Dog Community

Agility Update

Posted : 4/22/2009 7:08:25 AM

Hi everyone!

I know I have not been around as much but I have been busy. I wanted to update you on Belle and agility, and we "might" have postable videos very soon.

Some of the agility readers here may remember I was worried about Belle's course times, the fact she was usually "just" under or slightly over in time. Up through excellent A (AKC) this is not really a problem but I needed to figure out how to find more time by the time we moved to excellent B. Well Belle completed excellent A jumpers last Nov, and finished off her standard in February. Also in February, I discovered one more thing about Belle, I have a TURBO DOG!!!!! I found speed I knew she had but was unable to pull out of her. I don't really know what changed but have an idea, however ever since she has not come CLOSE to course time. She had done two trials since and she has double Q'd at least once per trial. This past weekend she came in 15 seconds under course time in her jumpers run. That course I thought she was slow too.

Belle has a busy agility schedule coming up in May and June. We are doing trials every weekend except May 9 & 10, when I will be trialing the corgi I run only (Belle needed a break somewhere) and then the first weekend in June she is off.

I will say it is so much easier running her when she is carrying speed because it opens up options for running the course that as a velcro dog I did not have. I do "some" layering, and once and a while I can even correctly complete a cross behind. Slow Belle would NEVER let me do that. Funny story at a trial recently in OH, I had my turbo dog, and getting from fences 3-5 involved me being sure to be in the right place. Well "old" habits died hard. I knew I no longer have to pick her up at the end of a tunnel but I did and could not get where I needed to be as a result. Belle jumped fence 4 and LANDED ON ME!!!! I went splat! LOL From the ground I said "go jump" she did, I jumped up and we completed the course. The knock down NQ'd us but despite that we had a really good run. How to learn the hard way why you need to be where you need to be. LOL

oranges81

Posted : 4/22/2009 11:03:54 AM

LOL! I just pictured that in my mind. Maze is a turbo and a velco. She has speed and I can send her out, but she looks behind to see where I am. Problem with this is, she doesn't watch where she's going and has run into the A frame. Thankfully I don't trial yet so I can work on this.

Sandy's ready to trial for a tunneller's or jumpers at a lowered height but we haven't trained the teeter yet. *sigh* Can you tell I'm impaitenly waiting for next year!

KarissaKS

Posted : 4/23/2009 8:08:19 AM

I'm glad to hear that things are still going well and that you've still got "turbo dog" on your hands. Big Smile Now get some video posted so that we can see her!!!! lol

Your schedule sounds similar to mine -- it's nuts, isn't it? It's gotten to the point, though, where I don't know what to do with myself on the weekends that I don't have a show/trial. I'd be perfectly happy going somewhere every weekend, although it would be nice to have a "recovery day" thrown in there now and again. I'm really dragging right now and don't have a break until the 16th, and then it's go-go-go again.

Maxs Mom

Posted : 4/23/2009 8:56:25 AM

If I remember you do at least two different agility types. I primarily run AKC but do some UKC as well. If she keeps running, maybe I will try NADAC LOL However I still "might" try Teddi at CPE she is doing well.

Karissa the Adequan is working on both girls. We might try it on Maxine too.

I hear you on the "recovery" day. Our agility class is Monday nights. So after a trial it is right back to class too! I will probably be skipping some here and there with Belle. She still gets stuff out of them, but she does have a big schedule right now. Our last class, my trainer had us jump smaller just because she could see she was tired. That works too.

KarissaKS

Posted : 4/23/2009 1:40:03 PM

Luke only runs in NADAC -- I decided against doing USDAA with him. He hates slatted equipment and I don't think he needs to jump 22" on the hard mats we trial on at home. I'd be okay with running him on dirt, but again, he really hates the slats.

Kaiser is doing TDAA right now, but I'm not sure if we'll continue it once he ages into NADAC. But he's also doing conformation, too, which keeps me busy. This past weekend there was a UKC show *and* a NADAC show up in Minneapolis and I couldn't decide which to do -- So I did both. Stick out tongue Kaiser got to show on Saturday and Luke showed on Sunday.

Kaiser will also start weight pull in July -- and now I'm going to do UKC obedience with Luke. OMG, what am I getting myself into?? I'm not an obedience person, but I'd like for Kaiser to have a shot at the UKC "Super Dog" title (which includes obedience) -- I figure Luke would be a good tutor for me in the obedience ring, before I try to show the little devil.

I'm glad to hear you are having success with the Adequan! I swear by the stuff -- Luke gets his shot tonight!

My agility classes were always on Monday nights, too -- and boy does that stink right after a trial. lol When there were trials at the training center, my instructor would generally have an "easy" night of class the next night and yes, we usually would jump lower heights. I'm one of the only ones who travels, though, and it would be hard for Luke and I to show up after a trial when everyone else was fresh. One other nice thing about training at home now!