I was really looking forward to today's show as last weekend at Adam's Agility Show was not pleasant and although we had had some good bits nothing that strung together to make a clear. Why is Grade 6 so hard? Well today the courses were hard & when I get a planning package/app thing, I will map out the two combined grade 6-7 runs in jumping & agility. All I wanted was a clear round each time. My plan was set, carefully thought out to achieve the clear and where possible in the fastest time. Not a foot wrong did I put. I even had the confidence on one run to change my plan after watching other people nearly trip over their dogs. Dylan was a star and followed my ever command (well body movement anyway).  It resulted in me winning the first jumping run which was combined with grade 7 dogs too (about 10 of us altogether). My second run was a graded 5-7 jumping which was comparatively easy, but a fast flowy course with 2 twiddles ... I ran and Dylan did as asked. First in grade 6. Third course was a very tricky combine grade 6-7 agility with two A frames and no dog walk. I was fantastically happy to complete the course clear and elated to discover I was 1.2sec off the grade 7 winner with a couple of other clears as well, so I would have been second! The fourth run was the grade 1-7 agility course, which was well worth waiting for. Jump and dog walk followed by a nice flowing course. Running start and I held back to see if Dylan would find his position on the dog walk ... brilliant he did, lots of praise and then on our way. I thought I had lost valuable seconds with the dog walk, but in fact we won the grade 6 and was only 1 sec away from the grade 7 winner.

Dylan is a star :-)

Today Mandy kindly drove us up to a training session with Katie Long and Stuart Doughty. We met Jo with Freddie once we got there, It was a 3 hour afternoon session in two parts: agility and jumping. Courses were set out. Jo and I ended up working together starting with the agility course with Katie. We walked and then ran the course (not very well for me and Dylan as he decided to be quite naughty ... all the smells of an indoor equestrian arena I guess). We then broke down the course and had advise on different ways to run each section. We all had a go at each bit. Katie advised me that my dog walk contact needed to be solid before I introduce any words and keep putting him back on. She also advised me to run faster as when I was ahead of Dylan and telling him what to do he was much quicker. The one thing we struggled with was a right round turn off a jump ... Dylan insisted on turning left whatever I told him. He clearly prefers that turn.

Next was Stuart and jumping. I found this much easier and the snake and pull ins where no problem really. I do need to think about where to stand to get the best result for Dylan so he knows where to go next rather than trying to help me by jumping what he sees. We also thoughts about how to speed them up by standing in different places and considering which turn they make. Again Dylan's right round turn off a jump was not the best ... so that needs practice. It is reasonable for dogs to have a preferred side anyway.

Jo managed to capture a couple of my jumping runs. In the first run it took me three attempts to work out where to stand for the tunnel to weaves and also Dylan wasn't keen on turning right round the fence near the end.  The second run was much better - I brought him right round as I new he would be quick!

This week it has been cold and pretty wet as well. On Thursday evening, we went to a chilly training, although by the end I was pretty warm. Jackie sure knows how to keep us moving as well as keeping us on our toes! More practising different fence combinations and different turns. All looking good as long as I move and know where I am going! Still a lot of work to do on the dog walk contact, but we are making progress.

Today we went to the independent show at Keysoe run by Barking Mad, where we get 4 runs, 2 graded and 2 combined where grade 6 and 7 compete against each other. Not too many in each class - potentially 10, but in reality only 7.

Dylan was awesome following my every move, so much so that when we tried a pull in and then I moved to indicate the next jump too soon he didn't pull in .. need to work on timing at speed I think & give Dylan more space as well. That really was the only mistake on my part. Dylan jumped one dog walk, which I put him back on to wait which he did.  Both those mistakes were in the same agility run!

So three clear rounds and fast as well - only a second or 2 away from the winner for the jumping & a clear win for the graded 5,6,7 agility run (which was quite difficult with a sharp turn in to the jump on the right after the dog walk, followed by a pull in - we had an awkward moment then but no faults. Very very happy with Dylan today. All this training is helping, just need to persevere with the stop on the dog walk contact!

Today we drove up to Stoneleigh to the Kennel Club Building to The Agility Club AGM & Awards presentation for 2011/12. We registered at the club in February so we could collect points for our club Faldo, where we train. Faldo in fact came 2nd in the premier division which was well done to all the Faldo members. My contribution was to win the Grade 1 medium league. Basically you collect points from all the Kennel Club shows: 11 points for a win, 10 for 2nd and so on to 10th place and 1 point for an unplaced clear. In medium places below 2nd are few and far between. We started in Grade 1 because that's where we were at the beginning of the year, which for the club ended at the end of Sept 2012. Because we have done so well (as you will have read) we are now in Grade 6 for this year 2012/13.
Thank you to Luke who took these photos:

A local show where I can practice new things - like contacts!
I stood on the line for the first run and felt like a newbie again as it was my first grade 6 run and I felt the expectation show be high. Anyway the jumping course was a nice Grade 6/7 course and Dylan did it beautifully, except dropping the last weave on 6 weave poles! - probably my fault! (Thanks for Mandy for videoing me)

The next run was agility and of course I did and said nothing for his contacts so he jumped them (silly me!) but everything else was brilliant - all the difficult jump combinations and the start was perfect!
I went outside onto the practice course to practice the "feet" command I am now training for dog walk contact, i.e. 2 on 2 off. He did it there and I remembered that I can also use "stop" to gain his attention as he still doesn't know the word "feet" yet.

We had another jumping run which we won with 5 faults and then finished with a grade1-7 agility which Dylan ran perfectly and I uses "stop" to slow him down on the dog walk which he did. Very happy with that run and with the red rosette - I checked our time against the grade 7 winning dog and we were 1 second behind, so I was very happy with that.
The best thing about going to this show was supporting my friends who are starting out in agility. They also did very well with their runs.

Excited today ... off for training with a top handler Anthony Clarke
http://www.acagility.com/wordpress/

Should be interesting ...


... Well it was brilliant, if not a little cold!
By planning the racing line between sets of obstacles and then having careful positioning at the next one where the dog needs to turn you can minimise the distance and optimise the speed.
Lots of enthusiasm encourages your dog to be quicker, as long as all the basics are in place (e.g. contacts, turns where the dog is following your shoulders etc). After all moving as quickly as possible for 30 seconds ought not be too arduous!

Also some of the lines were to the wings of jumps if you required a turn.
Not getting in the way but doing a back cross very close to the dog so they don't swivel!
Thinking about what the dog can see as they turn and where you should be.
Not being afraid of a fast dog but embrace that!

Working on a arc if coming round obstacles to optimise speed and line, sometimes you need to slow down to get the dog to turn rather than speak - so pauses are good too.

So things to work on ...

Sort out the dog walk contact independently and don't use in full training until I am happy with the change as it will devalue it every time we get it wrong.
Treat training like a competition and do it as fast as possible
Make Dylan wait until I am in position at the start, so I minimise my running
Get fitter!

When Dylan met Parker!

With the winter season upon us and less shows to attend ... well we need a rest anyway! ... it is time to consider winter training and things to work on ...

For us that is 2 things ...

1. Dylan's dog walk contact. At the moment he has a "running contact" which means he has not been taught to stop on the contact as so many dogs are (2 feet on the contact and 2 feet on the ground).

2. Dylan needs to be more confident to work away from me without looking for me and me being right next to him.

So number one has already been started. We had a 1-2-1 session with a trainer called Pam somewhere completely different from our usual training. My theory was that asking him to do something new in a new place might be easier since dogs generally don't generalise. Dylan (as usual) was quick to learn a stop at the end of the dog walk, with lots of reward (tuggy & treats) actually on the dog walk. Then we worked on trying it in different ways, different directions until he was anticipating the "stop" command. I need to time my word "stop" to perfection otherwise he stops half way down and not on the contact.

We then had a show this weekend ... not a Kennel Club one, but a local one at our club. I was able to practice the stop in the ring at full speed ... fantastic as Dylan got it. He didn't completely stop but he slowed down, shortened his stride and waited for me to say go. He didn't miss a single contact.

So I need to continue with the re-enforcing in training and proof the stop with reward, me running past and so on. I can also practice "stop: down" on walks, in the garden so he comes to recognise the word as stop and stay there until I release you with a "go" or "ok"

The second aim came about during the stop training as Pam noticed that he is always looking for me and it would be great if he could finish the dog walk without checking where I am! Wouldn't it be useful if I could send him on the dog walk and then position myself for the next obstacle! We will be combining our usual weekly training at the club with some 1-2-1 sessions their and with Pam I think to work on this. However I also know this will come with experience and we must remember Dylan is not yet 3 years old yet and still quite young & my own experience of agility is only with Dylan!

So I need to tell you my latest news ....

... that says it all really!! We has a really really really good weekend! 6 wins over 3 days - the best average for us. Our first Grade 5 show by Dog Vegas (they run quite a number of KC shows throughout the year) and well it just all came together. 5 jumping wins for which we were given lovely blue glasses as trophies (I have 9 of these altogether now from the other DV shows I have done) and the lovely glass one shown for the agility!

What can I say ....

We did the Letchworth Show at Shuttleworth a month ago and really didn't get it together at all, with only 1 clear round which resulted in 13th place as it was an ABC (anything but collie) agility qualifier for Crufts - I was indeed very pleased with that round, but for Dylan it was slow because he was trying but not always getting what I wanted! The rest of that show, we made mistakes in every run, but it is all learning.

With a month's break we trained hard (well normal really but working on the turns and consolidating the dog walk contact) and then off to Dog Vegas which had been moved from Bakewell to Southwell. We camped - it was cold but the weather actually stayed surprisingly fine. Our first run was a jumping and we nailed it ... every twist and turn! The second run was a jumping and again we nailed it - wow! Dylan is so quick that if I don't get myself in the right place and time my moves to perfection he can go a different way.

With confidence building I had 2 agility runs that day, but both were an utter disaster!

Day 2: Started again with a jumping win and again we nailed it .... that's it 3 jumping wins qualifies you to win out of grade 5 to 6! Done! BUT no I wanted the agility win too. The agility that day was a money winner called Dog Vegas Money, not a bad run, but not clear - 10 faults I think (didn't look). Next we had another jumping and again we nailed it .... I was beginning to realise that I wasn't having to think too hard either and was trusting Dylan and just responding to him .... being a coach (that's me for canoeing that is) I know that when you stop thinking so hard it means you do actually understand & the fact that I had replicated success over 4 courses was excellent!

Day 3: Jumping again and again we nailed it! Unstoppable! Next agility ... a nice course with some twists and turns ... 2 lots of 6 weaves and the dog walk in the middle but after a sharp turn ... so hopefully Dylan wouldn't be going too fast over the dog walk! Well I beasted him down the dog walk and it worked ... he got his contact beautifully but then went right after the next jump instead of left! Never mind, called him back and off we went trying hard to focus! Seesaw, jump, right back onto the A frame, right off there, jump, jump, past the first tunnel entrance and back into the second, then the stretch home ... Clear! It was a combined grade 3-5 agility so lots of dogs all completing against each other. But yes ours was the fastest time ... we won our agility!

We had 2 more runs that day ... the other agility was awful, not a particularly safe course as we had to send the dog through a tunnel under the dog walk (in itself ok) but then you wanted to run where the dog walk was, so had to go round ... anyway we were in fact okay with that part and made a pull in mistake. The last jumping was funny. We were both tired, me particularly and I put a foot wrong and pulled Dylan off a jump which he than back jumped so being eliminated ... I just laughed as it was such a silly mistake! The rest of the round was perfect!

So what a year we have had! We won out of Grade 1 on 17th March 2012 at the Easter Dog Vegas having started agility competitions in June 2011. Won out of Grade 2 on 12th May 2012 at Godmanchester Spring Show, won out of Grade 3 at the start of summer (July 23rd) at Adams Agility Show and out of Grade 4 on 26th August at the Summer Show at Littleport with this final win out of Grade 5 to Grade 6 on 29th Sept 2012.

Dylan is amazing ... but these poos are!

Wow Wow Wow ... we have just got back from 4 days at The Summer Agility Show at Littleport near Ely - a lovely venue and enjoyed the camping there too. The weekend started on Friday with a 2nd in combined grade 4-5 jumping ... yes we are finally competing at Grade 4 now .. so 2nd place was excellent. Really enjoying the challenge of the more twisty courses where you actually have to fully concentrate for the whole course to get it right!

The 2 agility courses on Friday were challenging and we were E-ed but I was happy with Dylan's performance ... mine needed work!!

Saturday some improvement for agility as we got 5 faults for the dog walk contact (as usual), but that was all and the second agility the last part was a blast round the outside & I couldn't keep up so fell over at the last fence and Dylan turned to check I was ok so we got 5 faults. When the judge asked me if I was okay I said "No" he was worried I had hurt myself - only irritation that I had thrown away a good run - no faults up until the last fence!!

The jumping I was really looking forward to until I saw the course - way too hard for grade 4 & 5 - we gave it a go and some bits were brilliant, but it was too hard for both of us) & many other competitors too).

Sunday was the best day ... first of all a jumping course ... lots of challenge but I had got my moves in my head and knew what to do. Remembered to let Dylan pick up his own weaves (which he did brilliantly) & was able to correct him on the one iffy bit were I made a choice which would save one possible error but created another - clear round and fast ... my first win at Grade 4 and in a combined grade 4-5 jumping!!

Next was an agility ... not too hard, but a tyre and dog walk start ... wasn't even sure Dylan would wait at a tyre - let alone go through the thing once I had walked past it ... but he did ... ran the dog walk and didn't look to see if he had got the contact or not ... weave next and then A frame followed by jumps, tunnel, more jumps with a turn, seesaw - back from there push onto a long jump, out left to a jump and come over another, push onto to another jump and then a three jump snake, pull round to the last jump - perfect & the judge clapped so a clear round to boot ... I waited with Duncan & Pam having looked at my time ... currently lying first but lots of dogs to go yet! Spaniels are quick too ... several clear rounds ... I checked again when all dogs were done & .... wow I was still in the lead clear by 2 seconds ... another win .... an AGILITY win at grade 4 ... so that means in 25 days I go up to grade 5 .... a mixture of excitement, amazement and "I'm not sure I'm ready" all came to mind ... but it was a combined grade 4-5 course and Dylan & I beat everyone else!

After that another agility but this time pulled him off the dog walk too soon, otherwise another fast run. And today (Monday) Dylan decided that tunnels were not his thing and came out ... so random. Never mind, perhaps he was tired! Love my dog!!

So here we go to Grade 5 at the end of September ... I have achieved my plan which was to get to grade 5 by the end of 2012 ... and some!!

We are back from 10 days away at Kennel Club International Agility Festival (KC Int) and Dogs In Need Agility Show (DINAS) - lots of runs all at Grade 3 as our promotion to Grade 4 doesn't click into place until next weekend!

Lots of challenging courses with between 75 and 110 competitors which is far more than I usually get at most shows in the medium classes. But Grade 3 is the starter class for many new dogs with experienced handlers. I was generally pleased with Dylan's runs, although his contacts (dog walk particularly) were consistently off ... something to work on over the winter period to change that I think.

At KC Int we were in the novice cup qualifying rounds (ie dogs graded 3, 4 or 5) which included 1 agility run and one jumping round. Our agility round was okay but Dylan missed both A-frame contact and Dog Walk contact. However I was really pleased with his weave entry and the rest of the course. We came away with 10 faults and a good time. The jumping run was amazing. I walked it thinking "This is challenging, but I'll give it a go" - I worked Dylan really hard and the concentration from both of us was amazing and in sink for a change!! I knew we wouldn't win but I knew our time was good ... we came 4th.

This meant we got 47 points for the forth place & it turned out we got points for out agility run too and came 8th overall for the novice cup. 15 dogs run in the final so we ran 7th. The final was in the main ring with an announcer & everything!! I was soooooo nervous, although managed to hold it together for the first three obstacles! The course was hard with a seesaw & dog walk quite close together - something we haven't practised in training & is very challenging for a young dog!! My plan was to maintain the wait I have cultivated with Dylan and then do my best! I thought I had memorised the course, but as you can see I didn't - in fact everything went out of my head after the turn to the dog walk! - but that would have just been 5 faults ... Dylan's error despite me calling him was to attempt the dog walk again!!

Did you notice that Dylan actually managed his contacts here .. typical that I should mess it up elsewhere!!!

For the rest of the 3 days at the Festival we managed a 3rd in Grade 3 jumping & 4th in combined grade 1-3 jumping.

On the Monday we travelled to Ipswich for DINAS which is a holiday with dogs. We get 2 runs a day and a day off on the Thursday (when the finals are going on). There are lots of dogs so lots of competition & all our runs were just Grade 3 medium dogs ... and 70-80 in each class, which is great. Lots of international competition too as for KC Int. Dylan's contacts were still off, and some of the courses were challenging. However we did manage a 4th on a jumping and also a surprised 9th on an agility where we got 5 faults - for the up on the A-frame I think, as I got in Dylan's way and he went in from the side. It was a hard course but the twists and turns seem to suit Dylan when I am concentrating!!

The last day was way too hot and for Dylan 32 degrees is too much. I can only described Dylan as "flattening" as he ran as he knocked poles down all over the place and struggled to listen!

So during the 2 shows we gained some points towards our agility warrant (through Kennel Club) ... you get points for a clear round and a place ... and you have to get a quarter of the points from agility rounds rather than jumping (you also get twice as many points for agility as you do jumping). We now have over 400 points which means we can apply for Agility Warrent Silver and then use these letters after our name - AW(S)