The Mind is Willing, But ....

I'm planning to enter a USDAA trial at the end of March, and I was fortunate enough to find a series of courses from 2009 designed by Allison Bryant who will be the Masters/PIII judge at the trial.  I set up the Standard course today.

The angles of approach to the teeter and the A-frame called for some management.  Belle corrects her approach to the teeter each time, but if I had lead out to just beyond #2 and faced Belle, I might have been able to engineer a smoother approach to the teeter.  Since I can leave Belle on the table and lead out to the landing side of the tire, managing the A-frame approach was simple.  For the handler who is unable to lead out, the turn from tire to A-frame could get ugly.

I failed to appreciate how much yardage the position of the weaves would add to my run.  The first two times we tried this course, I went into the box and ran around the #8 jump.  In addition to adding unnecessary yardage to my run, it also put me way behind Belle as she got to the #12 jump.  By the time Belle finished the weaves, I was too winded to finish the course.

After the first two attempts, I knew I'd have to figure out a way to run smarter.  Indoors in a temperature-controlled setting and on sports turf, I might be able to run the course this way.  But outdoors on grass at 40°, no way.  I toyed with layering the weaves and sending Belle to the chute, but when we ran it again, I found that just staying on the take-off side of #8 saved me enough steps that I was able to finish the course.

USDAA Trial - Sunday, 11/13/11

Sunday we traveled to Crystal Lake, Illinois for a USDAA trial hosted by RACE Agility.  My DH came along to video and do the long drive home.  Thank you, Sweetheart.

Belle and I were really in sync and went 5 for 5, finishing her PDM title with our Standard run.   I did a lot of concentrated watching while others run, so I'll have quite a few posts generated by this trial.  For now, I'll just post the video of our runs.

Grand Prix

Today, I set up the Grand Prix course that was designed by Peggy Hammond.

I was really surprised at how easy this course seemed in comparison to the Masters Standard course.  This morning I ran Belle first, running her as I would run her at an actual trial; in the afternoon, I tried some distance handling to see how her speed and accuracy compared.  Our morning run was about two seconds faster than our afternoon run.  On the video you will get another demonstration of the power of using your dog's name.  (See my post, "What's In a Name?")

I was extremely pleased with Dusty's morning run.  I let him hold a toy in his mouth on our way out to the start line, and we got there with a minimum of barking and spinning.  Then he shocked me with a very beautiful run.  I gave quiet commands at strategic places and he listened!  (Stuart Mah maintains that to bring a dog into handler focus, you speak more quietly.  Unfortunately, a lot of us have a tendency to speak louder when we want our dog's attention.  At least I know I do.)  My handling was pretty much spot on except when I was late signalling the left turn over the #12 jump--that produced a very wide path to the tire.

You Gotta Know When to Run, You Gotta Know When to Wait

This morning, I set up Peggy Hammond's Masters/PIII course from March 13, 2010.

I ran Dusty first and we had several rough spots.  I turned toward the teeter before he was committed to the tunnel and pulled him on to the dogwalk.  Next, he overshot the weave pole entrance because he failed to collect.  Lastly, he self-released from the A-frame.  Ugh!  Then I ran Belle.  I thought it was an almost perfect run except that I almost pulled her to the dogwalk.  However, then I watched the video.  Much to my surprise, both dogs by-passed the #3 jump.  That I pulled them past it I can understand, but that I didn't even notice I did it. . . .  Yikes!

I changed the camera angle and took all three Aussies outside to work on my handling of the opening.  Despite the fact I knew it was a problem, I missed it the first two times I tried it with Libby.  Since I now knew it was a problem, I made sure to bid my time with Belle and Dusty until they committed to the jump.

I watched the Agility Nerd run Meeker after I ran this course, and it made me realize that leading out to (27, 68) to face and call the dogs was probably not the handling best choice.  A more modest lead out, keeping my back to the table, and releasing them to run on my left side to the tunnel still allowed me plenty of time to get into position for what followed.  Facing my dog indicates I want handler focus and collection.  Getting to the correct tunnel entrance doesn't call for handler focus or collection IF you run with the dog on your left as Steve did.

Gamble Analysis

Yesterday evening, I set up this USDAA Masters/PIII Gamblers course designed by Peggy Hammond.

Since the principles of distance handling are the same no matter what the venue, I decided to film the gamble portion of the course.  When I analyzed this course last night, I thought the only way to be successful was to begin the gamble with the dog on my left.  Then I would move up field and signal the turn into the correct end of the tunnel.  Next, I had to scurry back down field to the landing side of the jump, making sure to back away from the line so I had room to move back in and place pressure on the dog's line from c to d.  This worked every time with Belle, and it worked two out of three times with Dusty.

Then I decided to show what happened if you began this gamble with the dog on your right.  I really didn't expect it to work.  However, much to my surprise neither Belle nor Dusty had any trouble understanding what I wanted.  As they committed to a, I did a rear cross to pull them away from the incorrect tunnel entrance, and then I signaled a turn away from me to the correct entrance.  Because I was behind the dog at this point instead of even with him, I was able to get back into position for the push to d with less effort.  Although I got to the line too soon with Dusty when I did the push, it wasn't nearly as soon as I got there on my second effort with him.

Holik Grand Prix

Written September 8, 2011.  I set up the mirror image of Frank Holik’s Grand Prix course this morning since it built off the Standard course I set up yesterday. My note on the course map indicated that I have already set this course up, but luckily I pretty much forget a course once I’ve run it. Additionally, since this is the mirror image of the original, in a way it is new. When I searched for the video, I found that I had also set this course in April, 2010. I wasn’t kidding when I said I run ’em and forget them ;-)

 
I’m waiting for the grass to dry a little more before running, so I decided to commit my handling plan to paper before I run. Here goes:

LO to left standard of #2; call Belle and send her to #3 and the A-frame while I run down the 20 foot line to get into position to handle the right turn over #6 to the tunnel. I view this as the first major handling challenge. The second major challenge follows right on its heels. Coming out of the chute, a dog will have a tendency to curl into her handler and see off-course #18 upon exiting. What I want to remember to do is to keep running toward (90,-13) until Belle is committed to the #10 jump. I will probably end up on the landing side of #18, but since Belle will be heading back in my direction upon exiting the tunnel, I don’t have to worry about falling behind.

I’ll send Belle over #12 off my right and rear cross her path between that jump and the weaves. I plan to move laterally away from the weave poles so I can do a front cross between the teeter and the tunnel. I’ll finish up the course with Belle on my right, and I hope to be running toward the dogwalk exit before Belle even starts the dogwalk in order to encourage her to run it as fast as possible.

--------------------------------------

I’ve run both Dusty and Belle, and much to my surprise, I handled the course pretty much the way I planned to. Dusty threw me a curve by going directly to the #7 tunnel from the A-frame—it never even occurred to me that could be an issue. Dusty had a small problem with the way I wanted to send him to the weaves, but he did do them. Yesterday when Dusty did the teeter the first time, he was running so fast that the board fell out from under him. Today, I reminded him with a soft “easy.”

Belle’s run was perfect until we got to the dogwalk exit. She missed the yellow completely. I did a few short runs to the dogwalk and we had the same problem until I told her “bottom.” I tried not to react to the missed contact because I have worked a long time to get Belle to do the dogwalk at a run.

I looked at the videos of our previous efforts on this course, and I was really struck at how much harder I worked the course and how crummy the runs were. On all of those previous runs, I placed a front cross at the take-off side of the jump before the weaves. Unfortunately, because I had a lot of ground to cover in order to get into position for the cross, I turned my shoulders too soon and ended up pulling Belle to the dogwalk on my first attempts on both dates. When I set this course up in July, 2010, I also put in a front cross between 5 and 6. It left no doubt in the dogs’ minds where they were going, but it called for a burst of speed on my part, and I really hate using up precious energy (mine) in the early part of a run. When I ran this course in April, I opted for a rear cross at this point, and it worked then just as it did today.

Masters/PIII Standard

Written September 7, 2010  I sent in my entry yesterday for a USDAA trial that closes today.  Hopefully, it will get there in time.  If not, I hope to be able to attend RACE’s USDAA trial in November.  I started looking at course maps and decided to set up the mirror image of this standard course designed by Frank Holik.  (I chose the mirror image only because my dogwalk and A-frame were already more or less in position for the mirror image.)

From looking at the course map last night, I expected to find three main areas of concern.  The 4-6 serpentine to the weaves; the teeter to the correct end of the tunnel and getting from 19 to 20.  Once I had the course set up and was able to walk it, the first concern disappeared.  Beating Belle to #6 wasn’t necessary or even desirable since the course veered left after the chute.  Rear crossing the chute put me in a good spot to handle the jump to the weaves.

I sent Belle to the table and ran to the landing side of the #13 jump so that I could direct her into the tunnel.  While she was in the tunnel, I moved back to the landing side of #13 so I could call her and then run toward the tire.  I initially considered waiting for her on the take-off side, but decided that would put me way too far behind for the final push to the finish.

I had hoped to get into position at the right upright of #19 and wrap Belle to the right.  However, I was several feet from the jump when she took it.  I still signaled for a wrap right, but I began moving toward #20, and Belle read it as a signal to wrap left.

I just ran the course once in the morning so I could study the video and look for spots where we could improve.  Here's the video:

 

Masters/PIII Jumpers Course

Written September 5, 2011.   Today I set up a Masters/PIII Jumpers course that the Agility Nerd posted on August 24, 2011.  You can see the course map and read Steve's comments about the course by clicking here.

Here's the video with narration:

Of Wraps and Layering

While I was recovering from my broken ankle, I accumulated several courses that I wanted to try once I was able to run again.  On May 19th, Bud Houston blogged about this Masters/PIII Jumpers course he designed , and I finally got to set it up and run it yesterday.

Used with Permission

Note:  My jump bars are only four feet long, so there is lot's of empty space on the course as I have it set up in my yard.

Bud posed this question in his post:  If 100 handlers and dogs ran the jumpers course above… which would be the more successful turning direction at jump #9?  After running this course, wrapping left is not an option for me.  First of all, in order to achieve any kind of efficient line over 10 and 11 to the #12 tunnel, the handler would have to beat her dog to the far wing of #9 and do a front cross.  No way I'm going to beat Dusty or Belle to that spot.  Secondly, as long as the handler doesn't run right up to the wing of #9 when wrapping her dog to the right, the dog's line to the tunnel is pretty much a given.

However, if the handler gets too close to #9 (red line) in order to wrap her dog right and has to move left to avoid the wing of the #10 jump, that movement may disrupt the dog's line to the tunnel.

To see the effect wrapping in the "wrong" direction can have, watch the effect that wrapping to right around #17 has on Dusty's closing line in his first run.  It was truly ugly.

The first time through, I had trouble getting both Dusty and Belle  from the #12 tunnel to the #13 jump.  It completely escaped me on the course map and the walk-thru that layering the 4/16 jump will cause the handler to draw her dog to the off-course tunnel.  If I had set up a winged jump here, the effect would have been even more pronounced.

In order to send your dog from the tunnel to the triple, you have to apply pressure along the red arrow shown below.  Trying to do so while layering jump 4/16 is not easy--I did manage once with Belle, but keep in mind my jump is four to five feet narrower than the one called for on this course.  It is much easier to follow the green handler's line below and give a timely out signal and verbal just before your dog exits the #12 tunnel as I did on Dusty and Belle's second runs on the video.  

Arguably, you could do the same thing layering 4/16, but the winged jump will impede your dog's view of you.  And if you are too close to the plane of the jump, you will not be able to push in the direction of the red arrow very effectively.

I don't usually set up winged jumps in the field because they blow down.  (Also, I only have three of them.)  However, after running the course Friday, I decided to place wings at 9/19, 10/18 and 4/16, and run Belle one more time to see if they made any difference in our success or lack thereof.

Here's the video of Belle and Dusty running this course:

Grand Prix Practice

Belle and I will be going to a USDAA trial on Sunday, so I wanted to get in a little Grand Prix practice. 

I spent an hour setting up this Grand Prix course designed by Frank Holik.  Once I began walking it, it seemed very familiar. 

Before running the course, I came inside to search through last years videos, and sure enough, I had set up this course last July.  I watched the video and was appalled at how much shouting I did while running the course.  I was hoping to run the course a little differently today by opting for a rear cross instead of a front cross between 5 and 6, and by running on the backside of the #16 tunnel.  My first idea worked quite well.  The second, not so much.

Dusty had A-frame problems, so I devoted most of our training time to that issue.  With Belle, I made the same mistake this morning that I made back in July.  I took the dogwalk/tunnel discrimination for granted and Belle ended up taking the wrong obstacle.  Additionally, the course highlighted the need to work on Belle's teeter performance.



I decided I would mow the field and then set up a second Grand Prix course.  This one was designed by Janet Gauntt.

By the time I finished setting this course up, there was only enough time to run it once.  We had a slight bobble between 3 and 4, but not enough to be called for a refusal.  (I was concentrating on getting into position to handle the 270, and moved across the box a smidge too soon.)  Belle and I got as far as #11 before we had an off-course.  We started again from the A-frame and this time I stopped soon enough to let Belle know the next obstacle was #12.  The rest of the course ran very smoothly.

USDAA PII - Standard

Belle and I finally completed her PII Standard title with two qualifying runs this weekend.  Here is Saturday's course map:

As the course was actually set, the weaves were at more of a right angle to the tire.  I opted to take only a modest lead out since I decided to stay on the right side of the teeter and push to #5.  From the table, I once again just took a small lead out so I could push to #10 and support #11.  Then I took off running so I could get to the right side of the weaves as Belle was approaching the bottom of the dogwalk.  I decided the best way for me to handle the tire was to take Belle there on my left, making sure we approached it head on.  (Since Belle is relatively small, I often have her slice an AKC tire.  But the smaller diameter of the USDAA makes that a non-option.)

__________________________________________________

Here's the course map for Sunday's PIII Standard run.  This course ran a lot smoother and easier for me.  Possibly because we didn't need the Q :-)  Unfortunately, I was unable to get this one taped.  But I ran it pretty much as indicated.  In order to ensure a nice approach to the dogwalk, I traveled at least as far to the left as the tunnel exit.  At the table, I only lead out a stride or so in order to promote a straight line to the tire.  From then on it was pedal to the metal.

USDAA PIII Gamblers Runs - March 5 & 6, 2011

This is the course map for the first run on Saturday at RACE'S USDAA Trial in Davenport, Iowa, Master/PIII Gamblers.

This was a difficult gamble, as are most Masters/PIII gambles.  If the handler is not about even with the end of the A-frame as she sends her dog into the tunnel, it is basically game over because the dog will fail to take the first jump.  The jump was set slightly further to the right than indicated on the course map, so its position combined with a dog's tendency to move toward its handler, made it very easy for the dog to by-pass.  I even resort to an off-side arm to indicate the jump.

Next you are faced with having to turn your dog away from you over #3.  I knew I had to indicate the turn to that jump, but when I fell behind, I kept running forward and tried to push Belle over the jump with an on-side arm.  I should have slowed drastically where I was and used an off-side arm once again.  However, the thinking brain was no longer in charge at this point.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If your dog had a dependable TOTO on the A-frame, Sunday's gamble was practically in the bag.  Accordingly, there were a lot more Q's Sunday.  Interestingly, on both days, more of the Performance dogs Q'd in Masters/PIII Gamblers.  I really don't know if that is a fluke or something that is generally true. 

Even though Sunday's gamble was much easier, I had decided to play it really safe before even looking at the course map.  I blush to confess that I didn't see the best opening.  In fact, I never even glanced in its direction.  Instead I decided to practice a snooker-like opening as you will see in the video.

The numbers indicate my opening.  The letters indicate a much more flowing and logical way to open.  (Despite the fact that Masters/PIII ran first, when it came time for Advanced/PII, many of the handlers who started on the right side of the course opened with the far right jump to the chute--a truly ugly line.  I don't believe anyone in Masters/PIII made that choice.)

There is unfortunately no video of this run.  Belle was on the teeter when the whistle blew.  Once she finished, I was in such a hurry to get to the gamble, I failed to get her to my side and she took one or two jumps along the way, taking down the bars on at least one of them.  Bad, bad handler.  I felt like this one was a Q of shame.

A Little Practice for Our Upcoming USDAA Trial

Belle and I are entered in a USDAA trial next weekend, so I've been studying USDAA video and course maps for the last few days in order to prepare for the course challenges we will be facing.

While analyzing runs, I came to the realization that moving my foot to indicate a change of direction just before Belle enters a tunnel or takes a jump gives her a lot more information than just using my arms and upper body.  I also came to the realization that often when I send Belle into a tunnel, by the time I am decelerating and indicating a change of direction she is already in the tunnel and unable to see me.

Here's our video footage from today's practice: