USDAA Trial in Turlock

Crystal and I took the dogs to Turlock, CA for a USDAA agility trial this past weekend. Both West and Sonoma competed, and if you're wondering, yes they do compete against each other. The concept behind many of the agility organizations is that the dog starts at level 1, then moves to 2 when a certain set of criteria is met, then on to level 3 when that same criteria is met at the second level. Once in level 3, the dog competes to get its agility champion title of that organization by accomplishing a rigorous set of criteria. So for example, in AKC, the dog starts at Novice (level 1), then moves to Open (level 2), and finally competes in Excellent (level 3). Once you're in Excellent, you work towards your Master Agility Champion (or MACH). Sonoma started her agility "career" in AKC, and has achieved an Excellent title, and is currently working towards her MACH. We had heard that USDAA trials were a bit of a younger, more competitive crowd, so when West started competing, we decided to give them a try. So even though Sonoma is in Excellent in AKC, she has to start over again in Starters (USDAA level 1), alongside West, who has no titles in any organization.

So, this weekend we competed with both dogs in Starters. There are a lot of different "games" in USDAA agility, which means about 5 runs a day for each dog. In AKC agility, the dog typically only runs 3 different events. So if you think about it, we were used to sharing Sonoma's three runs per day in AKC, and now we have two dogs, running about 5 runs per day each in USDAA - a much different ballgame!! Overall, we had a lot of success (and a few learning opportunities). We walked away with a bunch of qualifying runs, and a few 1st and 2nd places. Both dogs are just one run away from their Starters title, and will hopefully be competing soon in Advanced (USDAA level 2). Here are a few pictures from the weekend. I must say, we have some really good looking dogs - but not that I'm biased...

West and Crystal competing. He doesn't knock this bar over, believe it or not, but he's taking a very short path around the course by jumping on the inside of each jump. Ideal placement for the dog over the jump in this circumstance :-)

You can see on the same jump, that Sonoma isn't hugging that inside of the jump as much as West. While she successfully completed the jump and made a nice turn, she probably lost a split second of time by taking a slightly longer path. And those split seconds add up. We'll work on our rear crosses (where the handler crosses behind the path of the dog to signal a turn) to tighten up that behavior.



Here's West and Sonoma each getting ready to launch! The "Sit, Stay" at the beginning of the course is probably the hardest behavior we ask of them out there. They get out on the course, the leash taken off (see it in the grass there??) and we lead out into the course somewhere. They are ready to RUN! West loads his legs up, and just wants to explode......... but he has to stay until we say the magical release word, "OKAY!"

At this point, Sonoma's "Sit, Stay" is much more reliable than West's... but rest assured, her heart is beating a million times a minute right now and her brain is firing like crazy! She's one step away from just letting her adrenaline take over...



Sonoma and me somewhere along the course. She's pretty serious.

One of Sonoma's best obstacles are the weave poles. To do the weaves successfully, the dogs must enter in between the first and second weave poles from the right to the left. They must alternate through each pair of poles, until they exit on the 12th on the left... Hmm, okay, I'll draw it out:

Sonoma having such reliable weave pole entries, allows us to be anywhere remotely close to the weaves and still have trust that she'll cleanly enter the poles and complete the entire set, without popping out somewhere a long the way.

And S coming out of the tunnel and making a nice tight right turn... Again, the tight turn out of the tunnel shortens the dog's path and keeps them from exploding out of the tunnel, adding distance (and ultimately time), and then finally turning yards away from the tunnel exit.

S jumping over the same jump (as before) a second time in the run, but this time heading straight instead of turning.

Before each event starts, the judge responsible for the ring will hold a "briefing". They will quickly review the rules of the game, answer competitors questions, and those types of things. In this particular briefing, our agility friends Matt and Penni, who both run border collies (Buzz and Einstein), are listening too. They are both in our Monday night class with West because their BCs are young, beginner dogs as well. Actually, their two dogs are siblings from the same litter and they just happen to train agility at the same place. It's fun to see the difference in the two dogs as they grow up with different handlers but are from the same pedigree.

Long time, no update

It's been over a month (maybe two??) since I've last updated our blog. It seems like every night and weekend we have something going on that takes up a lot of our time and leaves none for sitting down with a laptop to type up a coherent blog post. Not that I'm complaining, I love our active lifestyle. But I guess it's more like if there's time to sit down and write a blog post, then I should be looking into wedding vendors or something instead...

But to that point, the wedding planning is going well. At this point we have decided on the venue, caterer, photographer, and wedding dress (which I have not seen). We are lucky to have such a dedicated family back East willing to help with the things that are basically impossible for us to do from California. Two weekends ago weekend Crystal's dad and step-mom were visiting us and we drew a mockup of the wedding layout on their property. We feel that an attention to detail will really help the event feel magical for everyone. Crystal and I know that regardless of the outcome, the wedding will be magical for both of us, but we want to convey that emotion to our guests as well.

I plan to write a post about our trip to Europe, if nothing else, to get pictures up online from the vacaion. But again, sitting down to write the post requires time which I hope to have this weekend or next...

In the meantime, I'd like to give a "shout out" to theotherrelativenews.blogspot.com. Sarah recently started her own blog, and titled it as a play on this blog. Now to be honest, I'm a little disappointed she didn't even give us a plug on the email she sent out, but she did at least make mention to the fact that we have one...

Tonight we're driving down to Turlock, CA for a Saturday USDAA trial. We're very excited because it will be West's first try at an offical agility trial. He's only running two events, Jumpers and Pairs. Jumpers is similiar to AKC, where it's all jumps and tunnels (but no weaves). Pairs is a game where you run half a course, and a a partner with another dog runs the other half. So we've signed up Sonoma and West to compete together in Pairs. All four of us will be out on the course at once - a first. We're very excited! Sonoma will be competing in four events. I'll let everyone know how we did after the weekend..........

Random pic from our last Costa Rica trip (2010)...

Weekend Trial in Santa Rosa

It's been a while since the last update, but Crystal and I have been so busy "doing stuff" it's like there's no free time to write about it (except at work - obviously! - and that's where I'm writing this from.  Dad, are you still proud???)  Anyway, last weekend we spent the three days (Monday was off for Presidents' Day) in Santa Rosa at an AKC agility trial.  It was our first time participating in a three day trial and we had a lot of fun.  The first two days, Sonoma ran three events, and on the third she ran two.  We ended up the week with three qualifying runs out of the 8, and earned the first 24 points towards her Agility Champion title (out of 750 points!).  We have a long road ahead for sure!  Unfortunately, we forgot our camera this time, but I was at least able to get this picture with my iPhone.

We keep the dogs in their crates for a lot of the trial.  They definitely get taken out for frisbee and walks around on occasion, but spend the rest of the time relaxing in their crates.  It's especially good for West since he's just a puppy and still learning how to behave at trials.  It's also good for Sonoma since the agility dogs know they are there to perform, and can have a pretty high stress level as a result.  The crate helps them stay calm and relaxed, and not to mention warm!  It was pretty cold in the mornings - Crystal's windows were even frozen shut one morning!  I know it's nothing compared to the winter everyone's been having back East... but that's cold for us (apparently I've "lost my roots")...

This weekend our good friend Renee is in town from Seattle.  We'll be spending some time in SF, as well as wine tasting and hiking.  I'll do my best to remember the camera this weekend and hopefully we'll get some fun photos to share with everyone.

West's Agility

West has been doing very well in his puppy agility class.  He is definitely the star of the class, and is advancing through the skills faster than his "classmates".  We're really excited about his agility ability (thats fun to say!).  Here's a video of his class on Monday where he ran a sequence of jumps.  As you can see, there are no bars on the jumps, the puppies are still too young to be jumping on their joints.  Besides, at this point just getting the pups to run between the jump uprights is an accomplishment.  But watch the video and see little West run!

The video was taken at night, so it's dark, and Blogger compressed video and reduces quality, but you can see the fast puff ball running in loops at least.  Enjoy!

Also, during class our instructor Anne Kajava (who runs Jumpin' Java Agility which we train through) asked Crystal if she'd be interested in teaching private agility lessons to other students in the class.  So starting this week on Thursday, Crystal will be teaching two private lessons, one with one student and another with two students.  We think this is a really great opportunity for her to get some experience instructing and training, and will if nothing else, give her more exposure as we figure out how to make working with animals a part of her every day life!

First ASCA Trial

This weekend was Sonoma's first Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA) agility trial. This group is another governing body, like the American Kennel Club (AKC). Because it's a new venue to "Team CGS", we started in Novice with no qualifying runs. The trial was sponsored by our local ASCA chapter called the Peninsula Australian Shepherd Association (PASA), of which we are members.

We got up at 5:30 Saturday morning and made the 1 hour trip south on 101 to Prunedale, CA where the trial was being held. We arrived at about 7:00 in the misty 50 degree air - ideal for the dogs, but Crystal and I were not prepared for the weather. By 7:15 we were thoroughly chilled and the bottom foot of our jeans were soaked from the grass. Hmm, agility is fun...

There were five runs on Saturday: 2 Gamblers, 2 Regular, and 1 Jumpers (because ASCA is different from AKC, the agility games have slightly different rules, but are mostly similar in concept. ASCA Gamblers is similar to AKC FAST, Regular is similar to Standard, and Jumpers is similar to Jumpers with Weaves). Of the five runs on Saturday, we only Q'ed in one event. It was a rather discouraging performance for our first show at ASCA. Sonoma and Crystal had a second Q in the Jumpers class, but it was taken away when Sonoma ran out of the ring off-leash at the very end and sniffed another dog. We couldn't buy a Q...

We had been so excited to try out the new venue, new course styles, and we really blew it. One out of five?? Oof.... Our runs weren't horrible, we just made silly mistakes. It was so frustrating!! By the time we left the trial Saturday evening, we were in rare form: disappointed, discouraged, cold, wet, and honestly, slightly embarrassed. Another day of agility on Sunday seemed like an impossible task... But come on, agility is fun...

That night, back at home, we decompressed from the day. We questioned if we even wanted to go back on Sunday for another 5 runs. But that sense of "poor us" quickly began turning around. We sounded like a couple of whiners! Really, where would quitting get us? Was that really the way to recover and clean up from Saturday? True embarrassment would come from failing to rise to the challenge and not showing our faces on Sunday.

We couldn't quit. We're going back on Sunday to qualify. Sonoma and I hadn't gotten a Q for three or four trials and dammit I was fittin' on getting one Sunday. So we woke up early Sunday morning with a fresh mindset and replaced our anger and frustration with positivity and humbleness. We prepared better for the weather and wet field by wearing better clothes and shoes. We came back on Sunday having learned lessons the hard way on Saturday.

When we arrived back at the venue, the trial representatives joked with us that they were surprised to see us back. Apparently we were outwardly upset the day before - oops! We told them we were back to improve upon yesterday and to just have fun. Let's be honest, the more experience you have in agility, the more days you've had like Saturday. But you stick with it, because its rewarding and it's a chance to bond closely with your dog. And you stick with it, because agility is fun!

And wouldn't you know, Sunday was a different story. Sonoma had five runs on Sunday as well: 1 Gamblers, 2 Regular, and 2 Jumpers. We used our one Gamblers run to train issues we had on Saturday - primarily issues with contact obstacles. Because of this decision, we intentionally sacrificed qualifying in this event so we could have a better chance to Q in the Regular and Jumpers courses (this is a common strategy among agility handlers, training during the Gamblers event). After Gamblers, came my turn to handle Sonoma in Jumpers. I have not been nervous handling Sonoma in a long time. But something was different on Sunday, I was finally nervous.

I stepped up to the line with Sonoma ready to perform. The timer announced that they were ready for me to begin our run. I made Sonoma sit and stay, took off her leash, and I stepped into my starting position. I released her from her stay and we were off! She cleared the first two hurdles with no problems, then came the tunnel. I motioned for Sonoma to enter the tunnel, but she started heading toward the wrong end! Our hopes for a Q could collapse right here! I clapped and shouted her name, "Sonoma! Here! Whoa! Hey! S!" She looked up, turned sharply, and entered in the correct end. Disaster averted. We then cleanly made it over the next 9 or so jumps, and then she apprached the 10th jump at a sharp angle. She actually hit the jump upright with her left front shoulder as she went over and I heard the bars rattle. We moved on, finishing the rest of the course cleanly. I looked back and both bars were still on the jump we hit. A clean run! A Q! It was my first Q with Sonoma in four trials!!

Overall on Sunday, we qualified in four runs! We finished with three 1st places and one 2nd place. What a difference a simple attitude adjustment makes. All three of us were grinning from ear to ear by the end of the trial on Sunday. Sonoma clearly felt our excitement and pride.

I am very proud of "Team CGS". We came back on Sunday and showed the stuff we are made of. Saturday was humbling, no doubt about it. But Sunday was redemptive and this weekend was educational in terms of life lessons. You really don't lose until you quit. We ended up 5 for 10 and a 50% qualifying rate is impressive in any agility venue.

Sunday night felt very different from Saturday. We swung from low, low, lows to high, high, highs. The PASA reps were very impressed by Sonoma and are looking forward to seeing her progress through the ranks. We are too. We'll be back for more ASCA - agility is fun!!

Here's a video from the weekend:

Update on Sonoma!

I know with all the West puppy hype it seems like we've left Sonoma by the wayside. I want to assure her worried grandparents that, in fact, we are paying more attention to Sonoma than ever before. Over the Memorial Day weekend, she competed in an AKC trial in Dixon, CA. It was her first trial in the "Open" division.

(Footnote: In ACK agility trials, there are three main skill categories: Novice, Open, and Excellent. Additionally, there are different agility "games" that are run at each trial. These games have titles like Standard, Jumpers with Weaves (JWW), and FAST. Each game has slightly different rules and obstacles. In order to move from Novice to Open in a given game, the dog has to qualify in three runs - essentially score a 90 out of 100 or better. All dogs start in Novice and work their way up. Sonoma has received her Novice title in both Standard and JWW in only two trials - abnormally fast. She now has offical abbreviations after her AKC registered name indicating the novice agility titles.)

She qualified in both her Standard and JWW runs on Saturday, but we missed qualifying in the same events on Sunday. The courses on Sunday were noticeably harder than Saturday. The jumps were closer together, making it easier to knock a bar off, or on-course obstacles were closer to off-courses, tempting the dog... the nuances that result in not a sinlge qualifying run in our Open Standard class. But qualifying in half your runs in Open is still considered an impressive feat. Some people consider the Open division a black hole because it's hard to qualify and move up to the Excellent level. For Sonoma, it will only be a bump in the road.




This past weekend, we had an AKC trial in Palo Alto. Sonoma and Crystal performed great over the weekend, earning two first places - one for JWW on Saturday, and one for Standard on Sunday. Sonoma and I didn't do as well, and ended up with two NQs (non-qualifying runs). Our next trial we will be lined up for our Open Agility titles in both events.





Tomorrow night, we start in a new training class. Our instructor (Anne Kajava) invited us to be part of a "hand selected" group of dogs and handlers to study the "Greg Derrett" system of handling. I think this is a great chance to really challenge our limits, as I'm sure we are Sonoma's only limiting factor!

No longer is agility for a bunch of middle-aged women! We're making it young, athletic, and appealing to all people... I hope...

Sunday's Results

Sonoma got three more "Q's" (qualifying runs), one in each for Standard, JWW, and FAST. She placed first in FAST, and second in Standard and JWW. That was a perfect 6 for 6 in terms of Q's this weekend. Sonoma achieved her Novice level in only two trials and can now compete in the Open division. This may be the average length of time to spend in Novice (Crystal and I are unsure), but we did meet a guy who has been competing with his Sheltie in the Novice division for 2 years!

By the conclusion of the trial on Sunday, we could hear people whispering Sonoma's name as we walked by, followed by more obvious pointing and staring. She's making a name for herself as an "up-and-commer". Multiple people on Saturday and Sunday came up to me to compliment Sonoma and our team. They are excited for us, and have been very willing to show their support for us. Our friends from Jumpin' Java Agility were also so helpful, showing us the ropes at the trials and keeping us informed on when our runs will be.

We are really pleased with the progress Sonoma has shown over the past year. We are excited about this journey we are beginning with our lady - and we know it makes her happy to work as a team with us. For anyone interested in agility, I would recommend it highly. It teaches the dog to be obedient, confident, and a teammate - all important qualities of a happy, healthy dog. You may think, "My dog would never do well in agility, he is too _________!" (fill in the blank with your own adjective: crazy, stubborn, stupid, nuts-o, lazy, etc). But agility helps dogs of all sorts get the positive attention they deserve from their owners as well as exercise and discipline - which helps with all types of behavioral issues.

Unfortunately, under the big cover and with the rain we had this weekend, a lot of our pictures came out blurry. We're still learning how to take good shots with our camera, but we'll get there. Hopefully in the next couple of days I'll manage to get videos of our runs this from this weekend posted. Keep your eyes out for that.

And finally, here's a picture of Sonoma with her ribbons from the two trials - not a bad start to her collection!!