Lawn Chair Agility

I try to get out every  day to work with Belle so that when I can stand on two feet again, she will be in tiptop condition.  I do a lot of tennis ball flinging for her--not an easy feat given how many trees are in the yard beyond the patio.  I actually managed to get a tennis ball stuck in not one, but two different trees.

Belle does really well when I try to do agility with her.  She's getting used to having to ignore all the conflicting body language and depend more on the verbals.  Here's a short video from yesterday.  I was very proud of Belle when she turned after the last jump and ran to the table.  Belle has also gotten very good about dragging my pillows from the bedroom to the living room so I can prop my ankle up.



Two more weeks before I go to see the orthopedist again. Hopefully, the x-rays will show I'm ready to start bearing weight on my left leg.

Getting Outside for an Agility Fix

I was hoping to be able to drive out to the agility field, but I settled on having Ed move a few jumps close to the house.  I've gone out with Belle a few times and worked on simple box exercises.  Today, I decided to have Ed set up the current Whatcom exercise in the space I'm using.  Since I'm limited to sitting in a chair, we had a lot of off-courses, but Belle and I managed to get the exercise right a couple of times.  More importantly, Belle got some exercise and I got an agility fix.

Progress Report

I went to the orthopedist yesterday for my first post-op visit.  The incision is healing well and the staples will probably be removed next week.  He also fitted me with a more rigid splint, which oddly enough has lessened the pain I was experiencing in my heel.  I'm off pain meds completely now.

Belle has learned to bring me a pillow and my small blanket.  This morning, the walker was too far away for me to reach it, and I was able to get her to push it to me.  

I've lost five pounds :-)  Hopefully, I can keep eating wisely for another five weeks and lose some more weight.

It looks like today is going to be a nice day, so I should be able to go outside and sit in the sunshine and enjoy the flowers blooming in my garden.

More on the Ketschker Turn

Apparently the Ketschker turn has been around for several years in Europe.  I emailed Steve Schwarz, the Agility Nerd, a link to my second session and he replied that the Ketschker is used primarily to tighten up jump wraps.  His advice was to not use two obstacles to train it as that might end up diluting the cue to wrap.  Also he did a post in his blog on April 11th about jump wraps, and one of the methods he covered was the Ketschker.

Here is a video that demonstrates a lot of wrapping with the Ketschker:


I broke my ankle Saturday evening, so I won't be able to do any more work on this fascinating maneuver (or any other agility) for at least eight weeks.  I'm hoping to really work on Belle's directionals and her service dog skills ;-)  Additionally, I want to re-commit myself to my weight loss goal for the NADAC Championships in October.  If I don't curb my fork, I'll end up 20 pounds heavier by the time the cast comes off.  Wish me luck.

Rose