General comments: I love the way his tail just wiggles all the way through.
:-) He's also showing a very nice, efficient jumping style, with little
wasted air space over them.

Specific runs:
Very first run ever - Novice Chances. Super for a first run; he never lost
connection with me even when he got the zooms, remembered his contact
criteria, and had a ton of fun.
Points of note:
1, my real voice is NOWHERE near that high & squeaky! :-D I deliberately
pitch it like that to make sure he hears me when he's up in drive.
2, as mentioned in the other thread, he went into the goalie hole because he
smelt mice
3, the reason he left the ring was that my turn-back signal after the last
jump was verbal only *and* waaaay too late (in other videos, you'll see me
physically and verbally signal him to curve back), and the reason he stayed
out so long was he found food on the floor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUxVZOi-DZU


First run, second day - Novice Jumpers, a qualifying run.
Points of note:
1, he went on that big zoom loop because I gave him an unclear signal - he
thought he was *supposed* to go to the left, and it took him a couple of
seconds to realize where I was and where he was supposed to be. Luckily he
did the entire loop on the ground, so he didn't get any off-course penalties
(for the agility impaired, an "off course" is taking an obstacle out of
correct sequence), and he's so fast he still had time to finish the course.
2, relating back to the previous video, if you watch closely you'll see me
start to move to the right (screen right) as he lifts for the last jump.
This has the effect of turning him away from the exit, and he's then easily
able to loop back and jump into my arms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhB14...eature=channel


Novice Regular Round 1, second day - two off-courses, no Q.
A super nice run, with Cen holding a very nice balance between handler focus
and obstacle focus.
Points of note:
1, the hitch heading to the weaves, including the off-course jump, is
entirely my fault because my turn signal was too weak, too high, and too
late. Also, that brief "attention heel" is not a trained response, but
spontaneous.
2, the second off course is the jump before the last tunnel. I accidentally
sent him there, and you will note I don't correct it in any way, simply call
him to the next obstacle and continue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anj3v...eature=channel


Novice Regular Round 2, second day - his first Regular Q. :-)
Points of note:
1, the re-sit on the start line is simply to make sure we're connected and
that he doesn't take off too close to the jump.
2, he bypassed the A-frame because I didn't clearly indicate it either
verbally OR physically, and he wasn't sure he was supposed to take it. See
comment on Round 1 regarding the illusion of a brief "attention heel".
3, the "switch" (turn away & switch sides with me) he does over the jump
after the next tunnel is just lovely, and is why you'll hear me say
"yes!" - I'm praising him for responding to the verbal and physical "switch"
signal. However, the praise delayed my next signal, which is why he didn't
curve in far enough and missed the next jump.
4, the "switch" in the far corner of the course is drop-dead gorgeous.
(Agility-savvy will note that on that one I use the Evil Outside Arm.)
4, I'm way super late calling him at the end; he had no clue where I was
when he came out of the tunnel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH5Ys...eature=channel

On Apr 13, 10:16*am, "sionnach" wrote:
General comments: I love the way his tail just wiggles all the way through.
:-) He's also showing a very nice, efficient jumping style, with little
wasted air space over them.

Specific runs:
Very first run ever - Novice Chances. *Super for a first run; he never lost
connection with me even when he got the zooms, remembered his contact
criteria, and had a ton of fun.
* Points of note:
1, my real voice is NOWHERE near that high & squeaky! :-D I deliberately
pitch it like that to make sure he hears me when he's up in drive.
2, as mentioned in the other thread, he went into the goalie hole because he
smelt mice
3, the reason he left the ring was that my turn-back signal after the last
jump was verbal only *and* waaaay too late (in other videos, you'll see me
physically and verbally signal him to curve back), and the reason he stayed
out so long was he found food on the floor.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUxVZOi-DZU

First run, second day - Novice Jumpers, a qualifying run.
Points of note:
1, he went on that big zoom loop because I gave him an unclear signal - he
thought he was *supposed* to go to the left, and it took him a couple of
seconds to realize where I was and where he was supposed to be. Luckily he
did the entire loop on the ground, so he didn't get any off-course penalties
(for the agility impaired, an "off course" is taking an obstacle out of
correct sequence), and he's so fast he still had time to finish the course.
2, relating back to the previous video, if you watch closely you'll see me
start to move to the right (screen right) as he lifts for the last jump.
This has the effect of turning him away from the exit, and he's then easily
able to loop back and jump into my arms.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhB14...eature=channel

Novice Regular Round 1, second day - two off-courses, no Q.
A super nice run, with Cen holding a very nice balance between handler focus
and obstacle focus.
Points of note:
1, the hitch heading to the weaves, including the off-course jump, is
entirely my fault because my turn signal was too weak, too high, and too
late. Also, that brief "attention heel" is not a trained response, but
spontaneous.
2, the second off course is the jump before the last tunnel. I accidentally
sent him there, and you will note I don't correct it in any way, simply call
him to the next obstacle and continue.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anj3v...eature=channel

Novice Regular Round 2, second day - his first Regular Q. :-)
Points of note:
1, the re-sit on the start line is simply to make sure we're connected and
that he doesn't take off too close to the jump.
2, he bypassed the A-frame because I didn't clearly indicate it either
verbally OR physically, and he wasn't sure he was supposed to take it. See
comment on Round 1 regarding the illusion of a brief "attention heel".
3, *the "switch" (turn away & switch sides with me) he does over the jump
after the next tunnel is just lovely, and is why you'll *hear me say
"yes!" - I'm praising him for responding to the verbal and physical "switch"
signal. However, the praise delayed my next signal, which is why he didn't
curve in far enough and missed the next jump.
4, the "switch" in the far corner of the course is drop-dead gorgeous.
(Agility-savvy will note that on that one I use the Evil Outside Arm.)
4, I'm way super late calling him at the end; he had no clue where I was
when he came out of the tunnel.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH5Ys...eature=channel

************************************************** *************

Wow!!!! He is fast! Jumpers was awesome! He's on his way to being
someone for the competition to watch out for! It's always weird for me
to see indoor trials like that. All trials here in SoCal are outdoors,
all year long.

The weave poles on round one, there's no way to get a decent front
cross without pushing too far and confusing the dog. Just a rear cross
straight to the weave poles is really the only option, especially with
a fast dog like him. He has awesome contacts! I did notice the
opposite arm, lol. (But you don't need it, your body turned with good
timing and he'll see that with no arm at all.) He's such a happy guy,
can't help but smile watching him run. Thanks for sharing those.

Lauralyn
Raw fed agility dogs
Shylo, Cheyenne, Lakota, Apache

"LL" wrote:

It's always weird for me to see indoor trials like that. All trials here
in SoCal are outdoors,
all year long.

An outdoor trial this past Saturday would have been miserable - it poured
rain all morning, and temps were in the mid-50s.

The weave poles on round one, there's no way to get a decent front
cross without pushing too far and confusing the dog. Just a rear cross
straight to the weave poles is really the only option, especially with
a fast dog like him.

Yep. No effective way to work in a front cross, IMO.
With my lurcher, I could have sent her out around the curve of jumps
semi-independently and done a *blind* cross one jump *before* the weaves,
but Cen doesn't have that much distance send yet. However, with her I'd
actually have done the same thing I *intended* to do with Cen - "switch" as
the dog headed for the jump beforehand, so he lands already turning.
I mistimed it, so he landed going straight, saw the dogwalk, and thought he
was supposed to go to it.
I As a side note, I nearly always avoid crossing the dog's path, and when
I do, it's nearly always a blind cross. A "switch" does NOT cross the dog's
path - in fact, the dog and I really don't cross each other's paths at all -
it's more a matter of we both pivot, which changes our position relative to
each other.

He has awesome contacts!

Which is why I was holding them on the A-frame; I intend to keep them! :-D
This is my first dog whose long-term competition criteria has *been* 2/2
contacts - Brenin, my elder dog, does a running A-frame, cut-stride trotting
dogwalk, and walking teeter. Morag, my lurcher, did a running A-frame,
walking teeter, & a one-paw slap dogwalk; my JRT did a ride-then-leave
teeter & running A-frame/dogwalk, but in retrospect I wished I'd gone with a
2/2 dogwalk - when she hit speed, she'd stride over the dogwalk contact more
often than not.
My original intent was to do a running A-frame with Cen, for safety
reasons. However, I teach that starting with a 2/2 on a lowered frame, and
quickly realized that he's able to descend and finish in a controlled
crouch, weight on the real, that doesn't stress his body. My Jack wasn't
able to do that - being less flexible, she would bounce down on her forelegs
and start slewing sideways; besides, and her running frame was spot-on.
Part of the difference is in that Cen really thinks about what he's doing,
so he's already controlling himself as he crests.


He's such a happy guy, can't help but smile watching him run.

He makes me smile all the time. :-)

On Apr 14, 11:25*am, "sionnach" wrote:

*Yep. No effective way to work in a front cross, IMO.
* With my lurcher, I could have sent her out around the curve of jumps
semi-independently and done a *blind* cross one jump *before* the weaves,
but Cen doesn't have that much distance send yet. *However, with her I'd
actually have done the same thing I *intended* to do with Cen - "switch" as
the dog headed for the jump beforehand, so he lands already turning.
*I mistimed it, so he landed going straight, saw the dogwalk, and thought he
was supposed to go to it.
I * As a side note, I nearly always avoid crossing the dog's path, and when
I do, it's nearly always a blind cross. A "switch" does NOT cross the dog's
path - in fact, the dog and I really don't cross each other's paths at all -
it's more a matter of we both pivot, which changes our position relative to
each other.


I think I get what you mean. I never do blind crosses. You have to
take your eyes off the dog and disconnect for a second. I don't
actually cross my dog's path. Front crosses are usually lateral and as
close to the next obstacle as possible to set my dog's line, not be in
it, lol. Rear crosses are simply telling the dog to turn away from me,
so yeah, that's basically pivoting to tell the dog to turn.

He has awesome contacts!

Which is why I was holding them on the A-frame; I intend to keep them! :-D
* This is my first dog whose long-term competition criteria has *been* 2/2
contacts - Brenin, my elder dog, does a running A-frame, cut-stride trotting
dogwalk, and walking teeter. Morag, my lurcher, did a running A-frame,
walking teeter, *& a one-paw slap dogwalk; my JRT did a ride-then-leave
teeter & running A-frame/dogwalk, but in retrospect I wished I'd gone with a
2/2 dogwalk - when she hit speed, she'd stride over the dogwalk contact more
often than not.
* * My original intent was to do a running A-frame with Cen, for safety
reasons. However, I teach that starting with a 2/2 on a lowered frame, and
quickly realized that he's able to descend and finish in a controlled
crouch, weight on the real, that doesn't stress his body. My Jack wasn't
able to do that - being less flexible, she would bounce down on her forelegs
and start slewing sideways; besides, and her running frame was spot-on.
Part of the difference is in that Cen really thinks about what he's doing,
so he's already controlling himself as he crests.


With my Lab I started out with 2o2o contacts, but she never stopped in
competition. I started to realize she just wasn't built to stop, it
was hard on her physically and she really did great running contacts,
so I stopped fighting it and went with running contacts. I do have to
slow her up on the dogwalk otherwise she can easily stride over the
down contact without jumping off. So I have to slow her up at the end
to make her take small steps at the bottom. My older BC (Lakota) has
to stop or he'll end up jumping off early. My young BC has awesome
2o2o, but I may change to running contacts eventually. Not quite sure
yet. He has great potential!

Lauralyn
Raw fed agility dogs
Shylo, Cheyenne, Lakota, Apache.