The Bug

Sometimes you're the windshield...

I totally know how the bug feels right about now. Totally know.  The bug sucks. A little bewildering, and a little painful, but mostly just dazed and confused.

Moxie and I can't seem to buy a Q right now. Zanesville was pretty bad, but we had nice runs and weird things NQd us. Evansville was downright painful. Between her atrocious aframe (she missed 3 on friday!), my stupid handling mistakes (Stick to the plan!!), crappy surface (knocked bar), it was a plethora of odd things that got us. We were 1 for 6. 1 for 6!!!!!!  I cant remember ever doing that bad with her. I don't get it. Nothing has changed and we are running really well. I'm not nervous, or worried about something, she is in good shape overall. WTF?!  And it isn't the MACH. Someone brought that up, I was worried about the MACH. Trust me when I say this, I hope I remember that I am up for it after QQ#19. I want my Nats QQs! So I can train a running aframe!!!  I have plenty of time, it isnt like this is November. Geez... Thank goodness I am showing almost every weekend in May and June! :)

On a better note, Hustle was the man. Got his OA and an Excellent Jumpers Q. He is running really well. If he keeps this up, on to 26 inches!

 And Sally.. Oohh my Sally girl. Ran her heart out as always. Got her MXP on saturday. And smoked an excellent jww course on sunday. How I love this girl. She's so amazing. After her jumpers run, I let her watch the ring for a while, since it's what she loves to do. She actually let me cuddle with her a little. It made me think about our journey, and how sad I am that she is 10 and how I have to cherish every run. I had to get up and leave because I started to cry. She's the best. Dogs should live forever.
Videos soon. I have some fantastic video to put up of the dogs. But I am TOO busy!

Epiphanies

I sort of had one at AKC Nationals. The one Jenn Crank has been trying to get out of me for, oh, I don't know, 4 years now? She said I won't get it until I "get it." It was right after her clean Jumpers run. The run was good, I was a little "safe" in my handling choice. Mostly because Moxie was a little wild in warm up standard. I babysit. There... I said it, it's out... I babysit her something terrible. I babysit her weaves because she used to pop out. I babysit her pinwheels because she turns so tight. I babysit the hell out of her aframe because it's hit or miss if she stops or not. I even noticed how much I started rear crossing her. Babysitting... I can "save" a rear cross. Fronts aren't as easy to save. What if she pulls off a jump? I can't save it! Oh the horror.  So after my clean jumper run, which did have some pretty moments after the beginning, I had this long conversation with myself. Do I want to be THAT handler. Who is ALWAYS out for the Q. Always out for the clean run. Has a MACH 50 on her dog because we run clean every round. The thought literally make me sick. Don't get me wrong, Qing is great, and I like it way better than NQing. But Qing for the sake of Qing isn't fun. And always being safe and clean is boring. It's boring to do and it's boring to watch. So my next run was much better. Standard. I did a front cross I wasn't totally sure I could get, but I had it in my head that I was making it happen. I sent her to a jump and left her to do her job. I caused a bar at the end. But it was such a great run. It felt really good. And her hybrid run? Felt even better. She knocked 2 bars, which I totally blame on her shoulder. But I did a nice send to a pinwheel jump and left her to do her job. I had so much to think about after those runs. I wanted to be better. To run harder from place to place. To push her boundaries a little. To run her "more like Sally." I run Sally pretty aggressively now. We have no goals. Just run, be bad ass, have fun. And oddly enough, Sally has a higher Q rate now than in her entire life. She's a bad ass. We can look like a bad ass team when I set my mind to it. I want Moxie to have a little of that action. I did a 3 day trial in Zanesville. Our Q rate? ABYSMAL! She was 2 for 6. We went off course EVERY day in standard. We never go off course. But I am proud of the off courses. She ran hard. We ended the weekend with a T2B run that was nothing less than BAD ASS. We knocked the last bar. Had the fastest time in the class. I pushed her the entire course, trusted her, let her extend. And it was awesome. It was my real epiphany. I'd rather run like THAT and NQ, than run safe and boring and Q. Don't get me wrong, I need 3 QQs for Nationals, and I may run a little safer than that T2B run, but I am going to try really hard to run more aggressively. I get it. I totally GET IT now. What Jenn tried to tell me, what Karen Holik and Mary Ellen Barry were telling me. How awesome my little dog is, how tight her turns are, how fantastic she is and how she would give me 200% more if I just asked her for it. I have things to work on for sure. Her upcoming running aframe, a faster teeter, a better dogwalk, and more independence at the weaves to start. And myself of course. I want to take running lessons. I want to learn to lengthen my own stride, and be a more efficient runner. It's so exciting, these goals! That T2B run was a win, even if it was technically a loss. She ran faster than some seriously fast dogs. Dogs we have never beaten before. Little Monkey can flat out move. Oh how I love this dog.
 On another note, Sally was a BAD ASS. She got a QQ on saturday, and had some AMAZING NQS! I love hearing the crowd when I run her. She's exciting. At 10 years old, she's still got it. We have such a good thing going. I hope she runs for another 10 years, because running her is a thrill.
 Hustle... Oh Hustle man. So much potential. We are getting there. He has moments of BRILLIANCE. He can and will be thrilling to run. He had great running aframes all weekend, good stops on his dogwalk, nice jumping. The weaves... He just doesn't get it yet. But he will. And he will be moving to 26. He is a powerful dog. His stride is enormous and he has no idea how to use it yet, but when he "thinks" and does his job, he's pretty damn awesome. He did the coolest rear cross wrap ever in T2B (of course, not on tape). Proud of the boy. He will be a force someday :) 

Reno!

It was such an amazing weekend! It's hard to sum up how much fun I had in one blog post. I taught classes all week, worked and managed to pack everything successfully. If you have ever traveled with April or myself, you know we pack for worst case scenarios! So between her and I, we certainly maxed out our baggage weight capacities! Kitty thought he should go too...

 Thursday we flew out from Louisville Intl airport. It was a relatively decent flight, almost 4 hours to Arizona Intl. April gets extreme motion sickness, but luckily she only threw twice :)  Both dogs were very good for the entire flight. We landed in Phoenix, and it was literally a sprint to find a place to take the dogs out to pee. A sprint across the entire airport. Then back THROUGH security with both dogs... Then I couldn't find April.. I was panicked. Wandered through security, walked a bit and saw her sitting with all our carry on baggage. We then had to rush to find out Gate. Found it, got some random food and never heard the gate guy announce early boarding. So we were stuck between 2 strangers on the 2 hour flight to Reno. Landed fine, got our rental car and went to check out the Livestock center. It was awesome.

We checked in, got our awesome goody bag with our numbers and other assorted cool stuff (and got our cupcakes!) Shopped a little, set up our crates, and went to check in to our hotel.  We stayed at the Nugget Courtyard. It has a casino and other really cool places to eat, gamble, and drink of course.

 Our first stop was the Tiki bar at Trader Dicks... For the record, it was 8pm our time and we hadn't eaten all day. We went to the buffet but it didn't open for another 30 minutes, so we decided on these to hold us over...



 

Bendy man was modeling our drinks for us... So about this time we realize 3 drinks each is too many with no food, so we needed to eat PRONTO.  We went to the Rotisserie Buffet. It was amazing...

I scared the crap out of the guy behind the dessert counter with my camera!

Who doesn't love a peperoni flower?

Was a little shocked by the pig!

We tried one of every dessert!

Went to find a security guard to microwave a baked potato for Moxie, drink in hand. He was a trooper! We slept great :)

Friday was warm up day. We ran the optional standard run. Moxie was a tad hot under the collar after the plane ride and sleeping all day in the hotel. She hit all her contacts, but didn't attempt to stop :) It put me a little behind and I didn't stick to my plan, pulling her off the chute. It was an otherwise nice run.

 Time 2 Beat she went clean. She had a really nice run and I got to work the contacts a little more!

We watched the rest of the dogs run and ended up at the buffet again! Seafood night so I was in heaven! We ended up in the casino with the Cranks. Had a fantastic night. Got to watch a guy yell at an empty chair and almost get thrown out by the geriatric security guards. Talked to a nice manager about Whale watching. Whales are apparently big spenders at casinos. The things you learn from the Cranks. We learned other things too, but probably not appropriate for the blogger! Needless to say, they are plenty of fun on a trip!

Saturday- Up early, got to obsess walk jumpers. Morning announcements were neat. I have to say, the energy at this event was awesome. You could really "feel" it there. Maybe my energy was higher, not sure. But it definitely felt electric, that morning walk through. So many people had such high hopes. Hell, I just didn't want to look like an idiot. Moxie was up fairly early in the order. I was nervous, which was nice. I don't get nervous much anymore. I was very worried about the opening sequence, because my handling choice wasn't very popular. But we made it work, and went clean. She had a nice run and I was pretty proud of her time and overall finish in the round. Took her to Marie Duthie for a massage. I was a little taken back by how awful she was in her shoulders. I knew she was having some trouble jumping, but I tend to tunnel vision my own dogs. I was so focused on her hips I never gave much attention to her shoulders. Marie said she was the worst dog she had touched all day! She worked on her for 30 minutes and wanted to see her again. We ran standard, and I was incredibly pleased with her run. She knocked the last bar, because I got behind (my knee literally locked in place, I felt like I would fall, got behind..) She turned to find me and hit the last jump. But I will say the run felt great. Ended up 88th overall for the day in 20 inches. Spent the evening at The Great Basin Brewery with the Cranks. Awesome food, great company. Probably ended up at the casino too :)

Sunday was quick. Moxie got worked on for another 30 minutes, still tight in her shoulders but better. Ran hybrid. We actually had a fantastic run except for a little wide turn in the opening. Moxie knocked 2 bars in extension coming towards me. She never knocks bars so I know it was her shoulders. I didn't have the heart to ask her to stop on the aframe

Haze

Mmmmm Breakfast. Apple fritter and hazelnut hot chocolate.

She thinks she might die if she doesn't get some apple fritter. She's in a casino, you would think she would be grateful to be a dog in a casino! :)

Haze, silently hating us right now for making him give Bendy Man a ride.

View from our hotel.

Oh yeah, on our way back from Reno, we almost missed our flight out to Vegas. I was reloading the bags so we wouldn't have to pay, and April was haggling with the rental car guy. We literally SPRINTED through security. They barely checked us, we ran to the gate and made it with very little time to spare. Then we barely made our flight out of Vegas! Didn't eat a thing, landed at Louisville Intl ok and I swear next time we are making layovers LONGER!!! 8 hours on a plane, starving and cold = Misty was sick as a dog! But I lived to tell the tale, so to speak. Trooper that I am, I even taught my monday night class at 6pm :)  My killer students covered for me at 715 so I could go in to a coma until tuesday morning. Flying is stressful! 



Louisville Cluster and 7 more days!

 The Louisville Cluster always comes and goes so fast. I love the show. Its 4 days of agility (and obedience and I guess there was that OTHER thing, conformation going on). The shopping is amazing. I have always been in charge of workers, so it comes with a certain amount of insanity that goes along with being a volunteer coordinator. I really enjoy doing it, except when I call for workers and everyone is out shopping :)  But that's ok, it comes with the cluster.
 Moxie- Well, not our most successful cluster Q wise, but I did learn a ton about how I handle her. I tend to babysit her, and I am not quite sure why yet, but by saturday and sunday I was handling her a lot more with trust, instead of taking the easy way out. She only knocked one bar in 4 days, wasn't a total pill on her contacts, and weaved great. All in all it was a decent last prep for nationals.
 Hustle- Well, the big rings and arena blew his mind a little, but he did hold it together enough for  his OAJ. He is looking really GOOD. He's still young, and a little wild, but there are moments of brilliance in there that are exciting to watch.
 Sally- What can I say? I love her. I LOVE THIS CRAZY RED DOG. I decided to abandon the Q this week and just enjoy her every second on course. Which is pretty much my goal with her always now, but the cluster is special. She had some almosts, some wild rides, and some really funny moments. She's such a rock star, she loves the game so much and she really looked great all weekend. I am glad she ran well, stayed sound and we had a great cluster. Since next year the cluster is during AKC Nationals, I am hoping I will be there, so this may have been Sallys last cluster. It hit me when I was taking her in the ring on her last run, which was jumpers, and I actually choked up a little. I barely got the word stay out. Pretty sure I smiled the whole run, and afterwards I walked her a bit and teared up even more. (Okay, I lost it for a second.) She's just so special, and realizing that her retirement is coming faster than I would like is a hard pill to swallow. But I am going to love her every second in the ring that I can. My Sally Wags..
 On another note, it was an ODD cluster. My students really did well, and were great advertising for me! Lots of Qs and really nice runs and they are making fantastic handling choices and progress. It's really gratifying to watch. But I have learned a valuable lesson. That sometimes you just have to step back and let someone make their own mistakes and not try to guide them after a certain point. Because your best intentions sometimes get turned around and you are the bad guy. And I have learned, sadly, not to put 100% faith in anyone but yourself and your very best friends in this game because things can change in a blink. I'm still a little shocked and bewildered about the whole situation but I refuse to slander anyone that I still care about, regardless of their behavior. What I will say is, my intentions were always good and its true that the path to hell is paved with good intentions.
 Enough about THAT. Reno!!! 7 days baby! 7 days we will be on a plane, heading to RENO! Aww yeah!  I have been packing this week, so that I don't FORGET something, which makes me neurotic. My goal is to have everything packed by saturday, take it and weigh it all and load balance it, then I am set. Got Moxies thundershirt for the plane, and I have been putting it on her a little each day to get her used to it again. Have her bed and crate and everything ready to go. She's a trooper, so I have no worries. I bought an Ipad last friday and I still haven't taken it out of the box! It should be good for the trip, so we can post pictures as we go, and maybe video. We are pumped, and ready to have fun no matter what the results are. And going with April makes it all the more awesome!

Great Agility Weekend!!!

I was supposed to show 3 days at a trial in northern Indiana but decided to skip friday as we were under severe tornado threats. Unfortunately it turned out that the threats were very real. 5 miles from my home, the entire town was destroyed. It was a scary day, and incredibly sad. While I can relate to losing everything I own to a natural disaster, I cannot relate to what happened there. My heart goes out to everyone involved.
 I went to the trial saturday and sunday, and let me say I am GLAD I DID! Moxie was a STAR. She was clean both days and got 2 QQs for the weekend. Thats 3 left for next years nats, and 4 left for her MACH. Man, let me get this stuff over with so I can train and finish her running aframe! We leave for Nationals in 24 days!!!! April and I are so excited. Getting everything ready for the plane trip and the long exciting journey. And seeing a lot of skills polished with Moxie is a good sign. Still iffy on her aframe stops but at least I am patching it up to the best of my ability, and not stressing since I know we will be running them soon anyway. Sally was AWESOME even though the footing was on mats... She got a Q in Jww on sat and Q in std on Sunday. I think she needs 1 more Q for her MX now. Hustle was a straight STUD all weekend. WOW.. I am getting super excited about this dude. He only got 1 Q in open Jww, but his runs looked GOOD. He is handling like a dream and starting to get his weaves a little better. Aframes were awesome! I really connected with him on course this weekend, and I think he got a better understanding of the game as a whole. Still stuff to work on, but watch out for him when its all put together :)   He may be hitting 26 inches sooner than expected! And I had a nice moment with him, out in a field, just looking at him move and watching him look at me. He is turning into a MAN, and such a handsome, well rounded one. What a guy!
 On another note, my student Erin went with me to the trial, and watching her handling skills improve and her dogs technical skills in action made me so proud! It really is more gratifying watching your students succeed than it is succeeding yourself! Her green dog went 4 for 4 and earned her open titles and her 1st ex jww Q, and her wild man who is a total retrain for a Nov std Q with fantastic r uns all weekend. Yay for students!

Updating Website..

Who knew this could be so difficult. I am moving web providers and trying to get a domain name release has taken a month. Its frustrating and not necessary! Oh well, it will be worth it in the end when I can update it more frequently and add cool new things to it!
 We have a new tiller for the barn, which helps keep the dirt fresh and awesome for the dogs to run on. Heater should be working soon, so we will have HEAT! Yahoo..  I am putting new classes together and new things for the students to do, and I have a few other new things coming down the pike. Should be a fun and exciting year if all goes to plan!
 Moxie trained REALLY crappy today in the weaves. Its okay, because I threw an entry at her I knew she would have trouble with. I am going with Jenn Cranks suggestion, that I train it until march 1st, and if I dont have that skill by March 1st, I'll shape it at nationals. She has trouble bending back into pole #2 on a fast shallow angle with on side weaving, and I knew that. Other than the weaves being a bust at that angle,  she totally rocked 24 inch jumps, both with wraps, serpentine recall to heels, and hard angles. I like training her at 24 because I think it's giving her a bit more muscle. I am also trying to trust her sends more. She has fabulous sends, yet I baby them. I am working on trust. Unfortunately I was wait listed and didnt get in for BOTH my february trials... So, I have 3 trials before Nationals. Which also puts a damper on my MACH before Nationals goal. I set that because I had 14 tries to get 6 QQs. Now I have 9 tries for 6 QQs. Meh, it's just a MACH. She'll get it. I'm more interested in finishing her 2013 National Qs. Isn't that sad? I really want to qualify for Nationals more than get a MACH. People get SO cranked about a MACH. I  mean, it's cool and I'll be super excited to have it over with. But people truly believe it's the end all/be all of titles. Anyone with a moderately consistent dog and enough money can earn a mach. Now, that ADCH... I want an ADCH! After our MACH, and Nats Qs, I am after that ADCH. That is a versatile dog, and you have to beat people to earn it! Snooker, Gamblers, Pairs, Jumpers, Standard, plus all your Tourney Qs and those DAMN SUPER Qs!! Damn the Super Qs!  
  Hustle was a good boy, he weaves pretty well in the barn. I try to throw stuff at him and keep mixing it up so he will weave 12 more consistently. When he finally DOES  get it, his weaves will be nice. It's that boy brain. He also had his first taste of me coming OVER the bar after him for not collecting on a recall to heel. I thought he was going to bury his head in the dirt. Makes me crazy, he is SUCH a good jumper, and he won't collect on a recall to heel out of a tunnel. So, I sent him in the tunnel, set up in a recall to heel and a stride before liftoff I block the jump, reach over the bar, and FEED him for rocking back. Boy did he collect after that. He still isnt turning as nicely as I would like going from extension to relative collection, but he is getting there. And 24 inch jumping is where he will stay a while, until I move him to 26. Probably once he is in excellent B I will move him to 26 inches. His running Aframe is nice so far. I'm excited about that!

 45 DAYS!!!

47 Days... Just Sayin'...

Have I mentioned lately that I am totally STOKED about going to Reno? Not sure I have, so I'll repeat. STOKED... I did speed intervals the other day on my treadmill. It was not fun, but I feel like I need it. I want to jog distances, but I also want to mix it up enough to keep moving forward. I may start doing an aerobics exercise video too. I want to be stronger.
 Moxie is training well. Jumping at 24 inches during training and doing well with it. I have been focusing a lot of attention on the double jump. Not sure why, but I have very little confidence with it. Not that she drops it much (just once I can remember with the double as jump #1), but I just don't feel like I work the double and triple much. And the triple LOOKS different. The double, at speed, looks the same as a single bar jump except the crossed bars underneath. So, I have decided to put some effort into proofing it.
 I really want to feel prepared when I go all the way to Reno. USDAA Nationals was a lot of fun, but it was 20 minutes from my house. Kind of like a really big trial. This is more of an adventure I guess. Flying out, renting a car, staying in a nice hotel. Did I mention that I already have a packing list? :)

 On another note, Hustle is getting a lot of drill work lately on the recall to heels. I am patching holes. And reinforcing his 2o2o on the dogwalk more. He understands to pause, but he doesn't always totally understand to stay there as I move away.
 I bought this WAY COOL notebook at Office Max. It was expensive. But it is like a 3 ring binder that is flexible and has pockets for folders. I started a training journal. It'[s really helped me focus my training sessions. I hope I can keep it up!