Reaching some goals

This past weekend was a local AKC agility trial, held inside and where I train. Set up was easy, arriving and leaving was quick and painless and the trial was run really smoothly. I love trialing outside, enjoying the sun and hanging out around "nature", but I can't complain about the ease of indoor trials! So little set up, easy to pack and unpack, so much less draining!

Maybe the stars aligned just right, or the moon was in the right phase, but Rosey and I had the best weekend we've ever had. We were connected, I knew my courses, and she was doing her best to follow all my commands. I remembered to talk to her, to let her know how amazing she is, and she responded to each "yes" with a burst of speed and confidence. The look in her face after the run was enough to tell me she thought that we did a good job! Our weaves are still an issue, still slowing down after our first class, always a "project" for us. This weekend hopefully is a first among many, and all our hard work is starting to pay off!

Priority #1 this weekend was keeping connected. After the OMD seminar in December with Jessica Ajoux, I've started to get into a rhythm of letting Rosey know when she does a good turn or make a great decision... I was missing that piece and Rosey was getting slower because I wasn't giving her that feedback. Now that we're on track, she's getting more confident with turns and tight sections, making it more fun and easier for me to handle! Another major help to get connection was taking Denise Fenzi's play class and Deb Jones' Focus class, both have helped me understand how to play and how to make "working" so much more fun! Agility isn't just about running anymore, it's becoming a game and a conversation that we both look forward to having.

Priority #2 was to reduce most of my ring nerves, keep a clear head while running, and be open to connect with Rosey. Taking the mental management class with Andrea has really helped me identify my own issues and help me take control of them. With the tools I learned there, I was able to see the nerves coming long before they would be able to affect me. Driving to the trial, I was able to get myself into a more focused and better mindset, and setting the tone of the day. I even found myself humming while walking courses, not even realizing I was doing it until halfway through. I felt clear headed and I was totally present each run. It went so well that I am suspicious that I might not be able to make it happen again! Something to keep watching and working on... need more practice!

How did we do on paper? Exactly as I felt we should! We earned 5/6 Qs this weekend, making that two QQ, 1st place in Premier Standard, and 68-speed points towards our PACH.

One year ago, I was considering that I might not ever be able to run with Rosey. Her injury, her age, her heart murmur... it was all coming together and things seemed like I needed to make big decisions. I'm so glad I made decisions to explore rehab, strengthening, time off, and making an effort to make her better. 2015 was all about healing, and Rosey sure looked healed this weekend! I saw she was a little slower by the end of the weekend, but she's not sore! OMG she's not sore ;) So grateful to all the amazing teachers I have been able to learn from this past year. Our journey isn't over, it feels like we're just getting started!

Loot after Saturday! Added 2 more 2nd places and a 1st place and another QQ ribbon.

Back in the Ring

Rosey and I took the summer off from doing anything but playing and tugging. This is something that I did last summer as well, mainly because she really doesn't do well in the heat. I figured trying to beg convince her to run in the heat wasn't really going to help either one of us. At the beginning she seemed a only little jealous of Sam going to class, but as the weeks went on, she got more and more anxious when I left for class.

We started back at the beginning of September and our first classes back were a little rough. After the whole summer off, she was more eager to just run and play and less eager to play with me! With 3 weeks of working out the kinks, things got better, but we still have a few kinks to figure out. Unlucky for her, two hurricanes off the coast dumped tons of rain over the valley, so our weeks back should have been cooler, and were instead some of the hottest and most humid Arizona has ever seen in September!

Two weeks ago, we had our first trial (USDAA) back from the summer and although we only Qualified in one run, the whole weekend felt great. We had some awesome teamwork and she was happy to be running. Plus the one Q we did get was Grand Prix, which was something we've been working towards for the past year. (woohoo!)

This past weekend felt even better! It was AKC this weekend under Judge Kylie Bourke. With some tough, but really great flowing courses, I'm happy to say only 3 bars down over the entire weekend and one wrong course (all my fault with a poorly done rear cross). We managed 47 speed points this weekend with a QQ on Friday and a Q on Sunday in a really tough Standard run (only 30% Qualified in that class). Positives from the weekend: 2 classes with Rosey doing weaves nice and quick, and sticking everyone of her contacts (3/3 beautiful striding dog walk contacts! - we did work them in class this week). With a little more jump work to help with the bars, I think things can only get better AND faster. After our long journey together, this weekend had such a rewarding feeling to see the results and to know we have the potential to get better.

PACH count: 6/20 QQ and 258/750 speed points 
1/3 there!
Also, she earned her Master Agility title this weekend :) Now she's got some new letters after her name:
Prairielight Once Prairie Rose NA OAJ MXP AJP OF CGC PD APS APJ APG PKM

Tough course! Tricky parts that had most handlers were 3-4 (people didn't support the jump), wide turns at 6, the backside at 9 (options that worked was hang back at the teeter and push 9, or get ahead and blind cross 8 to the backside of 9; lots tried to rear cross the flat before 9 with mixed results and confused dogs), lots of dogs popping out of the weaves, LOTS of dogs that took the off course of #20 after the chute (we almost did too!). 

Love that face! So happy!

Building our Bond

Starting Small
I've been seeing a lot of the online community lately express the need to build a bond with your dog outside of the agility field. I've always had a good bond with my girls, but it's been mainly in low stimulus environments like my living room, backyard or in class. I'm starting to realize that once we get into the big, wide, world, Sam and I just don't trust each other completely. I'm always worried that she may see a dog that makes her anxious and start making a scene, and I"m sure she's always worried about the same thing! I have been brainstorming on easy options for us to explore, while keeping it something that I enjoy and I know she could handle.

In order to find something we can both explore together, I've signed up for a 6 week NoseWork course through Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. Rosey loves nose games and has been finding her toys in the house for years, but I figure I might as well learn how to teach the basics to Sam and see if she'll turn on to the game as well. Maybe if I can teach them to use their nose on cue, I can also teach them when not to use their nose (lost 2 runs with Rosey last weekend because of the nose!).

I'll try and share my experiences, mostly for myself to remember what I've learned, but also if anyone out there is curious about NoseWork. Class starts April 1st, next week!

Recap from weekend
This past weekend was the Golden Retriever AKC Agility trial and I was helping out the new Trial Secretary figure out the software and scoring process. Unfortunately its tough to always give 100% to my girls when helping out like that, but I gave it my best and was really happy with our results!

Rosey Qed in MasterP Standard on Friday and Sunday with 40 combined PACH points! Saturday I was happily shocked when Rosey turned on the speed and drive, enough to find an off course! Looking at the video, she was headed for the off course before I could even signal her to turn! She's going to keep challenging me, but this time in a good way - Faster!!! :)

                   Current progress towards PDCH: 2/20 QQs, 123/750 speed points

[Note: after helping out a friend this week by running her dog in class, I am starting to realize how late my cues are for Rosey and how great she's been in adapting to it! Thinking back on the weekend, I'm going to have to start learning to signal much earlier if I want to encourage Rosey to keep up with the new speed.]

Work plan for Rosey and I:
1 - Cue earlier
2 - Work distance
3 - Work verbal directions

I was pleasantly surprised with my Sam! Although we weren't 100%, I started to feel like she wanted to work with me and play the game. Our weaves were pretty weak, but we got 2 Qs in Novice JWW (got our first lucky Q last spring) and now moves up to Open JWW! I don't know if we're ready! I have my work cut out for me!

Here's my work plan to build our skill in playing the game:
1 - Work on weaves - Entries, completion (biggest issue), and speed (footwork)
2 - Obstacle focus - she has none. We'll start playing with some speed circles, and up the difficulty with angled jumps and maybe even a set of 6 weave poles.
3 - Work on our relationship - Maybe some drive games? Started working crate games into jump work, and she seemed to really turn on to that idea.
4 - Harness the crazy - I want to be able to direct her when she starts her Butt-tuck craziness, at least towards obstacles! Got a tunnel -> Jump -> Walk this week :) I might need to film this!