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Wild Child
Cali was brilliant at Ridgefield two weeks ago. Focused, connected, responsive, and, yes, brilliant. This weekend in Albany, she was more of a wild child. Overly stimulated, impulsive, and harder to control ( Read more... ) -
What a brilliant agility partner!
Cali is such an amazing partner. I recently learned that she has significant lumbar spine degenerative joint disease (DJD). I had noticed increased jumping problems, especially on day two of a trial. Everything checked out fine except for this "incidental" finding on her radiographs. The radiologist said Cali has some of the most severe DJD she ( Read more... ) -
Hot Weekend in Central Point
This was a (temperature) hot weekend at the AKC trial in Central Point. Lovely venue. Nice surface. Great judges. Fun trial. They did a good job of cooling the arena with 100-degree days. Still, it was *hot ( Read more... ) -
Cool and rainy in Ridgefield
It was a cool and rainy weekend for the Ridgefield PAC AKC trial. An unnexpected and welcome treat. I had decided to be adventurous and sleep in a tent. I had been worried the heat might be a problem and was so happy I was wrong. My tent was underneath a sheltered area with a high roof. I was snug and dry and warm in my sleeping bag. The ( Read more... ) -
Our Skills: A Work in Progress
When two skilled trainers (on separate occasions) watch you run agility and give you the same advice, you just can't treat it like a fluke. You could ... but the whole point of paying for training is, well, to get input about your handling and, yes, make some needed changes. There you go ( Read more... ) -
Good dog!
Two trials since our last post. We had so much fun at the USDAA trial in Corvallis. I don't know many USDAA folks, so it was really a day of enjoying my Cali-time. When we weren't running, we were hanging out - some outside and some on the bleachers watching runs. The trial was casual and low key and thoroughly enjoyable. I was pleased with ( Read more... ) -
Lessons with long lines ending in tunnels
Fun at the Eugene AKC trial this past weekend. Cali and I had some brilliant moments and, as always, faced some challenges. Our biggest challenge seemed to be long, straight(ish) runs ending in a tunnel. Cali builds up a lot of steam in a straight line and, as always, loves her tunnels. Redirecting her when she has locked onto the wrong end is ( Read more... ) -
PAC AKC in Ridgefield - Run with the PAC!!!
Just back from two days in Ridgefield. Great judges and wonderful venue. Lovely courses. Here's the STD run from Saturday (note that the first tunnel is actually off course - OOPS!). BTW - handler, not dog error. I walked a front cross to the teeter, I practiced that front cross, and in the heat of the moment, it flew out of my little head ( Read more... ) -
Launching into 2016
Just back from the Albany AKC trial. I was extremely pleased with our teamwork on the final run of the weekend - Sunday Premier JWW. The crowd was small, it was late in the day, and my friends were off celebrating the much-coveted MACH title someone had earned that day. So, alas, no video to share. Instead, I've included the course map (with ( Read more... ) -
As 2015 is drawing to a close ...
Finally decided to spring for a paid membership so that I can post more interesting stuff. Since my first posting, Cali and I competed at the September PAC AKC in Ridgefield, October KDF AKC in Klamath Falls, and November MCDF AKC in Albany ( Read more... )