Wednesday, October 29, 2008
rah doing a novice run through. ironically, this was the exact heeling pattern we had this weekend at the show. sorry you dont get the far corner - you can watch me in the mirror :)
short bit of berlin heeling with a rally front left finish/forward thrown in...
a short burst of heeling :)
and because someone wanted to know -
here is us working finishes both the big blue, and the little one.
berlins class tonight -
TONS of heeling. TONS. heeled my LEGS off. berlin was awesome though - great attention, lovely position. lydia said i have to stop making her do come up sits though, because i am actually making her WRONG - that when she sets up, she's right the first time :) oops, im too fat to see :)
my friend molly that i met at dog camp and at berlins handling class was there, she's starting class there soon so that will be fun :) she has shibas... and she has a blog or two that she NEVER updates!!!! (so she will never see this...)
my shoulder is killing me (side note)
then we worked recalls and fronts - the get it get it game, and then formal fronts on flexis - berlin was MUCH better and had the front click back in. dont know what her issue was for the last week, but it seems to be gone for now...
did a SFE, she was fine and DIDNT pop out, so woohoo for that.
stays were bad this week, but i was distracted too.
im exhausted. next post will be videos.
TONS of heeling. TONS. heeled my LEGS off. berlin was awesome though - great attention, lovely position. lydia said i have to stop making her do come up sits though, because i am actually making her WRONG - that when she sets up, she's right the first time :) oops, im too fat to see :)
my friend molly that i met at dog camp and at berlins handling class was there, she's starting class there soon so that will be fun :) she has shibas... and she has a blog or two that she NEVER updates!!!! (so she will never see this...)
my shoulder is killing me (side note)
then we worked recalls and fronts - the get it get it game, and then formal fronts on flexis - berlin was MUCH better and had the front click back in. dont know what her issue was for the last week, but it seems to be gone for now...
did a SFE, she was fine and DIDNT pop out, so woohoo for that.
stays were bad this week, but i was distracted too.
im exhausted. next post will be videos.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
training session from hell
i should have just ignored the desire to train my dogs tonight. i dont know why i would think starting at 11 pm was a good idea... yeah, it never is.
first, i worked fronts with rah. or tried to. i thought maybe his go out guides would be a good one to try - since we have a lot of work to do from our classes on thursday and the run throughs on sat (did i even post about any of those?).
yeah - ha. he eventually came in, but he wont go near them on slippery floors because he doesnt want to hit them, so he was avoiding them majorly - then i tried to put the broom down behind him to give him something to sit in front and allllll shit hit the fan - i forgot he has some random fear of the broom falling on him (probably because it has multiple times) so he ran, the broom DID fall on him, and everything just ended up a mess.
so i tried to work berlin - but she's evil and decided that like the run through, front means lay down on the ground, bark at mom, and try to chew on her guides.
so, glutton for punishment, i get out the db.
(see? i told you i was STUPID)
we had some flashes of brilliance, and some resistance, as always. first time it came out - she came right over, took it, held it, and outed it. WOOHOO. then she was like, i did it, don't want to play. were i a smart handler, i would have ended there. but i didnt... i did end up using rah as jealousy and treated him heavily for take its and holds. she ended up giving me a few other willing takes, and i did put it in her mouth a few other times.
slow going.
ill update about the show this weekend later when i get home from work. i have to go enter berlin in rally right now so we dont get closed out :)
first, i worked fronts with rah. or tried to. i thought maybe his go out guides would be a good one to try - since we have a lot of work to do from our classes on thursday and the run throughs on sat (did i even post about any of those?).
yeah - ha. he eventually came in, but he wont go near them on slippery floors because he doesnt want to hit them, so he was avoiding them majorly - then i tried to put the broom down behind him to give him something to sit in front and allllll shit hit the fan - i forgot he has some random fear of the broom falling on him (probably because it has multiple times) so he ran, the broom DID fall on him, and everything just ended up a mess.
so i tried to work berlin - but she's evil and decided that like the run through, front means lay down on the ground, bark at mom, and try to chew on her guides.
so, glutton for punishment, i get out the db.
(see? i told you i was STUPID)
we had some flashes of brilliance, and some resistance, as always. first time it came out - she came right over, took it, held it, and outed it. WOOHOO. then she was like, i did it, don't want to play. were i a smart handler, i would have ended there. but i didnt... i did end up using rah as jealousy and treated him heavily for take its and holds. she ended up giving me a few other willing takes, and i did put it in her mouth a few other times.
slow going.
ill update about the show this weekend later when i get home from work. i have to go enter berlin in rally right now so we dont get closed out :)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
DPCTZ
a short update before i pass out:
rah took second with a 191.5 - he had the best heeling he's ever had.
judge was kinda a nutball :)
berlin got her first rally leg! with a third place!
she also took second in both sweeps and breed (out of two, ha!) and showed with gus and blackjack in the progeny class.
rah also had his parade of rescues :)
im exhausted and going to sleeeeeeeeeeeeep
rah took second with a 191.5 - he had the best heeling he's ever had.
judge was kinda a nutball :)
berlin got her first rally leg! with a third place!
she also took second in both sweeps and breed (out of two, ha!) and showed with gus and blackjack in the progeny class.
rah also had his parade of rescues :)
im exhausted and going to sleeeeeeeeeeeeep
Saturday, October 25, 2008
training and matches
today was the match at Hk9 - i got there at about 1, and had three entries.
first, i took rah through. barely had time to warm up, gave him about 15 seconds of a warm up and then went into the ring with kathy for novice. he was ON - too on. it was nice to see it in the ring, kathy could help me. by the fast, he was popping up and all over me, kathy had me high kneeing him. the fig8 was nice, but by off leash he was all over me, so we stopped him with an abrupt turn into his face and started over, and she had me convince him that i had my own space, and told me to try that outside the ring tomorrow before we get in the ring so he remembers :)
SFE was great, fig8 was really nice (WOOHOO), and his recall - she said i should stop leaning back and instead lean forward a bit so that he wont punch me - he did it again! his finish was nice though - but he was very up for the performance :)
took a 5 minute break, then brought the baby girl in. warmed her up for 2 minutes, did some LLW and leave its, and then i brought her in, set her up, and we were off.
her on leash heeling was VERY nice- she was tight, with me the entire time, head up, beautiful. figure 8 was nice for the first pass, good sit. second time she got distracted on the outer post so we did it a third time and that was much better. SFE was perfect (whose dog IS this??), then we transitioned to off leash heeling. she pretty good she glanced away on the right turn and i reached down for her collar and gave her a quick pop and she looked right back and me, she was nice and tight on all her turns (And Terry brought me VERY close to the walls - like, RIGHT UP to the walls/gate). then we got to front - and she fell apart. she couldnt/wouldnt come in straight, kept trying to go straight to heel, so we stopped that. we're going back to basics for her there, because she didnt understand last night too - but she definitely not only up until then had a qualifying run, but it was a NICE score!!
Rah had an open run next (i used his utility run for berlin's novice run), and his heeling was great, his fig8 was LOVELY. his ROF was great out, nice pickup, but we're having issues that once he gets the DB< he cant seem to THINK - all he can focus on is the db. he comes back to front, but he cant seem to think about being straight. same for his ROH. his broad jump wasnt bad - and i didnt drop him. not with a show tomorrow!
im exhausted and still need to wrap up all the stuff for tomorrows raffle and prepare for the show!! wish us luck...
first, i took rah through. barely had time to warm up, gave him about 15 seconds of a warm up and then went into the ring with kathy for novice. he was ON - too on. it was nice to see it in the ring, kathy could help me. by the fast, he was popping up and all over me, kathy had me high kneeing him. the fig8 was nice, but by off leash he was all over me, so we stopped him with an abrupt turn into his face and started over, and she had me convince him that i had my own space, and told me to try that outside the ring tomorrow before we get in the ring so he remembers :)
SFE was great, fig8 was really nice (WOOHOO), and his recall - she said i should stop leaning back and instead lean forward a bit so that he wont punch me - he did it again! his finish was nice though - but he was very up for the performance :)
took a 5 minute break, then brought the baby girl in. warmed her up for 2 minutes, did some LLW and leave its, and then i brought her in, set her up, and we were off.
her on leash heeling was VERY nice- she was tight, with me the entire time, head up, beautiful. figure 8 was nice for the first pass, good sit. second time she got distracted on the outer post so we did it a third time and that was much better. SFE was perfect (whose dog IS this??), then we transitioned to off leash heeling. she pretty good she glanced away on the right turn and i reached down for her collar and gave her a quick pop and she looked right back and me, she was nice and tight on all her turns (And Terry brought me VERY close to the walls - like, RIGHT UP to the walls/gate). then we got to front - and she fell apart. she couldnt/wouldnt come in straight, kept trying to go straight to heel, so we stopped that. we're going back to basics for her there, because she didnt understand last night too - but she definitely not only up until then had a qualifying run, but it was a NICE score!!
Rah had an open run next (i used his utility run for berlin's novice run), and his heeling was great, his fig8 was LOVELY. his ROF was great out, nice pickup, but we're having issues that once he gets the DB< he cant seem to THINK - all he can focus on is the db. he comes back to front, but he cant seem to think about being straight. same for his ROH. his broad jump wasnt bad - and i didnt drop him. not with a show tomorrow!
im exhausted and still need to wrap up all the stuff for tomorrows raffle and prepare for the show!! wish us luck...
oops
well, i tried to post about rah's training on thursday last night, but my computer froze and i lost the post.
and i got up before my alarm this morning (weird, huh?) and tried to upload some videos of training from LAST night (trained a bit before we set up Hk9 for the match today) and gmail/google keeps freezing.
so, alas, - you all get nothing right now.
im off to work.
and i got up before my alarm this morning (weird, huh?) and tried to upload some videos of training from LAST night (trained a bit before we set up Hk9 for the match today) and gmail/google keeps freezing.
so, alas, - you all get nothing right now.
im off to work.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
school with the baby dobe
last night berlin was back in class - and what a class she had :)
we started with heeling, and she was marvelous - best heeling ive had from her. her position was great, attention was lovely, great set ups. i had no visible food for her at all, treated her very rarely. we worked mostly turns - abouts, lefts, and rights - and signaling those, and she did great. she ignored most of the dogs, worked in the group (a lot of distraction for her, which is hard), and i was so pleased. she was straight, tight, and with me for most of the time - which is good for the baby of the class. i was really pleased.
we then moved to the SFE - and she was good. she does a great kick back, but she still pops out to the side - i need to practice her up against a barrier so she cant do it - but she did her SFE without any tension or a leash, perfectly, i came back, and broke her out and heeled her over to a distant spot (just like i would in the ring) and she was lovely. only dog in the class to do it. i love her!
then we did fronts, and she sucked for that. she kept trying to go all the way to heel without fronting - oh well. time to bring out guides for that - no clue what she was looking at, but she was not working those well!!!
stays were perfect, she's an angel for those.
all in all, im pleased with her - she showed a lot of maturity at class, and did wonderfully!!!!!
we started with heeling, and she was marvelous - best heeling ive had from her. her position was great, attention was lovely, great set ups. i had no visible food for her at all, treated her very rarely. we worked mostly turns - abouts, lefts, and rights - and signaling those, and she did great. she ignored most of the dogs, worked in the group (a lot of distraction for her, which is hard), and i was so pleased. she was straight, tight, and with me for most of the time - which is good for the baby of the class. i was really pleased.
we then moved to the SFE - and she was good. she does a great kick back, but she still pops out to the side - i need to practice her up against a barrier so she cant do it - but she did her SFE without any tension or a leash, perfectly, i came back, and broke her out and heeled her over to a distant spot (just like i would in the ring) and she was lovely. only dog in the class to do it. i love her!
then we did fronts, and she sucked for that. she kept trying to go all the way to heel without fronting - oh well. time to bring out guides for that - no clue what she was looking at, but she was not working those well!!!
stays were perfect, she's an angel for those.
all in all, im pleased with her - she showed a lot of maturity at class, and did wonderfully!!!!!
Friday, October 17, 2008
training two dogs at once
the video edition -
berlin was way too up in this pic - i had a piece of food hidden in my hand and i never gave it to her for setting up because she never gave me a good one - i wouldnt put it in my mouth because its a gross dog treat, not cheese - so in my hand it remained. so she was a freak for it, all forgey.
i love that rah comes back and tries to heel with us - and gives me a straight sit at the end with her.
much better heeling from her, much more controlled.
at least in this video i tihnk i see why she got lost - i think besides my poor cues, that rah got in her way so she had to stop. or she stopped to look at him.
funniest part of course being right at the end, when i ask her to do a come-up, and she bolts and instead rah comes in for the finish. im smooth and get him to come into heel :) before he does the come up. at least i think he did...
straight rah heeling:
berlin was way too up in this pic - i had a piece of food hidden in my hand and i never gave it to her for setting up because she never gave me a good one - i wouldnt put it in my mouth because its a gross dog treat, not cheese - so in my hand it remained. so she was a freak for it, all forgey.
i love that rah comes back and tries to heel with us - and gives me a straight sit at the end with her.
much better heeling from her, much more controlled.
at least in this video i tihnk i see why she got lost - i think besides my poor cues, that rah got in her way so she had to stop. or she stopped to look at him.
funniest part of course being right at the end, when i ask her to do a come-up, and she bolts and instead rah comes in for the finish. im smooth and get him to come into heel :) before he does the come up. at least i think he did...
straight rah heeling:
videos
ive got a bunch of videos i took of training tonight, so maybe ill post them. ive been feeling very industrious so ive been working the dogs a lot.
here's rah doing some sniffies :)
here's rah doing some sniffies :)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
blue blue cake...
i baked a cake for rah tonight to celebrate his titles, and brought it to class - blue cake, blue icing, it was awesome! i got some pics, ill have to upload them later.
ive been working with berlin and her db - its frustrating, and i feel like we're backsliding. i have to remember that she's not rah, and stop comparing her. she won't do play retrieves anymore, but i got the clicker out and she will go up to it and give me a good solid mouth grab be it on the floor, my lap or in my hands, sometimes even picking it up briefly.
if i put it in her mouth (she hates that part), she will hold it as long as i tell her to. she looks so cute with it in her mouth.
i want this to be fun for her, and she wont let it be fun. berlin, just take it. this can be SO MUCH FUN!!!
took rah to novice, we all had cake during open and no one trained :), and did utility.
started novice with practicing fronts - the rest of the class used bj boards, i just used some of the guides for him, he didn't do half bad. but towards the end he was getting lazy and he was sitting just a hair crooked, and he would sit on the guides. thats not the purpose, buddy!
then we worked SFE and transitions to off lead heeling - he nailed this - but i need to remember to get him out and have men do more of his sFE's this weekend.
did group heeling and rah actually did REALLY well, im happy - we were both spot on, i had good body control, good footwork, and he was nailing his sits, nice and straight.
went to fig8 and he was nice except that he kept popping out to sit crooked - im going to have to work on that. his other sits are getting so good. i need to anticipate that this is going to be crooked and not let him even get in there anythingless than straight!
stays - rah went down!! eek! first break in 4-5 months i think. he got a correction and then didnt move - he ended up doing a 5 minute sit too. he was very serious about that :)
utility -
started with articles. he worked the pile very nicely - now terry says i need to start really demanding he come in much closer on his fronts and stop reaching for them - start upping what i am asking from him, and not reach out for them at all, period. he got all of his retrieves happily and correctly. i was pleased with that!
did gloves - extended my close fronts (didnt worry about so straight right now) to this as well. ive been doing my signal to go get the glove wrong this entire time, and thats going to be a hard habit to break. i really need to work on that. rah did well, i added in pivots for the first time today. but he sometimes goes for 2 when i send him for 3. need to work on that.
go outs were nice and straight. for the next week my homework is to start weaning him off of his prize on the gate. his DJ has gotten great and he was too smart -figured out that after he does high, the bar comes next and did it on his own. bastard. we spent the rest of the time trying to trick him :)
moving stand ok - signals rah got distracted and missed his. BAD rah!!!
i am so tired...
ive been working with berlin and her db - its frustrating, and i feel like we're backsliding. i have to remember that she's not rah, and stop comparing her. she won't do play retrieves anymore, but i got the clicker out and she will go up to it and give me a good solid mouth grab be it on the floor, my lap or in my hands, sometimes even picking it up briefly.
if i put it in her mouth (she hates that part), she will hold it as long as i tell her to. she looks so cute with it in her mouth.
i want this to be fun for her, and she wont let it be fun. berlin, just take it. this can be SO MUCH FUN!!!
took rah to novice, we all had cake during open and no one trained :), and did utility.
started novice with practicing fronts - the rest of the class used bj boards, i just used some of the guides for him, he didn't do half bad. but towards the end he was getting lazy and he was sitting just a hair crooked, and he would sit on the guides. thats not the purpose, buddy!
then we worked SFE and transitions to off lead heeling - he nailed this - but i need to remember to get him out and have men do more of his sFE's this weekend.
did group heeling and rah actually did REALLY well, im happy - we were both spot on, i had good body control, good footwork, and he was nailing his sits, nice and straight.
went to fig8 and he was nice except that he kept popping out to sit crooked - im going to have to work on that. his other sits are getting so good. i need to anticipate that this is going to be crooked and not let him even get in there anythingless than straight!
stays - rah went down!! eek! first break in 4-5 months i think. he got a correction and then didnt move - he ended up doing a 5 minute sit too. he was very serious about that :)
utility -
started with articles. he worked the pile very nicely - now terry says i need to start really demanding he come in much closer on his fronts and stop reaching for them - start upping what i am asking from him, and not reach out for them at all, period. he got all of his retrieves happily and correctly. i was pleased with that!
did gloves - extended my close fronts (didnt worry about so straight right now) to this as well. ive been doing my signal to go get the glove wrong this entire time, and thats going to be a hard habit to break. i really need to work on that. rah did well, i added in pivots for the first time today. but he sometimes goes for 2 when i send him for 3. need to work on that.
go outs were nice and straight. for the next week my homework is to start weaning him off of his prize on the gate. his DJ has gotten great and he was too smart -figured out that after he does high, the bar comes next and did it on his own. bastard. we spent the rest of the time trying to trick him :)
moving stand ok - signals rah got distracted and missed his. BAD rah!!!
i am so tired...
berlin didnt have class last night because kathy is at nationals with secret and blake.
im feeling rather stressed right now - i know we all go through these periods, but im trying to figure out what is going on with rah and why we're hitting a barrier. why our scores are going down in the ring (is it a true score reflection? i know at MHDTC part of that was a function of being at top dog, where he is always over the top and we lost points for that in the ring) - but am i just making excuses? am i the trainer that makes excuses for their dogs poor performances? i mean, they aren't even poor performances - they are good ones. good enough - but not good enough at the same time.
im just trying to figure out if my aspirations for him this year are attainable - or if im spending this insane amount of money (ok thats where most of the stress is coming from - how much this is costing, in an economy that is less than ideal, im taking on more debt to do this, that makes me feel a little uneasy) and we're not going to get near where i want to be.
im proud of him no matter what - he's an awesome dog, and he works so well. but we're just a step from where i wish we could be, and i just dont know what to do to get there. i dont know if there's anything i can do? maybe we're there and i just haven't seen it? i mean, its two shows and just because i didnt get 195's do i have a right to be so down on myself, when NO ONE really did well? i mean - in both shows, even in the B classes, dogs didnt do better than a 195. my TRAINER only got a 195. in the other show, half the dogs NQ'd.
i dont know - i just dont know. maybe we will get to the right shows and he will floor me.
ugh, no one wants to read this whining.
sorry. i just want more for HIM - i want people to look at him and go wow, like they did at the one show - when people came up to me and said he was amazing and that his work took their breath away. i dont care what i look like, i dont care about my half of the equation at all. i want everyone to know what i know - that he's such an awesome dog.
/end mopey training post.
im feeling rather stressed right now - i know we all go through these periods, but im trying to figure out what is going on with rah and why we're hitting a barrier. why our scores are going down in the ring (is it a true score reflection? i know at MHDTC part of that was a function of being at top dog, where he is always over the top and we lost points for that in the ring) - but am i just making excuses? am i the trainer that makes excuses for their dogs poor performances? i mean, they aren't even poor performances - they are good ones. good enough - but not good enough at the same time.
im just trying to figure out if my aspirations for him this year are attainable - or if im spending this insane amount of money (ok thats where most of the stress is coming from - how much this is costing, in an economy that is less than ideal, im taking on more debt to do this, that makes me feel a little uneasy) and we're not going to get near where i want to be.
im proud of him no matter what - he's an awesome dog, and he works so well. but we're just a step from where i wish we could be, and i just dont know what to do to get there. i dont know if there's anything i can do? maybe we're there and i just haven't seen it? i mean, its two shows and just because i didnt get 195's do i have a right to be so down on myself, when NO ONE really did well? i mean - in both shows, even in the B classes, dogs didnt do better than a 195. my TRAINER only got a 195. in the other show, half the dogs NQ'd.
i dont know - i just dont know. maybe we will get to the right shows and he will floor me.
ugh, no one wants to read this whining.
sorry. i just want more for HIM - i want people to look at him and go wow, like they did at the one show - when people came up to me and said he was amazing and that his work took their breath away. i dont care what i look like, i dont care about my half of the equation at all. i want everyone to know what i know - that he's such an awesome dog.
/end mopey training post.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
a woohoo sorta month
well, i officially introduce you to:
ARCH Bowie's Semper Fidelis v DRU CD RN RL3 ATT WAC TT CGC
Rah had a banner weekend - 11 runs, 11 Q's, 10 placements!
he was definitely tired by the end of today, but he did well, i was proud of him. ill have to use this as a workout for him to see how he does later on when he's showing in UDX classes - easily a year or two away but something like this gets his stamina up already.
This morning started off well. Level 2 was a heartbreaker - I blew a perfect score by going too close to the jump for the judge's taste. Level 1 was unremarkable in my mind. Level 3 was good, but once again I screwed him up twice and cost him some points.
level 1b - 209?????? - 4th
level 2b - 207 - 2nd
level 3a - 204 - 3rd
this afternoon he was definitely a lot more distracted.
level 1b - 209 (stupid pop up that he corrected immediately on his own without me on a down blew a perfect score again) - 3rd place
level 2b - 206?????? - 4th
level 3a - 194 - 3rd
im exhausted.
interestingly, when rah gets more tired, his heeling becomes less "frantic" to some degree - he stops bumping me as much and he becomes a lot more controllable. funny how that works. it takes 11 classes to get that...
a month ago when we entered the OTCH trial, rah had his RL1 and and one leg of his RL2. in two weekends (8 trials), he's shown in 19 classes and obtained his RL2, RL3 and ARCH . I'm exceptionally proud of him - he was incredibly consistent this weekend, worked hard even when i decided last minute to enter him in level 3 without any preparation on my part!
rah rah, you are amazing. i love you!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
APDT wrap up, day 1
well, as of today Rah is:
Bowie's Semper Fidelis v DRU, CD RN RL2 ATT WAC TT CGC
and has:
2/3 CD-H, 1/3 D-CD, 1/3 RL3, 3/5 ARCH, 4/10 RL1X, 3/10 RL2X
so no new titles today, but if all goes well tomorrow, maybe, maybe just maybe???? 2????
trial 1 - level 1 - he got a 208, 3rd place (tied for second lost on time).
trial 1 - level 2 - 209, 3rd place - same thing, tied for second, lost on time.
(second QQ towards his ARCH!)
at this point, since they still had openings at the trial, i decided to enter him for the next three trials in level 3, despite not knowing any of the signs. he'd been working pretty well, paying me nice attention, doing nice things. so what the hell?
trial 2 - level 3 - 194, first place. lost all bonus points because for SOME REASON he decided he couldn't back up in the ring??? which was hilarious. and we had to retry the first station, which was (ironically) the backup three steps. everything else was tiny - the directed jump-like thing was fine, moving stand, call to heel, etc.
trial 2- level 2 - 203 - no placement. got almost no points on the bonus because i screwed up and said "good boy" after he downed and he popped back up. stupid mom :)
trial 1 - level 1 - 209, second place. very very good work.
(third QQ towards his ARCH!)
so we got two more QQ's - two more tomorrow and he finishes his ARCH. and if he qualifies in level 3 tomorrow as well, he could finish his RL3 as well, which would make this a very productive weekend for us.
he's working very well, and im pleased as punch. at some point, i need to sign berlin up with APDT and get her showing here as well. ugh, if only i had unlimited funds for all of this, to show them both all over the place!!! this is SPENDY!!!
on a side note, this hotel room is NICE.... nice nice nice. very comfy beds, featherbed tops. has a fridge and microwave. full cable tv (all stations). im in heaven. could stay here forever.
hate MD drivers though.
Bowie's Semper Fidelis v DRU, CD RN RL2 ATT WAC TT CGC
and has:
2/3 CD-H, 1/3 D-CD, 1/3 RL3, 3/5 ARCH, 4/10 RL1X, 3/10 RL2X
so no new titles today, but if all goes well tomorrow, maybe, maybe just maybe???? 2????
trial 1 - level 1 - he got a 208, 3rd place (tied for second lost on time).
trial 1 - level 2 - 209, 3rd place - same thing, tied for second, lost on time.
(second QQ towards his ARCH!)
at this point, since they still had openings at the trial, i decided to enter him for the next three trials in level 3, despite not knowing any of the signs. he'd been working pretty well, paying me nice attention, doing nice things. so what the hell?
trial 2 - level 3 - 194, first place. lost all bonus points because for SOME REASON he decided he couldn't back up in the ring??? which was hilarious. and we had to retry the first station, which was (ironically) the backup three steps. everything else was tiny - the directed jump-like thing was fine, moving stand, call to heel, etc.
trial 2- level 2 - 203 - no placement. got almost no points on the bonus because i screwed up and said "good boy" after he downed and he popped back up. stupid mom :)
trial 1 - level 1 - 209, second place. very very good work.
(third QQ towards his ARCH!)
so we got two more QQ's - two more tomorrow and he finishes his ARCH. and if he qualifies in level 3 tomorrow as well, he could finish his RL3 as well, which would make this a very productive weekend for us.
he's working very well, and im pleased as punch. at some point, i need to sign berlin up with APDT and get her showing here as well. ugh, if only i had unlimited funds for all of this, to show them both all over the place!!! this is SPENDY!!!
on a side note, this hotel room is NICE.... nice nice nice. very comfy beds, featherbed tops. has a fridge and microwave. full cable tv (all stations). im in heaven. could stay here forever.
hate MD drivers though.
Friday, October 10, 2008
maybe an update later
i have to get to packing - i need to leave sometime in the next few hours for MD, where rah is entered all weekend in the APDT trials in a vain attempt to finish his ARCH this weekend.
rah's classes last night, for a summary to remind me:
heeling - work on slows.
db games - no tight turn, mouthing when stressed. good drive.
bj - good! nice straight fronts.
roh - at 28!!! not 30!!!! phew! did a few hard ones... all nice. work on straight fronts.
fig8 - pain in the ass. constant uturns.
utilitime -
articles - 2 perfect lydia cant touch them.
go outs - brain fart. DJ - nice.
glove pivots - lovely.
signals - nice. cute.
moving stand - nice.
rah's classes last night, for a summary to remind me:
heeling - work on slows.
db games - no tight turn, mouthing when stressed. good drive.
bj - good! nice straight fronts.
roh - at 28!!! not 30!!!! phew! did a few hard ones... all nice. work on straight fronts.
fig8 - pain in the ass. constant uturns.
utilitime -
articles - 2 perfect lydia cant touch them.
go outs - brain fart. DJ - nice.
glove pivots - lovely.
signals - nice. cute.
moving stand - nice.
is there anybody out there?
wednesday night berlin had class - there's no class for her next week, so we will spend some time just working. maybe. im such a lazy trainer, my dogs would be so much better if i worked them more.
anyway, we started with some heeling - worked in a group. then, kathy had us taken them off leash!!! we still worked in a group, but we heeled for about 20 minutes - it was more heeling than berlin has ever done. she was doing well, and she was one of the few that didn't get put back on leash for leaving me - but we were both tired by 20 minutes in, and she was even panting !!!!!!!! poor gal. kathy had us stop periodically and work on 20 seconds of keeping our dogs with us while we were just "hanging" and then setting them back up into heel position.
berlins push definitely suffered by the end - i dont know if it was just feeding off of me (i was definitely a lot flatter by the end), or if it was that she wasnt used to that much heeling, if its just her method of heeling (i have to stop comparing her to rah - i have to remember, as others point out - part of rahs drive is that he teeters so close to the point of lack of control that we really are dangerous), or what... but its very different than rah. the more tired rah gets, the MORE he pushes. the more tired berlin gets, the less she is there. its odd. shes a normal dog? im not used to normal dogs. rah just digs deeper. maybe it will come with berlin.
im going to bring berlins toy out for her heeling to try to get more flash with her heeling. im a hypocrite because i want precision more than anything, but i also think she has the ability to give me flash AND precision, so i want to see if i can get it. i get flash from her about 70% of the time right now. i also have to work on her position and have terry watch her (maybe the next private, ill have it split) - because when the food goes away from my hand to my mouth, she goes wider to see it. also mental note- when she was tired, she stopped sitting.
we immediately went from the heeling to an off leash SFE - and berlin was awesome. she totally gets stand now without any extra cues, but she pops out almost perpendicular to me. i have to start working her on a barrier to stop it, but she has a really cute pop, she FINALLY gets the stand after literally a year of working it! she was also one of the few dogs that did a perfect SFE, not moving an inch. then after that, we returned to our dogs and heeled them over to a set up for the heel off leash, like we would in the ring.
we got to take a break for a few minutes (phew) while the class was split in half to work on fronts. berlins fronts werent half bad - she's fast, but she has a tendency to come in, when i go past 10-15 feet, slightly arked (a little to my left all the time) before she hits a straight front. odd, right? im going to break out the clicker and work on defining her perfectly straight front - shes coming in very straight, right up and touching me, so its nice. have to work on defining her pop up left finish as well.
also - mental note - if im going to show her in rally in 2 weeks (she is entered at tappan zee, im a goner!) i need to teach her a right finish!).
then we did stays, and she was perfect.
all in all, not bad for a baby girl. i think im going to do some rally with her, definitely some APDT, and then enter her in CDSP and UKC obedience and see how she does early next year. I'd like to get rah out of novice in both of these orgs so that i dont have to show them in the same classes, though. hmmm...
there are some internetz people who are driving me crazy lately. im just going to have to learn to keep my mouth shut...
anyway, we started with some heeling - worked in a group. then, kathy had us taken them off leash!!! we still worked in a group, but we heeled for about 20 minutes - it was more heeling than berlin has ever done. she was doing well, and she was one of the few that didn't get put back on leash for leaving me - but we were both tired by 20 minutes in, and she was even panting !!!!!!!! poor gal. kathy had us stop periodically and work on 20 seconds of keeping our dogs with us while we were just "hanging" and then setting them back up into heel position.
berlins push definitely suffered by the end - i dont know if it was just feeding off of me (i was definitely a lot flatter by the end), or if it was that she wasnt used to that much heeling, if its just her method of heeling (i have to stop comparing her to rah - i have to remember, as others point out - part of rahs drive is that he teeters so close to the point of lack of control that we really are dangerous), or what... but its very different than rah. the more tired rah gets, the MORE he pushes. the more tired berlin gets, the less she is there. its odd. shes a normal dog? im not used to normal dogs. rah just digs deeper. maybe it will come with berlin.
im going to bring berlins toy out for her heeling to try to get more flash with her heeling. im a hypocrite because i want precision more than anything, but i also think she has the ability to give me flash AND precision, so i want to see if i can get it. i get flash from her about 70% of the time right now. i also have to work on her position and have terry watch her (maybe the next private, ill have it split) - because when the food goes away from my hand to my mouth, she goes wider to see it. also mental note- when she was tired, she stopped sitting.
we immediately went from the heeling to an off leash SFE - and berlin was awesome. she totally gets stand now without any extra cues, but she pops out almost perpendicular to me. i have to start working her on a barrier to stop it, but she has a really cute pop, she FINALLY gets the stand after literally a year of working it! she was also one of the few dogs that did a perfect SFE, not moving an inch. then after that, we returned to our dogs and heeled them over to a set up for the heel off leash, like we would in the ring.
we got to take a break for a few minutes (phew) while the class was split in half to work on fronts. berlins fronts werent half bad - she's fast, but she has a tendency to come in, when i go past 10-15 feet, slightly arked (a little to my left all the time) before she hits a straight front. odd, right? im going to break out the clicker and work on defining her perfectly straight front - shes coming in very straight, right up and touching me, so its nice. have to work on defining her pop up left finish as well.
also - mental note - if im going to show her in rally in 2 weeks (she is entered at tappan zee, im a goner!) i need to teach her a right finish!).
then we did stays, and she was perfect.
all in all, not bad for a baby girl. i think im going to do some rally with her, definitely some APDT, and then enter her in CDSP and UKC obedience and see how she does early next year. I'd like to get rah out of novice in both of these orgs so that i dont have to show them in the same classes, though. hmmm...
there are some internetz people who are driving me crazy lately. im just going to have to learn to keep my mouth shut...
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
i get there eventually
ok so the trial :) 0
so we get to the trial- i entered because it was indoors. but there's a catch - its in the armory gym (gross floors, ugh!) and they have the huge service garage door wide open and its literally 5 feet from the novice ring! and there were windows all over the room, with light shining in onto the floor. needless to say, for the girl whose dog chases lights something fierce, i was having a heart attack.
i lug all the crates in, walk rah around the room and get him aquainted, do some with me's, and put him away. watch some of the B class, and then get him out to work.
eventually it becomes my turn.
i got him in the ring ok, but i lost him right before the set up - head fell, he looked out the door. i got him back and set him up and he was good as we took off heeling - but the first halt was right past the blinding light, and when i halted, rah stopped but was staring outside at the dogs warming up. i stared at him, and he looked back at me and slowly sat (crooked likely). so instead of a no sit i got a slow/crooked sit. took back off, finished off the heeling pattern without any majorly bad things.
hard to set up for the fig8 because she had us so close to the ring gate, rah and i were literally almost on top of them. not a big issue for those small dogs, but rah and i were really cramped. not too bad until the last halt, where i lost my balance and stepped right into him, and i pushed him really far out for a crooked sit.
SFE he was distracted and he needed a second command, but he did fine, so no points off.
transition to off leash was ok again until we got to actual setting up - then he dropped his head at the last minute, but i got him back and he was there, we played a set up game. took off and he was ok and much better than on leash. however, i was WORSE for the slow, and i didnt slow enough and then i didnt come out of the slow FAST enough... bad handler.
on the recall, i left him, he was focused on me, i called him - and he came barrelling at me and hit me in the stomach with a foot before a straight front. then a nice finish.
sits were fine, but he was very uncomfortable with the down (gross floor - concrete!). but he held it.
we took the class and HS dobe, HS working dog - im not sure how i lost my points on off leash, as no one could find any substantials??????? but oh well... so that was our CD . bad bad handling, but had i known we would have had the essentially outdoor experience right next to the ring, i would have ixnayed it!
we ended up staying all day to get our awards at the end - but karen and chris (chris owns raisin!) came and i hung out with them, had dinner, and karen was judging rally and wanted me to be her honor dog extra and we ran the excellent course. he did really well :)
so we get to the trial- i entered because it was indoors. but there's a catch - its in the armory gym (gross floors, ugh!) and they have the huge service garage door wide open and its literally 5 feet from the novice ring! and there were windows all over the room, with light shining in onto the floor. needless to say, for the girl whose dog chases lights something fierce, i was having a heart attack.
i lug all the crates in, walk rah around the room and get him aquainted, do some with me's, and put him away. watch some of the B class, and then get him out to work.
eventually it becomes my turn.
i got him in the ring ok, but i lost him right before the set up - head fell, he looked out the door. i got him back and set him up and he was good as we took off heeling - but the first halt was right past the blinding light, and when i halted, rah stopped but was staring outside at the dogs warming up. i stared at him, and he looked back at me and slowly sat (crooked likely). so instead of a no sit i got a slow/crooked sit. took back off, finished off the heeling pattern without any majorly bad things.
hard to set up for the fig8 because she had us so close to the ring gate, rah and i were literally almost on top of them. not a big issue for those small dogs, but rah and i were really cramped. not too bad until the last halt, where i lost my balance and stepped right into him, and i pushed him really far out for a crooked sit.
SFE he was distracted and he needed a second command, but he did fine, so no points off.
transition to off leash was ok again until we got to actual setting up - then he dropped his head at the last minute, but i got him back and he was there, we played a set up game. took off and he was ok and much better than on leash. however, i was WORSE for the slow, and i didnt slow enough and then i didnt come out of the slow FAST enough... bad handler.
on the recall, i left him, he was focused on me, i called him - and he came barrelling at me and hit me in the stomach with a foot before a straight front. then a nice finish.
sits were fine, but he was very uncomfortable with the down (gross floor - concrete!). but he held it.
we took the class and HS dobe, HS working dog - im not sure how i lost my points on off leash, as no one could find any substantials??????? but oh well... so that was our CD . bad bad handling, but had i known we would have had the essentially outdoor experience right next to the ring, i would have ixnayed it!
we ended up staying all day to get our awards at the end - but karen and chris (chris owns raisin!) came and i hung out with them, had dinner, and karen was judging rally and wanted me to be her honor dog extra and we ran the excellent course. he did really well :)
Monday, October 6, 2008
finally
8 hours later, but i told you there would be a second post coming :) it just wasn't immediate!!
so, rah finished his CD this weekend! but, im a tease - details to come... :)
so, rah finished his CD this weekend! but, im a tease - details to come... :)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
first things first
ok this will be the first post, trying to address classes this week, then i will do a second updated post on rah's showing this weekend.
i missed classes on wednesday because i was so sick - couldnt get off the couch sick, much less train the dogs. so i opted to do all three classes on thursday instead.
started with rah in novice - the details are fuzzy as to all the little things we did.
i know we worked stands, and i had ashler's dad do his SFE instead - he still took 2 steps towards him. im not sure what his issue is with men, but i definitely need to work it - especially since we're going to be showing to men in november. we've got 2-3 weeks to get this taken care of! eek!
worked recalls with multiple dogs in the group going at the same time - rah was good and didn't come when another dog was called, and i also worked some ring situations, like having the judge wait a bit before giving me the finish, which happened last time which is why he repositioned in his front - whats worse is im afraid one day he will do an auto finish!
heeling wasnt bad. ive taken care of some of his forgey-ness, but hes still glued to me, physically attached. and his fig8's, i dont know what my issue is with them, but they aren't getting any better and its been months, no years, that we've been working on them. and he's still up my ass like a stick - its really frustrating knowing that THAT is the reason we are losing most of our points on leash, all the bumping/crowding on the fig8. im going to have to ask terry where to go from here, because i need more help.
stays were fine.
i put him away for open and brought out berlin. we skipped the group heeling, since all the distraction was too much for her, just did some of the single heeling. not bad for a baby dog. then we broke up to work the jumps, etc. spent 10 minutes with the db out and worked on shaping a "take it" - she gives me good full mouth grips but always stops right before the point of pulling it out of my hands, which is frustrating. so i went to terry, and terry said we may need to use force with her. i had always wanted to avoid it, but im not sure where else to go. i took the db out and just placed it in her mouth (she fought that!) and then rewarded her for a nice calm hold. i havent worked that in days (bad bad me), but ill have to keep doing that and work her to get the nice hold. she's certainly not the retrieving fool for the db that rah is - i have to stop comparing them.
then we did some broad jump and high jump. worked cookie marks over the high jump, i only had her at 8 inches, but she did well, she likes that game :) automatically wants to come back to front, which is nice. nice close fronts, too. broad jump she hadn't seen ever before, so we had to intro that, but she got it quickly too and she was all about it.
dont remember much else, then it was time for utility.
started with articles for rah. he had 2-3 perfect retrieves, and then his last, we totally lost it. he picks up the article right NEXT to the right one - and then when i resent him to the pile (looking back, after showing him that he was wrong, i should have gone back out to the pile to show him the correct article rather than letting him just guess multiple times), he just grabbed any article he could see first, without even smelling them. ugh.
his go outs, on the other hand, were marvelous. BEAUTIFUL. full length, awesome turn and sits. and we did jumps from the center, and i had rah going to the jumps just on a flick of an eye - not an arm, not a verbal - me simply looking at the jump (not even turning my head), WOOHOO for paying attention.
rather than working normal gloves, we worked a modified seekback exercise and that was fun- elsie said rah has very nice pivots.
signals were ok - rah gets them at about 15 feet, past that right now and he sometimes gets confused. moving stand was nice too.
so it was a mixed bag for me. i know i need to work them more every single day - i need to get healthy and then i will make that happen. my dogs would be so much better if i worked them as much as they deserve.
i missed classes on wednesday because i was so sick - couldnt get off the couch sick, much less train the dogs. so i opted to do all three classes on thursday instead.
started with rah in novice - the details are fuzzy as to all the little things we did.
i know we worked stands, and i had ashler's dad do his SFE instead - he still took 2 steps towards him. im not sure what his issue is with men, but i definitely need to work it - especially since we're going to be showing to men in november. we've got 2-3 weeks to get this taken care of! eek!
worked recalls with multiple dogs in the group going at the same time - rah was good and didn't come when another dog was called, and i also worked some ring situations, like having the judge wait a bit before giving me the finish, which happened last time which is why he repositioned in his front - whats worse is im afraid one day he will do an auto finish!
heeling wasnt bad. ive taken care of some of his forgey-ness, but hes still glued to me, physically attached. and his fig8's, i dont know what my issue is with them, but they aren't getting any better and its been months, no years, that we've been working on them. and he's still up my ass like a stick - its really frustrating knowing that THAT is the reason we are losing most of our points on leash, all the bumping/crowding on the fig8. im going to have to ask terry where to go from here, because i need more help.
stays were fine.
i put him away for open and brought out berlin. we skipped the group heeling, since all the distraction was too much for her, just did some of the single heeling. not bad for a baby dog. then we broke up to work the jumps, etc. spent 10 minutes with the db out and worked on shaping a "take it" - she gives me good full mouth grips but always stops right before the point of pulling it out of my hands, which is frustrating. so i went to terry, and terry said we may need to use force with her. i had always wanted to avoid it, but im not sure where else to go. i took the db out and just placed it in her mouth (she fought that!) and then rewarded her for a nice calm hold. i havent worked that in days (bad bad me), but ill have to keep doing that and work her to get the nice hold. she's certainly not the retrieving fool for the db that rah is - i have to stop comparing them.
then we did some broad jump and high jump. worked cookie marks over the high jump, i only had her at 8 inches, but she did well, she likes that game :) automatically wants to come back to front, which is nice. nice close fronts, too. broad jump she hadn't seen ever before, so we had to intro that, but she got it quickly too and she was all about it.
dont remember much else, then it was time for utility.
started with articles for rah. he had 2-3 perfect retrieves, and then his last, we totally lost it. he picks up the article right NEXT to the right one - and then when i resent him to the pile (looking back, after showing him that he was wrong, i should have gone back out to the pile to show him the correct article rather than letting him just guess multiple times), he just grabbed any article he could see first, without even smelling them. ugh.
his go outs, on the other hand, were marvelous. BEAUTIFUL. full length, awesome turn and sits. and we did jumps from the center, and i had rah going to the jumps just on a flick of an eye - not an arm, not a verbal - me simply looking at the jump (not even turning my head), WOOHOO for paying attention.
rather than working normal gloves, we worked a modified seekback exercise and that was fun- elsie said rah has very nice pivots.
signals were ok - rah gets them at about 15 feet, past that right now and he sometimes gets confused. moving stand was nice too.
so it was a mixed bag for me. i know i need to work them more every single day - i need to get healthy and then i will make that happen. my dogs would be so much better if i worked them as much as they deserve.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
oops....
no class tonight. i couldnt possibly get off the couch. i am just so unbelievably tired and ugh-feeling. the dogs did me the favor of sleeping most of the afternoon until about 9 pm at which point they became REALLY ANNOYING (tm).
since the blog needs a little refocus, lets use this time where i am too drugged up and too tired to even move, as a time to self-reflect and set some goals, etc. :)
things rah needs to work on -
1) straight sits and fronts are always an issue. now that we are cleaning them up, we need to start preparing for open and getting straight fronts with the db. i admit to not working these much, need to get on that.
2) our fig8 needs constant work. most of it is my bodywork and footwork.
3) not letting him overpower me - he brings so much drive and power to the ring, i need to make sure i dont just let him get more crazed by feeding into it and losing control. i need to remain calm and in control in the ring.
4) utility - back up a step with articles and get him more comfortable with them again. start teaching a turn and sit without the cookie for go outs.
5) continue to proof his stays. knock on wood, they have been perfect since his BH (woohoo), but im not doing ANY out of sight until november. ill talk to terry about when to start introducing this.
6) work on a SFE with men!!!!!!!!
plans for rah -
rah is currently entered
oct 4th - nov a in cherry hill, NJ
oct 11th/12th - 4 rally trials in frederick MD (ill be down there starting fri night)
oct 26th - spring valley, NY - nov a
nov 1/2 - back mountain in bloomsburg PA - nov a
nov 13/14/15/16 - leatherstocking cluster in syracuse NY - nov a
dec 6/7 - 2 rally trials in NJ at pam dennison's
entries i still need to send in:
nov 20/21 - reading PA - nov a
dec 14 - lehigh valley KC show - nov a
im wondering if i can get down to MD on nov 9th (is that too much? showing EVERY weekend???) for the regional obedience qualifier...
goals for rah -
finish his CD, and then continue showing him to attain some good ring experience, and hopefully along the way some good enough scores to get him into the TT for this quarter.
potentially have him ready to bring him out in open for the jan/feb clusters? im not sure i will be financially recovered from these shows by then :) but id like to have him ready for utility by nationals in october of next year...
things berlin needs to work on -
1) keeping her straight sits and fronts (woohoo)
2) maintaining heel position while i move the cookie to my mouth without her bumping forward
3) SFE
4) teach her a formal retrieve!
plans for berlin -
considering entering her in rally? but i think i want to bring her out in APDT before i bring her out in AKC, i dont know ! i cant decide im really considering bringing her out in the leatherstocking cluster...
goals for berlin -
have her ready for her novice debut at nationals next year!
since the blog needs a little refocus, lets use this time where i am too drugged up and too tired to even move, as a time to self-reflect and set some goals, etc. :)
things rah needs to work on -
1) straight sits and fronts are always an issue. now that we are cleaning them up, we need to start preparing for open and getting straight fronts with the db. i admit to not working these much, need to get on that.
2) our fig8 needs constant work. most of it is my bodywork and footwork.
3) not letting him overpower me - he brings so much drive and power to the ring, i need to make sure i dont just let him get more crazed by feeding into it and losing control. i need to remain calm and in control in the ring.
4) utility - back up a step with articles and get him more comfortable with them again. start teaching a turn and sit without the cookie for go outs.
5) continue to proof his stays. knock on wood, they have been perfect since his BH (woohoo), but im not doing ANY out of sight until november. ill talk to terry about when to start introducing this.
6) work on a SFE with men!!!!!!!!
plans for rah -
rah is currently entered
oct 4th - nov a in cherry hill, NJ
oct 11th/12th - 4 rally trials in frederick MD (ill be down there starting fri night)
oct 26th - spring valley, NY - nov a
nov 1/2 - back mountain in bloomsburg PA - nov a
nov 13/14/15/16 - leatherstocking cluster in syracuse NY - nov a
dec 6/7 - 2 rally trials in NJ at pam dennison's
entries i still need to send in:
nov 20/21 - reading PA - nov a
dec 14 - lehigh valley KC show - nov a
im wondering if i can get down to MD on nov 9th (is that too much? showing EVERY weekend???) for the regional obedience qualifier...
goals for rah -
finish his CD, and then continue showing him to attain some good ring experience, and hopefully along the way some good enough scores to get him into the TT for this quarter.
potentially have him ready to bring him out in open for the jan/feb clusters? im not sure i will be financially recovered from these shows by then :) but id like to have him ready for utility by nationals in october of next year...
things berlin needs to work on -
1) keeping her straight sits and fronts (woohoo)
2) maintaining heel position while i move the cookie to my mouth without her bumping forward
3) SFE
4) teach her a formal retrieve!
plans for berlin -
considering entering her in rally? but i think i want to bring her out in APDT before i bring her out in AKC, i dont know ! i cant decide im really considering bringing her out in the leatherstocking cluster...
goals for berlin -
have her ready for her novice debut at nationals next year!
terrible!
i know its been so long!
we didnt have classes at Hk9 last week, because everyone was at the wine circuit.
so instead, i chose to take rah and berlin to drop in lessons at one of the facilities i used to take classes at, but no longer do.
im happy to say i feel they have both made progress beyond that of their classmates, but i am not sad i dont train there anymore. the trainers are great and nice, but its just too many people in those classes and i am not getting from them what i need. i need more individual attention, more hands on, more input from the trainers.
i kept berlin back in novice 1 (though she likely could have gone all the way up to the more advanced half of novice 2). first we worked on set ups, which she nailed (her fave), then we worked on sit for exam (while she already has a SFE). then we used flexis and worked straight fronts - and she NAILED these, i was very pleased with them.
we then worked footwork for turns (right, left and about) with nice attention and she did them all spectacularly. played some recall games and then we ended with a 3 minute sit and a 5 minute down.
went to rah's class, and rah has come a long way too - while he was ON ON ON, he also had a lot more control and it showed (barely). his fig 8's suffered, but he was a lot... more ... well, controlled.
im sick and very tired. and rattley in my chest.
we have class back at Hk9 tonight, and rah shows for his last CD leg on saturday, wish us luck. ive sent entries in for his many shows....
we didnt have classes at Hk9 last week, because everyone was at the wine circuit.
so instead, i chose to take rah and berlin to drop in lessons at one of the facilities i used to take classes at, but no longer do.
im happy to say i feel they have both made progress beyond that of their classmates, but i am not sad i dont train there anymore. the trainers are great and nice, but its just too many people in those classes and i am not getting from them what i need. i need more individual attention, more hands on, more input from the trainers.
i kept berlin back in novice 1 (though she likely could have gone all the way up to the more advanced half of novice 2). first we worked on set ups, which she nailed (her fave), then we worked on sit for exam (while she already has a SFE). then we used flexis and worked straight fronts - and she NAILED these, i was very pleased with them.
we then worked footwork for turns (right, left and about) with nice attention and she did them all spectacularly. played some recall games and then we ended with a 3 minute sit and a 5 minute down.
went to rah's class, and rah has come a long way too - while he was ON ON ON, he also had a lot more control and it showed (barely). his fig 8's suffered, but he was a lot... more ... well, controlled.
im sick and very tired. and rattley in my chest.
we have class back at Hk9 tonight, and rah shows for his last CD leg on saturday, wish us luck. ive sent entries in for his many shows....
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