Time to trial and Hunty's Fresh Breath!!

So - I took both Hunter and Trapper for their yearly vet check up a few weeks ago and as per my vet Sean, they are in tremendous shape!!  He is so impressed by both of their muscle tone and weight!  He's very impressed we do agility!  They only thing I knew that might be called into question was Hunter's teeth.  I've know for about 2 years now there was some tarter build up on her back teeth!  Not horrible - but still I knew she would need to have them cleaned sooner or later and her breath wasn't the freshest.  I'm just always afraid of putting my dogs under anesthetic - I get really stressed just thinking about it!  Sean told me that they really should be done soon - so since she's 7 years old now - I decided to get it done while she's still young and healthy!  I had extra bloodwork done up on her to ensure her health - and the test came back perfect!  So an appointment was set and this past Thursday my Hunty had her teeth cleaned for the first time.  Everything went perfect and I picked her up around 4:30pm that day.  Oh man......She was soooooo out of it!!  I knew what to expect - but Hunter is always so full of life and happy and acts like a puppy all of the time so it truly broke my heart to see her lose her footing and stumble a little here and there.  She wasn't hungry or thirsty and just wanted to sleep and pace around here and there - she was very disoriented - when she looked at me it was like she was just staring through me.  I just cuddled with her on the couch all night and we went to bed around 11:00pm.  She curled in a tight ball on the bed and didn't move all night.

Friday morning came and she was my Hunty again!!!!  My goodness dog's can bounce back fast!!  She was starving, thirsty and happy again!!!  Phew!!  I KNEW she would be ok - but I just stress so much about my dogs it's unreal!
So - Hunty has beautiful white teeth and really fresh breath - YAY!!!  Hopefully this is the one and only time she'll have to have her teeth cleaned!

I'm really itching to trial!  My last agility trial was at the Nationals the first weekend in August!  I've been practicing on my own and have really been working on distance with Trapper.  That's our weak point!  It's been going really well in practice but we still have a long way to go!  I'm travelling to Edmonton for the Thanksgiving weekend to compete in the DAL (Dog's at Large) trial!  I'm going on my own and actually really love travelling on my own and having my own hotel room from time to time - it's like a little vacation!
We'll see how Trapper does - especially in the 1 Gamblers class they have.  Trapper hasn't been in Masters Gamblers for long - but still doesn't have a "Q".  Hopefully it'll start clicking soon!

We've also entered the Training Troop trial in late October.  I entered Trapper for the whole trial and just entered Hunty in 3 runs on the Saturday.  This trial almost always fills so I hope I get in!!  After that it's almost a trial a month (some months I have 2 trials lined up) from now until Regionals next June!

Well - the sun is actually shining (it's been a brutal summer) so I'm about to take the kid's for a walk and then pick apples off our crab apple tree in the backyard!

Can you believe it's almost October!?!?!?!??  Sheesh, time flies!!!!!!!

My First AAC Nationals!!!!

Awesome!!!  What a great, amazing experience!!  It was a huge event (the biggest Nationals yet) and so well organized!  Training Troop organized and rocked this event!!  It was held at Spruce Meadows in Calgary - a wonderful facility!  The weather was great, I spent too much shopping at the vendors and loved watching some amazing handlers and their dogs.

Trapper was only entered in the Steeplechase on the Friday and was terrific!  He Q'd both of his runs but was just not quick enough to make it to the finals - but that was just fine!  He ran great!  Nailed all of his weave entries and was a happy little guy running!

Hunter was in the full competition on Saturday and Sunday - and she made Mommy proud.  She just missed getting both of her Gamblers - our Jumpers run Sunday morning was perfect - the highlight of the event for us.  We clicked perfectly - Hunter listened and was rocking!  Both Standards and 1 Jumpers had a few faults here and there - but she listened to me and I felt we were really a team out there!  I honestly felt like we belonged at Nationals.  I can't wait for Regionals next year to try it all again - and make sure I do my best to try and Qualify for the 2011 Nats with both Trapper and Hunter this time. 
I've been concentrating on training and trialing with Trappy the last 2 years - that it was such a sweet feeling to spend the whole weekend competing again with Hunter.  I'm so happy my first Nationals was with her.

So now this is going to be a big break for us concering agility.  My next trial will be in October.  In between it's going to be a few agility practices here and there, lot's of walks at the off leash park and lot's of bonding!
It's time for a little relaxation!!
 

AAC Nationals - Here We Come!!! (Just not with the partner I thought!!!)

Well - Nationals are 5 days away!  Our first Nats!  I'm so nervous, excited, stressed, happy - the list of adjectives is endless on how I feel!  The Nats are at Spruce Meadows in Calgary this year - how could I not go????  Well - let me tell ya how I almost decided not to attend!

In June, we had the Alberta/NWT Regionals.  Those who know me, know that my agility focus is with Trapper.  I decided to run Hunter just so she'd be active that weekend - zero stress as far as I was concerned! Trapper did great on Friday in the Steeplechase and got into the finals on Sunday.  On Saturday - the first day of official events, Trapper and I got off to a rocky start.  His Standard didn't go great.  We had 35 faults.  Our Gamblers was great and he got the final Gamble - BUT - the buzzer went as he jumped for the final jump - and literally was about a second from getting the 35 point bonus!

Then - Disaster!  Due to a bone-headed,embarassing Jumpers run/incident on my part - Trapper's quest for the Nationals was over, which was a shame because on Sunday - he ROCKED - we acheived over 240 points on Sunday - and just came up short for Qualifying for Nats (if he got that gamble - or got the points in Saturday's Jumper's - we would have qualified....woulda, coulda, shoulda, if, maybe...etc.....sigh....).

Now - Miss Hunter on the other hand - DID Qualify for Nationals!!  wow!!!! - that's right - you heard me.

In past posts - I've talked about Miss Hunty - she's my happy go lucky Brittany Spaniel - when she's on - she's dynamite - and when she's not (which is often) - oh well - hold on to your hats and ride the wave of God knows what's about to happen!!!!!!  lol!!!!!

I actually considered not entering Nats with her!  She's not my competition dog any longer!  I just trial her here and there in a few runs at trials.  Should I put both her and I through the stress and pressure's of Nationals?

I took a long hard look at our situation!  I finally realized that this is the Nationals - in Calgary, in my backyard for goodness sake!  How can I not attend??  How can I NOT compete - run the same challenging courses as the "best of the best" from all accross Canada (and some from the U.S.A)??  Everything from the courses, to the opening ceremonies, to the banquet Saturday night?  Gotta do it!!!  Gotta enter!!  Gotta compete!! 

When I really thought about it - isn't it kind of right, fitting in a way, that my first agility dog - who got me hooked on agility in the first place - is my first Nationals dog???

So - I'm going to drink in everything about the AAC Nationals this weekend.  I'm going to do the best I can with Hunter - have zero expectations and whatever happens....happens!  She's my Hunty and I love her - she's my heart dog and SHE got us to our first Nationals!!

Trapper will still be part of Nats in a way though - I've entered him in the 2 Steeplechase runs on Friday!  Trappy and I will have many more chances to Q for Nationals!  This year is for Hunter and I!!!!!

Wish us luck!!!!!!  :o)

Bad Blogger!!!!

That's what I am!!  Wow - just about 4 months since my last post!  (Sorry Lynda!!!)  And I was so good at the start!  Well - I certainly won't bore anyone with a huge post on what's been going on for the last 4 months - so in a nutshell......

Trialing with Trapper has been going very well!  We've gotten in the Master's level for all classes!  I've entered Hunter in a few runs in a handful of trials and she has done very well!!  I decided to enter her at Regionals - which is only 2 weeks away now!!  My only 2 problem area's with her are her focus - if I can keep her focused on "us" as a team we'll be ok!  Also - Weaves!!  In practice - Hunter has fantastic weaves!!  Fast, accurate and her entries are great!!!  Truly - in practice she is perfect - 100% of the time!!!  In a trial - she seems to nail the first weaves in a run, maybe the second run also - then she pops!!  Mostly at the 10th pole - sometimes even at the 6th or 8th!  Very strange!  Believe it or not though - the less I practice - the better she seems!!  I still have 2 weeks to work them a bit - but not too much!!

Now - Mr. Trapper Trapperson is pretty darned good - but I still need more distance with him!  I took a seminar in May with Terry Simons (I loooove Terry and his teaching style!!) and learned so much.  We've been working on distance and we're getting there - but still a long way to go.  A lot depends on his motivation and how high he's feeling!  For Regionals - I've decided to try to gather up as many points in the opening as possible!  I may try a mini gamble if I think it's do-able - but I will not waste any time.  I'm going to try to find a path to get as many points as we can - then give a shot at the main gamble.

Of course - my goal for Trapper is to Qualify for Nationals - which are held at Spruce Meadows in Calgary this year!  Last year - my first Regionals with Trapper - my goal with Trapper was only 300 points.  Qualifying for Nats is 350 points.  Well Mr. Trapper reached 408 points and blew me away!!!  But my expectations were so low - I was truly quite calm during my runs.

My goal for Trapper this year is 350 points!  I just wanna Q for Nationals!  I need to trust that Trapper knows his job and I have to draw his path clearly for him in all the courses we run - above all - I have to be as calm and focused as I can.  So much of agility is mental toughness - don't you think?

For Miss Hunter - I truly have zero expectations.  When she's on - she's dynamite - but I'm running her for fun - honestly!!  I know I'll be loosey goosey with her and whatever happens, happens!!  I didn't run her last year as it was my first big competition so I wanted to concentrate on Trapper.  Why not throw her in the mix and see what happens?
The countdown to Regionals is on - let's see how it goes!!!! 

Just as a side note - I wanted to say how lucky we are to be able to have this wonderful sport of dog agility to run and bond with our best friends.  I just found out yesterday that an agility friend Penny had to retire her little Pap Boo due to health reasons!  While this is so sad and sudden - good on Penny for making sure she had Boo assessed and wisely made the decision to retire him to avoid further, serious injury.  After all - dogs should be our pet and family member first - everything else is a plus!!!
Now - let's go enjoy the weekend!!!  I'm meeting some girlfriends for a movie (Sex and the City 2) this afternoon and then off to dinner afterwards!!  I love Saturday's!!!!!

Trial number 2 for 2010

Great, great time at the CAA trial this weekend!  I love spending the weekend with good friends and then getting to play with one of my dogs for the whole weekend - well that's just icing on the cake!  Saturday was a great day for Trapper and I.
The first run was gamblers and although we didn't get the final Gamble, we got a mini gamble and racked up a lot of points!  I was really happy with Trapper's motivation!
The next run was Master's Standard, and although Trapper back jumped a jump (Totally my fault - isn't it always???) he was fast and focused and well under course time!!  I was honestly thrilled with it!
Advanced Snooker was next and Trapper was great!  I was a little choppy in my commands - saying them too late, but we worked through it and got the Q so we move up to Masters Snooker!
Last run was Masters Jumpers and I thought it was very challeging!  Trapper did terrific and was quick - we did a great push through that thrilled me - he listened so well and we got the Q.  So we were 2 for 4 for |Saturday - I'm very happy with that!

Sunday was technically not a success Q wise as we were 0 for 4 for Q's, but his Steeplechase was wonderful.  He missed his entry to the weaves so I re-started him and we didn't make time - BUT - we were only 1.06 seconds over time!  If not for the weave entry....but that shows I still have to work on entries!
Trapper's first Masters Snooker was very quick!!  Quick to get off that is!!  He snuck into an end of the tunnel I thought I had blocked - that little sneak!!!  So we got whistled off pretty quick!
The Challenge course was exactly that - VERY challenging!  This showed that we really have to work on threadles as Trapper back jumped a jump - once again I was in the wrong position!  But he ran terrific so that was great!
Now for the last run - Masters Standard....Trapper ran terrific for the last run of the day but he had another refusal at the weaves as he missed another entry...but he ran so nice and quick!  When we got off - I was told by friends Tracey and Darcy that we missed a loop!!!  We were to come around 2 jumps and onto the teeter!!  I totally forgot about the teeter!!!  We just kept going.  But apparently I wasn't the only tired person out there as the judge missed it also and never called it!!  Wow - but in her defense - she pretty well judged all day and I'm sure she was pooped out for the day - OR - she was just mesmorized by my little Trapper racing around the course she saw nothing else - that had to be it!!!!  He's soooo cute!!!!!!!
I was shocked I missed the loop and am actually glad we had another fault because I honestly wouldn't have felt great about Q'ing a run where we missed 3 obstacles! That's what would have happened if we got the weave entry correct, but the main thing on that run was that Trapper and I were very connected and it was a great way to end the weekend!!
Next weekend myself and a few friends rented a barn and are going out the practice.  Weave entry, threadles and a faster teeter are on my agenda!!
Hope everyone has a great week!!!!

A Great day of Distance!

Trapper and I travelled up to Olds, Alberta early yesterday morning for a distance seminar with our friend Lynda.  It was such a huge success in so many ways!  First of all - all of the paticipants were great, nice "dog people".  It was a great group to train with.
I've been to quite of few seminars in my brief time of doing agility - some were great, some ok - but I have the attitude that if I learn 1 thing (yes - only one thing) that is an "a ha!!" moment and I'll put that in my training "tool box" and use it in the future for training - then the seminar was a success for me.  Well in that case - this seminar was awesome for me as I had many "a ha" moments through out the day!
One of my goals for 2010 was MUCH more distance with Trapper.  So I couldn't wait for this seminar!  Another goal that is huge for Trap and I is motivation!  I got both a plenty on Saturday!!  He showed tremendous drive when I tugged with him and then sent him to do his excercises.  We sent the dogs to drive forward through the chute and then over a jump with and then without driving up with them.  It was awesome to be able to send Trap through the chute and yell "GO JUMP" and he blasted through the jump without looking back to me!
We also worked the dogwalk - getting the dogs to drive down to the contact position with the handlers hanging back.  Then sending them straight to take the jump from our position behind them.  Trapper did a grrreat job!!!
We worked a serpentine from a distance and all of the dogs did great at this - including Trapper!!  I was actually surprised that I have as much distace as I do with him!  When you don't really work a lot of distance except for a Gamblers course in an actual trial - it's hard to judge what kind of distance you have with your dog.  Oh - I have a long way to go with Trap - and we have lots of work to do - but his distance is really coming along!!
One of my FAVORITE exercises was learning the "flip" from a contact.  It's when the dog reaches the bottom of the contact point and you then have to "flip" them away from you into the tunnel.  It was great and I can't wait to practice that!
The last part of the day was that a Gamblers course from last years Regionals was set up!  At the regionals Trapper and I tried the serpentine "Mini" gamble - we didn't get it.  Well - we got it this time!!  Trap was amazing.  Now - this was the last run for him during a VERY active day - and even though I got so much out of the "distance" part of the seminar - a big accomplishment for Trapper and I was that he was still so motivated at the end of the day.  I've really been tugging, tugging, tugging with him and he loves it so much that it has so helped with his motivation.  Needless to say he was fried last night and was snoring up a storm on the couch all night!

Another bit of good news though - I got my confirmation last night for the Calgary Agility Trail being held in 2 weeks.  Trials have been filling up so fast and sometime you can't get into the local trials!
Can't believe that tomorow is already February 1st!!!!  Wow - time really does fly by so fast!!!

 

Targeting Trapper part 2 / Seminar Time!!

TARGETING - Thursdays class was the first one since Christmas break.  We are continuing with Trapper's "targeting the course" plan as I explained in a recent post!  My instuctor Keri set a target after every obstacle and they were loaded with a treat.  I said "GO" and then "GET IT" as he got to the treat and went on like that through the whole course!  He loved it and and whipped through the course with great motivation!  We did that a few times and then the real test came - We left all of the targets out there but didn`t load any of them!   I only said `GO`at the start but that was it.  I ran and directed him through the course as if there were no targets set - he stopped and sniffed at the first few targets only - but then incredibly he focused and never stopped the rest of the course and we ran through it beautifully and he was very motivated!!  SUCCESS!!!  The only bummer is that my class is every 2nd week.  I`d love to have this class every week - and if it wasn`t winter - I could train on my own in my backyard - I miss summer!

Seminar - I had an afternoon `Building Value for Obstacles`` seminar with Sue Charlton and loved it!!  Trapper is food and toy motivated so that was the easy part!  Too much detail to really write here - but we were shown how to build value for jumps - tunnels - rear crosses into tunnels, weaves and all contacts.  Especially for the teeter as Trapper does the teeter - no problem - but way too slow!!  Some great tips and advise and once again I just wish it was summer so I could practice more in the backyard!  It was honestly one of the best seminars I`ve been too!  Trapper was fried after it last night and was snoring up a storm on the couch!! He was soooo cute!!

Well - it`s a beautiful Sunday morning and I have to take the kid`s for a walk at the offleash park and start all my housework and laundry - I`d rather play with my dogs all day!!!!