Strike's First AKC Trial : Review

November 29, 2014 - Purina Farms

I finally got myself to enter an AKC trial.
Of course due to school,  I can only ever enter on Saturdays and maybe a Sunday ever here and there, so we just competed on one day. 
Strike was measured before the trial by both judges,  both measured him at 20.25", which I think is a perfect size. ;-)
He was entered at 20" in NoviceB for both standard and JWW (we don't do T2B or FAST).

So we ran JWW first. I was a little nervous as Strike isn't very comfortable on the turf. I set him up and took a deep breath, all I had to do was keep up (haha)! He seemed so calm on the startline so I figured maybe he was tired, but as soon as I released him,  that proved to not be the case. He took off, I ran for my life and we even bumped into eachother at one point (my fault!!), but we kept it together and finished the course clean! I was ecstatic that he kept his footing on one of his least favorite surfaces. We partied and played outside before going in to check on results and when we did,  I was over the moon. Strike received first placd AND ran at over 7 YPS his first run ever in AKC,  even with bumping into me and being on turf!! We partied even harder after that!
Video: http://youtu.be/T81SstRDZGo

Next was standard (like 3 or 4 hours later of course). Now a lot of my friends know that Strike has a phenomenal running dogwalk, but I planned in advance that I didn't want to use it in his first couple trials (I, personally,  just wasn't ready for it in a trial situation). The course seemed flowy and we learned the broad jump the day before (oops). The first obstacle was a tunnel so that was awesome and a nice booster. He his the aframe contact by a toenail, but got it nonetheless and will be working on that more in the near future. Awesome teeter, fast ground speed and a STOP on the dogwalk to a 90° turn to the table. The next sequence I was a little on the fence about. Chute, out to a tunnel.  So I figured well, take a chance and try to send to the tunnel while trying to get ahead or running all the way to the tunnel entrance and not keeping up later. So I took the send chance and sure enough I pulled him back to me too soon. Luckily though Novice can have a refusal and I managed to get him back into the correct side. The rest of the run flew by! He also took first place in standard!
Video: http://youtu.be/-Omu_AyC-VI

Overall it was really fun!  He exceeded any expectation I could have ever had (I don't set expectations (: ).
I'm so so proud of him, I couldn't ask for a better dog! I'm so happy to get the opportunity to even trial since we hardly ever to get to train because I'm in college and only see him on weekends.
Can't wait for many more!  :)

Your Reason?

Agility : A game we play with our beloved dogs. Big or small, fast or slow we compete, but for what reason?

Watch your fellow competitors in the ring and see if you can't tell what their reason is.
Is it for only for titles and bragging rights?
Is it something more?

It's not uncommon to ask what everyone's biggest trial pet peeve is and get "negative attitude and being disrespectful to their dogs".
Of course the negativity doesn't come from a Q, but from an NQ. A dropped bar, an off course, a refusal, maybe even a performance that couldn't get to the first place spot... most likely caused by handler error. So what is their reason to compete if you can't always have fun?
Our dogs are only with us for limited amount of time, why not enjoy every single minute?

Is the Q really that important? Does YPS mean the world to you? Does the MACH have to be acquired as quickly as possible? What does the title do to you? Would you still run your dog if they couldn't tryout for international team? What if your dog suddenly suffered an injury or problem where they could no longer run as fast? Would you still be running them?

I have the same reason of why I play agility and the reason applies to all of my dogs. My slower dogs, my fast dogs, my future dogs... I love to play with them all. To me, it's not about the Q, the YPS, or the titles... it's about the bond. The quality time we get to spend with each other on the course, and off. No run is a bad run, every run is a learning and bonding experience.  My dogs are my best friends and nothing can stand in the way of the happiness we share as a team.

What is your reason?

below: My past, present and future agility dogs.

What is he?

Your dog. Your loyal companion,  your brave protector,  your faithful teammate. 
This is what you see, but what does he see? His master, his bestfriend, his savior?

A lot goes on behind the scenes of agility teams. All very different experiences, but what is actually happening?

Is your dogs sole job to run agility? Do they have a special daily routine of walks, hikes, swimming and play?

These questions are hard for others watching to answer, as so many people seem to mock a great relationship with their dog in front of others, when really it may not be as it seems.

Person X may act like they adore their dogs on the start line with praise, have a good run and show off to the crowd. But behind the scenes they crate their dogs all day without a simple praise or cookie thrown at them. They're in the crate, before the run and after, watching and waiting for their turn, for they know the only time they will be getting out is to run. What do you think this kind of person thinks of their dog? A way to the trophy, a way to stardom? Now what about the dog, what he thinking about his handler? I wish he would play with me? Why do you crate me after I run my heart out for you? Why do you push me so hard in training only to never really reward me?

Person Y may be the complete opposite.  Not always thrilled with the run, but thrilled and appreciative at how great their dog is either way.

Respect your dogs. They do so much for us. Winning ISN'T everything. Having an inseparable bond with love and care is.

Ask yourself what your dog is to you. Now ask yourself what your dog thinks you are to him.

Be the best friend and he will be eternally grateful.

Your Mental Game

Some level of physical fitness is key in agility not only for your dog, but for you.  However mental fitness is not to be overlooked.

It's natural to get aggravated or upset, but in training and competing, these can be a real setback for many teams.

This sport is a fun game. Take the fun out and your left for negative thoughts and/or actions.
"Success" and "failure" are words put in to our heads and stuck there to create an outline of ourselves and what we expected a particular outcome to be.

Expectations.
If you go in to your first trial with your green dog and set expectations,  odds are that something will not fit your expectation and in turn bring you down mentally or emotionally.
If you go in to your first trial with your green dog and don't set any expectations,  you are more likely to recognize and celebrate all of the little brilliant moments in each run, Q or NQ.

Setbacks
With all trainers/competitors,  you are bound to find at least one setback in your training or in trials. Whether it be your dog not listening to you yelling "touch!!!" on the dogwalk during trials, bars starting to come down frequently,  broken start line stays, naughtiness or something else, something will arise. No one is perfect and having a setback doesn't make you the worst handler ever or mean you should give up. Take that setback as a guide to strengthening your team, instead of dwelling in your so-called "failure".

Too Serious - Too Selfish
Competitive people exist, you may be one of them.  Nothing is necessarily wrong with being competitive, but be aware of who is around you.  Don't be the asshole handler who gives their competition insulting remarks, nasty glares or attempts to distract the dogs running against them. Winning can be fun, but if you're not having fun,  what is the point? Also remember you have a teammate who doesn't care or know anything about placements (because they're dogs). They're doing most of the work anyways,  so stop acting like you have a constant spotlight on *you*. If you take a more fun, leisurely approach, you may just Q more or be more happy with an NQ. No one likes a grouch complaining about their run all.day.long.

So how do you stay positive,  even when you just NQ'd every single run of the day due to broken start lines messing up your line?
Relax and take a deep breath.  This isn't your last trial and maybe you weren't ready for it to begin with. You can't always be on top of your game and Q every run.
Go in to your next trial with no expectations (though that can be difficult). Run like you train and hang on. Pick out the brilliant moments, there is always something, even if it is as small as not barking at the start line.  Embrace those brilliant moments.  Don't hang on to those speed bump moments or errors in your handling. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone occasionally forgets a cue or trips over a wing. It's not the end of the world, unless you bet your life on a Q... but if that's the case then you seriously have deeper issues.

Go out, take a deep breath, run like hell and have fun. Embrace the little things and don't sweat the mistakes. Take a positive approach to every course and have a blast running and challenging your team to anything that crosses your path.

Look at your teammate and smile before AND after each run. Every team has greatness inside them, don't let a negative mindset ruin yours.

It's Just You and Your Teammate

If you know me, you know that I'm not one to ever post song lyrics as a status or as some creative caption for an instagram photo... However,  being stuck in one of the university centers while studying for finals last week, I got to hear a lot of music and one lyric stood out to me more than anything else. Heard in John Legend's "All of Me" -
"Even when I lose, I'm winning"
I find this powerful, not necessarily in his context, but when applied to agility.
When you're entered in a trial, you're clearly running against others for the best time with a clean run. You are competing for placements... or are you competing for another reason?
I guarantee someone will not answer the question of "why do you compete in agility?" with the answer of "because I'm competitive and I want to beat everyone". Why?  Because agility is not just the physical game,  but the mental game. It's a learning and bonding experience.  It's a game we play with our dogs.
Back to this lyric, I truly believe it reflects how I personally feel every time I step in to the ring or even on my field at home. It's not about beating my competitors.  It's not about first, second, or third place. It's not about showing off. Winning is fun, exciting and a great confidence boost, but what is losing?  Is it giving up? Blaming your dog? Admitting defeat? Absolutely not. Who says you have to be the best all the time? Who says you have to be the best at all?
You may have a dog who struggles to even make time on the course,  but your small victories such as a hit contact or no knocked bars - that is winning.
Every single run is winning because we all have little issues to overcome, improve or learn. Someone may always be "better" than you,  but never forget that you're winning every time, even if a numbered score shows you're not.
Physically, you have competition.
Mentally,  your only competition is yourself.

Strive to improve,  to learn from every experience and most importantly - appreciate the little things and know that there is no such thing as 'losing'.

Strike's First Trial - Recap!

Strike competed in his very first trial over this past weekend - All 4 Fun USDAA (3/22-3/23) and blew me away! Honestly, I wasn't too sure how things would pan out because the winter months were so harsh and left us with very little training time. As a result of that, I attempted to stop him on his contacts. I don't want to use running contacts in trial until we get more practice in more locations.

SATURDAY  
Starters Gamblers - NQ
Before the run, we walked by the speaker and Strike was startled when the judges voice suddenly came blasting through calling out numbers. He was pretty spooked, so I tried to get his attention and comfort him the best I could, worried that he wouldn't even run for me. To my surprise, he was totally fine once the run started. Took our time playing around, but I wasn't in a friendly place at the buzzer and forgot I was running my starters dog (not Ace, my distance pro) and so I didn't support the send. Totally my fault and we finished the run on a good foot!!

Starters Snooker - NQ
Didn't last too long... I got whistled off. I'm used to CPE snooker, where if you knock a red, you get another and continue on to finish your red-color(x3). Well... Knocked a red, but apparently we were supposed to start the sequence after our 2nd red-color, which is where I messed up and the run was stopped. My bad!! ;)

Steeplechase - E
Super fun run!! He chose the wrong end of the tunnel... Not sure why, but he was on fire for the rest of the run! He even cleared the broad jump, which I actually didn't even train (oops). So happy with how tight he can turn and how well he can keep up bars in tight areas! 

Starters Standard - Q/1st place
My first concern was the tire right out of the chute which he ended up handling well, but did knick the tire (but not hard enough to break it). Great great great weaves and stopped contacts (yes, I actually got him to STOP!!)

Starters Jumpers Q/1st place
The last run of the day. We had been at the trial for 11 hours (sadly, I am not exaggerating...) I was burned out and exhausted, I can't imagine Strike was any more awake, but we ran and he did wonderful! I forgot to cue a right turn at the end on a close to 90 degree angle so he passed up the last jump, but he could go back and fix it because starters doesn't fault refusals (woo!)

SUNDAY
Starters Standard - NQ
Pretty quick, but Strike and I were both pretty shocked when he slid off of the teeter as it was falling! (Through observation of the rest of the class, the majority did the same thing. I was first to run, otherwise I would have been sure to stop him better!). That shock is probably what caused the bar afterwards, but he ran the rest of the course nicely! 

Starters Jumpers - Q/1st place
The most connected run I felt that we had (besides steeplechase)! We had a LOT of fun and he was really bookin' it! He ran 6.3 YPS (not bad for running at 26"!!) and just sailed over the jumps!!

I am thrilled with how well he handled his first trial and how confident he was. I just need to work on trusting him more and running faster so that I can keep up with him! I can't wait to continue our journey. The future is looking bright. :) Click here for the video!!

Me and Strike with his first ever Q ribbon!

Respect for Your Fellow Competitors

I've been around many groups of agility competitors for quite a few years now, from the young crowd to the old, the small dog people to large dog people. No group in particular had many issues with their "competition"... Though quite a few individuals were cheerful to their competitors' faces, behind the scenes was tragic in how they viewed eachother.

Rivalry has always been around and there is nothing wrong with being competitive, but when things get personal, it's ugly.

I've heard just about everything from many people... It's rude. You have no idea what each dog-handler team goes through or what they have experienced.

"Clearly they don't train their dogs, so why even enter?"
"Why does he/she even try? The dog just gets the zoomies and runs away."
"Just give up already."
 I've seen a lot of teams come out on the field with a fairly new dog. Training at home or even in a class is nothing like competing. The sights, smells, sounds and surface of the floor could be all brand new and to some dogs, they may be curious about this. It's not that the handler doesn't train the dog. Besides, they could be working through issues that you don't even know about.

"Why waste your money if you can never even make course time?"
"That handler is too fat to be able to run their dog properly." 
"Ugh, get out of the ring already. Your dog is too slow anyways."
Obviously I have never heard anyone directly tell someone this, but I do hear it muttered ringside. It makes me sad. You don't know what that team could be working through. Stress, fear, physical disability (handler or dog) or something else. Since when is this sport about having to be the fastest? Some people like agility because it's fun for them and is a great way to bond and play with their dogs. It may not be about the Q, placement or YPS to some people. It's about the fun.


We don't all have the same goals in agility, but that doesn't mean your goal is better than the goal of someone else. They're in this sport because they love and enjoy it. Don't be the one to bash on everyone just because you don't like them/their dog/their handling. Don't try to bring them down either. If you're going to be the bully of the agility world, you may as well just stop altogether because you have a very negative mindset.

Odds are that those people who you dislike are in it for different reasons than you are. Respect them.

Bree - my slow dog. She no longer competes, but she loves playing at home!

Motivation and Drive within Myself.

It's about time I write a new entry in my blog...
In case you're wondering where I've been, what I'm doing and when I'll be back...

This is the first year of my life that has been so different that it's been hard for me to handle... mentally. I started college in the fall of 2013 at Maryville University to study pre-optometry. Living an hour away from the school, it wasn't reasonable to have to drive to school 5 days a week from home for classes... So I moved in with my aunt and uncle, only 10 minutes from campus.

Life as I knew it suddenly changed. I went from being home every day to only being able to come home on the weekends. Studying and going to school 5 days a week, driving home Friday, working Friday, relaxing on Saturday and returning to Chesterfield every Sunday.

I have struggled for a very long time to keep my head up and keep moving forward. I can not bring any of my pets to live with me in the city, even my Mar (the cat).

Not only did this mean that I can only train my dogs agility two days a week at a maximum (depending on weather), but I could only see them roughly two days a week. I know my parents take great care of them and give them their supplements daily, but when you have to leave what you love so much every week, it's heartbreaking...

Ace is semi-retired from agility now for personal reasons, so I mostly just work with Strike in agility. Strike is 17 months old as of right now and has not competed, in result I have been getting questioned about why I haven't put him in the ring yet as I could be working on my titles. This irritates me, because the people who ask me this don't know my situation.

I've been on my own to train Strike. I can't afford online classes or seminars, and I am not even with my dogs during the week for the possibility of taking classes with anyone. My opportunity in regards to classes is zero, and that is just the way things will have to be.

Along with my training time cut short every week due to the lack of time I have with them, I have to do things different. Strike has a lovely running dogwalk and aframe. I worked very hard on this, but I am wanting to put a 2o2o on him as well, and as a result, I have received criticism for this. So let me just explain right here for those of you who are so against this idea. I do not want to attempt and expect a running contact hit when we begin to trial with the lack of weekly time I have to work on things. I want to have a solid 2o2o as a separate command (dual contacts) so that I can use that in trial until I have the opportunity to have him run other dogwalks besides the one I have at home. Until summer time, when I can work on things daily will things change and become more solid.

Let me be clear - I do not do agility for the title. I do not do agility for the aspect of competing against others. I don't do agility to "win". I do agility because it is a stress reliever and a way for me to have fun with my dogs. Agility gave me confidence, and although I still have a lot of confidence to build, I am so proud of present-day self. I went from a shy, quiet individual who thought communicating with anyone I didn't know would kill me to a confident young individual who can approach others with ease and engage in small talk - something I previously could have never done... and this was all thanks to agility.

I do not see myself in competition with anyone but myself.

I am not out to win. I am not out to necessarily have the fastest dog possible for the highest odds of winning. None of that matters to me. I have a BLAST running Ace, my slower and now semi-handicap dog. I wouldn't change the way he runs or anything about him for the fastest agility dog in the world.

 It isn't about the Q. It isn't about the YPS. It isn't about the placement.

It's about the fun and the privilege I have to run side by side with my best friend.

Yeah, it sucks that I will not be able to trial much anymore and that I can and will only be able to enter on Saturdays because of school and commuting back and forth to the city during the school year, but I still have motivation and drive somewhere within myself. Not do to good in agility necessarily, but to live life to the fullest and not give a damn about what others think of me. 

I am working very hard through my 7-8 years of schooling to provide myself with the best career for me. I love my dogs, but I also want to be very successful in life and that is why I am so driven to continue on this path - this long journey. To make something of myself. To have a career where I will be able to afford trialing, building my own facility, moving wherever I want to live, being financially stable and most importantly - being the happiest person I could ever be.

I wouldn't be able to have all of this drive and motivation without my friends and family there to support me and keeping my head up when the going gets rough. Thank you everyone who has positively impacted my life and helps me up when I fall down.

So when...?

"Wow Strike sure has grown since the last I've seen him! When can he start competing (in AKC I assume)?"
"December"
"Can't wait to see you at a trial next month then!"
"...I'm not entering him in anything soon actually."
"Why not? He's old enough and he looks great to me."
...
Honestly I've thought I've choked this question to death, but others must not read my blog or Facebook posts.

Yes, Strike can start competing December 8th.
No, I am not planning on competing with him that early for a few reasons...
1. Contact training is not finished!! This may take a while...
2. He hasn't even ran a full course yet, he didn't start serious training until just the other month.
3. I'm not in a rush or race to a certain title or accomplishment, I'm just as satisfied with taking my time.
4. I'm a poor college student.

Yes, Strike did really well at Purina practice.  His weaves are phenomenal,  his teeter is great, he keeps bars up, but there is so much that goes into the training of everything that I would have had to start training obstacles at a lower age, which I am highly against, in order to compete the day of his 15 month birthday and feel completely confident. Mainly because I don't live at home during the week. I don't have the option of daily training, so that sets us back a little bit as well.
I don't plan on competing until Strike is 18 months old. Sure he could have advanced into a higher level of AKC by then, but I honestly do.not.care.
I play this game for fun and because I have a true passion for the sport.

So stop asking me why I won't compete with him next month. K thanks.

Rant over.

My 5 Rules.

Where to even begin...
    Now at a year old, I've been going back and watching videos and awing at pictures from when Strike was younger. Do I regret anything? Not one bit. Some people have asked what my plan was with Strike. How I went about "training" him his first year and what my thoughts were on everything.
This was basically my rubric, if you want to think of it that way... My five major rules in "training" a puppy.

1.) ALWAYS FUN NO MATTER WHAT!
 Training rule number one of course also. Never get mad at or scold the puppy. Never instill fear into him. Be his best friend; the one he can trust. Positive reinforcement, playing, and letting him be a puppy (in other words, let him play and have a puppy brain. Maturity will form eventually).

2.) LEARN THE BASICS FIRST.
Of course I would hope anyone would follow this rule... It would only make sense. Teach them basics while they're young. In a fun and appropriate way, of course.

3.) STIMULATE THE BRAIN.
Self explanatory... Tricks, making them think, get their brains to start functioning. Shaping is especially a great way of doing this!

4.) FOUNDATION, FOUNDATION, FOUNDATION.
Puppies have so much coordination, body awareness, and basic knowledge to learn before anything big. Running around a cone, walking through a ladder, building muscle, strength training, etc. -- all vital to building a performance dog. (Has a lot to do with #5.)

and now for the big one...

5.) BIG DOG EQUIPMENT CAN WAIT!
First of all, you can't compete until the dog is 15 months old at the earliest. Please tell me why in the world you would stress this equipment early on in a puppy's life? If it's muscle you're looking to build, putting your puppy on a full size, lets use the a-frame as an example, is not the way to do so unless you want to risk injuring the puppy. Remember, puppies, like human babies, are not fully developed. There are things called growth plates. Disrupt their growth plates or damage them and well... The outcome may be devastating later down the road. It's a scientific fact, you can't say it isn't true. I just can not bring myself to understand how one can think that performing these full-height obstacles at a young age is healthy. You know that puppies are growing and developing. How can you not see that high impact training like this can damage your growing teammate?

 Plus there is SO much more to do, why rush into things? I really stress this factor in my own training because I want my puppies to be healthy and able to form and have their growth plates close before ANY jumping, weaving, climbing, etc.
So you say that waiting too long will result in undesirable obstacle performance and difficulty for them?
Okay, so clearly my young pup will get no where in agility because he started/will start these obstacles once his growth plates are closed... This is what foundation is for. Build your muscle and drive in foundation training. I find it extremely offensive that people think that younger is better for everything, because it scientifically, is not. You may get lucky and your dog may not develop any major problems, but the risk should be scary enough. We all want our canines to last as long as possible as well as being as healthy as possible.
Strike is a powerhouse. Probably the most muscular pup I've ever met. And he didn't get this from obstacles. Oh no... He got it from **foundation** training. Living on a farm also gave him an advantage, but mainly the foundation. The learning how to run, coordinate his body, and build muscle. /end rant

So, my five rules. What I follow for training puppies. (Yes, I have more "rules" but I just wanted to share 5 of them.)

and some photos for no reason!!

(I mean really, he can fly... and run extremely fast. Some say it's the freckles) ;)

My Puppy is already ONE?!

I am just mind blown by the fact that my sweet little innocent Strike is already 12 months old (as of September 8th). Honestly I thought he would be a little taller. He just seems so small to me, but I'm probably just so used to seeing and being around monster collies.
 So...What now? What are our plans?
Well, I am living in the city during the week to go to college, and I come home Friday afternoon- Sunday afternoon, so my training time and availability is literally cut in half, plus it also depends on the weather.

I STILL need to get the rubber on my contact equipment (I know, I'll get it done soon).
So where is he in terms of contact training?
1.) Dog Walk - On an elevated plank on the ground. About a 90% Jackpot rate right now. Wanting to get that higher before we raise it (or get him on a short dog walk, because I am adjusting my current to do so).
2.) Aframe - Waiting to rubberize my aframe before we get any further in to training with it. Thinking about adding a box, because he's kind of a maniac and likes to two stride the aframe. We'll see when the rubber gets put on!
3.) Teeter - We've been playing the bang game for a long time now. He loves it. I'm very pleased with how he is driving to the end of the plank also (not at full height, obviously).

I raised his jump bar to 14" recently. We're going to start working more on grids, wraps, and all that fun stuff as we build the height of the jumps. So far he is doing excellent!

I have him on channel weave poles that are still almost completely open. My stick-in-the-ground poles are pissing me off and it doesn't help that the ground is hard as a rock right now. So I'm not sure when we'll be able to actually get real weave pole training done soon. Oh well, it can wait!

Mostly we've just been working on handling and reading my body language better. He's a crazy pup, that's for sure.

Trialing? I don't even want to bring that up! Sure, he COULD debut the weekend he turns 15 months, but I'm going to work on taking my time with him and molding and shaping him into a great, prepared dog before I throw him on course. (Not to mention my contact training will most likely NOT be done, and I won't be able to get much practice in during the colder months!) It's NOT a race. Many people sure do act like it is, but screw that. I'm taking my good ol' time and will debut him when he and I are both ready to start our agility journey together. I think we may just debut in ASCA first if there is a near-by trial when he turns 18 months. Ah, I love ASCA.

Can't wait to see what the future has in store for us!
And here is a picture I took of him, drooling from excitement, on his first birthday!
Happy birthday, you crazy little ball of insanity!

Contact Entries

This past weekend I was at an ASCA trial competing with Ace, one of my border collies at Purina Farms.
Friday we made it through our first standard run and got ready to run the second. In ASCA, your second run is typically the first course, only backwards.

Walking the course, I didn't see anything as much of an issue, I felt confident in where I was going and how I was going to handle things. The teeter did feel awkward to me, as it's entry was on a 90° turn from a jump, it just sat back further from the jump. I just thought, "oh, I can just push him out".

The run was going great... Until the teeter, the third to last obstacle. I pushed him out as far as I could before I had to run ahead (I was going to front cross after the teeter), until I looked back as Ace was getting onto the teeter. The extreme angle for his size made it difficult for him to get the right side of his body onto the obstacle.

He started to fall at the pivot point, but somehow grabbed the pivot bar and was trying to hang on to pull himself up (yes, he was upside down!), I start to run back to him, but by that time he let go and fell onto his back and laid there for a second.

Terrified of injury I quickly sat him up and had him walk a few steps to see if he hurt anything. He appeared fine, the judge came over to pet him (Ace loved that), and we had him go back over the teeter, which he luckily had no fear of. Needless to say he got a very long message and stretching after that along with Traumeel.

So I got to thinking and looking at course maps. This was not the first time a weird entry was placed, it was only the first that actually got to us.

The judge seemed concerned and looked back at the angle and luckily the rest of the weekend was friendly with entries.

Today I was watching Youtube videos of friends running agility and I noticed awkward dogwalk entries. (please see drawings below to see what I'm talking about, as I do not have a copy of course maps).

There are a lot of ways of making courses challenging, but perhaps entries to contacts should remain in a definite safe zone, especially for those like me who have large but fast dogs.

Although the dogwalk and teeters' 12" wide planks are obviously more at risk for entries, the aframe can still have risky entries. For example, over my years of trialing I have seen aframes on strange angles. The dogs run to it and have to scramble to the center after almost flying off the other side due to the approach.

Thank God Ace's incident didn't happen on the dogwalk. The pivot point on the teeter is no where near as high as the top of the dogwalk. However, I've sadly seen dogs fall off the side of the top of the up ramp on the dogwalk and land on their backs or side. Yes, these were a result of bad approaches to the entry of the obstacle!

I'm not a judge, I do not know the regulations for how entries to contacts should be set (if there are any), all I know is that giving an usafe approach can and will result in an unsafe performance and may cause injury.

Rushed, Uneducated, or Oblivious?

Traditions throughout dog training have evolved in such a way that some people are stuck in the day of age where things have to be done this way and preformed that way.

Having an open mind is something everyone should have or try to have.

Sadly, one old fashioned way of thinking seems to stick around for some and that is negative reinforcement... Sad, right?

Scolding, grabbing the scruff and punishing, and negative physical contact are just some things I've witnessed people doing while training in various sports, including agility.  

Science has brought us a long way in understanding our dogs better by studying their emotions and especially the research regarding the growth and development of dogs.

Growth plates in most dogs close at around a year, give or take depending on the size.  So why are trainers still, with this knowledge available to them,  teaching full closed sets of 12 weave poles around 4-5 months old? What about jumps at competition heights or full size contact equipment at that age? 

It could be because that's how they've always done it or perhaps they want to impress others...(more like call negative attention to themselves). 

You may argue that training this full size equipment gives your puppy an edge, but are you really doing so? 

Like babies and children, puppies are constantly growing, developing and forming. Drilling activities such as weave poles or high impact jumping can lead to an injury, whether it be obvious or appears later in life because the growth plates were disturbed as a pup. 

Think about the impact of what you're asking your 5-month-old puppy to do. Think of some of the areas affected. Aframe: shoulders, wrists. Jumping: legs in general. Weaving: spine, hips, shoulders. All of these areas and more are taking a toll from this impact training.

Building drive, coordination, basic training, tricks, etc is a lot of what goes in to foundation training... What you should be doing with that pup instead of that full AKC course you set up at your club to show off your "prize puppy". Newsflash - you can't compete until 15 months anyway...

So what are they? 

Rushed?  Racing against someone else mentally to finish or begin training before them. One-upping. Must get everything trained to be a better competitor.

Uneducated? New to the sport or not knowing what is actually going on. Usually in need of a positive mentor to get them started.

Oblivious? Knowing the science behind how impact training too young is bad, but continue anyway because they've always done it that way or have seen others do it that way. 

Keep an open mind and do what you feel is safe for your pup . Don't let oblivious trainers tell you to start this impact training at 3-4 months(Yes, they exist!). 

Go out and have fun with your puppies and remember: foundation,  foundation,  foundation! 

Being seriously fun.

Something we see too often... The competitor in the ring at a local trial stressing and pushing their dogs to the limits in order for a chance to place (or whatever).

Recently the serious type of competitors have been raising some questions from me so naturally I  observed.

Being serious is not necessarily a bad thing, but it comes to a point where you're bringing your team down rather than up when taken too far.

Pushing limits. Pushing for speed. Who doesn't want to place or do well? Everyone wants to try their best to accomplish goals with their beloved dogs, but how far is too far?

Agility is a fun sport... FUN sport. Not cut throat, life-or-death runs. If you're too serious and pushing your dog, chances are you're just building stress. Stress in the ring may not lead to your "expected outcome" and usually doesn't. Learn to have FUN. The more fun you're having, the more fun your dog is having. The more energy you have, the more energy your dog has. Use that positive energy to enhance your run and avoid the cut throat feelings. Your fastest, most rewarding run will be the run that was the most fun for you and your dog (regardless of result, because we love our dogs and do our best to avoid handler errors, right?)

Pushing training. Training doesn't happen overnight. Agility training is complex and can take months to train. PUPPIES - Want to do AKC? Cool, you still have over a year to prepare before you debut at 15 months (if you are into debuting ASAP). Don't rush training in the most critical time of their little lives. Puppies have far more important things to learn before agility obstacles. Basic obedience, foundation, playing and HOW TO BE A PUPPY. Not to mention their bodies need to have time to grow and develop without damage for future injury. COMPETITION AGE ADULT DOGS - Say you adopt a 15-month-old dog, agility is not a training race. Take your time. Consistant, steady training will result in the best outcome, not obstacle preformances that were slopped together in order to trial quickly. Take the time to train a nice dog. Slow and steady (training) wins the race.

If you're rushing outcomes, you're setting yourself up for possible failure and disappointment. Take your time and have fun with it.

Try being serious...ly fun. No matter what the outcome. Your dog will love you for it, and your attitude with lift your spirits with every run you have... Because nothing is better than the bond and team work between man and dog.

Journey to ATCH

It's been two years of competing in ASCA with Ace.
May 4th, 2013, we accomplished something I couldn't even dream of when I was younger and getting into the sport. Putting an agility champion title on a dog. And under a great judge: Pamela Bryant-Meeks.

We needed a gambler Q and two standard Qs for our very first ATCH. Knocked out the gambler requirement in the first run of the day. Then our round 1 standard run. Heart racing, nerves shaking, and eyes tired from the two hour drive and 4am wake-up, we entered the ring for our round 2 standard run. The run we needed. Somewhat of a tight course for a dog of Ace's size, I took it slow. Making sure he had good approaches to each jump and stopped on his contacts. At the end of the run, we found that we made it... Cheers and congratulations came our way. Support and joy from those I didn't even know. It was a great feeling. It was a memorable day for sure.

I got involved with ASCA when Sara Swanson told me about it. A few months before our first trial, I took classes with Joan Meyer, who also did some ASCA.

My first trial was at the Columbia Canine Sports Center in Columbia, MO. The same location we got our ATCH.
Judge Mike Willis judged my first trial, where Ace took High in Trial Novice dog and earned all three novice titles.
We then moved up to open. That weekend we earned all three open titles and High in Trial Open dog.
Then we got to run with the big dogs in Elite. We earned all three elite titles quickly, earning High in Trial Elite dog and High in Trial Overall multiple times.

So I'd like to take this time to thank a  few people.
First, Ace. My heart dog. Thanks for putting up with me while I learned and evolved my training when we were younger... You're a rockstar and I couldn't imagine life without you.

My family, especially Mom. Thank you for supporting me 110% and driving me to trials and being there for me.

Sara Swanson. Thank you for introducing me to ASCA and helping me out at my first trial. You're a great friend.

Joan Meyer. Thank you for having Ace and I in your classes. We learned a lot, you inspired me, and helped build my confidence in agility.

Judge Pamela Bryant-Meeks. Thank you for being one of the most fun judges I've shown under and designing such fun courses for the trial I got my ATCH at.

All of the judges I've shown under and friends and trial secretaries I've met throughout the years. Thank you for being there for me. Your support means a lot and I couldn't have done it without you.

It was a great journey and I look forward to what else Ace and I can accomplish together.

-Kelsey & ATCH KK's Flyin Ace

Strike's 8 Month Progress

Let's see... 8 months old and not doing a whole lot more than playing!

Lets start out with his flat progress. Measured out yardage, had him run through being timed, and clocked in at 10+ YPS on the flat ground. (He was almost 7 months, so I need to run that test again.)

Learning channel weaves, wide channels of course. Going to separately work entries with a 2x2.

Still practicing tight turns, left/right. Still doing great! Bar is at about 10" in our wrap exercises for tight turns.

Learning running contacts (dogwalk); doing a phenominal job!!

Doing short sequences, mainly to learn body language better and directions. He literally drools from the excitement while running. He's so intense!

Next on the agenda? Continue weaves, jumps, and running contacts still.

He's so fast that it's actually challenging to keep up. Luckily we did distance foundation a while back - woohoo!

He's such a kickass little dog.

PURPOSE CONFUSED?

I apologize for the angry capitals... but what do I even mean?

We (Border Collie folk) know that there are basically three types of BC breeders: Herding, sporting, and conformation breeders.

Everyone had no idea I was in the market for another BC before I got Strike, but I did receive comments from people suggesting where to get my next BC (who was planned a few years away).

I got this : "Why would you want a dog from a working breeder?"
"I guess you don't want a fast agility dog?"
"Good luck without a sporter collie."
"You won't have a chance with a working bred dog in agility."

These quotes carried in my mind and have been bugging me lately.

Ace was bred for herding and is a wonderfully consistant agility dog, but lacks the speed he could have. (probably because I trained him when I was 15 and clueless...)
And now I'm training Strike, who is a half brother to Ace and also from wonderful herding lines. He's turning out to be very promising. Honestly, he's also one of the fastest pups I've ever seen!
Though now that I know what I'm doing, how to train efficiently, and how to build drive, I'm quite insulted that the people who had been talking to me and giving me "tips" constantly said to go to a sport breeder if I ever wanted to make it in the agility world.

I'd like to point out a few things I've seen personally.
*It's the trainer. Dogs aren't born pre-programmed.
*Dogs bred for conformation or herding can stand a chance against sporters; I see it often at local shows.
*Not all sporters are ~perfect~ like they are claimed to be.
*There is no such thing as a certain type being automatically better at agility. Now do the breedings give advantages? Sure; but when it really comes down to it, it's the trainer, the bond, and the hard work and persistence.

Just had to rant a little as I'm tired of hearing "don't get a dog from them; they're slow."

A companion and friend first; an agility dog second.

Equality.

I don't usually post things that don't have anything to do with dogs, but when I do, it's something that has been bugging me.

Huge debate currently going on:
Gay marriage.

There are a few things I picked out in particular that people are complaining about;
1.) Tradition
2.) Religion
3.) Morals

I'd just like to first point out that everyone is different...
YOU are straight? Doesn't mean everyone is.
YOU don't like gay marriage? Cool, then don't marry someone of the same sex.
How does a gay couple affect YOU?
YOU don't like seeing them in public? Then ignore it. Don't acknowledge it and act like an asshole; YOU don't know them.
It goes against YOUR religion? Please tell me more about how only one religion exists.
YOU believe that a man and a woman should be the only couple eligible for marriage? That's YOUR opinion. Again, YOU'RE not the one getting a same sex marriage, right?
How will they properly raise their children? YOU'VE got to be kidding me. So I'm guessing single parents can't raise kids properly either? Who gave YOU the right to judge someone on that topic, let alone someone/those YOU don't know.
Being against gay marriage isn't going to keep the gays hidden or get rid of them. It isn't illegal to date of the same sex.
Marriage is a unity. What do YOU care if they're married or not? YOU'RE going to see them together anyway. They dont judge and hate YOU for being straight.
What is freedom if you can't even marry who YOU love?
How would YOU feel if the world as we know it was opposite... If gay was traditional and the government and whatnot was keeping YOU from marrying YOUR opposite sex partner?
Not everyone is straight.
Everyone is entitled to love and freedom, regardless of the fine details.

I'm not gay, but I do believe that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but YOUR morals, traditions, and religion can differ from anyone else.
Think about others, think of their struggles with this situation and take a look at yourself. Is it worth it to keep lovers from getting married? You live once... Everyone lives once (unless you believe in reincarnation of course!) Let them live, love, and prosper and do the same yourself.

/end rant.
Sorry. Equality is just fair... Hence the word "equal"...
Which is true?
2 > 2
2 = 2
Just something to think about...

/ Okay, I'm done. Thank you. :)

Bothering Sayings

I just had to. I hear it too often from average non-dog people. (or technically I hear and see people ask/say these annoying things.)

1.) "Oh, you race dogs?"
2.) "My dog can jump through a hoop too!"
3.) "My dog could do that."
4.) "Why can't you bring treats or toys in the ring?"
5.) "So you do this on leash?"
6.) "Why can't you touch the dog to help it?"
7.) "Why are you running around with the dog? I thought they were trained!"
8.) "Did you win your trial?"
9.) "How much money do you get?"
10.) "Why do you tell your dog to hit that yellow part?"
11.) "This isn't a sport."
12.) "Do you have to have a Border Collie?"
13.) "That looks easy."
14.) "Why does the dog jump that high/low?"
15.) "Are you following a path?"
16.) "I bet my dog could kick your dogs butt."
17.) "How does the dog not fall off that ramp thing?"
18.) "What is the point?"
19.) "Why don't you do a real sport?"
20.) "My dog did this when he was 8 weeks old."
21.) "Yeah, my dog is a champion agility dog. He is great in my backyard jumping over broomsticks."

Like really?... ;___;

Just thought I'd share.

Having a Mind of Greatness

Success, accomplishment, winning.
Great things can lead to not-so great attitudes towards others.

From my own observation at agility trials and within the agility community, I have picked out two very opposite attitudes from those who are considered "great", "the best" and "elite".

Type 1: The Humble Winner
The humble winners are the ones who don't drown others in their own successes. They congratulate everybody, reguardless of how their runs really played out. The also are good advice givers. They don't speak a rude word to anyone and try to prove to everyone that we're all great somewhere and we can all get there. They have respect. I call this a "mind of greatness".

Type 2: The Wrong Direction Winner
Why did I choose that name? Well, these are the competitors who tend to push down on others (whether it be inside and/or outside of their friend group). From observation, these people tend to think that they're basically the God/Goddess of agility. The main thing I've seen is that they tend to talk down those who may not have a dog as fast as theirs, may be slower handling wise, and I've even seen them take it publically to a personal level. It's like they're trying to keep everyone below them in a rude and insensitive way; whether it be with insults or embarrassment.

Sadly, I can admit that I see type 2 more than type 1. What's wrong with this picture?
Think to yourself;
Which type gets more/all respect?
How can you improve on your own attitude?
Do you have any goals to becoming a type 1 winner?

Agility is a fun sport and we're all winners in some way. Don't let others get you down; be the better person and set an example for them.

Stay strong. Be positive. Have the mind of greatness.