November's Nuts

I signed off my last blog posting on a high, contacts and weaves getting consistently good and looking forward to Jo's 3-5 course........why is it things start going wrong when you get to that stage?!!

Reno has forgotten that contacts are for stopping on!!!  I can't put my finger on what has suddenly gone wrong but the only way I can think of solving it is to go back to basics again, "treating" every contact and even bringing the target back in if necessary.  I was a little disappointed as I'd hoped to run Reno in the Agility classes at Nuts last weekend but hopefully it is only a minor set back.  My goal is to have him ready to run Agility by next March, the start of the outdoor season, so plenty of time :-)

I wasn't asked to judge at this months show but was still very busy as I volunteered to manage a ring all day.

Kiros ran beautifully as always and still came home with two 1st places (Agility and Tunnel Torment Jumping) even though he had some really good competition at this show.  We didn't do so well in the other two classes......2nd pole down in the TFO Agility and Eliminated in the Jumping (typically the run I played my joker on!!)

Reno would have benefited from a little more time running around the exercise area as he was a bit over hyped!!

Elementary Jumping - Judge:- Hailey Sommerfield - 8th Place! - I was very aware of the fact that the Large Novice + Jumping was running in the next ring and had seen Ray and Amanda Ellerton queueing with Laser and Limit.  I hoped that they wouldn't get to the front of the queue before we did as Laser sends Reno into a frenzy.  Luckily our queue ran a bit faster then theirs so I got to the start line with Reno as Nicci Hinson was running Leo in the next ring.  What I hadn't accounted for was that, in Reno's eye's, Leo was equally as exciting as Laser so we entered our ring with Reno on two legs!!!

I wasn't sure if I would manage to keep Reno in the ring let alone run the course but to my surprise as soon as I set him up his focus was purely on his course and nothing else mattered.....what a good boy x.  He literally flew around the course and even got his weave entry.  Unfortunately, as seems to happen more often then not when he goes into the weaves in front of me, he popped out after the second pole.  I'm not sure if that's to do with him not braking enough or me putting him off as I catch up? I brought him back, put him straight into the weaves and finished with 5f in a time a fraction off 2nd place.

Congratulations to Hailey who put up a lovely set of courses for her first judging appointment :-)

Tunnel Torment Jumping - Judge:- Zoe Dalby - Great wait by Reno and a lovely start, avoiding the first tormenting tunnel, only to be eliminated for going diagonally across a box.  This is something I need to work on with Reno as I don't seem to be making myself clear to him.  In my defence he did put me off a bit by starting to squeal as he ran this course.  He's never done that before!!

Monday night's training was a 6/7/International Jumping Course.  I'm so enjoying doing this sort of thing with Reno.  Although he is obviously not quite ready to run this sort of thing it really helps me to put things into perspective.  With Kiros I have achieved so much but at Reno's age he hadn't even won out of Elementary and we wouldn't of had a clue how to start with a course like that.

Finishing this post I want to say HUGE congratulations to Paul and Tiber who did their first competitive runs at Dog Vegas on Saturday and came away with a 2nd and 7th place (hope I've remembered that correctly!!).  What an amazing start :-)

Must try harder!!

Reno has been much more focused in training over the last couple of weeks.

The Sunday before last I went to Paul and Pen's to share a training session with Paul and Tiber. 

Both dogs enjoyed working together.  Tiber is showing a bit of spirit and pushing Paul a bit at the moment but he's looking really good.  His debut is next Saturday at Dog Vegas.  Good luck Paul!!

Reno worked some lovely sequences with only minor errors at the weaves and a couple of naughty contacts.

At Jo's training last Monday we were working on sequences.  We particularly enjoyed the one Jo set up to get us thinking of the fastest line for the dog and Reno demonstrated a brilliant understanding of the rules.

Then onto Ray's training at NADTC on Tuesday night...Ray set up a really nice grade 3 course which we would have gone clear on it it wasn't for a large pile of horse poo that Reno spotted on a turn!!  Still, can't complain about the perfect weaves and contacts :-)

On Saturday Kiros, Reno and I went to Katie's to do some training.  Jo was there with Ronny, Keisha and Zippy and Jackie came with Speedy, Leo, Jake and Brindle. 

Here's were the "must try harder" comes in.  I was really please with how Reno worked in a place he'd never been before on different equipment and with the excitement of having his family around him but I've realised that I could be doing a lot more to help him.  I've got a real tendency to cut corners and expect him to pick things up without any help from myself.  Comes from running Kiros for too long I guess?

So from now on I'm going to push myself a bit more to run faster and get to places to help him out (well that's the plan anyway!!)

After the lovely lunch which Katie made for us we took all 12 of the Doggies for a stroll together.  You can't see Brian and Heidi on the photo as they'd found the muddy ditch!!

Tonight is week 4 at Jo's Training - Grade 3-5 Course.  Really hope we do well!!

Reno's 3!!!

I'm so late in posting this but Reno and his fellow Kronik Kids celebrated their 3rd birthday on Monday.

It's hard to imagine he is that old as he really hasn't grown up yet.  But then looking at his Daddy I'm not sure he ever will!!

Not really much to report on the blog to be honest.  We have done a bit of training but it hasn't gone as well as I'd hoped as Reno has been quite naughty.  I think he's been getting too much attention :-)

Last weekend we had a lovely time down in Dorset so I thought I'd just post a few photo's of Doggies having fun.

Not sure what Kiros is saying to Reno and Ollie in this one?!!

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!