Lake Charles Agility Trial - 2011 CKC

Maxie - 6 runs, 3 Q's (1 XJ, 2 XS), 2 1st places, 1 2nd place, 37 MACH points, 5 videos posted
Lucky Lucy - 6 runs, 1 Q (XJ),  6 videos posted

MAXIE:
Well, no QQ's for Maxie this weekend (he Q'd once per day), though I have to say I was running faster and surer, and we were mostly just 1 mistake from Q'ing on each NQ run.  He ran fast and focused, always exceeded course time by 6-22 seconds) and I know for sure now there's a MACH dog in there.  We met our goal of adding at least 35 MACH points to our tally at this trial, but didn't get that 6th QQ we were hoping for. Mistakes were as follows:

• XS Fri - no video, but he was under course time by 17 seconds, with only 1 fault, probably popped out of the weaves as I can't remember any other fault.
• XJ Sat - knocked the first bar - he hasn't knocked a bar in over a year, but I positioned him, then repositioned him at the start.  I've never done that before, so I must have broken his concentration, or else the bar was barely on there (which happens).  Then he popped out of the 10th weave, still under course time by 7 seconds.
• XS Sun - Skipped the 3rd weave. Otherwise a clean run with 10 seconds to spare, but the video shows his time could have been improved by at least 5 seconds with fewer wide turns.

SUMMARY: With Maxie's fast, reliable weaves at home, I can't figure out what to do about his less reliable weave performance at trials. Am I doing something different, like holding my breath, babysitting him, watching too hard?  As to the wide turns, we will practice more front crosses, which I tend not to do to spare my ankles, stronger pulls, and collection drills.

Lucky on the start line, intently watching a fly.

LUCKY LUCY:
Lucky's runs went like this:  "Look a fly, try to catch it".  Flies in the stands, flies at the start line, flies in the ring.  OMG, flies everywhere, and Lucky the only dog I saw constantly lunging at them!  She must have captured and swallowed 3 dozen flies.  I couldn't always get her attention on the start line, nor in the que waving her tug toy in her face, or offering her peeled shrimp, and she HAS NEVER REFUSED THOSE before.  I once had to collar grab her at the start line and push her forward to the first jump, after which she proceeded along.  It must be programmed hard into her DNA to be a fly catcher!  Major distraction work is needed here.

• XS Fri = clean run, but exceeded course time by 4.93 seconds.
• XJ Fri - trotted around 3 jumps in a row, tracking flies, about the 15th obstacle decided to run and finished fast.
• XJ Sat - Q, clean run, under course time by 1 second.
• XS Sat - clean run, but exceeded course time by 9 seconds.
• XS Sun - no faults until second to last obstacle, she leaped over the down contact on the A-frame.  Broke my heart because I failed to say "halt", tho I was pointing down.  Exceeded course time by .62 seconds anyway.
• XJ Sun - clean run, but exceeded course time by 6 seconds.

SUMMARY: Lucky's problem continues to be lack of speed in the ring.  She is mostly accurate. Outside the ring, or in practice when I'm carrying her tug toy, she runs like the wind.  We'll be going to lots of matches next year.  We'll also practice on focus, learning to ignore flies and other distractions.  I also need to discover just how to "transfer value" (which Susan Garrett assures me can happen) from her favorite toys, tugging and fetching, and just plain running for joy, to agility.

THE WEEKEND:
Apparently I wasn't the only one whose entry got screwed up (last post).  Various CKC members proclaimed the situation "intolerable", "unacceptable", etc.  On Sunday they couldn't provide Q'ing ribbons, either, because they were left out on the scoring table and had gotten wet in the driving rain.  They offered to mail them out to us, which got a few serious competitors PO'd.  The trial secretary is going to catch some flack.  But my question is . . . . . has the club bothered to train her to take over when their usual trial secretary became unavailable?????  Here's a perfect example of my oft repeated concern -- clubs ought to be mentoring members for every job.  Never know when some key person will leave in a huff, move, die, have an emergency, etc.  Part of belonging to any club is being in a sharing environment.  One gets to learn things free of charge, or far, far cheaper than taking private lessons or paying school tuition.  Clubs are a natural outgrowth of people wanting to share what they know, meet and do things with others who enjoy common interests.  Sailing clubs, sewing circles, reading and/or writing groups -- all great social inventions that only work well with enthusiastic sharing, teaching, mentoring.

Audrey drove over from Baton Rouge on Saturday, stayed from 10:30 to 3:30, and it was real nice having a family member/best friend around. She brought me some of her famous sweet potato casserole, helped me manage the dogs and gave encouragement, but unfortunately she only saw the last 2 runs, neither of them Q's.

Saturday's Horrific Storm:  The weather was typical Gulf Coast once again -- cold, wet, and windy.  On Saturday about 4 p.m., in blew a horrible storm. The sky turned black, with north winds whipping thru at hurricane force, with trees bent over and heavy rain going sideways.  The dogs and I were tucked into the camper, and within 30 minutes of Audrey leaving the awning envelope was flapping and banging hard and relentlessly against the roof, the canvas walls were bowing in about 15".  Afraid my camper was going to blow over or the telescoping uprights that hold up the roof would snap, I made a command decision that it was better to be wet than crushed or broken, so I cleared the middle area, unzipped the clear vinyl window coverings on either side, draped them down over the couch cushions, and let the wind and rain blow right thru the camper.  I also unzipped the side windows a crack to let some air thru. This relieved enough pressure on the canvas walls, and they held.  We all sat out of the way, dry, on one bed, with all our belongings stacked on the other bed, for about 40 minutes, watching the water pour off the vinyl onto the floor.  Afterwards, I dried everything off with a beach towel, then swept about an inch of water out the door.  I don't know if Fleetwood designed this intentionally, but it was neat that the side windows had a rain flap, and the main window vinyl unfurls down when unzipped so it covered the couch cushions, which stayed mostly dry.  No damage was done, and the floor needed a good mopping anyway!

RV'ers Social: By 5:30, still raining on and off, about 30 RV'ers filtered into the concessions area of the arena and outdid themselves with a huge spread of food.  Each brought a dish, from home-made boar sausage, to shrimp scampi, rasberry salad, merlerton pie, and lots of desserts.  Judge Gerald Marotta attended. The boudin balls I brought from the King's Truck Plaze in Iowa were appreciated.  Tall agility tales were flying around, laughter abounded, I got acquainted with a few more folks.  Very colorful folks. So much talk, I didn't get to tell my harrowing tale about surviving the storm.

My new video camera rocks.  I was able to get vivid pictures, clear videos, and I can't wait to post a composite of all the closeup videos I took of Time2Beat dogs going thru the weaves. I hope to do that later this week, but with our mailbox down, a friend's funeral, weeding and decorating for Christmas needing doing, and this new laptop I'm still getting used to, it may be awhile.

My new laptop ROCKS! I was able to watch HD quality DVD movies Friday and Saturday night while tucked in the camper. Saw the first 2 seasons of Dallas!  Picture quality was great!  The built in speakers are adequate. I can import videos from my camera using Windows Live Photo Gallery, bypassing Sony's Picture Motion Browser, which I despise. 

RAFFLE: I managed to win 2 raffle items again. Paid $10 for 12 tickets, same as usual, and I'm guessing I came home with over $100 worth of loot.  What fun!

1. 

   

   Huge basket was full of LSU paraphranalia,
   including a few more items not shown.

   First, a huge basket full of LSU paraphranalia. I only put 2 tickets in the LSU drawing bag, and only because I liked the blue basket (matches my kitchen decor) for picking garden vegetables, and because Audrey called my attention to the potential Christmas gifts I could give my LSU-loving friends. I find it odd that I start liking football only 2 weeks ago, and the Universe immediately presents me with a huge LSU Flag, mug, dog collar, bracelet, blanket, back scratcher, piggy bank, LSU dog sweater that fits Willow perfectly, and other assorted LSU paraphranalia. That's how it works when one opens doors, (according to various scriptures, as well as my own pagan experience).
2. 
   I also scored 4 christmas hot chocolate mugs we'll surely use, with a Christmas vinyl tablecloth and rawhide chew wreath.  

I was actually not the last person to leave the campgrounds this time. Having figured how to shave off about 45 minutes and several buckets of sweat to camper set-up and take-down. Mostly, I store the shelving boards out on the floor instead of tucking them under the mattresses, I store the awning poles outside under the tongue end rather than the back end of the trailer (saving many steps), and I don't put out any decorative items. Also, by parking the camper with the door facing north, the sun hits the south side of the camper and gives afternoon shade where the table is -- so I don't need to put up the awning for shade purposes (in winter) -- a huge time savings.

Interstate Nightmare: The drive home was strange and stressful!  I left Lake Charkes at 2:30 Sunday with half a tank of gas, expecting a 2.5 hour, 140 mile drive, and didn't get home til 5 hours later, 7:30, because traffic on the interstate came to an idling standstill for 2.5 hours.  There was no news on the radio, so I called John and he couldn't find anything either.  I was watching my gas needle go down and had no idea where I was or where the nearest gas station was, so I eventually called 911 with my mile marker, and she said the Tiger Truck Stop was 2 miles ahead.  I reached it about 20 minutes later with less than half-a-gallon left in my tank - 9 miles worth.  It took another 15 minutes to pull up to the pump because the place was jam packed with people pulling off for gas, bathroom, food, and nobody was directing traffic.  The clerk said they had to call in another gas truck.  Oh, did I mention it was cold, windy, and drizzling? We found out that a cucumber truck had overturned at the Gross Tete exit at 10 a.m. and they expected it to take until 8 p.m. to get the interstate cleared.  I managed to park us in a safe spot, pottie the dogs in a grassy area, and prepared to stay put several hours if necessary.  About 6, though, I could see traffic moving on the overpass, got going, and made it home slowly but without further incident.  We had gas, plus a dry spot, food, water, money, my cell phone, nearby bathrooms, and each other, so I was calm.  The dogs mostly slept thru it all.

I always have done pretty well in a crisis.  I get practical. It was real funny watching numerous men jump out of their idling cars on the interstate, run across 40 yards of ditch, in the dark, to the woods, to pee.  Don't know what I would have done if I had had to pee. Certainly not cross a dark ditch! Probably just maneuver to the left lane, open both car doors on the drivers side, hold up a towel or sweater between them, squat, and pee on the road.

Motor Home Fever:  Of course, all those hours on the interstate and I'm thinking how I have to set the camper up to dry out the next day and what a pain that will be.   And all that while, in the next lane over, I'm idling alongside this beautiful BTCruizer motor home.  It looked small, about 24', with only 1 slideout, and seemed to be saying "Check me out! I'm perfect for you."  I called John and had him Google it, he printed out several sheets, and I Googled it the next day but we couldn't find one smaller than 27' with less than 2 slideouts or under $40,000.  I'm sure this one was shorter.  I'm now following a few E-bay bids.  Yes, okay, hell yes, I still want a motor home.  I can't see me setting up this camper when I'm 70, but I intend to do agility til I'm at least 75.  I want to stay packed and ready.

"The right motor home, at the right price, is on its way to me."

This basket is 15" across,
these grapefruits are 4" across,
a lot bigger than they look in this photo.

Monday evening John heard it was supposed to freeze overnight, so we picked about half the grapefruits (40) off our tree.  My new blue basket came in real handy!  John will take some to work, I'll take some to class and some to neighbors, and we'll be eating a grapefruit a day all thru December.  Mostly, I peel them like an orange, divide into segments, then peel back the thin bitter membrane on either side of each segment to get to the juicy pulp. Monday night got out the electric juicer and tried guessing how much juice was in one of the large ones, John saying 6 oz and me saying 5 oz.  He won.  Mixed half-n-half with Sprite, it makes a sweet dinner drink. Yum, yum!

LESSONS LEARNED:

• Always gas up on the way there AND on the way back to any trial.  You never know when you'll get stuck idling on the interstate for half-a-tank's worth of going nowhere.
• Pee before you leave, and every time you stop.
• Have your car stocked with food and drink.
• Don't bring the camper to Lake Charles ever again!  As someone said last year, you can always count on it being "cold, wet and windy in Lake Charles" in November.
• Camping experience matters.
• Backup Accommodations: The LaQuinta Inn in Sulphur had my reservation, and allowed me to cancel by 6 p.m. on arrival day.  The cost was about $50/night. Red Roof Inn offered some kind of 24 hour special that was about the same price.
• Practice positioning and re-positioning my dogs at the start line. 

Now, with the weather cold and me staying in, I'm on to fooling with the 1st trial videos taken with my new camera.  I'm thinking of putting all of Maxie's videos together into 1 video per trial, with my audio commentary.  Same with Lucky.  Maybe a slow motion evaluation of good and bad points. We'll see how long it takes me to learn how to do that.

Upwards and onward!

Canine Good Citizen Test thru AKC

Jo Beth Britt (Evaluator), Lucky and me.
She congratulates me for passing the test.

Lucky and I passed our Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Test two Saturdays back, plus our TDI (Therapy Dog International), which adds another component to the test.  Several of our club members' dogs were being tested, I videoed them all with permission using my brand new HD camera, and used a trial version of AVS Video Editor to edit the best one below (of Blair and Torren) to illustrate the disciplines tested for:

1. Accepting a friendly stranger
2. Sitting politely for petting (including the paw touch)
3. Appearance and grooming (including brushing)
   (These 1st 3 are combined in what looks like one exercise.)
4. Out for a walk on a loose leash (left turn, right turn, about face)
5. Walk thru a noisy crowd
6. Sit and down on command/Stay in place
7. Come when called
8. Reaction to another dog test (should be no reaction)
9. Reaction to distraction (loud noise and jogger going by)
10. Leave it (TDI only)
11. Supervised separation from handler (3 minutes)

It was nice weather, cool. windy and sometimes noisy at the Blue Cross/Blue Shield parking lot.  Not everyone passed.  It's a wee bit more difficult than it looks.  Lucky and I had a few bobbles, like her collar being too tight, her trying to visit with the other dog in "Reaction to another dog", and veering toward the food bowl on the first pass, but I got blamed for those, not her. I had over-tightened her collar for the test, I forgot to say "Sit" as we approached the other dog, and passed within 2' of the bowl instead of 3'. We nailed it the 2nd try. 

A few additional points:

• Dogs need to be clean, nails clipped, well groomed.
• Handler is also being evaluated. Should be neat and clean, calm and pleasant, attentive to and obey the judge immediately, no smart talk, harsh talk or goofy behavior.
• No treats allowed during testing.
• You can talk to your dog all you want.
• You can touch/pet your dog.
• No corrections such as snapping the leash, saying "NO" or AAAH, or anything like that. Certainly no whacking, bopping, or yelling.
• Loose leash at all times.
• Dog should be paying attention to you, following you.
• No jumping up on people, even in greeting.
• No visiting with other dogs.
• Evaluator observes dog's behavior the entire time they are on premises, not just when they are being tested.  Lunging, growling, fighting, whining, jumping up on people, being highly distracted at any time can disqualify them.
• Dog's collar should be loose enough for a collar grab (2 finger space at least).
• The title covers both dog and handler, and if a different handler wants to take a CGC certified dog to pet therapy venues, a separate title must be earned.

CGC can be added to the dog's official AKC name along with their other AKC titles, so Lucky's official name now is:

LUCKY LUCY LU-LU VON FRY, AX, AXJ, CGC

Nothing is added to the handler's name.  I'm still just Michele T. Fry, NP

Our club provides 6 weeks of "training to the test" prior to the judge arriving, and while it isn't required, the class really helps.  One learns a bunch of tricks to help your dog pass.  Lucky, for example, often growls if you touch her paws.  But she will shake with anyone.  Tracey coached me to say "Shake" at the same moment the judge was about to take her paw.  It worked.  Forewarned, she didn't growl.

The class was open to the public, $25, all of which applies to the cost of the test if you take it, plus an $8 processing fee to AKC to be sent in with the paperwork.

THOUGHTS:  I may never do Pet Therapy with Lucky, but I want her to have the title and know the drill.  She and Maxie are both comfortable in crowds, and both have a very good "leave it" when I set food on the coffee table -- unlike my older dogs FoohFooh and Willow who rush at oncoming dogs on our walks, can't resist any available food, and make pests of themselves with begging.  A few sessions of early obedience training has made all the difference with my younger dogs.  They are beneficiaries of going to school and my improved dog training skills.

Upwards and onward!

P.S. Maxie earned his CGC/TDI back in 2009 and has made quite a few Pet Therapy visits. Willow, who could NEVER pass the test because she won't sit/stay or walk on a loose leash, accompanies us and is a wonderful Pet Therapy dog as well. Everyone loves her, she is soft, pettable, and friendly, and our club's Pet Therapy program allows non-certified dogs to participate.  So why did I bother getting Lucky certified?  Because it's good training, very cheap, so why not get a certificate along with it!

We Identify Lucky's Breed!

Eurika!  After 2 years of speculating, we finally identified Lucky Lucy's breed!  I can't explain why this is so exciting, to know your dog is something more than just a "mixed breed dog".  She is, in fact, 100% or very close to 100%, a

SOUTHERN BLACK MOUTH CUR (BMC)

A male version of Lucky

Yep, and the breed is recognized by United Kennel Club, National Kennel Club, Continental Kennel Club, and several others, not yet including the AKC, where she is not even listed in their Foundation Stock.  Here's a web page full of supposedly Blackmouth Cur photos, and while Lucky's ears don't droop as much as some, and she's more lanky than others, some have longer, narrower snouts, and they come in different colors than her "red", but for the most part she fits the profile.  In fact, this Dog MaMa thinks my dog is just a tad more beautiful than the majority of these other curs precisely because her ears are more perky, her body type more square than long, and her snout less tapered, and she's a solid color.  There are quite a few pictured that look pretty much like her, like this photo (left).

They say the black mouth doesn't refer to the black mask, but to the black pigmented lips and inner mouth.  Some BMC's don't have black on their faces. Well shuckins, why don't the breeders select for that distinctive black mask and develop a specific breed that looks exactly like Lucky?  Everyone think's she's gorgeous.

Lucky's long legs, sitting beside Maxie on our
backyard A-frame, checking out the birds.

Many have speculated that Lucky is part Pit Bull, part Rhodesian Ridgeback, part Boxer, part this, part that -- like all dogs are mixes of other dogs, but now we KNOW she's also an established breed with established traits: a sheep and cattle herding dog, a boar/bear/raccoon hunting dog that fearlessly and relentlessly attacks and kills medium size game, a useful tracking dog, gentle and fiercely loyal to humans, good guard dog, needs daily exercise and a firm handler, is very biddable, lives 12-16 years on average, few health problems, medium size (40-60 lbs), requires no grooming and little bathing (natural oils protect coat and skin), bays and yodels (I've heard her do that a time or two, including when she dreams), can climb trees, and is a jumping fool.  She fits into the Herding class, the Tracking class, and the Hunting class.  The breed is known for excellent eyesight, which she also has.  Here's a writeup on her traits from the American Blackmouth Cur Association.  She fits this perfectly.

Lucky's very distinctive spike.

They didn't mention BMC's having a spike on their heads, which Lucky has.  I haven't run across ANY breed that has a spike, only the Rhodesian which has the reverse flow of hair on the ridge along their backbone, and she has the Rhodesian's somewhat lanky legs and gambling gate as well.  So maybe there's a spot of Rhodesian somewhere in her lineage.

They didn't mention BMC's being expert armadillo killers, either, which she certainly is, having killed several who dared to nest under our house.  But they did say BMC's are popular in Texas, and from reading the book Texas, I know the settlers there had a terrible armadillo problem and her skills would have been noticed and widely prized.

The "southern" aspect comes from the short single layer coat, medium size, and long legs suited to running on flatter terrain, supposedly originating in either Tennessee or Mississippi.  "Northern" curs evolved or were bred to have thicker, longer coats to protect them from the cold, stocker bodies for hunting larger prey (like bears) and thicker bones and bigger feet to handle the mountainous terrain, the most famous example being Old Yeller from the Walt Disney movie.  I well remember loving that movie and that dog.

Lucky at 1 year old, 40 lbs.

Cur has come to mean "mutt" or "mix" from the British royalty's attempt to distinguish their fancy bred pets and sporting dogs from the working farm dog.  But that was not the word's original meaning.  Leave it to the Brits to be uppity!  I can't tell you how many people I've run across that have told me "If Lucky isn't a breed, she should be."  She is so lithe, solid, sure footed, smart, loyal.  It's beautiful to watch her move.  The BMC is a hound that has been selectively bred, just like other cur breeds - Bluetick, Catahoula, etc.  They are all "working dogs" -- used for herding, hunting, protection.

BMC Folk Art Dog

Here are a few websites of BMC breeders, with more photos:

http://www.bmcsouth.com/index.html

http://www.bayheadcutvest.com/ourdogs.htm
http://www.blackmouthcur.com/borne_in_the_bone_kennel.htm
http://kdsblackmouthcurs.com/about_us


These breeders need to get on the ball and get the BMC listed in the AKC's Foundation Stock, Miscellaneous Class, which is the first step towards getting a breed recognized by AKC.

And, in keeping with the Papillon Paraphranalia I love to collect, there seems to be a bit of BMC Paraphranalia out there as well.  Here's what I've seen so far:



So, now that I know who/what she is, will I be taking a new training tack, involving Lucky in herding, tracking and lure coursing?  We barely have our feet wet in agility and barely enough time for that.  Lure coursing, is not much of a challenge for me in that it doesn't require much of the handler -- just set her there and turn her loose.  The tracking book I bought once turned me off immediately, saying one has to lay track EVERY DAY to properly train a tracking dog.  I can't make that commitment (but some of my tracking friends say they just do it spring and fall, and not every day, and still get titles). And I don't know any cattle farmers.  So now, what shall I do with her?  I must admit, it's exciting when Lucky  takes off after a lure or bosses some goats around.  But can she compete and get these titles with AKC, enrolled only as a "mixed breed"? I'll have to check that out.

In a few hours we go for our CGC test.  I'll report on that later.

Upwards and onward!

Weave Pole Performance

Studying the still shots taken by professional photographer Michael Loftis from last weekend's trial in Kiln, MS, I've discovered that many dogs have inconsistent stride thru the weaves.  Since the poles are all spaced at 24", you would think over time an experienced dog would establish a stride and maintain it.  But the photos indicate otherwise. 

Here are a group of thumbnails of my own Lucky Lucy, posted with Michael's permission, to illustrate my points.  Lucky is a fairly green dog  who just earned her AX and AXJ titles from AKC in 7.5 months, who can two-step the weaves beautifully in practice but at trials generally slows down to a walk.  Below, she is running, doing a single pass with 3 different ways of maneuvering, all caught by Michael's camera:

Here's a few more dogs with inconsistent stride in a single pass:

Obviously, dogs that can't maintain a consistent stride are slowed down, must often get confused, give up trying to re-balance, pop out, etc.

Now here are 4 shots from a single pass thru those same weaves by my little Papillon, Maxie, who, when he runs instead of walks the weaves, has very consistent "two step" weave pole performance with a "single bounce" stride that is very fast.

On the last photo, it's clear that Maxie completes each pole in a single stride by extending his body.  With these photos confirming his consistency (same degree of lean, same head and tail position, same gaze forward, same shoulder distance from the poles, front feet landing right the same distance back from the pole, outside foot landing first), I now wonder if what makes him walk the weaves sometimes is when he doesn't hit the entry just right and can't hit a consistent stride, and if that's true, how do I train his entry to be at an exact spot?

Here are more examples of the "two-step" stride with different size dogs. Notice their back feet are close together and pushing off simultaneously.

Here are a some examples of dogs using their inside leg to lead in, pushing off with their outside leg, which sometimes (not always) resulting in the coveted behavior known as "one-stepping the weaves":

And shots of dogs using their outside leg to lead in, which has to slow them down and sometimes trip them up as they struggle to cross the new outside leg back in (last photo):

A few trials back, I attempted to video the back ends of a few dogs going thru the weaves, to find out how the back feet are moving.  Viewing each run in slo-mo (50%), turned out the back feet push off mostly simultaneously then hop into the space right behind where the front feet were, even while the front feet are varying as described above.  All the dogs take each pole in a single stride. The larger dogs have to "collect" and land their rear feet farther away from the line of poles, the smaller dogs have to "extend" and work closer to the line of poles to cover the distance. One dog, running with the lady in pink, was "one stepping" on one side of the weaves, and "two stepping" on the other side and mixing up leads, but the back feet were doing just about the same thing all the time.  Watch for that:

(Correction: dogs tend to take each weave in 1 stride, not 2 as stated in the video.)

As to training stride, my hunch now is this: I think we rush to closed weaves.  If we open the channels a bit then give our dogs a lot more time to figure out and develop the muscle memory of a consistent stride, they will eventually be able to do fast and reliable closed weaves.  Problem with that, our club has no 24" channel weaves.  I'll have to use my stick in the ground poles at home, but straight weaves at class.

We should also spend a lot more time doing "around the clock" weave pole entries.

Anyone with other weave stride training suggestions, ideas or comments, please feel free to share.

Upwards and onward!

Kiln Agility Trial - Swamp Dog Agility Club

Maxie:  6 runs, 2Q's, 2 1st places, MX TITLE, 38 MACH Points - Videos posted
Lucky Lucy: 6 runs, 2Q's, 1 1st place, AXJ TITLE, 1 MACH Point (our first) - Videos posted
Judge:  Scott W. Stock

Diorama made by some Swamp Dog members,
an agility course with a Halloween theme. 
It was widely admired and created a festive atmosphere.

All of our 2011 goals have now been met, excepting the 6th QQ for Maxie and 400 MACH points by November 1st.  It's been a long row to hoe, with a much poorer Q'ing rate this year (about 33%) compared to last year's 66%.  Some of that is running 2 dogs at different heights, and on different courses while bringing Lucky up through Novice.  Obviously, the split focus didn't help my performance.  With both Maxie and Lucky in Excellent this weekend, I had no trouble memorizing 2 courses per day, and didn't have any personal off courses.  Maxie's MACH points after this weekend tally 305, but we would have 363 if AKC hadn't changed the rules in June, no longer giving double points for 1st place. Only 37 points off my goal (on the original system).  Close, very close.

We would have had that 6th QQ this past Sunday had I not pushed Maxie off the second to last jump.  But even if I hadn't, he ran out the gate and got eliminated.  Now we must go to Lake Charles trial over Thanksgiving, or give up the goal.

Maxie runs like the wind.

Maxie's speed was incredible all weekend (always among the top 3 in time even when eliminated), and mine was improved some as well.  The mini-running drills I've been putting myself through seem to be paying off, though the progress would be hard for anyone else to notice. Here's a thumbnail of a photo I'm purchasing, and a video of Maxie's MX TITLE RUN, where he was 1st place, 23 seconds under course time, and 9 seconds faster than the 2nd place dog.  I was so afraid he'd take the tunnel instead of the dog walk and the A-frame instead of curving to the jump, I was calling him harder than usual.  Next year I hope to replace my yelling with more confidence in our teamwork.

Lucky leading with the
wrong foot.

Lucky's speed was improved as well -- she NEVER ONCE exceeded course time!  And on her title run, she was 9 seconds UNDER course time, and was listed as 'HIGH IN CLASS", whatever that is.  Also, she never missed her weaves, though she walked them 4 out of 6 times.

Looking at the Michael Loftis professional photos, he caught a strange thing.  It looks like Lucky sometimes steps thru the weaves with her outside foot leading in, which I've never noticed before, and which would certainly slow her down.  I'll research that further real soon by studying her photos and re-watching her videos in slow-mo, and in any case will retrain the weaves this winter by opening the channel a bit.  (See next post on Weave Pole Performance).

KT Tape on my calf.

The KT Sports Tape I wore on my calf worked miracles.  I had no muscle problems whatever.  I got home and took the tape off (it lasted 4 days with no problem), and today the calf has twinges again!  I am totally baffled how this stuff works as there is no stretching when applying and it isn't medicated, but all the top athletes wear it over sprains and torn ligaments, so it must be doing something!  I also sat on one of my new instant ice packs for about 30 minutes on Saturday to soothe my aching sciatic nerve.  It stayed very cold for 30 minutes, and the sciatic never bothered me again.

It was a 3 day trial, with a match on Thursday.  I brought my pop-up, so we were on-site for 4 days.  40's at night but we were cozy inside.  I decided to run Lucky once in the match, the last dog on Thursday evening, around 6:45 p.m.  A great decision, it turned out.  It was quiet in the arena.  We had the place almost to ourselves.  We ran around helter-skelter with her tug toy in my hand, I threw it several times after she did fast weaves or contact equipment, and she ran her heart out and had an obvious blast.  They let us play longer than 2 minutes.  We both loved the spontaneity, not following course numbers.  Then during the trial, before and after each run, I bribed her with steamed shrimp, which I discovered motivates her more than the usual hot dogs and string cheese.  She is a shrimp fiend.  I show her I'm putting one in my mouth just before we enter the ring.  She thinks it's there during the run but of course I've swallowed it (no treats allowed in the ring).  I have another one stored just outside the ring and immediately after the run I fetch her tug toy, tug a bit, then toss her the other shrimp which I've slipped into my mouth.  The same for Maxie, minus the tugging.  I think I've got them both fooled for now.  They both ran faster than ever before.

This was a really good crate space, near everything.
It was breezy and chilly in the mornings,
so I covered my crates with the blue sheet
seen here.

Swamp Dog trials are always fun.  They are run efficiently, the club members seem to really like each other and work well together, the atmosphere is festive, everyone is friendly, competitors are personally invited to help and thanked profusely, they call you by name and praise your dog, the food is plentiful and delicious, and the placement and titling rosettes are nice.  They let me wait until all my runs were done for the day, then I helped with the novice and open classes and tearing down the rings after the last dog has run.  My red wagon came in handy moving those heavy sandbags.  I love my ringside crate space, close to everything.

Coolaroo bed, just Lucky's size

Swamp Dog's raffle had awesome items. To my surprise, I won 2 prizes-- a large Coolaroo raised dog bed stretched on metal legs selling on Amazon for $30, and a bleacher seat, both exactly the kind I've been wanting to get.  I bought 14 tickets for $10, mostly just to support the club, so winning $50 worth of loot was a totally unexpected bonus.  I rarely win anything in the raffles, and as my crate space was right next to the raffle table, I watched many people plunk down $20 and $40 -- a lot more than I did.

The bleacher seat has no brand name showing, but it's the identical one I bought at Wal-Mart last year for $18, then went back for another one for John and they were out.  It's wide, light, has great cushioning and support, arm rests, clips firmly to the bleacher, lots of storage pockets both front and back, and stores really flat.  It's the best one I've ever sat in.

Pumpkin Carving with Swamp Dog RV'ers.  I did a witch flying
over a jump, held up by 2 ghosts.

The Swamp Dog RV'ers outdid themselves with a Halloween pumpkin carving party on Friday night, and a birthday cake and outdoor gumbo dinner for the judge on Saturday night.

Judge Scott Stock was very engaging, and regaled us with stories of football, his travels, and other trials.  He said we had "the slowest dogs and the worst Q'ing rate he's ever seen, but we were more fun to be with."  He said up north he can attend 35 trials a year without ever driving more than an hour from home.  He said those Yankees take their agility seriously and get agitated quickly with anything they don't like.  His courses were interesting, challenging but not impossible, he judged fairly and cheerfully, and he watched each and every dog intently.  During the breaks he pumped disco music into the arena.  Everyone was dancing around to Thriller and such. That was a first for us, but he says he's not the only judge who does this.  During Sunday's Excellent briefing he told how last year at a Halloween trial he came "costumed" as AKC Judge Scott Chamberlain -- white pants and jacket, white shoes, blue tie!  We had the impecably dressed Judge Chamberlain at a Kiln trial earlier this year so we knew what he was talking about! Everyone roared with laughter.

I'm still streamlining my camper set up and take down routines, eliminating, adding or changing items for efficiency and comfort.  Every movement counts. I'm getting better at it.  Still, it takes me two hours to set up, and I was by far the last one to leave even though I started packing up in the early morning and more between runs.  Sharon Mc stayed in the park until I pulled out, which I really appreciated.

The excitement is hard to explain, since a run
lasts less than a minute
John took this i-photo of Lucky and me at a trial, rare
since I'm almost never in a photo.

After all that comradery, excitement and hard work, coming home was a let-down.  Two hours behind the wheel and I was stiff as a board and really tired.  There were no bands playing, no champagne, no dinner prepared, no cake to celebrate our titles.  The house was dark, nobody came to greet me at the door, and the porch light wasn't even on.  When my husband finally heard the dogs barking and roused from his TV chair, his first comment was about a new TV series he's watching.  This totally burst my bubble and led to a less than stellar evening.  After helping me unpack and set up the new doggie bed, John resumed his TV viewing while I disappeared into a hot bath with a stiff drink, gave Willow a shampoo and blow dry, ate my boiled crabs, and slunk off to sleep in the guest room.  Amazingly, I slept like a baby, and had sweet dreams.

Now I've got to figure out how to photograph Maxie with all his ribbons thru MX and MXJ titles, and Lucky with her AX and AXJ's.  I've got a box full of them for each dog, all in a jumble, which need sorting out and displaying somehow.

And I've got to decide whether to sign up for more trials this year, or just concentrate on training "back to basics" skills 'til January.  If all that counts now are QQ's for Maxie to reach MACH status next year, and Lucky has to run faster to attain Masters titles next year, we'll have to improve our speed and accuracy considerably.  On the other hand, with 15 more QQ's to acquire Maxie's MACH status by the end of 2012 (is that a realistic goal?????????), maybe I'd better get started as soon as possible.  We only got 5 QQ's this year!  But most of the misses were near misses (only one teensy weensy mistake), so we almost QQ'd several times.

Today I tallied all our runs to date on that Competition Records Sheet I designed earlier this year in Excel, and here's the summary:

Maxie: 82 runs in 17.5 months, 15 trials, 40 Q's, 35 placements (23 1st, 5 2nd, 4 3rd, 3 4th), MXJ Title, MX Title, 5 QQ, 305 MACH Points
Lucky: 46 runs in 7.5 months, 8 trials, 22 Q's, 17 placements (9 1st, 6 2nd, 2 3rd), AX Title, AXJ Title, 1 MACH point
Michele:  128 runs, 62 Q's (not quite 50%, but this is misleading because there were about 66% Q's in Novice, Open, and Excellent A for Maxie).  Our Excellent B performance has been about 33%.

Our dog club is revising its Constitution and By-laws, in particular the membership requirements (I was on the Constitutional Revision Committee earlier this year).  Tonight it's being put before the membership for discussion, so I've been reviewing the document.  Not as fun as running dogs, but we must make progress, and updated governing documents are an important part of our 48 year old club's ability to grow and thrive.

Upwards and onward!

Cross Country Races - Part II

A few weekends back I attended my first cross country race, and the very next weekend, I attended my second one, where my grandson was running again -- their last Baton Rouge race.  I brought my sister-in-law Audrey, and Lucky Lucy this time, and met up again with Nathan and Allison.  John, of course, was at work. Knowing more what to anticipate, I captured new and different aspects of the races on video, and succeeded in tracking Jonathan's run much better.  For example, I caught the first 50 or so kids crossing the finish line, including Jonathan coming in at 30 (out of 300), several of his team-mates likewise finishing in the top 30, then the runners being funneled into a cool-down chute and into a tent where they turned in their numbers.  Their tags were stacked in order, and that's how they knew each kid's placement!  No electronic eyes here!  Here's video snippets highlighting all that:

The kids ran a bit slower this weekend and were more exhausted at the end.  Nathan surmised it was because the air quality was worse than last weekend.  It was also not quite as cool.  But the turnout seemed even larger, and all had a "camptown races, doo dah" feel.

L to R:  Michele, Audrey, Nathan, Philippe (Jonathan's
school friend), Jonathan, Allison

We enjoyed hanging out as a family for a change, each of us too busy doing our own things most of the time. Nathan discussed his early running training (which I don't even remember being as how it happened mostly at school and I don't have any pictures) -- how the movement of the legs is dependant upon the way the arms swing!   I found that interesting!  I also enjoyed watching the boys warming up with their coaches, though I didn't get a video of that.  I meant to.

Nathan demoing "deep breathing"
L to R:  Michele, Nathan, Phillippe, Jonathan, Allison

Nathan also gave a demo on deep breathing, which Jonathan and his friend Phillippe tried.  It was entertaining, and Audrey caught this photo of my "ripped" grandson.  Where is my baby boy?  I'm glad he's in a good high school where his energies are channeled into constructive activities and self-improvement.

I found out Nathan is running 5 miles around University Lakes a few times a week these days.  Seems our end of the family is getting more into fitness now, lagging far behind my nieces and nephews (David's kids) who have been doing triathalons, karate, soccer, and lifting weights for years.



Lucky attracts admirers of all ages.

Lucky was a kid magnet, of course.  Kids and grownups came by to pet her, and at one point I put her thru some obedience paces -- heeling off leash, figure 8's, sit/stay/come from about 30' away, finish, and line up between my legs.  Nothing spectacular, except curious onlookers remarked that their dogs could never do that.  (Well, if they'd take them to a few obedience classes, they probably could!)  What I found spectacular was that despite crowds of people milling about close by us and even crossing our path, Lucky was totally calm and "all eyes on me".  I was a very proud mama!

Last weekend was the agility seminar. Tonight I teach class. Tomorrow I leave for the

Kiln trial, so today I'm packing, packing, packing.  Weekend after that, Lucky's CGC test.  Doggie stuff is increasingly taking over my life . . . . . . . my yard, my garden and my house might not agree with me, but . . . . . it's a good thing.

Upwards and onward!

Agility Seminar with Brittany Schaezler

Saturday morning introductions.
That's Lucky and me, bottom right.

I spent last weekend at our club's annual agility seminar, held at our field.  COST:  $100/day for a working spot, $30 to audit, including lunch at Don's.  Dr. Brittany Schaezler, a veteranarian out of Houston, TX who used to belong to our club while in vet school at LSU, was our instructor.  Post-trial, she has graciously reviewed, clairified and even extended my seminar notes below.

Brittany has tried out for World Team 3 times with her sheltie, Trip.  She also runs Ticket, another sheltie.  She follows Susan Garret and uses Greg Derrett's handling methods, summarized as follows:

• Each handling cue means one thing only - very precise.
• Body language trumps verbal commands any time.
• A change of arms always means a change of direction.
• Never let D cross over behind you.

Brittany uses minimal verbal commands (weave, A-frame, tunnel, chute, walk it, spot-- as needed), running courses largely on body language alone.  She never uses "left, right, out, around, over", uses "here" only in a tight spot, and does not give a verbal command for each jump. She just points with arms and shoulders.  She doesn't speak while D is going thru the weaves. She says dogs don't read your feet as much as your body.  Ds tend to run a straight line and take what's in front of them unless you signal a turn with arm and shoulder turns, or decellerate, and trains her dogs to recognize each body movement as a specific command.

SATURDAY: (Novice)

Race To Reward* (get D to focus away from you without head checks): 

• Place reward on ground.  Sit D a few feet away.  Release.  Run to meet them.  Increase distance.  Interject 1 low jump, a straight tunnel. 
• Hold collar, throw toy.  Release.  Run forward with D. Tug.  Increase distance.

*From Agility Right From The Start, by Eva Bertilsson and Emelie Johnson Vegh.  I watched the video, read the first chapter online, then bought the book.  It sounds good, breaking every skill down into easy to accomplish parts, ending every session with success, building handler skills FIRST, not focusing so much on sequences as on independant, enthusiastic performance of small tasks, always having fun! I feel I have trained my dogs all wrong, and their enthusiasm for agility suffers for it.  I have to mend my training (and teaching) ways immediately, including no more trials (after next weekend), until my dogs are eager to run courses with me.

Accelleration/Decelleration: Saturday morning was devoted to accelleration and decelleration.  It was supposed to be a day for novice dogs, but most enrollees were our club's most advanced trainers.  Border collies especially need to decelerate, dogs like Lucky need accelleration.



Decel Flatwork:

1. Stand ahead of D.  Call.  D decels as they approach your side. Reward.  Increase distance. Reward the decel.

Accel Flatwork:

1. Stand ahead of D.  Call. Throw toy ahead.  D leaves you, accellerating to toy.  Meet D and tug.
2. Same, but move forward as D passes you, meeting up at the toy. Tug

RULES: To Q accel, run to landing side of jump; to Q decel, run to the take off side of jump. To teach decel, start with 2 jumps, and stop when they commit to jump 2. When they wrap, treat.



Helper shakes toy as D approaches.

The course set up was a U shape: 3 winged jumps to a curved tunnel/3 winged jumps back, bars on the ground.  Can ask D to decellerate, wrap, etc., at any point. Don't need D to jump full height, just run between posts is fine. Cue decelleration by slowing down, stopping forward motion, even stepping backwards, and not moving past the wing of the jump.

Build accelleration by the promise of a great reward at the end (treat, tug, fetch), and passing the wing.  Never slack up on giving out rewards. If you don't have a training partner, place toy or treat beyond the last obstacle where D can see it or knows it's there.



Brittany says most dogs don't inherently "love" agility.  We have to transfer value to the obstacles with massive amounts of treats (food, toys, praise, play).  They will do what we want, to get what they want.  Eventually, most dogs will start to associate the VALUE of the reward to agility. 

Lucky exhibits stress going into the tunnel.  Needs lots of tunnel work. Brittany has seen videos of her going fast after the lure, and in the jump chute.  Says Lucky is no doubt stressed at trials, as many dogs are.  She says "never pass up an opportunity to attend a match".  In Houston, there are 6-8 matches per year, and she goes to all of them to build value for running courses.

Brittany and ?, training the "one rear toe on"
contact behavior.

Contacts:  2-on-2-off is falling out of favor on the A-frame.  Very bad for the dog's shoulders.  Brittany's preferred method is 1RTO (developed by Linda Mecklenburg)  "one rear toe on" about 1" up on dog walk, running contacts on A-frame using "jump bumps" to train it (see below), and 4-on on the seesaw for dogs under 20 lbs..

1RTO places emphasis on the dog's back legs rather than "sticking" the front legs. The way to train "1RTO" is with a 5' long x 12" wide rough-surfaced board, treats and a clicker.  Progression is:

• Click/treat for any interaction with the board.  Off, or throw a treat back off the board to reset the Off position.
• Click/treat for 4 feet on the board. Off
• Click/treat for only 2 back feet touching.  Off
• Click/treat for only 2 back feet touching at the end of the board.  Off
• Click/treat for only 1 back foot touching.  Off
• Click/treat for only 1 back foot touching at the end of the board.

Eventually, D might come off the board, then reach one back foot to touch the board, or even back up to touch the board.  This could result in a fault (wrong course), as D can't re-enter an obstacle, so be careful here.  Then begin to play the back foot touching game at the base of the dog walk, then the A-frame.

See-saw for small dogs should be 4-on at the end, and wait for touchdown before releasing.  Large dogs can leave the board just before it touches because their weight will push the board down before their back feet loose contact.

Here, Chance takes down side in 2 strides,
ensuring one stride hits in the yellow.

A-Frame Stride Regulators (Jump Bumps):  D (any size) should take the A-frame 2 strides up, 2 strides down, without touching the apex.  D will naturally learn to do this if you place jump bumps on the down side, one covering the top slat, another over the lowest blue slat.  For speed, place a target for D to drive to, several feet out. This training ensures they will ALWAYS hit the lower contact, which makes the running contact possible.  NOTE: May have to adjust slat positioning slightly.  Best to video your D to figure this out.  Jump bumps should remain on the A-frame forever, except at trials.  Start with the A-frame at about 3' high.  Progress in 2" increments to full height.  Height is less important than stride.  You train this to muscle memory.

Can make jump bumps out of 4" PVC, cut in half, 3.5' long, with a hole drilled near the bottom of each end for a bungee cord to wrap under A-frame and hold jump bump securely. Paint to match A-frame paint, but at first use white or reverse colors so D can see bumps more easily.

Start having D run over jump bumps placed on ground, then between jump posts, then add to A-frame, indicating you expect D to jump over them.

You can also add a jump bump on the up side, covering the top slat, or right over the apex, to encourage leaping over the apex, especially with small dogs.  Maxie had no problem taking the down side in 2 strides, even though his normal running stride is only 3.5 feet and the a-frame is 9'.  Go figure.

You can also make jump bumps out of pool noodles.  They are cheap and more flexible.

There are online Running Contact classes (and other agility classes), offered at http://www.daisypeel.com/

SUNDAY: Advanced (training 180's, 270's, Serpentines, Double Box, Point System, and Push Through/Back Side)

180's:

• Step 1. Start with 2 winged jumps in a line, wings touching.  Start close. Stand in middle, D to outside, send D over 1 with arm closest to D, post turn and pull over 2.  Treat. Work both sides.  Work further and further back to 15'.  Do the same with front crosses (D ends on inside) and rear crosses (D starts on inside).
• Step 2. Separate jumps 1' at a time to 15' apart, increasing when you get great performance.  Repeat PT, FC, RC, always using the same cues for each type of turn.
•  If mistakes happen, backchain to previous distance.
• NEVER go in between the wings -- this is babysitting the 180, and is actually a different cue (for a pinwheel).

The full course sequence we ran Sunday afternoon included a 180 out of the chute, which I discussed extensively in a previous blog post.  Brittany related one method of placing the chute within a tunnel so D can NOT run sideways and get tangled in the fabric.  If they are trained NEVER to run a curve in the chute, then you can call their name and they will know where you are, but won't run towards you while in the chute.  She also discussed rear crossing behind the chute -- make sure D sees your RC before they enter the chute.

270's beginning training

270's:

• Step 1.  Start with winged jumps at right angles, touching.  H stands inside the 90 degree angle with D.  Send D over, around the 270, and pull  D back into H's space, with a post turn.  Treat.  Work both sides.
• Add FC's and RC's
• Work further and further back.  
• Step 2. Separate by sliding 2nd jump along the line 1 foot, increasing to 15'
• Never pass the plane of the wings.
• Backchain as necessary for consistently good performance.
• For D's who tend to run around 2nd jump, place a ground bar catecorner to where the wings meet.
• Try not to use the "out" command.  Keep shoulders pointed in direction you want D to go.

Serpentines:  In correct serpentines, D must stay behind H.  To do this, H must stay right next to the jump and wing, leaving ONLY the space behind H for D to jump into.  If you leave an opening, D will take it and end up doing a threadle.  Treat immediately by the wing so D won't run behind you.  See diagram:



Many trainers found it difficult to hug the wing of the middle jump, but whenever they did, D performed perfectly.  So now I know how to do a serpentine without driving thru the line of jumps and front crossing at every turn. Yippee!

Start training this with D at 2, H holds right arm across chest, keeps left arm close to body or behind back, calls D, H steps forward one step and treats D behind or beside them (never past H), alternating hands to treat.  Do from both left and right approaches.  Then, start D at 1, left arm out pushing D away, then switch arm to pull D in across 2nd jump and in behind you, where they stay until you switch arms again to signal a jump over 3rd jump.  The timing of your arm change has to be just right to avoid pulling D in between jumps, or pushing D out between jumps (which would be a threadle).  Increase distance between jumps from about 4' to about 15'.

Double Box setup

Double Box:  The double box should be set up at all times and can be used to teach all handling skills.  It looks like the diagram below:

Point System:  To determine the best path to take and the best way to handle, Brittany uses a point system.  Is it better to handle from the left or right of a jump to the next obstacle?  Shortest distance for H = +1 point.  Which direction will D be facing coming out of the obstacle?  If facing the correct next obstacle = +1 point.  If a redirect is required = -1 point (because turns slow D down).  Highest point value generally means "best way".

Send to Back Side of Jump:

Stand close to the wing with arm outstretched, D to outside.  Give a verbal cue such as "back" or "out", until D catches on they are supposed to take the back side of the jump. Big party.  Repeat left and right wing.  Gradually increase H's distance from wing until 15' back.  Occasionally intermingle sends directly over the jump, making sure you point at the jump rather than beyond the wing.  Support the wing until D's nose clears the wing. 
Begin throwing in FC's, running off with the reward, and treating with other hand.  Gradually fade the verbal cue when the physical cue is well understood.

GENERAL RULES: 

• Never front cross on D's straight line path.  Use FC only to turn.
• Rear crosses should take place as close behind D as possible.
• What turns D is the cross, not arms, feet, or shoulders.
• Rear cross flatwork.  D sits.  H goes from side to side behind D, at greater distances. D's head should snap in your direction only AFTER YOU RC.  Never reward for a head check (a flick) that occurs prior to the cross.

POINTS OF INTEREST:

• Trainers spend too much time running full courses, not enough time on skill building and handling cues.
• Build accuracy with repetition on short sequences, offering reward only for correct performance.
• When a green dog is running a full course or long sequence, DO NOT correct mistakes.(AMEN, I've been saying this for 2 years!).   D must learn to complete a sequence at full speed, without stopping.  If they miss a jump, a weave pole, or take a wrong course, keep going.  You will take all the fun out of agility for them if you are always stopping to correct, and you will slow them down. Stopping a desirable activity is a negative form of correction.  Once D is fast, enthusiastic and truly understands what you are asking them to do, then you can stop to correct, but, BIG POINT, be sure when they get it right you immediately stop and reward. 
• Go for fast and happy more than accuracy.  If D gets slow, stop."The more likely your dog is to "slow down/be careful", the less you can afford to "correct" in a sequence.  You have to know your dog."
• A still toy is a dead toy.  Must bring to life with movement.
• Greg Derret never uses a flip to get a dog over a jump or into a tunnel.
• Greg Derret's system has evolved.  Early DVD's no longer reflect his current system.

This was my best agility seminar ever.  Brittany was well prepared, organized, friendly, fielded questions well, treated everyone with equal favor. Everyone was in good mood.  The weather was just about perfect.  Air quality not bad.  LCCOC's old Radio Shack wireless microphone system which I resurrected from storage and John repaired for the club, worked very well.  Brittany's comments could be heard across the field, and she expressed much appreciation at not having to shout. We started out powering it from my car's cigarette lighter, until Ken (our newest member) brought out his portable inverter, which reached everywhere and lasted all day.  Turns out, our system draws very little power.  All very good.

Unfortunately, poor little Maxie got stung Saturday morning by a wasp that was hovering in the grass.  He yelped and wailed for 5 minutes, I treated immediately with Swedish Bitters, but he licked his paw incessantly for about 2 hours, and on Sunday was clearly off, and afraid of the grass.  He ran about half speed during his turns, and while not limping today, is still nursing his paw and seems tired.  Lucky just ran slow, as usual, and some kind of bugs in the grass were tickling her bare belly and making her scratch a lot.  Still, I got a lot from the seminar and plan to start my training over, from scratch, after the Kiln trial this upcoming weekend if I meet my 2011 goals.  Almost there.

The KT Sports Injury Tape I used on my calf seemed to work.  I had no problems whatsoever, though I can't fathom how it works.  It's a mystery, and my new best friend.

Upwards and onward!

P.S. Brittany invited us all to send videos of our training sessions, which she offered to analyze and comment upon.  Nice!  She also urged us to come to more trials in Texas, and said the Crosby arena is very good.