GOODBYE 2009…FULL SPEED AHEAD TO 2010!
Another year has come and gone. It was a year packed with lots of memories. Some I’ll cherish forever, and some I wish I could forget. LOL Looking back though, I can honestly say that I’ve learned something from all the experiences, both good and the not so good.
Today was a test. Not one of those annoying emergency broadcast system tests, but a test nonetheless. LOL I just haven’t been able to make up my mind about whether I was comfortable entering Layla in an agility trial yet, or not. I thought it would be a good test to see how Layla would do in a new place and on different equipment before I decided what to do next. I have to admit, that I was pleasantly suprised. Especially with her weaves. She never missed an entry and she finished all 12 poles every time. Not bad for a young dog that’s been weaving for just about a month! All in all, she did great. 
I also got some information about where I need to focus my attention on her training, specifically on her dogwalk and A-frame contacts. Also, I keep forgetting that if we’re going to do AKC agility, I need to work on a broadjump with her. Anyway…here is her video from today.
After the 15 degrees below zero last week, we had a bit of a heat wave with the latest storm. It was in the upper 30′s and it melted all the snow we had and the new snow that fell was so wet that it just melted. So, my grass has made an appearance again and we’re thrilled! I brought out the weave poles again for Layla. I thought I’d add a jump to what we’ve been doing. First we did the jump before the weaves and then later we tried it after the weaves. If the weather cooperates, I’ll start changing the angles of the jump for different entries next.
Here’s today video of Dare’s 2o/2o. You’ll see that I have replaced the grid guides at the bottom with two pvc pieces. I wanted to get rid of the bigger visual aid as soon as I could, and yet still have a reminder for her of where I want those front feet to stay. She did pretty well. She had a few times at the start where she either stepped on the pvc or over it to the side and I just waited till she moved her feet back inside the guide or I released her without a treat and we tried it again. It didn’t take long and she seemed to understand what she was expected to do. The next thing I wanted to work on was being able to run past her while she stayed in the 2o/2o position. That is what you’ll see in the clip today.
So, I’ve been spinning and spinning over what to do lately about agility trials coming up this spring. The big debate is what to do with Zoe, Layla and Raven. Sorry if this gets really long and drawn out…if only you could hear the debate in my head. LOL
First of all I don’t know what direction to go with Zoe. Zoe and I have tried a variety of the different agility venues that are out there. NADAC/ASCA, USDAA, DOCNA and AKC. In recent years we’ve focused mainly on AKC agility, with a little DOCNA sprinkled in here and there. I just can’t decide whether to continue doing AKC with Zoe, in hopes of getting her MACH2. She’s already 9 1/2. In looking back at what it took for us to get her MACH, I think we’d be looking at the liklihood of it taking two years of trialing to be able to finish a MACH2. She’s got the speed points, but she needs 18 more pesky double q’s. In two years she’ll be almost 12. I don’t even like to think about her getting older! 
Even though I’d really like to think that she could still be running in two more years, I don’t think I’ll want to jump her at full height at that age. Thus the debate…In my fantasy world where I have unlimited funds and time, I’d say “yes, who cares if you get the MACH2, just keep running and see what happens”. In my real world where there is a very real limit on both time and money, I think it really doesn’t make sense to spend both on a title that is probably not within our reasonable grasp.
Then Layla…I had hoped that she would be ready to enter in Novice agility in March for the Sheltie Nationals, (since they are in AZ this year). However, I never expected that she was going to come up lame and we would lose more than 2 1/2 mo. of training time this fall. Now we are behind where I expected to be with her training. It’s also the worst time of year for training more than just pieces, since we’re mostly training in our barn now. So, I can’t decide whether to try to enter her anyway…or just bag my plans for Sheltie Nationals this year.
Lastly, Raven. Raven just goes crazy to do agility and obedience at home. She has an absolute hissy fit if you go out to train one of the other dogs and she has to wait inside the house. When she gets to the trials though, she’s a totally different dog. She acts like she needs a cheerleader to get around the course. All the confidence and speed that she has at home is lacking. She just doesn’t have the temperment that handles the trial environment well. That having been said, she still has been able to get to Excellent and earn one leg towards both her AX and her AXJ. I’d really like to finish those titles and then just let her do agility at home and forget about trialing with her. It just seems so odd to me to have a dog that is just coming up on 5 years old that I wouldn’t be trialing with.
Anyway, the decision is coming up the quickest for the crew here is for January. There is an AKC trial that I’d like to enter, but I don’t know who or what to enter. LOL I think it’s a waste of funds to enter Zoe, but I can’t imagine going to a trial and not running her. I’d like to enter Raven and hopefully get closer to finishing off that AX and AXJ. And…I’m toying with the idea of entering Layla in Novice FAST, just to see where she’s really at, but I also think it’s just rushing her. Any thoughts??? Besides that I’m crazy. LOL
As I’ve already mentioned, we’ve been forced into the barn for training now because of the weather. Not only do we have snow on the ground, but the last few mornings, it’s been below zero. One morning it was 15 below zero, and yesterday was 8 below. Today we are back above zero, but it’s still miserable weather to be outside. Anyway, the reason I bring it up is that the barn makes it pretty difficult to video. There isn’t enough room to set a tripod up far enough away to get all 12 poles in the clip. Instead, I have to sucker someone into coming out to video for me. So, the video for today is really blurry because my husband was pretty close to us as Layla weaved past him. Regardless, I think you’ll be able to see that Layla is now weaving without any guides. Yay!!!
The weather took a turn for the worse this week, and I’ve resigned myself to training in the barn. Not that I’m not grateful for having shelter from the wind and snow, but other than that, it’s pretty much like training in a freezer. On the bright side, it doesn’t seem to bother the dogs at all. So, here is the video clip from today of Dare beginning her 2o/2o contact training. Well, it’s not the very beginning. She’s been working on a flat plank, but I decided to move on to a slightly inclined plank today. I have been trying to focus on her being able to find the 2o/2o position with me in various places, moving and not moving. She’s doing really well. I need to remember to release her forward though, instead of always to me, (thanks for the reminder Vici!) So, here’s a short clip from earlier today.
I went out yesterday and took another short video clip to show where we’re at with training of Layla’s weaves now. I’ve taken the more visual grid guide things off the poles, except at the entries at both ends. I replaced them with guide wires, and now I’m taking the guide wires down little by little. You’ll see they are attached to one pole each, but no longer forming a complete guide. Next I’ll be taking those down. Hopefully the weather keeps on cooperating long enough that we can get to that point before we get snow again. I’m still working on me being on both sides of the weave poles, and running ahead of her and behind her, but this clip is short and I just don’t have the patience at this point to do all the fancy editing and stuff that a lot of you do with your videos. So, it just shows her going through one time, one way. Oh, and as a little side note, I do see that my stick in the ground weave poles are starting to look like they are about ready to fall over too. I may have to move them if I get some ambition later today. LOL