Second Trial
of the Season
TBAC Agility Trial
May 23 & 24, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The day started out too well and by the end of the day, I would say it was probably the only thing that went correctly. I heard the alarm at five o’clock
and was on the road by six. Bought my coffee and a gallon of cold water for the dogs and we were off to New Jersey’s Dream Park for the TBAC AKC Agility Trial.
Crated the dogs in the same spot as the last trial in March and helped build both Jumpers courses so the morning could really get off to a start.
As the day wore on, I began to realize that Niven was heading in the ‘direction’ I had figured she would. I have not had runs like the ones I did today in
some ten years. For some reason the show we went to in Williamsport in 1999 kept popping up throughout the day, reminding me of the tribulations that Crumpet
put me through then. That day every Start Line Stay was broken, Broad Jumps were stepped on and Panel Jumps eyed suspiciously. Niven would mirror most of
those with the exception of the Panel Jump. I am hoping today’s performance is nothing more then that learning curve the needs to be gone through.
For tomorrow, I have already shifted focus from “having a working teammate” to one that is starting to explore all the options. I think having Niven wait for
so long in the crate and then pulling her out too early is not the answer, so tomorrow is going to be heavy on the training. I am not too sure I can do much
for the first run in the morning, but it should be interesting to see if extra time around the ring does anything. Mr. Practice Jump will be visited a few
times with “staying” a focus along with some ‘milling around’ time.
Should prove interesting.
As for the rest of the day, things were low key. The trial was two rings, not a lot of people ‘got in’ and the holiday weekend kept others from sending in
their Fed-Exed Entries. For the first time in a long time, I really enjoyed myself.
Novice B Jumpers with Weaves
Hmmmmm. The course itself was really nice, flowing path with the nifty judge tricks to throw us all into non-qualify land. The first five Jumps were classic
Handler running lines and nifty places for the Front Crosses. The Weave Pole entry was decent and direct unlike some of the 180° angles I have had to handle
around lately. Elements were fast while others needed the dog and handler to work on top of each other. I am sorry Niv did not qualify, as the over all course
was fun.
The main issue with Niven started on the Line with her breaking the stay. That caused me to be completely out of position ( right side of the Jump Chute ) and
forcing two undesired Rear Crosses at #2 and again at #4 one of which was the Double Jump. I believe #5 Jump came down, as somewhere in here I heard a bar fall
and found an F on the score sheet for it.
Niven sent out from #4 to come back to #6 very well despite not getting height and dropping that bar. I had planned to do a Front Cross to put me on the
opposite side of the #6 Jump, but the unplanned Rear Cross earlier did not allow for that timing. I had to Rear Cross again at #7 where I think Niven
spun in indecision until I was in better position to be more clear in hand signal.
She had no problems finding the Weave Poles, but developed a problem when her shoulder butted against the third pole and physically held her back. Ok, I
admit it. I tried not to laugh at the ensuing struggle of dog and PVC, but eventually she figured it out by stopping forward motion and popped out as the
only solution. A second attempt and Niven was through before she got started.
Still back at the Poles, Niven continued on without me, handling #10 and #11 Jumps while I still yet had begun to move. #12 was also another distance send-out
and then a pull in. At that point, I either was out of position, turned a shoulder too fast during the Rear Cross or Niven had something going on, but the #14
bar also is represented as an F.
Despite this run being turned into Ad Hoc, damage control, I thought it ran better then it could have been. Niven had moments of brilliance and flash of style
while I tried my best to stay with her.
Non-Qualifying Run
Two Dropped Bars ( #5 and #14 )
Spent most of the day setting bars in the Excellent Ring to help out. Since I forgot my chair, it was the best way to get a seat and have something to do in
between the five hours of waiting. I wanted to see what the Front Crosses were doing ( theme from the last trial ) and found the Excellent Jumpers course
offered different problems. Instead of the Front Cross causing the handler to visual scream six directions at once, today saw handlers dealing with timing.
Most were nearly running into the wing of a Jump, one smacked into it and the rest pulled it off without hurting themselves. One dog actually picked up speed
the more the handler twisted and turned.
I still need to write up that whole thing, but as it is for me……time.
Novice Standard B
Like the Jumpers course, the Standard one was also very nice, but had its technicalities. Although distance spaced the contact equipment, there was serious
obstacle discrimination after #2. The Frame, Teeter and Double Jump were all in the dog’s field of vision. The second challenge came with the Double Jump and
Weave Pole combination, a hard left turn needed. Having a dog short jump this could result in the bars going down. Most people elected to go forward to let
the dogs carry out to “under the Dog Walk”. Others tried to push the dogs forward to call them left.
I have no idea of where Niven’s brain had gone, but after driving home and shifting through the monstrosity of memory, I think I need to follow through with my
earlier stated plan of working Niven throughout the day, as well as “wearing her out” on the practice Jumps. I think there were too many factors that I need to
mold with and can easily start to do so.
Where to start?
Niv decided the Stay was not really what I meant and I struggled to keep her seated….at least. I figured if I could have her hold the stay, even with one
of those “Should I stay or should I go?” Border Collie stays, then I might be able to salvage what we had. Just as I was about to lose, I sent her through the
Tire only to have her go under it and then barrel off over #2 to the Teeter.
I stood without moving as she realized I was not there and popped off the Teeter to come back. With little problem, Niven hauled around to go through the Tire
and we were off to the Teeter…only to have Niv notice the Frame, call off and then decide she really did not want to do the Teeter after putting both paws on
it. The judge told me to go on and I moved to go towards the Table. Niven elected to slam onto the Broad Jump since that was kind of like the Tippy Boards
…………………..and could easily get her a treat reward.
The happy point was that the Table followed with it being a Down. I used the Herding “Lay Down” for when Niven does get scattered as it gives me the five
seconds I needed to collect myself and hopefully has the same effect on Niven. When she jumped onto the Table and herd the command, she readily dropped and
the look she gave me was of utter relief. I think she just needed to stop herself and did not know what to do. Having something familiar like this really
helped pull the rest of the performance together.
Niven sent on to the Panel Jump with confidence and height, leaving the bars up while turning to find the Frame. Her contact was awesome and allowed for me
to move on to the Double with Niven going over with height, but she missed the signal to turn left and ended up under the Dog Walk to sniff the sandbags.
Coming back in, she followed the signal for the Weaves and without missing stride, slammed through.
A Rear Cross was needed at this point and I waited as long as I could while she performed the Broad Jump perfectly, then I cut behind to send her on to the
Chute and Tunnel. Niven’s speed was carrying her and I found myself waiting too long for her to come out……..the it was over the Dog Walk as if there was
never an issue and the contact was performed with “thought” accuracy, then on to the last Jump.
So despite the extra stuff that happened, there were a number of high points. Despite the lunacy:
• Frame and Dog Walk Contacts were perfect. Teeter was bailed on
• Panel Jump stayed up, even with a turn
• Broad Jump was jumped over when called, walked on when elected and a Rear Cross as well
• Weave Poles may have been missed, but were found and completed with speed
• All Jumps stayed up
• Huge send out from Chute to Tunnel, no hesitancy
• Table Down was slammed into as well. Perhaps I saw an expression of relief on Niven’s face
Non-Qualifying Run
Refusal at the Tire
Off Course to the #2 Jump
Off Course to the Teeter
Refusal at the Tire ( Again )
Failure to perform the Teeter
Off Course to the Broad Jump
Ok, so our Novice Standard attempt really was nothing to write home about, but ended up being one of the most important runs so far. Funny. Seems we
really only do remember the bad ones……spent the whole trip home developing a plan.
One thing that I did try was when I got home I set up one Jump, the Tire and Tunnel out in the yard. I thought I would practice once or twice with the
Stays and was not surprised to see Niv give me that look of “wait until tomorrow”.
Unfortunately, the grass was way too tall for this and the temperature too high after a long day, but I was slightly disturbed that Niven was showing signs
of ‘pent up speed’. I think this can be constructively harnessed tomorrow with a lot of milling about and practice jumping. I think….most of today was
pure excitement with no mental focus or focus that was slamming from one desire to another taking the body with it.
Tomorrow should be interesting.
As linear time does, tomorrow came and went. Five o’clock came faster then I wanted it to and was greeted by the alarm clock and Niven standing next to the
bed squeaking. I think I mumbled something about what she had in store for me driving to the next door neighbor State to NQ. Her further response was a tail
wag. I was truly dreading what I needed to get done today purely because I was not sure what the result would be until we ran the course.
I got to the trial nearly half an hour late and helped to set the other course as scheduled and ended up taking Torch and Niven on a longer walk. There was
not much I felt I could pull together that early, but made the attempt anyway.
Once we were back in the building, I grabbed Niv and the bowl of treats and headed to the “waiting” area outside of the rings. I let her do whatever she
wanted, but she had to not bother anyone, thus accomplished with the “Leave It” game where she sits after deciding if meeting something else ( dog or human )
is greater then the snack. We went back to the crate, waited for half the Open Class to run and made our way back to where the Practice Jumps were.
The first go was a disaster in that Niven decided to knocks bars, but I wondered if the angle the Jump was set on in a tighter area did not give some false
illusion of no distance. To test this, we used the other Jump area with far greater success. We were also able to work the stays, me faking Niv out a bit to
try to get her to break. She actually stayed on her own.
We went back to the crate and came back out after a short wait. This time I was able to leave the treat bin outside, use the Practice Area as if we were
walking into the ring, set up, wait and over the Jump, back over the Jump and then out to find the treat bowl. By that time, Novice Standard was ready for
walking and I let things go as they would.
Novice B Standard
What I did like about this course was that if Niven did not hold the stay, there was recovery time for me. I fell back on staying to the right of the opening
and using the Chute to catch up. One other thing I did was not to lead out, only asking her to stay long enough for me to move sideways away from the Tire and
in to better position. Niven had no problems with this, although she seemed to be seriously contemplating the whole action within the “team” part. That is the
only thing that I can be thankful for, especially since ‘thought’ is what I strive for.
Everything about this run was what I would call text book for Niven and myself. She did spin coming out of the Chute, but that was something I figured she
would do and let go since it really did not hurt due to its location.
The Frame contact was awesome, the cut in front of me to the Tunnel handled perfectly and then clear sailing over the Broad Jump to the Table. Sitting on
the Table, Niven had that ‘far away’ look that I have seen before, but cannot figure out if this is a good thing or not. Once it was time, the Panel and
Double Jump combination was seriously contemplated as well, Niven’s body language displaying calculation on her end. Tunnel, Dog Walk and Jump were handled
with speed, but the Weave Pole entry was just plain evil, Niv missing the first pole and me having to call her off.
I elected to stay to the inside of the Teeter purely because I did not want to cross behind her while she is “still learning”. With the TOTO Contact, it gave
me the time I needed to be in better position anyway. The Teeter was accurate ( Drop Point and TOTO on the end ) and finally she was over the #16 Jump.
Qualifying Run
First Place
How does one goes from a complete disaster of a run the day before to a clean run the following morning? Who knows, as I have seen all types of performances.
I think what I did differently, as well as this run being so soon after the start of the morning ( about one hour ) really did make the difference. Niven may
have needed the time to figure out the ring process and deal with her own excitement. I was not giving her any of that simply because I rather have her show
me that I need to change something for her. That started yesterday morning. So through out the day, Niven and I made our way back and forth to the ring
excitement. I either let her hang out, worked simple heeling or used the Practice Jump.
I despise using the warm-up area because there is always someone more important who has to use the stupid thing. Unfortunately, Niven was not paying attention
because she was figuring out the treats were outside the “area ring” and since my dog was all over the place, I was now a “Novice person with no respect”.
I pushed one more Jump, left to get treats and waited for it to become available again. This time there were greater focus and the bar stayed up.
With Niven figuring this game out, I elected not to use the Jump any longer during the afternoon. I have ruined runs with too much pushing and elected to
either play outside or take her for a longer walk.
Five hours later………
Novice B Jumpers with Weaves
This course looked nice on paper, walked horribly and ran weird. I think it had segments that were too tight, went wide and slammed into tight in the oddest
of ways. I cannot fully express how, it just was.
I have to add in that I have no idea of what Niven is going to do, especially since her “Can we not go and do something” squeak that accompanies everything
we do was slowly disappearing. ( This was something I wondered about and will have to be addressed elsewhere in observation. ) Would I have a focused dog or
one that was burned out? I knew that Niven was showing signs of being tired, so this would be interesting.
We were the first dog on the Line, making it harder since there would be no forewarning on course pitfalls.
Niven stayed on the Start Line, seeming confident in the “why” and I pushed a two Jump Lead Out purely on principal. Unfortunately, she did take the Double
down, but I am not sure if I helped by slowing down too much, turned a shoulder or she was not watching her back legs. What she did was stayed on course
despite landing angles pointing toward off-course Jumps and let me Rear Cross at #8 perfectly.
After #9, she continued on toward the open door of the building and calling her back did not allow for decent distance for jumping; the #10 Jump came down as
well. The Weave entry was not kind no matter how anyone looks at it and with there being no clear direction, Niven decided I really meant she needed to nose
the obstacle number and NOT turn. Once she found the poles there was the frustration barking that I acknowledged and she seemed to settle by pole numbers six.
She continued on to #13 with me Rear Crossing and with a ‘left’ command Niv floated along with me, gaining speed to complete the course.
Non-Qualifying
Two Jumps down at #3 and #10
I was not too concerned with the run outs since a lot of the dogs seemed to be having problems with both areas. Horse Shows are held in this same location
and open doors offer freedom and carry new scents. There could be a million reasons why, but I will never have Niven’s rational…..or this would be so much
easier.
After coming home, Niven and Torch are both passed out. For this trial I am glad there is not a “tomorrow” as I think it would be pushing it. We are
entered in another trial at the end of June, so I will have to continue what was started and figure out a few other things to try before the days’ runs.
This weekend saw moments of complete brilliance with speed, accuracy and thought while there was complete disaster inter mingled.
How I could go from a day of damage control handling to guiding was odd. I had to smile because that weekend in Williamsport ten years ago could have been
different had I realized Crumpet may have needed something similar.
One other ‘realization’ hit this morning as I was watching the Excellent Course. I think one of Niven’s difficulties with the Teeter and Dog Walk are the
command words I use. “Tip” and “Walk It” may have the same end sound and Niven may not be converting the beginning sound. Since both obstacles look the
same, this can add to confusion.
Crumpet had been originally trained with “Teeter” as the command and I changed it do to not being able to get the word out fast enough. When “Tip” was
started, the issue he had with fly-offs was well out of range of performance. Niven on the other hand was originally trained with “Tip” and it may be
causing problems. I will have to try dropping the ending sound to see if that helps.
At least we have a few classes before the next trial. As always, this should be interesting.
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Last Updated on
May 25, 2009
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