What have I done???

Yes, I am still alive! Everyone and their brothers, sisters, cousins, and 2nd cousins should know this because in my attempt to "check out" Facebook I managed to send out a mass invite that seems to have spanned the globe and then some!

People that do not know how to use computers should not be allowed to do such things!!! It is beyond embarrassing to see your invite plastered all over every yahoo group that you belong to and it is even more embarrassing to get a really irate reply from one of these groups saying that I am abusing their list! AARRGGHH!!!

I need to stick to dog training, it is definitely a more comfortable area for me, even if it too, can sometimes be rather embarrassing :-)

Wow, I am already ready for this facebook thing to go away but I guess it will be a while!

I also know that I absolutely, positively do NOT have time for anymore computer adventures, it does not go unnoticed that I am constantly way behind in my blog entries. So, if you are one of the lucky ones to have gotten an "invite", and I am not sure how you could have missed it, don't be looking for a lot of posting from me :-)

So, if I can set aside my complete mortification regarding my facebook faux paux for a bit I would like to catch everyone up on my adventures the past 2 weeks.

I was in Salt Lake city for almost 2 weeks teaching and trialing I had a blast! I have started going to Salt Lake to teach a group of students every other month, we started this in Feb. so this was my second workshop with "the group". 

It was so much fun as well as a teachers dream come true, everyone improved so much! They had all obviously been working very hard and the difference was remarkable :-) 

It just goes to show you when you have motivation to train and to get better, you do! It is really great for everyone to know that in a couple of months I will be back and being able to show progress is the very best motivation to do your homework.

I also did 2 half day workshops that went great and did several private lessons over the time I was there.

There was a common theme of the workshops this time and it was how to evaluate where to place the different handling maneuvers that we use throughout a course.

One of the biggest issues was relative to front crosses, it is still interesting to me how many handlers plan their front crosses relative to the jump the dog is taking prior to the side change  without regard to how this thought process affects the dogs position, trajectory and view of the next obstacle in sequence.

Essentially, if a side change is to occur after jump X the handler automatically plans a route that puts them all the way in front of jump X and completely to whichever side (left or right) of the jump that gives the dog the full 4 or 5 feet of bar space. 

This would not be such a big deal if the following obstacle was at least 90 degrees to the left or right of the previous jump, this is rarely the case however. 

The mentality behind this also revolves around the idea that we need to get out of the dogs way over the jump, also unnecessary.

It is because of this people are constantly of the opinion that they cannot get there, being able to negotiate a front cross is less about where you get than it is about timing of the cues!

When you are driving to get to a front cross, you are cuing extension, if you fail to cue the side change before the dog commits to the jump and are still cuing extension as you race to your front cross, your dog will EXTEND over the jump. 

While the dog is accelerating and extending over the jump they are also passing you by giving the impression that you could not get there for the side change. 

Most likely, you were already there you just forgot to tell the dog what they are supposed to do. A dog should never jump straight over a jump that preceeds a side change, they should be curving around the jump towards you in preparation for the cross.

Now, in regards to being in the dogs way of the jump, when I position myself anywhere in the space of the jump this should be an indicator of what "part" of the jump is available for the dog to use and the dog should adjust to accomodate, I am not "in the dog's way". 

This all comes back to foundation training or lack thereof. My dogs are taught to find a path parallel to mine, it is never appropriate to jump in front or behind me, they should always be seeking out a parallel path with goes a million miles towards proper, well executed turns on course. 

I, however, have to cue these turns in a timely manner.

We also spent a great deal of time discussing how to determine where to position yourself on the obstacle to create the most efficient path, trajectory, etc... 

This is very difficult and I think is easier with more course experience, however, it is also helpful to look at the course path from the dogs point of view, move yourself to different positions on the jump and see what the dog sees, this will go a long way in determining where to place your crosses.

You will be unable to do this with any consistency if you are still worried about being in your dogs way over a jump though :-)

So, more training right? Your dog needs to know how to jump into you and use themselves properly to keep the bars up as well as land in the desired position. This is all single jump work.

I am already really looking forward to our sessions in June!!

What else did I do while I was in Salt Lake? Well,, Merger got to go herding with Colleen 3 times, he was in heaven and did very well I hear. The dogs got lots of training and SoBe is feeling great! 

The trials went really well and some of the best news... my building is being fixed as I write this and by the end of the month everything should be back t normal and I can start teaching in Colorado again!!!

I will try to stay more current form now on, realize I said try!!! Until then...