Jason and I had a conversation today about the trial this past weekend.  I have really high expectations.  I expect to Q every time and do it in style.  Sometimes being that ambitious gets me fantastic results.  Other times it gives me an opportunity be hard on myself.  You say…“You got 3 out of 4 Q’s in your first trial…you should be stoked!”.

We did well this past weekend.  And looking back I got to see that what I was about this weekend was winning.  Not being great.  I’m not sure how to explain the distinction other than to go back to what Susan Garrett said on her blog about the lady that won first place but didn’t meet her criteria in her run or the post that really stuck with me about her own trialing experiences with her dogs.  She said that someone came up to her and asked her why she did so poorly in these trials. 

Susan responded saying that’s exactly what they were – trials.  They are practice for the big, important runs.  She could handle the dog along the course in a way that she’s absolutely sure they’ll take the right obstacle, OR she could handle a new, creative, interesting or tricky way to challenge the dog.  Maybe the dog won’t respond perfectly or Q – AND opportunity is created to learn something new!

That – to me – is being great.  And great isn’t the same as winning.  In fact, sometimes not winning is great.    If I had Q’d all for of my runs this weekend, my ego-bubble wouldnt’ have been burst and I wouldn’t have crashed back down to Earth.  I would have gone to run-throughs tonight with the big ol’ ego taped to my forehead and I wouldn’t have “gotten” anything new.  By failing, I went tonight with a whole new view of what Lilli and I were up to creating.

First of all, I’m very grateful at how generous everyone we’ve met has been.  Our agility trainer, Kristin Spillane, was there and stopped to hang out with us for a while.  We saw several of our new agility friends from the OTCPBC and had the opportunity to watch several of them run.  Even though we are newbies to their crowd, they have all been very welcoming and friendly.

My experience today reminded me of my first Ultimate Frisbee tournament.  Everything looked new, the crowd was laid back and people had cool setups for their stuff – which instantly made me want to get a cool dog pen and an RV and camp out for the weekend.    Another thing I learned was that all different levels, ages, sizes and breeds go and play.  Some people ran perfectly and others couldn’t connect with their dogs and all went downhill on the course.  It reminded me that agility is all about connection.  Connection and focus with my dog.  My mindset carries on to her – my nerves or frustration or relaxation and fun.

We’ll take some video of the trial later this weekend and post it. We plan to go back sometime this weekend to get Lilli measured for her first trial. I feel like we’re finally ready.

Lilli was a dream today – very friendly and patient all day around tons of dogs running the courses and having to watch from the bleachers.  I’m thankful for all of the help and advice and encouragement we’ve gotten over the past year.  Agility really is a great sport.

Since this is our first season with an agility/disc pup, we’re experiencing all of this for the first time.  We thought we’d share some of the resources and info we’ve come upon recently…

Video of the Top Agility Dogs in the WORLD – AWESOME!

Some handling diagrams and ideas

Lilli’s done a great job with both her front and rear crosses.  We start a new advanced agility course on Oct. 8 with Kristin Spillane.  This week I also chatted with Lilli’s breeder for a while and she suggested a great place to practice and get some other training in agility, obedience and tracking.

It’s at the South Florida Fairgrounds – and you can get an annual membership and practice on any of their equipment for the whole year for a low fee.  Check it out here.

That’s all for now.  We’re going to check out some of these new classes and spots to practice, take some new videos and post them.

I appreciated the experience of playing new games with a new toy.  It was a lot like cross training for a human, developing skills that contribute to the main pursuit.  It was also difficult at times, especially in the beginning, when Lilli was still trying to understand that we were not playing with a disc.  She would ignore the tennis ball and look longingly at the bag or bin with the frisbees.

Lilli is a pretty good novice agility dog also.  I really enjoyed watching her and Andrea attack the course, and work together on the various obstacles.  They were even generous enough to teach me some commands and techniques.

Lilli is great with the jumps, a frame, and tunnel.  She is just learning the teeter, uses the guides for the weave poles, and is learning the various leads, crosses, and differentiating obstacles.  What a lot of fun to watch.

The great news. Lilli is back on the disc as of tonight.  She really was acting like greeting a long lost friend. She had tremendous energy and burst and enthusiasm.  Her mouth is healed and it apears she is not allergic to plastic. Shew.  Meanwhile we learned the value of cross training and trying new things.

We started Lilli in basic obedience training when she was about 8 months old.  We learned sit/stays, heals, come to sides, down/stays, recalls and how to walk around the little orange cones in a figure 8.  Lilli thought obedience needed a lot more running.  She learned quickly so we could move on to advanced obedience (conformation training) where we learned off lead and then on to where it really got fun…basic agility.

The obedience classes were required before agility and we certainly needed the setups and sit/stays!  In beginner agility, we learned the Wobble board, Dog Walk, the Plank, Table, Jump, Tire, Tunnel, Chute and Lilli’s favorite to this day, A-Frame.  Agility was a great way to expend energy and keep her mind active. Essentially, it was a huge playground for her.  She was fearless and nailed every element.  She was ready for advanced agility.

The major differences between basic and advanced are the combinations of equipment and added distractions – and we were also introduced to the weave poles and teeter.  In the last 4 sessions, we learned front crosses and rear crosses, 270 turns, and tons of jumping combinations.

What I learned most of all is that agility, like disc dogging, has a LOT to do with the handler.  When I’m relaxed, she’s relaxed.  It all depends on how and where I step,  my pace, and having some idea of where I’m headed next.  Walking the courses first helped a lot.  Handling an aussie like Lilli can be challenging because she’s so FAST. Most of the time, she was on to something else before I got there so leading out and giving the next obstacle command quickly was very important.

It helped to have someone there with me when I was training to see things in my body movement that I wasn’t aware of.  Kristin helped Lilli to nail closed weave poles tonight for the first time by simply standing in the spot where she was breaking.  She went all the way through several times before adding a jump before the poles – and she nailed it!

Tonight, we graduated advanced agility.  Now we are on to proofing and mastering the more advanced details.  Lilli took this class with a springer spaniel, so you don’t need a herding or agility breed to play agility.  Anyone can do it – and it’s such a fantastic bonding opportunity for you and your dog!  Next training session, we’ll bring our Flip video so everyone can see Lilli fly.