Friday, December 01, 2006

Wicca earns her CD

Wicca finished her CD degree last weekend at the Calgary Canine Center. She already had one qualifying score from Medicine Hat in the summer and recieved the last two needed on the the 26th of November. We have been training alot and she has improved so much in the past few months. At the trial however she was pretty rotten, she was actually nervous I think but even with encouragement do you think she would sit? not a chance. So we missed every sit, but we had a decent recall, good heeling, and she did her long sits and downs no problem. Now we can pursue our Open and Utility exercises full time. She has pretty much all the open exercises down pat and we just need to polish and fine tune some small stuff. We haven't worked much on out of sight stays though so will be tackling that fixing some other problems that popped up.

I am very proud of her even with her poor performance. She is a great dog and is still young, she has quite a bit of growing up to do, and she and I need to learn to work better as a team. It is all a work in progress I guess!

Saturday, November 11, 2006

agility stuff

Well, lots has happened in the past few weeks. I guess I'll start in order

Agility Trial- Balzsac
-Sam Q'd in Jumpers. Wicca ran really well, still blowing me off on contacts, missing weave entries, but had good start lines

Private Lesson with Shannen- Was awesome! We had a blast and Shannen always has really great ideas for stuff- She suggested I actually put a command to a "tight" around a jump for Sam and Wicca, and also had some really good reminders about being consistent with the little things- treating low on contacts, demanding a nose touch etc. Also she showed us the "gates" on the weave poles and I am totally going to try that with Sam- he has been the hardest dog to teach weaves, I think this will just help him to "get" it. Overall, It was very worth the drive and Sarah and I are going to do it again on the 25th of Nov.


Have been practicing alot lately, Sam offered 6 poles by himself, no gates, and I was about 8 feet behind him. He is really starting to get it, I am so excited! Wicca is doing awesome with her contacts and start lines. I feel that we are finally getting somewhere. There are moments of brilliance in this dog- of course she usually burst s my bubble by promptly [plowing into a jump or something stupid.

Nov 11- AAC Agility trial- Calgary agility
We went up just for the day and my dogs did awesome. No Q's but huge improvements with both of them.
Sam weaved 12 poles in Adv. Std. It was amazing- he nailed the entry and stayed in the whole way! He was a very good boy all day and had some great runs. I think I may have to be more clear with him what I expect for the contacts though. With all this confidence his speed is way up and he missed two contacts today. And I need to start incorporating the spread and the double more into training- both dogs knocked those today.
Wicca had rock solid start lines, and STUCK EVERY CONTACT! I am so happy with her, she was really really great today, she nailed a few weavepole entries and overall was jsut a really great dog today.

-amanda

Monday, October 23, 2006

Fun Weekend

We had a great time at the Training Troop Trial in Blazsac this weekend. I had Wicca entered in the whole trial and Sam in four games- Snooker, Jumpers, Gamblers and Team.

Wicca had a great weekend- she ran really well for me- getting the masters gamble but not enough points...She had some moments of Frenzy but I only took her off early once. Her best run was a standard- We had a great start line (the no leash thing works amazing!) and made it half way around the cours with no faults and the whistle blew- the timer malfunctioned- so we got a re run- we had some faults (two bars I think) and I made her redo her dogwalk but it was smooth and felt good. She had a good jumpers run aswell but I was too far behind from where I had planned to be and didn't handle it very good. Snooker was a bust (as per usual :o) ) She right off the bat changed my plans but I thought quick enough and salvaged the opening- we were just starting the closing when instead of taking the tunnel she took a jump that was beside it...too bad....The last run of the weeekend (literally)- Std 3- She and I worked really, really, well together. I was where I needed to be and I thought that we did really well. Her bar knocking this weekend wasn't bad at all- maybe one or two per run but she is getting much better about it.

Sam had a good weekend aswell. He got the Gamble but ran out of time so didn't Q- but it was still a great run. Snooker was really fun- He did really well but dropped a bar in the closing...
His Jumpers Run was amazing- he ran fast and took direction really well. He had a bobble at the tire (refused it two times before taking it) but he still had the third fastest time in the class! So now he moves up to Advanced Jumpers at the next trial. Team he was a little wild! He ran really wide over jumps and out of tunnels so had a few off courses- but.....he weaved 12 poles! I was amazed...he did it with very little help from me and was pretty quick about it!
I am going to start entering him back in standard runs soon.

Things I need to work on:

Sam
- tight turn on jumps
-tunnel/tunnel discriminations
-tire
-weaves

Wicca
-contacts (sticking)
-weave commitment
-spread/double

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

...

The dogs have been doing great lately. I changed jobs a while back and now work at the Boarding Kennel where we keep our agility equipment- Which means a) that the dogs get to come to work with me! and b) that we get to do even more agility!

In even the short time I have been here I have seen noticable results. I work the dogs every time I bring them for about 15 minutes. This is on top of our regualr practices.
Wicca's weaves are very much improved- no frustration, hitting entries and she is nailing contacts and we also practice "stay" she has to stay while Sam is working and it almost kills her but she does it....mostly...I think that this will really pay off at trials.

Sam is doing really, really, well- he is such a neat dog. He is in advanced standard now- which means he has to be able to weave without me- so he didn't get to play at the last trial at all and only gets to do a few games at the next one....So weaves have been a major project but I am happy to say that with the extra practice he's finally getting it....I have him entered in Nov in one advanced titling so we'll see how that goes.

We are off to a trial this weekend in Calgary and then there is another one In November, and I entered Wicca in an Obedience trial at the Canine Center for Nov29.....aaagh! We have been practicing alot and she is doing really well so hopefully we can keep it up and come away with a leg or two!

-amanda

Monday, September 25, 2006

Start Line

Sarah and I ventured to Medicine Hat for the day on Saturday- I had Wicca entered in just three standard runs. Sam is still figuring out the weave pole thing so until he gets it he won't be running much at trials anymore....

So- our first run was pretty bad. Wicca was frantic at the start line- didn't knock the first bar however....She did blow the contact on the dowgwalk- so i made her do it again- she ran the first half of the course pretty well after that. -And then she blew the wall...so I picked her up and ended the game. Wicca was a little annoyed I think....
I have been playing around and testing different things at trials- we have our warm up down pat and it seems to work fairly well.. We do heeling, attention, weave through legs, over a few jumps, stretching and stays.
The next run (Std#2) I took her lead off before we got in the ring and took advantage of a timers delay and set her up and made her wait- I walked away- and rewarded the stay, came back to her and released her and played with her. and then set her up again. It was amazing! I did it two times before they were anywhere near ready for me and we actually had a solid start line! It was a good run- except for the dogwalk and wall contacts she didn't stick- (I made her redo them...) but otherwise I felt good about it. She took my direction really good- and wasn't too frenzied.
Std#3- I did the same thing at the start- no leash up to the line, down, stay, release and reward, set up- lead out and Go! It seemed to work really well. This run was a bit better- She still broke her contacts but she was very controlled- and listened really well- she even almost had perfect weaves! She blew past the entry but the second time I sent her in she went in no problem....

So I think some key things I learned-

Long Warm Up- which is hard sometimes with her being the first dog.
No rushing at the start line....
Leash off before I get her in the ring- I am confident she won't leave me and take off onto equipment.
Be confident in the lead out....

Sarah had a great day with Bird- his first time in Masters Standard and he Q'd Bang, bang, bang...to get his MAD! What a great guy!

Gyp and Wicca got to have some girl time and played well together for the most part- Wicca is pretty selective as to who she'll interact with- she's very much a dog snob....

-amanda

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Pictures




Here is two new photos of the corgis'!!!! Sarah took these in Kimberly at the AAC trial. They are just too cute together!

Monday, September 11, 2006

Sam ADC!


Well- I entered Sam at his first full AAC trial and he earned his Agility Dog Of Canada! I can't believe this dog! I entered him even though he still isn't weaving properly but thought that the ring experience would be good for him....Well- he weaved for me (with some help) and managed to qualify in five runs! Three standard Q's - which gives him the ADC and a Snooker Q!
He worked really, really well for me...

Wicca was great this weekend too! We had our best run ever and almost had the masters gamble (the buzzer went before she could hit the table) but wow! she worked really hard- we had one awesome weave entry- great contacts (except for two runs- which i reinforced and made her do correctly), great tables and even had a few start lines...

The funniest part of the whole weekend is that with Wicca and I it is apparently impossible to get a Snooker Q and Sam did it on his first try!

What a great weekend!

Friday, August 25, 2006

End of Summer

Well it is almost the end of Summer. I have been very, very busy. Every weekend I have either worked or attended some sort of dog event. The dogs are all doing great- and they have all done alot over the summer. I will just sort of highlight what has happened.
Starting with the most recent
August long weekend- AKC Show
-Sam earned a leg on his Rally title with a 205/210
-Sam earned a NADAC Tunnelers leg
-Wicca ran both NADAC and CKC- was a raving lunatic mostly but we had some really good runs.

Paws N' Effects Trial- beginning of August....I think
Wicca ran pretty well. I need to be a better handler for her but we are working better over all as a team. Sam did really well. He is very consistent and is learning what dog shows are really about- fun!

Shannen Jorgensen Seminar July sometime
Awesome! It was a very good seminar and I learned alot about my dogs. It was a great weekend and it was really nice to have some feedback on Wicca and Sam. She had some really great advice that seems to be helping a bit with the bar knocking and teaching her that there are consequences for her actions. Also learned some really handy things for teaching weave entries and such....

Kate has been really good- she hasn't been out to any of the above events but I have taken her a few times out to agility and have jsut enjoyed being around her. I'd like to find something that her and I can do together but unfortunately I just don't have the time or the means right now...


Those are the highlights- And the stuff that I can remember off hand. Now that my life is hopefully slowed down a bit I will be back to keeping track of stuff here.
When I have time I will come back and type exactly what the dogs did and stuff.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

May 20 something....

How time flies!!!

I can't believe it is already the end of May....Summer has just begun and already every weekend is crammed full of dog stuff!
Here is some doggy news....

Wicca earned a leg on her CD- she did really well but was quite stressed about half way through our routine...I think that although I thought we had gotten past her obedience ring nerves she still has quite a bit of growing up to do...I am going to wait probably another year or so until ptting her back in- In the mean time I am going to get her out to as many fun matches as I can.
Agility wise we have been working hard. Regionals is coming up in a few weeks and there are still quite a few kinks to work out. We are working really well together- finally. But there is still a lot of training on both our parts...I have been working on my handling, and being able to get where I need to be and have stopped worrying about her- She is learning to listen even when she is excited and is consistently holding a start line, not popping of the table and is less frustrated about the weave poles.
We are having a seminar the first weekend in July and I am hoping she will have some good tips and suggestions for us.
Here is a cute picture of Sam and I- at a Rally seminar...Whenever I reward him he jumps straight up like a Kangaroo!
He is doing great. His heeling is getting better and better. He is a very happy, up beat heeler and I'd like to keep him that way. I am also working on his weaves. i have decided to try Susan Garret's two by two method and it is going really well. The rest of his agility stuff is going awesome. He is much more confident on his contacts and and is a great jumper. I have started doing harder sequences and am hoping to enter him in August at the AKC show...

Kate is awesome. She is coming "out" about once a week either to obedience, agility, or just to run around the training yard and seems to be enjoying herself. She is really turning grey these days....but is still acting young and being cute.....
More updates and new pictures coming soon!!!!

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

update

We have been very, very busy over the past month. The dogs are all doing great and are enjoying our mild winter (we have only had a few cold, snowy days)
We have been to two trials in the past few weeks- in the middle of the month we went to an AAC trial in Calgary where Wicca ran very well- she earned two Q's- one in advanced Gamblers and one in Team....her other run were pretty good but her lack of a solid start line and my lack of control did us in on the other runs. This past weekend was a One Day NADAC Games trial and it was a lot of fun. I have never played tunnelers, touch 'n go or Weavers before so it was really neat to see. I of course didn't enter Wicca in tunnelers- I feared her little brain may explode by the third tunnel...but Sam played! He did great. It was his first competition ever and he had a blast. The first one he was a little hesitant but still Q'd, but by the second one he was way more confident and dove into the tunnels like a mad man- earning a second Q!
I had Wicca in two touch n go games...touch 'n go is just tunnels and contacts so I figured Wicca would love it...she did....a little too much....
The first course she did pretty well....her "oops" were my fault- I didn't give her clear enough directions...the second one Wicca was pretty wound up...blew her start line out right and by the middle of the course was a crazy beast and I picked her up to take her off......I am sure we'll get our act together someday....I hope....

In the mean time we don't have another trial for a few weeks now so I am going to take that time and work on start lines...at this point with her all I care about is that she stays on the line...I have to change my criteria and be tough about it...no couching, no whining, no scooting....no breaking....I'll keep you posted....

With Sam I am going to start working on weaves. This past weekend he proved that he is ready to be out and handled being in the ring like a pro...we just need to improve his contact equipment performance and start those weaves.......

Kate stayed home both of those weekends but I did take her out to practice last week. She had a great time...I kept things really short, only ran her about 4 or 5 times and quit as she was showing signs of being bored....hopefully we can get her back into the groove sometime this summer.....

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

news

Well I am glad the holiday season is over....it always seems like an awful lot of work for one day....

Anyway, we are back from an AAC agility trial this past weekend and boy was it fun. Wicca was a dynamite! This was the first full trial and her first runs with weaves and she did great. She nailed her entries and only popped out when there was 12 and a tunnel after but I made her work through it and I was very proud of her. Her pole knocking was minimal- and overall I was very impressed with my little girl she ran fast and listened very well.

We have yet had the chance to run Snooker- she breaks the line and we end up getting whistled off right away- this was our third try and we blew it yet again...what a goof she is....

Her jumpers round was amzing she had the fastest time- of 19seconds! She was flying AND listening.....

Team was so fun- Kaleb and her were team partners and it was a blast.....Wicca ran her half clean.....Her first clean anything.....Kaleb was showing off for her and had a few faults but it was still a really great run....

Her standard runs on saturday were okay- she held her contacts but I wasn't paying attention and didn't handle her very well....
Her sunday standard was awesome- we layered part of the course, nailed 12 weaves and if not for the end jump/chute discrimination we wound have Q'd....I told her chute and wicca took the jump instead....It was my fault- I should have stayed in her head more instead of just assuming she would take it....

Overall it was a fun weekend....We slept in the barn which was an adventure (but not as bad as you would think) and even though It was an exhausting weekend I am very satisfied with how my dog and I did....

We do have some things to work on though
-staying down on the table- she likes to hover and is a bit slow going into the full down
-start lines.....I didn't have them for much of the weekend....