I went out to FAAD today and practiced some of what we did in class since I didn’t feel like we were terribly successful Wednesday night. It was a good practice and I got some great stuff out of it. Today’s practice was a really tough weave entry and for the most part Vega just doesn’t collect enough to get the entry. She’s pretty much full out as fast as possible. We’ll be practicing this a lot at home.
Katrina stopped in to say Hi. She showed me how she would do it with Ice and then did it with Vega. There’s some of me trying the sequence as well.
The main reason I put up the video (besides horrifying myself with it) is that it is such perfect evidence of how bad my form is when I’m running. It’s especially obvious since Katrina runs exactly the same sequence. When I first watched it I was immediately struck by how smooth her handling is. It definitely emphasizes how rough mine is.
I never bend my directing arm. I always have it straight out and as stiff as a board (almost like I’m working huge distance). The trailing arm is swinging around out to the side of me (I’m sure for balance). I don’t pump with that off arm, I swing! It’s such a weird and awkward way to run. I clearly have something to work on that’s just me. With the video I have a much better idea of what I’m doing wrong and what it should look like. More work…
On a positive note check out how nice Ice’s and Vega’s weaves are. The have completely different form but are both so fast. They are both such great dogs.
I haven’t written in quite a while. Lately it just seems like I have a lot to do and I go through these phases where I’m all on fire about agility. That’s usually when I blog. Either way, I need to get back to it because it keeps me on track.
We’ve been having some pretty amazing classes lately. I’ve really been enjoying them. The sequences have been fabulous and the skills we’re trying to learn have been challenging for me and Vega. We are the least proficient in the class but are having fun trying. I hear that Vega is a lot of dog for a green handler and I know I spend way more time than I should wondering how I’m going to keep up or how I’m going to get there than a good handler should. I guess I should be concentrating on how I’m going to get her there.
Additionally, my timing is off. I’m late all the time. I’m either not there or I forget to cue Vega when I am. I also don’t have a grip on how much support she needs when we are running. We’re trying to get distance but it seems like sometimes she just goes and sometimes I peel off too early and she’s right there. I’m not terribly concerned because every week it seems to get a little better and I’m sure it’ll come together the more we practice and get used to each other.
I’m continuously floored by how fast Vega is… it’s really like she’s getting faster too (or maybe I’m getting slower!). Collection is a real challenge for her. She loves to just go and not slow down. She is doing better about checking in with me though.
I’m going to take the camcorder out to FAAD this weekend and play with that same sequence we did in class Wednesday night. It was fun and really challenging for me. I need the practice running and it’ll be fun to see a tape of her run since I really haven’t.
I’m very grateful for my instructor. I can’t imagine how dfficult it would be to try to fgure it all out her amazing insight and eye for detail. I’m so impressed at people who can be competitive in this sport without weekly instruction. Hats off too you all.
I really like the people in my class too. They are all fabulous handlers, inspiring to watch and fabulous to just hang out with. I’m pretty lucky.
Vega finally went to the vet yesterday to be spayed. I had a hard time with it. I would have loved to have one of her pups for my next agility dog. She’s just so awesome. I also just didn’t want to see her in pain. I hate that part but for the other obvious reasons I went ahead and did it.
She’s done pretty well but it’s defintely slowed her down some. Last night as soon as we got home I walked her to the backyard on her leash. She was still loopy and wobbling but she walked to the a-frame and drunkenly put a back leg in contact position and then looked at me for her reward! What a cutie.
My camera died a while back so it wasn’t a lot of fun to post with no pictures but I’m back in business again. Vega and I have been working weaves and contacts like crazy lately. The other day I was sitting in the kitchen and looked out and Vega was just sitting in contact position just waiting for me to come outside!!! Hmmm, perhaps we work too much? She absolutely gets the position but sometimes just isn’t able to stop while running. She does 4 on the floor more often than 2o2o. Either way, she’s a good girl and we’re getting there.
Today we practiced serpentines and she did pretty well. We practiced threadles too but that’s harder. I just started rewarding her for the “in” after the first jump.
Merlin has been doing really well too. A few weeks ago he went to Grandma’s house. It’s the first time in probably a year he’s been in anyone else’s house. He’s actually not that fond of Grandma but he settled right down. He herded the kids for a while and then took a nap on Grandma’s couch! I’m pretty proud of how far he’s come. He’s a few pics just for fun.
the never-ending love story
he's such a cute little doofus
everything is a potential toy
anything Vega has is worth stealing and destroying
Think I’ve got it… “Stop” and “Go”. We spent several 2-3 minute sessions yesterday doing drills while she’s just running around playing with the ball. We’ll see if it works.
We were out practicing contacts again this evening. I’ve been working on Vegas 2o2o contacts in various ways for months. Still we have no consistency at all (less than 50%). I know she gets it but won’t stick it when there is any speed involved. She literally flies down to the bottom, sticks her front legs so hard her back end bounces off. Then she stands at the bottom of the frame looking at me like she did it. She blows the dog walk too but the angle and speed she’s at don’t freak me out the way it does on the frame.
To me a lot of this is the same issue with all her other obstacles. She really wants to do everything full blast without any restraint. Run, run, run… no think, think, think. Obviously, WE WILL get some control over that but I’ve been wondering lately if could make this particular challenge a little easier. If I change her criteria completely and start retraining could she start getting it? It worked when I couldn’t get a nose touch and Katrina suggested I change the word and retrain.
I asked Katrina what she thought and she said if I do change it then she needs to “down” at the bottom so it’s about me controlling the criteria and not Vega. Okay… makes sense to me and the boss knows best anyway. I know if I do it I’ve got to do this right if I’m going to change it because there’s no going back.
I went out at about 8pm and tried the A-frame with a “down” at the bottom and then changed her release to “go”. With 2o2o it was “contact” and “okay”. We tried this 5 times and she did it EVERY TIME!!!! Wow! I wasn’t expecting that. There are a couple of reasons I think it worked better… a while ago I started making her lie down before I throw the ball. It kills her but she does it and stays until I release her. The other reason is that she has a great “down, stay”. Her “sit, stay” is iffy and her “stand, stay” doesn’t exist.
So I guess I’m still sort of sitting on the fence cause I know 5 times in a row doesn’t mean anything (other than she couldn’t do 2o2o 5 times in a row). It can’t possibly be that easy. My other issue is that I HATE watching people yell “DOWN” at the bottom of a contact and then they don’t make their dog down. In our world down means down and we don’t fudge. So how do I turn that “down and go” into to a quick release while still getting a down? Hmmmm, more thinking. Thoughts welcome and video coming soon of both methods.
I’ve been thinking lately I need to set up another set of goals. I did a bunch in January and then started pushing me and Vega to get there. It was causing me a bunch of stress so I just wiped them out completely. I still have a couple of pretty broad goals. A motivational speaker once told me to make them short and state them as they are fact instead of as if they can be moved.
I will compete with Vega next spring sometime.
I will work out 3-4 days a week and get healthy.
(the pain in my foot is less than it’s been in a year so I’m getting a lot of success here)
I’m working on the first and actively doing the second so that’s good but I think I need some shorter term, smaller goals. I’ll write them down this week.
I think Vega and I are doing well in our training. We still go out and practice once or twice a day. Vega’s weaves have gotten more consistent at home and she’s not popping very often anymore. Last night at class we tried them and she never successfully did them but in her defense it was the end of class and her poor little brain was done.
Today I’m putting away the dog walk and putting jumps all over so I can practice handling and Vega can practice paying attention. Sunday I’ll go get a dog walk and we will start over training that! Right now our focus will be contacts, paying attention while jumping and weaves. Goals will be coming though.
I’ve got to mention one more time (though I’m sure I’ll say it a thousand times) I love training and playing with this little dog. She’s amazing and unbelievably sweet.
There won’t be any pictures for awhile. My camera has officially died. I have the new one picked out but have to wait until it goes on sale.
We practiced twice yesterday and twice today. I should go more but I’m not a fan of running around in the heat. If have had shade…
Vega is doing much better on her weaves though still not as consistent as I would like. I’m sure she’ll get there though. I always start with the weaves on my right now. Vega gets the entries and does all 12 poles that way. We do a couple of them then I do one run on the other side. If I do ithem in that order she seems to get it then. We, just today, got to the point where I can run next to her and she won’t pop out. That seems to help keep her in the weaves more.
We also practiced serpentines this weekend. I straightened them up today but think I’ll turn them again a little. She’s not that consistent and If I run next to her she blazes by them. Good news is she checks in with me but I’m behind her so it looks weird.
We also worked on push, contact and wraps… now on to that trick we’re working on.
I have stress fractures in both tibias (legs), a very severe case of shin splints in both legs and a bone spur on my left heel. I’m really sick of being unable to walk or run and of gaining weight so this is week 1 of being damn serious about fixing all of this. I started physical therapy this week and hired a personal trainer. I committed to a year of the personal trainer so next summer I better be different (or at least smaller) person.
PT was good but hurt. Working out was good and hurt A LOT more than PT. I’m pretty excited to keep going though. Getting everyone involved (posting too) should help hold me accountable and keep me from slacking.
Vega update: I’ve been a little frustrated with our training lately. Vega has a beautiful set of weaves, all 11 of them! She has been pretty consistently missing that last pole. My frustration is not with her as much as I’ve been clueless as to how to fix it. I brought the issue to class this week and Katrina suggested I run with the poles on my right more (I’ve overtrained the other side) and use food instead of the ball. I did the first set with the weaves on the left and Vega missed the last pole. I moved to the other side and she did all 12! YAY and lots of happy dance… it’s been over a week since she’s done the whole set. We did it again… YAY… all 12 again. So we moved back to the other side and she did them all! Yippee and we moved on. Teacher and pup are just brilliant. I’m sure we aren’t done with the issues but I am so thrilled to have done it right today.
We worked on jump chutes… she’s got it so tomorrow I’ll change it up.
We worked on wraps… very nice.
We started working on “push” (my word for going around the back and jump over towards me). She started getting it towards the end.
I’m also teaching a new trick as it’s my homework. I’m having the best time doing this since I’ve been so focused on agility this is a nice change. We are working on “BANG” and she plays dead. This one is especially hard for Vega since I make her lie completely still. So far she’ll lie on her side when I say bang but there’s lots of drama on the way down. I hope we get a little speed involved in her death before we have to demonstrate this next week.
Today was a really good day for both of us. Very fun.
