Much time in the car allows for reflection...

Had much fun this weekend at the AKC.  Some friends got the last double Q's needed for AKC nationals and it was very exciting cheering them on.

Fin and I ran hard and fast.  Unfortunately, my nerves got the best of me on some of the runs and Fin was popping out of her weaves when I tried my distance stuff, between the two of us no Q's.  But gosh almighty, Fin ran fast!  So much fun.  A few times she was barking at me telling me to get a move on and get outta her way :)

Sunday ended with a clean run in Standard.  I knew it was one that we could do.  Learned a lesson by almost pushing her off the teeter, "Do what you plan! Don't chicken out."  

Coming home from this trial, I ask myself why I do so much better at USDAA than AKC.  The only thing I can come up with is that I put pressure on myself to get the Q's for the Nationals in Reno.  At this point, it is too little too late.  So I am going to Reno and be the best Fan I can be.  Can't say I'm a little disappointed in myself, but never in Fin.  She is a shining star and life is too short to worry about silly little things like Q's. 

Coming up for us is an entire weekend at home.  I'm not quite sure what I'll do with myself.  Maybe, perhaps, clean my house?  Imagine that. 

Thanks Laurie for hanging out with me and videoing all my runs.

The Hair of the Dog

Monday morning.  Fin runs into my office.  I hear her coming down the hall and turn my chair towards her and she takes a flying leap into my lap and starts shaking her head violently.  I rub her head, scratch to see if I can take her mind off of it.  Still head shaking.  Ahh well.  Call the vet and get an appointment for 3:40.

During the day, lots of shaking going on. Much looking like there is a knife sticking out of her skull.

3pm rolls around.  Not much head shaking.  A little ear bent to the side...but off to the vet we go.  Vet finds nothing. Back home.  Back to work in my office.

About 7pm I get Fin standing with her feet on my desk whining.  One ear up, one ear totally crooked with a slight head tilt looking pitiful.  Oh goodness.  Can you tell I'm working a lot this week.  Very much over whelmed with work.  No time for shaking heads.

Next morning after a night of much head shaking, sneezing, and less sleep than needed, I take her to my backyard to see if I could take her mind off of it and jump her over a few jumps.  She falls over turning to the right.  Seriously.  Are you kidding me!

Head back to the vet.  Leave her there (I HATE doing this).

Vet calls not 90 minutes later.  She found something.  "Hurrah! what was it?" I say.  Vet says, "She had a small hare in her ear canal."  I'm like, "What, like a small rodent?"  She laughed, "No a small hair, like an eye lash."

I'm speechless.  I ask, "Does one normally get dogs falling over with a hair in their canal?"  "Oh, no, but she might just be sensitive."  I guess so.  Home from the vet now 24 hour later.  Not a sign of a head shake, a sore ear, nothing.  Jumps like normal.  Goes in to my folder of the weird and unusual.

I guess we are on for an AKC this weekend.

Seems only the hard ones are the easy ones for me and my team....

Did a couple days of USDAA this weekend.  Didn't run in everything.  Did Q in Jumpers.  Another jumpers where people were E'ing like crazy. 

Had to babysit 3-4 which put me in a bad place for 5-6.  A miracle occurred and Fin called off the tunnel.  The rest was just me catching up.

Now that Fin and I are Q'ing more consistently, I am looking for how to save time.  How to cut out the fat, remove the extra, get lean and mean. 

Often I get compliments on how Fin checks in with me.  Every time Fin looks at me, it is tells me two things:
1.  I'm outta position and she doesn't know where she is going.
2.  We are wasting time.

When I have to call her off of things, multiple seconds tick by.

I can not tell you the joy I feel that I'm focusing on how to get to my position and shave off seconds rather than, why is Fin avoiding jumps.  Yippiee for us!

Now back to my treadmill.  I think that is about 3/4's of our problem.

PS: Did ya notice what a nice turn I got between 1,2, and 3 :) we've been working on that and it was so much fun to put it into practice and see my little girl turn so nice and tight.  Now for those rear crosses, lots more work there...

ADCH Himark's Holy Mackerel!

How many hours of work go in to making an agility dog champion?  It is different for each team.  So many people I spoke with this weekend told me they only needed one Super Q, or 4 jumpers, or 2 standard.

Me and Fin, we needed 2 Gamble and 1 jumpers.  With two days of gamble and jumpers, being at my favorite park, and competing with my club, I was thrilled that I got those last three Q's to allow me and my dog Fin to stand up there with the other Champions of the world.

The first gamble on Saturday was thrilling.  First off, Fin and I suck at gamble.  But on paper, the gamble looked like something we could do.  Then I started watching the dogs curl off of the last jumps.  I figured, all I could do is try.  And we did it!

Later that day we walked the jumpers.  Yikes it was a hard course, but looked fun.  It was not to be.  Going home Saturday, I knew I had the opportunity on Sunday to Q in both Gamble and Jumpers, but realized that I also had the trial on Labor day.  I promised myself that I would enjoy my moments rather than focus on my faults.  Not worry about the Q's but worry about doing a good job.

Well, Sundays Gamble was a tunnel A frame discrimination with a push to the jump.  Despite having her fail to do the A frame in the opening when asked, she did the A frame in the closing AND pushed out to that jump!  OMG!  I was so excited.  Then my stomach started to hurt.  All I needed was one jumpers.

The jumpers course was eating dogs alive.  But somehow, someway, despite nearly falling down, at one point forgetting the course and sending her to the right instead of the left, feeling the anxiety of my friends standing around watching, Fin and I got through it and we got our stick!!!!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.  You know who you are, I thank you.

Kippiee Kedar Comes to Whizland

Kippiee the Pug.  Found at a shelter, provided a home by my sister, and loved by my sister and her wife.  A very lucky little dog.

 A fine upstanding citizen, whom my dogs seem to like.

 Who wouldn't like that sad little face!  Oh did I mention she snores.  Really loud!

 Kippie had no trouble with standing guard with Maddie while the boyz rested.  Fin doesn't stand guard, her talents lie elsewhere.

 She hung out by the pool and learned really quick to go around it rather than through it.

 She's got that look of, "Is it dinner time yet" down pack.  Just want to give her hugs upon hugs.

 Was trying to capture behavior earlier in the day.  All I did here was capture it with the camera.  But I'd love to get this little number on cue.

Tazzies little shadow.  And weirdly enough, Tazz doesn't seem to mind her at all.

A wonderful visit that isn't over yet.  Hope she gets to visit often.  She is a doll.

Getting my grid on...

One of the things I like to do is go back and see what I was working on a year ago and reboot.  Last year I had just signed up Fin in agility after 10 months of rest and rehab.  We were working on her jumping and confidence.

I visited with Susan Salo multiple times and this exercise was one of my favorites.  My friends and I would get together at my place and work on straight grids and curvy grids.  So this week, back to the basics night we are working on grids.

You should try this at home.  You can substitute a double or triple for the #7 jump.

• Start with just one - two
• then one-two-three
• then one-two-three-four
• then the whole thing...

This little girl gives all of herself...

Thanks Trista from Dynamic Dog Photograpy