Winter Nuts (and Training!)

Reno and I have improved so much over the last few weeks.  The training session with Anthony Clarke, together with Jo Rhodes Winter Training Plan, has contributed a lot to that improvement.

I am very guilty of analysing the style of trainers whose training I attend (perhaps that's the teacher in me always looking for new idea's!).  I'm not sure if Ant is a trained educator or if his style is completely natural, either way it is very effective.

If you were asked to literally answer the question, "What did I learn during the session?" you probably would answer "Nothing!".  

Ant is very much a "Facilitator".  He sets up exercises that he knows that everyone on the course has the knowledge and skill to negotiate (even if they don't think they do!!).  Then gives the participants the encouragement and confidence to succeed.

Part of the first sequence involved sending the dogs from a pipe tunnel, through the gap between two jumps and over the back of the jump on the left.  Almost without exception we all ran it the first time shouting strange commands to our dogs with them looking one way or the other and eventually making their own mind up what obstacle to take!!

Ant assured us that if we had trained our dog properly we could just run in a straight line with our arm out and they wouldn't take either of the obstacles to the side..........What a revelation!!  In fact I got so excited that it worked the first time I forgot to turn Reno after the jump and he just kept going onto another jump in the distance :-)

There were many more Eureka moments during the session but I won't bore you with them all.

I've also found a bit of time to do a bit of training with Reno on his weaves.  I'm just working on simple exercises with 4, then 6 and now onto 12 poles with the emphasis on getting it right.  This seems to be paying off as he is now getting his weaves quite consistently a NADTC.

I'm very aware that I seem to base my "training" posts around one off sessions that I've had with trainers and forget to mention the hard work that Jo Rhodes is putting into Reno and my development so I plan to rectify that now.

Jo has devised a plan to address the areas that Reno (and the other young dogs in our class) need to work on so we can all start next year's season with confidence.  We have just completed the first 5 weeks of that plan and ended up running a FCI World qualifying course.  The only thing I didn't attempt with Reno was the weave entry.  Apart from that (and breaking another weave pole!!) he ran beautifully.

Last Sunday was the first Agility Nuts of the Winter Series.

I judged the Agility in the morning so used Reno to test my Elementary course before it was walked.  I was really pleased with the course and, had I been judging Reno, he would of had 10f.  He knocked the pole 4 and had a run by at the dog walk but got his weave entry!!

I was a little disappointed to not have any clears in the Large class.

Elementary Agility

Starters Agility

Novice + Agility

I had to alter my Veterans course as First Contact supplied their rubber equipment.  Lovely though they are, we couldn't lower the A-Frame so it had to be left out.

So how did my boy's run?

Ann ran Kiros in the Agility and I had to mark one of his dog walk contacts!!  He had a pole down in the Up and Under Jumping but won the Jumping Class and the Power and Speed.

Reno:-

Elementary Jumping - Judge:- Zoe Dalby - Great wait and lovely start but I miss handled the jump before the weaves causing a refusal and then a missed weave entry.

Up and Under Jumping - Judge:- Pat Bishop - Lovely clear and 2nd place.  What a good boy :-) Just beaten by Vegas - the super fast Visla!