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  • in reply to: Denise and Synergy #82729
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good morning!!

    First run was Standard 1 with changes you suggested (I watched the weave entry video and we will work on that at a later date). We had some bars down (both of us are a bit tired, heat, humidity was terrible), but I thought the run itself went a lot smoother!

    Standard 2 gave us a few more problems. First run I babysat the backside to 2 and didn’t get where I needed to be. The rest of the runs were okay with some problems. I definitely need to cue tighter between 5 and 6 to get a tighter backside on 6, I need to get away faster after 6 to get the cross after the tunnel (Syn saved my a$$ a few times by not taking me out at the knees), and work 11 to backside 12 better (I’m not sure how we got the backside in the first full run! 🙂 ). I need to make better connection from a contact to a backside jump because I think Syn came down the dogwalk the first time already plotting her jump! I also worked “switch tight” for the first time ever as a cue to get 21 to 22 without an extra 17 jump.

    Questions:
    A tandem turn is just a switch on the flat, correct?
    Do you think it is a detriment to our training to sometimes drop the bars to 12 to work these skills, especially with the heat? I know that in lower-level training courses we did it all the time, but I wasn’t sure now that we are actively competing.

    We will be saving this one for later, but we are going to take tomorrow off (3-day CPE trial this weekend) and I need to build the new AKC League course.

    Thank you!

    • This reply was modified 1 week, 1 day ago by denisewelk.
    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #82705
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good morning!

    I was SUPER happy with the way this first standard course went. The video shows our first 2 runs (no practice). I was interested to see how this would go, because the teeter is probably the hardest obstacle for her to do distance, so I was really proud of her for hanging on even when she was uncomfortable. (Also, we are retraining contacts from stopped to running and she almost always reverts back to stopped in our field and then my timing/cues get weird.) Other than me forgetting the course for a second, the weave entry was our struggle. So, we just worked that at the end and called it a day (it was 85 degrees at 6:15 this morning when we went out to work this…with plenty of humidity to go with it).

    Thank you!

    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #82673
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good Afternoon!

    We took a few minutes this morning and just worked on some of the areas of feedback from the other videos.
    For Jumpers 1, we worked on me not going so deep to the end of the tunnels in the opening and worked the backside on 13 to the tunnel and then to 15.
    For Jumpers 2, we just played a bit with seeing if I could layer the tunnel at the start and still get the backside on 4. I couldn’t get it with a push (in fact, I started screwing her up and she starting just circling the jump so we ended that quick). We did get one very wide cautious threadle wrap!! 🙂


    Thank you!

    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #82655
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good morning!!

    We worked on both the jumpers courses over the last 2 days (we will work again tomorrow morning and then build our AKC agility league course, so trying to get all the jumpers in now).
    The first course actually gave us a bit of trouble, but I think we worked it out. Overall very happy and super happy out being able to layer out to the weaves! The second day of working it, I gave her a bit of a running start. She does good with her “look” and distance release, but I know that it isn’t super comfortable for her so I gave her a break from it. I also noticed I gave cues earlier the second day, and I liked the way we handled 6, 7, and 8 better.
    The second course went much better. The video is of our first two attempts (nothing before, between, or after!!)! Even allowed me to try some different handling, although had a bit of trouble with the bar going down on 1 of the jumps (not sure if it was handling, or, when I went to reset the bar, I noticed the stones were a bit deep there). I might try working the backside/threadle wrap from layering tomorrow morning (I think I might be able to get the threadle wrap but not sure about the backside). I also think I want to try to layer the tunnel for the last 2 jumps. The first option worked better but we almost collided! 🙂

    Thank you!!

    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #65929
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good morning!

    Well I might look like a T-rex or some weird bird with my arms all spayed out when I run, but today we felt like a million bucks!! I thought these went really well and we even had time and energy to clean up/push limits after 2 awesome runs!!

    This is probably our last video for the session as it is supposed to rain here for like the next 2 weeks straight! So, thank you, thank you for all of your help and guidance throughout this camp. I found it super helpful!!

    Video: https://youtu.be/0Sjd3rDCypc

    If you are looking for class ideas, I would love a class on just evaluating courses, etc. I’m a little canine…I don’t generalize well! 🙂 For instance in this jumpers run, I never would have seen 10, 11, 12 as a serpentine if you hadn’t noted it in the pop outs and feedback. Or a class where you can run a course/sequence different ways and then learn how to evaluate how each worked for the dog/yardage/time to help decide what works best for a specific dog.

    Thanks again!
    Denise

    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #65922
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good morning!

    Today we worked on the second jumpers course. We need to work a bit more in the middle section. Pulling her through 11 to 12 is a bit tough and then I panic yell to keep her from going in the tunnel between 12 and 13 and therefore the bar goes down. We also had a little trouble getting the weave entry. I think I need to keep myself more parallel to her instead of moving laterally away toward the far end of the weaves. Overall, not bad, and the surface might be a little challenging for her because we just had more stone put on and had it graded (we were starting to go downhill at the one end due to water runoff), so the stone was bit thick at places.

    Video: https://youtu.be/xzvH0jSh7dc

    Thanks!

    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #65862
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good morning!
    We are down for a day or 2 because the field is getting some maintenance.

    You noted about Synnie’s weaves at the one run. She is going to the chiropractor today, but I was thinking she did it because I went farther ahead than normal. She has really good lateral weave distance, but we haven’t worked a lot of me going past her and ahead of her in the weaves.

    **but it was the longer harder way to get 9.**
    I tried wrapping the close side of 9 but I just couldn’t get the blind in that way, and I didn’t want to rear cross to 10 because I felt like that told her to take the tunnel.

    I did put 18 in the wrong spot…too much rushing, not enough paying attention to detail!! It was fun that way though, and I loved that she read the backside easily to that jump without taking the tunnel!!

    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #65853
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good morning!

    Tried the first Jumpers course of Package 5. I decided to work in some small sequences before attempting the entire course…more reinforcement…and less chance of frustration… to get us back on course (no pun intended!!).
    Worked through some tough spots! 7-11 was especially tough for us (of course when you are trying to stay away from the tunnel and you say “go tunnel” it isn’t helping any! :)).
    Was happy with this practice and super happy that we both left the ring happy and not stressed!! I think I need to go back and drop a toy after a backside to reinforce the commitment to those.
    Thanks!

    Video: https://youtu.be/HhNLz0x1Qxg

    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #65798
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good afternoon!
    So we worked the two standard courses again, trying to add your feedback into the runs. From here, we will move on to the jumpers courses (we have both become frustrated with the dogwalk layering to the backside to the point that Syn doesn’t even want to go over there).
    As you can see, we can get the backside with a shifted jump IF there isn’t a lot of motion. Once we add 2-3 obstacles before the backside, we get the front side of the jump.
    I was happy in that I think we tightened up some other things on the rest of the course.

    Video: https://youtu.be/Q7-UPtLymFU

    I posted some runs from Agility League Nationals on Facebook. If you didn’t see my post, I was super happy with how we did. She was a bit jittery outside the ring, but handled everything much better than I was hoping. In the ring, she was her usual awesomeness! Every run, we had 1 fault (twice it was going straight to a jump instead of turning to a jump (my timing was not good and I was giving her cues too late). Hybrid was a blown A-frame contact. However, we ran fast and I didn’t feel like I overhandled.

    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #65601
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good morning!

    We moved to the second standard course this morning because I didn’t want to go back to course 1 until we got your feedback. We struggled a lot more with the layering on this course. I couldn’t get the backside after the tunnel, no matter what I tried. I tried to do it as a threadle wrap and then I tried to stay on the other side and just do a push. So after we hear from you, we will work on both of these courses again next week.
    I do notice some fatigue/frustration come into play (on both our parts) with these longer courses and still trying to squeeze everything in because it is still too hot later in the day. Can’t wait until fall!!!
    Video: https://youtu.be/-cAQ4w6dtic

    “Ending looked good! Her contacts are looking really strong, keep on maintaining that lovely 2o2o criteria!”…We’ve been having some trouble with the contacts, especially A-frame, in trials, so hopefully this helped her to remember that this week! 🙂 I have been doing some FEO at trials just to play on the contacts.

    Yes, Synnie is running. We have a little team, just 2 handlers and 4 dogs, and because of that, Synnie has had to run Senior from the get-go. We went to Concord the other week so she could get some 2-ring trial experience, and we’ve gone back to pattern games while waiting just because I think we will need them for League Nationals.

    The great thing for my control freakiness is that there is no reason to overhandle out there. No titles on the line, blah, blah, blah. We are going to run our best and strongest. And the nice thing is, since Flurry and Synnie jump different heights, that I’ll get a walk through for each of them.

    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #65585
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good morning!

    Since I usually start with the jumpers courses, this time we started with Standard. Took a bit of work and I’m still not sure that I’m consistently providing the correct cues (definitely late in some!!!), but we go through the course!! (Sorry, about the video view, but that was the only place in the ring I could find to get the whole course.) I was most worried about the layering of the dogwalk anyway, and wanted to make sure that it was the best view for that. First time we did the 14 weaves, she missed the entry, and I realized she needed more shaping to that first pole. The next times she got them!

    EDIT: I just was looking over the course notes for Course 2 for tomorrow morning and I realized that we (I) did 6 wrong on the first course. Synnie actually tried to/succeeded running it as a backside several times but I MADE her take the front side, thinking that was correct!! 🙂

    Video: https://youtu.be/Q8k1uIr-mJo

    We are headed to AKC League Nationals at some stupid hour on Wednesday morning; hoping to get another video of the other course to you tomorrow cause that will be all for the week, but it depends on my time!!

    Thanks!

    • This reply was modified 10 months, 1 week ago by denisewelk.
    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #65545
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good morning!

    Here are our attempts at the layering of the tunnels. A few oopsies, but overall good. I liked her work through the box. I don’t see that she is looking anywhere but at the jump she is to take.
    Am I doing the dig/dig/dig correctly here? Is it even supposed to be a dig/dig/dig? I feel like it should be for the threadle but with her coming at me at a different direction, it feels weird…although that move still always feels uncomfortable to me yet! 🙂

    Video: https://youtu.be/-5WIn91NWmI

    Thanks!

    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #65525
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good morning!
    We did a quick redo of the Hot Topics so I could get my movement better, which I think did get better. Still struggling a bit with the backside on 7. If I’m not perfect she takes the front side or knocks the bar.
    We also did some of the work from the Live class last night (please excuse the very LOUD noise from my husband mowing; I didn’t realize how loud it would be on video). I felt it went pretty well, but this exercise really showed me when I didn’t get my timing correct.
    Video Hot Topics: https://youtu.be/06LxJW_TRcs
    Video Live Class: https://youtu.be/gJKuMpieYIM

    Thanks!

    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #65448
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good morning!
    I hope everybody is feeling better!!

    We did work this sequence with the jump turned at an angle, but my video corrupted… 🙁
    So, here is the video with the backside. Overall, it went well although I still look like an idiot with the dig/dig backside threadle and I just couldn’t stop myself from going in a circle! 🙂
    We will work on that again before moving on
    Video: https://youtu.be/FscHaa6aXR0

    in reply to: Denise and Synergy #65396
    denisewelk
    Participant

    Good morning,

    I rewatched my walks again and I see what you are saying about exit line connection. One question: How do you manipulate the running part of a walk-through at a trial. I don’t mind doing the walk through with my verbals (I do that all of the time), but I do know how cranky I can get when somebody runs the course during walk through and basically is running into you or expecting that you should move and adjust your walk through so they can do exactly what they want. Last weekend at AKC, I tried waiting till the very end of the walk to do a faster walk through but there were still a lot of people.

    We worked on the Session 5 Hot Topics. This is tough for us. My older agility girl hates tunnels, so I think I overdid the tunnel drive with Synnie! 🙂 We had to back up at the beginning but I think we were getting there toward the end. Also, our neighbor was out next door (on the other side of the green shades) so we ended up going to running starts because Synnie was struggling with look from the distraction.
    Video: https://youtu.be/dlpVNCLhV78

    We will be doing a CPE trial this weekend at Quicksilver, so I’ll take my tripod and try to remember to video my walk throughs…the only probably is that both dogs are in the same level and I need to run them differently, so my walks will be a bit out there!

    Thanks!

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 87 total)