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.

A Great AKC Weekend for Summit!

We were down at Castle Rock for three days of AKC agility. Friday Summit won Standard in the morning and then had a beautiful run in Jumpers (fastest time overall) but dropped the second to last bar. Saturday we ran Jumpers first and he won by a full second. That afternoon he had a nice Standard run (third place) for his first Double Q for Nationals. Sunday, again we won Jumpers in the morning. I was looking forward to Standard in the afternoon. We had a great opening but as I rotated out of a front cross, my foot slipped in the loose dirt and down I went. I had just cued the Aframe when I started to fall, I immediately jumped back up but as I'm doing so, I see Summit half way on the upside of the Aframe looking down at me with concern (or puzzlement more likely) and just as I thought we were going to be ok, he jumped off the side. Dang!

I am so pleased with our performance this weekend. Specifically Summit's jumping. We are at a point now in our teamwork where a wrong course happens very rarely. Our NQ's have been because of a single bar in jumpers. There are a couple of factors that I believe have contributed to the improvement in his jumping.

1. Building his core strength. We do "On The Ball" exercises twice a week for 20-25 minutes each session.
2. Stretching (active and passive). Passive stretching after exercise (training, ball work, and following his cool-down after a run). Active stretching following his warmup before going into the ring.
3. Jump grids (from advanced jumping skills section in DJS)
4. Varying jump heights while sequencing during training sessions (20"-22"-24") which teach him to pay attention to his jumping effort.
5. Regular PT visits to catch any soft tissue issues before they become serious.

We have a heavy competition schedule the next three weeks and then a nice break.

Here are a few videos from the weekend. Including of course the blooper!

Friday Jumpers with Weaves - 1 bar


Friday Standard - 1st place


Saturday Jumpers with Weaves (1st place) (missing video of Standard)


Sunday Jumpers with Weaves - 1st place


Sunday Standard - NQ because of handler blooper.


This weekend is the Utah 4-Star event and I can't go because I am teaching (already had a substitute when I went to the SC Regional in TX). So I will be playing in AKC this weekend. I do need the double Q's for nationals but still would rather be at the USDAA trial. There are several top International-class competitors who will be in Utah who I would have enjoyed watching.

Soleil's agility training

I need to take recent pictures of Soleil. She is so beautiful even though she has blown her coat. From what Sheltie people have told me is this is typical after they finish a heat cycle and her coat will fill out in the Fall. Personally, I think less coat makes her faster ;-)

So we continue to work through DJS. We haven't sequenced more than 3-4 jumps yet. She has seen the spread jumps and the tire. I am focusing on executing the turns on the flat.

She is weaving 12 poles now but I only have her weaving once a week. We do work on entries with two sets of 2x2's (4 poles) several times a week. As usual, the soft-sided entry is the most challenging.

The a-frame is at full AKC height now and she is figuring out her striding. She is looking good. So far I've just sent her over a jump and then cued the aframe while running ahead of her since I am encouraging lot's of extension over the apex and building confidence. At some point, I will add an obstacle after the a-frame and work on handling. I plan to turn her on the flat.



I am in the process of searching for a group agility class for her. A beginner/intermediate level would be great. She really needs to train other than my backyard and needs to get on different equipment.

Summit has had two weeks off of agility training. He's done ball work twice a week and jogs with me. Yesterday we worked a sequence for the first time since the Regional. We have a three-day AKC agility trial this weekend and then trials every weekend for the next three weeks. Hoping to get those 6 double Q's for AKC Nationals. This time last year Summit was already qualified for AKC Nationals. This year, we missed out on almost three months of competition because of his hamstring injury.

I really hope he isn't Mr. Onebar Wonder this weekend!

Soleil's Running Aframe

Last weekend I decided to begin Soleil's aframe training. I have been hoping that she had the stride length for a running aframe. I started out running her over a very low aframe and with all the plank work she did this Winter, she ran over the low aframe with confidence and speed. I had it raised to AKC full height by the third day then I added a stride regulator at the top to create extension over the apex. I moved the stride regulator a few inches lower this morning and am happy with the results.



She appears to easily have enough extension over the apex and her second stride puts her in the yellow. The third attempt she has too much extension and speed and decides to try a one-strided aframe. I didn't see that until I watched the video as I'm trying not to look back or decel while she's running over the aframe. Shelties CAN fly!

She is focused downward until she pushes off from the second stride and then she looks up to see where she is going. I won't be practicing many aframes. At most maybe twice a week. Next week I'll add a tunnel before and maybe a jump afterwards so the aframe is in a sequence.

She certainly is a lot of fun!

SC Regional Report and Soleil Weaves 12 Poles!

We returned home from Texas Monday afternoon. Since then I've had to play catch-up at work and just now have a chance to post. I loved the venue and the competition! Unfortunately, I was very sick Sat. and Sun. and wasn't able to handle my best. We did not get a bye in either Steeplechase or GP but we did get a team Q and our team won the relay. In Steeplechase finals, many teams had wrong courses. It was a tough course. I am happy to say we had a really nice run but Summit dropped a bar so no bye to Nationals. GP I overhandled a tunnel/DW discrimination and he came into me by-passing the dw for a refusal so no bye in GP. Summit had some really nice team runs and placements. I've posted our Team Relay run below. Our team won 22" Relay by over a full second. First to run is Stacy, then me, and Donna is third. Notice how differently Stacy and I handled the wrap to the aframe. She wanted to wrap to the outside so that Sobe (who had a running a-frame) had a straighter approach to the obstacle. For Summit, I liked the wrap to the inside as I knew I would get a tighter turn with him as opposed to the FC's.

Indy sips a Sobe on the Summit - team relay, 1st place



Soleil has been weaving 6 poles for awhile and on Tuesday, I added a second set of 6 poles. This morning, I began to move the poles closer until they became a single set of 12 poles. We ended this morning's training session with her weaving 12 straight poles. Tomorrow, we'll continue to proof entries from different locations, my motion (and lack of), and my position.

First is a short video of what Soleil is like when we go out the back door to train. Since I had the video camera with me I thought I would film. Her enthusiasm is so cute. She loves to go outside and train.





We have several weeks off before we trial again. My focus is now on AKC since we still need to get those 6 double Q's for nationals.