Catching Up: The Hoosier

I apologize for the lack of posting to this blog this summer. I believe I got into the same trouble last summer--too much to do and not much time to do it all. Truth is, when I actually get a break, I try to not even think about getting on the computer, which means my blog posts get pushed to the side.

So while apologies have been said, it's time to catch everyone up on the Stump Kids' summer of agility. This post will be about Mesa's big AKC debut at the Hoosier Kennel Club Agility Trial in Lebanon, Ind., June 10-12.

This was an outdoor trial, so we had to contend with many, many distractions all around--a cow show, high school rodeo, and of course everyone's tents already the two rings. Plus, my friend Merinda drove up with Porter (Dally and Mesa's best friend) to compete Saturday and Sunday, so it was like one giant party for Mesa.

Friday it took a lot to keep Mesa's attention before we ran. In Novice Standard, she was a wild woman, running up and barking at the course workers and anyone else who was around. Because of a lot of the run-arounds, we NQd. I blame myself for not making her focus throughout the run. When she would finally come back to me, I'd run on to continue the course--a tribute to being competitive and running a seasoned dog like Dally. So after really thinking about how I needed to run her in jumpers, I decided that if I had to call her back to me, we'd stop and I'd take a deep breath before we continued. Fortunately the design of the course didn't give Mesa an opportunity to really do much running and barking. We had one hiccup with the weave entry, but besides that, she ran clean, fast, and (most importantly) with me! She Qd for her first Nov B JWW leg with a score of 100 and a time of 30.88/43. Here is her run. Her first Nov FAST run wasn't much to write about. My goal for the run was to get her back on the teeter (in STD she was bounced off the teeter and did a somersault, so I didn't want her to be scared of it) and to work on her weaves. We accomplished those tasks, but ran out of time to do the bonus and accrue enough points...oh well, I accomplished the little goals.

After talking with one of the judges from the weekend that I know pretty well, I spent a lot of time working on Mesa's focus before our run and working on the little ideas that the judge gave me. Our Standard run was better--I used the contact obstacles as opportunities to have her stop, look at me, and we both would take a deep breath (or at least I'd like to think that she took a deep breath, too). However, she still got excited to hear Porter's barks during her run, which would break her concentration all to pieces. We didn't get our weaves, and a few times she just ran like a goof, so it was just a good learning experience. Her jumpers run started off stressed because right before our run I had to take her into the tent where she was crated to get more treats and she saw that Dally's crate was empty (my mom had taken her home because it was getting so hot). Plus, the jumpers ring was right next to Merinda's tent where Porter was crated--you can hear his barks in the background and actually see her try to figure out how to get to him. I did do a better job of getting her to come back to me and focus. I actually tried to Q in her FAST run, but we had some struggles with the send, so NQ. Oh well--it was a frustrating day, but I learned some new things...yet again.

Sunday, the third and final day, saw a brighter time for her STD and JWW runs. In her STD run, she finally nailed her weaves on the third try, and only ran off to bark at a course worker one time. She actually earned a Q in that run with a score 89--her first Nov B STD Q! She ran well in her JWW run, but she wasn't able to do her weaves in the three allotted chances, so it was NQ. However, she ran better with me, so I had to be happy with that.

So her first AKC trial weekend came out to have two Qs--1 leg for her Nov B STD and 1 leg for her Nov B JWW. And lots of life experiences and lessons!

Of course Dally ran all three days that weekend. Long story short, she went 3-for-3 in STD accruing 16, 13, and 17 PACH points along the way. Her Jumpers runs saw an extremely slow Corgi, so NQs. But, hey, 46 PACH points in one weekend for Dally is pretty darn good! Her runs on Friday and Saturday.

Next up: Buckner, Ky., NADAC trial where Mesa ran in three classes and Dally ran in one.

Conquering the Weave Poles

Just an update on Mesa's weave pole training. We've gone through all the stages of the 2x2 instructional video, and Mesa's done really well. It is refreshing to watch your dog just all of a sudden "get it" when they see the poles in line--it's like their light bulb moment! That's how it was with Mesa.

She loves her weave poles! Any time she sees them and she's near them, she wants to go weave, which is great! She's always attacked them with gusto--never walking or trotting through them, but doing the "small dog hop" between them and tearing her way through the sets. It's refreshing for me to see her do this all the time, unlike Dally's inconsistent weaves (she may walk through them, trot, half-hop, or do beautiful hops through the whole thing--you never know).

In Merinda's class on June 7, she set up a couple of open courses with 6 weaves (in-line) with some hard entrances to use as a tune-up for Mesa's AKC debut later that week (coming up in the next blog post). It took a couple of missed entries, but then she nailed the weaves! It was such a great feeling!

Now we're working on 12 in-line. Due to my inconsistent/time-crunched schedule, it's only been in the back yard (but a different spot) or at Sandra's right now--no trips to the park or other locations. We've gone from a 90% entrance hitting rate to about 70%, and she's starting to pop out at the tenth pole--not good. So we'll go back to almost the beginning to get her entrances back to being consistent, then work on the weaves in two sets of 6 (with a few feet in between) to try to stop the dreaded tenth pole pop-out (which can be a killer at trials, trust me!).

Pinch Handler

In baseball there are pinch hitters and runners, and some times in dog agility you need someone to step in when you're not able to handle your own dog. If you're lucky, your dog and the pinch handler will mesh well and run well at a trial. If you're not...well...sorry about your luck, I guess.

Luckily, my experience was a positive one. After suffering my stress fracture at the CPE trial, Merinda offered to run Dally at the Hamilton AKC trial for me since I had already sent my entries and it's one of our favorite trial venues. I went ahead and withdrew Mesa's Novice FAST entry, since I knew there was no way she'd run for anybody else. For three weeks Merinda worked with Dally in Melanie's class getting some pointers from me and learning from Melanie about handling a non-distance dog. (Porter, her Cardigan, works very well at a distance from her, and he runs totally different from Dally.) I'd go along to the classes, but I'd take Mesa outside to work on other things that my booted-foot could handle on uneven ground.

Just a couple of days before the Hamilton trial, I was released from my walking boot, but I wasn't 100% yet. I wanted Merinda to still handle Dally as planned because I wasn't sure how my foot would handle things, plus I knew she had been working so hard trying to figure out Dally and giving more than 110%.

I couldn't have made a better decision. Merinda and Dally meshed quite well (though it didn't hurt that Merinda introduced Dally to tripe patties from the Bluegrass Barkery). Her first standard run, Dally was running great, but I think Merinda took her eye off of Dally for a split-second and Dally ran past a jump. No worries--that could have easily happened (and has happened) with me handling her. Her first jumpers run saw Dally popping out of the weaves, but still a solid run.

Finally Merinda was able to break through and handled Dally to her first Excellent B Standard Preferred Q (first MXP leg) on Sunday! It was a great run to watch. Unfortunately another weave bobble in jumpers meant no double Q, but at least we scored one Q with the experiment.

Let me tell you, it was hard watching someone bond and work with your dog. I knew Merinda was a great handler because she's a great trainer and teacher, but I didn't think the experiment would be as much of a success as it was. I'd walk the course with Merinda, trying to predict what Dally might do on the course and show Merinda what I would do if I were handling Dally. Then I'd tell her, "This is what I would do...but you're running her and I trust your judgement."

Oh, and I can't forget to boast that Merinda and Porter earned their first ever Double Q on Saturday of Hamilton, then on Sunday Merinda earned a Double Q herself with Dally's standard Q and Porter's jumpers Q. It was a great weekend for her, and it was great celebrating her success.

I'm very grateful to have such a good friend like Merinda that stepped up and offered to work with and run Dally for me. I had always offered to run Porter for her while she underwent her chemotherapy a couple of years ago, but she always sucked it up and had the extra strength gumption and ran Porter herself every time. I wish I had had that gumption to run Dal myself in my boot, but I think that'd be a little too awkward. :-)

(I had some video issues, but I was able to get a couple of Dally's run recorded, so they'll be up soon.)

Mesa & the Weave Poles: Take 2

You might remember my post about Mesa attending "Weave Pole Boot Camp" back in April. Well, she was doing great--weaving all 12 poles in line, hitting 90-degree entrances off of jumps, and allowing me to run a good distance parallel with her while she weaved. She was displaying great form. with fast hops between the poles.

That is until we took it back to Sandra's and worked on the in-line weaves there. She'd run by the first few poles, then hop in and finish the rest. Or, she'd just do a middle set. Or, she'd just run right by them. This was frustrating to me because I couldn't understand why she can do the poles perfectly at home in the back yard, but go somewhere else (even some place she's been training in almost every week since November) and she can't nail her entries. This is when Merinda told me I needed to work her in different places and to start moving around with the weave poles. This was foreign to me because Dally never needed this. I worked her mainly at the BFO field when we started out, and she has been just fine. That's when I get reminded (time and time again): Mesa is a totally different dog from Dally.

So what to do? For the past week, I've been learning Susan Garrett's 2x2 Weave Poles, thanks to the video Merinda loaned to me. I've walked Mesa through the steps, this time working in many different places: a new spot in our back yard, my parents' garage and front yard (during a 3-day visit last week), the local park, and Sandra's. It's been hard for me understand all of the training involved, and since Mesa wasn't started on shaping and offering behaviors like other younger dogs from our group, I knew we could be at a disadvantage.

But some how one day it clicked. I've been doing my best to be patient and not lure Mesa into the entrances, like Garrett warns against. I have to admit, there have been a few times that I was just getting frustrated and once Mesa made one positive move, I'd treat her and we'd be done.

Another small frustration is the lack of the 2x2 weave poles. I've been using my stake-in-the-ground weaves and mimicking the set-up that uses the real 2x2s. In the beginning, I was using a 3-pole base that my dad had made for me while I was training Dally for weaves in my small apartment--it was a set of six, but with it divided in half, and only at 20 inches (as opposed to the 24-inch spacing in competition weave poles now). I used these for the initial training on our concrete slab/porch in the back yard, that way I could throw the treats on the reward line and it'd be easier for Mesa to follow. But now we're working in the yard with the stake-in-the-grounds, so finding the treats is a little harder, but still doable. Plus, I was having to figure out distances and make sure my poles were set up like they should be if I were using the standard 2x2 pole bases.

I'm lucky enough to use the standard 2x2 weave pole bases at Sandra's, which I did Monday and Tuesday of this week, so that has been a big help.

Today at lunch we were able to get the four weave poles in line. A few times Mesa missed the entrance, but then she'd get it. Now to keep working the entrance and arc, all while hopefully adding the third set of two weave poles for six in line Thursday on our lunch. Then Mesa will have a three day break from weaves as she sets off for her last conformation show in Cincinnati Friday through Monday, so I'm hoping she'll come back Monday afternoon ready to weave six and move on to "double sixes" as Garrett calls it.

My goal is to hopefully translate this success to her having the same success anywhere we go to weave: the park, Sandra's, mom and dad's, a TRIAL... She's entered in her first AKC agility trial June 10-12, which is outdoors and hosted by my dad's kennel club. I'm really hoping we can nail these weaves down by then and she'll be able to post a few Qs that weekend in her big debut. Then we can move on and get the ball rolling on what I hope will be a promising agility career for Mesa--12 weave poles and all!

Anyone else have experience with 2x2 weave poles?

CPE Trial Take 2

This past Sunday, the girls and I celebrated Easter in our own unique way--with a trip to Milford, Ohio, for another CPE trial. I decided if I couldn't spend the holiday with my family, enjoying our customary Easter brunch, I would stay busy by running six courses with Dally and Mesa and get more experience under Mesa's collar.

The end results were great--Dally went 3-for-3, earning Qs and first places in Wildcard Level 2, Standard Level 3, and Snooker Level 3. This finally finished her Level 2 title (two years after we had finished everything else--Wildcard is only offered once a weekend, and when you go to a small amount of CPE trials, it's hard to finish up levels quickly). She ran very well, happily going through tunnels and allowing me to run different courses with her than I would with Mesa. Running Dally is so much more relaxing than Mesa, so I appreciate her "Dependable Dally" moniker she's been given.

Mesa also went 3-for-3 on the day, earning Qs and a first place in Wildcard Level 1, second place in Standard Level 1, and second place in Snooker Level 1. Mesa finished her Standard Level 1 title! In her Standard run, she got a little too excited about the A-frame and hopped on that, earning a fault. Also, the smaller dog walk was deemed "unsafe" right before her run, so they replaced it with a straight tunnel, thus allowing her to shoot out of the tunnel extremely fast and barreling through the next jump. So, with two faults, she broke her win streak and earned second place. Oh well, it was good experience and a Q is a Q!

Her Snooker run was actually two-fold. We ran one course, which was not very fluid, and she went to go into the tunnel that started the closing after her third red jump. The judge whistled us off the course, thus NQing our run, but thankfully someone stopped him and said we were still OK in our run, because I still needed a "color" before I started the closing and could have done that tunnel again. So we ran back to the starting line for a re-run, which was a blessing because this run was much smoother than the last. She earned 49 points and was beaten by one point for another second place. I was proud of my little girl, though, because before our run I had heard other exhibitors talking about how Snooker is for "controllable dogs" and it'd be "hard for a young, fast dog" to Q. Well, my "young, fast dog" Qd just fine! :-)

I came home with one more thing from the trial, though this was one not expected, nor invited...a stress fracture. Recently I have been increasing my running distance as I've started training for the Bluegrass 10K in July. Saturday I ran four miles (my longest distance ever), then walked the pups 2.5 miles. The next day was the trial, and after a couple of runs I started noticing sharp pains in my right foot every time I put weight on it. I had hoped it was just a muscle pulling from my hip (long story, but bad hip), so I gritted through the day. Monday night was Mesa's final class in the "puppy/novice/intermediate" level class at Goose Creek, so I gritted through that class and went to the doctor Tuesday morning. Xrays show a "slight" stress fracture on the outside of my right foot. I'm currently in the walking boot and will have Xrays pulled again on three weeks to see if the fracture has started to heal or progressed. Until then, walks with the girls are being done by Matt or my friend Merinda. I've pulled Mesa's Novice FAST entry at the Hamilton, Ohio, AKC trial May 21, but Merinda will attempt to run Dally in her Excellent B Standard and JWW classes all weekend.

So now I'm looking at things I can work with Mesa on to keep her training on the right track, but not put a lot of stress on my foot. We've still got the weave poles set in the back yard, and I can walk with long, fast strides alongside Mesa. I wish she was more set on the poles in line (yes, they are in line now!) so I can try to work on just sending her through the weaves independently, but she's still too green for that. Looks like I'll be searching the Internet for ideas of more things to train her...

Weave Pole Boot Camp

Last week I was interviewed on the "Horse in the Morning" online radio show about doing dog agility with a Corgi. For some reason, the host didn't think Corgis were really that agile. I hope I changed his mind.

This brings me to the topic of tonight's blog post. Glenn (the host) had asked me how hard it was to train dogs for agility. I answered saying that most of the obstacles are things dogs do naturally--jump, go through tunnels, climb over things--except for the weave poles. The weaves are the one thing dogs (nor any animal, for that matter) do not do naturally. Training for the weave poles is mainly training muscle memory for the body. Because of this, it's the one thing Mesa hasn't been able to nail down in class.

The past three weeks Mesa has been in "Weave Pole Boot Camp" in the backyard. After the Louisville trial in March, I came home and set up my stick-in-the-ground poles in a thin channel with weave-a-matics (they were staked in at an angle) and ran her through all 12 poles. After a week I was able to put the bases in-line, but kept them at an angle to start teaching her to hop around/over the bases.

Every night we've gone into the backyard and run through the weaves, entering on both the "off-side" and "on-side", as well as with me on both sides. She took to the routine quickly and really enjoys working the weaves. Last week I brought back a jump to add more to the weaves, making her enter the weaves from a 90-degree angle and collect into the weaves. I've even put out a small "puppy" tunnel on one end to use as a discrimination.

She's taken to the poles so naturally, it amazes me. I decided to train her on all 12 weaves, not starting out with six and then adding on after she moves up to Open. I started Dally on only six weaves and it was hard to get her to continue through all 12, so I didn't want that to happen with Mesa. I wanted to start her on all 12, then she would be ready for the transition into Open whenever she earns her Novice titles.

As of now (4/14) the weave poles all almost totally straight, in-line and Mesa is nailing it. Merinda came by tonight to see her in action and was just as excited as I have been, especially to see her doing the "patented two-footed hop" you see most fast small dogs do in the weaves.

I hope to get a video soon of her training in the backyard.

I think I might have to add the wires once the weaves are all straight and in-line, just as an added reassurance to keep her in the weaves. But, I might just wait and see how she does independently.

Mesa Tries Herding

I know this blog is titled "Agility on Stumps," but it's basically my way of chronicling Mesa and Dally's training. I've thrown a few posts in about their Rally experiences, so why not share Mesa's most recent experience outside of the agility ring ... herding.

I was lucky to have been forwarded an email from Joyce Burnham of Custom Stock Dogs, a Border Collie/stockdog trainer based out of southwest Illinois, saying she was doing some herding lessons and instinct tests at a farm in Cincinnati in April. I quickly signed up for a herding instinct slot for Mesa, knowing she already had a strong instinct when it came to herding the horses and myself (including Matt, who is still sporting a bruise on his calf from a nip last week). I wanted to see what she'd do turned loose on sheep.

(Side note: Anyone that knows Dally well already knows she doesn't care for sheep. She loves to chase after the horses on the farm, and herds me around the house from time to time, but after a trip to a Central Kentucky Herding Group Club working meeting, where she completely ignored the sheep, I have already decided she did not feel the need to run around the smelly, fluffy beasts, when she can sit next to people and be told how pretty she is and be petted. So, while Dally came along for the clinic, she hung out by the fence waiting for the return trip home. The documented proof can be seen in the photo above--Mesa is barking at the sheep while Dally chooses to ignore them and my instance to "Look at the sheepies, Dal!".)

When we first got to the site, Joyce told me she wanted Mesa to stand by the fence while Joyce worked with some of the older dogs so we could gauge her interest in the sheep. Let me tell you, there was no doubt how excited she was from the get-go. She barked and barked, having herself a great time. She'd bark at the sheep, bark at the dog herding the sheep, then turn around and bark at the group behind us as if to say, "You see those sheepies? I'm gonna get those sheepies!"

(Another side note: My two were the only non-Border Collie/Aussie dogs there. There were a few owners who wondered if Mesa had the drive to run around the big field. I just laughed thinking to myself they don't know what a little firecracker she is. Needless to say, her performance hushed them up about her size.)

Finally Joyce took Mesa into the small pasture with her. I was nervous that Mesa wouldn't want to work with Joyce and would stay by the fence by me. To my amazement, she only ran back to me a couple times, as if to say "Are you watching, mom?? Isn't this fun??"

Mesa ran around the field, circling the sheep tightly around Joyce, even changing direction when asked to do so, and chasing down any rogue sheep that dared to separate from the group. There were many comments about how she was the Energizer Bunny and many were amazed at her strong instincts, even though she was only 17 months old and had never seen a sheep in her life. I was grinning from ear to ear while I was recording the whole thing--Mesa was having the time of her life. We finally ended the session when she ran back to me for a fourth time, this time limping (most likely due to slipping on the wet grass, since the storms were moving in...she's back to 100% now). She was out of breath and chugged a bowl of water down, but she looked like she had had the time of her life.

Mesa's excitement with the herding has sparked a new interest in me to maybe give herding one more try. Unfortunately, my time and funds are limited, and I'm not sure I can devote the time needed to properly train her to be successful in the AKC herding arena. I know the time my friend Merinda puts into training her Cardigan, and I hear the horror stories of the difficulty of what some might think are simple tasks, and I wonder if I would be able to do such things. However, I know she loves it, and I would love to be able to hone that instinct for good, especially when I'm around horses, I don't want to have to lock her in a stall every time I ride or work near them.

Here are the videos of Mesa's instinct work. I did them in three separate videos because I wasn't sure how long the session would last and I worried about uploading them to YouTube. I uploaded them in order, though.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3