Yes, I did cry - but only once!

For all of you that get frustrated with agility, your dog, your timing, your lack of speed, skill...whatever...I do feel your pain.  On Saturday afternoon of training with Stuart and Pati, I did dissolve to tears.  We were working an exercise they call "Triple Threat Drills", and the name alone should make one want to cry.

The sequence started with #1, but then we got to #8 and from there we had to pick up any of the 4 obstacles that were not part of the sequence and get back to #1 and do the course again. After the 2nd run through, we had to pick up another of the 4 obstacles, just not one we had already done and then run it again...as you can tell, that wound up being a 26 obstacle course. I ended up taking the A-frame first time around, followed by the #4 jump on the second go round...that is NOT what made me cry. 

As we started the exercise, I made the mistake of handling that #4-#7 sequence very conservatively...let me remind you that I was training with Stuart and Pati Mah as they prepped for the USDAA Nationals.  Pati immediately stopped me and wanted me to get 2 back to back front crosses in...one between #4 - #5 and the other between #6 - #7...take a look again at the line from #1 to #4 and let's think a second about who I was running...oh yes...I kid you not.  After the 4th failed attempt, I dissolved.  Pati quietly came out and reminded me they fully intended to "push" me beyond my limits all weekend.  She told me I could make it happen but had to give Karma her "shhhh" as she went between #3 and #4...even though I was needing to get there...so...on the 5th attempt, we finally got it.  It was just one more example when they proved to me that our dogs indeed need and use all of our cues...not just the motion alone.  That was the first and last time I cried that weekend...when all else fails...give your dog more information!

Playing on the beach of Jekyl Island before training all weekend in Jacksonville with Stuart and Pati Mah.

Energy Flow

So, after 2 days of training with Pati and Stuart Mah, one of my biggest "take-home" messages was all about Energy Flow...when we run agility, the course has sequences where the energy has to be high and big, and then other parts where the energy has to come down and relax.  "Relax into it" was a phrase I heard a lot and it took me a while to get the feel of that.  How do you relax on an agility course when you run a dog that is 50 x faster than you?  It all sunk in when we played around with "Gamblers" courses using a "time gamble" rather than a distance gamble.  During the first 30 seconds, we built up as many points by making up our own course...then the buzzer sounded and we had 15 seconds to get the gamble and get out. 

We worked two different set ups. The first was a box of jumps and the gamble was to get in the box and do a 270 turn with a straight line through the box.  Essentially, you could go straight through the box, then do a 270 or you could enter the box and start with a 270 followed by a straight line through. 

Since I don't get to play USDAA, and I was a bit unfamiliar with the game, Pati spent a good deal of time talking me through it.  When you rush to get all the points in during the opening sequence the energy is obviously very big and high, in order to get the gamble points, you must be able to settle back down and calm the energy or you won't be able to blast a fast dog in the box and correctly get the 270's and straight lines.  If don't calm down, they'll come in too fast, miss the straight lines, etc... 

What a perfect game to play in order to build the energy and then have to bring it back down rapidly.  I didn't get to walk it since I was trying to understand the rules better, but this was the sequence that Karma and I successfully ran at the end of the weekend...without walking it...how cool is that?  NICE!!!! We finally got the energy flow to work perfectly. 

The 2nd time gamble was a jump with weaves on both sides and we had to take jump-weave sequences...the goal was to get as many of the jump-weave or weave-jump sequences as possible without going over 15 seconds or you lost all the points you built up.

Let go and hit the gas!!

Tonight I sit here thinking about the really great weekend we just had and the prospect of what this week will bring.  Both Keegan and Karma got 2 Double Q's this weekend with their fastest times EVER.  I'm so grateful for the many great instructors we've had along the way.  That said, I am most grateful to the one that has given us the most, Stuart Mah.  We leave on Tuesday to drive to Jacksonville, FL to train with Stuart over the weekend.  Both little girls (6 months) are going to have private lessons on Friday and Saturday nights, while Karma will get most of the work on Saturday and Sunday.  Keegan is going as my security blanket and relief dog when I can no longer feel my legs. 

Why would we do that you ask? Quite simple...Stuart is the reason we play agility in the first place. 

Karma - Photo by Rosemary Strasser

In 2006 I met Stuart at a camp.  Keegan wasn't even competing and I remember being so frustrated and feeling like I'd never be able to play this game...I'd never get my front crosses right, or support the jump, or get my dog to weave, etc... Over the course of 2 days, he and his wife Pati, showed me that agility is a game to be played with your dog, and your dog is the one that has the majority of the responsibility.  All I had to do was train them well and learn how to drive the two "sportscars" that I play the game with...it's really all about when to "tap the brakes" and when to "hit the gas"...when to hang on and when to let go.  It all seems so simple doesn't it? In theory it is...problem is that like so many other things in life...we just like to hang on too much.  We need to learn to let go and hit the gas. 

MACH2 Keegan

Keegan finished MACH2 in Burnsville, MN on August 22, 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXGinMRjonk&feature=recentlik .  I was pretty frustrated with him that day because he ran so slowly...my husband is fairly convinced that he knew it was the last Double Q we needed; therefore, he ran slow to prevent me from screwing up.  Those of you that know Keegan, know that's likely right...he is definitely that arrogant.  The funny part was that he proceeded the rest of the weekend to run his normal fast self. 

This weekend (September 17, 18, 19, 2010) Keegan ran his fastest times EVER.  A couple months ago I was certain this was his last year competing due to the leg, but thanks to a wonderful vet in town, cold laser therapy, and chiropractic work, he looked and ran spectacular this weekend.  Even when I fell on my rear this morning in JWW, we still managed to recover, qualify, and win the class.  Now I need the chiro work!