A Milestone for LaMesa

This past weekend the Stump Kids ventured south to Franklin, Tenn., for an agility trial with the Nashville Dog Training Club. It was our first trial in more than six weeks (which was perfect timing for LaMesa to be spayed in December), and we hadn't done much training, so I was excited to see how they'd fair.

Dally started us off with a rather slow Excellent Standard run that resulted in a Q and a handful of PACH points. I'm not quite sure what her deal was, but this was her only Q the entire weekend due to slow times. Her Excellent Jumpers run saw her over time by a couple of seconds, and the same with her runs on Sunday. It was very odd because normally coming off of a layoff from agility she's always rearing to go. Plus, I had done our usual warm-ups and massages prior to the run and she seemed ready to go at the start line. This concerns me because of the AKC Nationals coming up and I want her to be at her best in Reno. I don't know if it's because of the dirt flooring (which she normally has no problems with) or what. I wouldn't think it was her conditioning because we've been going for longer walks (on black top and through the grass/brush at the park) and working on a stability ball for core strength (thanks, Merinda! [More on this in a later post, I hope.]). Whatever the reason, I'm hoping she'll be back to her old self at the next trial in February, where we will once again be running in a horse arena on dirt (exactly like in Reno).

LaMesa, on the other hand, was a rock star over the weekend! I was so proud of her! She started her weekend off with a smooth, clean run in Open Jumpers for second place and her second leg. It was also her first ever 100 score since we've been competing! I was a little concerned going into the weekend with her weaves because at home she started popping out at the ninth pole when she was on my right side. All this weekend, though, she was on my right side and never popped out. (And she only missed one entry--coming out of a fast tunnel on Sunday, but it was after she had already knocked a bar in Open Jumpers for an NQ. Oh well.)

Then, hours later (many hours later), she amazed me in Open Standard with another clean run for another second place! This also finished up her Open Standard title to move her up to Excellent A. I didn't enter her in Standard on Sunday because I wasn't sure how the trial would move and I didn't want to make us stay later than needed. She'll make her Excellent A debut in February, where I hope she can finish her Open Jumpers title as well.

And did I mention that two years ago, this was the very first trial we had taken LaMesa to? I had just gotten her from her breeder, Debbie Tapp, the week prior and she made her first road trip with her big sister. Such fond memories...

Speaking of big sisters/brothers, my friend Merinda added a new furry pal to the pile in January. Porter (LaMesa and Dally's best friend) is a big brother now to Stout, a black brindle Cardigan puppy who is full of energy. You can follow her blog on the Brew Brothers and watch Stout grow up into what I'm sure will be a very active and happy boy! (I've got a cute video of LaMesa and Stout playing that I'll try to figure out how to embed directly into the blog, instead of linking to YouTube.)

Ending 2011 With a Bang!

We ended 2011 on a very positive note at the Queen City Dog Training Club's AKC Agility Trial. After a drought in Open Jumpers with Mesa, barely missing qualifying by maybe a dropped bar or an off-course, we finally got a qualifying score with a beautiful run! She scared Merinda (and the bar setter apparently) by jumping really early before the double jump, but her jumps have started to look much better and we ran a lot more like a team. (Not bad considering after walking the course, I changed how I was going to handle a 180 with her by doing a rear on the flat between the two jumps!)

Dally was a rock star, as she has been lately. We missed out on a QQ on Saturday due to a very tricking section of the standard course that caught just about everybody off-guard. One would never think that a 180 before the A-frame would be so difficult, but many dogs missed the second jump because of one little thing or another. But she did earn a QQ on Sunday, which made things better.

So our final tally for 2011:
Dally: 9 QQs, 314 PACH points (earned her MXP and MJP)
LaMesa: Earned her NA and NAJ titles, 2 Open Standard legs, 1 Open Jumpers leg

Also big news...Dally and I qualified for the AKC National Agility Championships! They are being held in Reno, Nev., March 30-April 1. After much mental turmoil, I was able to figure out a way for us to get from Lexington to Reno, thanks to Camille, who also qualified. Dally will be travelling, via car, with four other small dogs and a kind gentleman from Columbus, Ohio, while Camille and I will fly out there. I'm nervous about trusting someone I barely know with driving Dally across the country, but she's such a good traveller, I'm sure she'll be fine. Right now we're just working on conditioning for Nationals, as well as I'm working on trying to pay for the rest of the event by picking up more freelancing articles.

So for now, that's where we are. We start 2012 in Franklin, Tenn., next week and I'll be trying to get Dally qualified for the 2013 AKC Nationals in Tulsa (she already has 1 QQ and 28 points towards qualifying...only 5 more QQs and 372 more points to go...), and I'd like to get LaMesa up into Excellent.

Agility Down South

Mid-November saw Matt and I packing up the car with the girls, snacks, treats, etc., and we headed southeast for Concord, N.C., for the 2011 Swedish Vallhund Club of America Nationa Specialty. It was being held in conjunction with the Speedway Classic of the Carolinas cluster, which was having four days of agility (woohoo!) and three days conformation, rally, and obedience. The agility for the Swedish Vallhunds was Thursday, but it was still all breed, so I was able to run Dally as well. Another bonus to the weekend--the Palmetto Welsh Corgi Club was sponsoring prizes for any Pembroke that qualified! Where else could I go that was doing something special for both of my breeds!?

Back up a few days, though, and let me tell you about our one-day run at the Queen City Dog Training Club's trial. I entered one day only, Nov. 12, because it was the day before my birthday, plus I knew we were leaving for North Carolina on Tuesday, so why work the girls too much? Dally gave me my birthday present: her seventh QQ! Her jumpers run was smooth--it started out a little slow, but her weaves were faster than they have been in a while, and she handled well through the course. Her Standard run saw her booking it! She was going so fast in the beginning she almost missed the 90-degree turn into the chute.

I didn't get any videos of Mesa's run at Queen City, but she did well. Another knocked bar in Open Jumpers, and she missed her weave entrance once. She earned her second Open Standard leg, though, which was a nice present from her! In other news, since she celebrated her second birthday on the 10th, she had to get her measurement for her permanent height card. An AKC Representative did the first measurement and got her at 11 1/2 inches, so that put her at the 12-inch jumper height. :-/

In North Carolina, Mesa got her second measurement, and I was hoping the VMO would get her at 11" or just under, so she'd have to have a third to break the tie and hopefully put her in the 8-inch jump height. Unfortunately, the measuring area was in a high-traffic area right next to the jumpers ring, so she was stressed out, which only makes them stand more upright. Now she's officially in the 12-inch jump height. I'm conflicted, but more on that in the next blog post...

Now, onto the results of the Speedway of the Carolinas Cluster:

Dally earned QQ #8 on Thursday, earning 32 PACH points in the process! Our standard run was one of the smoothest I've ever run with her--she was jumping, weaving, and just moving her badonk! The Jumpers run was a tough one, with a lot of twists and turns--I had to throw in a rear cross after a jump with her because I didn't get in position fast enough for a front cross. Thankfully, Dally's getting used to me throwing different things at her and just went with the motions.

On Saturday, we didn't fair as well. We didn't Q in Standard because she got disconnected from me. The placement of the chute fluffer and additional bar setter right by the opening of the chute caused almost every dog to look at them as the dog came out of the chute, which is what Dally did. This concerned her, but when I got her back and into the weaves, I thought we'd be alright...until the tenth pole, when in the Jumpers ring a Border Collie went into the weaves with a rather loud handler, which caused Dally to pop out. Oh well. We were able to come back just 30 minutes later for Jumpers for a Q and three PACH points. Not bad.

For LaMesa, it wasn't a very successful weekend. I had hoped we'd Q at least once, and maybe earn our Open Standard title, but we came home with no qualifying runs. :-(

On Thursday, her Open Jumpers run was messed up at the very beginning--I set her up too close to the first jump, causing her to knock it down. The rest of the course was great for her--she handled the twists and everything I threw at her--I was so proud of her, and so mad at myself for the bad setup. The Standard run was tough--once again she took an off-course A-frame at the third obstacle, then popped out of the chute. It took her three shots at the weaves, which isn't like her. I was disappointed, but I knew she's still learning and things will start to look up.

Her Jumpers run on Saturday started out great--I gave her plentyof room to start the course and jump the first jump clean. She missed her weave entrance the first time, but nailed it the second time. She knocked a bar half-way through, but the rest was a great run--I was proud of her! Standard was another good run, but unfortunately we took off from the pause table a little too early (on the "G-" of the judge's "Go"), which caused us to NQ because I didn't realize it until after thinking about it post-run. However, she nailed a very difficult weave entrance the first time! That was consolation enough for me.

So the weekend was full of ups and downs for the Stump Kids. I learned a lot with Mesa, which I'll expand on in an upcoming blog post. This weekend we're back to Queen City for a full weekend of agility, then Mesa will take some time off from agility due to being spayed in the next week. My hopes are to work with her on her Rally some more while she has to take time for agility, and cross my fingers she's ready to run towards the end of January in Frankling, Tenn.

Running in the Dirt - Circle G

The last weekend of October saw the Stump Kids and myself drive up to the dirt of Circle G Arena in Lewisburg, Ohio, for a trial directed by the Dayton Dog Training Club. This was LaMesa's first run on dirt--she's been to Circle G before, but she hasn't competed there. So I wasn't sure how she would handle the atmosphere.

It shouldn't surprise me anymore that not much in the atmosphere can faze LaMesa when it comes to her doing agility with me--she loves it, and she's so focused on me that she doesn't have the time to sniff the ground. Now, if there's a moment where the judge might make a noise when we're pausing (like in Hamilton), that's another story.

LaMesa's runs were very educational, yet again. She gets herself very worked up and excited before our run, so I learned after our first run on Saturday that I need to time taking her out of her crate to closer to when we run, if that's possible. Halfway through our first run she looked tired, which then caused her to run by jumps and knock bars. In Standard, I did better with taking her out closer to our run, but still an NQ due to too many little problems.

Dally and I had a few goals to accomplish going into the weekend--QQ (which would be #6), that sixth QQ would equal qualification for the AKC National Agility Championships, and earn our 10th Q in Excellent B Jumpers for her Masters in Jumpers With Weaves (MJP). I'm excited to say we accomplished all three goals on Saturday! It felt great when Dally jumped the last jump in JWW, yet the Small Dog Posse was quiet, mostly because we were the last run of the entire show and no one knew we were running. Talk about uncertainty--usually when I celebrate and the rest of the crew is quiet it's because I messed up somewhere and went off course (it's happened before, so I know from experience). Thankfully, we were clean for QQ #6, MJP, and an NAC qualification. (Standard run video / Jumpers run video)

With those three goals accomplished, I wanted to focus more on LaMesa and try to earn our first Q in Open (in Standard or Jumpers). She's been having problems hitting her weave entrances the first time, so I was hoping we could nail that in Jumpers. She ran a great course--nailed some send-outs and 180s. When she nailed the weave entrance the first time, I got excited and clapped which caused her to jump out to run with me--bad mom. The second and third tries saw her popping out towards the end--not sure why (but a lot of dogs did in that course in both Open and Excellent), so we didn't get our weaves, for an automatic NQ. I was happier with that run, though, because she ran well. Her Standard course finally saw our first Open Q, which was a gift due to a few circumstances. The third obstacle was supposed to be the weaves, but I had to call her off the A-frame and she took the off-course--then when I called her off the A-frame, she tumbled down and slid on her face. I paused to see if she was alright, but she wanted to run so I let her. She missed her weaves the first time, but I brought her back and she nailed them the second time. The rest of the run was clean, and apparently fast enough to stay under standard course time. Upon checking the scores, thinking we ate too much time with the tumble, I was surprised to see that she Qd, and was the only 12-inch dog to Q! A nice little gift.

Dally qualified in Excellent Standard on Sunday, but just as I was starting to feel confident about going in for QQs on the line, she brought me back to reality and reminded me that she was also in control by popping out of the weaves in jumpers. (The Excellent JWW course started off just like the Open JWW for the first 12 obstacles.) For some reason, a lot of dogs were popping out of the weaves in JWW.

So, it was an up and down weekend. We have one day at Queen City this coming weekend (Nov. 12), and then we head to North Carolina for a big weekend--the Swedish Vallhund National Specialty is being held in Concord, N.C., in conjunction with a four-day agility trial (it's N.C.'s version of the Louisville Cluster). Thursday is the SV-supported agility entry, but all four days the local Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club is doing something special for Pembrokes. Where else can I go where both of my breeds are being supported?? I'm excited to see other SVs run and maybe get some training tips from other SC handlers.

Things to Work on for the Team

The past few posts have been about successful weekends with Dally and LaMesa, which are always great to type and read later. :-) This post I wanted to put a few things to "paper" in order to have accountability for our training. No run is ever perfect, whether in class or at trials. There's always something we need to work on:

Dally:
Dally and I have really started to click as a team lately, which has been great. I wish I could tell you how it happened, but I can't because I don't know how it happened--it just did. Now is the time to start nit-picking on our teamwork and our runs. We've been getting better about shortening the amount of yardage Dally has to run.

We lose time during our runs with Dally's slow weaves and her slow moving on the teeter. Her slow climb up the teeter kills me some times--it's like she know exactly where the tipping point is, so she just saunters up to the mid-point and waits for the teeter to tip. I don't think it's a matter of her being afraid of the teeter, because she likes the teeter. I just can't figure it out.

Her weaves are another concern. In class she can have some of the prettiest weaves, hopping between the poles as a fast weaver should. But then we go to a trial and she tries to shuffle as quickly as possible through the poles, which means a slower weave. I've tried many different things--clapping my hands through the weaves; saying "Go, go, go" as she goes through them...anything. If anyone has any tips of what I can do during a trial for her weaves, I'd be willing to hear them.

LaMesa:
Our teamwork just needs time--Mesa will turn two in a couple of weeks, so she's still very young and still very green at trials. She keeps her focus on me pretty well at trials so far, which is great. I just wish I could harness all her energy before her run (she barks so much and gets herself so worked up waiting to run), because she gets tired quickly.

For Mesa, I have to remember to hold my signals for her and tell her sooner. She's so much faster than Dally that I have to think faster, as well as run faster, than I do normally with Dally. I'm told this will come in time with us, so I have to keep the patience and praise the little things that we do well.

If only I could take some of her speed in the weaves and teeter (she has gorgeous weaves and a great teeter) to Dally, it'd be perfect!!

What things do you feel you need to work on with your partner? And any tips you have for me would be great.

One Very Successful Weekend!

A few weeks ago, I think I had probably the most successful weekend ever with Dally in our entire career. We visited the Hamilton Dog Training Club's trial in Fairfield, Ohio, at Game Time (an indoor soccer facility, the type with the astro-turf with the rubber pellets--Dally loves that place) Sept. 24-25. My goal for the weekend with Dally was mostly just to finish her MXP (she needed two Standard Qs to do so) and maybe get at least one double Q. Mesa's goal was to finish her NAJ (she needed one leg) and try to be clean in our Open Standard debut.

Dally and I exceeded my expectations by not only earning the last two Qs for her MXP (which takes 10 qualifying scores in Excellent Standard B), but we went 4-for-4, earning two QQs, thus bringing our total to five QQs, and leaving only one more qualifying score needed to finish her MJP! She ran so well, and saved my butt a couple of times--we ran like a team!

Saturday's runs: Standard -- finished 60.55/77 for 16 PACH points on what was a fast, fun course. There were a lot of twists and turns. At one point, towards the end, I was late on a front cross in a serpentine that caught Dally off guard. Thankfully I got her stopped before she crossed the plane where we're get a refusal. She came in second in that run. Jumpers -- finished 40.56/52 for 11 PACH points and first place on a course that saw a big pinwheel. I was proud of her for not popping out of the weaves to take the tunnel that was calling her name (last year she would have done that). Also, it's nice to see her taking jumps so tight around the standards, which cuts down the amount of yardage she has to run.

Sunday's runs: Standard -- finished 64.85/76 for 11 PACH points and second place. This saw a tunnel-weave pole-tunnel combination that can be scary if your dog is blazing out of the tunnel towards the weaves. Luckily, Dally collected nicely into the weaves and once again stuck in through all 12 and didn't get sucked into the tunnel. Jumpers -- finished 41.30/47 for 5 PACH points and third place. This was a tough course--lots of different crosses and a handler could easily lost, as you can see by my video. I was so nervous about getting lost (I'm notorious for it), so I was just hoping to get through without any mistakes. I don't know how, but I pulled that one out and Dally stuck with me--even when I threw in a rear cross on the flat towards the end that I didn't even walk (there was no way I was going to beat her for a front cross there). This showed how our team has come together more because she stuck with me, instead of giving up like she used to.

One of the things that makes her MXP so amazing is that she earned all 10 Qs this summer--her first Excellent B Standard Q came at Hamilton in May, when Merinda ran her for me while I recovered from my stress fracture. So from May 22 to Sept. 25, a total of four months of limited showing, she earned her Masters in Standard! Not to mention earning 5 QQs in the past four weekends of trials! And our first weekend of going 4-for-4!

The one thing about this weekend that stressed me out was experiencing conflicts between rings for the first time...ever. Previously, when I showed Mesa and Dally, they were one-ring trials, so I didn't have to worry about any conflicts. But this weekend there were two rings, so the chance of conflicts was high. We'd have to be there early in the morning so I could run Mesa in Jumpers, then wait until early afternoon for Dally's runs (they ran tall to small). Once I'd run Dally in Standard, there was a little time to crate her before I had to walk her Jumpers course...and then walk Mesa's Standard course. Essentially I'd have to memorize two different courses at the same time and hope I didn't mess either dog up for the other. (Truth be told, I was trying to focus more on Dally's courses because her QQs mattered more to me that weekend. Plus, it helped that with Mesa in Open, the Open courses were very similar to the Excellent courses.)

My one big goal for Mesa was to finish her Novice Jumpers title. We accomplished that Saturday morning, with a time of 28.53/38 and second place. I wanted us to run clean so badly--on paper, we did. However, she missed her weave entrance because (1) I signaled with my arm, then dropped, then picked it back up, thus confusing her, and (2) I was too much in her space (she's used to taking her weaves at a distance from me, thanks to the 2-by-2 training). Her first Open Standard run was a train wreck (there's no video of it, which is good and bad).

Sunday saw her debut in Open Jumpers, and it was a learning experience for me. She knocked the bar on the third jump because I was too slow and too close on my front cross. We're not exactly sure why she knocked the bar on the triple, but she missed her weave entrance because of me, once again, dropping my arm and confusing her. Then, towards the end, she was done it seemed. Her Open Standard run (yet again, no video) was another wreck. The main problem is trying to switch my mind off from veteran dog that can correct my mistakes and figure out what I mean on the fly (Dally) to novice dog who takes everything I do literally. It's just a matter of building that teamwork between Mesa and I that Dally and I have--it'll take time--and I have to remind myself to keep the positive attitude with Mesa and be patient. Once she gets it, she gets it--which is great! She's only 23-months-old while Dally's 6-years-old. It's going to come.

Our next trial is the last weekend of October at Circle G Arena in Lewisburg, Ohio, where I hope to finish Dally's MJP and perhaps get her sixth QQ, which will qualify her for the AKC Nationals in Reno, Nevada! Now, whether we go to Reno or not is another story...but to qualify her within a few months, when we went so long without ever QQing is amazing!

Late Summer Trial Rundown

So time has just flown by and it's officially Autumn, and yet I haven't blogged about the late summer trials I competed at with Dally and LaMesa! Boo! And since I have a trial coming up this weekend, I hope to have a lot more to say from this one, so I'm just going to do a quick wrap-up of the late summer trials.

DALLY:

July 10, 2001 - Border Terrier Club of America trial at Queen City Dog Training Club

After the first day with a double NQ because of a some handler mistakes, I just wanted to Q once that weekend. And boy did we make a splash! We earned our very first Double Q, earning 13 PACH points in standard and 4 PACH points in jumpers. I was so ecstatic when we finished our Jumpers run. People thought I had MACHd, but it was pure happiness. Unfortunately we didn't get my Jumpers run recorded because Camille was "in awe" of our run and forgot to press record! LOL I was able to get a Double Q ribbon as well to celebrate our feat!

August 28, 2011 - Miami Valley Doberman Club trial at Queen City Dog Training Club

Saturday (8/27) saw a very fast Standard run, and for once Dally was too fast and could not get stopped on the table, so we had a table fault for that. However, our Jumpers run was very pretty, and just as fast, and she finished with 9 PACH points and her fourth MJP leg).

Sunday (8/28) saw a run that I was able to get some actual distance from Dally, and learned to support the A-frame, in Standard. She ran extremely fast for her, earning 20 PACH points! Her Jumpers run was a lot of fun, and another fast course with her earning 11 PACH points and our second QQ!!

We really ran like a team all weekend--I was so proud of Dally and the improvements we made!

September 18, 2011 - Greater Cincinnati Poodle Club trial at Queen City Dog Training Club

Saturday (9/17) was trying, tight course in Standard, but it was fun. I tried to continue the formula we had in August by trying to run ahead of Dally just enough to get her moving. She earned 9 PACH points in her run, and first place in a tough 4-inches division for her 8th MXP leg. Her Jumpers run turned out to be her first sub-40 run ever, and she was moving!! We earned 8 PACH points in that run and our third QQ!

Sunday (9/18) saw a handler error in the Standard when I was reminded of her run on 8/27 with a tunnel to table...same setup, so I thought I'd try to get her to check-in with me before zooming onto (and possibly off of) the table. She checked in alright...and then stopped right in front of the table, confused about what I was wanting. My mistake. No Q. In Jumpers, though, we redeemed ourselves to earn our 7th MJP leg and 4 PACH points.

So to wrap-up, Dally has earned 3 QQs, 149 PACH points, 8 MXP legs, and 7 MJP legs so far this year! I'd love to earn three more QQs by November 30 to be qualified for the AKC Nationals (Preferred dogs have to earn 6 QQs) in Reno, Nev., but we'll have to see if we can stay consistent at other venues that aren't Queen City.

LAMESA:

After the June Hoosier Kennel Club trial, LaMesa didn't compete in July due to her heat cycle--I had entered her in an all Open/Novice trial in Columbus, Ohio, but we had to withdraw from that trial.

August 27, 2011 - Miami Valley Doberman Club trial at Queen City Dog Training Club

We ran Jumpers first, and after a private lesson with Melanie the weekend before on what I needed to do to work on LaMesa's distance work, we were able to show-off our hard work with this fun course where I could send her over a far jump in order to get where I needed to be. She ran by the weaves once, but was clean the rest of the way for her second Nov JWW Q! Her Standard run had one little hiccup when I mis-handled a tunnel--my hand pointed to the correct entrance, but my body ran towards the other end, and she followed my body--oops. I learned that I need to support everything with my whole body for right now, with her being so green (she's not Dally--Dally would have been slow enough to have stopped and corrected sooner). However, it was still a Q and her second Nov STD leg!

September 17, 2011 - Greater Cincinnati Poodle Club trial at Queen City Dog Training Club

After months of attending AKC agility trials and not having an official VMO (Volunteer Measuring Official) for her temporary height card, there was finally one at this trial. At previous trials, LaMesa had been measured at 11 inches tall, thus being able to jump in the 8-inch jump height (the cutoff for 8-inches is 11), however this VMO measured LaMesa at 11 5/8 inches tall, thus moving her up into the 12-inch jump height. Thankfully I've been training her at 12 inches, but it such a big difference. I shrugged my shoulders and accepted the measurement, knowing that for the next two months she has to be moved up to 12-inches until she turns 2 in November, and then I can get her official jump height card with two measurements--hopefully with two patient, small dog appreciating, VMOs.

So, we went into Jumpers at 12-inches, hearing a few, "She's jumping 12? I'm sorry..." but we went determined to show she could do it. Throughout the course she was taking off too early, and it finally caught up to her towards the end of the run when she came down on a bar, thus marking an NQ for the run.

I think by Standard she was more used to jumping 12 inches again, and we ran a beautiful course! She nailed her weaves and nailed everything, until I started to take off towards the end, like I do with Dally, and she ran by a jump to catch up to me...oops. So we had one refusal, but she was still good enough to win her (new) jump height and earn her Nov STD title.

LaMesa is a lot of fun to run. In the backyard I can make up all sorts of sequences and she'll be like, "OK, Momma, let's do this" and she nails it. I'm excited for what Open has for us!