First Trial of The Year In Kingston

We don't attend competitions that often so trials are still very important to me.  I was looking forward to the Morning Star Trial because the venue is wonderful, the organisors very welcoming and Jasmine's comfort level very high in the soccer dome

I registered us in one event only, starters jumpers.  I arrived the afternoon before to take the time to settle in and avoid having to worry about the road conditions.  Mother Nature cooperated and we only had to cope with the cold.  We still attended flyball practice in the morning and this resulted in my nodding off on the road somewhere around Spencerville.  Good thing the highway has those grooves in the pavement on the side.  It jerked me awake and I was able to steer the car back on the road.  I consider myself very lucky and next time, I'll go to bed very early if I have to do a long drive somewhere on my own the next day.

Sunday morning was a bit warmer, around -15 degrees celcius and the venue, which is really soccer dome was warm enough.  Our run was the first of the day.

I'll scan the course and upload it later, but I was surprised to see a rear cross was required in there.  I've practiced it before with Jasmine and even included it in fun matches but who knows how it'll work in a competitive environnent?  Needless to say I wasn't impressed.  I could always have done a front cross instead, but Jasmine being the little speed devil she is, I'm pretty certain I wouln't have been able to position myself in time to do it.

Needless to say, in the end, all this debating wasn't necessary.  Jasmine avoided a jump and when I directed her to take it again, I positioned myself on the other side and the rear cross wasn't required anymore.

What didn't work out

We got two refusals, both of them were jumps.  The first time, Jasmine tried to avoid one.  The second, she was sucked in by the black hole which is actually the soccer goal.  She also tried to enter the tunnel by the wrong end, but I was able to avoid the judge's "hand up".  I'm still not sure how that happened.  By the by, the "black hole" refusal was supposed to be avoided by my great presense of mind and my calling her while she was still in the tunnel.  Been there and called her too late.  The black hole sucked her in instead. : )

I got carried away with my chatting before the run.  I met a handler who has bichons and both dogs hit it off right away.  I also have a flyball buddy whose little chihouaoua is in the same height as we are, so I was talking a mile a minute and was having a bit too much fun.  It seems that I'm one of those handlers who MUST focus on her dog and her course before a run.  Poo!  I'll have to limit my talking.  Sheesh!


Result:  We finished the course in 34.09 seconds (the max was 41 seconds) with 10 points deducted.  I guess that's two faults?

What worked well

Jasmine didn't zoom around, hurray!  She stayed by my side like the good little girl she now is.  I also tried not to use my arms and run silent but her avoiding that first jump affected my confidence so I called a few obstacles and pointed when it wasn't necessary.

Jasmine is very comfortable at Morning Star.  Her tail is up and she trots in a cheerful way.   Stress was pretty much absent all weekend.

What was weird

I decided to walk with her at the starline, so while I was "on deck",  I put her down.  Mademoiselle trotted off to investigate a table and chair left aside for the judge.  She's never done that before.   I called her back, picked her up, put her at the startline and kept a hand on her back until our turn.  That's not something I want to repeat. 

Here is the video.  Enjoy!
 

Fun Match Video

 With all my bragging, I forgot to post the video.

Video of Jasmine's success.

Here it is.

Success is so sweet!

I am so proud of Jasmine today.  Yesterday was the last fun match of the year at a local facility.  I'm very much addicted to fun matches so here I was, again, trying to make Jasmine an agility star.

Two courses were offered to us, and like always, I avoid all the contact obstacles.  Jasmine isn't up to par yet.

Standard Run 1

I choose the starters level for the first run, a standard.  My plan is simple ; keep it safe, reward Jasmine as much as I can, and keep her in my line of sight.  I do a lead out, but from the video, I see I'm much too close to the third obstacle, the tunnel.  I reward Jasmine after the jumps, but that wasn't really necessary.  The real issue in our practices are her tunnel exits. The judge remarks that my dog has much more confidence than she did in the past and her voice was enough to entice Jasmine away from me for a little walk to visit  her.  Yep, it's becoming more and more obvious that more "it's yer choice" exercices will be necessary.


Standard Run 2

What I love to see, a happy table.  Jasmine's wagging tail is one of the reasons why I do agility and leaves me with a good feeling.  Unfortunely, I take a few steps back and off she goes and self-releases.  Must work on this.

A first: I try a sequence of "tire, weaves".  She nails it on the first try!  I'm so proud of her!  And the weaves!!!  She's so fast!  I trained her to do this?  Wow!  CB must take the credit, but still, I'm the one who would take out the equipment every night to practice.  Mmmm.  CB also took the time to comment on all the videos I sent her.  Argh!!!  Oh well.  Let's both pat ourselves on our backs.  (pat, pat, pat)

Boo-boo: When Jasmine skips poles, I call her back to start again, but I don't position myself so she won't weave when she comes back.  I remembered on the second try.  Finally.


I took the time to do a couple of 180s.  Piece of cake. 

Steeplechase Run 1 - (Advanced level)


Again, I ask Jasmine to complete two sequences with weaves.  Success.  As I'm running, I'm trying to remember not to use my arms.  Ahem.  Not much of a success.   : )  It seems that Jasmine skips poles when I rush her through the waves.  More practice is required.  Her startline stay could improve but I'm wondering if the cold sand has anything to do with it.  She pops up and I have to ask her to sit again.


Steeplechase Run 2 - (Masters level)

It took all this time for me to realise the importance of "finding the line".  At the startline, I have to correct Jasmine for not keeping her stay.  What I mistakenly did is position her so she sees ME and not the next jump in "her line".  Result, she avoids it and runs to the next obstacle.  This is an obvious testimony of this very essential skill and my error.  Yes, she is rewarded a "screw-up" cookie.

Another first: I do a rear cross before the weaves.  I've tried this before in practice but never in a sequence. What happens?  Success again!

This fun match was a great way to finish the year.  Only last March, Jasmine would zoom away in this very same arena.  What a change.  Thanks CB!

The photo session

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the photo session.  She looks pretty comfy doesn't she?

 

Jasmine, the supermodel!

If you go have a look at MuddyPawz's blog, you'll find certain photos that were taken by photographer extraordinaire Wendy Beard.  A little Christmas gift.

http://www.muddypawz.net/blog/

Wendy was superb and Jasmine was very much comfortable the minute we walked through the door.  Her little ears were perky and her tail was up, sure signs that she's calm and happy.  She quickly became Wendy's best friend and followed her everywhere. 

K9 Kup 2009

We had the chance in participating in the K9 Kup competitions again this Summer with The Fast and the Furriest Team. Here are a few pictures of our adventures...

Here is our little corner at ADSC (All Dogs Sports Club) in North Gower. A baby tent for the dogs and a big tent for the humans. You can see Tucker and Jasmine.


Very much like the "shovel 3000" in the "Têtes à claques" videos, here is one of the many uses of the travel plank. One minute you can teach your dog how to do contacts and the next, use it for a pot luck.



Here is the whole group. Great people who are always ready to have fun and a good laugh. We ended with a 7th place finish and there were 14 teams. Wow! This is also where Jasmine got a "Q" in Gamblers. I know, I know, it doesn't count, but a girl can dream, right?

Teeter Power and….. the nose!

The teeter

The teeter remains the most difficult obstacle for Jasmine. Not only does it move on its own, but it makes this horrible noise when the plank hits the floor, which is waaayy too loud for Jasmine’s little ears. You can google it if you want for the exact details, but it isn’t any headline news that the dogs’ hearing is much more developed and keen than the very lacking humans’. It’s not surprising that the teeter still is a challenge for certain dogs like mine.

Our coach/instructor showed us the bang game. It’s very simple and yes, fun! We block the teeter so that the plank is only about 1 cm from the floor. In our case, we simply used a chair. We then ask the dog to climb on the end of the plank and her weight makes it drop to the ground.
I also want Jasmine to get rid of her fear of both the noise and the equipment. Every time the other dogs of the class would make the teeter go bang, I would shove a treat in Jasmine’s mouth. Let’s hope she learned something from that evening. Her first time on the teeter was good, but that’s it. She then tried every way she could to avoid the plank. Our only progress was getting her paw on the teeter and pushing the plank down. A doggy scientific experiment if you will. She probably thought she was verrry brave. We must work more on it.
Our success of the day was the stationary plank. A few months ago, she would speed walk it. Now? A full run! Now THAT is progress! Mmmmm. I wonder when she found this new self-confidence?

Nose targets

I decided to review our nose target technique and two days were long enough to convince me that yes, it can be corrected.