Goals

I have had a very good 2011 already with the dogs. I set myself some lofty goals for this year, both personal and professional. I want very much to be a good teacher, and I have invested some more time and attention to being clear to my students, teaching level appropriate skills, and keeping them challenged. I have more work to do, but I feel better about the direction I am going with my classes overall. I do get a great deal of enjoyment out of seeing my students succeed, watching them figure out handling strategies for themselves, and of course, teasing them endlessly! All of my students are fantastic, and they get my odd sense of humor. What a great job! I get to combine my two favorite things, teaching and agility. I am so blessed. My goal for my business this year is to expand, possibly add another dog sport or two, and make more people aware of the awesome things they can do with their dogs.
 Moxie has turned on quite a bit. I know I have been saying that, but she really is going to the line a much more "game" dog. She has started pulling me a little to get on the line from the sidelines, and she has never done that before. She is working hard to get her weaves, and stay in them. We have work to do on committing to all 12 poles no matter what my position or motion is, but she is fighting for her entries, and I appreciate that. Moxie now has a much better weave entry than Sally ever had. Sally has better commitment, but I have to help her find a straight line or wrap to the poles. Moxie has always been a nice jumper, so I am trying to push her a bit around the course, and trust her natural athleticism to get her over the bars. She is also already fully qualified for USDAA Nationals! My goal for her was all 3 events this year, and before June. Check! I also set myself the goal of AKC Nationals for her this year. Last year was the big "6 point fiasco". Never again. I did decide a bit late to try for AKC Nationals, since my goal was USDAA. This year, I want both. The 6 points were the best thing that ever happened to us, because it made me work several weak skills and reevaluate our training and handling. She is already 4QQs and 164 pts towards her qualifications this year. I was told by Jen Crank that I am starting to run her "for the Q" and that she has a lot more to offer if I simply push her, so that is my other goal this year. Now that we have our USDAA qualifiers done, I can really push her some in USDAA and practice handling more aggressively. I am very excited about this weekend with Moxie, because we are just going for it every run. No pressure, just working to be the most we can be as a team.
 Sally has been off and on lame for a while, which has concerned me greatly since she is 9. Sally has her team Q and one steeplechase Q in USDAA for nationals. One more Steeplechase and she is qualified, and we may or may not try for Grand Prix. Sally finished her P2 title this year, and is now starting her P3 qualifications. Or whatever they are called now. I had her adjusted by a chiropractor last month, and she was a mess. I had her adjusted wednesday and she was less of a mess, so it seems she is improving, but I am going to invest a great deal of energy into a physical therapy regime for her to STAY sound. She is so hard on her body in daily life. She runs and rough houses and she shakes toys and slams herself around. I adore that about her, but at this stage in her life, her attitude is still writing checks her body can't fully cash. But her heart is in agility, so I owe it to her to do whatever I need to do to keep her safe, running and comfortable. ALL the success I have with Moxie is because of all the lessons I learned from Sally.
 Hustle! Oh Hustle... I am getting serious about his training now. My goal is to enter him in everything by September. I asked Jen Crank to hold a training and goal setting seminar at my place, and she did. This was a very selfish request, as I have attended it before, but listening to her talk and remind me of how important goals are really lit the fire in me. I wrote down all of the skills he would need, rated them above average, average or below average, and ranked them from urgent, moderate or maintenance skills, and am developing a plan for him. I have decided on a RUNNING aframe (after Jen showed me how to train it!), a 2o2o dogwalk and teeter, and I have also decided this dog would have phenomenal weave skills. So this has also helped me develop a plan for him. I am excited, and refreshed to have a plan. I hope to blog his progress, if only to hold myself accountable and stay on track. I dont have a good track record for blogging, but I will try!
 As for myself, my goal is to become a better runner, and lose some pounds. I bought a nice running treadmill, am entered in a 5K, and my goal is to do the mini next year. Really, I just want to feel better about myself and become a better, more athletic handler.

Hustle training

I've decided to show Hustle this weekend at Circle G in Ohio. Just in jumpers friday and saturday. Is he ready? Not a chance! He can't really weave yet, and has no idea what a rear cross is. But my friend April dared me to show him, and I never back down from a dare. It'll be a good chance to see how well he understands front crosses and his jumping skills (since that's ALL he knows!) Oh well, should be entertaining! He is jumping quite nicely at 22, 24 and 26 inches. I am impressed by his turns so far and he is looking forward to jumps at hand nicely. Rear crosses are terrifying him right now! It seems when I go in towards him on the flat, he bolts. I'll have to teach him somehow, without applying too much pressure to his line. I have decided to put a stop on his contacts too. I know myself all too well, and I know I won't train the running as much as I should, so 2o2o it is!
 I've been working Moxie on weaves, just a couple of repetitions and big rewards and then move on. I'm also working with a clicker and having her hold her back feet to things. Anything to get her to stop on that damn aframe! She was a rock star the last couple of times I did a whole course with her. She has so much potential, and I just need to figure out how we can grow as a team and work on our weaknesses more. She's such a little diva! I have already figured out that she needs a lot of personal attention before each run, and some connecting time with me. She is so different than Sally, who is a machine. Sally is all about the job. Like a reliable tractor, take her out, start her up, and off she goes, full tilt. Moxie expects dinner and a drink first ;)
 The cold has been bothering Sallys arthritis a bit, so I have let her run herself in the yard more than any real training. As soon as it gets warmer, I'll swim her in the pond and build her up more. I am going to increase her adequan dosage and see if that doesn't help her out any. She's 9 years old, and still has a lot of competition life left in her, so I want to make sure I am taking care of her as much as possible to let her do what she loves to do.
 Hopefully I'll have good things to report after this weekend!

2011

2010 was a good year overall. I will say 2009 was probably the worst year ever, and 2010 was a whirlwind if moving, paperwork, more paperwork and generally trying to get life back into some semblance of normal. While we aren't there quite yet, we are getting there. The barn was raised for training, and we started having regular classes inside in June. I held my very first seminar, courtesy of Jennifer Crank, who owns Incredipaws. It was successful, if only a little bit colder than we had hoped! We also had a really good time in december with our first agility league. All in all, it was a good year for TNT.
 This year, we have even MORE in the works! Another seminar, to be announced soon, and other exciting news to be revealed. I say "we" because, even though TNT is my baby, I definitely feel like we are developing our own little family. I am sure I have said this before, but I will say it again and again. I have the best students any trainer could ask for. They are hard working, funny, serious and as dedicated as anyone could ever hope for. I appreciate them more than I can ever express. They allow me to be tough on them, to tease them mercilessly during class, and still they come back. I never feel like I am giving them as much as they give me. It's truly a joy and an honor to have them come back, week after week. Thank you TNTers, I love you all.
 As for 2011, my personal goal this year is to qualify for both AKC and USDAA Nationals with Moxie, and qualify for USDAA nationals with Sally. Hustle, I would like to just get him started and develop in him a love for the game. He's a good little man, and he is coming along nicely. I would like to grow my business to incorporate more things this year, like more clicker training classes, some obedience classes and perhaps some other fun dog sport training.
 I am going to try and keep up with Blogging this year too. I said that last year, I know... But this year, hopefully, I'll have more to blog.
 Speaking of last year, I have to take a second to thank my phenomenal girls. Sally, who is a legend in my eyes, was amazing. I decided to run her at 16 inches and move her to Preferred AKC and Performance USDAA. All I can say is, it was the best move ever. She FLEW through P1 USDAA, and EASILY earned her USDAA National qualifiers, her P1 title, and half of her P2 title as well. She was a Superstar at USDAA Nationals. I could not have asked her to do more than she did. She earned her way from Grand Prix Quarterfinals to Semifinals, and probably would have done okay in Semis if I would have only trusted her a little more. Sorry Sally girl, but what a ride you gave me... I will remember it forever. How good she was in her team events too, in standard, and Gamblers, and Jumpers even though I mishandled her. Her partner Haze was equally as good, and they finished in the top half of the Performance teams. So proud I could have burst. I love my Sally girl.
 Moxie certainly decided to step up to the plate last year. She finished her AX, AXJ, MX, MXJ, her Open and Excellent Fast titles, and got 4 Masters Fast legs. She flew through her AD title in USDAA, and flew equally as fast through her AAD title. So now, on to Masters. She qualified for the USDAA Nationals in Team and Steeplechase, and was 6 little points short of qualifying for AKC nationals in 2011. This year, we plan on trying to qualify for both, perhaps a little earlier this year ;)   She went from having weave issues early in the year, and contact issues, to being a solid little competition dog, and for that, I am terribly proud of her. I am also glad, in some weird way, that we did not qualify for AKC Nationals. Being so close will only make me work harder, and train harder. Had we qualified, I think it would have led me into a false sense of security. Thank you Moxie, for teaching me that failure is not fatal, and never give up on your dreams. I also learned that if you never fail at something, you aren't reaching high enough. This year, I will reach higher, and set my goals at an attainable, but very high, level. We will see how it all plays out. Either way, it'll be a fantastic ride!

This n That

Today it is finally raining. We have needed rain for a long time, since my yard resembles a dustbowl right now. The weather is cooler, and the dogs have been absolutely insane in the cool mornings. Even the old girl Bailey has been ripping around the yard like a puppy again. They seriously enjoy this weather. I wish I lived in a cooler climate sometimes. I do not enjoy the heat of the summer, and neither do they.
 We had some very good runs last weekend on some technical courses. I thought all the courses were very nice. I enjoy technical because it makes me think and work very hard to be consistent. Moxie got her 4th QQ for AKC Nationals, which is both thrilling and also puts an enormous amount of pressure on me to get the other 2 QQs before November 30th. She is capable of getting them and doing well, but sometimes she needs to get out of her own head and just do the course like I know she can. She blew 2 standard runs on weaves, so needless to say, we are weaving a LOT this week. Sally was a rockstar in preferred, with 2 novice std Qs for her title and an open std Q, plus one novice jumpers Q, and 2 novice jumpers NQs which were beautiful with one bar down. Oh well, I am enjoying novice with her while I can. Maybe next year we can get her to AKC nationals in the preferred class. Its been fun running her with less pressure, because I realize how far our teamwork has come. Sally is like that comfy sweater you love to wear, it just feels good. It feels so good to run with her. I have such trust in her abilities and I know she will always try her hardest for me. I absolutely cannot describe how great it feels to have that kind of a connection. I feel like thats what I need to build more with Moxie. Not that we dont have a wonderful connection, but I think Moxie needs to feel that she is a rockstar in her own right. I did notice getting her out earlier for her runs last weekend and walking her and spending some time with her seemed to help. She was definitely running as good as she has ever ran, with the exception of the 2 weave pole bobbles.
 Hustle is doing well in training. I take him to trials and work him over the jumps, since, for whatever reason, he is a maniac about tugging at shows, and he could care less at home! His jumping is looking good, and we are stringing 2-3 jumps together now, all with turns and no side changes. I am bouncing him between 20-24-26 inch jumps, and he looks good at all 3 heights. He is working on 2x2 weaves (which admittedly I need to work harder, it was a busy week!) but he is getting it pretty well. His aframe looks GREAT! I think I will keep it as a running. I am undecided on the dogwalk, since I started working a low teeter and that took up more of my focus. He should be ready to show early next year. No rush with him, as I think he was slow to  mature and I also think he will be a fantastic little agility dog.
Nothing else to report, except I am painting and caulking trim, trying to get my office set up and the rest of my house done before fall so I can just ENJOY the fall weather!
OH! How can I forget. My students looked AWESOME at the trial last weekend. I have to say, very unbiased I may add, that my students looked far more advanced than the other novice handlers I saw running. I was very impressed with all the TNTers and can't wait to see more from them at the next show!

Sally

I have noticed that in the past few months, when Sally is on her back, she has this weird cough. It just happens 1-2 times, then it's over. Somehow, I knew there was something else up. I took her to the vet last saturday, and had her completely worked up. We saw immediately on x-ray that the right side of her heart was enlarged slightly. Upon EKG, it was determined to be abnormal, but consistently abnormal. All bloodwork and heartworm test were fine. Now that wait for the cardiologist. 
 Let me assure you, I know what it feels like now to be kicked in the testicles. I SO wanted this to be nothing. Sally, my girl, my *go to* dog when I need to learn anything, my *gives 200%* in every venture, wonderful, fabulous, explosively awesome Sally. Supergirl. Supergirl doesn't have a weakness, right?
 I am still in shocked disbelief. I am still hoping that this abnormality is normal for her. I am wishing on every star, eyelash and stone that the cardiologist tells me it's nothing. I still panic every time she pants. I want to  hug her and squeeze her and put her in a bubble.
  We get to show friday in Evansville, and I had previously decided to move her down to Preferred. The one bar per run stuff was just getting old, and I refuse to jump grid her anymore. Novice, here we come. I am excited because she gets to jump 16, and I get to run her for the pure joy of running her.
 And let me tell you, Sally is PURE JOY for me.

Long busy summer

Well, we have had a very long year! Finishing up our house, and moving in, has taken some serious energy. It's been interesting, and mostly stressful! Anyone who says having a new house is exciting has no real clue what they are talking about! Never again! I am thankful for everything being almost finished, and being somewhat settled in finally.




My training barn is almost finished, which is EXTREMELY exciting for me. We have electricity, which was a huge thing, and we have half of our flooring put in. Right now, we are running on lime dust, but eventually we will be bringing in screened dirt. But first, doors! Who knew doors were so incredibly expensive? I sure didn't! It's all finally coming together though, and that makes me breath a lot easier.



I am amazed at how many people in the Southern Indiana area needed a place to train. I guess the old adage "build it and they will come" rings true. I love it so much, because I love to teach. Teaching and learning have always been high on my list of fun things to do. I am trying hard to keep learning new things to pass on to my students, both in books and dvds, and private lessons with one of the best handlers in the country.



Right now I have such a fantastic group of students who continually amaze me and make me proud. They have taken everything I have taught them, and practiced it! It puts a lot of pressure on me to be consistent, and correct! I appreciate that from them. I enjoy the challenge of always trying to challenge them! I have handlers in my starters/novice level that can do excellent/masters level challenges without blinking an eye. Thank you so much guys, for being the best students I could have ever hoped for. I can't wait until you are all kicking my butt in excellent!



The dogs...



Well, Moxie has had a fabulous year and she is becoming the performance dog I knew she always could be. She has earned 3 QQs towards AKC nationals so far, with 200 points. We are officially halfway there. She needs one more standard leg for her MX, and 4 more for her MXJ. She pretty much blew through excellent B after earning her AX/AXJ. She is also qualified to run in USDAA Nationals in DAM team and Steeplechase. She ran her first ISC courses in a trial in March, and she was amazing as always. I am so excited about her future.



Sally... My girl Sally, what else can I say? She always puts forth 200% on every course. She earned her MX in May, which was a big accomplishment for us. I decided to run her Performance in USDAA, and she gets to jump 16 inches! Can you say ohmygosh? My timing is a little off, since 16 inches is below her wither height and she gets to run every course at full extension. Okay, she did that anyway but now she really doesn't have to collect. She loves it. She is qualified for all 3 classes at USDAA Nationals in October. I can't even express how much it means to me to get Sally to a National event. AND it's USDAA, which is a total blast. She has had a great summer, and she is really solid now. Unfortunately, she still knocks a bar each run, which eliminates her. So I decided seeking that MXJ just wasn't worth it. She works her butt off, and we NQ over one bar. I also refuse to jump grid her at almost 9 years old, and with confirmed hip arthritis. With all this in mind, I made the very tough decision to move her to Preferred in AKC, and jump her 16. We get to start over again in NOVICE... Can you imagine Sally again in Novice? I sure hope we get through it fast, because there is a LOT of space in a Novice course, and she can certainly get away from me fast out there. It should be interesting!



Hustle... Well, he's the man, of course. Goofy, sweet, loving. I am really getting close to this little guy. We started jumping him with some motion, and he is doing very well. I also started to raise his Aframe, and I am still letting him run it. We shall see if I decide to keep running contacts, but for now, he looks really good! I also introduced the teeter, low with a pillow at the bang end. He could care less, and he races across the teeter to get to the food target on the other end. I am having a lot of fun with him, because he is down for anything as long as there is food involved.



All in all, we have survived the move, and the constant flux in our lives, and now I am hoping for a blissfully boring fall and winter! Maybe I can get down to some real training with my dogs now!

A lesson from Bailey

I decided to try to earn Baileys MXP, since she earned her MJP at the end of last year. Bailey is 10.5 years old, and she has never been hard core into agility. She is my first agility dog, and actually, my first dog! So I have learned a lot with her, made the routine first dog mistakes with her, and generally we just fumbled our way through the first few years of trialing.
 Bailey is 3 legs away from her MXP. In standard, I wasn't very sure she would make time, and lets face it, with her it has to be the PERFECT Bailey course, or she just isn't going to play. This leaves a lot of factors for us to overcome each run.  I ran her in Ohio on dirt, thinking the cold weather and dirt floor would be my best chance with her. I only entered her in standard. She loves the contacts, but she isn't always thrilled about everything in between, like jumps! She ran 2/3rds of the course fine, and 5 jumps before the end, she ran around a jump. Okay, she walked around it looking for the exit, which is not uncommon for her if she isn't in the mood that particular day. She always gets the same amount of praise and treats no matter how she does.But this time, I think I finally "heard" her. She was saying, pretty loud and clear, that she would like to be retired, thank you very much. The next day, the course was a perfect Bailey course. Contact to contact to contact,  weaves off my left, and pretty straight forward to the end. I went back and forth about pulling her or running her. In the end, I decided to pull her. I could have ran her in there, taken her across the contacts, and ran out. But why? She doesn't care, and it would have just been for ME. I am proud of myself for making this decision, because it was a very hard one to make. At 3 Qs from her MXP, we could probably eek it out eventually. But I am not so sure I would be proud of that. She wouldnt be doing it for the love of the game, she would be doing it because I asked her to and there was probably some good treats at the end of that course. In the end, its MY job to hear what she is trying to tell me, and do what's best for her, no matter what I want.
 I appreciate the lesson Bailey, and I am sorry it took me a while to figure it out. But you can just be *my* dog now at trials, the cute as hell, rotten, begging for treats, beautiful older lady who has a ball just being there. I love ya girl.