Sheltie Adventures

I figured I’d throw in an AKC before I retire from trialing for 2 months. With a long vacation upcoming and obviously the need for more DW training, I decided to stop for awhile. At least until July. I may retest him again at an ASCA or NADAC trial before seeing if we’re ready for AKC. I also think during this time, we’ll be working on the AF. I’m thinking of going to a 4-on, slow stop on the AF. I don’t want a 2o2o, and I’ll even take creeping. It’s better than his flying.

So, without further ado. Here’s the recap for our AKC trial.

Saturday

JWW: I’m not sure why Koji didn’t take the second jump, but he didn’t. Instant refusal. I was bummed. But on the big upside, we had a beautiful run afterwards. It flowed so nicely and felt so effortless. We totally connected, he was totally focused. It was an awesome run.

Standard: Sigh. More rear crossing AF issues. I think I’ve been too close to him when I cross. This time, although I had sufficient space, he was looking at me, instead of forward, so when I went to cross, I pushed him out and that was it. After getting him up and over and he FLEW off the AF, I was done. I’m tired of this. Time to train his AF. I think he’ll be getting a modified 4-on/2o2o.

Sunday

JWW: Another good, but bad run. He missed his weave entry (was I too close and sent him into the second weave?), so that was the end of that one. Then after the pinwheel (after the weaves), I shot across, and then forgot where the stupid jump was. Thankfully Koji can read and went on without me, but that meant I had to chase him down. Next thing I know, I’m off, he’s going super wide on everything and I’m still behind. Bleah. Bad overall, but I think as a team, I was happy with our performance.

Standard: Um. Someone broke his stay. In his defense, I will say that I put him in a sit, walked away, stopped, looked back (the other dog messed up and didn’t finish yet), then walked out again, stopped (waiting for the “ready”), then walked out again, and this time he broke. I NEVER do that, so I don’t blame him. It’s also not something I proofed. So, either I proof it or never do it again. Oops.

And lastly, the best thing this weekend? My running!!! I have been working out consistently for 5 full weeks now. Because I’m not doing any actual running, I can’t gauge where I’m at endurance wise. Needless to say, if you watch Saturday’s JWW run, you’ll see me accel and decel with more ease. The run looked effortless because I ran it and wasn’t out of breath. I finished the run and was barely breathing hard. OMG! Awesome. I was told I was “moving” but I don’t see it, yet. Maybe I was though. My legs are definitely stronger since I can push off and change directions easier. So great! Hopefully when I return to the ring, I’ll have lost more weight and be stronger and healthier. Yup, I’m doing this for the team (and my health). I don’t know the last time a run was so “easy” to run.