Minus 29 Degrees Celcius and Counting...

Ah, the joys of living in Canada!  The forecast for today called for -29 degrees Celsius, so no use in risking it.  Dress in many layers, keep your car full of gas, put in the little bottle that will prevent you gas line to freeze, bring your Winter Survival Kit in the car (candle, extra blanket, matches), put on your warmest coat and you can be sure nothing will happen.

And nothing did!  : )

It was minus 7 degrees in my garage, but by the time I was at Tim Horton's a mere 300 metres away, it was -19.  Yup, that cold.

Although Jasmine and I haven't been training or practicing very much lately, I was adamant that I participate at least in one "official" run in January.  AARF is one of our favorite venues as everyone is so friendly and things are relaxed, which is my kind of competition.  We're also getting more and more comfortable out there and I definitely don't was to lose that!

I was working yesterday, so obviously I hadn't registered Jasmine in any event.  Today, the only run we could participate in was advance jumpers, so we "jumped" at the possibility! 

At our last handling class, even I realised that my timing sucked.  This is apparent again in this run.  (groan). 

Some observations

At the startline, Jasmine is usually happier if I don't carry her in.  I have no idea why I did since for the past 3 trials, I've been keeping her on leash until I ask her to sit.  Oh well.  We were the last to run, but that's quite common for us.

During classes, our instructor usually tells me "call her while she's in the tunnel!".  My "duh" moment was to wonder why, but today, I have the answer.  Jasmine does sometime look for me at the exit, but most often than not, she doesn't.  Consequently, it's not surprising she barrelled out, and kept on running straight ahead.

My usual routine

At this point, my usual routine is to blank out all my logical thinking, which of course, I did.  I didn't handle the next sequence very well, so Jasmine ran around the second jump.  My carefully planned threadle after jump, tunnel disappeared from my mind.  My mind is still on the forgotten threadle when it's time for the front cross after the last tunnel, so my timing sucks.  Jazz hesitates a bit at this.  The rest of the course goes well, except for the last two jumps.

Running out of the ring for her reward


I realised last July, that Jasmine was leaving the ring, sometimes in the middle of a course, to go for her reward. Since then, I've made her finish her courses by calling her back in the ring.  At the last trial in AARF, it was so obvious...  She ignored her last two runs, went for the table where the bowl of treats were. 

At our last handling class, Jasmine pulled her leaving the "ring" trick again.  My instructor then suggested to "make" her tug as a reward instead.  I did this at our second try, and it worked.

The result of this shows today as well.  Jasmine doesn't leave the ring completely, but stops, comes back to me, and finishes the run.  Not bad!  Progress!!!!

Watching the video afterwards


A bit funny.  As I'm watching the video now, the judge raises her hands so many times to note our faults, I feel as if she waving at me.....

Week 3 - 52 Weeks of Jasmine

Theme: Colours

You have no idea how grateful I am to my agility instructor right now, for having taught us how to "shape" a behaviour. It made this session soooo easier. After using a smaller basket to practice, I took out this larger basket for the photo shoot. On my command, Jasmine jumped right in, waiting for her reward. It took me a few tries to finally find something I liked. I borrowed this angle idea from the photographer at Muddy Pawz. I'll add the link to her blog to recognize her help in this.

I didn't centre the picture well. I'm hoping that by the end of the year, this off-centre situation won't happen as often. :-)

Week 2 - 52 Weeks of Jasmine

As you can see from this picture, I haven't mastered the art of editing yet

The theme, circles, got me thinking about all Jasmine's furry curls, her ears and....her nose. Muttsandaklutz suggested I use the paronamic setting on my camera to catch Jasmine's nose. Unfortunately, time wasn't on my side, and this is my weekly participation.

This picture was taken at my parents' house, while Jasmine was taking a nap. She didn't even open her eyes as the camera went "click".

And we're back!

After more than a two months' absence, Jasmine and I have attended our agility handling class.  I was very excited since this was supposed to be a "dog-filled weekend" and this lesson was just the beginning.

Our instructor set up a course where rear crosses, threadles, and serpentines were required.  All of these moves are challenges for us, so although I complained about it, I knew that it was for the best.

Rear crosses


The rear cross attempt wasn't bad.  I may not have been at the precise spot that our instructor was aiming for, but it was a rear cross.  I didn't slow down, neither did Jasmine, and we nailed it, twice I believe.

Threadles

It's unfortunate that I'm to embarrassed to ask someone to video.  I know that during our last run, two threadles were required, and I did the appropriate arm movements.  If it worked is quite another story.

Serps

The last run had a serp.  If I did it the right is still beyond me.  I have videos from last year where I'm practicing serps at the local agility field.  I can't make myself watch them.  It ain't pretty.

It's yer choice

Jasmine has been exiting the course ring early in trials, just before the last of second last jump.  The reason behind this is the reward she expects to receive at the end of the run.  I took the opportunity during this lesson to do some "It's yer choice".  Jasmine left the practice ring too early, again, and I called her back.  She had to finish her run before getting her reward, and even then, she had to play with her tug before.  I hope she'll remember this next weekend at the trial.

Overall result

Apart from my timing, which was off, things went very well.  Jasmine is responsive to my commands.  No zoomies manifested themselves.  What could I as for more?

Dog-filled weekend

I decided not to go at the January Fun Match offered at a local agility venue.  The forecast for 5 to 10 centimetres of snow scared me, and I decided to head home instead.  My weekend at my parents' was also cut short.  Sigh.  Driving during the day during a snowfall doesn't phase me.  It's the nighttime driving that gets to me.  I hate not being able to see the road.

Week 1 - 52 Weeks of Jasmine

This is my first contribution to the project. On a whim, I checked and found that I could actually *see* the assignments of the official flickr group, instead of inventing them on my own. Oh well, I'll know better next week.

I thought I'd start this endeavour by posting a photograph depecting Jasmine's personality. I ended up with this. Here she is, in one of her favorite spots in my new house. 

I often see her in this pose if I work around the house or on my laptop. Too lazy to follow me, she rests her chin on the edge of the bed to watch me move from one spot to the next. She also adopts this pose when we're attending agility class and she must wait in her crate while the humans listen faithfully to the instructor.

Jasmine, although very sociable to our cicle of human and dog friends, will likely growl at her first meeting with strangers. If she is ignored however, she quickly becomes your best friend.

Therefore, like a little turtle, Jasmine timidly (and safely?) pokes her head out of her bed to watch the world go by. Once she sees the coast is clear, she'll drown you with welcoming kisses.