DABAD: Life Outside of the Agility Ring is Just as Fun

Today is another Dog Agility Blog Action Day! I realize I haven't been the best at keeping this blog up to date lately, but no worries--I fully intend to catch you up on the Stump Kids' adventures, including Dally's PACH2 in August. For now, we concentrate on what the Stump Kids do when they're not doing agility.

For one, Dally believes that it's just as important to sleep well as it is to train well. You see, sleeping helps the body rebuild muscles, and re-build your energy stores.

Catch some ZZzzs to help catch that QQ!

For LaMesa, however, she feels it's best to keep the training going, going, GOING. LaMesa might be a bit of an overachiever when it comes to fitness. She doesn't know when to stop, or really how to just lay and relax like Dally (hmmm...sounds a lot like me). She'll play tennie until she's about to collapse from heat and being out of breath. She'll chase a lure like it's nobody's business and give it a couple good shakes just to make sure she caught it.

Even while observing, LaMesa practices everything, while Dally just...observes.

Any more, I don't do a whole lot of agility training on the girls. We'll work on different aspects in the backyard--backside jumps, weave entrances, weaves with distractions, two-jump combos, etc. Then we'll go to a rarely offered class or work session and work whole courses, which is mostly working on me and what I need to improve on. But a lot of what we do is crosstraining and keeping in condition.

The Stump Kids go on lots of walks...at least one a day, and at least one mile (the heat lately has not been kind to Dally, so we don't get to go very far when it's too hot). We'll walk around the neighborhood or local parks, up and down hills, maybe with some jogging here and there. but definitely lots of walks.

We'll go to different places and just run through the grass--this helps work their backs and hind legs, plus allows them to just run and sniff the air that's different than what's around their house.

We've done some lure coursing (LaMesa more than Dally), which is a fun sport. I've done very little herding, and while Dally wasn't a fan of the sheep, LaMesa is just begging me to do more with her. I know it'll do her mind and her heart well when we can finally start herding training--nothing's better than watching your dog do what it's bred to do--but unfortunately time and finances are way too short for me. :-(

Dally has started to show interest in barn hunt, with being a ferocious mole and chipmunk hunter in our back yard. I don't want to squelch her excitement or her instinct for the hunt, so I let her have her time. I'm hoping to start doing barn hunt training and tests soon--it might be her next career with agility slowing down!

And, finally, there's that rare venture into the obedience/rally ring. Both girls have their Rally Novice titles, but I can't help but feel like I should try for more--maybe some lower level obedience, or maybe Rally Advance? Again, it takes time, and it'll take money for classes to help me since I'm not a natural obedience person. But it's a good way to really make them think, use their brains, and learn more control.

Until then, I plan to let them live their life as pampered pooches, who always have a good time. Whether that be keeping the horses in line on the family farm...

Hiking with their best buddies....

Or cleaning out peanut butter jars...

The Stump Kids' lives will never be boring.

Check out the rest of the Dog Agility Blog Group's response to "Life Outside the Ring." Lots of great insight!
Some faves:

• Un-Still Life with Cavaliers: Outside the Ring, The Inside Story on Handler Fitness (right up my alley!)
• Days of Speed & Showtime Mondays: Sitting is the New Smoking--Life Hacks Outside the Ring
• The BlueHound Beagles at WordPlay: Crossbraining
• Mufaasa and Me: Spoiler Alert: The Stuff You do Outside of the Ring Matters Just as Much (or More) than What Happens in it

Dog Agility Blog Action Day: Measuring Success in Swedish

Today is another Dog Agility Blog Action Day! This time we're focusing on "Success" and whatever it means to you.

Ironically this falls prior to a weekend where I have three days to finish Dally's PACH2. She just needs one more QQ and a handful of points, and since I organize the Hoosier Kennel Club AKC Agility Trial, I'll be competing all weekend.

So does the number of MACH/PACH or championships determine the amount of success you have as a dog handler, owner, trainer, competitor? Or is it the little things?

Dally's first PACH--November 10, 2012

The competitive side of me would say it's the championships/titles. Those are how you show your accomplishments--those numerous letters preceding and proceeding your dog's name. In the horse show world, we judge the buckles you wear, the award chairs you sit in, etc.

In horses, success is measured in championships.

Training LaMesa has totally opened my eyes, though. Dally was "easy" in comparison to starting and training LaMesa--Dally is consistent. After I dropped her down to Preferred, things came so much easier because she no longer struggled to make time nor be constantly injured trying to jump 8". It took us a while, but we got that first QQ and then things just started rolling.

LaMesa is another story, though. I believe she has so much raw talent, and so much heart, that is can be a handicap. I know she can be so good, and that affects my mindset because I get competitive and know she's fast. So I push her...and we fail...or I perceive it as a fail.

I've learned to take the little things as a success. LaMesa used to struggle so much with weaves at trials. If we can nail the weave poles from any entrance on a course, I'm excited. If we can run an entire course without her knocking bars, that's a win. Have we QQd? Nope. Right now we average 1 Q out of 4 runs in a weekend. But that Q is always a big deal.

Happiness is running this silly girl.

I see so much potential in her that I want us to be successful, but I have learned not to push it. I've been identifying where we need to focus and I am learning how to run her versus Dally, which is a big success for me. I've learned "She is not Dally" and that's OK. She's fun to run (so is Dally, don't get me wrong). She makes you think. You have to be solid in your game plan from the very beginning or she can catch you on your heels.

But all that makes me a better handler, which, in turn, will make her a better agility dog. This will also help me with future dogs, horses, and handling people. That, in itself, is success.

So my mindset has changed...a little. I'm still competitive, but I've been checking myself and my ego at the door when we walk in and I look for the positives in our runs, and not always just at the negatives. I just want LaMesa to continue to enjoy running with me and doing agility. The QQs will come.

THAT IS SUCCESS.

Read more from other DBAD bloggers on how they measure success: Success

Puppies in Agility: How Much is Too Much Pushing?

It's time for another thought-provoking day sponsored by the Dog Agility Blog Action Day! Today's topic: Starting Puppies in Agility

I don't know if I'm the best source of information on this topic, but I have been there. In fact, starting a puppy in agility was the main reason why I started this blog--I wanted to chronicle my journey with LaMesa as she started her agility career, as well as my journey with Dally, whom I had started a few years prior.

Dally and I didn't start doing agility until she was about 3 years old. LaMesa, however, was started around her first birthday.

Starting a puppy from scratch was definitely a lot more difficult than starting a more mature dog who had already been around the block a couple of times. It's so hard to remind yourself that everything is new in every way, and they won't get everything so quickly.

I'm thankful to have had people who made sure I didn't push LaMesa too much too early. I'm afraid there are some that will start their puppies already on difficult things such as tight turns, jumps, climbing, when their bodies just aren't ready. I'm all for laying down groundwork--that's what we do with horses is do a lot of groundwork before they're even introduced to the saddle.

For LaMesa, we started classes with Merinda. On top of the basic obedience, we did a lot of different things like learning to wrap jump standards. We learned to do changes of directions on the flat with front crosses, rears, and blinds. We learned how to push away to get distance…again on the ground. We slowly added contacts, but kept them low and simple. We started to add jumps at a low height, which for LaMesa was 4 and 8 inches, towards the end of the first session.

This photo was taken during one of our first class sessions.
This time we focused mostly on her focus on me.

We wanted to make sure our dogs were able to handle the stress of jumps before we added that stress. It's so important to remember that.

I think it's also important to remember to give your puppy a vacation from training. With young horses, we called it the "2-Year-Old Vacation". That vacation allows for their minds to take a break, just as much as the body. What you'll find is that somehow a lot of that training really was absorbed by the young one, and when they came back from vacation they're further along and ready to learn more. Young dogs need those vacations as well. They need a break from constant training to be able to be a dog--stretch their legs and their minds, relax and enjoy the partnership they now have.

LaMesa's first trial wasn't until she was 15 months old, at a CPE trial and entered in just a couple of classes, mostly to get the experience. Her first AKC trial wasn't until she was 18 months old, and perhaps I should have waited a little longer for that one, as it was outside and she was so wired.

LaMesa's first agility trial ever--CPE. She looks so small there! 

I don't push to trial often, but definitely not as a young dog would I want to hit a trial every weekend. The stress that can put on their minds, as well as their bodies, might not be ready for that. Maybe it's just me, but I shiver to hear about dogs who are close to their MACHs when they just turned 2. Are we asking too much too soon?

We have to remember to make this fun with our puppies, as well as our dogs. Absorb the lessons that not only are you teaching your puppy, but that your puppy is teaching you. LaMesa has taught me so much more patience and diligence than I ever have with any young horse or older dog. And I'm still learning.

My Partner

Be sure to check out other DABAD blogs for their takes on training puppies in agility.

Some good reads from the day (so far):

• Trials of an Agility Neophyte: Of Puppies and Patience
• To Dog With Love: 5 Tips to get Your Puppy Started in Agility
• Tails of Rav'nLeigh: Apples and Oranges
• Brews Brothers: Puppy Agility?

The Mental Aspect of Agility: Get Outside of Your Mind

Today's post is brought to you by the Dog Agility Blog Action Day group. Every once in a while, a group of dog agility bloggers all write on a particular subject/theme and then share the other blog links with you so you can learn more about that subject.

This month's topic is on the mental aspect of agility. This can be taken just about any way possible--your mental game, your dog's…ring stress, focus, "the zone," etc.

I've always been a very mental person--some times my mind is running on overdrive and I get way too much in my head. I've been known to be a very intense person, in and out of the ring. When I showed horses, it was a running joke that perhaps I needed a little liquid refreshment before I showed or ran barrels because I was so intense. That carried on to competing in agility when I first started six years ago.

Training-wise, I soaked in everything I could and enjoyed my time training Dally. But when it got to actual trials, I'd get so nervous prior to my class. I'd obsessively walk the course over and over until the whistle blew. I'd obsessively stare at the course maps up until it was our turn. I'd put so much pressure on myself to run the course perfectly and will Dally to run fast, it did just the opposite--I'd mess up on a cross, Dally would feel the pressure I had and move slow… I'd have to cheerlead Dally through the course, praying and hoping to come in under standard course time. It wasn't much fun.

I tried the "liquid refreshment" at a couple of trials. I couldn't tell you if it helped or not, but I did have a little more fun (I think). I chomped on peppermints left and right, in hopes of masking my nerves around Dally. None of it seemed to help much.

I couldn't tell you when exactly everything clicked. It might have been after I moved Dally down to Preferred 4". We had to start back in Novice, which meant easier and more laid-back courses. When we got back in Excellent B (now Masters), we were still having fun, but not being consistent enough to QQ….

Or maybe it was bringing LaMesa along and training her--I had to focus my energy on her, and I knew I could rely on Dally to be my steady eddy...

Or maybe it was when we earned our first QQ…Finally, that one thing that had eluded us for so long, and it finally happened. After that, we finally got the ball rolling with QQs...

I couldn't tell you what made a change, but finally Dally and I started running together like a team who enjoyed being out there. Now I walk the courses a few times (maybe obsess a little, but when you're walking for two different dogs, you tend to do that), I barely look at the course maps, and I just go out there planning to enjoy the run with Dally. Yes, I do get a little intense and nervous before I run LaMesa, but it's so much better than when I first started agility.

A friend has ben having troubles running her dog--she's so intense! She asked me what made me change my running style and I told her it was basically because I wanted to enjoy every run with Dally. She's 8 years old now and has done everything I've ever asked her (well, except for herding, but that's another story). No one ever thought she'd be an agility champion. No one ever thought she'd qualify for the AKC National Agility Championships…

But guess what… She is an agility champion--she earned her PACH last November and is so close to earning her PACH2 in the next few months. Plus, Dally's qualified for the AKC NAC not once, not twice, but three years in a row! The AKC continually tries to make qualification harder, and she still comes through.

She's relaxed so much because I have. Because I know that I'm lucky to get to run one of the prettiest Corgis you'll see. I know that she has my back and loves me, no matter what. So why not enjoy those runs? I know there will come a time when we have to hang up her hot pink zebra print agility collar, but for right now I want to relish each and every run. If I'm stressed myself and start to stress her out, it's not going to be a fun, worthwhile run.

Yes, agility is a mental sport. But you can't be too mental because you'll forget all about the fun and the whole purpose of running agility--running with your best friend, your heart, your soul.

Read more great blog posts on the official site of the Dog Agility Blog Action Day.