MMBC NADAC Trial 5.22.10

Exactly one year ago, I went to watch this trial in Savage, MN.  The weather was cold and the wind was gusting so hard, that the wind chill had to have been at least 25 degrees.  People were even wearing winter hats and gloves!  Well this year, I got the privilege of running in this trial and I can say that the weather was not much nicer!

I check the forecast almost daily and there was no rain in sight for Saturday.  It was just supposed to be warm and sunny.  Much to our demise, however, a storm rolled through late morning and stopped the trial momentarily.  It started with some ominous clouds and then the lightning and thunder came along.  And then the rain came...in huge drops.  Still the trial went on.  It wasn't until it got really bad that the trial was put on hold.  We actually had to run in that weather.  But it was all worth it because we ended up with our first Q in Touch N Go!  The rain and clouds eventually cleared up, but then came the sunny, humid weather we had all been waiting for.  So far, I've been to two outdoor trials and it hasn't been pretty.  After these past two rainy trials, I think I am up for almost anything!  The greatest part is that Zoe doesn't seem to mind a bit - she does better with the crappy weather!

Anyways, all in all we had a fantastic day.  We went 4 for 6 in Q's including two novice titles and our first Q in the open level!  It was definitely a successful day!  Zoe ran pretty well, but we are having a little trouble with weaves that are early in the course.  It's something nice and concrete to work on at least.  Otherwise, I was super pleased with her performance and look forward to competing at the open level in the near future!

Cannon Falls #2 and a New Puppy!

This past weekend we had another go at CPE at Simon Arena.  It was 50/50 weekend in terms of Q's, but the ones that weren't, I learned a lot as always.  The highlights for the show were getting our first jackpot and first two standard runs in level 3.  We also Q'ed in a really tough jumpers course, which was the very first run of the trial.  Zoe looks more and more like her old self and didn't have any issues with the contacts.  Surprisingly, weaves were her biggest issue this weekend - mainly when they were early on in the course.  I guess we'll have to focus on those again in practice.  All in all, she ran well and looked like she was having fun - one image that really sticks out was in our second snooker course, where Zoe really started to kick up some speed and had that look on her face that said "oh boy, I can't WAIT to do that tire".  Now a snooker course is really technical and tight, so to have a motivated dog who is running with enthusiasm is definitely a personal Q.  Alas, we did not Q in this run because she then took the tire again for an off course, but that look of total motivation was priceless!  

We're a little less than halfway through level 3 now.  We'll be taking a break from CPE until August, but then after that we'll have plenty of opportunities this fall to advance.  I am very excited that the CPE National competition will be in MN next June and am hoping that by then, we will be in the prime of our career.  There is lots to work on and I think we can accomplish a lot in the next year.  This will be an awesome event to participate in and watch - 6 rings of agility out in Lake Elmo with dogs competing from around the country.  It is bound to be a wonderful time!!

In other news, about a week ago, we welcomed a new dog in the family.  She's a 5-month-old blue merle border collie (mix?) whom we named Breeze.  We adopted her from the BC Rescue of MN, who got her from a shelter in KY.  She's got a tail, but a little thicker, so she may be part aussie as well.  Hard to tell until she grows into her body.  Nonetheless, she is a little spunk!  She's eager to please, has great toy drive, and is oh so sweet!!  She also has a lot of confidence, which will make agility training much different than her.  In some respects, it will make training easier, but I know it will come with it's challenges.  Right now, we are working hard on her foundation training and things are going very well.  I brought her to Simon arena for one day and she did wonderful waiting in her crate and also meeting new people and dogs.  She is definitely going to be an agility star someday.  Most importantly, she and Zoe get along great!  Zoe generally does really well with puppies and Breeze is no exception.  They love to wrestle and chase and Zoe doesn't seem to be too jealous.  I've been weary of having two females, but with their personalities, I think it will work just fine.  Stay tuned for more updates on her progress!

First NADAC Title

Given Zoe's recent performances, I wasn't sure what to expect this past weekend at the ACTS NADAC trial in Lake Elmo.  It was our first outdoor trial, rain had been forecasted for the day, and I was prepared to use this weekend for training contacts.  I never expected to have a near-perfect weekend!

The trial started out very rainy - well, downright sloppy with the downpour.  A few teams scratched their runs, but plenty still competed.  By the time we were up for the first run - Touch N Go, it was still raining, although a bit lighter by that time.  I was super nervous - needless to say my handling wasn't up to par.  To my surprise, Zoe had no issues with the dog walk or A Frame and actually ran rather well.  Her only mistakes were taking two hoops in the wrong direction, which could at least partially be blamed on my bad handling.  Nonetheless, I was THRILLED with her confidence and motivation, and I knew that she had the potential for a good day.  She had been doing just fine with the obstacles in class, so this showed that her recent lack of confidence was only temporary.

The rest of the day was awesome.  Zoe had a small distraction in her next run, but I got her back quickly enough to make course time.  The last 4 runs were also clean and Zoe ran with good speed with no distractions.  We earned Q's in weavers, chances, jumpers, and two rounds of regular.  Getting the two Q's in regular also earned Zoe her first NADAC title, which allows her to move to Open Regular for the next trial.  In the Open level, our main challenges will be facing a set of 12 weaves and having less forgiving course times.  She will have no problem making the times if she doesn't get distracted.  

All in all, I couldn't have asked for more.  The rain persisted until the late morning, but all that rain left us wet and cold.  Sitting in your car with the heater on is not a fun way to experience an agility trial.  But fortunately, all of that bad weather was clouded with success and good company.  I actually had a pretty good time and am looking forward to two more NADAC trials next month.  

A few runs from this trial are on the videos page!

Building Confidence Part 2

Well, the CPE trial last weekend was almost a complete 180 from the last one in Isanti.  Zoe ran with much more enthusiasm and is starting to build her confidence again.  She mastered the A frame and even the teeter, but still had some issues with the dog walk.  However, almost every class without a dog walk she Q'ed in.  Distractions are becoming less of an issue and she is really starting to shine.  Almost all of our Q's this weekend were first places - so she ran pretty fast!  We also Q'ed in level 2 Snooker finally to get our last level 2 title!!  Yay!  

We still have some training to do in order to get back into shape, but I feel confident that this will come with more practice.  I am very proud of our progress and since she seemed to have fun and ran with confidence, I'd consider that a big personal Q.  I am looking forward to our next trial, which will be NADAC in Lake Elmo, MN!!

Also, this weekend couldn't have been more fun without the support of our friends - both new and old to CPE!

Building Confidence

Well, despite our comeback in NADAC, CPE didn't go quite as well as planned last weekend.  On a big positive note, we got our third level 2 title by finishing a qualifying jumpers course.  All we need now is one snooker course to finish level 2!  It was apparent that Zoe was still having confidence issues with the contact obstacles - any runs with contacts were a challenge.  However, we are working on them in practice and so far so good!  Hopefully all she needs is a little practice on them to gain confidence and we will be set for the next trial next weekend.  Check back soon for more updates!

NADAC Trial 3.20.10

We had another successful NADAC trial this weekend.  We only went 3 for 6, but I was absolutely pleased with Zoe's progress and improvement despite the NQ runs.  The main problem this weekend was contacts.  I didn't think she'd have a problem - especially with the A Frame, but she seemed to be having trouble generalizing to new obstacles again.  It may have been related to her injury, maybe to being tentative with the teeter again, but whatever the reason, she didn't want to do them.  With a little practice, though, this should be an easy problem to fix.  So with that said, we didn't qualify in the standard runs or chances, which was hard anyways with the distance challenge.  However, I was very pleased with the runs because Zoe stayed focused and didn't shut down when she shied away from the contacts, as she does in class when she's nervous.  She got off track a couple of times, but never left the ring and came to me when I called her.  I really appreciated her enthusiasm, despite being nervous about the contact obstacles - that was a big relief!

I really think finishing the first three runs on a positive note set us up well for the last three, which all received Qs.  Next was weavers.  I was really excited for this class because Zoe has great weaves.  In the novice level, the run consists of hoops, tunnels, and three sets of 6 weave poles.  Surprisingly, she missed the first set, but she came back to do them wasting little time and finished the run beautifully for a Q and 4th place.  After that was tunnelers - perhaps the most fun class ever.  She picked up great speed and followed my lead, earning her another Q and 2nd place.  The last class was jumpers - just jumps.  She again had a clean run and I was impressed that she still had energy left despite this being the last run of the day.  We ended with a third Q and a third place in that class.  

So overall, very successful weekend.  The problems we were having before her injury improved greatly.  Her focus and motivation was better than I expected.  Hopefully the contact issue won't be hard to fix - I just have to get her comfortable again.  Videos from the day will be posted soon.  Next up is CPE next weekend.  We'll just be doing one day since the contacts are an issue.  Hopefully she'll have the same motivation and focus!

We're Back!

Well, it's been a long two months, but we're finally back to practicing agility.  Zoe got her second round of prolotherapy last Thursday and the vet was pleased with her progress.  It looks like her knee is looking stable enough to ramp up her activity level.  We did an agility session on Friday and it looks like she didn't miss a beat, so I am not terribly worried about prepping for our upcoming trials.  We've also been doing some long walks and going to the park again - the nice weather has really been wonderful.  In the mean time, we've been doing a lot of obedience work, so hopefully that will help us out a bit in the agility ring!