Travel to La Crosse

So last weekend I took both dogs to La Crosse, WI to trial at Family Dog Center's new arena.  I have gone there many times with Zoe and we love the small atmosphere and the great people there.  This was my first time bringing Breeze and gave me the opportunity to test her hotel manners and see how she did with a full weekend of runs.

The hotel part was easy - Breeze settled in nicely and was not worried about sounds in the hallway, etc and slept nicely through the night.  When Zoe first started traveling, it took her a little while to get used sounds from other people, but now she is fine.

I have to say I learned quite a lot about Breeze at this trial and I have several things to work on now.  One of our biggest challenges is just getting her out to new places.  As with other new places, she started off the day sniffing the arena and completely disregarding the game.  I think we maybe did three obstacles on the first run.  The second run went slightly better.  She sequenced about 6-7 obstacles before I lost her again.  She did her contacts, but her nose was pretty much attached to the contact the whole way.  I am hesitant to say this was all stress related.  She didn't show any signs of stress before the run - it more seemed like blowing me off.  So before the third run, I did some targeting with her and a lot of tricks and obedience.  If she got a little better with each run, I would be happy, but I certainly wasn't expecting and qualifying runs.

The third run was Snooker, which was tough for us because once she did something out of order, we were whistled off the course.  Rather, I would have liked her to be able to do a few things successfully and then leave like in a regular run.  To my surprise, she seemed much more engaged and made it through the whole course without errors.  I was really proud of her and rewarded her to make sure she knew good things happen when she plays as a team.

After that, she was much more engaged.  There were a couple of sniffs here and there, but I was always able to get her back to me and continue the course. The next day started off much better.  She qualified in standard and jackpot and was starting to get the hang of things.  I had to pull her from a run during the day because she got spooked by something, but she recovered from that pretty quickly.  The last two runs were great - almost Qs by a mere few points.

So besides distractions, the things we need to work on are contacts on different surfaces.  Breeze has been trained almost exclusively on rubber contacts.  The surfaces here were a bit more slippery, so she had some trouble stopping for her 2o/2o contact.  Also, Breeze needs to learn how to decelerate and control her body.  In the video below of her standard run, she over runs a few jumps and though she enters the weaves correctly, she couldn't stop to finish them.

However, in the few trials she has done, she is doing MUCH better at sequencing and gaining obstacle focus.  I also saw improvements in her weaving.  She had awesome start lines all weekend and best of all, her stamina kept up for her first full weekend of agility.  I am excited to see how she progresses this fall.  We have two trials on dirt coming up and I am prepared for her to be distracted again.  But hopefully it will be short-lived and we will be able to work through that.

Meanwhile, Zoe was my rock star this weekend.  She had nothing but perfect runs and is pretty close to getting her second C-ATCH.  It is such a sigh of relief to run her after running Breeze.  Zoe and I are at the point where we really trust each other.  If Zoe is running slow, I no longer freak out and I have faith that she will speed up.  She knows her job out there and tries so hard to do the right thing.  The best thing about her runs this weekend is that she did all of her weaves on the first try and even had a little speed.  This bodes well for our journey in achieving a CATE in CPE, where all runs need to be clean.  Here is a video of one of her standard runs:

Next up is a light NADAC trial at the Soccer Blast: just 4 runs for each.  I am trying to finish up Zoe's open level titles and give Breeze a bit more practice.  It should be a low key weekend before doing a couple more trials in September!

The Trials and Tribulations of Training

I understand that my dogs are not robots.  I try very hard to balance letting them just be dogs and and being model citizens of society.  Lately, its been more of letting them be dogs and that is becoming problematic.  Well, not for Zoe - she has a built in desire to be a perfect angel.  Breeze, on the other hand - if you give her an inch, she will take that and run a marathon.  

So my main focus at the moment is teaching Breeze to behave on a leash.  I know, this should have been done ages ago, but we had other goals to work on at the time.  Anyways, while on a walk, Breeze has a intense desire to chase anything that moves - people, bikers, cars, etc.  I have found success with bringing treats and having her watch me while something goes by, but I don't always have treats on me, and it is very difficult to train if I am walking two dogs.  So I need a back up for when I am not set up for successful training.

I have tried just about everything.  She is immune to the pinch collar - the poor girl would choke herself to death if I let her.  I have tried just about every type of harness - she still pulls and with her intensity, the harness usually rubs her skin raw.  The gentle leader was great until she pawed her nose until it bled.  But, I need to make something work, so out of all my options, I am giving the gentle leader another try.  

My first plan of attack is to use booties on her paws so that she can no longer harm herself.  Kind of like how our parents put oven mits on our hands to keep us from scratching chicken pox.  Okay, maybe that was just me.  Anyways, second, for the next week, I will be using one of her meals to train while having the gentle leader on.  In the past, I didn't take enough time to acclimate her to the feel of it on, so now I am trying to go much slower.  After a week, maybe we will try training in the yard or going in the driveway.  But the key here will be to go slow.  

I am not saying that I want to give up what was working before with the watch and using treats.  I just believe in having a wide tool box, and I need another option when I can't give my full attention to Breeze.    

So here she is in her pretty head collar.  So far, she is doing pretty well, but I am guessing it will take a lot of time until I can actually use it on a walk.  

C-ATCH Zoe!

This past weekend, Zoe earned her first agility champion title at the CPE South Paws trial on a fun jumpers course!  It was a bit nerve wracking considering that we only had one shot at it, but I definitely preferred a jumpers course over snooker or jackpot!  

Earning our C-ATCH at this trial was special because not only do we train at the host club, this was the same trial we started at two years ago.  Plus, it was a large trial, so most of our friends were there to celebrate with us.  It turned out to be a pretty cool weekend because there were 9 other champion titles.  The club ran out of both C-ATCH bars and Q ribbons by the end of the weekend!  

Though two years may seem like a short time to earn a champion title, it was definitely not without challenges. Just a few months into the start of her career, Zoe was set back by a small injury.  We took a few months off of training, but it took a while to get back on track.  Her confidence on contact obstacles was almost completely shot and it took a lot for her to become comfortable again.  It took maybe 4-5 months until she was completely comfortable in the ring again.  Now, contacts are her favorite obstacles and will default to them over tunnels.  Our next biggest challenge was speed and focus.  Weave restarts were becoming our nemesis, which can eat up a ton of time.  Plus, Zoe started stressing when the judge was near our path.  She wasn't aggressive or overly scared - she would just notice the judge and lose focus from the run, slowing her down or making her pop out of weaves.

The past six months of our career have been amazing.  The problem areas started to get ironed out and Zoe was becoming a super consistent competitor.  She really seems to enjoy competing and is much more confident.  She isn't the fastest dog out there, but her desire to work with me as a team is incredible and has led to many clean runs.  Speed and focus will continue to be our main goals and perhaps we will try a new agility venue to trial in as well.  As for CPE, I plan to start working towards a CATE title, which is approximately 200 clean runs.  It will take 2-3 years, but we would be one of the few in this state to achieve this title.

Herding Fun Day

I have always thought it was special to see an animal do something that came so naturally.  Having two dogs from herding breed backgrounds, I have always been curious what would happen if they came face to face with sheep.  Being a dog park goer, I hear people say all the time that "that dog is very herdy" or "my dog herds my kids/other dogs/whatever".  But does that really mean that they would excel at the sport at herding?

Today I had the privilege of testing Breeze on some sheep.  The Border Collie Rescue of MN puts on a yearly herding fun day and this year, it worked out in our schedule to attend.  I have to admit that I was pretty nervous that Breeze would just stand there and harass the sheep to death.  Remember the watermelon episode??  Breeze doesn't always react the greatest to foreign things.  But, to my relief, she did just fine!

The small ring was set up with three sheep.  The instructor puts a long line on the dogs and lets them investigate at a safe distance.  When Breeze entered the ring, the first thing she identified was dad (thanks, Chad!).  So she promptly ran under the bars out of the ring to greet him.  Seeing that she might need some redirection, I went in the ring with her and she then saw the sheep.  She then proceeded to chase the sheep.  Thankfully, she didn't nip or bark much, but she was definitely interested in making them move.  In typical Breeze fashion, she went all out at the beginning, exhausting herself before she even got the hang of it.  But soon she figured out that, "Hey, the sheep move when I move...even a little."  And so she got to run around and see what she could do.  After a little while, she started to tire out and she actually started to listen to the instructor, who was trying to guide her movements.  All of a sudden, she started to stay back and be patient.  It was really great to see her listening when I thought her head would just about explode.

So below you can see the short version of the video highlighting her progress in just the 7 short minutes she was out there.  Would I do it again?  Absolutely!  Too bad we don't have a permanent sheep job for her, but I have other ways of keeping her busy.  Maybe we will go out for a real lesson sometime - I think we both would learn a lot.  As for Zoe, she had to sit this one out.  For one thing, the session was full, but someday I may test her on sheep.  I am not sure she has the guts for it, but I am curious how she would react.  I think she would probably surprise me.

Videos are here!!

Wow, two months was a SUPER long time to wait, but I finally have my videos from the CPE Nationals back in June!  Here are some highlights...

Wildcard - This was our very first run of the weekend.  The course was tight and opened with a really odd tunnel entrance.  Many dogs cut through the weaves because the entrance was so close to them.  But Zoe did a nice job and did two sets of weaves.  Not a bad start to Nationals!

Standard Day Three - We had standard first this day, so the ground was pretty dewy.  Both of us took falls, but eventually recovered.  Thankfully, CPE has generous times, so we still qualified :)

Standard Day Two - This was probably our best standard run.  Zoe did great with the DW/Tunnel discrimination and I probably over handled it.  She missed her weave entrance, so I made an unplanned cross.  But thankfully she completed them beautifully once she got in!

Lastly, this was the gem of the weekend, and I will remember this run forever.  Zoe has great distance, but her confidence gets in the way sometimes.  So when we started the gamble and she needed to take two jumps, she just took one and came back.  We had a quick chat about it and finally the light bulb went off.  The ending was nothing but cheers and Zoe ate every last one up.  She LOVES applause and it makes her go nuts.  That was the best moment.  And the icing on the cake was that we just barely made time to make it a qualifying run :)

There is still no word on where the 2012 CPE Nationals will be, but I am very tempted to go.  My first Nationals experience was so great - friendly people, nice judges, and great courses.  I feel lucky to have been at a place in my agility journey where Zoe could participate - totally worth it!

These videos are courtesy of Agile-Images, LLC.

First Trial All Over Again

It seems like yesterday when I first brought out my black dog, Zoe, at her first agility trial.  Well, two years later, I was doing that with a new dog.  I fully admit that I started competing with Breeze before I said I would, but it is so difficult to hold them back.  Breeze and I became a competing team a couple of weeks ago at a NADAC trial.  I did three runs with her each on Saturday and Sunday.  The first run went great - no major distractions and she had plenty of enthusiasm.  There were no Qs for us that day, but I learned a TON about where we are at in our training.  The weaknesses: discriminations, sequencing, and my contact criteria.  Strengths: awesome generalization - no issues with equipment, startline stays, and plenty of enthusiasm.  Her two regular runs weren't bad at all - just some missed discriminations and a couple of knocked bars.  Otherwise, the runs went pretty smooth.  She was just .3 seconds shy of getting a weavers Q, but we had to restart weaves a few times.  Even though she is a pretty good weaver in training, it is a whole different story at a trial!!

The next day we got to run tunnelers, which is a super fun run.  Breeze ran this with no issues and earned her first Q ribbon!  She also earned a Q in regular, so she was already improving.  All in all, I couldn't be more impressed with her performance.  I feel that most of her issues are due to inexperience and the more we trial, the better team we will be.

Ok, not to over shadow Breeze, but Zoe did get her first elite title in Regular :)

So last weekend we drove down to Zumbro Falls and Breeze competed in not only her first CPE trial, but her first outdoor trial.  To sum things up, she displayed great control at the start line and had lovely contacts.  She did the teeter like a champ and showed no fear!  CPE is pretty lenient so while she did veer off course, we still qualified in the standard run.  She also Q'ed in colors and jackpot.  Her sequencing was not bad for a newbie, but there is definitely room for improvement.  Weaves were another weakness.  She is such a great weaver at home and in class, but at trials, she lacks the focus to start them correctly.  But I think this is really an issue of practice that will come with time.

I am excited to compete with her again, but unfortunately we will have to wait until the end of August.  It is really hard to hold back when they do well, but I know that more practice will pay off.  She has proven that she is ready to start competing, so now it is just a matter of giving her experience.  She will compete next on turf and then a couple of trials on dirt, which is very distracting!

Meanwhile, I have a new found appreciation for Zoe.  She has become such a consistent competitor that I can get ready for a run with her and know exactly what to expect.  I have to handle her in a whole different way and that has taught me so much.  I am excited for her future and will maybe try playing in some new agility venues soon.

CPE Nationals

CPE Nationals was more than I ever expected.  First of all, we had the best weather possible - cool and overcast.  Really???  After record heat and an incredibly long winter??  We certainly lucked out!!  Second, we had the most awesome volunteers helping to run this trial as smooth as butter.  Third, the trial consisted of wonderful people who loved doing agility with their dogs.  And finally, we got to show off all the hard work we've done over the past two and a half years.

I am sooo proud of how Zoe did this weekend.  She was extremely focused and gave it her all.  She attacked the teeter as if she was never afraid and finished every run with a big Zoe grin!  The best moment for us was Jackpot.  We casually did our opening, doing her favorite obstacles and ended in a great spot as the buzzer rang.  We headed for the gamble and just after Zoe took the first jump she came back confidently to me as if that was it.  Well, not quite.  There was still another jump, tunnel, and final jump.  This could not possibly be explained on paper, but the maneuver required a jump away, come back for the less-obvious tunnel entrance and a finish jump.  So...after a chat for a few seconds, she finally got the message and finished the gamble.  It was amazing because something just clicked and she knew exactly what to do.  If you saw the video, you can actually see the point where it clicked in her brain.  And it turns out, we made it in just enough time!!  Everyone cheered (Zoe's FAVORITE) and she did zoomies all the way out of the ring.  She was just beside herself!!  I LOVE it when she is that excited.  She KNEW she did a good job and I was very happy for her.  So this was our favorite moment of Nationals.  Nothing else could top this.

We ended the trial with eight qualifying ribbons and a plaque for 5th place in games (20'' class).  We came and did our best.  I can't ask for more.  But what was also great is that all of my friends were having a stellar time too.  I saw people qualify in classes they haven't for a very long time.  I saw people do so well that they ran faster than any other dog out there.  I saw people make friends.  I made friends.  I saw people help each other.  And help each other some more.  Whether it was catching a stray dog or giving course advice, everyone was in it for each other.  

The whole thing had a summer camp kind of feel.  There were various activities, people were camping, people were stolen away from their daily lives.  People were having fun.  There was camaraderie, compassion, and excitement.  Everyone shared the same passion - working with their dogs.  

I feel so incredibly lucky to have been a part of this event.  I know there could have been many things that could have held us back.  I feel lucky to have shared this with the best of my friends and that they too had an incredible time.  It was truly an experience of a lifetime!