AKC trial -Ventura

Went to an AKC trial this weekend. Enzo was jumping 20" to get him more practice at the higher height. He seems to be gaining more confidence at 20" since the last trial. It's kind of nice having my two dogs in different divisions since I get an extra walkthrough between my two! Gives me some time to think about what did or didn't work.

My first run was Tooney's JWW. She broke her start and knocked the first bar but the rest of the run was good. Enzo had a few wide turns but he was clean and ended up getting first! Next was standard. Tooney was having a good run but went over an off course jump when she was supposed to turn to the table. When I ran Enzo I made sure to talk to him before the took that jump before the table. Enzo had a nice run in STD and even sat on the table instantly but I pulled him off the jump after the weaves. I was moving away ahead and laterally to get ahead for a front cross later on and he just came right to me and right by the jump. I guess a "go over" would have helped. I just took the jump for granted since it was straight ahead. He did stop nicely on his contacts though.

In Sunday's JWW, Tooney broke her stay and then I was late on a front cross and she ran behind me to take an off course jump. She's really difficult to call off of something once she's locked on. Enzo held his stay but I was still a little late on the same front cross and he knocked the bar so maybe a rear cross would have been better! I'm working on handling more aggressively so it will take me a little while to figure it out. I couldn't quite get there in time to show deceleration before he took off so he jumped long and straight and then saw me turning which caused to bar to come down.

In standard both dogs did really well. Tooney leapt from the dogwalk a little high but didn't get called for it and she ended up getting first in 16". It's a problem when I don't keep running straight with her on the dogwalk. Enzo also did really well. He spaced out a little on the table and wouldn't make eye contact but he sat after a couple seconds. He still managed to get first in 20" though. His time was a couple seconds behind Tooney's because of the table. Unlike Saturday, he ran all of his contacts this time.

Been a while!

This was my first trial weekend since the first weekend in December! I went to a USDAA trial on Saturday and an AKC trial on Sunday. At the USDAA trial, Tooney got her first Performance National Standard leg for the year. She went off course in Masters Standard and didn't Q in gamblers either. She had a missed dogwalk contact in Masters relay and her partner had a refusal but it should have been fast enough to Q. I didn't actually wait to see the results.

Enzo almost ran clean in Grand Prix but knocked a bar on a difficult turn. He stuck his dogwalk contact though! In Starters Standard Enzo knocked the first bar because I set him up too close. There wasn't much room but I should have put him all the way back against the fencing. Enzo Q'd and got first in starters gamblers! He stuck both his dogwalk contacts. He still doesn't stick his aframe in competition but he's getting the contact consistently. In starters jumpers, he ended up knocking 2 bars. It was a fun speedy course so I decided to push for speed instead of playing it safe. We had fun!

At sunday's AKC trial, the standard course was a killer. Enzo's only mistake was that he flipped towards the tunnel at the bottom of the aframe. He didn't actually go in but he touched it. He hasn't tried to do that in a while! In JWW, he did well but I slipped on the sand that they used to fill in gopher holes when I was rear crossing and he knocked the bar. Tooney got a Q and 4th place in JWW and had a horrible run in standard. We just weren't in sync at all.

Oh and I got another private with Elicia on Sunday and worked on handling. Elicia got her MACH with Nika on sunday so that was very awesome to be there for! Not bad for a one eyed dog! She suggested visualization and shadow handling for me to help with switching between dogs. I tried it some in our lesson but it will take some practice to get more comfortable with it. She also helped me with handling more agressively and I think I know how to start looking at courses a little differently. I need to run hard in the places where I can but still decelerate in the right places. I also need to practice getting the timing right on those tough front crosses. I'm very glad that I got to work with her a bunch while she was out here!

Some links to enzo pics from the USDAA trial:

from gamblers:
http://dynamicdogphotos.com/ids/index.cgi?mode=album&startitem=73&album=/Dynamic%20Dog%20Photo%20Gallery/0%20Agility%20Bonita%20USDAA%20Jan%2009/Saturday/Starters%20Gamblers/22%20inch

from jumpers:
http://dynamicdogphotos.com/ids/index.cgi?mode=image&album=/Dynamic%20Dog%20Photo%20Gallery/0%20Agility%20Bonita%20USDAA%20Jan%2009/Saturday/Starters%20Jumpers/22%20inch&image=IMG_3533rpja9.JPG

my fav! lol
http://dynamicdogphotos.com/ids/index.cgi?mode=image&album=/Dynamic%20Dog%20Photo%20Gallery/0%20Agility%20Bonita%20USDAA%20Jan%2009/Saturday/Starters%20Jumpers/22%20inch&image=IMG_3534rpja9.JPG

from standard:
http://dynamicdogphotos.com/ids/index.cgi?mode=album&startitem=109&album=/Dynamic%20Dog%20Photo%20Gallery/0%20Agility%20Bonita%20USDAA%20Jan%2009/Saturday/Starters%20Standard/22%20inch

Freestyle Jam Camp

Last weekend Jeff went to Freestyle Jam Camp with some of the top human disc freestylers. He really enjoyed it and got some new ideas that he is going to include in his routine. For Saturday, they told the dog people to bring their dogs and they critiqued the routines. It was a three day camp but I only went on the day that Enzo got to go. I figured the rest would be too boring for me. Jeff got a lot of positive feedback for his routine and some good suggestions too. All of the instructers really liked the variation in Jeff's routine. They were really impressed with all of the dogs and how athletic they are!

Oh and Jeff and Enzo's new routine is looking really awesome!

Training with Elicia Calhoun

I went an Elicia Calhoun Seminar a couple weeks ago and had a private lesson with her today. Enzo ran great at the seminar. He's starting to collect and turn much better now. Seems like jumping 20"/22" is helping with that and he's starting to "get it". Still get an extra stride here and there but really doing a lot better. She noticed that Enzo needs some traiing on a send and go which tight wrap where I send him and then take off in the other direction. He kept adding a extra stride when I tried to do it. I also like what she said she does with her arm. Arm up means pay attention to the obstacle and arm down means pay attention to the handler so dropping her arm is a pre cue for a turn. I've been needing something other than his name which I'd like to use less and save for the really tight turns or discriminations.

Of course Enzo was doing his normal stuff with the leadouts. He would resist getting into position and once I got him down then he'd immediately get up and start creeping up on the start line. When we were doing the sequences with the contacts he would eat the cookie and then take off without a release. One time he took off so quick he knocked the cookie out of my hand as he tried to take it. Elicia said that I need to challenge him more on his stays and contacts. She also said that cookies should be tossed to them instead of coming from the hand and if the cookie lands too far away they should learn not to get out of position to get it.

At our private lesson, Elicia gave me a bunch of specific exercises to challenge his stay. She also said that I need to teach him a better send on his contacts. She recommended using a small raised plank that is as long as his body. She said to shape a down on it then work up to sends to the board. After he's good with that I should work on backchaining his contacts again and do 5 sends for every run with and run ahead. We definitely have a lot of homework to do!