Occasionally our agility class will take a field trip to let the students see agility in real life. This gives them a chance to see what happens at trials, how the set ups work, how the rings are run, what the ring stewards do, and what agility actually looks like Read more…
It seemed like a good idea to do a day of agility and then a day of rally – and while the dogs thought that was great, it wasn’t the best for me. Last Friday we left at 5:30 to head down to Cincinnati for a CPE agility trial. Some Read more…
A few weeks ago Griffin and I helped the training center at a giant pet expo. We did 3 “show” a day in the main ring and then talked to pet owners about training for the rest of the day. Griffin, a dog who has a hard time ignoring people Read more…
Last week at the 4-H Judge’s Seminar, I talked with a few parents and advisors who were struggling to get their teams to be comfortable and confident in the ring. I mentioned that I had a set of activities/curriculum that I use for my 4-H’ers and competition class students. When Read more…
On Saturday we were at a 4-H Dog Judge’s training day. I was there to be learning and I was there to help. I spent part of the day frantically taking notes about how to be even better at judging. And for part of the day I was a dog Read more…
Both events were ultimately not that exciting. The obedience trial was especially disappointing. Before our turn, I had to leave for another commitment! At the trial site, Griffin was very excited and his arousal level was much higher than at an agility trial. We’re looking for another obedience trial Read more…
Griffin and I finally made it to an agility trial. We went to a CPE trial on Saturday and entered 3 classes. I had some specific goals for the event: Try a start line stay. It can be hard for dogs to stay at the beginning of the course, but it’s Read more…
An important part of the seminar for me was that I have to be happy with “good enough” and not be quite as concerned about perfect. Apparently ‘perfect’ is unreasonable. But “good enough” doesn’t mean accepting poor behaviors or having lower standards of performance. We need the best quality of Read more…
It can be hard to set goals unless you can see the small pieces and the big picture of what you are working on. Sometimes I am working with people who do not realize their goals are not realistic. Sometimes this is due to handler skill, sometimes it’s about dog’s Read more…
Griffin and I visited an AKC trial today and saw more people than we expected to! We saw lots of golden retriever people we know, lots of people we know from training and class, and some of his family! We were able to talk about the Certificate of Conformation Assessment Read more…