Lots of thoughts of different things

After a perfect competition we had a bad one. I wasn't in a right mood and my concentration was just terrible. Our first run from last weekend was quiet good. We got one fault from A-frame. The last two runs were just terrible. I was late and Pixie took off  from start line too early... Just a messy runs from both of us. Sometimes there's just bad days. 

I wrote a few line to my mental training diary. I have get some tools handle the days that everything seems to fall a part. I hate to have a weak mind that makes competing sometimes really hard. Pixie is also dog that really senses my weak moments. She becomes much stronger in the track and usually doesn't stay in the start lines. To me it feels like she takes the control in the run. The truth is probably that I'm not in the moment at the time and I'm concentrating enough to make proper handling. Either way those kind thoughts and feeling must be change to better so that we can succeed even if day hasn't gone too well. So work work and work!!

Now I have been working on our A -frame a few days. I have done clicker work make Pixie come lower to the contact zone. I have done repeats with no vocal commands and rewarded correct running. Pixie has improved a lot. Only problem is that she isn't doing it on a competition drive. I have done different handling maneuvers and running fast in front of her but she doesn't go to the high drive that is in the competition. I guess I must do some training in the unofficial competition. Still lots of work in that area. It hard to correct errors that I have made in progress of teaching her a running A-frame.

Puppy training

There have been a lot talking about puppy training in Finland and in abroad. How to train, what to train and when to train? Especially in agility there is debate should you train with a puppy. I can only speak about what I have learned from my dogs and what I have seen around me. Louise started her training carrier in search and rescue work and started to do agility in the age of 1 year old. Pixie started to do some work with agility obstacles right away. This meant going trough tunnels and shaping going trough jump wigs without any bars. At a age of 7 months she went to a puppy jumping session with Vappu Alatalo. In the end Pixie did some small agility courses around age of 8 months with bars between the jumps. So in the end Pixie was almost ready agility dog at age 1-year-old besides the bars which where still maximum of mini height and slalom which was started at this point. 

So what did I learned? I think the jumping technique part was best of it. In early age I started to do course work way too early and she learned to run like maniac. I should have waited to until she was old enough to do courses with high bars at age of 1,5 years old. I still work on Pixies turnings and movement with high bars. Did I felt that I did things too early? I think I could have waited for many things but in the end I did listen to my dog and she developed nicely.

This was the agility part which was only once week or less after Pixie turned 6 months old. We did a lots of other training stuff that helped us in all our sports. In the end I was in speed teach her new stuff and she was with us the competitions. I should have done some basic socialization more with her. Things that she could just look, smell and discover. I did take her to different places like train stations etc. but should have done all this with more time and really been in the moment. Pixie turned out to be a dog that you can take anywhere but I think I could have done better.

Second thing is OB. In Finland high level dogs are usually OB CH at age of two years old. Doesn't it sound early??? Do you really built long lasting competition partner if it knows everything all ready in the early age? I don't now the answer. I just learned my mistakes that I did with Pixie. She learned everything so quickly and I started ask too much of her especially when it come to heal work. I didn't build the idea of super trick and still she thinks its quiet stupid work...Pixie is little calmer bc but is it good to built the dogs ready too early? Or is just a dogs personality issue? I think its little bit of both. It's important to learn to what is dog like. It's crucial to know you dogs personality to be able to train it right way and at the right time. You can not do what everybody else does. You must learn to see what you dog need. It's easy to said than done.

All these thoughts have come to my mind because of Freya. I hope make some changes again to my training plan and the most important is the socialization part. First few weeks I build a dog for the rest of my life so I will make sure she see different things and learns that life is cool. After she has got a super foundations in life skills we have the rest of life learning skills for sports. First year is learning live in this world and the few weeks on sensitive period in the new home crucial to build bond and trust to me and world around her. I hope that I will a better jobs yet again than I have done before. It's never going to be perfect but I can always use the things that I have learned from the past. I can't wait to start writing another story of wonderful dog.

That's for now....

MPL

 

 

Finally we did some clear rounds!!! :D :D

It has been long time since we succeeded in agility. It is still long way until we say that we have become a real team. I have still lots to learn and some times learning just takes time and mistakes. So here are our two wins from yesterday:



The feeling was a real relieve. I have started to think I don't have it in me. Although this was just a one competition it really gave so faith in our work. So has been done inside my head and I have change a lot of my attitude in agility and competition. It has been hard road and still is. Maybe some day....

Louise has been working on her ob trick. She improved a lot during a little brake. So you can say again too much training isn't always the best solution. I have done work with distance control and recall. Distance controls attitude has improve million times. Louise can handle pretty big pressure and still be able to work well. She has had a freezing problem in the competitions.

For Freya I have got a balancing board or actually it a cardboard box. It a same type that Pixie had when she was little. I will just tape a rock on the bottom of it. Then it will perfect for some puppytraining. So much little things to do before she comes. I have planned some visitation places for the first few week to so her around. I can't wait!!!!

That's for now!

MPL

Still step away from flow...

We had again really nice competition day on Saturday. I was again little late to get the best of us but the gap between super clear rounds and total catastrophe is getting smaller and smaller. Our learning curve has been really slow but I think we are on the right path. I can only thank Jaakko. I just hope he has still patience to wait us to become a real team. Pixie has been ready for a long time. I'm just really slow learner and I tend to get back to my bad handling ways. I can only say that it will feel like a million dollars when we finally hit the goal. Although we have still long journey to our dream but that's the whole meaning of agility. I see this also as life long learning. I have never been good at any sport but this time I will do everything to make this dream happen. So here's our best run from last weekend:

Louise has begin training for the ob ch title. What can I say she has been superb! I think little brake has done good for her. Now we just need make our bubble better than before. She has had trouble to keep it cool in the competition which has mean that some of the tasks have exploded a little. So our goal is to built more peace to our work and I need concentrate on Louise better to see if she has too much going on and make her calm down if needed.

Freyas waiting is starting to make me crazy. I have so many thoughts about her socialization and training. I have planned to make video blog from her first year. I want to challenge myself to really plan everything and have a documented training. Just to make my training skills better. I can't wait to get a little white canvas that we will start painting. :D :D

Season 2014 started and Freya born

It was so nice Christmas time and new year eve. Long walks and little training during the holidays. I have also made some training plans for next year. Louise is getting old and will be retired from agility this year. Her wrist aren't that good so I have decided that she won't jump in the maxi-class. Loves to train and do agility but after this season she will do only with very low bars. I might start to train again to ob champion title. Louise has done well ob but we have had always really flying competitions... Maybe I will have patience to compete with her again.

Pixie has work on agility and I have been working with my head to make myself better handler in the competitions. Our first competition was yesterday. We did 3 DQ but it might have been our best work ever. We worked so well yesterday. I was calm and Pixie did amazing job. Here the videos of our runs from yesterday:




I also did few days ago some tracking training with Pixie. I did 300 m track with 5 sticks and 2 stream crossings. Pixie worked like a charm. She fast, precise and could handle well my stopping her when we crossed the streams. She is very talented tracking dog too. Maybe we will compete in tracking too someday.

On Saturday we also got news from Denmark and we will get new family member from Kennel All Zet. Freya will move with us in 1.3.2014. It will so cool to have new bordercollie in the family. Mother is Jiggy (Border Treasure All Jiggy With It) and father Pixie's half brother Bull (NNL M' Black Racer). So I get piece Pixie in the new pup and other superb lines. Just perfect combinations! I can't be happier!!