Wordless Wednesday

Loralei was right!!

Ive been trying to figure out why Java isnt hitting contacts at a trial. I thought it was because she was to excited. (It could still be). I tried really hard to create excitement. Having my son hold her while Im at the end calling her, running with her, throwing food and toys when  she is coming down the down ramp. She hit every time. I posted some video on Facebook and Loralei said she thinks its because Im behind at a trial so she isnt striding as large as when  Im in front of her. (I hope that makes sense). She is taking 5 strides, so six hits on the board. If she gets those 6 hits before hitting the contacts, she leaps off no matter where she is.  I felt I had trained her with me behind but I took her to the field to practice and if Im behind or she passes me on the dogwalk, her strides shorten and she doesnt hit the contact or hits the top part which would be a miss for USDAA. Ack!!
The field is pretty wet but no longer flooded. I took her out there and tried to vary my position. If her hits started to go high, I would take a big lead out and get a good  hit to reward. Then start varying again. ( I only did straight on and off the board since it was wet grass).


I think she did better today than yesterday.

I went to the park again today. Like I figured ,more flooding, but they didnt close the walking paths.

We walked through this one and another one. When we got back to the water on the path from yesterday, it was now huge and I didnt want to walk through it. If it was deep yesterday, it must be really deep today.

This is usually where I take the dogs down to the river. Its has to be 10 feet down to  where I usually put the dogs in. Now its almost up to the sidewalk.

The flooding is even out into the fields.

The temperature difference between the cold river and the warm air makes lots of mist or fog. I did see another owl and a whole new area. I guess they are moving around too.

And since I havent posted any dog pictures this week, here you go. (poor Java having to walk through the flooded sidewalk)

Owls

We did have some sunshine yesterday in between the rain.  Today, dark and dreary outside. Ugh! I took Miley and Java to the park.  The park is starting to flood. They will probably close the walking paths tomorrow.  I walked half way down the path and ran into this:

It didnt look to deep so I walked through.   I carried Miley and made Java walk. She wasnt to happy about that.  It was deeper than I thought, it came up to just below my knees. As soon as I started walking through an owl flew by.  Then right when I got to the end, there was another owl sitting right next to me, just ten feet away. I think he was as shocked as I was. He just stared at me. I could see he was kinda panicked. Trying to figure out what to do, fly away or stand still.  I just stood still looking at him.  I know if I went for my camera, he would fly away. Darn, nothing to do but wait. He did fly up into some trees but I could still see him.

Most of my shots were blurry. This one was the best shot I got out of seeing three owls.

It was dark at the park which makes taking pictures difficult.

 Im not sure how much farther we walk before turning around and going back.  The owls were all still hanging out in the same areas. I think they are watching the sidewalks for rodents and snakes running across from the rising water. For the first time I saw a rat run across the sidewalk and  Ive been going to the park for at least 6 years now. 

When I walked back through the flood sidewalk , I carried both dogs.   The water was now higher. The first time it was below my knees, now it was above my knees. The whole time walking through it I kept thinking, "Please dont let me see a snake". So the walking paths will be closed by tomorrow, Im sure.  More rain coming today.

Sorry, kinda blurry.

Rain, Rain go away

 

It just keeps raining. Twice Ive started driving to the park  this week and it started raining. I think Im jinx. I went outside today, it was sunny. I thought great. Started practicing running contacts with Java, it started raining. Ugh!!  My dogs are bored, bored ,bored!!

 

 

I thought this bird was a snake when I first saw it.  LOL.

Not much going on. Stephanie came home this week. She ran in a 4 mile race with my husband on the 4th of July.

You cant see it but she has a tiny nose piercing in her nose. (Not a ring).  Its hardly noticeable.  Kids, what can you do. 

Ive had to go to the club building a couple of times. Im in charge of our fall agility trial because the person who usually does it cant.  We bought the new break away tires that the AKC is requiring. They are suppose to break open with 16-20 lbs of pressure.  The first tire didnt want to break until 25 lbs of pressure. They give you this little piece of felt to put between the magnets to help it break. It still wasnt breaking until 22 lbs of pressure. So I bought more felt and I had to put a second piece in between the magnets. So its breaking at 18 lbs. The next day I brought the second tire with me, I forgot it the first time.  This tire is breaking at 19 lbs of pressure. If I put the felt in there, it broke at 14 lbs, so I had to remove it.  Not sure why the first tire is so much harder to break then the second one.
We have a shed in the back of our clubs training building. It holds all the agility equipment for trials. Someone had gone in there and pulled out the broad jump. Then just kinda threw it back it there. It made me so mad. I think if people in the club all had to work for the club and knew how much work goes into making money to buy the equipment, they wouldnt treat it that way.  They probably think Im a big "B" but I put the broad jump on our closet which is locked. Then  I put a sign across the front of the shed that says they are not allowed to remove anything form the shed. Training equipment is at the field. There is a tunnel, weave poles and an old tire they can practice with that are sitting outside the shed.  There are also 6 plastic jumps that we made for the building. The building has some areas that are padded but the areas are to small to really run agility. I dont know why, but the matting is slippery. So I dont like to run my dogs on it. I will do some weave poles on there but not much else.  Anyway, I get to the building and someone had taken the jumps apart. Most of the jumps were glued but a couple werent. I guess it kept falling over because the fitting werent tight. But did they fix it, or tell anyone they were broken?s Nope.  So I get there and find a mess. I wanted to use the jump but they keep falling down. So I went back the next day and I fixed them. I glued them all together. Hopefully no one tries to pull them apart and breaks them.  But I dont know why other people cant fix them. The club belongs to everyone and if you are using something that isnt working, you should try to fix it.
I ran Java through the weave poles and when I put pressure on her for me to pass her , she would leave the weave poles. So we working on that. Also with me acting crazy at the end , so she learns to stay in the poles. I also put together the teeter and ran her over that. I thought maybe the teeter from last weekend was noisy and thats why she bailed but she went on this  one just fine.

My husband said I look like Pheobe from "Friends". Remember when she was running in the park kinda like a little kid because it was fun. And Rachel was embarrassed. LOL

I havent been about to practice my Daisy Peel blind cross stuff, so now I will be two weeks behind. Ack!!  Oh well, it is self paced.

Ive been thinking a lot on Java's dogwalks and why she keeps missing at trials. Its driving me crazy. I thought she was over excited but after watching trial video after video, I dont think that is it. I think she is shortening up her second stride on the up ramp which is causing her not to be far enough along the board to do it in 6 strides. She always does six strides. Im not sure how to fix this.



So when she isnt far enough along the board after 6 strides, she leaps off.

Here she is at home.

The good, the bad and the GD it!!

Went to a USDAA trial last weekend.  It was outside but under cover. They said it was cool under the cover even when it was hot outside. Well, not so much. You would just sit there and sweat when doing nothing , let alone run your dogs.   I got there early before 7am to make sure I got a crating spot. Someone , the night before, said crating would be tight.  When I got there, they were still building the course. They were calling for help, so I helped out.  I wasnt entered in the first class and was planning on helping out in that class after looking at the worker schedule the night before.  So after helping build, I went to grab course maps. No course maps left for PII/advance classes or the Master Challenge jumpers. Oops, that will teach me not to grabbed them first thing.  Good thing about phones and ipads. I just asked around and took pictures of the maps.

First up was Gamblers. I didnt enter Miley only Java.  There was a  brick wall jump that looked like this.

My dogs have never seen this jump before. I was worried it would be a problem. If I only knew what the problem would really be this weekend.  So this jump wasnt a problem.

 

I really wanted to practice the dogwalk but was worried about hitting one of the jumps in the gamble. Instead I practice other things like the  long chute, smaller tire and the brick wall.   First time around  Java did the far tunnel, over the double and to the teeter. She did the teeter. Then the brick wall, into the tunnel over the jump and to the teeter. This time she jumped off the teeter sideways. I thought I rushed her since the buzzer to start the gamble had rung.  She got the gamble, tons of points and Qed.

Next up standard.

She missed the dogwalk contact and jumped off the side of the teeter.   USDAA has a new rule for starters. If you dog doesnt tip the teeter and they jump off, they can get back on. You get three tries.  But it tipped slightly so I didnt think I should put her back on. Other wise nice run. Not sure what to do about the dogwalk. She keeps jumping it at shows. Ugh.

Miley , PII standard. She dropped one bar.  But very nice run.

Next up was Snooker. Miley was first.

 

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The blue numbers were what I ran before the closing.   Miley was awesome. No wide turns, she stayed close and ran perfect. Except she dropped the first bar in the #7 close. But she had just enough points to Q. Whoohoo Miley!!

 

Next up was Java.

I changed my plan right before I went in the ring. I ran the one I wrote above with the blue numbers. Sorry, I numbered it wrong. She went  #1 to #3 and then its right.She was perfect until we started the close.  She back jumped the number 2 when I tired to have her wrap it. So tweet!!

 

So I was feeling pretty good. Next up was Master Challenge jumpers. I took a picture of someone's course map. When I looked at it, I thought why the heck did I enter Miley in this. This is way to hard for us. Ack!!

 

 

Everything looks spread out with plenty of room between jumps but it wasnt. Jump #6 was right there when they took #4. Lots of dogs took that jump, even really good handlers. That number 12 (brick wall) was right there when they came out of the tunnel. Lots of dogs took that one too.  I thought, I need to talk to her alot in the course.  Tell her tight coming out of the tunnels and  call her "close" when going between jumps. When Im nervous or around a group of people I tend to be really quiet. My friend told me , last weekend, I need to talk to Miley more when running.  So we started,  I blind crossed between #2 and #3. Front crossed after  #5 and after #6.   Then RC 13.  She was nice and tight all the way through the course.  And we stayed on course. Then she went wide around the broad jump. Ugh, so my fault. The broad jump was pulled in toward the tunnel more so then it looks on the map and  it wasnt a direct line from 14. I just didnt see it when I walked the course. I was worried about all the other stuff.   But holy crap, this was the best run ever!!!  She stay with me in Snooker and now this. Greatest  agility day ever!!!

 

Last up was Steeplechase. I only ran Java and pulled Miley. I didnt want to end on a bad note with Miley.

 

Java popped out of the weaves early and when I brought her back, she back weaved. So we were off course. But otherwise very nice run.

 

I dont have much on video tape. At least not the good runs.

 

Saturday was cooler. Thank goodness!! 

Jumpers was first.

 

I got lucky on this run. There could have been an off course in the beginning of the run.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up was Miley.

 

Miley dropped a bar and then went off course.  I  kept going but then got lost. I stopped and Miley stressed. She ran around and around, I left the ring. I shouldnt have stopped. Ugh!!!

 

Next pairs. I only entered Java.

 

I was paired with a very nice lady. She had a big black aussie. The circle side looked easier than the square said. She asked if I would mind running the squares. I told her no problem.  When it was time to run, I walked in the ring first and then she came in. She had to walk behind me and Java freaked out and barked and growled at her dog. Ugh. I had to grab her by the  scruff. (After the judge had told us not to grab our dogs because the general public may not understand this. I really thought she might whistle me out, but she didnt)  Once they were pass us, Java was fine. Even when that dog ran first  and went behind us at the finish, Java was ok.  In this run, Java wouldnt get on the teeter. I tried 3 times. Nope, she wasnt doing it. Otherwise perfect run. So we didnt Q because of us. Ugh. Now Im starting to freak out about the teeter.

 

Next up was standard. While waiting for our standard run, I took her out to this kid play set, put her on the slide, lifted it and lower it, gave her treats for staying on. Had her get into 2o2o,C/T.  I went over to the teeter they were raffling off. I shaped her around it. Look at it, C/T.  Nose touch it, C/T.  Paw it, C/T. Then all of a sudden,she jumped on and slammed into a 2o2o. I highly rewarded and left because I was worried about getting in trouble for training on site.

 

We did our standard run, nope she didnt get on the teeter. I tried twice and  the second time she went half way up, I said "good girl", then she jumped off the side. Ack!!  Now Im freaking out. Its all I can think about.  She then runs the dogwalk and jumps off the side of the down ramp. At one point, I think after the table, the judge says to me, "she missed her dogwalk contact".  I wasnt in a good mood by this point and Im freaking out. It was everything I had not to look at her and say, "Ya think???".  But I kept my mouth shut. ( the judge was very nice, I wasnt in a good place).

Next was Miley's standard run and I just couldnt get over Java not getting on the teeter. What if this becomes a three year long thing like Miley's table. Im going to have a nervous breakdown.

So Miley didnt get the best of me in the ring. She dropped one or two bars and broke the tire.  She did get the  teeter after the table. She was looking at the tunnel and I kept thinking she was going to take the tunnel no matter what. ( the tunnel sure looked a lot closer than it does on this map)

 

We  went home after that. I only had one more run with Miley and I think she was done. So I pulled her from that run.

 

The teeter thing has me upset to say the least.  I did notice that the 4 dogs who ran before me in standard on Saturday, all bailed off the teeter.   Plus I heard two (separate ) other people talking and saying the same thing as me when I was packing up and leaving. They were saying, I dont understand this, my dog has always gotten on the teeter and is bailing all weekend. Im not sure what was going on. The teeter is a double sided teeter, one side for AKC and one side for USDAA. But she has been on the teeter before.  So Im officially FREAKED OUT!!

 

 

Trial happenings.

Went to an outdoor trial this weekend.  It was at a horse farm where  I took this picture.  When I see this picture it reminds me of Jerry Van Dyke and this lip sync thing he did on "Yes Dear".  I located it on youtube. Its very funny if you havent seen it.



It was hot as heck on Friday. Even though the trial  was undercover. You would just be sitting there and sweat was just pouring out of your body. Never mind after you ran your dog. I was thinking of leaving in the middle of the day and going back to the hotel because I was so miserable.  I finally went in my car and turned on the A/C for an hour. That made me feel so much better.   The lady sitting next to me at the trial told me she felt like she was going to pass out. I let her use my dog fans (Ryobi fans) to cool off. Then a storm came through and the wind blew which felt great. The only bad thing was the dogs with thunder phobia's had a hard  time. Some  had to leave the ring because they just couldnt cope.   Friday we had some good runs, Saturday not so good. Ill talk more about it tomorrow.
I did win a couple of things at the raffle.

Funny, the things I only put one ticket in I won. A t-shirt and a basket. The basket had a leash, picture above, and chocolate in it too.  I gave the leash to a friend who likes skull stuff. The raffle stuff I put lots of tickets in, I didnt win. That figures. LOL They were raffling off a teeter and I put a lot of tickets in that one (I have a friend who wants a teeter). But I didnt win that. Oh well.
Ill talk more about the trial tomorrow.

Trial update and Dogwalks

Im still working on Java's running dogwalk.  She did get one rear foot in this weekend.  So Ive been working some more on it. The distressing part is when I watch the video, she had hits that I didnt reward at all. Ugh!!  Why cant I see it????  I will post a little video. She  has a huge leap on the third time, runs it again and has a beautiful hit. I thought she missed and didnt reward. How much am I confusing my dog? She jumps and doesnt get rewarded and then hits an doesnt get reward. Poor Java.



Im not going to post all the video from the trial. We, or rather I had a tough time. LOL  I think I might have myself psychic out.  I was thinking, every time Ive run ISC AKC courses, which are  harder,Ive Qed. (Except that one time when Miley left the start line right after I took off her leash, she went around the first jump, came back to me. I set her up and lead out. And the judged NQed us for training in the ring.But the run was perfect)  Im starting to think its in my head. I go to the line not expecting to Q just so I dont get disappointed.  Probably not the right frame of mind. And then since Java was running second, I front crossed twice and cut her off making sure we stayed on course. Then when I watched the video, I felt bad about cutting her off. She barked at me both times and was really slow and took half the course to speed back up. I didnt work this hard to get speed, to now slow her down. She is faster than Miley and my timing is off.  So the next day I decided to blind cross her. I messed them both up. She was just faster than I expected. So more work to do.

I made this video with most of the mistakes removed. Funny, I still watch it thinking about the mistakes.  I left the last video in where I cut Java off twice.



I listen to a bunch of Post Cast from Bad Dog Agility, they are free, on the way to the trial. One talked about 2o/2o and how we mess up our dogs contacts.  So even though I was aware of it, I still released Miley before she hit the dirt, or she released herself. The second day, I tried to do better but she still self released the teeter. So I will need to be stricter about that. I watched dog after dog, not do a 2o/2o, which it looks like they are suppose to, and the owner released them. No wonder our dogs get to a trial and are confused. We confuse them. Do this at home, but at a trial its ok to do it this way.  Then the dog doesnt know what to do and  you get leaps over the contact.

Masters JWW

Miley went off course.I feel like I cued this correctly. I was at #6 when she was taking jump 5. She just kept on going. Not sure why. I guess I should have called her but it didnt occur to me. I think I tend to be really quit on course and my friend said I need to talk to Miley more.

 Open JWW

This was the course where  I forced the front crosses.


Master Standard

The judge forgot to put weave poles in the course and I guess no one caught it. So we had course changes at the last minute. Worked well.  Miley just didnt read anything I was doing.

 

 

 

Open jww

 

I tried to lead out from the chute, but she came with me and didnt take the chute. I to send her again. Missed the dogwalk contact, wrong tunnel entrance. Dropped bar on triple. But she stayed in her weave poles all weekend!!!

They usually only removed one obstacle between Masters and open. Made such easy course changes and kept everything moving.

Master Standard

The beginning was tough and we got through it. Then she stressed at the table. I could feel it as we were approaching the table. Not sure why but I knew she wasnt going to stay on. She ran around the ring, I just stood there trying to decided if I should leave the ring. When she came around, I told her, "get on the table" and she got right on.  LOL  Afterwards someone came up to me and said, "man she got through all the hard stuff and then left the table. Then came around got right on and said, ok Im ready."   I wonder if it had to do with her self releasing the teeter right before the table.


Open Standard.

Beautiful turn over 8 to the teeter. I was worried, she tends not to read the RC to the left as good as to the right. Dogs were going wide and trying to take the a-frame but she read it beautiful!!  Beautiful turn at 12 too!!

 

Master JWW

 

I couldnt decided what to do.  After her wide turns out of the tunnel yesterday I felt like I needed to be right by the tunnel to get her going the right way. But that would put me behind going down the line and she could go off course. I decided to stay by the tunnel and she went off course down the line. I again should have called her. Ugh!!

 

Open JWW

 

 

I was planning two blind crosses. One between 2 and 3. I never made it and had to RC which she turned to tight. Then I was late on my RC between 7 and 8, so she missed 8.