9.24.2010
Funny Spry
She lost her MIND at class last night. She was pushy - pushing her start line stays, blew a DW contact (1st time I think EVER quite honestly), almost flew off the teeter, etc. She also fell off the DW - she was fine, just being a looney. She fell off the up-ramp, right where the tunnel went under the DW. So she kind of jumped off onto the tunnel then onto the ground. Then without even a hesitation, she jumped back onto the tunnel and put three paws on the DW, facing the direction she had originally been travelling, and looked at me like "is this ok?" I just said "walk it!" and she put the fourth paw on and took off! I guess she figured she ought to fix the mistake where she made it? Never realized before the tunnel was a way to get on/off the DW? Who knows but it made total sense in her little brain!
9.21.2010
9.20.2010
9.14.2010
Regional & a little bit of Spry training
We went up the NC regional in MI last weekend. I wasn't entered in a ton - only Standard, Gamblers, & Stpl rd 1 on Friday, 4 team classes Sat, and team relay & gamblers Sunday. It was nice to relax and visit with people we don't get to see often.
Friday was a training day for me... I'm working hard to mark her bad DWs and she gave me several to mark!! Unfortunately she did not EVER perform it correctly. Standard was first and she jumped and missed it, layed her down and left the course. In gamblers, I was goign to do it until we got it right, until I realized if she ran through the contact and didn't stop, I was goign to mark it but still get the points, so I couldn't do that more than twice... and unfortunately that's exactly what happened! Also the gamble was not possible, so we definitely did NOT get it. Steeplechase - I was very disappointd after this run. She ran clean, but slow. She did not make the cut... I know she is not a BC but I have always thought she was fast enough for something like this! I went back and watched the videos, and all three runs on Friday she was running & jumping funny. Putting in baby steps before *every* single jump - so no wonder she was slow. She must not have been feeling well.
Saturday - I was thrilled w/Panic's performance in the team classes. We ran standard first and she was clean and (for her) pretty fast! I focused on speeding myself up as well. No DW which was nice :) Our team was 3rd after standard. Next up was gamblers. She did well in the opening (but I avoided the DW so couldn't get the high points) and was moving out nicely. We did 6 jumps in the close. She was in the air over a jump when the first buzzer went off and the judge didn't call opening OR closing points on that. I think she should have gotten closing points based on where she was, but oh well. Our team was 8th after gamblers. Next up was snooker. We did the same plan as most people, 3 fives. I really wanted to do a 7 as my second color but didn't want to screw up for my team, so I kept it safe. The opening was a little funny and not quite what I planned in terms of the direction we turned around jumps, etc, but we made it through and got 6th place I think. After snooker, my team was in FIRST place!!! I was thrilled to see this. There weren't a ton of ppl there but there were some pretty good teams. Unfortuntely in jumpers my teamies both E'd. Panic ran clean with moderate speed - started out kind of slow but got faster as we went on. I was again pretty happy with this run but wish I had handled the opening differently. After this class we were 15th.
Sunday - Team Relay - we were all 22" so could pick our section. Malibu went first, and ran with 1 refusal. We were up next. I was very happy that Panic sat after the exchange and gave me some sort of self control here! We ran to the weave poles and she drove ahead of me to do them, making my RC very easy. Unfortunately next she went off course :( and then Bekah did too :( :( So, 31st after this run!! Haha big fall from 1st to 31st! But this was just practice, and we know we have potential to be competitive at nationals.
Gamblers was the last thing I ran, and there wasn't much to do in the opening so we didn't get a ton of points (and kind of loitered!) but she got the gamble. It was pretty easy... jump on the line, 90 degree turn to 6 poles about 12 ft from the gamble tape, and then after they did the poles you could cross the line for the last two jumps which were going away from the line. You could stay behind the tape for bonus points, but no way would she have sent that far (30 ft or so) and we are so low on gambles I wasn't chancing it!
So now miss Panic has 7 gambles, 7 relays, 10 standards, 25 jumpers, 23 snookers, and I'm not sure how many tournaments... we are short on GPs (only 3). So maybe one day we will actually get our ADCH/LAA Bronze! That would be pretty cool :)
Last night I took Spry to the building before lessons. Worked on collection while I'm moving and after multiple jumps. She was picking it up pretty well! Also worked on layering a jump while she does the DW contact, so I can release her after I've gotten in position for the next sequence. She did beautifully considering we've never done this before!! She was exhaused last night which was good - she's been exceptionally ornery in the evenings lately!
Friday was a training day for me... I'm working hard to mark her bad DWs and she gave me several to mark!! Unfortunately she did not EVER perform it correctly. Standard was first and she jumped and missed it, layed her down and left the course. In gamblers, I was goign to do it until we got it right, until I realized if she ran through the contact and didn't stop, I was goign to mark it but still get the points, so I couldn't do that more than twice... and unfortunately that's exactly what happened! Also the gamble was not possible, so we definitely did NOT get it. Steeplechase - I was very disappointd after this run. She ran clean, but slow. She did not make the cut... I know she is not a BC but I have always thought she was fast enough for something like this! I went back and watched the videos, and all three runs on Friday she was running & jumping funny. Putting in baby steps before *every* single jump - so no wonder she was slow. She must not have been feeling well.
Saturday - I was thrilled w/Panic's performance in the team classes. We ran standard first and she was clean and (for her) pretty fast! I focused on speeding myself up as well. No DW which was nice :) Our team was 3rd after standard. Next up was gamblers. She did well in the opening (but I avoided the DW so couldn't get the high points) and was moving out nicely. We did 6 jumps in the close. She was in the air over a jump when the first buzzer went off and the judge didn't call opening OR closing points on that. I think she should have gotten closing points based on where she was, but oh well. Our team was 8th after gamblers. Next up was snooker. We did the same plan as most people, 3 fives. I really wanted to do a 7 as my second color but didn't want to screw up for my team, so I kept it safe. The opening was a little funny and not quite what I planned in terms of the direction we turned around jumps, etc, but we made it through and got 6th place I think. After snooker, my team was in FIRST place!!! I was thrilled to see this. There weren't a ton of ppl there but there were some pretty good teams. Unfortuntely in jumpers my teamies both E'd. Panic ran clean with moderate speed - started out kind of slow but got faster as we went on. I was again pretty happy with this run but wish I had handled the opening differently. After this class we were 15th.
Sunday - Team Relay - we were all 22" so could pick our section. Malibu went first, and ran with 1 refusal. We were up next. I was very happy that Panic sat after the exchange and gave me some sort of self control here! We ran to the weave poles and she drove ahead of me to do them, making my RC very easy. Unfortunately next she went off course :( and then Bekah did too :( :( So, 31st after this run!! Haha big fall from 1st to 31st! But this was just practice, and we know we have potential to be competitive at nationals.
Gamblers was the last thing I ran, and there wasn't much to do in the opening so we didn't get a ton of points (and kind of loitered!) but she got the gamble. It was pretty easy... jump on the line, 90 degree turn to 6 poles about 12 ft from the gamble tape, and then after they did the poles you could cross the line for the last two jumps which were going away from the line. You could stay behind the tape for bonus points, but no way would she have sent that far (30 ft or so) and we are so low on gambles I wasn't chancing it!
So now miss Panic has 7 gambles, 7 relays, 10 standards, 25 jumpers, 23 snookers, and I'm not sure how many tournaments... we are short on GPs (only 3). So maybe one day we will actually get our ADCH/LAA Bronze! That would be pretty cool :)
Last night I took Spry to the building before lessons. Worked on collection while I'm moving and after multiple jumps. She was picking it up pretty well! Also worked on layering a jump while she does the DW contact, so I can release her after I've gotten in position for the next sequence. She did beautifully considering we've never done this before!! She was exhaused last night which was good - she's been exceptionally ornery in the evenings lately!
9.03.2010
my baby dog is growing up!
it is so fun to watch spry grow up and see her mature. between class last night and class two weeks ago, I see *huge* improvements in her. She is now realizing that agility is a fun team sport!! She has always loved agility but found visiting to be perhaps more rewarding. Once it finally clicked with me that what she needed from me was *not* treats, but interaction (tugging), we have grown leaps and bounds together. She is focusing on me throughout class, not pulling me all over the place to visit her friends. She is not running off during sequences. She is starting to turn tighter and notice my more subtle cues. it's pretty cool :)
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