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!