Bo-Gee Agility Trial at the Sportzone in Derry, NH 2/28

Today I was entered in a CPE trial organized by Bo Gee. It was at a place called The Sportzone, which is a facility for basketball, soccer and more. It was a very interesting place for a trial! The 2 rings were set up inside the indoor soccer field, which had a wall topped by glass, like a hockey rink.
Here's a pic.

So there was an entrance that opened onto a walkway which lead to the first ring and down to another ring. And no food was allowed in that area which was a little challenging. But it was nice because there were bleachers and a mezzanine so you could watch the runs. I forgot my camera which was a bummer because I could have gotten some good footage! Some dogs were distracted by all the noises like balls bouncing and kids yelling, but Shelby seemed ok with it. I do think all the dog noises in the crating area made Shelby nervous, and she did stop on top of the dogwalk to peek over the wall into the other ring. We were entered in Snooker and Standard, which were the last 2 classes of the day. We showed up around 10:30, but still we didn't have a run until about noon or so. We were done around 4pm.

Snooker was an interesting course with the 4 reds in the 4 corners of the course. I had a good plan with things Shelby likes, including the A frame. Shelby was a little distracted and not quite with me the whole time, so we were slow and I didn't think we would get enough points in time. After the whistle blew, the timer said they made a mistake and forgot to add the 5 seconds onto the standard course time for the 12 inch dogs, so they asked if I would like to run again and I said yes. We ran at the end of the 12 inch dogs. It was a little hairy because the 8 inch dogs were waiting and Shelby was distracted and growled at a little Chinese Crested dog. When we set up I thought she might break the stay and go over to the other dog, but she didn't. We started the course well, taking the jump, A frame, jump and the tunnel. On the way to the next jump Shelby turned around and just put her feet into the tunnel opening and that was enough to get us whistled off. Bummer.

The next run was standard. The course was a nice one and I felt confident in my handling skills to be able to do the right things and be successful. It was the tire to the dogwalk, to a tunnel then the weave poles, then a jump, a tunnel, a jump, the A frame, the tunnel, the teeter, a jump, the tunnel and two more jumps. I was a little concerned about the dogwalk because it was slatless and we practice on slats, and sometimes a slatless dogwalk seems like a teeter to the dog and they bail.

We went in to the start line and I asked Shelby to get set and she sets up backwards! That was a new one. I think she was nervous about all the dogs right behind her. Here's photographic evidence!















I got her set up correctly, but she was still looking back, so I wasn't thinking the run would go that well. I had intended to lead out to the dogwalk, but after the set up I decided to run with her. We started and sure enough when she got to the dogwalk she slowed down and thought it was the teeter. I was able to coach her though it and into the tunnel. Then I did a front cross after the tunnel and before the weaves. Shelby didn't hit the weaves the first time, but did them the second time. Then I really tried to put on the speed over the next sequence of jump, tunnel, jump, A frame, tunnel. Shelby seemed to go quicker to keep up with me. I did a front cross after the tunnel and before the teeter to take the off course tunnel entrance out of the picture. That meant I had to rear cross the tunnel entrance which was fine. Although looking at this photo I was ahead of Shelby when she landed from the jump prior to the tunnel, which is wrong. I should let her drive ahead at that point for a better rear cross.















Then I did a front cross after the tunnel exit, to the jump and then the last jump. I thought I was home free, but just as we got to the last jump, the next dog came in to set up and Shelby stopped dead, chest to the jump and was looking over towards the entrance. Thankfully I was able to get her attention and she took the last jump. So we ended up getting a Q, with 1 fault for being 1.78 seconds over course time!
Here I am extremely thankful she is over the last jump.

Spot would love a job like this

Friday night class

Class last night was really good with Shelby. We had a short course, only 12 obstacles. It was 2 jumps to the dog walk, then the tunnel a jump and the table, then a jump to the A frame, then 4 jumps to the end.

The opening was a little tricky because the jumps were angled at opposite angles. I decided to run it with Shelby on my right and led out to jump 2. I knew if I did it that way, I needed to treat the dogwalk like the second obstacle in a serpentine and run ahead to cue the down contact with my outside hand, which I did and it worked fine. Then I sent to the tunnel and did call over the next jump to the table. I handled the next jump and A frame on the right, knowing that I would have to run ahead again to get enough distance to put in a front cross after the jump after the A frame. That worked great, I got the front cross in, then another front cross after the next jump and we were done! Shelby was really attentive and read my cues well. But I realized I needed to call her in the tunnel so that she wouldn't just run to the table.

We got a chance to run the course again and I chose to do it a little differently. I did the opening with Shelby on my left with a lead-out pivot, leading out to the dog walk. Shelby did great-no problems there. After the dog walk, I did a front cross, and then sent her to the tunnel, being sure to call her as she was coming through. We did that one more time, and the third time I got a really nice flat jump over the jump and around the post to the table.

For the A frame and jumps after, I did them with Shelby on my left. The jumps after the A frame were set up almost in a triangle formation, with the second jump being about 15 feet from the first. I called Shelby to me then sent her out to the second jump. The first time it didn't work-Shelby just went across to the third jump. But we tried again and I kept my shoulders open and my hand up, and it worked! I was so excited.

We had a little more time at the end of class, so we had the option to try one sequence another way if we chose. All the others wanted to work on the distance option I had already done, so I decided to do the sequence with Shelby on my right and use rear crosses. It was do-able, but slower than my first choice of front crosses, so I don't think I would use it unless Shelby had gotten way in front of me.

The nice thing about having the later class on Friday is that we can stay as long as we want. Class is generally almost 2 hours. It can make for a long night though since I have Spot's class from 6:30-7:30.

This would be a fun trick to teach

I taught Shelby to jump into my arms on cue via a video I found online.
This video shows the progression of teaching a dog to do a handstand (balancing on the two front feet.) I think Shelby could do it, but it might take a while. It would be a good project for the rest of the winter. :-)

Friday agility class and Sunday fun match at Riverside Canine

I had agility class with Spot and Shelby on Friday night. My work week wasn't too stressful, so I actually felt ok and ready for class.

Spot did well in class. I'm a little concerned about his weaves. I'm not sure he really gets it. Sometimes he runs by the poles and looks for his toy, so I'm not sure he knows that he's getting rewarded for going between the poles. His clock work is going really well. I can get about 10 feet of distance on the side, next to the jump and calling him over the jump to me. We did a nice sequence at the end of class of two jumps to a tunnel, then a front cross to a jump with a post turn then two more jumps. Spot did well, I needed to work on my front cross. I was kind of doing it in place, trying to make sure I got it in before Spot came out of the tunnel. He's not like Shelby, who likes to be behind and chase me. Spot likes to be out front, which can be a good thing for Jackpot, etc.

Then it was Shelby's class. The course was somewhat complicated with a twisty opening. I totally messed it up the first time. I wasn't mentally into it and Shelby was being weird. I think I need to stop having Spot's class right before Shelby's class, because I have to go out and switch dogs, walk them both, bring Shelby in, warm her up, then walk the course once to see the sequence, then try to figure out a strategy. I really don't feel like I have time to come up with a plan and I feel like I'm wasting my class time. The second run through is always better, but I know I could do better overall if I weren't so rushed.

On Sunday I dragged myself out of bed and drove up to Riverside Canine in Nashua. They were having a fun match. I will be doing a trial on the 28th, and we haven't been to a trial since Oct, and not an indoor trial for a year, so I wanted to see how Shelby would do. She's been to Riverside before. There were about 25 people there, with some totally new dogs and some experienced. I think there is a trial there next weekend, so some people were using the fun match to get their dogs acclimated, which is a great idea.

They had 3 nested courses. Novice, Open and Excellent, I think. I liked the Open course, but decided to do the Novice so I could concentrate on Shelby and not really worry about handling. The course was 3 jumps to a tunnel under the dogwalk, then a 180 to take the dogwalk, then a jump to 6 poles, then the table, the A frame, 2 jumps to the teeter then another 180-ish to a 4 final jumps in an arc.

I was pleased with Shelby. She was excited to be there, but not crazy. She set up no problem and held the stay, even with the other dogs distracting her, so I went back and rewarded her. I lead out to jump 2 and then I realized my forward motion mis-cued Shelby and she headed toward the A frame, but I called her and she took the double jump and the tunnel. She came out of the tunnel and came up the dog walk. It was a little sloppy, but she hit the up contact. At the other end, she was slow to the contact. I definitely want to improve contact speed. Then we went to the jump and Shelby blew past the weaves the first time. We went and tried again and she did great. Then the table and the A frame. Shelby didn't stick her 20/20 on the A frame, even though her descent was sooo slow. I think it may have been because she was looking for a reward. Then I did a rear cross to take the two jumps to the teeter. Again, teeter was a little slow, but then she had to get out and around to take the next jump and it was no problem. The end I just ran as fast as I could and Shelby loved it. She jumped into my arms at the end. I'm encouraging that so I will be able to get my hands on her ASAP when the run is over and not have to worry about her running out of the ring.

I'm glad I went to the fun match. Our last trial experience wasn't great, and class hasn't been great lately, so I was starting to wonder why I was even doing agility. This reminded me that it can be fun. We'll see how the next trial goes. I'm only entered on Saturday and only Standard and Snooker, so even if it sucks, it won't be so bad. :-)

A sunny day at Willard's Woods

I had the day off today, and while it was very sunny, it was still only about 35 degrees. But I thought it would be a good day for a walk at Willard's Woods anyway. When I got there, only one car was in the parking lot. The parking area was a sheet of ice, so I actually got to use my YakTrax for once! But the parking lot was the worst of it really. There were a couple icy spots, but nothing you wouldn't be able to go around.

When we arrive, I usually keep Shelby on lead through the orchard because she's excited and I worry about her running ahead and encountering dogs. It was a good thing I did today because a guy with a young puppy was there. I asked him to pick the puppy up, because Shelby doesn't like them for some reason, and he was fine with it. Shelby greeted his other dog, a border collie, with no issues.

Once they were gone I let Shelby off leash and she was very good, staying near me. We had a nice walk through the woods, and I rewarded her for checking in. When we were getting to the field, I could see a small black dog, so I put Shelby on leash. When we exited the woods, the little dog was sitting there and Shelby started staring. The little dog's owner was calling, but it seemed afraid to go past us, so I walked back the way we had come and the little dog ran back to her owner. But then another dog came by and the little black dog followed it over to where we were. Shelby was pulling and growling at the little dog and I was trying to get her to focus on me, but not having much success. The other dog's owner was oblivious. I had to tell him to come get his puppy because Shelby was trying to go after it. I'm kind of surprised sometimes at how clueless some dog owners are about dog body language. I know that puppies need to learn when other dogs are telling them to keep back, but this guy seemed not to be concerned at all that Shelby was trying to go after his dog. I need to talk to Denielle about this, because it makes me really worried about going to trials.

I was pretty disappointed in Shelby after that, so I kept her on leash the rest of the walk. She didn't really like that, but she was ok. I did jog with her a bit, and she didn't really know how to take that! We finished the walk with no other problems, and met some poodles on the way out. I was a little concerned because one of them had a ball and was really into it, running around, and Shelby was interested, but I was able to call her away and we loaded up the car. The dogs slept all afternoon once we got home!

The BIG Toy

Just before Christmas I was up in NH with Holly and Marcus and we stopped at a pet store. They had one of the biggest dog toys I had ever seen. It must have been 4 feet long. It was like $25, so I didn't seriously consider buying it. But then I saw a slightly smaller version for about $15, that was still about 3 feet long, so I bought it. This is what I got.

I had put it away for Christmas, and then totally forgot about it until a couple of days ago. They both loved it and it was big enough that each could take an end and chew away. Here's how it went:


And round two:



And here is the aftermath:

Back to agility class finally

Last night I finally got back to agility class. I haven't been in a month. On the 9th I had my company holiday party, then on the 16th I had to work late, then on the 23rd I had injured my hand so I couldn't go.

Spot's class was fine. I don't really feel like we're progressing. We do the same thing every week. However, I do need to practice more sequences with him. He's actually faster than Shelby I think, and my timing is all off.

Shelby's class was really fun. It was a challenging course with several serpentines, so you had to run fast and have good timing. My first time through, I would say I did 75% correctly as far as positioning. For 2 of the serpentines, I put in front crosses because Shelby is faster than me and I thought it would work better. But I was actually able to do the serpentines the second time.

I have to say I still really don't feel the whole blind cross body line thing for serpentines. I'm always feeling like I'm going to trip by turning my feet all the way around. And I feel like it slows me down exactly when I need to be nimble. I suppose with more practice I'll get better at it.

I was very happy with Shelby's weaves. We had 6 poles and I did a front cross after and it didn't phase her at all. She finished the weaves and read the front cross to the next jump perfectly. So I'm pretty confident in her weaving, even though the learning part took forever.

Last Earthdog Session

Last Saturday, the 23rd, was the last earthdog class. Shelby was raring to go-in very high spirits. I think because the weather has been so bad, we've haven't been getting out as much. When we started working, she was very excited by the other dogs and the other dogs' handlers. She started staring and growling, so I had to get her focused on me. She was responsive and we were able to practice our tunnels. She really likes the tunnels now and has no problem going in. By the end of the class we had a 30 foot long tunnel with 2 turns and she powered right through. I was even able to hold her back at the entrance and rev her up a bit, saying "ready, ready, ready" and then she charged right into the tunnel. Hopefully that will translate once we get out into the outdoor tunnels.

We also worked on the rats. Shelby was still definitely interested, but not barking. At the end of Spot's class I brought Shelby in and had her see another dog work, and when that dog was barking and whining, Shelby did get excited and I encouraged her to bark. I'm hoping she will remember. I think I will be taking her to the next session of classes, but maybe only a couple since I am trying to cut back on dog expenses.

Spot's class went well. He is so into earthdog. I felt bad for him because he has a little mole above his eye and when he's working the rats he hits it and it bleeds, but it doesn't seem to bother him. He's doing much better with letting me take him out, so I'm not sure if I'll bring him back to class or just wait for spring training.