Some Valuable Agility Lessons - From a Kelpie

I couldn't wait to get back to trialling again after the Summer break.
So much so that I drove 3 and a half hours to Warrnambool for 2 half day trials - 3 runs on Saturday and 2 on Sunday.
As I had a devil of a time trying to get accommodation (Warrnambool was obviously where it was all happening over the long weekend!) I didn't enter Cruz. At one stage it looked as if I may have been sharing accommodation with a number of other people and dogs and I didn't think it was fair to rock up with more than one dog. Anyway, we ended up getting a tent site for Saturday evening only - 2 people and 2 kelpies only just fit into a 6 person tent by the way. Obviously to get 6 people in you have to sleep in 2 layers. Luckily my 'old boys' are happy sleeping in the car.

I'm not sure if it was the long drive or the warm afternoon, but on Saturday I just couldn't get connected with Atilla. Our first run in Open Jumping wasn't too bad but thanks to another 'blonde moment' I ended up doing an extra circle of a pinwheel before the run home. (3 extra obstacles and we still made time!) I haven't forgotten a course in quite a while so that should have served as a warning for what was to come - two of the worst Masters runs we have had in a long time. I can't even remember agility, and Atilla got so fed up with me in jumping that eventually he took off and made up his own course. (Very frustrated 'kelpie-like' and rightly so!)

Sunday was a lot better, the connection returned and we had two good runs in Masters (on two beautiful courses that were very kelpie friendly) with just one small error each time. Later on when talking to a friend, he commented on what a wasted weekend it must have been to travel all that way without a pass.
Well if that was what I measured a successful agility weekend on, I would be disappointed a lot of the time!

There were so many things that I learned over the weekend that I have decided to list them here in the hope that recounting them makes me truly learn these lessons and benefit from them.

Firstly, this was the trial weekend for my new lead out procedure - no more looking back and running to position instead. It has been working well at training with both dogs but this was the first time I have done it in a trial situation. 5 runs, 5 lead outs held and none of the stress signs that I was sometimes seeing before - even when I went out to the 5th jump in Open Jumping and 'arm changed' to handle the serpentine in the distance test, which was at the start of the course. So a big tick for this one and I will definitely keep on doing it. Not sure why running to position appears to work compared to walking, just happy that so far it is!

I'm usually pretty relaxed running Atilla but when things came unstuck on Saturday I tensed up and handled accordingly. Although I would put verbal cues down near the bottom on the priority list of how I handle, for some reason when I tense up I become a lot more verbal.
I think kelpies really hate this. Not that I see the need to run totally silent (although I think this is an excellent training exercise to really get the focus on your body cues) but maybe shutting up a lot more and letting the kelpie actually get on with his job would have been a better handling strategy.
Something I am going to try and be a lot more aware of from now on.
I also noticed that the more verbals I used, the more he started to ignore me, so maybe being a little quieter would give an improved response to a verbal command when I do give one.

One of my favourite quotes ( can't remember the author or where I read it though) is written in the front of my training diary as a reminder:
'What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens.'

This is a hard lesson to live and I don't think I have been able to totally hide my disappointment on other occasions when things haven't gone well, but this time I think I went closer to getting it right. After I left the trial on Saturday, I took Atilla to the beach - we still had 3 hours before L. was due down with the other dogs. This would have been the first time in ages when we got to run on the beach together, just the two of us, and it was a good 're-connecting' experience.
Atilla found a dog toy that had washed up - and of course a 'freebie found' is way better than any toy I could buy him. So for the better part of 2 hours, we ran played 'tug' and 'retrieve' with the toy. When we were both really tired, we walked along the sand for a couple of kms.
A happy kelpie face is a great pick me up so the disappointment of our runs was soon forgotten which I believe went a long way toward the much better performance on Sunday.
In the past I would have probably put him in the car, gone home, and stressed about all the errors I had made which is totally counter productive. Especially when no one else remembers or cares about your runs except you - including your dog!

Other things I learned on the weekend :
*There will always be some fallout as a reformed 'flicker'. (GD handlers know what I'm talking about) Accept it, continue with 'anti flick' training - which in all likelihood will never be 100% effective, and move on. Smile as your kelpie flips you the paw and disappears into the far end of the tunnel- you taught him to do it in the first place.

*I can actually have 2 good runs with L. standing right outside the ring. Apart from some initial head turning on the startline, Atilla didn't look at him once.

*Listen to everyone's advice, even if you don't take 99% of it on board - it's that other 1% that can sometimes make a difference.

*Sometimes very successful weekends, pass wise, mean that you don't learn all that much from your runs. So which weekends are really the most successful in the big picture?

Cruz Finally Makes his Debut

Well it took us until the last trial for the year but Cruz is finally no longer a trial virgin.
My training had reached the point where I needed to put him in a trial situation to see how he coped with all the distractions so that's what I did.
I only entered him in 2 runs for his first time - which I will probably continue to do for the next few trials as well.


First up was Novice Agility - a course with some extreme angles for Novice level, I honestly think I may have struggled to get Atilla around it clear.
Cruz showed a few stress signs at the start line which I expected may happen for his first time - plus I was actually nervous too which didn't help him. I don't get nervous running Atilla any more so it felt really strange to be so on edge.
We got through with 2 bars down which wasn't too bad for a first time, considering some of the angles. Plus I realised afterwards that it was the first full course he has run at 600 - bad trainer!


Novice Jumping we were first in the ring - but he appeared a little more relaxed at the startline compared to the first run. This time we were clear and won the ring which I certainly wasn't expecting to happen. So I am one proud kelpie mum at the moment.

Cruz with his first place trophy, sash and of course the most important part of the win - food!



Although more focussed than on his first run, he definitely didn't give me as much speed as he usually does but he has such a long stride that he still ran a reasonable time. I saw the 2nd and 3rd placed runs (BC and BC cross, both jumping 500) and they looked pretty fast to me so I was very surprised to clock up a faster time - but very happy about it ! And although it wasn't his fastest run , when I looked back at my trial diary and compared his time to Atilla's times in Novice, it was almost identical.

Plus he held both his startline stays - I went out 2 obstacles on the jumping course- and hit all his contacts and weaves in agility.

The only thing that I was really disappointed in was that he wouldn't tug with me before he went into the ring, which is unusual for him. The presence of the judge and timer in the ring didn't appear to bother him at all, I felt that the stress was more related to waiting outside for our turn.
So a lot more proofing with distractions and unfamiliar locations for us over the next few months.
And I need to experiment with finding the best warm up procedure for him to build focus. This is going to be more of a challenge than with Atilla - because he jumps 600 it is very likely that he will often be first dog in the ring which can make warming up difficult on occasion.

But I am very proud of my long, lanky boy who has now equalled Atilla's effort of qualifying and winning the ring at his first trial.

ANKC V NADAC

I don't run NADAC agility very often but last month I entered a trial on the following weekend from the ANKC trial at Sunbury.

Everyone seems to have their own thoughts about which 'flavour of agility' they prefer for varying reasons which has got me thinking about the differences between the two.

These were the jumping courses I ran in each venue, qualifying on both.

Sunbury Masters Jumping (ANKC) *6th place

Bacchus Marsh Open Jumping (NADAC) *1st place Quite a difference, as you can see- or at least you might have been able to see if I had used the larger numbers, so you will just have to take my word for it.

OK, we are running one level below at NADAC (Open is equivalent to Excellent) but I've seen Novice courses harder than that Open one - one side change for crying out loud and even that I did with a lead out pivot.

Although I don't like the twisting and turning of many ANKC courses, that NADAC course was not much of a challenge. I like the way NADAC offers lower jump heights - great for veteran dogs and dogs coming back from injury, but I can't say I really like too much else about it.

I especially dislike the way there is now no running order and you just line up. Two friends missed their jumping runs a couple of weeks back at a trial I went to watch. No-one called that the class was over, and one is a very new trialler. I felt so bad for her. OK, I know it's your responsibility to know when your height is coming up, but still. It also seems to promote a 'NADAC style' of handling that I hate - lots of running from behind, rear crosses on the landing side and opposite arms waving around in the air on rear crosses. Plus ridiculous distance for the sake of distance that's not buying you anything by handling in that way but is seen as the holy grail of NADAC for some reason. Call me strange, but I actually enjoy the buzz of running the course with my dog, not standing there and flapping my arms around while I yell 'out.'

I also feel way more stressed at NADAC trials than I do in any other venue - there's such a long list of what you can and cannot do, and it appears to change at the drop of a hat so I can't keep up.

But on the other hand, even though the courses are not very challenging (and they all seem to be variations on a theme from what I have seen) the ANKC courses can be ridiculously hard at times with all that turning and twisting.

So I definitely think there is a place for NADAC as well as ANKC, but at the moment it's not my venue of choice. I am grateful that there is another venue to compete in once my dogs are not able to handle the jump heights of ANKC any longer (NADAC veterans was wonderful for Yasser, although I did prefer it back then when it was ADAC) and also think it's great that there is a choice available - there's not in some states,

Maybe a hybrid between the two forms of agility would be perfect!

My Favourite Training Distraction - Sheep !

The sheep are back on the land behind us. The old guy who owns them has several 2 acre blocks in the area - you can't build on anything less than 5 acres at the moment- and he rotates them around for a few weeks at a time.
The kelpies love watching him come down the road when he is moving them, he rings a bell and walks the sheep along the road with a .........wait for it....... Jack Russell Terrier ! Which surprisingly does pretty well. The kelpies are dying for a bit of active service of course, and run along the fence line barking as he goes past just to let him know they are available if the JRT doesn't cut it or disappears into the nearest rabbit burrow.
There are lambs at the moment too, which are pretty cute.

So every time I go out to train agility this week, I have woolly faces peering through the fence, which is great for proofing distractions.

Cruz does pretty well. He is aware of them, but happy to stay with me and work, especially if he thinks there may be food involved at the end. But it absolutely kills Atilla ! I have been using the sheep as a 'life reward' and releasing him to the fence to clear them off after he does what I want first...... Premack Principle rules ! This has turned into a pretty good game in his opinion and his agility work this week has been fast and motivated as a result. Now I just have to figure out a way I can get them to my next trial.......

A Good Night at Training

I really enjoyed running this course at training on Friday evening. It was a small class for a change, only 5 of us, and Murray set up a fairly simple course, but still with some challenges- especially if you didn't handle your dog's path. Also a good course for working on speed. (What I would call a 'Tank of Oxygen Course,' especially when you run it, another dog runs and then you have to go again!)
There were some fast diagonal lines in this course - or what Elicia referred to as SFL's (straight friggin lines) when she was here.

I started with a lead out between 2 and 3 so I could be ahead of Atilla to indicate the path to the tunnel. Then a front cross between the tunnel and jump 5 set up a nice straight line to the seesaw. I also made sure I was still in front at this point so I could use a little shoulder pull but I don't think he even looked at the tunnel.

Good section for speed next. He surprised me with a pretty fast dogwalk performance which actually changed the way I handled the weave entry. I was planning on front crossing after the tunnel to handle the weaves on the right, but he was so quick off the walk and through the tunnel that I didn't get there. I then used a 'threadle arm' when he came out of the tunnel and then rear crossed the weaves once he was in. I thought that might be a bit messy but it actually worked really well so I stuck with it on the 2nd run through. As his weaves are pretty reliable I was also able to peel away from them for some more lateral distance so I could front cross at the end. This made a straight line to the tunnel at 12.

Being ahead after the tunnel made jumps 13 and 14 easy to indicate. On the first run through, I had an off course at the next bit. I honestly thought my movement and position would be enough to indicate the change of line to the tunnel, especially as I don't layer in the handling system I am using, but he took the tyre. (As did most of the dogs in class) On the next run through, I used a 'threadle arm' after jump 14 and he took the correct obstacle that time. Something else for me to remember : still need support on some discriminations, especially as it was a slight change of line.

I thought about front crossing after the tunnel for a better line to jump 16, but found that I was able to stay ahead on most of this course so decided I didn't need to. Handled both jumps on the left, then front crossed at the end of the A Frame for the run home. On the second run through I left out the front cross and rear crossed after 19 to pull him toward the broad. That also worked well.

So, an enjoyable training session and I was so pleased with the way Atilla worked. Now all I have to do is get the same speed happening consistently at a trial. We seem to have sections of 'all cylinders firing' but others where he drops off the pace a bit. After our 3 passes off 4 runs last weekend at Sunbury, I am going to throw caution to the wind and push for a bit more speed next time we trial and see what I get. Plus try harder to sharpen up my handling for him.

Cruz ran a full length Novice Jumping course at training on Sunday and went clear with no difficulties. Guess I'd better start thinking about entering him in a Jumping run to see how he does under a bit more pressure and to see what I still need to work on with him. After Nationals maybe.