So it appears that although I keep telling myself I am not stressed about the upcoming Regionals I am. What else could explain how horrible I was last night? Okay, maybe horrible is an exaggeration. But reallly, it wasn't very pretty.
We had set up for some pretty simple practice -
some fun weavepole drills- which Wicca did great on. And I managed to mostly do an okay job of handling her. I got after her for dropping the first bar and she started to get a bit worried. Great. Of all the times to hurt my dogs feeling :o) We made up with a good game of tug, and a fun sequence with no jumps.
Next we did a double pinwheel thingy from Terry Simons/Kathy Keats (to work on front/rear crosses) and after arguing with Sarah about wether or not I could get there for a FC I totally screwed it up. Ugh. Not once, but multiple times. Wicca was doing this weird dart behind me to take the wrong jump- somthing she had never done before. I think she was picking up on my stress and frustration about the exercise. Way to go Amanda- wreck your dog three days before Regionals.
I don't REALLY think I wrecked my dog, I am just being smart for the purpose of the blog really. Wicca is a great dog, and I have become a MUCH better handler than I was when I first started with her. I am feeling pretty good overall about the weekend and really all I expect is to have a good time, for my dog to listen to me, and hopefully I can remember where we are going :o)
We leave early morning on Friday and will be back on Monday. I will post tomorrow I am sure- but you can still wish me luck today :o) Might make me feel better.
Update-Wednesday @ 12:30-
Thanks to all of you who offered encouraging words and support. For those of you who know me know that I do agility for fun. It's not so much about the Q for me as it having fun with my dog. But when you have such a good dog the pressure is just the much higher to do them justice.
I have trained hard, and will trust in my training (thanks Deirdre) All in all I am sure we will have lots of fun. Last year we had a blast, it is just amazing to me how far we have come!
So thanks again!
p.s Wow! There sure are a lot of people who read my blog! How cool is that!
8 comments:
You havent wrecked your dog, you will have a great time and you will do well. But mostly you will get to enjoy your girl and have a great time with her. Have faith and have fun!
You will be fine, well you learned something last night - as did I, it doesn't benefit you to be stressed, it just makes it worse.
Trust your Training.
Take a deep Breath (or two).
Give it all you've got - it's all you can do!
Be positive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjnvSQuv-H4 Don't worry be happy!
Good luck Amanda and Wicca. You'll do great. I agree with Sarah...take a deep breath or two, and trust your training. You two have worked hard so enjoy it.
And sometimes we think things went worse then they did. Sometimes I think I had a terrible practice but later when I watch the video its doesnt look bad at all. We tend to focus to much on just the bad things and forget all that went right. Try to have fun and good luck!
Orginally, we all enter into agility just to have fun with our dogs. You are now going to compete at the Regional. How cool is that? Have a great time, enjoy the experience and remember to take a few deep breaths when you start to feel stressed. You will do fine.
Amanda,
What do you always tell me? - "Don't be nervous".
I love watching you and Wicca as a team. Wicca always gives you 100% or more, and you always make sure she is having fun. I love how you set specific goals and really work to achieve them - just look at Wicca's contacts and weave entrances. You will be great this weekend! Have lots of fun and Good Luck!!!!
ok, here's my advice, & don't laugh! Suck on a peppermint just before you go in the ring...REALLY....apparently if we are stressed or nervous our dogs can smell it....by sucking on a peppermint it masks our nervousness to our dogs, & gives us something else to think about! I always passed out peppermints to everyone at our agility & tracking trials!! If it doesn't work you can blame it on the fact that I'm quirky!!!
Good luck!! Kick some butt and WEAR SUNSCREEN Amanda!! Just a friendly reminder....
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