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.
The trials and tribulations of training a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and Swedish Vallhund for agility.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
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!
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!
Friday, September 23, 2011
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!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
DogSport Essay Contest
Earlier this year I won a free subscription to DOGSport Magazine, a bi-monthly magazine covering all aspects of canine sports. It's a pretty good read, and I was happy to start receiving the publication because I follow them on Twitter as well. I had noticed in the first issue I had received that the magazine was running a contest where the winner received a year's worth of entry fees from DOGSport Magazine (about $4,000 total for the year of 2012).
Basically you had to write (in 500 words, or less) why the magazine should pick you to win the prize. In return, the winner will help promote the magazine at the trials entered and do photos and write-ups for the magazine. Sounds perfect for me, right?
Unfortunately, you had to pick only one dog and one event. I originally was going to write about LaMesa and our new budding partnership, but after the latest successes with Dally and the sudden change in her attitude towards competing, I had a tough decision between writing about each girl. So I did my best to try to sum up my desire to represent DOGSport with Dally in one essay and LaMesa in another, and asked a couple of co-workers to choose which one they felt was the better entry. Here are both essays:
LaMesa:
A Few Roadblocks Towards a Partnership
Have you ever been given a golden opportunity, only to not be able to fully embrace it due to circumstances that you really can't control? That’s how I feel about my young Swedish Vallhund, LaMesa, and her agility career.
Thanks to a family friend, I got an opportunity to own a Swedish Vallhund puppy with great athletic potential. The breeder said this one pup showed more interest in running around and jumping than standing stacked on the groom table, so she thought the runt of the litter could be a success in the agility arena. One look at her little nubbed tail scurrying around at high speeds and I knew we would make a great team.
"Mesa" is my second dog, but she’s been a whole new challenge for me. While my first agility dog's early career was full of just making the time and almost a lack of enthusiasm, Mesa is a firecracker with the drive to do whatever she can to please me. When she looks up at me after we’ve completed a series or finished running a course, it’s like she’s saying, “Did I do good, momma?” She waits for nothing more than just a pat on the head and a “good girl.” Working with her has been refreshing for me and very educational.
I see so much potential in my little furry partner, however it’s been hard to get the ball rolling and keeping it on the right track. Things have been slow for us to due to a lack of funds for more training and more trials. When looking at the budget and trying to decide if I should campaign my older Corgi (who's own agility career blossomed this year) more than the younger Vallhund, LaMesa generally gets the short end of the stick.
I always assumed it’d be physically and mentally challenging to run two dogs at a trial, but I never really realized how hard it would be on the on the pocketbook. I’d do just about anything to not have to think twice before travelling to support my favorite American Kennel Club agility trials and show both dogs to their full potentials. Mesa has a strong potential to compete annually at the AKC Nationals, and even make a run at the AKC National Invitational once she's solid in Excellent B.
Dally:
The Trials & Tribulations of Training a Corgi for Agility
“Training a dog is a lot like training a horse, only the animal is smaller and you’re not on top of them--unless you fall on them.” This has been my training mantra since I started training and competing in dog agility four years ago. I grew up training and showing horses, but after life took me further from my horses, I turned to my Pembroke Welsh Corgi and decided she needed a job and I needed something to train.
Dally is my heart-dog. I got her as an 8-week-old puppy before work forced us to travel around the United States for various lengths of time. Because I had to leave my horses and family behind, Dally became my everything--and she still is. She’s been through the tears and the laughter, the moving boxes and the long hauls. We embarked on an incredible journey when we discovered agility after finally settling in Lexington, Ky.
At the beginning, we struggled with the typical agility challenges: the weave poles, distance work, consistency, etc. It was then that I also learned about that infamous “Corgi attitude.” We’ve had those days--and by "we" I mean Dally"--where she just didn’t feel like running the course my way…or even running the course at all.
And Dally’s not your "typical" fast Corgi. She often somehow "knows" the standard course time and run just barely under time to qualify. For a while, it felt like she just didn't feel the urge to put forth much effort in running faster than a gently lope.
She’s been a challenge, but has rewarded me by teaching valuable lessons in patience, forgiveness, and humor, and the best part of all, recently, Dally has simply blossomed.
At the mature age of 6, she’s decided that faster is better. We’re now racking up the AKC PACH points. Something clicked in her mind and she now believes that trials can be just as much fun as training, and she’ll pull me to the ring and be feisty at the start line. We make the ring crew laugh as we do our normal preparations of getting excited to run, while she makes very ferocious Corgi noises, only to be all business upon hearing, “Go.”
Now that we’ve hit our stride, we’re looking to qualify for the AKC Nationals. Unfortunately, my tight budget seems to hold us back. While Dally's potential is unlimited, my limited funds put a cap on how much training we can receive and how many competitions we can attend. I’d love to have more money to put towards attending clinics to learn more to be a better handler for Dally, but those goals seem like they're just out of reach. Instead, we enjoy our time at local trials.
I’d love to see Dally's potential fulfilled in 2012 before her age starts to catch, and the help from DOGSport Magazine would be a giant step in the right direction with the DOGSport brand.
Can you guess which one I chose? I decided to send in my essay about Dally because it showed more about what we've been through, while I'm sure there were probably quite a few entries about budding partnerships like mine and Mesa's. The winners will be chosen no later than Oct. 1, so I have a few more weeks until I know my fate. It would be a big help to have this opportunity next year, since I'm sure my ability to train and trial will be stunted due to wedding savings and preparations.
Keep your fingers crossed, and I'll keep you updated!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Finally! Photos!
I finally received the photos I ordered from the photographer at the Milford CPE Agility Trial back in March--LaMesa's first-ever agility trial. (Granted, I didn't order them until late July, but the photog was on vacation and was able to upload them for me as soon as she got home--good customer service!) I ordered two of LaMesa: one going up the dog walk and one coming out of a tunnel, and one of Dally stepping off the teeter ever-so-dainty.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Catching Up: NADAC in Buckner
So my friend Merinda is very active in NADAC (North American Dog Agility Council), having qualified for the NADAC National Championships twice--an amazing feat when you consider there aren't a lot of NADAC trials within close driving distance like there are AKC trials. Because of this, she's always doing her best to talk anyone in our group to join her for a trial. I've been to one trial with Dally last year, so when the opportunity came in July to enter one that's an hour away, I decided it'd be great to run Mesa in an indoor soccer facility on some fun courses...and let Dally play in her favorite class: Tunnelers.
Mesa ran her three classes first, first attacking Touch N Go, a class where there are no jumps so all dogs in all jump heights compete against eachother. The obstacles include the contacts (A-frame and dow walk), tunnels, and hoops (hoops that stand so dogs go through instead of over). Mesa blasted through it--the second fastest Novice dog (the fastest was a Border Collie)! So, she qualified and won her "jump height."
In Regular 1 & 2 (standard, only you run the course one way, then turn around and run it the opposite way), it included six weave poles, jumps, dog walk, A-frame, and hoops. The first way in Regular 1, Mesa handled it realy well, running fast and fluid, even hitting her weave entrance! I was so proud of her--she won her height and qualified. In Regular 2, she ran really well, except coming off the dog walk she noticed that a big fan had just been turned on (it wasn't on during Regular 1), and it spooked her, so she ran into the opposite end of the tunnel (an off-course). I picked her back up, sent her into the correct end of the tunnel, and she came out and nailed her weaves yet again! She ran clean the rest of the course, but with the off-course, she didn't qualify, but still won her jump height. Such a good girl!
Then Dally's turn finally came when she got to run in Tunnelers--all tunnels all the time. She loved it! She was fired up, rearing to go (as you can tell in the video) and you could tell after a while she was like, "You mean I can go through just tunnels?? Yes!!" She won her jump height and qualified. I hadn't entered Mesa in the class because I hadn't thought about it, but I'm sure she would have torn it up as well--maybe a little too fast to be able to direct her.
So it was a successful day at the NADAC trial presented by RuFF (Run For Fun). After that day, I decided to go ahead and register the girls in NADAC so we could hit any upcoming local trials for some more training and fun. I won't campaign hard in it like Merinda, but Mesa seemed to love the big, flowing courses, so why not?
Mesa ran her three classes first, first attacking Touch N Go, a class where there are no jumps so all dogs in all jump heights compete against eachother. The obstacles include the contacts (A-frame and dow walk), tunnels, and hoops (hoops that stand so dogs go through instead of over). Mesa blasted through it--the second fastest Novice dog (the fastest was a Border Collie)! So, she qualified and won her "jump height."
In Regular 1 & 2 (standard, only you run the course one way, then turn around and run it the opposite way), it included six weave poles, jumps, dog walk, A-frame, and hoops. The first way in Regular 1, Mesa handled it realy well, running fast and fluid, even hitting her weave entrance! I was so proud of her--she won her height and qualified. In Regular 2, she ran really well, except coming off the dog walk she noticed that a big fan had just been turned on (it wasn't on during Regular 1), and it spooked her, so she ran into the opposite end of the tunnel (an off-course). I picked her back up, sent her into the correct end of the tunnel, and she came out and nailed her weaves yet again! She ran clean the rest of the course, but with the off-course, she didn't qualify, but still won her jump height. Such a good girl!
Then Dally's turn finally came when she got to run in Tunnelers--all tunnels all the time. She loved it! She was fired up, rearing to go (as you can tell in the video) and you could tell after a while she was like, "You mean I can go through just tunnels?? Yes!!" She won her jump height and qualified. I hadn't entered Mesa in the class because I hadn't thought about it, but I'm sure she would have torn it up as well--maybe a little too fast to be able to direct her.
So it was a successful day at the NADAC trial presented by RuFF (Run For Fun). After that day, I decided to go ahead and register the girls in NADAC so we could hit any upcoming local trials for some more training and fun. I won't campaign hard in it like Merinda, but Mesa seemed to love the big, flowing courses, so why not?
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