The Agility Season Begins!

This weekend begins the 2012 Agility season for us. Friday, Sunday, and Monday Summit and Soleil are entered in AKC. Summit has had seven weeks off from training and competition. Soleil has had lot's of training, proofing, and fun matches since her last competition and she is coming along so well!

We have two back-to-back weekends of AKC and then the third weekend is our first USDAA trial for the 2012 qualifying period. This will also be Soleil's very first USDAA trial. I am excited to run her on USDAA courses! I also entered her in Steeplechase and Grand Prix with the goals to get her qualified for Nationals since they are in Denver in 2012.


We went to a fun match on Monday and here are the videos.

Soleil's first run-through. I'm very happy with her dogwalk contact. She is really driving forward into 20/20 position. She tested her startline stay in both rounds. I was wondering when that would happen - she's been so perfect at the startline. I was a little worried ;-)



Round two. I wanted to get in a few more aframes. Also wanted to avoid the table because not only was it really slippery but it sucked up 5 seconds of course time. Both my dogs attempted it though...



Summit had a turn and he was sooo happy to play!



I am looking for a baby dog DAM team for Soleil for the FRAT March trial and the Rocky Mountain Regional in Albuquerque, NM. - Any takers?

I'm Baaaaack!

It was an intense several months and although I was pretty good at posting video and updates on FB, blogging takes such more mental effort that with work being so intense these past several months, it was hard to find the time (and mental energy) to post.

I mainly want to update on Soleil's training and competition. She has done three AKC trials this year. The first two I just entered her in jumpers with weaves as I didn't think her dogwalk had been proofed enough for the ring. She moved up to Open at her second trial. She had her third AKC trial in November and was entered in standard for the first time. She had a really nice run and qualified with one refusal (she came back out of the chute barrel) and her dogwalk contact was good. She was absolutely WILD in jumpers both days and fell off the aframe her first standard run. That makes two dogwalks and an aframe she has fallen off of. Hopefully, she is now savvy enough to pay attention to where her feet are and not just going as fast as she can.

We have been struggling the last couple months with her generalizing the behavior between the teeter (4-on) and the dogwalk (2on/2off). She would often stop at the end of the dw with 4-0n. I brought back the nose target and we worked on reinforcing the nose touch to the target at the end of the dogwalk (I previously had faded the target once she was running a full dogwalk and think I faded it too quickly).

Here is an earlier video of her dogwalk during a standard run at a DOCNA trial.



Here is a video of her recent standard run (the first weekend in December).



It's taken some time but I'm happy with her progression. I haven't gotten to the stage yet of really proofing the release on the dogwalk. I've just been focusing on her driving with speed into the 20/20 position.

I'm starting to Send her to turning obstacles so that I can get ahead to set the line to the next sequence. She is really sending with confidence adn I feel like I'm not so late with my front crosses as much.

I have to say that I am thrilled with her jumping form. She rarely ever drops a bar and she is very good at judging her take off.

Convergence is something we need to work on. She doesn't always like to come in to me and can wing out with a wide turn instead of coming in. Although she is very good at converging over the middle jump of a serpentine when I am recalling (vs. pulling).

Our next competition is the New Years weekend. It's a 4-day trial but I only entered the dogs in three days. Meanwhile, Soleil has participated in several fun matches at different locations with different equipment. She is really starting to understand her job. Summit has been on Winter break. No training or competing but lot's of conditioning.

Here is Miss Soleil's jumpers run at her last trial. In hindsight, I should have trusted her sending skills and front crossed on the landing side of the purple jump instead of on the flat. This really slowed her down.

Updates and Soleil's Second AKC and DOCNA Trial

Work is still taking up a lot of my time but I though I needed to post an update on our training and trialing.

A couple of weeks ago at the Terry-All AKC trial, Summit double-Q'd on Saturday. He would have QQ'd on Friday but he slid off the table (it was really slick and he wasn't the only dog to slide off). Sunday he had a bar in Standard. He was 50 percent Friday and Sunday. I am thrilled with our consistency. Now that I'm running a baby dog, I can appreciate how much of a team Summit and I have become.

Soleil did well too. She had a bar in Novice jumpers on Friday and then earned her title on Saturday. She ran her first Open jumpers course on Sunday and had a bar but it was a very nice run.

This past weekend she was entered in a DOCNA trial. She had some really nice runs and a couple of "Sheltie OTT" runs. She is getting very excited while in the ring. I'm still learning what works for her warmup routine. I tugged with her before a couple of runs and others, I tried food and keeping her calm. I think right now the food is the best choice.

Here are a few videos from the weekend.

Summit Friday Standard - he slid off the slick table. Poor guy really tried to hang on.


Summit Friday JWW


Summit Saturday Standard - QQ


Soleil Saturday Jumpers - 1st place and NAJ title. Don missed most of the run but did get the ending and her amazing wp entry.


Here are a few videos from last weekend's DOCNA trial
Soleil Beginners Standard - 1st place. She sometimes confuses the teeter behavior (4-on) with the dogwalk (2-on). I think she'll work through it as she gets more ring experience.


Soleil Jumpers run - 1st place


A short cameo of Soleil and I waiting for our turn in the ring. Thanks Don!!!!

MACH Summit and Soleil's AKC Debute

I have been SO busy at work (and teaching) that blogging has just not been happening this last month. However, I just had to write about our wonderful weekend at the FRAAD AKC trial.

Summit just needed one more QQ for his MACH (and two more for Nationals). Friday was Excellent only and he was clean in Standard but that afternoon, he dropped a bar in Jumpers. Saturday he triple Q'd and earned his MACH!!!! He is now MACH ADCH Cedar Pinnacle View! (the third Q was in FAST which he won).

Could it get any better?

Sunday Summit double Q'd AGAIN to finish qualifying for 2012 AKC Nationals!

Could it get any better?

This weekend was also Soleil's AKC debut! Saturday she qualified and placed third in Novice Jumpers and Sunday, she won Novice Jumpers.

Could it get any better?

Soleil's first official measurement is under 14"!!! She will continue to jump 16" in competition (since she measures into that height class in USDAA). However, if her second and final measurement is under 14", she will get to jump 12" at AKC Nationals. She will be at the top of her class height-wise vs. the bottom.

So here is some video to share our wonderful weekend.

First is Summit's MACH run. The best part of this video is at the end. He grabs his leash as usual and I tug with him. Then Liz hands me my MACH bar for our victory lap. I ask him to release the leash, I drop it on the ground, he immediately picks it up again. I ask him to release, I drop it on the ground, he pounces on it and then does a play bow - he thinks this is a fun new game! I am thinking, "How do I do our victory lap when he has a leash in his mouth?" Finally the judge says, "Give me your leash."



Soleil's Saturday Jumpers with Weaves run. I thought she did a great job considering the busy venue (three rings) and the loud announcement during her run. I'm doing my best to give plenty of forward cues and not worrying about tight turns. I was so happy to her get her weave entry on the first try as well as keeping up all the bars. The sand in the back of the arena where the double was located was pretty deep.



Soleil's Sunday Jumpers run. I was so focused on my dog that I forgot where the course went (you see me decelerate suddenly before the left turn to the yellow jump). Again she nailed her weave entry the first time and kept up all the bars.



We have two weeks off (there are trials both weekends but I did not enter them - will spend time off hiking in the mountains instead).

Our next AKC trial is in three weeks and Soleil is entered in Jumpers again all three days.

Soleil's First Trial

This past weekend Soleil debuted at a DOCNA trial outdoors in a beautiful park with a creek. What can I say except that I was so proud of her! She did awesome for her very first time in the ring. She was focused (a little excited), and other than her dogwalk behavior needs way more proofing, I was very pleased with her performance on all obstacles. It was a great experience for her and she had a lot of fun. She even qualified three times with three first places.

In DOCNA you can train in the ring and this trial I treated as a large fun match. It was two rings but one judge so only one ring was active at a time. Depending on the speed of the dog running in the ring before her, sometimes when we went to the line, she would lunge and bark as the dog before her was finishing. However, once I asked her to sit and removed her leash, she was all business.

She is entered in an AKC trial in September. Based on the feedback I received from her performance this weekend I've cancelled her entry in the Standard class because I think her dogwalk needs a lot more proofing. I do think it's important for her to continue to gain ring experience so she is still entered in Jumpers with Weaves.

Her next DOCNA trial is in October and then she has another in December. I may enter her in a few more AKC trials this Fall just in Jumpers.

Here are a few videos from the weekend. I think she is so stinkin' cute sitting at the startline!

Gamblers - great opening. Of course, I did not attempt the distance challenge. Just made up a nice little course for her to run. Got to train the dogwalk


Standard - 1st place


Jumpers - 1st place


She also had a great jumpers run on Sunday (one bar). I trained in the ring during her standard run. She then had a perfect stop on the dogwalk that afternoon in Snakes & Ladders and ended up winning the class.

This weekend we are in Laramie, Wyoming for USDAA and then the following weekend is a two day AKC trial. Summit earned a double Q last weekend in Durango so only needs one more for MACH and two for nationals.

Soleil Training

This week we've been practicing sequencing full courses. When I looked at the video of her run at the fun match, I noticed although she ran the aframe, she didn't have as much extension over the apex as she normally does. I didn't know if it was because she was in a new environment and running on different equipment or perhaps it was because there was no stride regulator. At home, I always have a SR at the first slat to lengthen her stride over the apex. So this morning, I decided to take it off and see what she had. I am pleased to see that she doesn't need the SR and her Aframe performance at the fun match was just a baby dog's lack of confidence on strange equipment in a new environment.

We ran the sequence twice. She took the tunnel instead of the Aframe the second time and I had to quickly pick her up and send over the jump and then Aframe again.


Here is the second time. Still looking good.


The sequencing is going well. I just need to really remember that I need to incorporate lot's of forward cues. The courses we are running are Masters level courses. She is doing quite well on them; especially when I actually support each obstacle ;-) We begin each training session with DJS drills followed by some DW contact proofing (RS method), and then run a few courses. I am getting nice turns with a FC and RC but we need lot's of work on pulls. I think I'll go back to the flatwork and one jump work for pulls emphasizing lateral motion to cue the turn.

Both my Border Collies were almost two years old before I put them in the ring. I was also taking a lot of group classes with both. Unfortunately, group classes haven't worked out well so Soleil and I train only in our backyard. So she will be debuting in AKC at 15 mos. This is the only way to get her on different equipment and in a more exciting environment than our good ol' backyard agility.

She has a DOCNA trial in two weeks and then the second week of September, she is entered in her first AKC trial.

Soleil's First Fun Match

It was a pretty quiet weekend. I worked half a day on Saturday and then Sunday morning drove about 10 minutes from my house to the fairgrounds for an agility fun match starring Little Miss Sunshine!

I was so pleased with how well she did. They ran small to tall and a very fast drivey BC (jumping 16") went in just before us and Soleil was going nuts, barking and lunging at the ring. I thought she would be totally OTT. She pulled me into the ring but by the time I put her in a sit, removed her leash, and lead out... Missy was all business.

I was thrilled with our sequencing, her jumping, and her weaves! She even performed the chute! Things to work on:
1. Train the tire!
2. Continue to proof 20/20 on the dw and put tunnels next to the dw (she was confused about the tunnel being so close to the downramp).

Here is the video. My plan was to front cross on the flat after the triple to turn her to the teeter but because I had to babysit the tire, I got too far behind. I did not want to decelerate before a spread in order to pull to the teeter. You can see I hesitate the first time because it took me until the triple to realize she had gone under the tire ;-) Before I could think about calling her to me, she headed to the teeter so I went with it but not how I wanted to handle this section. The second time she didn't hesitate and jumped through the tire.



This morning we trained the tire. And then did some sequencing.

We leave Thursday for Durango, Colorado (South) for a three day AKC trial. The following weekend, Soleil is entered in a two-day DOCNA trial. I will plan to get all of our runs videotaped. DOCNA is great for baby dogs because you can train in the ring and the atmosphere is so laid back.

By the way, Blogger is being weird again. I've been catching up on reading blogs and have been unable to post comments. Annoying!

Double-Double Q Weekend for Summit and Soleil's first Trial

Work has been extremely busy and I've not had time to read my favorite blogs let alone post on my own blog. But last weekend was a fantastic weekend for Summit and I.

Friday - 1st place Jumpers, 2nd place Standard - QQ
Saturday - 1st place Jumpers
Sunday - 2nd place Jumpers, 2nd place Standard - QQ

So that leaves three more QQ's to finish qualifying for AKC Nationals!!! Oh, and he needs two more QQ's for his MACH which I guess he'll earn on his way to qualifying for Nationals. I really want to go next year as it is in Reno, Nevada.

Soleil's training has been going well. We continue to work the drills in DJS and continue to proof her dogwalk and weaves. Her teeter is looking great. She did go through a period where she would offer 20/20 on the teeter and 4-0n the dogwalk but on the advice of a friend, I began to train both obstacles in the same sequence and she soon figured it out.

So, I have decided to enter her in my club's DOCNA trial the second week of August. I want her to have her first ring experience in a fun organization that is low-key and allows training in the ring. I entered her in Standard, Jumpers, and the two types of Gamblers (we won't be doing the distance challenge). We may run a full course or we may do 7 obstacles and leave for a game of tug. I was tempted to enter Summit to do some contact proofing but decided I wanted the day to belong to Soleil.

Here are a couple of Summit's runs from the past weekend. The courses were pretty fun!

Friday Jumpers - 1st place


Friday Standard - 2nd place


Saturday Jumpers - 1st place


Sunday Standard - 2nd place (he released himself from his dw - bad boy)


Sunday Jumpers - 2nd place (can you see where I forgot I was going to do a FMFC? I remembered almost too late. Such a good boy, he not only kept up the bar but didn't take out my knees either ;-)

RM Regional and Soleil training videos

A quick recap of the Rocky Mountain Regional held over the 4th of July weekend. The event was held in an indoor soccer facility without air conditioning and it was HOT! Luckily we finished fairly early each day and missed most of the hottest part of the afternoon.

One of our team members was focusing on World Team points and the other was a young dog. We did not Q as each of us had a single elimination. Friday Summit was very high and released himself from the aframe and took a wrong jump before I could redirect him. He had nice runs in Gamblers and placed 4th in Steeplechase Round 1. Saturday he blew his aframe contact and dropped a bar in Steeplechase Finals and in GP round 1, he missed the aframe contact again. The last time he missed an aframe contact was at the South Central Regional during Steeplechase Finals.... hmmm I'm seeing a pattern here. I tend to get very competitive and push him when I don't need to. He is fast enough and when I start to push, his brain explodes. Definitely a mental management issue on my part.

We did very well on the IHC courses. I watched a lot of runs on these international courses and there were many faults. We had one off course in IHC Jumpers (it required handling past several obstacles to a tunnel entrance that was not in the dog's line of sight) and then we ran clean in IHC Standard and placed second (Mary Ellen Barry with Maizy was first).

Steeplechase Round 1 - 4th place (Jen missed the beginning because she was busy watching Mary Ellen run in the other ring!)


IHC Jumpers - even with the wrong course jump at the beginning (a common fault), I really liked how we ran this tough course.


IHC Standard - 2nd place


Soleil's training has been going well. Here are a few videos from this week. I am using food for jump sequencing as toys make her too high and I want her thinking about jumping not blasting through for the toy. I am still using food to reward the 20/20 behavior. At some point (like the teeter), I will switch to using a toy as a reward for further proofing.

First time running entire dogwalk with a stop at the bottom. I'm really focusing on rear feet position.


Running aframe - she hasn't been on the aframe for about a month. Still looking great! She really has her striding down.


Jump sequencing


We have a week off and then a three-day AKC trial in Castle Rock. Hoping for double Q's for AKC Nationals!

Summit Rocked at the DAPPR USDAA Trial!

A beautiful park in the Black Forest, perfect weather, USDAA agility, seven Q's out of nine runs and NOT A SINGLE BAR!

Pretty darn perfect!

I am so thrilled with both my dog's performance and his jumping. Saturday morning we had Gamblers. I did not attempt the gamble as it is not something I would expect my dog to do (a redirect at distance) so we worked our contacts and then left when the gamble buzzer went off. Then he placed third with a very nice run in Standard, GP I fell at the very end and although we lost some time, we did end up with a Q and 4th place. Steeplechase I did not execute a forward send very well and Summit did not turn and took a wrong course jump. Then we won pairs relay that afternoon.

Sunday, Summit won Standard, Q'd in Snooker, won Jumpers, and then won the IHC Jumpers class. I was very happy we ran IHC clean with no faults (lot's of handlers had faults) and then was thrilled when I found out we won.

Soleil had fun helping me scribe run (it was a long distance from the rings to the score table under the pavillion). She got to run off leash with a group of her Sheltie friends. She also got to play fetch and tug and visit the wading pools. She is starting to really turn on when she sees a dog running in the ring. She knows the game now!

Here are a few videos from the weekend. Feel free to laugh at GP. I really do look like a fish flopping on the ground. All I can say is it is a good thing I have a rear cross on the flat!

Grand Prix - 4th place


Masters Standard - 3rd place


Masters Standard - 1st place


Masters Jumpers - 1st place. This was a tough course and quite a few NQ's


IHC Jumpers - 1st place. Such a fun course and I LOVE threadles and pushes to the backside of jumps.