Rally Obedience; video

Finally getting around to sharing some video from last weekends fun and great APDT trial in Calgary March 19th and 20th 2011.
Starting in reverse order with the highlight of our weekend - Sunday afternoon, Annette and Maggio earning a 208 (of 210 possible) and a High in Trial for level 3. This was our second level 3 leg - now we only need one more leg under a different judge to complete Level 3 of  APDT Rally'O.

And then goig backwards in time...and into Saturday.
To get to compete in level 3, we had to first successfully complete and Qualify in a final leg of level 2 (under a different judge...we actually had plenty of Qs; just not under different judges)  - which we did Saturday morning (March 19th, 2011)
So, here is our final level 2 leg:

Very happy with how the boy worked! Back in the fall to hopefully complete level 3 with Maggio.

More successes in the ring

A second weekend of great trials! This past weekend both dogs were entered in APDT Rally Obedience, but with Pinot in heat - she had to stay at home...while Maggio and I got another one-on-one trialling weekend with more successes in the ring. Saturday morning he finished his Level 2 title and moved on to level 3 for the afternoon...

The level 3 course presented us with a couple of "firsts". While we have done a fair bit of dumbell and retrieve work, this was the first time for us to do a retrieve in a trial situation - and I could not be happier with his clear understanding;  he did as well as ever; "piece of cake!". The other "first" was the winged jump on course. While we have done a fair bit of jumping and Maggio absolutely loves to jump --  I wondered how the wing-jump would be received...as he had never seen one (let alone jumped one) before! None of my own jumps have wings, but the boy did not even hesitate when asked to go "Over!" - he flew out and over the jump like he had done it a hundred times before. Good boy! Bad trainer for not introducing him to a winged jump before a trial situation!
At any rate - I was thrilled with our 206 score (In APDT Rally 210 points is the best score possible...200 for the course and an additional 10 points which can be earned in a BONUS exercise) - which placed us first and got a High in Trial in level 3A. The point deductions came from a crooked sit and paw movements in the "moving stand/ walk around" exercise. Giving me good information about what I need to work on for next time :-)

On Sunday we returned for a second level 3 trial. By now, with two weekends of trials in a row and several appearances in the ring, I was actually quite relaxed! How absolutely nice to go in to the ring and not feel terrified!  :-) And I think Maggio picked up on my relative looseness, too. He was definitely "high" in the final run! This dog is going to keep teaching me so much about arousal - I will forever be a student, trying to figure out this arousal business and how to harness it to our best advantage. I am sure many people and experienced handlers who have trialled for a long time and have done this a ton, "get it". But I still consider myself a new learner in many respects - and also; Maggio is my first competition dog. What a great teacher he has been!

Anyhow - for this final level 3 run of the weekend - My boy was "ON" and did a beautiful run...his arousal almost a bit "too high", as was apparent by some whining and vocalizing - but he stayed connected the whole time and was totally a "thinking/listening dog" despite pushing the upper boundary or workable arousal... but mostly it was also obvious he really had a great time! I truly think he was enjoying himself and enjoying being in the spotlight. The applause at the end had him go totally silly and wiggly and bouncy and happy and goofy. What a fun way to end a great two weekends of trials! And the fact that it earned us another first place and High in Trial didn't hurt either! With a 208 now...two points deducted - one for slight paw movement in the same "moving stand/walk around" and one for the "off-set figure 8 with food bowls" looking at the bowls and thus taking a bit of a wide/slow turn...yeah - I am pretty thrilled overall... It is SO exciting to be at this point of our journey!

We're both willing students and keep learning from each other, we both love the moments of training and spending quality time together - and granted, some days it has felt like we will never be ready...now, I know I am mostly working on my own ability to stay calm, focused and normal...while we continue on this fun journey that has only just begun! What a Fantastic Dog I have been blessed with!

Backyard Agility Games seminar and thoughts on Arousal.

March 6th and 7th 2011, Wags unlimited and Sit Happens! (in Calgary) co-hosted a second round of Backyard Agility games with Catherine Thomas, from New Brunswick, as the instructor. What an amazing seminar with great little gold nuggets of learning for each participant individually. 


Apart from being the trainer who really got me inspired to learn more about dogs and the one "responsible" for my current obsession with the canine-human bond, I consider Catherine to be one of my main mentors, a trainer with an amazing eye as well as fantastic communication skills. I have learned so much from her over the years, and continue learning all the time. The most recent epiphany happening just a mere three days ago - about a week after she returned back to N.B after the seminar.


The massive "light bulb moment" is all about AROUSAL.
I have been on a massive roller-coaster learning curve with my flat-coat Maggio in regards to AROUSAL. He is an interesting dog, great worker (!) but to try to paint an image of his story: one who balances his own "stability" on a fairly wobbly teeter, if that makes any sense. As long as there are no outside stresses to his life, I have a pretty good chance of predicting how he will respond to things and where on the arousal curve I may find him. However - environment does affect him a lot - and the the longer his environment is unfamiliar/ or adds stress to his overall being, the more his behavior will be affected - as well as his overall arousal. So far this all should seem pretty natural and logical. As human beings, most of us are affected by stress and environment, too - so it only makes sense. 
For Maggio and me, the learning and journey has been a long one, and in frequent moments of frustration or disbelief,  I have often picked Catherine's brain about "what to do?" and have gained much insight through her and from her experiences.


Last weekend I was entered with Maggio to compete in obedience. I had entered him for three trials in Novice B, and certainly knew he was Ready and well prepared for the exercises. Mostly I was really only concerned about myself - and my ability to come across as "normal" to my dog (HA!) my ring nerves are not the greatest; I have a tendency to want to perform Really well and thus I put a lot of stress and pressure on myself, which can result in a very strange looking human being....all of course in turn affecting the performance of the dog.
At any rate - I am happy to report, my ring nerves held together and in watching video of my runs, I seem normal :-) and had scores I am completely thrilled with!
195.5, 197.5 and 192.5 - three Qs (Qualifying scores) thus resulting in a title: CD.

 (If unfamiliar to obedience; a dog and handler team need to pass all parts of the "test" with at least 50% of full points for each exercise, a total minimum score of 170...with 200 being a perfect score. To get a title, this performance then needs to be repeated three times, under at least two different judges.)


After our first trial - with a score of 195.5 - which placed us third - I reviewed the video of our run and also played back the visual memory of the two higher scoring teams. And - oh...video is so great for learning (!!) -- I watched and actually I was not 100% content with the heeling! There was a bit of lagging and a couple of wide right-turns. I knew we could do better and spiffier heel-work. When we are completely connected as a team - there is no lagging and the turns are tight! 


So, now I tried to analyze what I should try to do differently before the next trial in less than 24 hours? And, apart from handler experience and perhaps training - what set the performances apart? What was different about what Maggio and I did, to what they had done? And the answer in its simplest form, was AROUSAL. Both higher scoring dogs, had been working in a much higher state of arousal. 


So, day 2 of trials I went in with a plan of going in with Maggio a bit "higher" on the arousal scale. Warm-up routine was a bit different than day 1, we played more, let the arousal build more and indeed we walked into the ring connected, together and "ON". And did it ever pay off?! 
Our score went up by 2 points; to a lovely 197.5. The heeling was spiffier, tighter - and we were connected. All because of being ready to understand an internalize and also use this new understanding of arousal...a lesson that has been in the making for many years now, really for all of Maggio's life - and often a source of frustration...


As Catherine - and others - have often reminded "We can only learn when and what we are READY to learn". 


As much as I am on a high from this newly earned obedience title and doing well together with a dog I love so much - I am overwhelmed by this new insight and my own internal learning about arousal...It is all so much clearer now! "seeing" the bigger picture of this magical scale so often talked about....a curve that extends on one side into "low" arousal and on the other into "high" arousal...neither place a great one to be if we try to get the very best out of our dogs....


With each individual dog, it becomes our challenge as the human handler to get to know them well enough to see where they are in any given moment. 


And what happened to the third score? I guess it revealed some gaps in training/ proofing / preparing, which had the performance dip a bit, but certainly also fatigue played in. It had been a long two days already by the time we stepped into the ring for the third time. 


My goal and dream was to have all three scores over 190 - which we did! So, even though, by comparison the final score was 'low' - my boy was still "on", happy to perform and work; did a great job finishing the day with a third and final Q to finish his title of CD. And on top of a title, I had a great epiphany of learning...something that will definitely stay with me always!
Now, onto the next training challenges! And Rally trials next weekend.....