Training

I feel like I am returning to the land of the living. What with most of the Fair Hill entries coming in the last week of closing, then pre trial prep for Keystone and then Fair Hill, then the week after the trials spent in doing all the post trial paperwork and getting both trials into the mail (by 2:38pm on Friday, woot!!) there wasn't much time for anything else. Then, I didn't have a car last week because of two stupid bolts that had gone missing from the rear brake calipers. Took them a whole, solid week to get two new ones!!

Anyway, car is back, trials are out the door! I need to start on the test schedule for Keystone's February trial. And find out who is doing the test schedule for Lehigh Valley Dream Weavers sanctionned match in January. But I can take a break from all that for a couple of weeks.

I went up to the Kruisin barn today for the first time in over a month. Worked on rear crosses and jumping with Blaze. He is getting it, he is getting it!!!! I do have to give him more turning cues or he will just keep on going. He did some serpentines as well. So cool :-) He did most of them at 20" and kept a lot of bars up ... a lot better than early September anyway :-) I do think it will come! I just have to learn how to "steer" him :-)

I also put him on the aframe (full height) and dogwalk (half height as that was how it was set) and he got all of his contacts. Decided to give him some distraction on the aframe by swinging his tug toy. He came off, so I put him back on. He then trembled and was just dying to go, but he stayed there and stayed for several reps, good boy!!

Put him away, brought Luce out. Didn't work her as much as she will have class tomorrow night. Did some weave pole entrances which she got. Hmmm. Why there and not at home? Same angle. At home she isn't bending and is going in between 2 and 3. Mulch surface at the barn, so maybe she can't go as fast as the hard ground at home? And it was a little wet at home on the weekend, so maybe she didn't feel she had good footing? Not sure. We'll see how she does on the Sprint Turf at Barto.

She does not have as good entrances as the Blazo Boy though .... I have to manage hers as she isn't reliable at anything greater than 45 degrees or so. At least she is collecting herself and making an effort to get the poles .... except for at home this weekend. Gotta be the footing. Gotta move the weave poles in the yard when it is drier out (it drizzled a little today) and see if that is the reason.

She is a little monkey and can be squirrely. As well as being a border collie I remember a few years ago when I had the weave poles on the front yard. She would only weave in one direction .. didn't matter if I was on her left or her right, she would only go from the creek side of the yard to the driveway side of the yard and not back again. That went on for not quite a week and then she was fine. But it was strange while it happened :-)

We have another session reserved on Thursday morning. More of the equipment should be out and maybe I can get some sequencing in for Blaze and work on communicating with each other on course. It is just a matter of working with him and both of us learning how to "talk" to each other. Plus he is a green dog, so that is a factor as well.

Anna was there with her new dog, Spring, when I got there. We talked for a bit before she left, and she said Tuesday was the worst day to come as the beginners have been there Monday night and nothing is out. That's okay, I can always find something to work on and there were jumps set up in the outside ring.

Anna would love to train with someone, so we might get together starting in the new year. Spring is quite different from Belle :-) It will help me stay focussed and will help having another set of eyes. And it is easier to move equipment with two people ;-) Spring will need more basic stuff which won't hurt Blaze to do. I haven't done everything with him that I probably should.

Anyway, I was pleased with the short session. I didn't stay that long as it was humid up there for some reason. Freezing back at the house, but humid in the barn. Go figure.