August has been a crazy month so far. It's been hot, hot, hot and I have had softball playoffs extend way beyond expected! So the result? Far less training than I'd like. I still get small daily sessions of obedience/trick training in each day, but the agility training has been tough with this heat!! Both dogs are far less active and when I want to play with them, they both look at me if saying "where's the pool??"
Thank goodness for weekly agility class, which has been going pretty well. Zoe continues to run well in class, but trialing has been a bit of a challenge. We competed for a day in LaCrosse, WI and then 2 days at the SoccerBlast. Both trials earned us Q's and titles, but it definitely didn't go as well as it could have. My handling was off and Zoe was running slower than usual. I think I've figured out part of the problem. In competitions, weave poles can vary between 20'' and 24'' apart. Since the beginning of our training, we've been using 20'' poles. However, lately, most of the clubs have been using 24'' in trials. Only recently did I discover the big discrepancy. The difference between 20'' and 22'' wasn't huge, but 20'' to 24'' can look like a whole new obstacle. This change requires Zoe to think and change her footing. So...off to Menards I went to buy more PVC and we are now using competition-distance poles. She took to the new distance without hesitation, but I am hoping that building the muscle memory will make her more confident in the competition ring. There are way more variables that contribute to poor performance, but this I think, will make a big difference.
And for Breeze...well...she's still in boot camp training. I feel I am making headway with this saucy, sassy little girl. We went to Lake Nokomis yesterday and she went through and entire hot dog while I rewarded her for not going after bikers and joggers. It was great exposure for her and I got a TON of successful responses. This 3-mile walk along with a prior 1 mile rollerblade run really wore her out and she was a good girl for the rest of the day! We also attended a disc dog seminar earlier this month and learned some fun moves. Since we can't focus on jumping and catching quite yet, she's been learning lots of freestyle moves like spin and back up through my legs.
So an obvious sign that summer is coming to a close is the MN State Fair. It's been a yearly tradition since going in high school with the marching band and I look forward to it each summer. Fortunately for me, two of my favorite activities get to collide this year and I will be bringing both of the dogs to the state fair for demos on Saturday. Zoe will be doing agility and Breeze will be demoing her frisbee skills with the Twin Cities Disc Dog Club. So cool that they happened to be on the same day - should be a ton of fun!! So come out and see us by the Pet Center all day Saturday and watch us perform!
