Day one, what FUN!!!

SoBe, Maze, Journey, and I are in Fort Worth Texas at the USDAA CCOA Tournament this week and this was day one of a 4 day event :-) What a great day it was!! The weather is beautiful, the arena is wonderful, and, the competition is stiff!! I LOVE it!! It was a challenge just getting here to be honest. We had the second snowstorm in 10 days that made the first driving day a bit of a nightmare. Our big travel day was Tuesday, this the day following SoBe's full day in the hospital in IV fluids, and, having every test known to man to try to figure out why she was not eating and so lethargic.. The tests showed nothing although she was still uninterested in food and having less than solid stools (TMI, I know :-) Tuesday morning came, and, off we went :-) The weather was horrible as were road conditions. We still managed to make it all the way to our planned first night destination of Wichita Falls, TX. We settled in and got up Wednesday morning to a beautiful sunny day! SoBe ate breakfast for the first time in 4 days and I was feeling great! Wed. we finished our drive and arrived at the site for our practice. The dogs were super excited and practiced well. We were able to take a couple of walks at the great park across from the Will Rogers Center which made Wednesday the relaxing day that I was hoping for before the competition began. Journey was enjoying her walks, although I am sure she is wondering why exactly she came along :-) Hard to explain to her that I just love to have her with me and wanted her on the trip just because! It is Thursday night and day one of the competition is in the books. IT was a pretty fantastic day! SoBe won the 22" Grand Prix. She also took 2nd place in the 22" masters Challenge jumpers class! Maze took 4th in the Masters Challenge junipers class and 9th overall in Steeplechase :-) Given the level of competition at this event, i could not be more pleased! Tomorrow is another day and I will update my blog with the results. Have a great day everyone!

Snowed in!!!

Well, I have managed to miss pretty much all of winter this year and I am certainly paying for it now! Northern Colorado has been hit with a massive snowstorm that is not over yet!! As much as I enjoy a good snow storm now and again, the timing could not be worse! I am supposed to be in Salt Lake City right now working with my outreach group! There is also a trial this weekend in Salt Lake that I am entered in, so... we will see how this plays out :-) Until then, thought it was time to catch up on a little blogging! I cannot believe that it is the middle of April already, where does the time go! It has been pretty busy so far this year and it is about to get loads busier :-) I love that about my life and career, I really enjoy being busy especially since it is doing the things that I love the most, teaching, training, and, trialing! I have some fun things in the works, in addition to my skills and drills online subscription service I am working on a foundation program that will truly encompass what is needed to progress from puppy to agility superstar :-) I am very excited about this project! So, what else is going on? I have a very busy year moving forward and have already started to fill up the 2014 calendar. I am very excited to say that I will be heading back down under again in November for another 3 and a half weeks of seminars all over the Australian continent! I am not interested in having time speed up, but, I will say that I am seriously looking forward to seeing my friends and making a whole bunch of new ones! The dogs are doing great and I have already had 2 incredibly successful Regional competitions bringing home some hardware and much appreciated byes for the 2013 Cynosport games!! SoBe, Maze and, I will be heading to Dallas next week to compete in the CCOA tournament, this is the doorway to the 2014 IFCS World Championships and I am really looking forward to the competition. I truly feel that both the dogs and myself are ready and a good time should be had by all! I am also planning on attending the WAO US Open in November hoping to also play on the 2014 WAO World team. Big goals for this year! In an effort to meet those goals I am going to really knuckle down and work hard, which means learning to be a more effective time manager. I know this is an area of difficulty for many people, and, I, for one would like to change that about myself. This change is going to begin with "scheduled" training time for myself and my dogs, scheduled exercise, more defined work periods to get caught up on scheduling, articles, online projects, etc.. This also means limiting wasteful computer time, the dreaded Facebook vortex! Trust me, a lot of good can come from Facebook, but, it is also a monumental time waster if not kept in check. For this reason I am going to restrict myself to my page and the comments sent directly to me via my wall, or, comments on postings that I make on my wall :-) I love that now Facebook messaging can be done completely over the phone so that I can still stay in touch with the folks that I communicate with primarily through Facebook messages without getting sucked into the whole news feed. I am not the best when it comes to will power so it is often best to initiate these changes pretty much cold turkey :-) I am also very lucky to be having the most amazing time training my lovely little (OK, not so little:-) Journey girl! I am so incredibly in love with this puppy, she is just a complete pleasure to train, live with, and, just hang out with!!! Her training is coming along really nicely and she is a virtual sponge when it comes to anything I attempt to teach her. We are working on dog walk and A-frames at present as well as weave poles :-) It will be a surprise to everyone, including myself, what the contacts turn out to be :-) Danger is staying sound and as a matter of fact won his first ever PGP in Albuquerque a couple weeks ago. He also got a PSJ Q so he can now play in the Utah Regional in June! So, back to the idea of a foundation program that is not only suited for starting a puppy, but, also for filling gaps in older dogs who may have missed a few steps along the way, wouldn't it be grand! Everyone has such a different and unique perspective on what foundation really is and how it relates to this crazy sport of agility! I, of course have my own ideas in that department and am so excited to get it down in writing and on DVD, online, everywhere!! In the hopes of helping people Worldwide achieve the goals that they set for themselves. Although foundation training has become a bit of a buzz phrase in the past few years, I think we are still lacking in resources that really cover this topic in a comprehensive manner. Although there are a few really good programs available people like choices, there is no one way to teach or learn anything and hopefully I can contribute in a positive way to what is already available. There is definitely more to come!! Until then...

Keeping it in perspective...

I have had a lot of time on my hands lately! Not something you will hear me say very often :-) I am, quite honestly, not sure how to handle it?? I better figure it out quick though as all of this "extra" free time to come to an end soon! A variety of things contributed to my 3 plus weeks of lady of leisure status, but, it has certainly given me a lot of time to "think" about things :-) I freely admit is, I am a hyper active individual and when I find myself without a packed schedule I seem to just start spinning in circles! I have tried to make a conscious effort every day to just stop and appreciate that I have this time to spend doing whatever I feel is most necessary at that moment! I did have really good intentions as far as what computer type work I would get done during this travel hiatus... well, I guess what I needed more than anything else after a jam packed 2012 was some brain down time as well as physical down time. I have gotten my Skills and Drills Online subscription service up to date and am very excited about the site! It is really nice to have a way to reach people who do not have access to regular instruction either because of where they live or time constraints! With the subscription service, you have access to training drills, and, feedback from myself and other subscribers, but, no mandatory deadlines for homework submissions! I am having a great time challenging students to push themselves and think outside the box a bit! I have also had opportunity to train my dogs on a more consistent basis. I am still careful to not overdo.. I am definitely of the belief that quality outdoes quantity every time! The ability to spend at least a few minutes everyday has been a real treat though, both for me AND my dogs!! It has been pretty awesome that this hiatus is occurring when I am in Phoenix as the weather has been pretty darn close to perfect! And yes, I am LOVING my "new" agility playground :-) SO, with all of that said, what was the real reason for this blog post today? PERSPECTIVE, how do we keep everything in perspective as we travel down the path of life? That is a HUGE question and I am quite certain that "I" cannot answer it for everyone, but, I can continue to try to answer it for myself :-) Everyone says, don't sweat the small stuff, well, what is the small stuff? I think that is an individual answer as well. I, personally, am not exactly sure what the small stuff is, but, I have thought a lot these past few weeks about what really matters to me as an individual. My family matters, it is extremely important to me that my family be safe, healthy, happy, and, living their individual lives the way that makes THEM happy. I cannot get bent out of shape if we do not speak to each other on a daily basis, I don't take it personally that my children have lives outside of mine, that sometimes mean sacrifices, or, time apart when we would really like to be together. I do not expect my children to provide my happiness, only I can do that! Keeping it in perspective means understanding that. My friends matter, I want the very best for my friends and appreciate all that they do for me. I have to be willing to give as well as receive, but, without keeping score. To be a friend means accepting the person for who they are, good and bad. Nobody is perfect, you are friends because you appreciate the imperfections of those friends as much as the things that you love about the person. Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! My husband matters, I realize he falls under the family category, but, figured I better mention him specifically! ;-) All the stuff I said about family and friends most certainly applies to my husband! Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! My dogs matter, again, my dogs are my family, but, since they are not human we have to appreciate them on a different level for different reasons :-) My dogs make me smile and laugh everyday! My dogs offer me comfort and offer me a way to be at peace everyday! at least one of my dogs frustrate me in some form or fashion almost everyday! My dogs are dogs and not people and for that I am thankful most of the time, they do not judge, they love you unconditionally, and, they feed your ego, as well as often keeping it in check! :-) My dogs have a limited time on they Earth, as we all do, and, I want to appreciate that time, not wish it away, take it for granted, or, spend any more time than humanly necessary stressing about things beyond my control. I know that my dogs do not lay awake at night coming up with new ways to NQ on an agility course and every run that we have together is special whether we Q or not. Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! My career matters, I LOVE teaching, I LOVE helping people to achieve goals they never thought possible, I LOVE seeing the satisfaction people feel when they do something they had no idea they could do. It is incredibly gratifying to me to be able to make my living meeting people and dogs all over the world and helping to shape their individual idea agility and where they want it to take them. I LOVE the fact that agility serves a different purpose in each persons life and that there is no single definition of success in this sport. I LOVE the idea sharing that keeps this sport moving forward. I love that we can compete in agility, or, just play in agility, or even just play in agility in a way that is competitive within ourselves even if not competitive at the National level. Competition is something that people really have a hard time keeping in perspective. The word competition brings up a myriad of feelings and different thoughts, ideas, and, definitions depending on who you ask. I have never understood why the work competition has been primarily a negative... Competition is healthy, it keeps us motivated, it keeps us moving forward, and, it keeps us from stagnating. I do believe that people like to compare competitiveness to sportsmanship and these are 2 distinctly different things! Linda Mecklenburg posed the question on Facebook the other day about what people think being competitive means, the answers were very interesting! I believe you can be a good sport and be competitive, or, vice versa... your choice! Being competitive can also bring out the worst in people, we have all seen what happens when a person becomes competitive to the point that they are "always" in the ribbons... others begin to judge unfairly, criticize, even make things up to make themselves feel better. How sad is that? It has been said that nobody likes a winner, how incredibly sad! A gracious winner, is very likable! I study the competitive folks in agility to learn, what a fantastic opportunity! With the internet, number of competitions, access to trainers from all over the World we are so very lucky!! Every one has the opportunity to be competitive, instead of disparaging those that are, get out there learn from those that can teach you, put the work in and pay them the biggest compliment that can ever be paid, WIN! Or better yet, realize that competitive to you means something completely different, just going to the line is a major hurdle for some, combat a fear and win that battle! Remember, your biggest competition is always going to be yourself! It is important to be aware of what others are doing enough to have an idea of what your own goals are, but, reaching those goals is for you, and, about you! Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! I am going to spend the day with my puppies, doing a little agility, going for a nice walk, and, meeting up with a wonderful human friend to go watch her dog herd! I even get to try out my little Journey and see if she has the "instinct". What a great day, filled with great opportunities! Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! :-)

Contacts, contacts, and more contacts :-)

The never ending discussion, what type of contacts do I want to train? I can tell you the thought process goes through my head numerous times a day! Well, whatever you decide, running, moving, 2on/2off it is crucial that you know what you are teaching, how you are going to teach it, and, why you are teaching all of the various steps. Do "you" understand the process, the means to the end? I think a lot of people teach things because they are told to by their instructors, peers, etc... They do not fully understand what they are teaching, without understanding why you are teaching something, without understanding what you are teaching, the steps involved etc... you cannot be successful. Every method of contact performance must be taught, consistent running contact performance cannot be achieved by osmosis, often when a person feels that 2on/2off is not working, or, they get tired of the supposed tedium involved they decide to go to running. Running contacts do not magically happen because you do not like or understand the training process for 2on/2off :-) The same is true for 2on/2off, just deciding that 2on/2off is what you would like the criteria to be does not make it magically happen. Believe it or not this post is really not about running contacts, but, 2on/2off. As fashionable as running contacts are right now, there are still a lot of people who are just not the right fit for running contacts. 2on/2off contacts are not any more difficult to teach than running, as long as there is understanding of the process, consistent criteria, and, criteria maintenance. 2on/2off contacts get a bad rap for being hard on a dog physically, create slow, or, creepy contacts, or, break down. All of these things are true if they are not trained properly. There is a specific way to teach 2on/2off contacts that create speed, drive, accuracy, and proper body position to eliminate all of the above issues. Keeping in mind that any behavior is only as strong as it's foundation is a critical component, also remembering that reinforcing the most important part of the criteria is uber important! Dogs will only offer consistent performance of any behavior if the behavior you are asking for is more rewarding than what they would choose to offer on their own. Words to train by! Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

another year gone by... reflecting on 2012

When I was younger my mom was always telling me not to wish my life away, and, that as you get older time just goes faster! I never really believed that I was wishing my life away and I certainly never thought that time would speed up to the point that you barely even realize that it is going by until another year passes! When you are young and have your whole life ahead of you it never seems that time goes fast enough you are always looking forward to the weekend, graduation, getting your drivers license, Christmas, etc... When you become an adult and join the "real" world you are forever wishing that time would slow down a little bit! 2012 saw me turn 45 years old!!! I cannot even begin to understand how I went from a rowdy teenager to a 45 year old woman in what appears to be just a couple of years! The really great news is that I have been blessed in my life with so many wonderful things! It is because of this that I am so incredibly aware of how fast time goes :-) I think if it is possible 2012 was the fastest year I have ever experienced! It was a fabulous year, and, at the same time there were some not so fabulous things that although inevitable, still hurt. We lost Able in 2012, it still amazes me that he was 13 and a half years old! it still feels like he should be that silly puppy or crazy agility dog that was an integral part of many of my fondest agility memories. 2012 brought a lot of happiness and great times as well, my oldest son got engaged to a wonderful girl, my family has a lot to be thankful for and I never take any of these things for granted! 2012 brought me my wonderful Journey puppy from Poland and a chance to make a new forever friend in her breeder Marzena! 2012 was a fantastic agility year for me again :-) I had the opportunity once again to spend my working time with so many fantastic people,teaching and at the same time learning :-) I went to so many awesome places as well! Spending the majority of the month of November in Australia was obviously a highlight of the year :-) Not just being able to experience such a fantastic country but meeting so many wonderful people as well as reconnecting with people I have not seen in years! I had the extreme pleasure of being selected to represent the United States with Maze at the WAO World Agility Championships in Belgium. Words cannot begin to describe how wonderful it is to be able to represent our fabulous country overseas doing what I have made my lifes passion, career, hobby, and, obsession! I freely admit that I love the sport of agility and I love hanging with my dogs. To be able to combine that with International travel, different cultures, and, styles just makes it one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I was once again lucky enough to have had a fabulous year of competition in the states as well! Maze went 6 for 6 clean at AKC Nationals ultimately making the Finals and earning a spot on the podium! What a thrill! In Spet. it was time for USDAA Nationals where all of my dogs made me proud! maze was a 26" finalist in both GP and Steeplechase!, SoBe was on a super DAM team who made it to the Team relay!, Danger made his debut at USDAA Nationals and had the greatest time, and, to topic off Wally was overall 2nd place P 16" team dog, wan, the most wonderful thing of all... 16" PSJ WINNER!!!!!! It was the crown jewel on our year of competition for sure. As we head into 2013 it is time to reassess goals, set some new ones, and, get ready for another fabulous year! I know one thing for certain, as New years resolutions come and go, this one will stick... no sweating the small stuff, be the best person that i can be, focus forward, and, love every minute of this life! HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!

Remembering Able

My very first memory of Able was before I even knew him. I had decided a few weeks before I knew anything about him that I would really love to get another BC and this time I wanted a smooth red boy! Of course that was before I realized that choosing on color or coat is not the best idea :-) Fortunately for me, it turned out perfectly on this occasion! Anyway, one day out of the blue Ables breeder, who also bred Secret called me and asked if I was interested in getting another BC, she went on to tell me that she had a litter on the ground as we spoke and that they were 4 weeks old. I proceeded to ask if there were any smooth red males, she said there were 2 and that I could have my pick! It was fate, right? Well, I told her to choose whichever one she thought would be best for me and he would be perfect! 4 weeks later I picked my new baby up from the airport in Vermont of all places as I was to teach a camp that week and it just made sense since he was coming from the Toronto Canada area to ship him to Vermont. I had never even seen a picture of him at this point! I arrived at the cargo area of the airport had a brief argument with the customs officer about trying to get my boy into the States since he was from Canada and finally got to meet Able. From the very second I opened his crate I was in love, I knew from that very moment that we were going to share a very special bond and that we were meant for each other! As he grew, (boy, did he grow!), it became increasingly obvious that he was going to be a big boy! It was at about 4.5 months that he was dubbed donkey dog because of his ginormous head and ears that did not quite match his gangly body :-). Shortly thereafter he was diagnosed with OCD, in this case I am very sure that the OCD was brought about simply due to his excessive growth rate, he had surgery on the first shoulder, endured a couple months of crate rest only to be released to be a dog when he began limping on the other leg! OCD of course :-) Off to surgery we go again... He came through it all like the fighter he always was.

Able loved to swim, he loved to hike, he loved to play, he loved us... He protected me in many rest areas on many trips to agility trials. You would never get near the car if Able was in it, if the big yellow eyes, and prick ears didn't scare you off the bark sure would. Able hated all things with wheels! Bikes, scooters, lawn mowers, you name it. Those of you that learned that the hard way over the years he was truly sorry :-) Able was the focal point of a series of Clean Run articles I did years ago called bringing up Able, I loved those articles and to this day people still talk about them and remember some of his finer moments. Besides being a part of my heart and soul Able was an incredible agility dog, what he taught me cannot be measured. To say it was at times a very difficult road would be an understatement. I can remember many occasions that I almost threw in the towel because he was such a crazy boy, who seemed to have one agenda, his! Boy how that changed! By the time Able retired he had become "the old pair of shoes" I always knew what to expect, what he was going to do, we were a team! I always said that although I won a World Championship with Secret, just making the World team with Able was at that time my greatest accomplishment, I am fairly sure I still believe that.

Able was famous primarily for his rubber chicken that he was always holding outside of the agility ring, I was reminded today that it actually started out as a rubber pig! He ripped the pig in half after his ADCH run, I was never able to find another pig like the first one so he graduated to the chicken. That chicken was blamed for a lot of stuff, but, it made Able very happy. I can remember a couple of "Busy Bee" arguments with Geoff at trials, just substitute rubber chicken for busy bee and you get it... LOL!!

Able was a very happy boy who brought a lot of joy to our family, up until the very end Able lived a very dignified life that he lived on his terms, enjoying every moment regardless of what he was doing at any given moment! He was my teammate and partner in agility for many years and his accomplishments are many, he was another true pioneer of the sport and I thank him for that, mostly though he was my friend, my protector, and, my soulmate. Sleep well my friend, I love you more than words can describe and I will miss you!

Life down under

It is November 16 and I have been in Australia since the 2nd :-) I know it does not seem like a tremendously long time, and it isn't a tremendously long time, however, when you are a world away, and dog less it feels like an eternity! ;-) It is bittersweet however, because I am having the most amazing time teaching all of the wonderful folks down under, and, at the same time find myself quite homesick :-) I have now had the opportunity to teach in 2 different parts of the country and will go on to teach at a third before I head home. What an incredible opportunity!!! The folks here are virtual sponges and are such tremendous students! The scenery here is absolutely to die for and the weather has been glorious! It is quite amazing to see the incredible wide range of birds flying overhead all of the time, cockatoos, kookaburras, and, lorikeets just to name a few. The dogs here are wonderful and it has been fascinating to get to learn the differences in the agility program in Australia. There are a lot of differences and at the same time a lot of similarities. The courses are not easier or harder, just different. I had the opportunity to go to a trial while I was in the Sydney area and even had a chance to run a couple of dogs, what fun! I have been to Sydney Harbor, through the Blue Mountains, toured wine country, and, done some serious shopping, what a lucky person I am! I have at the same time seriously missed my dogs, my family, and, my friends :-) I know that my dogs will be better for the trip as they have had a much needed break, the family will be pleased to see me again, and, hopefully the friends too! For now I am going to sign off, as it is getting on to "tea time", just wanted to catch everyone up on what has been going on down under :-) P.S. I am not sure that I will know how to drive when I get home, and, i may talk a bit funny, but, it will be a trip to remember for sure!!