Often when I teach Novice/Intermediate level seminars and there are sequences of obstacles involved, handlers will first comment about the fact that they are running a "baby" dog and that said "baby" dog is not necessarily ready for whatever the sequence is. At this point handlers will generally over handle the situation trying to avoid allowing the dog to make a mistake, etc...
This is all very innocent of course, all done in the name of helping the dog be successful, however, even though the handler is completely managing the exercise mistakes are made. Most of these mistakes are due to confusion on the dogs part because the handler is acting in an unfamiliar way, giving unfamiliar cues, probably Being a bit erratic in their physical cues.
Think about all of those nights at class, the seminars, etc... You are teaching your dog to recognize and respond to the cues that you will be utilizing throughout the dogs career, these are the cues you should be using now as well.
Before you begin to sequence, you teach the cues, hand signals, motion cues, etc... You do this on 1 or 2 jumps.
When you start to add obstacles to your sequences you absolutely should not change your cues or anything else that you have taught your pup to respond to. There is no reason to modify or change what you have been teaching simply because your dog is inexperienced. Changing your cues or handling strategy will do nothing except ultimately require you to retrain the things you originally trained when the dog is no longer considered a baby.
When you begin to sequence with a young dog the only differences in how you should handle this dog vs. An older more experienced dog is to keep the sequences shorter with even more than the usual effusive praise and reinforcements for a job well done, and, don't be in a hurry, speed comes with understanding, clear concise cues without rushing will get the job done without compromising the end result.
Your cues should be a bit more dramatic to ensure understanding. It is at this point in my dogs career that they learn the meaning of the individual cues, the more consistent I am in how I present these cues and the more clearly I present them, the better the dog will be
able to react quickly upon the initiation of these same cues later as the dog matures.
Your handling decisions should be the same with your novice dog as they are with your agility champion, just more dramatic!
In summary, train your pup, trust your training, maintain clear consistent criteria and most of all, HAVE FUN!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Contacts :-)
I have been thinking a lot about contact obstacles again recently, OK, it is true I am pretty much always thinking about contact obstacles! Recently, however, they have been a huge topic of discussion at seminars that I have been teaching. They have kind of moved into the spotlight because I have been using them a bit more in seminars.
In general I am not a huge fan of contact obstacles in handling seminars as they are either a problem because they are "speed bumps" and make certain handling situations easier. I also think they can cause a completely different problem, they hinder peoples ability to truly plan their handling strategy because a lot of students worry around contacts, not trusting the dog to perform them properly so they babysit the contacts completely throwing off their handling.
I have been bringing the contacts out more frequently in my Intermediate level seminars because I think that people need more input and education involving the contact obstacles and because this is the level that seems to be in transition.
There are several different issues surrounding the performance of contact obstacles these days, should I do running, should I do 2on/2off? Should I do 4 on the teeter or 2on/2off? Can I do a different behavior on the different obstacles? These are just questions regarding what criteria should be utilized, the questions only multiply once a criteria is selected.
As far as what is the "right" thing to do, that is completely up to you and your dog! I do let the dog help with the decision. I do this by paying very careful attention to what there movement, structure, and, natural propensities are regarding their natural behavior across the obstacles. Not every dog is built for a 2on/2off and not every dog is going to be able to have a running contact.
I also weigh how much time I have to devote to the training as well as well as how observant I may have to be to maintain consistency in my criteria.
For now I would like to talk about the 2on/2off criteria. The biggest issue that I see regarding a failure to achieve the fast, consistent, 2on/2off criteria people are looking for is first and foremost rushing the training. It is a huge mistake that we make by combining the bottom behavior with the full performance of the contact obstacles before we have fully trained and proofed the bottom behavior by itself.
Most creeping that we see on contact obstacles is a product of misunderstanding, the dog is not at all sure where they are supposed to be going or what they are supposed to be doing and it creates creeping.
We generally start early releasing the dog from the contact to circumvent the creeping, however, in actuality this just makes it worse but graying the behavior.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to fully train the 2on/2off behavior with all types of proofing, etc... before applying it to the full performance of the obstacle.
Within this process you should be building value for the bottom of the obstacle creating drive and desire to the 2on/2off position. If you have taught the behavior fully and correctly when you give the cue for the bottom behavior your dog should drive with passion, speed, and, confidence to the bottom completely unaided by you, the dog should have a completely independent performance of each of the obstacles. Definitely something to shoot for! Now, list your contact criteria, the steps you are going to employ to train it and have fun!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Crocodile calls, Mouse lines, and, killer Bananas
First, let it be known that Jenny Damm puts on a GREAT seminar! Her teaching style is amazing, her knowledge is incredible, and, her ability to communicate how to do things is just fantastic! SoBe and I are just back from an incredible 3 days of seminar with her in Hamden, CT at the awesome Paws N' Effect training center.
It was an incredible opportunity and we made the most of it! SoBe was brilliant if I do say so myself, and, although I was continuously pushed outside of my comfort zone, (which is exactly what I was hoping for), I held up quite nicely and learned oh so much! :-)
Jenny helped us with a crocodile call, the ability to put serious emphasis on a verbal cue to REALLY get the dogs attention, imagine a crocodile on the other side of of the jump you are sending your dog over and if you do not call the dog with serious passion the crocodile will get your dog!
We were perfecting the mouse line which is the line line you should be creating for your dog on turns, going between obstacles, etc.. picture your dog as the size of a mouse when setting lines.
Killer bananas are pretty much the opposite of a mouse line as they bow out in the shape of a banana. I think you get the gist of the 3 days!
I had some serious agility handling epiphanies at this seminar which I will go into more detail about as I incorporate some of these techniques, etc... into my handling.
My mission in going to this seminar was as I said to be pushed outside of my comfort zone, but, also just to be PUSHED! I am also really trying to be not only the very best trainer and handler that I can be but also the very best teacher. In order to be these things you have to not only have an open mind but be willing to continue to learn, to try new things, and, be open to different ideas.
I feel as though with a bit of time and practice I can incorporate several of the lessons I learned at Jennys seminar and improve on what I am already doing, very exciting indeed!
After the seminar Sonya and I went directly from the airport to a USDAA trial in Denver where we had a pretty good weekend considering how brain dead we were upon arrival!
I am very happy to report that after a scare with Danger he is doing awesome and will be returning to the agility scene soon! He competed in his first trial a couple of weeks ago and on MOnday after the trial I decided to take him in to see Kera (PT vet), just to see how he was doing. Kera noticed a bit of laxity in the knee and a fairly substantial muscle mass discrepancy as well. Needless to say I was freaking out that my boy was once again possibly done with agility forever!
Deb A. was very kind and took Danger to see Dr. Stubbs, out Ortho surgeon while I was in CT. and he said everything looked great and was impressed with the overall recovery, although he did feel that strengthening exercises for that leg are in order. Back he went to see Kera and she concurred that he seemed already to be doing better and so we are on an exercise regimen along with his agility training.
On that note, his dog walk looks amazing!!!! I have to sift through some videos that I shot over the past couple of days but he really seems to understand the job and id decidedly moving forward on his dog running dog walk performance!
Well, I am off to walk dogs... more later!
It was an incredible opportunity and we made the most of it! SoBe was brilliant if I do say so myself, and, although I was continuously pushed outside of my comfort zone, (which is exactly what I was hoping for), I held up quite nicely and learned oh so much! :-)
Jenny helped us with a crocodile call, the ability to put serious emphasis on a verbal cue to REALLY get the dogs attention, imagine a crocodile on the other side of of the jump you are sending your dog over and if you do not call the dog with serious passion the crocodile will get your dog!
We were perfecting the mouse line which is the line line you should be creating for your dog on turns, going between obstacles, etc.. picture your dog as the size of a mouse when setting lines.
Killer bananas are pretty much the opposite of a mouse line as they bow out in the shape of a banana. I think you get the gist of the 3 days!
I had some serious agility handling epiphanies at this seminar which I will go into more detail about as I incorporate some of these techniques, etc... into my handling.
My mission in going to this seminar was as I said to be pushed outside of my comfort zone, but, also just to be PUSHED! I am also really trying to be not only the very best trainer and handler that I can be but also the very best teacher. In order to be these things you have to not only have an open mind but be willing to continue to learn, to try new things, and, be open to different ideas.
I feel as though with a bit of time and practice I can incorporate several of the lessons I learned at Jennys seminar and improve on what I am already doing, very exciting indeed!
After the seminar Sonya and I went directly from the airport to a USDAA trial in Denver where we had a pretty good weekend considering how brain dead we were upon arrival!
I am very happy to report that after a scare with Danger he is doing awesome and will be returning to the agility scene soon! He competed in his first trial a couple of weeks ago and on MOnday after the trial I decided to take him in to see Kera (PT vet), just to see how he was doing. Kera noticed a bit of laxity in the knee and a fairly substantial muscle mass discrepancy as well. Needless to say I was freaking out that my boy was once again possibly done with agility forever!
Deb A. was very kind and took Danger to see Dr. Stubbs, out Ortho surgeon while I was in CT. and he said everything looked great and was impressed with the overall recovery, although he did feel that strengthening exercises for that leg are in order. Back he went to see Kera and she concurred that he seemed already to be doing better and so we are on an exercise regimen along with his agility training.
On that note, his dog walk looks amazing!!!! I have to sift through some videos that I shot over the past couple of days but he really seems to understand the job and id decidedly moving forward on his dog running dog walk performance!
Well, I am off to walk dogs... more later!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
What's next?
I find it incredibly important to have goals in life/agility and I am at that point once again where I am looking at long term goals, and, I ask myself what's next?
My long term goals are what establish my short term goals so I typically start with the big picture then back chain :-)
This of course is in reference to my older competition dogs because with the youngsters I, of course, have huge plans for each and every one of them, however, with babies it is definitely a one day at a time situation with goals being a bit more conservative, focusing on things like a sit stay that lasts for more than 1 second!
I am very fortunate to have some great babies coming up right now and they are definitely at that point where I have to start defining more clearly what those short term goals are. The list of goals is different for each of them as their age, maturation, and, core knowledge at this point is very different from one to the next.
With the trained dogs, it is still a matter of assigning specific yet often different goals for each dog, however, they are definitely more lofty and fall under the category of long term or ultimate goals.
I am most certainly planning on another trip to the European Open next year, I just have to decide who to take. Maze is certainly the number 1 candidate at this point, but, he is going to be 7 next month so almost 8 by the time the trip rolls around. His level of experience and expertise in these types of shows would be a huge asset but his age may hinder his speed a bit!
These factors play a role in whether I choose to go to AKC World team tryouts with him next May as well. I know that I will weigh the options very carefully and try to make decisions based on what is best for us as a team with an emphasis on what is best for Maze! :-)
The runner up in the who do I take to the EO competition of course goes to SoBe who has most certainly come in to her own, but, she is barely 19" tall and would likely be jumping 26". I know people jump smaller dogs than SoBe at 26" all of the time, I am just not sure "I" want to do that.
I am concentrating on SoBe this year and she will be accompanying me to several really awesome seminars to help make that decision.
I have for the past couple of years really been trying to do "me" things relative to my agility escapades and this fall I am going to be attending 2 international handling seminars, and, hosting a 3rd! I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with these amazing people and SoBe will be the one joining me at each of these events!
As I write this I am realizing that the goals that I am setting at this point are really more about me and what avenues of the sport I want to explore rather than goals that are dog specific , maybe that is why the title of the post immediately came to me as what's next? Let's be honest, it really is about what's next for me, what do I want to do, where do I want to put my energies? Lucky for me my dogs will gladly accommodate me and join in on whatever endeavor I choose to pursue agility related or not.
Probably the only "given" is that it will be agility related because I love agility! I love training my dogs, and, I love competing!
I also really truly love teaching and helping people to be the very best they can be in this game, it gives me an incredible amount of pleasure to watch a handler master something they never thought they could do, or, watch a dog come out of it's shell and really understand the information their handler just gave them.
Because of this, my goals are also centered around my teaching and how can I keep evolving and make things more user friendly as well as more understandable and cohesive for the weekend warrior as well as the most competitive of all handlers, Hmmm... so much to think about!
What's next? I am really not sure, other than to say that I will keep reaching for the brass ring, striving for excellence, and, enjoying every moment in the journey upwards to that ring and forward to my interpretation of excellence!
I definitely have instructional projects in the works specifically for the handler part of the team that I am very excited about.
I have Danger entered in a couple of trials coming up to see once again where we are at as a team so that I can determine what's next with him, in and out of the ring :-)
I am having a blast with Wally, SoBe and Maze just having the opportunity to compete and know that any of the 3 can rise to whatever challenge I put forth.
Mooch is proving to be an absolutely amazing young man, and, my girl Vinny continues to make me smile, make me laugh, and, give me gray hairs! Oh, how I love them all!
Able just celebrated his 12th birthday yesterday reminding me just how fast it goes and how important it is to enjoy the whole adventure good parts, not so good parts, great parts and all!
I may not be completely sure of what's next but I am sure that I am excited to figure it out and even more excited to embark on the journey! On your mark, get set, GOAL!!!
My long term goals are what establish my short term goals so I typically start with the big picture then back chain :-)
This of course is in reference to my older competition dogs because with the youngsters I, of course, have huge plans for each and every one of them, however, with babies it is definitely a one day at a time situation with goals being a bit more conservative, focusing on things like a sit stay that lasts for more than 1 second!
I am very fortunate to have some great babies coming up right now and they are definitely at that point where I have to start defining more clearly what those short term goals are. The list of goals is different for each of them as their age, maturation, and, core knowledge at this point is very different from one to the next.
With the trained dogs, it is still a matter of assigning specific yet often different goals for each dog, however, they are definitely more lofty and fall under the category of long term or ultimate goals.
I am most certainly planning on another trip to the European Open next year, I just have to decide who to take. Maze is certainly the number 1 candidate at this point, but, he is going to be 7 next month so almost 8 by the time the trip rolls around. His level of experience and expertise in these types of shows would be a huge asset but his age may hinder his speed a bit!
These factors play a role in whether I choose to go to AKC World team tryouts with him next May as well. I know that I will weigh the options very carefully and try to make decisions based on what is best for us as a team with an emphasis on what is best for Maze! :-)
The runner up in the who do I take to the EO competition of course goes to SoBe who has most certainly come in to her own, but, she is barely 19" tall and would likely be jumping 26". I know people jump smaller dogs than SoBe at 26" all of the time, I am just not sure "I" want to do that.
I am concentrating on SoBe this year and she will be accompanying me to several really awesome seminars to help make that decision.
I have for the past couple of years really been trying to do "me" things relative to my agility escapades and this fall I am going to be attending 2 international handling seminars, and, hosting a 3rd! I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with these amazing people and SoBe will be the one joining me at each of these events!
As I write this I am realizing that the goals that I am setting at this point are really more about me and what avenues of the sport I want to explore rather than goals that are dog specific , maybe that is why the title of the post immediately came to me as what's next? Let's be honest, it really is about what's next for me, what do I want to do, where do I want to put my energies? Lucky for me my dogs will gladly accommodate me and join in on whatever endeavor I choose to pursue agility related or not.
Probably the only "given" is that it will be agility related because I love agility! I love training my dogs, and, I love competing!
I also really truly love teaching and helping people to be the very best they can be in this game, it gives me an incredible amount of pleasure to watch a handler master something they never thought they could do, or, watch a dog come out of it's shell and really understand the information their handler just gave them.
Because of this, my goals are also centered around my teaching and how can I keep evolving and make things more user friendly as well as more understandable and cohesive for the weekend warrior as well as the most competitive of all handlers, Hmmm... so much to think about!
What's next? I am really not sure, other than to say that I will keep reaching for the brass ring, striving for excellence, and, enjoying every moment in the journey upwards to that ring and forward to my interpretation of excellence!
I definitely have instructional projects in the works specifically for the handler part of the team that I am very excited about.
I have Danger entered in a couple of trials coming up to see once again where we are at as a team so that I can determine what's next with him, in and out of the ring :-)
I am having a blast with Wally, SoBe and Maze just having the opportunity to compete and know that any of the 3 can rise to whatever challenge I put forth.
Mooch is proving to be an absolutely amazing young man, and, my girl Vinny continues to make me smile, make me laugh, and, give me gray hairs! Oh, how I love them all!
Able just celebrated his 12th birthday yesterday reminding me just how fast it goes and how important it is to enjoy the whole adventure good parts, not so good parts, great parts and all!
I may not be completely sure of what's next but I am sure that I am excited to figure it out and even more excited to embark on the journey! On your mark, get set, GOAL!!!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The European Open!!!
What a rush it was to play at the European Open in Bad Hall, Austria this past weekend! Maze was brilliant of course and ran 3 clean runs out of 4!! I was incredibly proud of both of us :-)
There is nothing more exciting than being one of approx. 340 26" dogs from all over the World! The courses were fabulous and challenging, the judging very consistent and fair, and, the competition fierce!
The great dog and handler teams just kept coming and coming. it was my mission to head over to Europe and have a great time, watch all of the fantastic handlers and dogs, run the very best that I could, and, just soak it all in. Great news, I did all of those things and then some :-)
We arrived in Munich on Wed. morning and met up with Ann Zarr and Skylar, Ann and I shared a car, were on the same team and hung out together.
Ann arrived at the airport before I did, once I got there we picked up the car and headed to Austria. The garmin was set for the shortest route which had us winding through some of the most beautiful countryside to our destination in Bad Hall.
We stopped along the way and had lunch and our first beer of the trip, arriving at our Hotel at about 3:30 p.m.
We went for a lovely walk in the park that was part of the Hotel complex and met up with a woman on the walking path. Ludi (our new friend), told us she was from Vienna, which turned out to be only about a 2 hour drive from where we were staying.
Plans were now set, Thursday morning we loaded up and off to Vienna Ann and I went! It was a great day, although it rained on us a bit we wandered through a lovely street market, found a Starbucks so that I could add a Vienna mug to my collection, and, went on a bus tour around parts of the city seeing some of the most incredible architecture!
Friday was vet check and practice day, the team all practiced really well and were definitely ready for the big event!
We got a bit of rain again on Friday but overall the weather was cool and lovely!
Saturday came and now it was time to shine! I definitely learned that one of the things on the top of my list of things to do is to get in better shape! Those Europeans are incredible how they RUN around those courses trying desperately to stay in front of screaming fast dogs! There is also always a lot of yelling and screaming of cues that just seem to rev the dogs up more :-)
I am all for running faster, but, am planning on sticking with my quieter style of handling.
I have been to Europe to compete many times but it is still always exciting, interesting, and, new.
It was definitely the year of the blind cross, but, many of them were in my opinion unnecessary, fun to watch though!
Maze ran a beautiful clean Individual Standard run, but, we had an unfortunate off course in jumpers keeping us out of the Finals. The Finals were a blast to watch ands although they were not finished until almost 11:30, they made the event spectacular!
Sunday was team day and I am proud to say that Maze and I put in 2 clean runs for the team, my teammates also ran incredibly well and because we had only 3 dogs on the team instead of the allowed 4, we were unable to drop a score this was ultimately our undoing as the team had 1 E, which kept us out of the relay. Regardless, I am very proud of what we all did and we definitely finished with our heads held high!
The relay was a riot!!! The Europeans do not do a team relay and their interpretation was incredibly entertaining! They had a 4 dog format, with a dog starting in each corner of the ring. The first dog would run 15 obstacles, then the next dog would start and so on. It was a crazy course!
Monday it was time to head home, bittersweet for sure! I had so much fun meeting new people, hanging with friends, and, running Maze that I was not ready for it to be over, but, I was TIRED!
The whole experience was fantastic and I am already planning for next year in Sweden!
There is nothing more exciting than being one of approx. 340 26" dogs from all over the World! The courses were fabulous and challenging, the judging very consistent and fair, and, the competition fierce!
The great dog and handler teams just kept coming and coming. it was my mission to head over to Europe and have a great time, watch all of the fantastic handlers and dogs, run the very best that I could, and, just soak it all in. Great news, I did all of those things and then some :-)
We arrived in Munich on Wed. morning and met up with Ann Zarr and Skylar, Ann and I shared a car, were on the same team and hung out together.
Ann arrived at the airport before I did, once I got there we picked up the car and headed to Austria. The garmin was set for the shortest route which had us winding through some of the most beautiful countryside to our destination in Bad Hall.
We stopped along the way and had lunch and our first beer of the trip, arriving at our Hotel at about 3:30 p.m.
We went for a lovely walk in the park that was part of the Hotel complex and met up with a woman on the walking path. Ludi (our new friend), told us she was from Vienna, which turned out to be only about a 2 hour drive from where we were staying.
Plans were now set, Thursday morning we loaded up and off to Vienna Ann and I went! It was a great day, although it rained on us a bit we wandered through a lovely street market, found a Starbucks so that I could add a Vienna mug to my collection, and, went on a bus tour around parts of the city seeing some of the most incredible architecture!
Friday was vet check and practice day, the team all practiced really well and were definitely ready for the big event!
We got a bit of rain again on Friday but overall the weather was cool and lovely!
Saturday came and now it was time to shine! I definitely learned that one of the things on the top of my list of things to do is to get in better shape! Those Europeans are incredible how they RUN around those courses trying desperately to stay in front of screaming fast dogs! There is also always a lot of yelling and screaming of cues that just seem to rev the dogs up more :-)
I am all for running faster, but, am planning on sticking with my quieter style of handling.
I have been to Europe to compete many times but it is still always exciting, interesting, and, new.
It was definitely the year of the blind cross, but, many of them were in my opinion unnecessary, fun to watch though!
Maze ran a beautiful clean Individual Standard run, but, we had an unfortunate off course in jumpers keeping us out of the Finals. The Finals were a blast to watch ands although they were not finished until almost 11:30, they made the event spectacular!
Sunday was team day and I am proud to say that Maze and I put in 2 clean runs for the team, my teammates also ran incredibly well and because we had only 3 dogs on the team instead of the allowed 4, we were unable to drop a score this was ultimately our undoing as the team had 1 E, which kept us out of the relay. Regardless, I am very proud of what we all did and we definitely finished with our heads held high!
The relay was a riot!!! The Europeans do not do a team relay and their interpretation was incredibly entertaining! They had a 4 dog format, with a dog starting in each corner of the ring. The first dog would run 15 obstacles, then the next dog would start and so on. It was a crazy course!
Monday it was time to head home, bittersweet for sure! I had so much fun meeting new people, hanging with friends, and, running Maze that I was not ready for it to be over, but, I was TIRED!
The whole experience was fantastic and I am already planning for next year in Sweden!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Everything happens for a reason...
...And, when I unknowingly let Wally and Vivid out together to go for a hike that fateful day, 9 weeks later on July 19, 2007 the reason was clear, these 5 beautiful babies needed to happen because I was supposed to have my beautiful girl SoBe who popped out as an after thought, after her 4 wonderful brothers were born :-)
Of course I am a very proud grandma of all of the wonderful babies that were born on this day 4 years ago, they include Brix, Propel, Nixon, and, Crush 4 beautiful boys who have grown up to do wonderful things for their mommies.
I am, of course, a bit biased about the last born and of course the cutest, my little SoBe DoBe Doodle Bug! She is the apple of my eye, one of my best friends, the one who makes me laugh, and, gives me gray hair! I cannot at this point imagine my life without her so thank you Wally for knowing what needed to be done and getting it done :-) LOL!!
Since these babies 2 more awesome litters of little SoBes have come into the World each loved and cherished by "their people" as much as I love SoBe.
These pups take athleticism and work ethic to a whole new level and are as smart as can be. Of course they are not perfect, there is no such thing. But, they are perfect for their people and the jobs they have been destined to do, whether it is agility, obedience, or, hiking buddies.
Happy Birthday my dear SoBe, Brix, Propel, Nixon, and, Crush!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Another camp come and gone...
I am having one of those days where all I want to do is lay on the couch and vegitate, it would be the weekend right after camp :-) Camp was AMAZING!!! I am so incredibly thankful for all of the help I received before, during, and, after camp that made such a wonderful camp possible!
The campers were fabulous, the instruction, even if I am biased, was superb and a great time was had by all :-)
I am already very excited about next year and as soon as the details are ironed out there will be an announcement of when camp will be, who will be instructing, and, of course, the theme!
Once I can actually keep my eyes open and formulate a coherent thought, I will be getting ready for my next adventure, the European Open!
Maze and I are heading to Austria on Tuesday to compete in the European Open the weekend of the 29-31 of July.
The European Open is said to be the largest Championship event in Europe and I am super excited to go for the first time. Maze and I are definitely ready for the event, or, at least we will be by the time we head over :-)
I am especially excited to watch all of the wonderful European dog and handler teams that will be there, I will be doing a lot of filming!
I am also really excited about "continuing education" that I have planned for myself this year.
SoBe and I are once again going to be working with Silas Boogk at Ann Braues center in Eau Claire, we will be traveling out east to work with Jenny Damm the end of August, and, I am hosting a seminar with Crufts winner Dawn Weaver in November. It is going to be a great year!
The dogs and I have been doing a fair bit of trialing recently, which has pretty much come to a screeching halt for the time being but it was a great run and I came away with lots of IFCS points for Maze, semi finals byes for Nationals in both GP and Steeplechase for Maze and Wally and a Steeplechase semi finals bye for Steeplechase for SoBe!
Hmmmm.... what else has been going on? Well, as of 3 days ago when I last trained him, Danger was doing 12 weave poles in a row!!! Now, if we could just get these contacts in order we would be all set :-)
Mooch is growing up and at the same time being allowed to be a puppy, that is dog trainer speak for I have not had much time to work with him :-) He was a super boy at camp though and we did get a lot of socialization as well as training Moochie to be a good quiet boy while watching agility, very valuable!
Well, I think I may hoist myself up and go work a few dogs, just for fun!
The campers were fabulous, the instruction, even if I am biased, was superb and a great time was had by all :-)
I am already very excited about next year and as soon as the details are ironed out there will be an announcement of when camp will be, who will be instructing, and, of course, the theme!
Once I can actually keep my eyes open and formulate a coherent thought, I will be getting ready for my next adventure, the European Open!
Maze and I are heading to Austria on Tuesday to compete in the European Open the weekend of the 29-31 of July.
The European Open is said to be the largest Championship event in Europe and I am super excited to go for the first time. Maze and I are definitely ready for the event, or, at least we will be by the time we head over :-)
I am especially excited to watch all of the wonderful European dog and handler teams that will be there, I will be doing a lot of filming!
I am also really excited about "continuing education" that I have planned for myself this year.
SoBe and I are once again going to be working with Silas Boogk at Ann Braues center in Eau Claire, we will be traveling out east to work with Jenny Damm the end of August, and, I am hosting a seminar with Crufts winner Dawn Weaver in November. It is going to be a great year!
The dogs and I have been doing a fair bit of trialing recently, which has pretty much come to a screeching halt for the time being but it was a great run and I came away with lots of IFCS points for Maze, semi finals byes for Nationals in both GP and Steeplechase for Maze and Wally and a Steeplechase semi finals bye for Steeplechase for SoBe!
Hmmmm.... what else has been going on? Well, as of 3 days ago when I last trained him, Danger was doing 12 weave poles in a row!!! Now, if we could just get these contacts in order we would be all set :-)
Mooch is growing up and at the same time being allowed to be a puppy, that is dog trainer speak for I have not had much time to work with him :-) He was a super boy at camp though and we did get a lot of socialization as well as training Moochie to be a good quiet boy while watching agility, very valuable!
Well, I think I may hoist myself up and go work a few dogs, just for fun!
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