CATCH-2 Django

When Django earned his CPE C-ATCH agility title this past July, I was very content and proud. He is the first dog that I have earned a major title on, and I was satisfied with our accomplishments, was enjoying our teamwork together, and did not have any big ambitions for any titles beyond that. I knew that as long as his health allowed, we would continue trialing and hopefully that may mean more titles as I hope to still have many runs left together with him, but I was done striving. Instead, I decided to focus on being the best team we could be.



If Django is anything in the agility ring, it is honest and forgiving. Consequently, I've been able to "play it safe" a lot of the time in ways that I couldn't with a very high, fast dog like Maebe. Django and I have a lot of clean runs and get a lot of Q's, and even place a decent percentage of the time, but I know I was babysitting to his weaknesses rather than training and improving them. I felt myself doing this especially as I was grasping for those last few C-ATCH legs back in the spring and summer, and I knew that wasn't really the type of trainer that I wanted to be. Plus, I wasn't really challenging Django to meet his full potential.



After we earned his C-ATCH, I decided to stop worrying about qualifying, and instead to test my training and challenge him. I stopped finding ways to avoid off-side weaves at all costs, I ran faster to encourage him to drive harder towards me through the course, and I tested how far I could be from obstacles.



I pleasantly discovered that we kept Q-ing. In fact, our Q rate increased and we even had a few perfect days of trialing in the past few months and began placing consistently, often even taking first. He also was getting faster, and not petering out by the fifth run of the day. We got three traditional Jackpot legs in a row, which was previously unheard of for us. Suddenly, I found we were entering this past weekend's trial needing only one more Standard leg for a CATCH-2, and having two opportunities to get it that day.



So, old habits die hard, I found. I approached the trial feeling very relaxed and unconcerned about finishing the title, but as I walked the first course, I started to feel my nerves get a bit rattled. The course was a nice one that we should have done well. But, I found myself worrying about his A-Frame contact so got right to the end to slow him down to hit it, then promptly forgot what I was supposed to be doing next. In the half-second pause I took to re-orient myself, Django got tired of waiting for direction and took an off course jump. I apologized to him on the course for screwing that one up, then just had fun as we finished up the course.



The second run went much better. I took a deep breath before leaving him at the start line, and the opening went very smooth. Once we got past all the tricky parts though, and were almost in the home stretch, I did shift back into baby-sitter mode, and did some awkward handling to play it safe. But, he earned his Q and still took first place even with the time I took to over-handle the last few weaves and jumps. All in all, it was a nice run and I was very proud of him.



I'm happy to be back in "non-striving" mode though. We ran the last two classes of the day using the "no hand-holding" philosophy again, and he ran fast, clean, and had some brilliant weave entries. In doing so, Django taught me another important lesson - that once the training and team-building effort has been put in, you need to trust your dog, and in effect, yourself.



Here's Django's title photo, courtesy of Raymond Dutton. As always, Django is not real sure what all the fuss is about and is just wondering when he is going to get his cheese.

Things Learned in Foundation Agility Class Last Night

By The Noodle (aka Cadence)

1) Tunnels are awesome.
2) Schnauzers are awesome.
3) While the Buja Board is fun, and I get lots of cheese on it, it is maybe best not to pounce on it like I'm doing my best lion imitation.
4) I have rear feet and need to pick them up when walking through the ladder.
5) Sometimes tunnels are closed at the end but I can still get through.
6) Schnauzers would probably be really fun to herd.
7) Even though the table at class looks exactly like the table at home that I have gone on dozens of times, it is best to give it a full inspection before getting on it for the first time.
8) Mom starts swearing and almost falls if I try to run in front of her at top speed between two obstacles.
9) I can do two obstacles in a row without turning and herding Mom, causing the aforementioned swearing (unless she is really, really late).
10) I could stare at a schnauzer all day.
11) I will be much faster than Django and Mom is not going to get away with the sloppy handling crap she can get away with with him.
12) If I run over to say hi to the pretty Border Collie mix twice in a row while she is doing jumps, my Gentle Leader gets put back on and I have to sit calmly for a while and look at Mom.
13) Mom really better learn to handle.
14) Schnauzers are almost as fascinating as kitties.

This Was The Type of Weekend We Had . . .

Which was very nice for a change. :-)

In Which Django Learns What Those Poles In The Ground Are For

It is a small wonder that Django has proven to be such an honest agility dog given the on-and-off patchwork of classes and lessons that laid his foundation training in the sport. When Django came into our household, Tristan was approaching a year of convalescence for his knee problems, and Jade was making it clear in no uncertain terms that while he was a stellar flyball dog, he would only do agility under his own rules and conditions, thank you very much. I had the agility bug though, and wanted a competition partner, so hoped to quickly get Django up and running. Fate had other plans for a while though, and his education had a lot of fits and starts. We had become disenchanted with the instructor we'd been going to who seemed to be resorting to throwing water bottles at dogs as a training method. We chose to go to another instructor who we enjoyed, but who at the time only taught a class slightly advanced for Django's skill level. We faked our way through it as best we could . . . but then we bought a new house and moved, I broke my arm, etc. Finally, a couple years ago we were ready to really enter competition with him. With only one little issue.

He remained rather flummoxed by the concept of weaves. If he concentrated real hard, and I stood right next to him and showed him the straight path to the entry and didn't rush him, he could slowly wiggle his body back and forth through a set of six poles. If he were on my left side, that is. If he was on my right side, he would come to a grinding halt at the first pole and stare at it perplexed as if he had absolutely no idea what to do with this strange white stick in the ground.

We took some weave classes, worked weaves in the backyard, and within the past year got to a point where I could usually pretty much count on him knowing what to do with the weaves. He still would pop out on occasion, and really was better if he was on my left. He wouldn't drive ahead or out to the side to find weaves by himself so I really needed to be there for him. I would risk off-side weaves if I really had to but usually tried to find ways to set him up as best I could. And he did not weave fast, by any means, in a trial.

So, sometime this fall apparently somebody abducted this dog and managed to train him what I had been unable to in the last 5 years or so.

We entered a CPE trial this past Sunday, and saw that the first run of the day was a traditional Jackpot that involved a set of weaves in the gamble. I figured chances were slim to none of him hitting weaves at that distance and angle. So no one was more stunned than I was when he became the first dog of the day to qualify, hitting the weaves perfectly, and actually kind of fast. As I gathered up his leash, I asked him "Whose dog are you? Because mine doesn't weave like that. When did you learn how to do that?" He was pleased with himself as always, but was not telling.

After that performance, I decided that, dammit, clearly the dog knows what to do and I have just been babysitting and hand holding way too much. So I planned to run the rest of the day's courses in the most efficient way possible and not worry about managing his weaves. I did off-side weaves at least three times. I sent him ahead to find the entry on his own. I didn't slow down and let him think about how to do them. Every time he nailed them. Charged ahead, found the entries, single-stepped the poles, kept driving through them, didn't look to me for guidance . . . and he finished the day perfect in all five runs with three first places and two seconds.

It pleases me to no end that at this age and after this long, Django is still continuing to improve his skills and is actually getting faster and showing more drive. So, to whoever had been training my dog behind my back, many thanks!!

Having some video upload issues at the moment that should hopefully be resolved later this week, so hope to have a few of the runs up eventually. His Standard and Snooker runs especially made me very proud!

Another Milestone

Been a weird couple months around here, but life is hopefully getting back to normal and we have had a couple significant events in recent weeks.

On October 17-18, we attended Canine Express's annual flyball tournament with Django. Maebe had been signed up for an agility jumping seminar that weekend, but a lesion on her toe that kept getting irritated prevented her from going and participating, so she had a weekend off. Django entered the tournament needing about 480 points for his ONYX title, and I am happy to report that we accomplished that goal during his second-to-last race on Sunday afternoon. As I got Django as an adult, he had a pretty late start to his flyball career, so I was very pleased that he was able to accomplish this.

While most of the gang stayed at home for the weekend, we did bring Cadence up on Saturday to participate in the annual Halloween costume contest. He was the Great Pumpkin.

He looks relatively happy in these photos, but they don't capture all the wiggling and scratching and throwing his body to the ground that he was doing during the parade. I think he got off pretty easy - he should talk to Jade about when we dressed him up as the Tin Man for a Wizard of Oz theme. His suffering paid off though as he won "Cutest Costume"!

The true highlight of the weekend came as a big surprise. Every year, the Canine Express team honors a rescued flyball dog with the Brenda Bailey Inspiration award. The award has been given for the last three years, in memory of a teammate who died from cancer. Teams can nominate eligible rescue dogs for the award, and I was touched that our team captain chose to nominate Django. I was asked to write up a description of Django, so I retold his story a bit - how he was picked up as a stray on the streets of Detroit, and bounced around through shelters and rescue foster homes before he found his way to us via his wonderful foster mom, Chris. I mentioned how Django means "I awaken" and how much he has truly done that over his time with us. I always love sharing Django's story, but I did not expect for a minute that we would be chosen for this honor. I know there are a lot of great rescue dogs out there with other great stories, but I was extremely touched and honored when they read my and Django's name out on Sunday afternoon. Being recognized in this way is probably the best achievement I think I've received with one of my dogs. It really put the point- and title-chasing in perspective and reminded me that the true reward is the bond we form with these canine partners and companions.

Good old Django - I can't wait to see the photo they took for the plaque. He had no idea what the fuss was about and I'm sure he'll look terrified in the picture (any uncertainty tends to cause Django to get a really worried look in those green-yellow eyes of his - it looks much more dramatic than it actually is as far as I can tell from his behavior).

We followed up that exciting weekend with a nice day of agility this past Sunday. Django ran 5 for 5 all day, and placed in every class. He does seem to actually be speeding up even this late in his career, but I think I will move him to "Veterans" for our next trial. He clipped a bar with a toe in his last Jumpers run, which is odd, so I'll give him a little break for a while. He's been a great little athlete all year, and achieved a major title in both of the dog sports we participate in. I think he has some well-deserved pampering in store for him now as we enter in to fall and winter!

Learning Opportunities

Been a busy few weeks here lately, with lots of travel and training opportunities. It has been taking me a while to process some of our recent experiences, and have been thinking and planning a lot lately around my training goals.

Two weeks ago, Cadence and I headed to his homeland (Canada) for a three-day weekend at Susan Garrett’s Puppy Camp. The focus of puppy camp is to learn skills and exercises to set the groundwork for agility specifically, but good “life skills” in general. As Susan stated early on, the same characteristics that make a great family pet make a great agility dog. So, relatively little of the weekend was actually spent on agility-focused activities. Instead we worked on relationship-building, impulse control, building drive and enthusiasm, and developing our skills as trainers. I have been drawn to Susan’s books and DVDs for years, as I appreciate her focus on operant conditioning and positive reinforcement, and her basis in actual learning theory. With Cadence, I am really trying to break my old “luring” habits, and to develop my skills in shaping. It really is fun to watch their little gears turning as they offer different behaviors and figure out what you are looking for.

We returned home from that weekend with heads spinning and carrying a long list of things to work on in the coming months. But, as if our list wasn’t long enough, we set off last weekend to Midland, Michigan to attend a two-day “Get Connected” workshop with Brenda Aloff. This was not necessarily an agility or performance dog-based seminar, but was very much about building a strong relationship and ability to communicate with your dog.

I have seen Brenda speak almost every year for the past 7 years, but have never worked with her. I could listen to her lecture for days, she is so engaging and insightful and humorous, but working with her this weekend proved to be even more of a thrill. She is truly delightful, and Cadence and I had a blast.

While there were occasional slight differences, it was interesting how many of the themes were consistent between the two weekends. Impulse control, structure and consistency, and focusing on your relationship with your dog first and foremost were the common threads that were emphasized again and again.

I learned a lot about my little noodle over both weekends, and am really grateful for these opportunities as I see where our strengths are and what I need to continue to focus on with him. So, I feel good that Cadence is getting off to a good start, and am excited to try some new things with the adult pack as well.

Williamston CPE

This weekend we entered Django, Maebe, and Tristan in the Williamston CPE trial put on by the Capital City club. This is always one of our favorite trials each year. The site is a YMCA day camp for kids, and is really a pleasant facility. There is a ton of area for setting up tents, and a nice little hiking trail along a river for walking/swimming the dogs during down time. Plus, this club is filled with friendly, fun members who put on a great event and spoil the workers with an amazing spread of food! As always, we had a wonderful time.

I would say this is perhaps the best weekend I have ever had trialing with Django. I was so proud of him. He qualified in 7 out of 8 runs, and even our NQ was a very successful run in my eyes as he surprised me by overcoming some things that have been challenges to us in the past. He earned three first places, one second, one third, and one fourth.

Since Django isn’t a super-high-drive Border Collie and can be sensitive at times, I think there have been some points in our training that I have tended to baby-sit and not challenge (or trust) him to develop. A main example is the effort I often go to prevent having to do off-side weaves, since they aren’t his strong suit. Consequently, I sometimes play things safe and probably end up slowing him down rather than risking making an error. This weekend I decided to trust him and to trust in the training and teamwork we have and to see what we could do together. He surprised me multiple times, and we had some of our nicest runs this weekend. It makes me realize that it is never too late to keep learning and training and improving together, and I am excited to see the ways he continues to get stronger in his performance.

The biggest landmarks for us were successfully performing off-side weaves multiple times and (essentially) completing the Jackpot gamble, which requires distance and obstacle discrimination and often gives us problems. Technically, he got his one NQ in Jackpot as he missed his A-frame contact (which is fairly rare for him), but he still performed the sequence correctly and at distance, so I count it as a big step forward for us as a team.

Maebe was entered in all the games, but we are keeping her out of Standard runs until her A-Frame performance improves/becomes less terrifying. She had her only NQ in Jackpot, which did require an A-Frame this weekend. As we didn’t want to rehearse a poor performance, and as it was raining and Maebe’s speed + wet contacts scares the hell out of us, Lowell intentionally ended the run early and omitted the A-Frame. Otherwise, she ran great and is definitely keeping bars up and spinning/barking much less and following Lowell’s line better and better. She really is a lot of fun to watch.

Tristan’s Q rate was not as high as the others (about 50%), but he had some very nice runs. He cleaned up on the Jackpot course, and got the maximum number of possible points in Snooker (which is always Lowell’s goal). He was weaving great this weekend, and, most importantly, held up for 8 runs over two days just fine. Since starting his acupuncture visits, he has been moving better than he ever has – it really is amazing the effect it seems to have had.

Cadence and Jade were able to go for some walks on the trail and Jade even took a dip in the river over the weekend. Cadence got to socialize with some friendly dogs and lots of people, and we had some little training sessions in between runs. He really is doing great. He handles trial environments very well, and is able to focus and play with me when I bring him out on breaks. I am very pleased with the drive, motivation, and attention he has been showing me, plus he is the silliest, cutest thing ever and he cracks me up constantly.

We came home Sunday evening tired but feeling happy for the great dogs and great friends that we have, and very grateful that we got to spend a weekend having such fun with all of them. I will spend this week getting ready for next weekend’s excursion, as Cadence and I leave for Puppy Camp with Susan Garrett at Say Yes! on Thursday evening. Should be another fun experience and I am looking forward to learning a lot over the three day camp as I lay the groundwork with my next agility partner.