is interesting how she often does better with large crowds rather than with fewer people.  She goes nuts for joggers/walkers/bikers when we are out on walks, but if we are at a crowded event, she practically ignores them.  I wonder if she just sees crowds differently in her eyes. She doesn't seem to stress at these events as much as she does at agility trials - I am sure I am partly to blame for this!

Agility and other stuff

It seems like summer is now upon us and there are no excuses for not getting outside.  We've shown a bit less in agility, but the past few months have still been quite busy!

Earlier this month, Breeze competed in a toss and catch frisbee competition held by the Twin Cities Disc Dog Club and placed 2nd out of 15 dogs.  I'll have to admit that I was pretty surprised by that one.  In T&C, the teams get two one minute rounds to get as many throws and catches as possible.  Catches are awarded points based on distance and accuracy.  There were a LOT of good rounds and our first was mediocre at best.  But I managed to throw some really good discs in the second round, giving us extra accuracy points and bonuses for Breeze catching them while in the air.  All in all, we had a ton of fun and it was an excellent opportunity to get Breeze out and acclimated to other people and dogs.  

On the agility front, things have been going great.  Zoe is getting much more comfortable with the teeter again and had no issues at our most recent trial.  At class, she has been rock solid, so now the issues are getting comfortable again in a trial setting.  I am continuing to revisit teeter training in hopes that she will keep her confidence up for good this time.  I am also trying to work hard at increasing her speed.  We did a seminar late last year on speed, drive, and motivation and I really learned a lot about how to increase her course times.  The difficult part is that there are factors you know and can control such as your handling, choice of warm up routine, etc, and things that you just can't control - the dog having an off day, distractions, etc.  Overall, I feel like I've been able to influence her speed and motivation a lot - it's just getting through those days where the full potential is not there.

As for Breeze, she's gotten to play a little less than Zoe, but has done really well.  She had perfect clean runs in April and went 2/4 in May with the NQs being a knocked bar and contact issues.  She is getting much more consistent and is working through distractions relatively well.  The main area we are working on in training are contacts - it is just a work in progress.  I am also trying to keep her speed up as well.  Breeze has much more natural drive than Zoe, but she doesn't really know how to use it efficiently.  She's got a ways to mature, but I'm definitely starting to see improvements.

Next month we get to try USDAA and both dogs get to play!  I am excited to try a new style of agility and it will also be our first outdoor trial of the year.  Fingers are crossed for good weather!

A New Year and New Challenges

The year 2012 actually started off pretty great.  We took a few weeks off from trialing, relaxed for the holidays, and played in the snow.  We got back to business the other week for a CPE trial at On the Run.  Both dogs did great, but the best thing about the show was Zoe's attitude towards the teeter.

Back in the fall, something made her question her teeter confidence.  We still don't really know what it was, but to a soft dog like Zoe, it really could have been anything.  So we spent lots of time reworking her teeter foundation.  I decided to test her progress at the trial and it turned out pretty well.  There was a little hesitancy, but certainly not dreaded fear.  With a little coaxing, she performed beautifully!  She continues to make progress at class and by the next trial, I know she'll be a rock star.

Breeze did pretty well too, earning another standard leg among other things.  She is really sequencing well, finding her weaves, but she still has trouble with the 2 on 2 off contact.  She doesn't blow them every time, but she is too close for comfort.  Other than that, I don't have many complaints.  She loves to be out there, loves to work, and is actually a pretty good team player.  We had a couple of off courses, but that is to be expected at her level.  I've decided to turn it down a notch on the trialing so that we can take some time to focus on the spots that need improvement.

Aside from agility, last week I encountered a whole new challenge with Breeze - taking care of hurt Breeze.  Enter evil storm grate.  On our routine walk, Breeze was attacked by a storm grate which resulted in this:

However, despite this tragedy, I was SUPER thankful that the cut didn't go deep enough to affect muscles, tendons, and all that important stuff.  All that would be required would be to keep her quiet for 7-10 days with staples out in two weeks.  Yeah. Right.

Of course being Breeze, she had to wear the cone of shame because she could not leave her staples alone.  

This here is cone #2.  The first one was rejected after she spent the night licking her wound and turning one of the staples around.  So now she gets a cone plus bandage plus vet wrap plus two socks on her foot when she is left unsupervised.  

I knew Breeze lacks pain receptors, but apparently she lacks taste receptors too as bitter sprays and cayenne pepper make her say "bring it on!"  So for now, bandages and socks will have to do.  

Really though, she's been a champ and I can't wait to be able to throw a frisbee for her again.  Just a few more days of insanity....

  

Agility Journeys

One of my favorite things to do at agility trials is talk about agility journeys.  There are teams out there that have over come some pretty tough stuff from motivational issues to injuries.  Every story is uniquely interesting.  We see a lot of teams who seem to perform flawlessly in the competition ring.  But what we don't always know is what they have been through to get to that point.

My 2011 agility season started off amazing.  Zoe was performing beautifully - she was totally reaching her potential and we were becoming a rock solid team.  She did everything I asked of her and put her whole heart into it.  We went to CPE Nationals, had the time of our lives, and showed very well.  Her first championship title came in August and she was well on her way towards the second.  Then came the teeter issues.  

I will never know what exactly happened, but at some point, she felt that doing the teeter was stressful and not fun anymore.  Instead of driving towards the teeter and executing with confidence, she would put on the brakes well before the teeter and approach it with hesitation.  My first reaction was panic.  I needed to get her ready before the next trial, which was just around the corner.  We worked a bit, I tried to make the teeter fun and exciting, and she started to regain her confidence. Then, just when I thought she was back to normal, we took another step back.  In hindsight, I was pushing her too fast and stressing her out.  At one point, her lack of confidence started to transfer to other things, and that is when I knew I needed to give her more time.  Losing everything you've worked towards is a scary thought.  I realized that if the teeter is her ONLY issue, I am so thankful for that!

So for the past couple of months, we have just focused on classes that don't involve teeters - pretty much everything except standard.  To my relief, she has been the same teammate I had in the beginning of the year - fast, confident, and happy.  She even earned her second C-ATCH this past weekend on a beautiful Jumpers run - she was 10 seconds under time!  I know she will eventually regain her confidence with the teeter, but for now, I will go at her pace.  I hope it won't take too long, but I never want to sacrifice her love for agility.

Photo courtesy of Herreid Photography

As for Breeze, her journey is just starting.  We have had three trials at On the Run Canine Center in the past couple of months and she has done amazing.  Most of the time, her runs have been focused and she is willing to work as a team.  Her confidence has soared and has unfortunately brought on some issues with leaping contacts.  But otherwise, she is responsive, keeps her bars up, and is totally thrilled with running.  Her biggest improvement, however, has been her ability to focus and remain calm before runs.  She is really starting to fall nicely into a trialing routine and is building her stamina.

Photo courtesy of Herreid Photography

For the next month, I plan on taking a trialing break.  After a trial, there is nothing I love more than just letting my dogs be dogs.  They spend so much time in their crates at trials, that I know they are being deprived of energy outlets.  I am looking forward to having time off work this month and spending more time with the girls.  It will be nice to train without the stress of upcoming trials. I hope that 2012 will start as well as 2011 did!  

        

My Special Breeze

Ever knew a kid who tore the tags off of his clothes because they bothered him?  Who had a limited wardrobe because of the way clothes felt?  Perhaps you were that child?  Well, I have one of those children but in canine form.  Breeze LOVES and ADORES human touch and gets rather cuddly at times, but throw something semi-permanent on her fur and she's got a serious problem.  And unfortunately, she falls victim to this sensation every time she gets a bath:

All of the dogs I have ever owned enjoy rubbing on the carpet after a bath, but never one like Breeze.  This girl will throw herself to the ground and flop around like a dying fish for at least 10 minutes until she is somewhat dry.

Fortunately, this usually isn't much of a problem.  A while back I had tried some essential oils to help with some behavioral issues and this was her reaction to putting a drop on her fur.  I don't think it was the smell that got to her - I really think it was the feel of the oil on her fur.  

Anyways, Breeze may be a nut, but that's what makes her special :)

Fall Time Fun

Well, Fall is upon us and thus it is time for leaf raking, brisk mornings, and higher energy dogs.  Yes, it feels like something was slipped in their water dishes because the pups are more active than ever.  They relish this cool weather and their energy will only increase as it gets colder, which is a bummer because it seems like human energy only decreases with the cold.  Either way, I will attempt to keep them both busy this winter.

We had three agility trials last month and only one in October.  Both dogs had their share of success last month.  Zoe finished up a couple of Open NADAC titles and is now working towards her CATE in CPE.  She only has a few runs left to finish her CATCH-2, but I don't think that will happen until next month with our trial schedule.

Breeze's progress has been exponential.  She is learning the show routine and that she gets lavishly rewarded for good behavior and working with me as a team.  She experienced her first trial on dirt and was a great opportunity to practice working through distractions!  Her sequencing is getting better and her drive is increasing as she gets more comfortable in the ring.  Unlike Zoe, she has absolutely no problem being confident on contact obstacles, however, she has also formed a cape on her back and has found the joy in leaving the contacts before she should.  Luckily, this hasn't been a huge problem, but is something that I am focusing extra hard on in training so that she doesn't form bad habits :)

Below is one of Breeze's recent runs.  It was definitely one of the smoother runs, except for the end.  She is now in level 3 in CPE in everything except for two of the games classes.  As thrilled as I am with her progress, I will be taking it slow with her this fall.  She still needs some time to mature and work up the stamina for two day shows.