I'm a little late on wrapping up our last AKC trial we attended (Nov. 9-10), but I'm making up for it now. (Note: I've somehow misplaced all of the course maps from this weekend. Blogger FAIL. Sorry!)
Just a week after competing at Queen City, we were back. It was the third weekend in a row at an agility trial, but I knew that Dally and I could finish up the points needed for AKC Nationals this weekend, as long as I didn't make any unnecessary mistakes.
Saturday's runs were great. In Jumpers I made sure I didn't push too much in the weaves (which I know was my mistake the week prior) and to just run the course with simple cues. Standard was a little tricky with having to call her off the chute off the teeter, but luckily she listened.
(I love Blair Kelley and Dan Faulkner's courses, by the way.)
Sunday I wanted to push her a little more, but I had to remember to be more deliberate with my cues.
Here's the jumpers run:
This was fun with the serpentine, then a push for the big pinwheel. Both LaMesa and Dally handled that very well, so I was proud of both girls.
We didn't get a standard video, but I went in needing just a few more points for Nationals with that run. We came out of it in great shape! At the end of the weekend we had 513 points towards the AKC National Agility Championships!!
Dally's now on a long vacation from agility for a while. I usually do that a couple times a year to help her recharge her body and her love of agility. It's well-deserved--we're now just 5 QQs and 204 points from her PACH2. Who would have thought that we would be going to AKC Nationals three years in a row and be close to our PACH2??
For those pushing for their last points this weekend and next, I wish you good luck and best runs!! I was able to pull from the Merrillville, Ind., trial being held Nov. 29-Dec. 1 (I entered Nov. 29-30 just in case) since I have my points, so hopefully others can get their last points.
The trials and tribulations of training a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and Swedish Vallhund for agility.
Showing posts with label agility trial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agility trial. Show all posts
Friday, November 22, 2013
Thursday, November 7, 2013
LaMesa's First MXJ Leg
Yep, you read that right--LaMesa earned her first Masters Jumpers leg over the weekend at the Queen City Dog Training Club's AKC Agility trial! I was so proud of her!
It's funny because after having a not-so-stellar jumpers run on Saturday, and then a slight bobble in Standard on Saturday, I was saying I wasn't sure LaMesa liked running at the Queen City facility very well. Dally loves that place, as evident if you see where she gets most of her QQs. But really, I think I just have to change my thinking with her--she can handle anything, as long as I prepare her for it.
Here's our qualifying run from Sunday. She earned 3rd place (in a very tough 8" class) and 12 MACH points:
We were soooo close to our first QQ! Unfortunately, we were able to prove that an 8" dog can break the tire, even if it's touching the floor:
After I saw that she broke the tire, I wanted to try to do a lead-out on the table. Unfortunately she listened to the judge say "Go" and not me. I wanted to make her do the table again, but realized that we'd get blown off for "training" and I really wanted to finish the course, so we went on. It wasn't as nice as her Standard run on Saturday, where I was able to get a nice long lead-out off the table:
(Don't ask me what happened on the teeter--I have no clue.)
So no first QQ for LaMesa….yet. But it was a great weekend--she's really excelling at the difficult courses and we're becoming a team that a lot of people are cheering for and watching. The biggest positive: She has been perfect on her weaves in the past two weekends--8-for-8!! I hope we can continue this streak going into the trial this weekend!
Jump form update: We've been working on jump grid sequences following some Susan Salo exercises Merinda sent me. We've done two sets of exercises so far and seeing her really think. I'll do a post soon.
Dally's weekend is up next!
It's funny because after having a not-so-stellar jumpers run on Saturday, and then a slight bobble in Standard on Saturday, I was saying I wasn't sure LaMesa liked running at the Queen City facility very well. Dally loves that place, as evident if you see where she gets most of her QQs. But really, I think I just have to change my thinking with her--she can handle anything, as long as I prepare her for it.
Here's our qualifying run from Sunday. She earned 3rd place (in a very tough 8" class) and 12 MACH points:
We were soooo close to our first QQ! Unfortunately, we were able to prove that an 8" dog can break the tire, even if it's touching the floor:
After I saw that she broke the tire, I wanted to try to do a lead-out on the table. Unfortunately she listened to the judge say "Go" and not me. I wanted to make her do the table again, but realized that we'd get blown off for "training" and I really wanted to finish the course, so we went on. It wasn't as nice as her Standard run on Saturday, where I was able to get a nice long lead-out off the table:
(Don't ask me what happened on the teeter--I have no clue.)
So no first QQ for LaMesa….yet. But it was a great weekend--she's really excelling at the difficult courses and we're becoming a team that a lot of people are cheering for and watching. The biggest positive: She has been perfect on her weaves in the past two weekends--8-for-8!! I hope we can continue this streak going into the trial this weekend!
Jump form update: We've been working on jump grid sequences following some Susan Salo exercises Merinda sent me. We've done two sets of exercises so far and seeing her really think. I'll do a post soon.
Dally's weekend is up next!
Monday, November 4, 2013
Agility Trial: Miami Valley Lab Club
This past weekend the Stump Kids competed in the Miami Valley Labrador Retriever Club AKC Agility Trial held at the Queen City Dog Training Club in Sharonville, Ohio. The judge was Candy Nettles.
Fun, flowy, and fast courses! These were fun to run with both girls.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Agility Trial: Dayton Dog Training Club Oct. 26-27, 2013
This weekend the Stump Kids and I bundled up and headed north with Merinda and the Brews Brothers for the Dayton Dog Training Club's AKC Agility trial in Springfield, Ohio. The judges were husband and wife team Jim and Judy Smotrel, who also happen to be the judges Dally got her PACH on almost a year ago. The indoor horse arena's dirt was packed down solid--could make for some slides and some sore puppies. The courses were really nice and flowy, not a lot of hard challenges but a few call-offs.
Here are the courses from the weekend. Like usual, I'll follow up with reviews of Dally and LaMesa's runs on these courses later.
Saturday:
Here are the courses from the weekend. Like usual, I'll follow up with reviews of Dally and LaMesa's runs on these courses later.
Saturday:
Sunday:
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Deep Dirt Isn't a Corgi's Friend
Have I mentioned that Dally's legs are really like 3-4" tall? And when you add in some deep, heavy red dirt in a horse arena, it makes for slower going than expected. And that's what I ran into with running Dally at the Greater Kingsport Kennel Club trial in White Pine, Tenn. And, of course, Saturday and Sunday was running small to tall, so Dally was the second dog on that deep dirt. While the "small dog people" were walking the Standard course, we were really trying to walk the dog's path so we could try to pack down the dirt. While it didn't seem to affect LaMesa much, it did affect Dally.
In Standard, Dally handled the course like a rock star. I tried to keep her as tight for the wraps as possible to save precious seconds. I run so much more relaxed with Dally than LaMesa, and you can tell in this run. She ended up winning this with 11 PACH points (not as much as she normally can get in Standard).
We didn't get a video of our Jumpers run (Jodi was running immediately after me with Maya as the first 8" and I didn't want her to stress about it), but we were clean. I felt like she ran it pretty well and maybe a little faster than her Standard run. However, she stopped the clock at 54.43 and the SCT was 54--a Q and first place, but no PACH points. That was a bit of a bummer. Oh well, QQ #10 for PACH2.
Sunday's Standard course was very doable for me and Dally, but I mishandled the flip off the dog walk into the first tunnel, causing her to come off and wonder where I wanted her to go next (I swear my toes and body was facing that tunnel opening). I think Laura English was thinking real hard about raising her hand...and I wish she hadn't. :-( A refusal knocked out a possible Q. But, I was proud of how I handled the double blind cross at the beginning--I'm getting more and more comfortable using those with Dally and they work.
Again in Jumpers, no video, but we attacked it with gusto--I wanted to go balls to the wall to try to get some more points. I figured we didn't have a QQ on the line, but I wanted points. I handled that tight wrap with Dally like how I handled LaMesa, with a blind and then a wrap to the triple before the weaves and it worked again. This time we came out of there with a Q and 9 points.
I went into this trial hoping for a good amount of points for AKC Nationals, so I was disappointed to only get 20 total with Dally. I know, any points and any QQs are great...I just need to cool it with my expectations. We have 133 more points to get for AKC Nationals and three weekends to do it (starting with this coming weekend), so we'll just keep plugging through, keeping those tight wraps and running for fun and speed, and see where we sit in a few weeks...
In Standard, Dally handled the course like a rock star. I tried to keep her as tight for the wraps as possible to save precious seconds. I run so much more relaxed with Dally than LaMesa, and you can tell in this run. She ended up winning this with 11 PACH points (not as much as she normally can get in Standard).
We didn't get a video of our Jumpers run (Jodi was running immediately after me with Maya as the first 8" and I didn't want her to stress about it), but we were clean. I felt like she ran it pretty well and maybe a little faster than her Standard run. However, she stopped the clock at 54.43 and the SCT was 54--a Q and first place, but no PACH points. That was a bit of a bummer. Oh well, QQ #10 for PACH2.
Sunday's Standard course was very doable for me and Dally, but I mishandled the flip off the dog walk into the first tunnel, causing her to come off and wonder where I wanted her to go next (I swear my toes and body was facing that tunnel opening). I think Laura English was thinking real hard about raising her hand...and I wish she hadn't. :-( A refusal knocked out a possible Q. But, I was proud of how I handled the double blind cross at the beginning--I'm getting more and more comfortable using those with Dally and they work.
Again in Jumpers, no video, but we attacked it with gusto--I wanted to go balls to the wall to try to get some more points. I figured we didn't have a QQ on the line, but I wanted points. I handled that tight wrap with Dally like how I handled LaMesa, with a blind and then a wrap to the triple before the weaves and it worked again. This time we came out of there with a Q and 9 points.
I went into this trial hoping for a good amount of points for AKC Nationals, so I was disappointed to only get 20 total with Dally. I know, any points and any QQs are great...I just need to cool it with my expectations. We have 133 more points to get for AKC Nationals and three weekends to do it (starting with this coming weekend), so we'll just keep plugging through, keeping those tight wraps and running for fun and speed, and see where we sit in a few weeks...
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Agility Trial: Greater Kingsport Kennel Club AKC
This weekend the Stump Kids and I loaded up with Jodi, Dezi, and Maya and headed south for a weekend in the Great Smokey Mountains and some AKC agility!
Our judges were Laura English and Donna Dombourian and the trial took place in an indoor horse arena. Saturday the ground was very deep, and with the small dogs going first it was hard to get much speed.
Here were our courses from the weekend:
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Agility Trial: Dally Finds Her Speed Again at Hamilton DTC
So remember my concern over how Dally ran (or didn't run) at the Louisville trial at the beginning of September? Well, I'm thinking that was just a bad, hot weekend with Dally still battling her sore neck. (And I'm hoping that was a single occurrence.) The reason I say that is because she was smoking at Hamilton! She was back to her usual, sassy, fast Corgi self, and I couldn't have been happier!
In Jumpers we made up for it, with a nice, smooth run. I was able to throw in a couple of blind crosses that finally looked smooth and fluid! We ended up second with 8 PACH points.
I love running technical courses with Dally because she can turn tightly and really listens to me. So I wasn't afraid of these courses. However we didn't come away with the two QQs I was hoping for, but that was just because of a couple slight mistakes, one by me and one by her.
Dally's weekend:
Saturday's Standard run saw a fast, happy Corgi, and an even happier handler! However, coming off the teeter I pushed Dally too much for the odd-angled jump. She thought I wanted a backside jump (which we had been working on) and by the time I realized what was happening, it was too late, so I let her take it the wrong way and go on--she was running fast and happy and that was all that mattered to me.
In Jumpers we made up for it, with a nice, smooth run. I was able to throw in a couple of blind crosses that finally looked smooth and fluid! We ended up second with 8 PACH points.
Going into Sunday's Standard, I was determined to not make a mistake with Dally. Unfortunately, she knocked a bar on the jump after the A-frame--I think her stride coming off the A-frame and then setting up for the jump was off. When I saw that happen, we just pushed it and ran. I threw in a front cross before the weaves and then a blind after, hoping she'd stay in them like we've practiced. Apparently she popped out at 10--bad Corg! So we'll be working on those more. It was still a fun course to run with her.
Jumpers she made up for it and we Qd with 12 PACH points. I was actually surprised when she almost ran by one jump, but I caught her in time to push over it. That judge had been picky all weekend, so I figured he called a refusal on us, but I discovered he didn't and was happy to place second to Porter.
We still have quite a few points to accrue for 2014 AKC Nationals. I don't know if we'll be able to get them, but we're going to have fun pushing for it while we do! I'm thankful for every happy run Dally and I have, knowing our time in the agility ring is starting to wane some. As long as she's happy running, I'm happy to run her!
In case you missed it, here's how LaMesa handled those courses: LaMesa Tackles Tough Courses at Hamilton DTC
In case you missed it, here's how LaMesa handled those courses: LaMesa Tackles Tough Courses at Hamilton DTC
Friday, September 27, 2013
Agility Trial: LaMesa Tackles Tough Courses at Hamilton DTC
Earlier this week I posted three of the four courses we ran at Hamilton Dog Training Club's AKC trial in Ohio last weekend. I had never run under these two judges, and while their courses were pretty tough, I enjoyed them and wouldn't shy from trying them again.
LaMesa's weekend:
In Standard on Saturday, I did not start that line very well--I don't trust LaMesa on a start line stay for tunnels or chutes yet, so I tried running with her. I discovered I was not fast enough to beat her to push for the fourth jump, so she took the first three and went up the A-frame. I should have handled that differently, but you live and learn! I can't remember what else happened on the course, but it was fun.
In Jumpers on Saturday, she started out so well--nailed her weaves and was working with me. However, she ran by a jump due to me doing a poorly placed front cross. I don't know why I didn't just run with rears because I seem to be having trouble with my front cross timing.
But then again, I tend to have bad timing with rear crosses, as was evident on Sunday's Standard course. I pushed her out too much for the rear to the jump and the dog walk. Everything else she handled really well, until the pull to the weaves. I see from the video that my body was pointing towards the table, even though I was saying "Weave!" and she bypassed the weaves for the table. LaMesa is so sensitive to my body!
Jumpers saw another great start, until she popped out of the weaves. It's frustrating to have that problem continuously pop up at the trials! Merinda said she thought maybe my change in speed of running by her in the weaves caused her to hurry and pop out, but I'm not sure I see that much of a change. You be the judge below.
Overall, I was happy with how LaMesa handled the tough courses. I really wish we could have squeezed out a Q, but at least the runs weren't all complete train wrecks. It was a reminder that we're not 100% there like maybe I was starting to think, and that we still have a lot of work to do.
Dally's recap is next!
LaMesa's weekend:
In Standard on Saturday, I did not start that line very well--I don't trust LaMesa on a start line stay for tunnels or chutes yet, so I tried running with her. I discovered I was not fast enough to beat her to push for the fourth jump, so she took the first three and went up the A-frame. I should have handled that differently, but you live and learn! I can't remember what else happened on the course, but it was fun.
In Jumpers on Saturday, she started out so well--nailed her weaves and was working with me. However, she ran by a jump due to me doing a poorly placed front cross. I don't know why I didn't just run with rears because I seem to be having trouble with my front cross timing.
But then again, I tend to have bad timing with rear crosses, as was evident on Sunday's Standard course. I pushed her out too much for the rear to the jump and the dog walk. Everything else she handled really well, until the pull to the weaves. I see from the video that my body was pointing towards the table, even though I was saying "Weave!" and she bypassed the weaves for the table. LaMesa is so sensitive to my body!
Jumpers saw another great start, until she popped out of the weaves. It's frustrating to have that problem continuously pop up at the trials! Merinda said she thought maybe my change in speed of running by her in the weaves caused her to hurry and pop out, but I'm not sure I see that much of a change. You be the judge below.
Overall, I was happy with how LaMesa handled the tough courses. I really wish we could have squeezed out a Q, but at least the runs weren't all complete train wrecks. It was a reminder that we're not 100% there like maybe I was starting to think, and that we still have a lot of work to do.
Dally's recap is next!
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
This Weekend: Tough Courses = Challenging Runs
I thought I'd tried something a little different after our agility trials. I'm going to try to save the course maps, take a photo, and share them with you. I'd like to do one post with the course maps, then another with the videos and wrap-ups of those runs.
Let me know what you think!
Anyway, this weekend we were at the Hamilton Dog Training Club's trial for another fun weekend at an indoor soccer facility. Dally loves this place, and so do I. However, the judges chosen were tough judges--this trial didn't fill for this first time in a while because of the reputation of these judges. But I wasn't deterred--I like a challenge. I just wish I was more successful this weekend.
The Stump Kids and I walked away with only 2 Qs, and they were both in Masters Jumpers and both with Dally.
Here are the courses, starting with Standard on Saturday and the two Jumpers courses (sorry, I can't find Sunday's Standard):
Monday, September 9, 2013
Dally's Weekend at Derby City
As much of a high as I had from LaMesa's weekend at the Derby City Agility Association trial in Louisville, things weren't as happy with Dally's weekend.
Remember my post earlier about battling age in Dally? Well, Thursday morning as I was taking the girls out for a walk, Dally came up limping...again. So we made another appointment to see the chiropractor...again. And I worried about possibly pulling her out of the trial...again.
At the appointment, it was discovered that she had a swollen disc in her neck. We think it's a combination of Dally jumping down from the bed, plus the slight tugs on her collar when we're walking. (I don't jerk on my dogs, ever. However, when I take the Stump Kids for a walk, Dally will be behind me and sometimes suddenly stop, causing me to accidentally jerk a little on her because I'm not aware of her stopping, since LaMesa is leading the way.)
The chiropractor recommended not taking her for walks with a collar, but with a harness, and rest. But in order to try to get her ready for the trial in a couple of days, we did some adjustments to her neck/spine, cold laser therapy, and then added Traumeel every four hours to help with inflammation. I also held ice packs around her neck for 10 minutes a few times a day Thursday-Sunday.
Friday morning, the chiropractor stopped by for another laser therapy treatment, and she was already improving, so we decided to give the trial a go. If she took any lame step, I'd pull her.
However, I didn't account for how hot the facility would be. While Dally would warm up and be excited to run...her runs were so slow. They were actually reminiscent of the "old Dally"--the one that wasn't confident or fast. We qualified in all the runs we did, but they were slow--we maybe got 9 points in Masters Standard on Saturday, 0 points in Masters Jumpers (she stopped the clock at 50.3, standard course time was 51) on Saturday, and 3 or 4 in Masters Standard on Sunday.
Saturday's Masters Standard 4" run:
Saturday's Masters Jumpers 4" run:
I talked to so many people Saturday night about what I should do with Dally. I took her home and let her relax in the air conditioning that night. I kept on the half a Traumeel every 4 hours, and iced her neck two or three times that night. It was decided to play it by ear on Sunday--hopefully the place would be cooler and she would be better.
I couldn't determine if it was the heat or her neck that was bothering her. I felt like if her neck was really bothering her, she wouldn't have been jumping around, chasing her tennie, and barking for treats like she was. Would she? I didn't think she would. I mean, if you're hurting, you avoid what hurts you...right?
Sunday dawned with lots of hope. She seemed peppier than Saturday. The facility felt cooler. So, we gave it a go.
Sunday's Standard Masters 4":
We only earned three or four PACH points... A far cry from the 25-28 we usually earn in standard.
I let her rest, then later I took her for a walk to go potty. When she came out of her crate, she took an odd step--I wasn't sure if it was a limp from her neck, or a limp from awkwardly laying on her frozen water bottle I had in her crate. She walked it out after a while, but I wanted a second and third opinion. I had Merinda and Jodi watch Dally walk towards and away from them--she was moving straight. But once I turned her in a sharp 180, she bobbled and took another limping step. That was it--I pulled her from jumpers.
It felt weird walking the Jumpers course for only one dog--LaMesa. It felt weird watching my fellow 4-inchers get ready to run and not have Dally. It felt weird not having my agility partner of 5 years with me, apping for her treats.
But then I felt horrible for the weekend--did I make the wrong decision to continue running Dally? It was the perfect storm of issues--disc problem on Thursday, worry about that, extreme heat inside the facility, lack of air flow... Who knows if Dally was reacting to the heat, or her neck. The chiropractor felt that the heat probably didn't help the disc.
She's since recovered from the problem, though she's on one more week of rest (as prescribed by myself). I'll probably write a little more about the disc problem in a proceeding post.
Have you ever had to make a difficult decision at game time?
Remember my post earlier about battling age in Dally? Well, Thursday morning as I was taking the girls out for a walk, Dally came up limping...again. So we made another appointment to see the chiropractor...again. And I worried about possibly pulling her out of the trial...again.
At the appointment, it was discovered that she had a swollen disc in her neck. We think it's a combination of Dally jumping down from the bed, plus the slight tugs on her collar when we're walking. (I don't jerk on my dogs, ever. However, when I take the Stump Kids for a walk, Dally will be behind me and sometimes suddenly stop, causing me to accidentally jerk a little on her because I'm not aware of her stopping, since LaMesa is leading the way.)
The chiropractor recommended not taking her for walks with a collar, but with a harness, and rest. But in order to try to get her ready for the trial in a couple of days, we did some adjustments to her neck/spine, cold laser therapy, and then added Traumeel every four hours to help with inflammation. I also held ice packs around her neck for 10 minutes a few times a day Thursday-Sunday.
Friday morning, the chiropractor stopped by for another laser therapy treatment, and she was already improving, so we decided to give the trial a go. If she took any lame step, I'd pull her.
However, I didn't account for how hot the facility would be. While Dally would warm up and be excited to run...her runs were so slow. They were actually reminiscent of the "old Dally"--the one that wasn't confident or fast. We qualified in all the runs we did, but they were slow--we maybe got 9 points in Masters Standard on Saturday, 0 points in Masters Jumpers (she stopped the clock at 50.3, standard course time was 51) on Saturday, and 3 or 4 in Masters Standard on Sunday.
Saturday's Masters Standard 4" run:
Saturday's Masters Jumpers 4" run:
I talked to so many people Saturday night about what I should do with Dally. I took her home and let her relax in the air conditioning that night. I kept on the half a Traumeel every 4 hours, and iced her neck two or three times that night. It was decided to play it by ear on Sunday--hopefully the place would be cooler and she would be better.
I couldn't determine if it was the heat or her neck that was bothering her. I felt like if her neck was really bothering her, she wouldn't have been jumping around, chasing her tennie, and barking for treats like she was. Would she? I didn't think she would. I mean, if you're hurting, you avoid what hurts you...right?
Sunday dawned with lots of hope. She seemed peppier than Saturday. The facility felt cooler. So, we gave it a go.
Sunday's Standard Masters 4":
We only earned three or four PACH points... A far cry from the 25-28 we usually earn in standard.
I let her rest, then later I took her for a walk to go potty. When she came out of her crate, she took an odd step--I wasn't sure if it was a limp from her neck, or a limp from awkwardly laying on her frozen water bottle I had in her crate. She walked it out after a while, but I wanted a second and third opinion. I had Merinda and Jodi watch Dally walk towards and away from them--she was moving straight. But once I turned her in a sharp 180, she bobbled and took another limping step. That was it--I pulled her from jumpers.
It felt weird walking the Jumpers course for only one dog--LaMesa. It felt weird watching my fellow 4-inchers get ready to run and not have Dally. It felt weird not having my agility partner of 5 years with me, apping for her treats.
But then I felt horrible for the weekend--did I make the wrong decision to continue running Dally? It was the perfect storm of issues--disc problem on Thursday, worry about that, extreme heat inside the facility, lack of air flow... Who knows if Dally was reacting to the heat, or her neck. The chiropractor felt that the heat probably didn't help the disc.
She's since recovered from the problem, though she's on one more week of rest (as prescribed by myself). I'll probably write a little more about the disc problem in a proceeding post.
Have you ever had to make a difficult decision at game time?
Thursday, September 5, 2013
LaMesa Pulls Through--1 Heckuva Weekend for the Vallhund
I can't believe I am just now writing this blog post! Anyway, this past weekend was one heckuva weekend for my little Vallhund--I am so proud of her!
We travelled to a new facility for the Derby City Agility Association's Labor Day trial. This place was more in Louisville (whereas Buckner was outside of the city), but it wasn't too far of a drive--just 80 minutes or so, give or take some speed limits. The Mockingbird Valley Soccer Complex was very nice--great footing (no slipping, very cushy), however it is not air conditioned. The facility manager swore they can keep the building comfortable with their Big Ass Fans and "climate-controlled roof", but I don't think they were prepared for the cramped crating around the outside of the fields, which didn't get much air flow. But, I have to say, they worked very hard to add fans to blow air down the aisles. I had packed the girls' two fans, and froze a water bottle for Dally to lay on, but it was still unbearable. (More on Dally in a following post.)
LaMesa handled the heat very well, though--she amazes me what she can handle.
I had just two goals for LaMesa this weekend, and though they were maybe pretty lofty goals, I had a feeling we could do it--she's been training so well! The goals were to finish both her Excellent Standard and Excellent Jumpers titles. We needed one leg in each.
Saturday morning's Standard run was so nice...except I didn't trust her enough to do a rear cross after the A-Frame and was too slow on my front cross to direct her to the jump. So we had to do a little loop (refusal) to the jump, but everywhere else she was clean and fast--even her weaves! While it wasn't a Q, she still had the fastest time of all the 4 and 8 inch dogs!
The jumpers run was smooth. I learned from my mistake of not trusting LaMesa enough that I ran the course with almost all rear crosses (it was the type of course where you either had to do a lot of rears or a lot of blinds to a smooth run). She rewarded my trust with a Q, first place, and her AXJ! The difficult angle of the weaves off the triple jump was no match for "the Bitz"!
Sunday morning had a lot of call-offs in Standard--you really had to have your dog in tune with you so they wouldn't take an off-course. This run seemed like it went by way too fast and was way too easy--but Georgette told me those are the types of runs that tells you that you're finally a team, and it's finally clicked. And boy did we click. That run finished her AX title with another first place!
Her first foray in Masters Jumpers saw her tire out a little on a winding course. She knocked two bars (first time since she's been moved to 8-inch Regular)--the first bar was by a rear toe it looks like, the second she just took off too early I think. But she still nailed her weaves the first time, and was pretty fast--she would have placed 3rd in a very fast 8-inch Jumpers class with a time of 31 something.
So I've already moved LaMesa up to Masters for our next trials. I'm so excited to finally have her up to earning MACH points, QQs (which we have yet to Q in both Standard and Jumpers the same day, ever, in our career together, so who knows when that first QQ will happen), and see if we can get up in the points for the AKC Invitational! I know I have a great athlete and a superstar agility Vallhund in the making, and now I'll finally get to start showing it. But I also have to remind myself to take it day by day with LaMesa, not to get too cocky, and to remember we're still not a solid team--I make mistakes, which makes her make the same mistakes. But a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders--it's been over a year that we've been in Excellent, so it's nice to finally move up.
She's pretty proud of herself, too:
We travelled to a new facility for the Derby City Agility Association's Labor Day trial. This place was more in Louisville (whereas Buckner was outside of the city), but it wasn't too far of a drive--just 80 minutes or so, give or take some speed limits. The Mockingbird Valley Soccer Complex was very nice--great footing (no slipping, very cushy), however it is not air conditioned. The facility manager swore they can keep the building comfortable with their Big Ass Fans and "climate-controlled roof", but I don't think they were prepared for the cramped crating around the outside of the fields, which didn't get much air flow. But, I have to say, they worked very hard to add fans to blow air down the aisles. I had packed the girls' two fans, and froze a water bottle for Dally to lay on, but it was still unbearable. (More on Dally in a following post.)
LaMesa handled the heat very well, though--she amazes me what she can handle.
I had just two goals for LaMesa this weekend, and though they were maybe pretty lofty goals, I had a feeling we could do it--she's been training so well! The goals were to finish both her Excellent Standard and Excellent Jumpers titles. We needed one leg in each.
Saturday morning's Standard run was so nice...except I didn't trust her enough to do a rear cross after the A-Frame and was too slow on my front cross to direct her to the jump. So we had to do a little loop (refusal) to the jump, but everywhere else she was clean and fast--even her weaves! While it wasn't a Q, she still had the fastest time of all the 4 and 8 inch dogs!
The jumpers run was smooth. I learned from my mistake of not trusting LaMesa enough that I ran the course with almost all rear crosses (it was the type of course where you either had to do a lot of rears or a lot of blinds to a smooth run). She rewarded my trust with a Q, first place, and her AXJ! The difficult angle of the weaves off the triple jump was no match for "the Bitz"!
Sunday morning had a lot of call-offs in Standard--you really had to have your dog in tune with you so they wouldn't take an off-course. This run seemed like it went by way too fast and was way too easy--but Georgette told me those are the types of runs that tells you that you're finally a team, and it's finally clicked. And boy did we click. That run finished her AX title with another first place!
Her first foray in Masters Jumpers saw her tire out a little on a winding course. She knocked two bars (first time since she's been moved to 8-inch Regular)--the first bar was by a rear toe it looks like, the second she just took off too early I think. But she still nailed her weaves the first time, and was pretty fast--she would have placed 3rd in a very fast 8-inch Jumpers class with a time of 31 something.
So I've already moved LaMesa up to Masters for our next trials. I'm so excited to finally have her up to earning MACH points, QQs (which we have yet to Q in both Standard and Jumpers the same day, ever, in our career together, so who knows when that first QQ will happen), and see if we can get up in the points for the AKC Invitational! I know I have a great athlete and a superstar agility Vallhund in the making, and now I'll finally get to start showing it. But I also have to remind myself to take it day by day with LaMesa, not to get too cocky, and to remember we're still not a solid team--I make mistakes, which makes her make the same mistakes. But a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders--it's been over a year that we've been in Excellent, so it's nice to finally move up.
She's pretty proud of herself, too:
Monday, July 22, 2013
Close Calls
At our July AKC agility trial held at Queen City Dog Training Club, we had four really tough courses. I love the ones that make you think, except when I'm stressing about LaMesa and wanting a Q. But, still, they make you think of how you can help your dog through the course in the most efficient matter.
I've decided I need to start taking copies of the course maps and taking photos of them for the blog to share, so you know how the course is laid out. Unfortunately, I think I threw the maps from this trial away. Oops. Blogger fail. Sorry about that, folks.
Saturday's Excellent/Masters course started off with a tough opening. It involved a 180 that you had to call your dog off an inviting off course tunnel. I didn't really get to see how the tall dos handled it, but I knew I wanted to handle it with a Ketschker. I've been working on those with LaMesa a lot lately, and a little with Dally (Dally doesn't get some of this "new-fangled" agility stuff like backside jumps, Ketschkers, etc., but she somewhat does them). I saw a few handlers do them successfully, so I did mine with LaMesa and it came out beautifully (I was a little over-exaggerated on my handling for it with her, but it still worked). Dally, though, saw the tunnel and tried to go towards there, so I changed my handling and did a front cross to call her back. She came back just fine, just burned up part of a second.
In this run, I felt strong about LaMesa's chances for that ever-so-rare Q. When she nailed her weaves I knew if we could just keep the bars up, we had it. She was right on point with everything, until the second-to-last jump when I should have supported it just a split second longer...and she pulled off. I was heartsick. I thought we had it. So frustrating.
Dally ended up with a QQ on Saturday with some great runs--you couldn't tell she had been on the injury reserve list for three weeks before the run! LaMesa and I struggled with an off-course and missed weaves in Standard.
Sunday was a frustrating day. LaMesa never again got close to nailing her weaves the rest of the weekend. And Dally and I had some miscommunication on a wrap in Standard that blew another QQ. (A lot of dogs were struggling with that wrap, of all sizes.)
I didn't upload Dally's runs from Sunday, but here is LaMesa's attempt at Standard, which shows the difficult wrap that we also messed up on.
I know the wraps was my fault with both girls--I just need to work those more. It's so hard to go from fast forward motion to a quick wrap around to the table like this calls for--the sudden stop of forward motion from me causes both LaMesa and Dally to stop right in front of the jump. There's that fine line in a wrap where you can go too far and risk a back jump, or not enough and risk a refusal. I just need to find that line.
We're off trials until September now--money is very tight with some circumstances, so we're taking a break and hope to get back on track soon. Dally has all of her Qs and QQs for her 2014 AKC Nationals qualification and she just needs less than 200 points to wrap it all up. With taking a full month off, I'm not sure we can get it now, but who knows. She's been running really well lately (as you can tell in this video from Saturday's Standard run):
I've decided I need to start taking copies of the course maps and taking photos of them for the blog to share, so you know how the course is laid out. Unfortunately, I think I threw the maps from this trial away. Oops. Blogger fail. Sorry about that, folks.
Saturday's Excellent/Masters course started off with a tough opening. It involved a 180 that you had to call your dog off an inviting off course tunnel. I didn't really get to see how the tall dos handled it, but I knew I wanted to handle it with a Ketschker. I've been working on those with LaMesa a lot lately, and a little with Dally (Dally doesn't get some of this "new-fangled" agility stuff like backside jumps, Ketschkers, etc., but she somewhat does them). I saw a few handlers do them successfully, so I did mine with LaMesa and it came out beautifully (I was a little over-exaggerated on my handling for it with her, but it still worked). Dally, though, saw the tunnel and tried to go towards there, so I changed my handling and did a front cross to call her back. She came back just fine, just burned up part of a second.
In this run, I felt strong about LaMesa's chances for that ever-so-rare Q. When she nailed her weaves I knew if we could just keep the bars up, we had it. She was right on point with everything, until the second-to-last jump when I should have supported it just a split second longer...and she pulled off. I was heartsick. I thought we had it. So frustrating.
Dally ended up with a QQ on Saturday with some great runs--you couldn't tell she had been on the injury reserve list for three weeks before the run! LaMesa and I struggled with an off-course and missed weaves in Standard.
Sunday was a frustrating day. LaMesa never again got close to nailing her weaves the rest of the weekend. And Dally and I had some miscommunication on a wrap in Standard that blew another QQ. (A lot of dogs were struggling with that wrap, of all sizes.)
I didn't upload Dally's runs from Sunday, but here is LaMesa's attempt at Standard, which shows the difficult wrap that we also messed up on.
I know the wraps was my fault with both girls--I just need to work those more. It's so hard to go from fast forward motion to a quick wrap around to the table like this calls for--the sudden stop of forward motion from me causes both LaMesa and Dally to stop right in front of the jump. There's that fine line in a wrap where you can go too far and risk a back jump, or not enough and risk a refusal. I just need to find that line.
We're off trials until September now--money is very tight with some circumstances, so we're taking a break and hope to get back on track soon. Dally has all of her Qs and QQs for her 2014 AKC Nationals qualification and she just needs less than 200 points to wrap it all up. With taking a full month off, I'm not sure we can get it now, but who knows. She's been running really well lately (as you can tell in this video from Saturday's Standard run):
Friday, July 5, 2013
Results from the June Trials
For the month of June, I hit up one day at the Derby City Agility Association's trial in Buckner, Ky., and then just five days later I hit up three days at the Hoosier Kennel Club trial in Indianapolis, Ind.
At the Buckner trial, Dally was her usual rock star self, pulling out a QQ. The courses were fun--I was able to do all blind crosses on the jumpers course with Dally. Each presented a challenge where the ending wasn't really the end, because the dog would have to come back around after jumping near the exit. Endings like that can be pretty difficult for dogs because they get in a habit that as they come down the final line, they kind-of know when the last jump is. But with courses such as the Buckner courses, the handler really needs to cue to the dog to come back around because they're not done. For me, it's more of exaggerating the cues for the next obstacle and calling their attention to the fact that we're still going. Both Dally and LaMesa handled that pretty well.
With Buckner being LaMesa's last trial jumping 12", it comes as no surprise that she knocked a couple of bars. But there were also a few times where we'd miss cues, plus she'd miss her weave pole entries. It was a frustrating day for Team Vallhund, but my spirits were raised when we got our last challenge measurement so she could jump 8-inches from now on.
Hoosier Kennel Club
The next weekend we travelled North to Indianapolis for my dad's trial. My dad's the secretary for the Hoosier Kennel Club, so I always show in their trial all three days because I help keep the trial moving forward. It's always an exhausting weekend for me and the pups (they show all three days, plus I show them in FAST when it's offered).
Dally was a perfect 3-for-3 for QQs! I was so proud of her hanging in there and rocking the courses. Again I was able to run with a good amount of blind crosses in, which has been great for Dally--they really drive her forward more. I just know I need to get to my spot faster and cue her better, but thankfully she's a little more forgiving because she's seasoned.
Dally's debut in Open FAST wasn't as successful, though. Dally's just not a distance dog--she knows that if I'm not there to support the obstacle, she doesn't have to do it. Friday's course had jump-teeter-tunnel for the send, and she refused the teeter. Oh well! Saturday I thought would be easier, with jump-tunnel-jump, but she went in the wrong end of the tunnel. I wasn't made or frustrated. I know that I don't work her on distance sends any more, so you can't fault her. She's definitely no Porter!
LaMesa made her trial debut in 8-inches at the Hoosier. Friday we ended up getting a gift-Q. What's ironic is that at one of the previous trials my friends and I were talking about gift-Qs and how almost everyone had gotten one, except for me. Someone commented that in your agility career you'll get gift-Qs and you'll have Qs taken away from you when they shouldn't have, so at some time it'll all even out. So when LaMesa missed her weave pole entrance the first time in Excellent Standard, but I immediately put her back in, I figured we had NQd (the rest of the course was clean and well-run). My dad then told me that we had in fact Qd. The judge even reviewed the sheets and approved the results. Did I feel like I should have gone up to her and said that LaMesa missed her weave entrance? Maybe. But, to be honest, I had just gone through a hellish 24 hours (I lost my job the day before) and was already an emotional mess. After conferring with friends, I decided to let it go. (Zipping up the fire suit now...)
But LaMesa did actually earn her first Novice FAST Q on Friday by nailing her course, so she ended up with two Qs on the weekend.
LaMesa's problems the whole weekend was mostly weave pole entries. There was one or two times that she nailed the entrance the first time, but most of the time it was a missed chance. I finally decided to start picking her up if she missed her entrance--that it wasn't a game to keep running around if we don't do our job (weave). After doing this once or twice, our last run she nailed the weaves. So maybe it got through to her.
Now we've been working on weaves in the back yard for short bursts of time throughout the days, and she's getting very consistent. She's even nailing them in class at both BFO and Shamrock Acres. This weekend will be the true test if she'll nail them at Queen City.
(Sorry I don't have the videos from these trials--I've lost the cord for my camera for the Buckner trials, and Matt has the Hoosier runs on his iPad and they haven't been uploaded to YouTube yet. But I'd like to show you some of them as soon as I can.)
At the Buckner trial, Dally was her usual rock star self, pulling out a QQ. The courses were fun--I was able to do all blind crosses on the jumpers course with Dally. Each presented a challenge where the ending wasn't really the end, because the dog would have to come back around after jumping near the exit. Endings like that can be pretty difficult for dogs because they get in a habit that as they come down the final line, they kind-of know when the last jump is. But with courses such as the Buckner courses, the handler really needs to cue to the dog to come back around because they're not done. For me, it's more of exaggerating the cues for the next obstacle and calling their attention to the fact that we're still going. Both Dally and LaMesa handled that pretty well.
With Buckner being LaMesa's last trial jumping 12", it comes as no surprise that she knocked a couple of bars. But there were also a few times where we'd miss cues, plus she'd miss her weave pole entries. It was a frustrating day for Team Vallhund, but my spirits were raised when we got our last challenge measurement so she could jump 8-inches from now on.
Hoosier Kennel Club
The next weekend we travelled North to Indianapolis for my dad's trial. My dad's the secretary for the Hoosier Kennel Club, so I always show in their trial all three days because I help keep the trial moving forward. It's always an exhausting weekend for me and the pups (they show all three days, plus I show them in FAST when it's offered).
Dally was a perfect 3-for-3 for QQs! I was so proud of her hanging in there and rocking the courses. Again I was able to run with a good amount of blind crosses in, which has been great for Dally--they really drive her forward more. I just know I need to get to my spot faster and cue her better, but thankfully she's a little more forgiving because she's seasoned.
Dally's debut in Open FAST wasn't as successful, though. Dally's just not a distance dog--she knows that if I'm not there to support the obstacle, she doesn't have to do it. Friday's course had jump-teeter-tunnel for the send, and she refused the teeter. Oh well! Saturday I thought would be easier, with jump-tunnel-jump, but she went in the wrong end of the tunnel. I wasn't made or frustrated. I know that I don't work her on distance sends any more, so you can't fault her. She's definitely no Porter!
.JPG) |
| Three days--8 runs--can wear out a Corg! |
LaMesa made her trial debut in 8-inches at the Hoosier. Friday we ended up getting a gift-Q. What's ironic is that at one of the previous trials my friends and I were talking about gift-Qs and how almost everyone had gotten one, except for me. Someone commented that in your agility career you'll get gift-Qs and you'll have Qs taken away from you when they shouldn't have, so at some time it'll all even out. So when LaMesa missed her weave pole entrance the first time in Excellent Standard, but I immediately put her back in, I figured we had NQd (the rest of the course was clean and well-run). My dad then told me that we had in fact Qd. The judge even reviewed the sheets and approved the results. Did I feel like I should have gone up to her and said that LaMesa missed her weave entrance? Maybe. But, to be honest, I had just gone through a hellish 24 hours (I lost my job the day before) and was already an emotional mess. After conferring with friends, I decided to let it go. (Zipping up the fire suit now...)
But LaMesa did actually earn her first Novice FAST Q on Friday by nailing her course, so she ended up with two Qs on the weekend.
LaMesa's problems the whole weekend was mostly weave pole entries. There was one or two times that she nailed the entrance the first time, but most of the time it was a missed chance. I finally decided to start picking her up if she missed her entrance--that it wasn't a game to keep running around if we don't do our job (weave). After doing this once or twice, our last run she nailed the weaves. So maybe it got through to her.
.JPG) |
| Naughty Vallhund after being carried off the course in the "Walk of Shame" after missing her weave entry. |
(Sorry I don't have the videos from these trials--I've lost the cord for my camera for the Buckner trials, and Matt has the Hoosier runs on his iPad and they haven't been uploaded to YouTube yet. But I'd like to show you some of them as soon as I can.)
Saturday, May 25, 2013
LaMesa's (Frustrating) Trip at Hamilton
With Dally, I expect to qualify during a trial with her. It hasn't always been that way, but now she's known as "Dependable Dally". (Though she does keep me grounded at times, don't worry--I can't get cocky with her.)
(Our Standard run on Saturday I left out about four obstacles. Don't ask me what I was thinking--I had just run that course perfectly with Dally. But I figured out that I was off course by the time we hit the table. Oops. Oh well, it was a good laugh for all of us.)
Sunday's runs with LaMesa were probably the most frustrating I've had in a while. Standard started with another weave pole pop-out, followed by a few missed obstacles. She did nail a tough discrimination that her sister didn't make, so that was a positive.
Finally in Jumpers, just when I was losing all hope, we somehow pulled off that rare Qualifying run. That's right--no "just one thing", no knocked bars, no popped-out weaves.
It felt good to know we actually can put together a full, clean, smooth run. I know we still have a lot to work on--my timing is off with my front crosses with her now that I'm doing those more than rears. I had wanted to throw in a blind with that course like I did with Dally's run, but I wasn't fast enough because I was worried to take my eyes off of her. I need to trust her, and she needs to focus a little more on the obstacles than me.
So now we'll work on weave pole boot camp and a few other things. We will be doing one day at the Derby City Agility Association's trial next weekend, then three days at the Hoosier Kennel Club trial (my dad's trial) the weekend after. We'll also be attempting FAST again for the first time since I first trialled LaMesa at the Hoosier, so that ought to be interesting.
But with LaMesa, it's a crapshoot if we'll qualify or not. We're still not 100% a team and still trying to figure each other out. That's OK--she's only 3. It just some times gets frustrating when I see other "young" teams very successful. But I know that time will come for us, too....soon....I hope.
Hamilton was a frustrating weekend with LaMesa. We're back to having weave pole issues. Whomp whomp. It's back to weave pole boot camp.
Case in point, our Excellent 12" Jumpers course on Saturday:
(Our Standard run on Saturday I left out about four obstacles. Don't ask me what I was thinking--I had just run that course perfectly with Dally. But I figured out that I was off course by the time we hit the table. Oops. Oh well, it was a good laugh for all of us.)
Sunday's runs with LaMesa were probably the most frustrating I've had in a while. Standard started with another weave pole pop-out, followed by a few missed obstacles. She did nail a tough discrimination that her sister didn't make, so that was a positive.
Finally in Jumpers, just when I was losing all hope, we somehow pulled off that rare Qualifying run. That's right--no "just one thing", no knocked bars, no popped-out weaves.
It felt good to know we actually can put together a full, clean, smooth run. I know we still have a lot to work on--my timing is off with my front crosses with her now that I'm doing those more than rears. I had wanted to throw in a blind with that course like I did with Dally's run, but I wasn't fast enough because I was worried to take my eyes off of her. I need to trust her, and she needs to focus a little more on the obstacles than me.
So now we'll work on weave pole boot camp and a few other things. We will be doing one day at the Derby City Agility Association's trial next weekend, then three days at the Hoosier Kennel Club trial (my dad's trial) the weekend after. We'll also be attempting FAST again for the first time since I first trialled LaMesa at the Hoosier, so that ought to be interesting.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Trying to Find That Q Groove
This past weekend the girls and I loaded up with the Brews Brothers and headed to Sharonville, Ohio, for the Queen City AKC Agility Trial. Trials have been few and far between lately (cutting back due to expenses), so every trial we're excited to get into and go!
I just wanted to have some fun, clean runs with the girls. Saturday started a little rough in Jumpers--LaMesa was clean, except for knocking a few bars, and Dally took an off-course tunnel entrance, followed by me getting discombobulated and lost on the course, trying to throw in a blind cross one jump too soon....oops. Oh well. The Standard saw more knocked bars, on a hard 90* from triple to double, for LaMesa, but she nailed her weaves again!
In Jumpers on Saturday, LaMesa struggled with a 180 when I should have maybe held my position for a split second longer. I thought she was committed to the jump, so I made my front cross and moved and she pulled off the jump. However, she (we) redeemed herself (ourselves) in the Standard with an equally-hard 180 and serpentine that I was so proud of her for:
Jumpers:
Standard:
And, now for your comic review, me and Dally's Jumpers run for Saturday:
I'll post the wrap-up of Sunday's runs a little later.
I just wanted to have some fun, clean runs with the girls. Saturday started a little rough in Jumpers--LaMesa was clean, except for knocking a few bars, and Dally took an off-course tunnel entrance, followed by me getting discombobulated and lost on the course, trying to throw in a blind cross one jump too soon....oops. Oh well. The Standard saw more knocked bars, on a hard 90* from triple to double, for LaMesa, but she nailed her weaves again!
In Jumpers on Saturday, LaMesa struggled with a 180 when I should have maybe held my position for a split second longer. I thought she was committed to the jump, so I made my front cross and moved and she pulled off the jump. However, she (we) redeemed herself (ourselves) in the Standard with an equally-hard 180 and serpentine that I was so proud of her for:
Jumpers:
Standard:
And, now for your comic review, me and Dally's Jumpers run for Saturday:
I'll post the wrap-up of Sunday's runs a little later.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Dusty, Dirty, & Chilly - Ohio Agility Trial
This weekend found the Stump Kids and me in Springfield, Ohio, at the Gem City AKC Agility Trial playing in the dirt at the Champions Center. It was two days of lots of dust and dirt, with some chilly breezes outside. The arena's heated (thankfully), but the crating area was still a little chilly, which meant the dogs all felt good when it was finally their time to run.
The trial was running tall to small, so Jodi and I headed up Saturday morning. We took our time, but apparently we didn't take enough time, because when we showed up at 10:30, the 20-inch dogs were still walking the course! Needless to say, it was a long day--I didn't get to do my first run with LaMesa until 2:30 on Saturday.
The one thing I hate about this trial is how it runs. One ring is always behind while the other is always ahead. Both Saturday and Sunday was a day of waiting, waiting, waiting, then hustle! I'd run LaMesa in Standard and watch my friends run 8-inches, then hurry to get Dally to run. After Dally's run I'd have to get her back to the crate quickly (no Corgi Cooldown) and hustle over to the Jumpers ring because they were walking the 12"-4" class while we were still finishing up in the Standard ring! So we'd be done within a couple of hours, after spending many hours waiting all day! Way too crazy.
Anyway, LaMesa's runs on Saturday weren't as good as I had hoped they'd be. I was still on a high from our weekend in Nashville, so I was hoping she'd repeat with solid weaves. Both runs saw her slipping in the loose dirt and coming out of the weaves. (She'd nail her entries, though.) Both times I stopped, froze, waited for her to offer the weaves, and then we'd start the weaves over, and she'd do all 12 just fine. So, no Qs on Saturday, but she handled things very well.
Sunday I made sure I decelerated more for her weaves in hopes she wouldn't slip/trip out of them like the previous day. We got our first Excellent Standard Q on a great run (and first place) with a 44.64/68! The second to last jump I heard her tick and I was afraid that meant the triple (last jump) was going to come down, but every jump stayed up!
In Jumpers, I ended up losing her behind me as she tried to go back to the weaves a second time (she was solid in them), but I called her back to me (no refusal) and sent her to the next jump. Unfortunately the next jump was the double, and her rhythm was off, so down came the jump. Otherwise, it was a great fast run, and I was happy with how she handled everything. It just goes to show that when you train weaves so much, they'll always want to go to them on the course! ;-)
Dally's weekend was one of mixed emotions as well. She Qd in Masters Standard on Saturday, but with a rather slow time, coming out with only 8 PACH points (she usually averages around 15 in Standard). I had to take her back to her crate quickly, which meant no cooldown or tennie toss (but I did give her some SPAM), so I could walk the Jumpers course. She must have not approved of that because when it came time for her to run in Jumpers, she walked out of the weaves. So, I sent her back in them again and after about 8 she just came out of them. I didn't know what else to do, so I just took off running and made her run. It was a great opportunity to work on some blind crosses, though, so I'll take that as a learning opportunity.
Sunday saw a faster Dally in Standard--she was rocking it and came out of the ring with 25 PACH points! She even weaved quickly and looked like she was having fun. This time I made sure to take a little extra time with her afterwards (but not too much, unfortunately) and let her eat some SPAM and get a little extra love before I had to put her in the crate and rush to walk Jumpers. I had hoped that'd fix everything, but in Jumpers she once again walked out of the weaves. I was at a point where I wasn't sure if I should put her back in the weaves, pick her up and walk out, or just run. I just ran and made her keep up with me.
If anyone knows my history with Dally and agility, it's been a long road to have her enjoy agility and to run happy. She's a soft dog (though that Corgi exterior tries to cover that), so it's a fine line to try to tell her she was wrong in what she did. I watched my videos--I didn't do anything out of the ordinary for her to come out of the weaves. If this wasn't our last trial before AKC Nationals, then I probably would have carried her out of the ring and hope that we could work through the problem at the next trial. But, we aren't going anywhere until we head West to Tulsa, so I wanted last experience in the ring to be a positive one. So from now until Nationals, I'm going to be doing a little more intensive training with her and hope she'll have her act together by the time we step in the ring. She was naughty at our last trial before Nationals last year and then made up for it in Reno, so let's hope she does the same this year...
The trial was running tall to small, so Jodi and I headed up Saturday morning. We took our time, but apparently we didn't take enough time, because when we showed up at 10:30, the 20-inch dogs were still walking the course! Needless to say, it was a long day--I didn't get to do my first run with LaMesa until 2:30 on Saturday.
The one thing I hate about this trial is how it runs. One ring is always behind while the other is always ahead. Both Saturday and Sunday was a day of waiting, waiting, waiting, then hustle! I'd run LaMesa in Standard and watch my friends run 8-inches, then hurry to get Dally to run. After Dally's run I'd have to get her back to the crate quickly (no Corgi Cooldown) and hustle over to the Jumpers ring because they were walking the 12"-4" class while we were still finishing up in the Standard ring! So we'd be done within a couple of hours, after spending many hours waiting all day! Way too crazy.
Anyway, LaMesa's runs on Saturday weren't as good as I had hoped they'd be. I was still on a high from our weekend in Nashville, so I was hoping she'd repeat with solid weaves. Both runs saw her slipping in the loose dirt and coming out of the weaves. (She'd nail her entries, though.) Both times I stopped, froze, waited for her to offer the weaves, and then we'd start the weaves over, and she'd do all 12 just fine. So, no Qs on Saturday, but she handled things very well.
Sunday I made sure I decelerated more for her weaves in hopes she wouldn't slip/trip out of them like the previous day. We got our first Excellent Standard Q on a great run (and first place) with a 44.64/68! The second to last jump I heard her tick and I was afraid that meant the triple (last jump) was going to come down, but every jump stayed up!
In Jumpers, I ended up losing her behind me as she tried to go back to the weaves a second time (she was solid in them), but I called her back to me (no refusal) and sent her to the next jump. Unfortunately the next jump was the double, and her rhythm was off, so down came the jump. Otherwise, it was a great fast run, and I was happy with how she handled everything. It just goes to show that when you train weaves so much, they'll always want to go to them on the course! ;-)
Dally's weekend was one of mixed emotions as well. She Qd in Masters Standard on Saturday, but with a rather slow time, coming out with only 8 PACH points (she usually averages around 15 in Standard). I had to take her back to her crate quickly, which meant no cooldown or tennie toss (but I did give her some SPAM), so I could walk the Jumpers course. She must have not approved of that because when it came time for her to run in Jumpers, she walked out of the weaves. So, I sent her back in them again and after about 8 she just came out of them. I didn't know what else to do, so I just took off running and made her run. It was a great opportunity to work on some blind crosses, though, so I'll take that as a learning opportunity.
Sunday saw a faster Dally in Standard--she was rocking it and came out of the ring with 25 PACH points! She even weaved quickly and looked like she was having fun. This time I made sure to take a little extra time with her afterwards (but not too much, unfortunately) and let her eat some SPAM and get a little extra love before I had to put her in the crate and rush to walk Jumpers. I had hoped that'd fix everything, but in Jumpers she once again walked out of the weaves. I was at a point where I wasn't sure if I should put her back in the weaves, pick her up and walk out, or just run. I just ran and made her keep up with me.
If anyone knows my history with Dally and agility, it's been a long road to have her enjoy agility and to run happy. She's a soft dog (though that Corgi exterior tries to cover that), so it's a fine line to try to tell her she was wrong in what she did. I watched my videos--I didn't do anything out of the ordinary for her to come out of the weaves. If this wasn't our last trial before AKC Nationals, then I probably would have carried her out of the ring and hope that we could work through the problem at the next trial. But, we aren't going anywhere until we head West to Tulsa, so I wanted last experience in the ring to be a positive one. So from now until Nationals, I'm going to be doing a little more intensive training with her and hope she'll have her act together by the time we step in the ring. She was naughty at our last trial before Nationals last year and then made up for it in Reno, so let's hope she does the same this year...
Friday, February 8, 2013
LaMesa's Little Sister
While we were in Tennessee for the agility trial a couple weeks ago, I got to finally watch LaMesa's little sister run! Flicka share the same mom and dad as LaMesa, but she's about a year younger. The two look similar, but Flicka is built more like their father and LaMesa more like their momma. She's owned by Sally, who has done awesome things with her--she finished her AKC Championship (and possibly her Grand Championship) in conformation, started in herding, and won "Most Versatile Vallhund" at the 2012 Swedish Vallhund Club of America's National Specialty in Texas in October.
Flicka competed in Open Jumpers and Excellent Standard on Sunday, so the girls were competing against each other in standard. I enjoyed watching Flicka have a good ole time in Open Jumpers. She got sucked into the tunnel vortex, which reminded me of the time LaMesa did that at the last NADAC trial we went to.
By the time we competed in Excellent Standard, I think Flicka was a little worn out and stressed out (she had competed Thursday and Friday, but Sally gave her Saturday off). She doesn't take off confidently like LaMesa does, but she jumps about the same.
It's interesting because Flicka is very confident and loves everybody! She's not shy when it comes to other dogs or people--she'll get right up there to play. But LaMesa is shy when it comes to other dogs she doesn't know, even other Vallhunds. She was overwhelmed by Flicka when they were playing around after LaMesa's Excellent Jumpers run. And it's funny because I made sure to get LaMesa out and about from a very early age to meet new people and new dogs. But some times she just turns into a little scaredy pup.
Here's a comparison of how the two ran the Excellent Standard course. (Bear in mind, LaMesa is a year older and has more time under her collar. I think Flicka is going to be awesome once she matures, just like LaMesa is still finishing her maturing in the ring!)
LaMesa:
Flicka:
I look forward to seeing Sally and Flicka more and watching her progress. It's fun to run with your dog's siblings!
 |
| The Vallhund girls! Sally with Flicka, me with LaMesa. LaMesa was trying to shy away from Flicka. |
Flicka competed in Open Jumpers and Excellent Standard on Sunday, so the girls were competing against each other in standard. I enjoyed watching Flicka have a good ole time in Open Jumpers. She got sucked into the tunnel vortex, which reminded me of the time LaMesa did that at the last NADAC trial we went to.
By the time we competed in Excellent Standard, I think Flicka was a little worn out and stressed out (she had competed Thursday and Friday, but Sally gave her Saturday off). She doesn't take off confidently like LaMesa does, but she jumps about the same.
It's interesting because Flicka is very confident and loves everybody! She's not shy when it comes to other dogs or people--she'll get right up there to play. But LaMesa is shy when it comes to other dogs she doesn't know, even other Vallhunds. She was overwhelmed by Flicka when they were playing around after LaMesa's Excellent Jumpers run. And it's funny because I made sure to get LaMesa out and about from a very early age to meet new people and new dogs. But some times she just turns into a little scaredy pup.
Here's a comparison of how the two ran the Excellent Standard course. (Bear in mind, LaMesa is a year older and has more time under her collar. I think Flicka is going to be awesome once she matures, just like LaMesa is still finishing her maturing in the ring!)
LaMesa:
Flicka:
I look forward to seeing Sally and Flicka more and watching her progress. It's fun to run with your dog's siblings!
Friday, February 1, 2013
Ending the Q Drought!
So if you're a regular reader to my blog, you know LaMesa and I have had some struggles in the past year--missed weave entrances, popping out of weaves, dropped bars, etc. And you know we've been working through those issues with the weave pole bootcamp and Dawn Weaver seminar. Well, I'm so happy to say that hard work is finally paying off!
LaMesa's weekend was definitely more successful than Dally's weekend in Nashville. Saturday we started off in Standard. She knocked the second jump, but nailed her weaves!! I was so excited to see her drive to the weave poles and nail all 12 (THE FIRST TIME!). Then we had a little bobble on the teeter--not sure what spooked her, because normally she loves to make the teeter bang, but oh well--she nailed the weaves!
Next came Jumpers--and we were clean! No knocked bars! Twelve weave poles in a row, the first time! After she cleared the triple jump (which tends to be a nemesis of ours some times), I took a deep breath and sent her into the weaves after the tunnel. She drove through them like she was on fire, even hopping out at the end like she was just as excited as I was. Now I was just holding my breath, willing her to jump just a little higher so she wouldn't knock a bar. I even changed my plans on the serpentine because I didn't want to risk her shortening her stride. As she got over the second-to-last jump, I could feel it, but I knew we had one more jump. Once she took off and she landed with that bar still up, I had tears in my eyes and I was hopping up and down--so proud of my little Vallhund! As Merinda says in the video, yes, I did cry a little. It was such a relief, and she ran so beautifully!
Sunday's runs were very successful, but we didn't come away with any Qs. In Standard LaMesa came out like a rocket--she was moving so fast I couldn't get in a planned front cross (which you can see in the video). Then coming off the table, she moved so quickly to the teeter, I couldn't pull her back to jump the triple. Still, we regrouped and continued, and she nailed the weaves yet again, and then rocked an awesome 4 jump serpentine.
In Jumpers LaMesa wasn't moving as quickly as I thought she would be for me to do a rear cross, so I pushed her past a jump. But she still left all the bars up and again drove through those weave poles.
I'm feeling so much more confident handling LaMesa now. A few friends were saying, "No more worrying about those weaves!" But I know differently--there's always a slight worry about the weaves, and the jumps, and everything else. Dally has taught me to never take a clean run for granted and to always continue to train and push for a faster, clean time.
Our next trial isn't until the end of February...ugh!
LaMesa's weekend was definitely more successful than Dally's weekend in Nashville. Saturday we started off in Standard. She knocked the second jump, but nailed her weaves!! I was so excited to see her drive to the weave poles and nail all 12 (THE FIRST TIME!). Then we had a little bobble on the teeter--not sure what spooked her, because normally she loves to make the teeter bang, but oh well--she nailed the weaves!
Next came Jumpers--and we were clean! No knocked bars! Twelve weave poles in a row, the first time! After she cleared the triple jump (which tends to be a nemesis of ours some times), I took a deep breath and sent her into the weaves after the tunnel. She drove through them like she was on fire, even hopping out at the end like she was just as excited as I was. Now I was just holding my breath, willing her to jump just a little higher so she wouldn't knock a bar. I even changed my plans on the serpentine because I didn't want to risk her shortening her stride. As she got over the second-to-last jump, I could feel it, but I knew we had one more jump. Once she took off and she landed with that bar still up, I had tears in my eyes and I was hopping up and down--so proud of my little Vallhund! As Merinda says in the video, yes, I did cry a little. It was such a relief, and she ran so beautifully!
Sunday's runs were very successful, but we didn't come away with any Qs. In Standard LaMesa came out like a rocket--she was moving so fast I couldn't get in a planned front cross (which you can see in the video). Then coming off the table, she moved so quickly to the teeter, I couldn't pull her back to jump the triple. Still, we regrouped and continued, and she nailed the weaves yet again, and then rocked an awesome 4 jump serpentine.
In Jumpers LaMesa wasn't moving as quickly as I thought she would be for me to do a rear cross, so I pushed her past a jump. But she still left all the bars up and again drove through those weave poles.
I'm feeling so much more confident handling LaMesa now. A few friends were saying, "No more worrying about those weaves!" But I know differently--there's always a slight worry about the weaves, and the jumps, and everything else. Dally has taught me to never take a clean run for granted and to always continue to train and push for a faster, clean time.
Our next trial isn't until the end of February...ugh!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Honky Tonk Dally in Nashville
This past weekend, the Stump Kids and I travelled with our friends in the Small Dog Posse (including Stout and Porter) to Franklin, Tenn., for two days with the Nashville Dog Training Club. I always look forward to this trial because it's the start of the year, and usually the first trial in a long time. Our last AKC agility trail was in mid-November (though we did do one day at a CPE trial and one day at a NADAC trial in December), so it's been a while. Add on top of that the suspense of wanting to see how much LaMesa and I have learned together since our "weave pole bootcamp" and the Dawn Weaver Seminar (I still have to post the videos, sorry!), and I was itchin to get down there!
First we'll cover Dally's weekend. Let's just say we didn't start off the year as hot as we ended 2012. In Standard I told her "tunnel" once for the chute, saw her look at it and I moved on...and so did she. I should have supported it more. But then we bounced back in Jumpers with a 14 point run and 5th place (there were more than 10 dogs in 4-inches this weekend!), so that was nice.
On Sunday, the end of Standard had a 4-jump serpentine--Dally loves serpentines! I was able to get in a blind cross between the first and second jump (go me!), but then I think Dally took the middle jumps a little too close and she came down on a bar. It was a decent time, considering we seemed to have some communication problems. (You can hear me calling for her to get her attention to go towards the correct obstacles in the video.)
Then in Jumpers, I had her revved up and ready to go at the tunnel. She came out of the tunnel winking at me--she must have gotten some dirt in her eye because she spent the first half of the course with one eye open, trying to blink out whatever it was. I was waiting for her to just give up (and I admit I was close to stopping and trying to clean out her eye), but once she got to the weaves, she seemed to be back to normal and turned on the speed! We Qd with 4 points, but I was proud of her for not giving up and sticking without me through the course (a couple of years ago, she would have done just that).
I came away from this trial a little concerned about my and Dally's partnership. We weren't clicking like normal, and she wasn't running with the gusto that we had been seeing the last part of last year. I'm hoping we're just a little rusty, and with some more practice and a couple of trials under our belts we'll be back to normal. I just hope we get our spark back by Nationals!
LaMesa's exciting update coming up next...
First we'll cover Dally's weekend. Let's just say we didn't start off the year as hot as we ended 2012. In Standard I told her "tunnel" once for the chute, saw her look at it and I moved on...and so did she. I should have supported it more. But then we bounced back in Jumpers with a 14 point run and 5th place (there were more than 10 dogs in 4-inches this weekend!), so that was nice.
On Sunday, the end of Standard had a 4-jump serpentine--Dally loves serpentines! I was able to get in a blind cross between the first and second jump (go me!), but then I think Dally took the middle jumps a little too close and she came down on a bar. It was a decent time, considering we seemed to have some communication problems. (You can hear me calling for her to get her attention to go towards the correct obstacles in the video.)
Then in Jumpers, I had her revved up and ready to go at the tunnel. She came out of the tunnel winking at me--she must have gotten some dirt in her eye because she spent the first half of the course with one eye open, trying to blink out whatever it was. I was waiting for her to just give up (and I admit I was close to stopping and trying to clean out her eye), but once she got to the weaves, she seemed to be back to normal and turned on the speed! We Qd with 4 points, but I was proud of her for not giving up and sticking without me through the course (a couple of years ago, she would have done just that).
I came away from this trial a little concerned about my and Dally's partnership. We weren't clicking like normal, and she wasn't running with the gusto that we had been seeing the last part of last year. I'm hoping we're just a little rusty, and with some more practice and a couple of trials under our belts we'll be back to normal. I just hope we get our spark back by Nationals!
LaMesa's exciting update coming up next...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)