I have another more serious post coming about obedience training, but first I'm bursting with pride with my little girl! Duckie had her first USDAA agility trial this morning! It was technically her 2nd agility trial since we did the UKI trial 2 months ago with a mixture of toy runs and runs "for real." This time there was no toy option and it was also her first experience doing agility outdoors away from our backyard.
The maturity difference and general confidence in her from 2 months ago at that UKI trial and today's trial was absolutely huge! She actually found her lines this time and had zero incidents of running around obstacles just because Wheeee! Zumi was x1000 calmer and focused walking into the ring. Didn't hesitate at all with the tire, spreads, or the long chute (although she did slip coming out of the chute in standard). And had way more focus on my handling!
Zumi had 3 runs- gamblers, standard, and snooker. And we actually qualified in her first two! Her very first Q's in agility!
Zumi's only real issues were with her contacts. And that didn't come at all of a surprise to me.
Her dogwalk was very leapy in gamblers and I think part of it was her lack of experience with me layering an obstacle. In standard it was the exact same exit angle and it was very pretty :)
We didn't do any aframe in gamblers and in standard it was a pretty high hit. In snooker I told myself to keep moving forward to support it better but she needed more than just the tiny bit of motion that I gave her and didn't even add in a second hit. On the positive side, this was Zumi's first and last experience with a 5'10" aframe in a trial! The new lowered height takes effect next week! I don't feel quite as bad now about not practicing that much with the taller height.
And her stopped teeters all made me very happy. Even did her nice bow on 2 out of the 3!
And because the good news kept coming, Zumi actually measured to jump in the 18" class!!!! The cutoff is 17.5" which Zumi is very close too. She also likes to stand on her tippy toes and pretend she is almost an inch taller sometimes. But I got her looking down and now we're 1 measurement down, 2 to go!
I entered her to jump 22in this trial as I didn't think it was possible to get her down. I'll try entering at 18 next trial and see what happens! I certainly feel more comfortable jumping her 18 long term than 22!
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This blog is about life with my 3 dogs. It's mainly to keep track of my training with the dogs and my exploration into the world of competitive obedience, agility, disc dog, and trick training. We reside outside of Minneapolis, MN.
Train With Me!
I offer online private lessons, online group classes, and in person lessons! Find out more by visiting my official training page, Tandem Dog Sports
Fenzi Dog Sport Academy
Lance the Corgi
Lance is my first dog, born April 2007. We faced early retirement due to an injury but Lance enjoyed playing in obedience, rally, and agility. He got me hooked on dog sports.
(photo by Sarah Beth Photography)
Vito the Toller
Vito was born on Halloween 2008. We currently compete in agility and are slowly making our way back to the obedience ring. Vito is making me into a better trainer every step of the way.
(Photo by Great Dane Photography)
Zumi the Duck
Born October 2014, Zumi is adventuring into the agility world and competitive obedience. We are working on some over arousal issues!
Luke the Kitty
Luke is a 10yr old kitty who finds his greatest joy in tormenting Lance. He also loves to wrestle with the fosters, cuddle with his tollers, and steal as much food as possible through trash can raiding and chewing holes in pockets.
That is awesome! It's so neat to see when they mature... :)
Yay puppy!! She's doing so well!