Of Hair and Holes

Hair, hair everywhere.  When I got a SMOOTH coat border collie, I mistakenly thought there would be less hair than on a rough coat.  WRONG.  Hair grows under my chairs and around Tai’s crates.  It’s on my clothes and on my couch.  It’s everywhere.  Not just hair…but dirt that comes in on paws – from our sandy backyard soil or the muddy hole we step in on our walks, or the hole that must be dug.  Sigh…I’m learning to like sweeping my floors – not with that old noisy vacuum cleaner … but with a good old-fashioned broom.  I find it relaxing, actually…the arc of the handle, the soft swish of the bristles, the challenge of catching that soft sheltie undercoat hair that flies ahead of the broom and the satisfaction of seeing all that hair and dirt gathered up and ready for the trash.  Even knowing there will be more tomorrow.

But I also love burying my face in the hair of my dogs…so soft; to dig my fingers in behind the ears and neck as I massage and feel their pleasure as they lean into my hand.  To stroke their flanks…firm underneath but so soft to the touch.   To pat their hairy heads and feel them lean against me.  I guess dog hair isn’t so bad after all.

Now, of holes.   I set up a challenging international style jumpers course for Breeze today and we nailed it first time out.  Then we took a little break and ran it again with a little different handling and it felt even better.  Next?  Tai man’s turn to came out to play….to work the course in pieces.  This course had it all…push-thrus, threadles, send dog and run hard to position, double fronts, serpentines, rear crosses, wraps, push out of weave poles.   How did it go?  Well, let’s just say I was laughing a lot, amazed at his skills some of the time and only a little dismayed to find we have some “holes”.  Well, that is kind of harsh, I guess.   Let’s just say our near term training plan got some additions today.

Now, it wasn’t just Tai, either.  One of the nice things about working with a young dog like Tai, is how he can teach me.  Out of position?  He’ll tell me.  Late arm change?  He will tell me.  No forgiveness makes for a better handler.  The really good news is that I was able to get to all the positions with Tai that I made with Breeze.  Just needed to use a bit more distance…ok and maybe run a little faster.

So, tomorrow, we’ll be sweeping hair and filling holes.  Not a bad plan.

A Deep Breath

This past month has been busy, fun filled and full of learning.   At one end of the month 20 month old Tai and I stepped into the ring together for the 1st time.   I took a deep breath… not knowing quite what to expect, not sure that his skills would hold up under the excitement of trialing and still getting in the groove with our teamwork.   At the other end of the month, I stepped to the line with 7 yr old Breeze at the USDAA Nationals in Louisville, KY, full of confidence in his skills and our teamwork.  Preparing for every run, I took a deep breath to get centered, to focus and to stay in the moment.  Both dogs gave it their all every time and ribbons or not …I was full of pride in their efforts and glad to see their excitement on the start line and joy on their faces as we celebrated our runs.  Here is a video of 2 runs book-ending the past month.  Both dogs having a great time.

Now it’s time for another kind of  deep breath, time to reflect on our recent journey and time to make a plan for the weeks ahead.  For both dogs…number one priority is to get back to our normal conditioning routine.  Over the past week they have spent way too much time in a crate!  Time to get hiking the hills around home, chasing chipmunks and enjoying the fall weather.

Time to get out the jump grids and re-balance those skills.  And for Tai, time to keep building his jumping skills (and my handling skills) for the challenges ahead.  Watching the runs of the top 22″ and 26″ at the Nationals, I saw dogs  jumping with fluidity and grace, with just the right amount of power in their turns and just the right number of strides between jumps and who could manage to solve all the puzzles the judges put before them.  And there were plenty of challenges for handlers and dogs … tight lines that required extreme slices, 180 degree turns, speed lines with changes in spacing between jumps, threadles and serpentines.

Time to *finish* training Tai’s contacts and proofing weaves before the snow falls!  Well, at least make as much progress as possible.  My running contact journey is a whole ‘nother blog post.  Those top dogs at Nationals had great contacts to start…with some pushing the limits with running dog walks, teeters and A-frames. Great weave entries and independence in the poles.

Time to find matches to proof all those skills and be able to reward in a trial like environment.  Time to continue working on Tai’s motion sensitivity, a daily effort.

Enough of sitting at this computer…time to get outside and start training.  I think someone is waiting!

Tai’s first ring time

Tai’s first “official” agility run happened this past weekend at a small, one ring show. For most of us, our young dogs are coming to shows since puppy hood.  I love that moment when the dog walks in the ring, leash is taken off and handler steps away to release them.  I get to play too?  The wonder of it all!

And for the handler…there are those moments of questioning…what’s going to actually happen out there?  Will the dog stay focused?  Lose his head?  Get distracted?  Will all the training stick or will you wonder whose dog that is running the course with you.

So, here is the play-by-play for Tai and me.  I entered him in  jumpers only since contacts aren’t quite ready for showtime; I also entered him at 20 inches.  He measured a flat 21″ that day so 20″ is his official jump height but I plan to move him up to 24″ at the next show.  I had him all warmed up before the walk-through since he was the second dog in the ring.  The course was novice but did require 2 changes of sides – I had planned one rear cross and one front cross but wondered – with only 6 weave poles – if I would have time to get into position for the front, plan B was to do a rear cross.  The ring conditions were a little mucky – was hoping we would both stay on our feet.  As for the start line, the judge was favoring starts with tunnels all weekend, so no lead out was required.

Getting to the ring was a little dicey as Tai gets over-stimulated watching other dogs run.  But we hung back a bit and walked to the ring while the first dog was running.  I took my time and was patient – asking for a loose leash as we walked in despite the urging of the gate steward to hurry to the line.   Really?   There were 8 dogs in the class and this was novice!

I sat Tai in front of the tunnel, took off his leash, he looked up at me, then focused on the tunnel and off we went!  18.1 seconds later we finished – both crosses executed reasonably well, nice clean lines, except where he slipped in the mud.  To say I was happy with the run, would be an understatement.  It was a great beginning!  On the other hand, it felt really normal…the kind of run we would have in the backyard…although he’s only done that many obstacles 1 or 2 times before.

The next day, he ran again in JWW.  He seemed to know the drill already and it was a little harder to get the loose leash on the way in the ring.  The course was nice and he did well (although I was slightly late on both my crosses) until I dug in and accelerated on the closing line, then my baby dog got distracted by my motion and knocked the 2nd to last bar.  We’ve added that to our training list.

Home again now and back to training our running contacts (and stop on teeter)….much more to do before we make our debut in standard!  Happy training!

Balance

Tai is 19 months old now.  Handsome, athletic, sweet, smart and still a little nutty.  Watching him grow up and immersed in training this young dog, I’ve been thinking a lot about “balance” .   It first occurred to me as I watched video of Tai jumping at a Susan Salo workshop last month.  With his bigger size and smooth coat – compared to my hairy little shelties — it’s easier to see the power and control required to stay balanced throughout the jumping exercises.

But “balance” has many more meanings and here are some that resonate with me:

Balance: a means of judging or deciding  what to work on today; this week; this month to build his skills in all aspects of life and sport.    Or how about the balance of “perfection” vs “better than average”  when judging what to reward in the thick of training.  That instantaneous decision that says “acknowledge that”  – stop and reward — when you see a brilliant turn, nose touch, start line, response to handling  – balancing the urge to go on with the longer term goal of building a skilled and confident partner.  Or… after a few days of training,  deciding that today should NOT be a training day but the priority should be a long hike in the woods and fields.

Balance: a counterbalancing weight, force, or influence  Balancing the pressure of training and travel vs the release of  down time – long walks, hiking, swimming and hanging out.  A few weeks ago, Tai spent 3 days at the Susan Salo seminar.  Beyond the restrictions of life on the road and the physical and mental demands of the jumping,  the mental work to hold it together around the stimulation of other dogs was a challenge for him.  We ended the week at our camp – hiking, swimming and hanging out.  A good balance.

Balance: physical equilibrium; the ability to retain one’s balance – I watch in awe the athleticism of this dog as he negotiates his way through more and more complicated sequences.  This physical ability didn’t come all at once to this leggy lad.  I’m glad that I was in no hurry with his early training; that I matched his physical (and mental) maturity with appropriate challenges – I’m liking the results.

Balance: an aesthetically pleasing integration of elements– as in a dog and handler negotiating a course with perfection!
….
Balance: mental and emotional steadiness – as I help Tai work through his arousal around other dogs doing agility and retain my our mental and emotional steadiness through that process!  This is our biggest challenge right now and the biggest barrier to beginning Tai’s trial career.  Even if my dog’s contacts aren’t trial ready, I like to enter them around this age in appropriate classes (jumpers, snooker)  just to give them some trial experience.  I like to see that look on the face of the dog who has been going to trials since a wee puppy, when they realize…I get to play the game here too???  Yahoo! But alas, this may not happen soon.  I have entered him in a couple of trials next month but I’ll have to judge if he is ready.  I’ve been working hard this summer to help him through this stage by participating in a couple of classes each week and engaging friends to help by working their dogs around Tai.   We’re definitely trending in the right direction but still have  some ways to go.
 So…this young dog that I named after the Yin and Yang symbol (Taijitu) and whose formal name is “Longview Tai”,  is a constant reminder to keep all elements of life – even contrasting elements – in balance.  Hope you are doing the same with your pups!
Here is a link to a Youtube video I put together a few weeks ago – Tai jumping.  Enjoy!

The Look

Summer finally arrived in upstate NY and I have been training, camping, visiting family and friends, gardening and keeping up with volunteer activities.  Also occasionally cleaning my house and trialing.  Finally, training a running dog walk is very time consuming…not the actual training time but the obsessing over the video.  All in all, that’s a  recipe for NOT writing in this blog.  I have grand intentions of videoing some of our sessions and putting a montage together.  Hasn’t happened.

So…what prompts me to write now?  Well…it’s the look that Tai has been giving me after some of our training sessions.  It says “we did good together, didn’t we Mom?”.    Here is a shot of that “look” after a running dog walk session today.  I love it.  It says to me that he’s learned we are a team and partners as we play and have fun together doing this strange, pretty unnatural but totally addictive sport called agility.

Tai will be 18 months old in a few days. Yikes!  Where did the time go?

His training is coming along but probably slowly by some people’s standards.  I watched a friend put her 14 month old neatly  through a whole course, contacts, weaves and all yesterday.  Made me wonder what I’ve been doing!  I guess the answer is a combination of a long winter, giving Tai time to grow up and just plan not being in a hurry.

So a quick review: contacts in progress; weaves at the proofing stage; jumping coming along nicely; working our way through box work exercises showing that our flatwork foundation is paying off nicely.  Trying not to forget little things like revisiting our table training.

Still some challenges for sure…he still needs desensitizing around other dogs running agility…I really need to get on that more deliberately.  Will make that a project and part of my record keeping for the rest of the summer. 

Bottom line?  We’re having fun and working our way through lots of challenges (or opportunities rather)….We are at the beginning of a journey that will no doubt lead to lots of new “opportunities”.  I hope it is a very long road… a road as long as my friend Nancy’s with her wonderful dog Morgan who left us last week.  Morgan was 16 yrs old and had a huge heart – part of which I know he generously left with Nancy and her family.   As I watch Lacey slow down and find new ways to enjoy summer…like sleeping under the table, it’s a reminder to enjoy it all.

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