ResqTails

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!!!

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

So, the snow melted off the grass again, and I decided that I’d get out my stick in the ground weave poles out while I could still pound them into the ground. Plus if they get snowed on, that’s fine.

I took Layla out to work on her weaving today. I am still using the grid guides right now. She is doing really well, I was pleased. I am trying to get her comfortable enough to weave regardless of where I am, so in the clips I am on both sides moving with her, and in another one I am behind her sending her into the weaves without me moving. In both clips she seems to be focusing ahead to the target rather than on me, so that’s good.

Let’s just hope this next storm on Saturday doesn’t bring much snow, and we can keep training!

I really don’t know where to even start. I have good news, training updates, and lots of photos to share.

First, the good news. Over 2 months have passed since Layla came up lame. I have to admit, the pessimist in me had begun to give up on her ever being sound again as time the weeks and months passed. However, last Saturday I thought that she looked sound. Everyone that’s seen her agrees! I haven’t seen her limp for a week now, and I have weaned her off the anti-inflamatory meds and she still is doing great. Woot!!!

We have the next couple of months off of trialing, so I hope to take advantage of that time to focus more on training.

DARE: I am working on foundation skills for obedience and agility with Dare and she’s doing great. Her beginning heelwork is coming along really nicely. We are also working on her “wait” and “stays”. Her “sit” and “stand” are great, but “down” remains her least favorite signal. LOL Lately we’ve been working on “right” and “left”. She prefers “right”, right now. I’m have been able to transition it from how I started with her facing me, to having her walking on either side and still turning. Next I want to transition it to going through the jump standard, (without the bars up) and turn either direction. Honestly, I don’t know that I’ll ever actually think fast enough to get a “right” or a “left” out when I’m running a course, but it’s fun to train anyway.

LAYLA: I just got the new One Jump, Two Jump DVD from Clean Run and if Layla stays sound, I hope to start working through the skills in that DVD with her. It will be a nice winter project. I’m also still working on her Novice Obedience. It was so fun to be able to work with her on some Obedience the other day. She is such a cutie!

TWIST: Twist is still working on his Open Obedience. I really hope that by next summer he’ll have his CDX.

RAVEN: I had every intention to start re-training her A-Frame, but the weather changed on me too fast. I’m afraid that all the agility equipment is going to have to come in the barn next week to be stored for winter. I’m sure that we’ll figure out something else that we can work on that can be done in the barn or house.

Last but definitely not least, I have pictures of Dare’s first fall and first snow. I’ll post them separately though, since this post is getting to be pretty long already.

We’re back! DOCNA Championships were a lot of fun! Zoe did fantastic. She ended up taking 1st place in Traditional Gamblers and her trigility team took 1st place. She took 1st place in both Rd. 1 and 2 of Standard and again 1st place in the Standard Finals. She was in 1st place after Rd. 1 of Jumpers, Rd. 2 I totally had a brain glitch and forgot a loop of the course. That took her out of the finals for Jumpers. In the big class for the Nationals…North American Challenge, she took 2nd place Regionally and then the next day her score held up to maintain 2nd place Nationally! She had a fantastic weekend. Flowing courses, nice people, great judge, beautiful ribbons, and even a little warmer weather than we’ve had here at home. Who could ask for more?

Here is the video of Zoe’s NAC run and then a picture of Zoe and her ribbons and then of all the girls…

We’re off again! This time we’re headed for Prescott, AZ for DOCNA Championships. Should be lots of fun! Three days of agility We are leaving first thing in the morning. It’s about an 8 hr drive. Thank goodness Randy is going along this time so we can take turns driving.

Zoe is the only one entered this weekend, but Layla and Dare are tagging along. My mom is coming in to take care of the rest of the crew here. I’ll try to post updates if we have any internet service at the hotel. Well, that and if I’m not dead tired by the time I get back the hotel at night. LOL

I don’t know why it always takes me about a week to update this after I get back from a trial, but here it is already Thurs. and I haven’t written anything.

Zoe and I finally finished her Ex FAST title this weekend!!!! I was beginning to wonder if we’d ever finish that class. LOL Here is the video of Zoe’s FAST title run. FAST rarely runs just as I hope and this was no exception. We had a bobble at the tunnel, (she took the wrong end, so we ended up having to do it twice to get the points). Fortunately, she still had time to get the send. The “send” portion of the course was a sequence of two jumps out to the dogwalk. I’m really proud of her, she handled it like a pro!

We also got to see Dare’s half sister Tennille. She’s just 7 weeks younger than Dare. What a cutie! Here’s a picture of Dare, Captain and Tennille.

We’re back! We had a great time at the IKC Labor Day trial. I only entered Zoe and Raven for the first two days, but they both did really well. Zoe double Q’d both days, with 3 first places and one second place. Raven earned her first Ex. A Standard Q, and two Open FAST Q’s this weekend.

The only down side was the Zoe still wasn’t able to finish her Ex. FAST title. Raven did really well the first day of the trial. She was eager to run, and kept up decent speed around the course, even if it wasn’t quite like she runs at home or practice. The second day, though, she seemed to be more anxious…I think I’ll take that information and just enter her in one day of a trial next time. I want to keep her attitude happy about trialing.

Here are some videos of the girls Standard runs from Friday.

We’re getting ready to head out for an agility trial this weekend. Zoe and Raven are entered Friday and Sat. Layla and Dare are going along for the experience, and for a semi-private lesson with our Obedience trainer.

All the dogs are bathed, I just need to dremel some toenails…get packed up and leave. Should be a fun weekend! I’ll try to get some video this time.