The icing on the Cake

Well, here we are, another year ending, which, in turn means another year beginning... I was going to say a "better" year beginning, but in hindsight 2015 had many highs as well as lows. Each new day brings new challenges, new adventures, new excitement, new joys, and, yes... sometimes tragedies, heart breaks, and, loss. 2015 was filled with all of these days, yet the year flew by as they all do with me ultimately wishing to get some of that time back, wanting to change some things, wanting some do-over's, and, wishing some days could have lasted forever. I am tempted to say that I feel "uniquely" qualified this year, almost an expert if truth be told in life's incredible roller coaster rides from the ultimate highs to the epic low's but that would be presumptuous I am afraid, knowing that it is all part of each individuals journey through life to experience these hugely random, but, very common ups and downs. So, I will instead simply say that I feel as though I had more than my fair share of amusement park adventures in 2015. The main reason I am writing this is because I need to "remind" myself of all of the wonderful, amazing things that sometimes get lost in the tragedies... I also think it is really important to realize the true goodness that can be a direct result of some of the garbage that gets piled on during the less than fantastic parts of this adventure we call life. At the end of each year I "reflect" on that past year and the first thing that always comes to mind is how incredibly lucky I am to have a great husband, 2 wonderful boys, 2 fantastic daughter-in-law's, and, a beautiful new grand baby! Owen is definitely a shining light in 2015 and more than enough reason to appreciate the year as a whole! He is a beautiful baby with a perfect outlook on life, meet each day with a smile, wide eyed and amazed at the wonders of the world around him. He is completely unbiased in his opinions, doubtful he even has any at the tender age of 2 months! Every moment of every day brings a whole new unlimited menu of wonderful things to learn, see, and do. A lot can be learned watching a 2 month old baby. I am also fortunate enough to have what I assume most everyone that would be interested in reading my blog has... the best dogs on the planet! Early in 2015 a dear friend lost is dog to a tragic accident, this dog also happened to be a pup that I bred and was very close too, it was one of those horrible incidents that you are not sure you will ever totally get over. But, out of that tragedy was born, "literally", a wonderful litter of pups that played roles in healing hearts, and, bringing joy in ways that were never imagined. Each of these pups played a part in making things "better" when it was uncertain that "better" was possible. One of these pups was Cake, although dealing with her own difficulties, she was instrumental in helping me through my worst part of 2015. I am not sure I really appreciated it until afterward, but, her zest for life and need to be acknowledged for it brought a much needed smile to my face and made me want to get up and get moving! In 2015 Geoff and I lost 2 dogs, Xtra and Rumor... All of our dogs are special and they all leave lasting imprints on our hearts and mind, these 2 were no different. Losing a beloved pet, aka family member, is always hard and definitely leaves me wishing time would move a bit slower. Competitively 2015 was another banner year! My heart of hearts, true soulmate dog SoBe and I were once again off to Europe to compete for the USA at the IFCS World Championships in Italy! It was another incredible trip, I am again reminded what an honor it is to be able to represent the US on these teams and it also proves that hard work and determination do truly pay off! It does not matter how many times I have done it, every time is equally special! It was even nicer this past year as I was able to be on a team with a dear friend who was "experiencing" Worlds for the first time! In May a very close friend and her husband lost their only son... it is very difficult to even write about this without immediately bursting into tears... there are no words, well, there is just nothing that can ease the pain of such a loss. I cannot in all honesty say there was any good that came of this tragedy other than the fact that people came together to support each other in a phenomenal way and a fantastic foundation was started to help others and hopefully try to put an end to this type of tragedy happening again... As it does time continued to move forward, life went on, many good times to be had. I am also always reminded how lucky I am to have the job that I have!!! Traveling around the World to teach agility is pretty hard to explain in regards to the magnitude of satisfaction I get from helping others! I am often asked if the traveling gets "old", my answer, NEVER! What keeps me going is making new fiends, reconnecting with old friends, and, mostly seeing someones face light up when they have just done something they never in their wildest dreams imagined they could do! I know that agility is just a game, but, it makes people happy. It makes ME happy! Thank you to each and every one of you who make my "job" so amazing! July brings another VERY successful C Spot Win camp, I LOVE camp!! And, Vivids litter of amazing puppies. My wonderful Cake was the first pup trying to enter the World and because of a overlong hard labor things did not go exactly as planned, in a nutshell my best friend and sister from a different mister, and a different mother :-) was there to help and although a little "damaged" Cake became "my" special girl. Circumstances of this delivery also saw a pup going someplace we were not planning and ultimately being the best decision ever! Sending these pups to their new homes became another highlight as it brought together friends who had not seen each other in far too long! A great time was had by all and each puppy turned out to be a saving grace in each individuals life each for different reasons. Then it happened, I got bit by a rattlesnake! You sure don't hear that everyday! I was so incredibly lucky to once again have Deb at my side... I will not recount the whole story as most of you were witness to the snakebite chronicles :-) IT was a huge turning point in 2015 as I was faced with the very first traumatic injury I have ever suffered in my entire life! There were many times that I was not sure I would ever run again, this really freaked me out! The perspective I gained through this experience was life changing to say the least, never again will I take mobility for granted. It also taught me there has to be more to life and the value we put on ourselves than just one thing! I have also learned for once for all that life is short and I will make the most of it. I will also be very choosy regarding what I allow into my life as influence. I am not interested in spending time lamenting others, or, entertaining negativity, its all up from here baby! Somewhere along the way I guess it was decided I really needed to be smacked in the head hard to fully appreciate life and all it has to offer because just days after my snakebite, my brother was in a horrible motorcycle accident that ultimately took his life. I still cant really talk about it there than to say my heart break is nothing compared to my Mom's. While her only daughter was in the hospital recovering from a snakebite her only son was on life support in another hospital. I think the only thing harder than losing a child is having to be part of the decision making process to let that child go. I still do not see any good that came from my brothers death, but, the snakebite taught me loads in life lessons, but, more than that I reconnected with some friends that I had let slip from my life, I also learned just how many amazing friends I have! The support was off the charts and for this I will be forever grateful! I will also always look back on this as the time I learned what really matters in life...As long as I have family, friends, my job, and, my health the rest is just Icing On The Cake!

The "Art" of reinforcement

Art? Is proper reinforcement really an art? I believe it is, for some it comes incredibly naturally, for others it is something that requires much thought and effort, and, for a small number of individuals it is almost impossible to master. I am one of the lucky ones, reinforcement comes very naturally to me, whether human or animal it is very clear to me that learning occurs much faster in a rewarding environment. It goes much deeper than that though :-) The reasons for reinforcement are many: we reinforce to motivate, we reinforce to maintain motivation, we reinforce as a catalyst for learning. I am fairly certain that everyone understands these points, where the problem lies is truly understanding the "placement" of reward to truly reap the benefits of reinforcement as a training tool :-) Before I go any deeper into this blog however, let's deal with the elephant in the room… The portion of the dog training population that feels that rewards are unnecessary in dog training. I know that over the years many dogs have been, and, are still trained without the use of tangible reinforcers, that does not make it right, without tangible reinforcements it is incredibly difficult for a dog to learn to make correct choices based on clear understanding rather than fear of failure. I think there is a lot of learned helplessness that occurs when we expect dogs to perform without a true understanding of the behaviors we are asking for. Learned helplessness is not having the ability to choose the right or wrong decision because the difference between the 2 has never been taught, the dog is in a perpetual state of confusion. Different temperaments will deal with this condition in different ways, from total shut down, to taking control and running amuck. So, we not only need to be willing to use tangible reinforcers, we must have them readily available to mark proper responses, and, most importantly, know where and when to reinforce. In training situations it is not unlikely to see a handler withhold all reward until the end of whatever sequence they are working on, the problems with this are many. 1. You are missing so many fantastic opportunities to reward great things that occurred prior to the end of the sequence, i.e.. a turn that was tighter than before, a perfect contact performance, etc.. 2. By ignoring the great things that happened on course and only rewarding the end you are reinforcing exactly that: the end! There are many dogs that are a bit droopy all the way around the course and perk up amazingly at the end of the run, why do you suppose this is? 3. You are missing opportunities to build value for the obstacles which translates into speed, drive, and, enthusiasm. Once you have truly built value for the obstacles your dog will never notice that the toys and treats are not showing up at trials. I have even heard people say that they will reward the dog when "they" (the handler) gets it right! I think the whole wrongness of this statement is pretty self explanatory and needs no further discussion. It is also argued that you cannot use toys and treats at a trial so the dog needs to learn to work without them. I have a huge problem with this statement, as stated above, one of the benefits of frequent properly placed reinforcements is that they create drive, and, build value for the whole process. In reality if you think bout it you are training at least 75% of the time and trailing maybe 25%, with those differentials how sad to be missing all of those opportunities to create the fast, confident, amazing agility partner we are all looking for! On a happier note, let's talk about when and where to reinforce :-)Proper placement and timing of rewards will in and of itself help build drive and maintain motivation simply because it breeds clarity! You should be rewarding your dog for all behaviors that you would like to continue, avoid reinforcing behaviors that you would like to extinguish. That might seem overly simplified, however, if we could keep our training simple it would be far easier! When you make a mistake, you should reward your dog! The behaviors that your dogs are offering are based on the information you are providing, if that information is contradictory to what your intentions were, the dog is still correct as they were reading what you were saying/showing not what you were thinking! When your dog has a particularly difficult time with a behavior and they finally get it, REWARD your dog! There are definitely places that reinforcement is not indicated, one of the most commonly mistaken places to reward is when the dog deflates and we try to use food to get them motivated, if you are feeding the dog for slowing down, or, for doing nothing you are perpetuating the problem. Reward the dog for working, just be sure that the paycheck not only reflects the level of work you are expecting, but, also what the dog considers fair wage. When you lose a dog to distractions, especially sniffing, hunting for food, etc.. they are telling you that they are not getting paid enough, listen to your dog they have very valuable information to share with you that will make your job as trainer and handler much easier! I realize this blog barely scratches the surface where reinforcement is concerned, it is a topic that could use a class of its own! Maybe that is what I will do a class on proper placement and timing of reward :-) Until then I hope it helps at least a little bit to clarify some of the questions about the value and necessity of tangible reinforcement in dog training!

Peruuuuuuuu!!!!

WOW! Yes, that is the first word that comes to mind when I think of my Peruvian adventure :-)And, an adventure it was! From the initial planning process all the way through the trip it was destined to be a trip to remember. I have been interested in attending the Americas Y El Caribe event since I heard of it 3 years ago, this was the year it actually worked out! Initial plans were to take Journey and SoBe, ultimately it tuned out to be SoBe's turn to be the one in the spotlight all by herself. My biggest concern was the fact that SoBe is a 20/22" jumping dog and in Peru I knew she was required to jump 26". SoBe has always been a very good jumper and I knew she had the skills just not the practical experience. Well, she performed beyond my wildest dreams for sure! More about that later :-) So, plans were made and off we went! I will say it most certainly took a village to make it happen however! I have to thank Daisy Peel for turning me onto this amazing competition and for being a super team leader and travel mate, Oscar Daste for helping bridge the communication barrier and for being so helpful and supportive all the way through the trip! Lea Harvey for making the veterinary stuff a breeze, Lori Mitchell for being "the other" super vet that helped me out, Tina and Dean for always taking the best care of my animals, and, Max200 for being great friends, supporters and believers in team Stacy! The trip started out with an incredibly early drive to the airport which BTW started off unlike most of my trips as the flight was actually on time!!!! I did the part that I always dread the most and checked SoBe in for her flight and away we went! I had a 7 hour layover in Dallas so that I could collect SoBe and let her have some time off the airplane and out of the crate. I met up with Daisy and Oscar in Dallas and we headed to our next flight and final destination of Lima, Peru! We arrived in Peru around midnight on the 1st and got our first taste of the hustle and bustle of Peru. After we got the dogs we had to check in with immigration and present our paperwork, vet certificates, etc… this was a long slow process but all went well ;-) Next was the first serious adventure of the trip, the taxi ride!!!! Another WOW! traffic in Peru is incredible and the way that people drive literally takes your breath away :-) Somehow they create at least 5 lanes out of 3 and weave in and out of traffic like maniacs! Intersections are free for alls and everyone sort of meets in the middle and somehow by osmosis they know who's "turn" is who's. I spent a lot of time I was in Taxi's with my eyes closed!! I think out is fascinating though that we never saw a single traffic accident the entire time we were there! They epitomize the term defensive driving for sure! Oscar arranged for Daisy, Oscar, and, myself to have an apartment for the week which was awesome! There was even a Starbucks right down the street! We arrived around 2:30 a.m. I think! Tuesday was a day off so we went exploring, found the beach, got some groceries, just acclimated for a day. It was great to have this opportunity, I don't think any of us had any idea of what the rest of the week was going to be like and the rest on the first day probably saved us :-)We did get in a little bit of culture too! Went to some ruins that were right in the middle of the little burg we were staying in, it was incredibly cool to get to experience a bit of the Peruvian history. The competition was located in a little town called Molina and it was about 40 minute drive in light traffic, so, you get it more like 1.5 to 2 hours every day back and forth!!! OK, maybe a slight exaggeration, it was only that long the first morning we dialed it back to and hour fifteen to hour and a half the other days :-) We were picked up by the bus at 5:45 a.m. each morning made one stop to pick up the majority of the Columbian team and off to the site we went! The drive was incredible, to see the city in all of it's glory and not so much glory in places was an incredible experience for sure. The stadium where the competition was to be held was beautiful and was right next door to a local merchant alley that most competitors frequented for lunch each day. We set up our crating area and headed down for the vet check and team practice.The surface we were to compete on was an older turf but the dogs did well on it. THe biggest drawback to the turf was how incredibly hot it got! Practice went really well and was followed that evening by opening ceremonies. It was also a chance to start to get to know the competitors from the other countries :-) The South Americans are incredible people and we all seemed to become instant friends! After the opening ceremonies we were treated to a local adult beverage that the Peruvians drink Pisco sours! They could easily join margaritas as my favorite beverage! Pisco is a strong Brandy made from grapes that is made in Peru, one word YUM!!!!! Another thing we learned very early on the first day is how incredibly hilly Peru is and that you need to take stairs to do and go pretty much everything and everywhere! The steps to the competition ring were brutal and thankfully provided all of the exercise anyone could possibly need for the week! Between the steps and the looooong days it was not a worry that any weight would be gained on this trip. Because it is advised that you do not eat fresh vegetables we sustained pretty much on meat, cheese, rice, and, potatoes :-) I did learn how amazing empanadas are and had those a few times too! We were picked up each day of the competition at 5:45 a.m. and returned to our apartment around 10:00 p.m. to say we were tired would be an understatement, but, it was a wonderful exhaustion as the days were filled with agility, and, friends both old and new! The courses were incredible, they were also Long! Numberwise they were not much longer than what we are used to, 21-23 obstacles, but, the course distances were incredible! I would say that the length of the field was at least 130 feet and 100 feet wide and the judges used every inch! Although the courses were very challenging, and, technical they were at the same time flowing and sensible. long and the short of it FUN!!!! It was wonderful to be able to put into practice all of the fancy moves that we are plying with these days and even better was to use them in places that they actually made sense! SoBe was a superstar! She jumped 26" for the first time ever in competition and was amazing! The skills that she had to employ to get over these jumps from the angles, backsides, etc… took my breath away! I was so proud of my girl I cannot even put it into words! I was pretty darn proud of myself too! I handled the courses just the way I wanted to, I planned my runs and ran my plan!! I walked the courses for the most efficient path and never once felt like I was playing it safe! Yea me!!!! It was an incredible rush to go out and just get it done! I can say in all truthfulness that SoBe and I are ready for the Netherlands and our next big adventure!!

The New Year brings some fond memories!

As I sit in my comfy chair surrounded by my incredible and awesome dogs in the living room of my very cozy home in Arizona, I cannot help but think about how incredibly lucky I am :-) I have been a bit dismayed of late as to how fast time really does go and how it seems to speed up with each passing year! A wonderful agility peer that I have known for many years named Maureen Robinson who just happens to be battling cancer right now, (all prayers and positive thoughts welcome!!), posted a picture on my Facebook wall that really reminded me just how much time has passed since I have embarked on this life journey of agility training, handling, and, teaching. I was so touched by the photo, but, at the same time a little freaked out that I barely recognized the youngster in the picture. I was at USDAA Nationals standing alongside one of the greatest dogs that ever walked the face of the Planet, my Secret! This picture really made me think about all that I have done in this sport and because of this sport! I have made countless lifelong friends, been to places I would never have gone, and, most importantly, done things I never would have done. it is actually a bit surreal at times to look back on the accomplishments, adventures, and, amazing dogs I have had the pleasure of being their best friend. It seems like only yesterday that I drove to Northern Illinois to pick up my very first BC puppy Jack :-) What a teacher he was! Jack came along at a time when we really had no idea how to train for this sport, how to handle a dog, what to do in general. Jack made me the trainer and handler I am today. Fortunately subsequent dogs came along and added to as well as tweaked that initial training. :-) Jack was WILD!!! He was a true pioneer of this sport and was well known by pretty much everyone as one of the great dogs out there competing, the irony is that in his whole career he probably had less total Q's than most of mine do by age 3! Boy how times change ;-) I was and still madly in love with that dog and miss him pretty much everyday... Next came Secret, thank goodness I had Jack first or I would have been screwed! Secret was from Day 1, well, PERFECT! I am pretty sure that she was psychic and she certainly made me look good! Secret had so many accomplishments it is not even possible to list them all, most notable however, she was the very first IFCS World Champion, pretty cool! I seem to be digressing, mostly it is a bittersweet trip down memory lane. I miss each and every dog I have lost and am in awe of how short our time together is. Jack, Secret, Buzz, Able, Blitz and others that maybe did not have a shining agility career but were part of the family none the less. It is not my mission with this blog post to bring anyone down, as hard as it is to be without these special pieces of my heart they bring comfort, fond memories, and, have led me to where I am today :-) There is a new crew of competitors all equally special for similar and different reasons. I am super excited to say that although I do not believe there will ever be another Jack, he lives on though his Grandson Wally. Wally is as close to being like Jack as any dog I have had since. My Journey girl sure reminds me of a black smooth coated Secret and Baby Rook has a whole bunch of Able in him! How incredibly exciting!! I also have new and exciting completely different individuals, can you say SoBe?? Maze has desperately tried to out do Secret in the perfect department and I guess on an awards level he has, but, some things just are not measurable by trophies and ribbons. I am one of those people that has a "pack" of dogs and I am deeply invested in each and everyone of them. You could easily say that my life has gone to the dogs, is all about dogs. I happen to love that about my life. None of my dogs are judged by their agility prowess, they all bring something very important to my life, and, our family. Each and everyone has a job, even if it is to keep the buffalo out of the garden. As we head into 2014 there are yet again advancements in the sport we call agility, new and exciting opportunities for me, and, everyone. As I enter into this new year I am only going to look back with fond memories of the incredible experiences I have had with my incredible teammates by my side, the adventures and incredible journeys they have taken me on, and,the amazing people they have introduced me to. Primarily, I am going to look forward to the new experiences, the new incredible journeys, (pun intended!), and, all of the amazing people I have yet to meet! So far 2014 has been amazing, I am blessed with fantastic dogs who I am excited to explore the future with, at this point the future is looking really bright! Now, if we could just add a couple days to the week or hours to the day that would be spectacular!! Happy New Year everyone!!!!

Reflections on 2013 USDAA Nationals and other things...

What a great Nationals it was!! The USDAA Nationals (Cynosport games, just cannot bring myself to call it that), are always my very favorite agility event all year! I love the competition itself, I also love the level of competition and the fact that it gets better and better every year! To be honest I have been very fortunate to have had successful National events year after year. I actually think that fact is what made this years event even more special! I went into this years event convincing myself that regardless of the outcome of my individual runs, I was going to have a great time and simply enjoy and appreciate the fact that I had the opportunity to play with my incredible canine partners. The difference this year vs. the last several is that this year I was showing 2 older dogs and a not so young dog that although awesome and wonderful has been shall we say, a bit of a wild ride! :-) In years past I have always had a dog literally at it's prime to take to Nationals and that in and of itself instilled a lot of confidence in the overall outcome :-) This year I was prepared to enjoy the ride, knowing that the level of competition was going to truly test the mettle of not just me, but, my dogs as well. Well, my head was definitely in the right place as SoBe, my wild child, was at the top of her game all week! She has truly never had such a consistent and successful event! Don't get me wrong, SoBe has already accomplished a lot career wise, but, there is always that edge that takes us from extreme success to, well, the other end of the spectrum. Often on the same weekend! Wally was as spectacular as ever and I do believe even more excited and faster than normal :-) The toughest part of Nationals for me was realizing before we even arrived that Maze was not going to be able to show the way he has in years or even months past... It was a tough decision this year whether he would even show in Championship at this years National event. Maze has always been and incredible 26" jumping dog, he also is one of the most consistent dogs I have ever owned, along with being tight and fast! These attributes allowed him to grace many a podium during his career as well as be a member of the 2011 WAO team representing the USA in Belgium. It was sort of a given throughout his career when Maze ran he would run clean and was very likely place in most events. We have a relationship as a team that has become almost a mind reading situation. He is definitely like the old pair of shoes, very comfortable. I have been in this position many times over the years, the ending of an era as it were. It never gets any easier! Watching these amazing members of our family get older is really hard to take. So, I made the decision to run Maze 1 more year at 26". I believe it was the right decision, although by the time Nationals rolled around it was evident that his days of effortless jumping at 26" were quickly coming to an end. This year has been another good one for Maze competitively, he was on the podium multiple times throughout the year at Regional Championships, had all of his semi final byes many times over, and, was 2nd place overall at the CCOA IFCS event in Dallas this April. All was going exactly as planned. I was very mindful of how much training he got, was careful with how tough his hikes were, and, just tried to be extra careful with him because he is never careful with himself! It was September when it became as clear as my conscious mind would allow it to that he was ready to slow down a bit and dial back the jump height... He got lots of time off and lots of lasering between then and Nationals. I showed him at one more trial before Nationals and split his runs between P22" and 26", he looked so good at 22"! Of course my heart still could not really accept that he was getting old... Nationals this year was not what I had come to expect with my Amazing Maze, but, he was still the dog that goes to the line every time with more heart and desire than could ever be expected! He put in some really super runs and, some not so super runs, however, at the end of the day he is healthy, happy, and, forever wedged in my heart. Along came SoBe doing exactly what I needed to be able to really wrap my head around the fact that Maze is ready to be a Performance dog, she showed me that she is indeed the dog that I have always known that she was! Although, one of the most special dogs on the planet in all ways, she has had her struggles keeping her head together in the agility ring :-) Well, not this week! She was on fire! I cannot really explain what changed, but, we were a true team in every run! I strapped on that new "old" pair of shoes and went into every run with confidence that she proved was warranted! Yes, she had runs that put her in the top 20 of almost every class and that was spectacular of course given the field of competitors that we were playing in, but, it was more about our relationship and where we are now and where we are going "together". Maze passed the torch to SoBe this week and she grabbed on and ran with it! I finished up on Sunday with a huge sense of calm and peace, I also left Tennessee knowing the direction I was going to take with my dogs and am ready to get started on that new set of goals and the next stage in my agility competition career! Don't think that Wally does not factor in there somewhere, I think he sort of the great equalizer :-) Wally has has his SoBe moments as well as his Maze moments. He, too is getting up there in years but is in no way telling me that he wants to stop or even slow down for that matter. Wally retiring will be another whole blog entry as that will be another incredibly hard pill to swallow! The good news is that I do not see that happening anytime soon :-) Before I talk about the future, I want to also mention that another huge part of the "experience" this past week involved making it as much of a vacation as anything! Sonya and I had an amazing trip to the Nationals that included many adventures, but, the night out in Nashville was truly a highlight!! We even went boot shopping and Sonya bought her first ever pair of cowboy boots! It was also great to see so many of my friends from around the country and around the World enjoying themselves so much and having such great runs! It is all part of the experience for sure! On to the future! SoBe has the year of her agility life ahead of her, I can feel it! Journey is ready to step up and start playing, it is so incredibly awesome to start a young dog, the excitement of the unknown :-) Although, I know that she is going to be the Fantastic Journey that her name implies! I have another Secret weapon in the arsenal named Rook that will be an up and comer as well! I am very blessed to also have a literal houseful of doggy family members that for various reasons either don't do agility at all, or, just play on a smaller scale, each and every one of them is an incredibly important part of my life and help shape where I go in this sport and in life in general. I also have to give a huge amount of credit to my wonderful family!! I not only have a super awesome husband but 2 wonderful sons, a new daughter-in-law, and, a soon to be daughter-in-law! I am a lucky, lucky human and am ready to take that step into the next era...

Has training become obsolete?

As I was in my building training Atom today I was thinking a lot about where he is in his training and what my ultimate goals are with him. This, of course, makes me think about the behaviors that he needs to know to actually compete in the agility ring. Now I am thinking about trialling and what really constitutes a trial "ready" dog? It feels to me in this day and age of endless trials weekend after weekend that we are starting to fall behind in the actual training department. It seems that training is getting sidelined in favor of trialling. In the "good old days" of agility we were forced to take "breaks" from trialling as there were actual seasons of agility and in between there were months off. I often hear people comment how they "need" to go to the trial coming up because they "need" this Q or that Q that has been eluding them for the last several months, or years... Seems to me that a better way to go about getting that Q would be to take a step back, evaluate what it is that is actually keeping you from getting those Q's and create a plan to fill those holes. A good example would be all of the great opportunities we currently have regarding seminars and continuing education opportunities. It is the rare individual that will pass on a trial to take the opportunity to learn something new, or, just brush up on skills that have maybe deteriorated over time. Once again, the thought being, there is a trial and I need that Q in... Don't get me wrong there is a ton of value is ring experience and there are certainly dogs that benefit from ring time in addition to training time, however, there needs to be a balance. There also needs to be plain and simple down time, time for dogs and humans alike to recharge their batteries and just be :-) The aforementioned spewing was more about the older more seasoned dogs, what about the up and comers? When is is the right time to start showing and what do the dogs need to know before entering the ring. Another thing I need to make clear is that I truly believe taking a "test drive" as it were with a youngster is a great idea! You need to keep it in perspective though :-) Just because you enter a trial does not mean that you are now required to enter every upcoming trial. Treat that first trial as a fun match, see where your strengths are, but, be very aware of your weaknesses, the dogs weaknesses and your overall weaknesses as a team. Take notes and evaluate whether these are training issues that need to be sorted out in a training environment, or, are they stress issues that are better sorted out at the trial? What are training issues v. stress issues? Primarily your training issues are going to revolve around impulse control and tangible obstacle issues. How is your start line? Can you ask your dog to stay and stride confidently to your desired lead out position fully expecting your dog to stay their until you have verbally released them? Does your dog know how to find an obstacle when you cue it without needing you to be part of the whole visual picture of that obstacle? Have you taught your dog the desired criteria on the complex obstacles to the point that they are independent? Are you maintaining your criteria? Is your dog fully aware that it is their job to pay attention to you? Do they understand the various physical and verbal cues that you are planning to use to get your dog to offer specific behaviors while negotiating the space between the obstacles? I know, lots of questions :-) I think it is a great idea to list out what cues you are planning to teach your dog and what the expected criteria is. It is a good idea to list out the expected criteria on your obstacles and evaluate whether you have taught the dog to take responsibility for them. Stress issues that may need to be addressed in the ring would be the dog that reacts to adrenaline in a manner that takes them over the top in a trialling environment as opposed to the quiet steady worker in a training environment. I think it is a super idea to look all the way back to your foundation training, or, look at what you are planning for foundation training and know exactly what you are looking for as an end result, plan your route to achieving this end result and take your time! It is so much easier to train something correctly the first time than to go back and retrain, I speak from loads of experience here :-) Try not to get so caught up in the fun of trialling that you forget what it is that will actually make you successful: clear, concise, consistent TRAINING along with breaks to just hang out and enjoy each other! Don't be in a hurry to trial a young dog, I do not think age is the mitigating factor, maturation is :-) There are a lot of dogs that mature early and are ready to trial early, this often goes the other way as well. Let your dog tell you when they are ready. Mostly, enjoy the process! The whole point of this sport is to demonstrate teamwork between a dog and handler, it is not one-sided, each of the entities has responsibilities and time and care must be taken to create this understanding. This blog comes after a spectacular weekend of trialling, my first trial in 2 months! During that 2 months we were taking time to smell the roses and most importantly train, it is said that the proof is in the pudding, the pudding was darn good this weekend! ;-0

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!