I’m not going to list all the  events  mostly because I doubt I would remember them correctly.  There was a USDDN local with CFDDC where Lilli finished 3rd to qualify for nationals.  There was a local USDDN TF event where Lilli finished 4th (Donna Schoech bested us in a throw off) .  We would consider just doing TF at nationals if our freestyle game isn’t up to par.   We did a UFO event just this past week with Lilli finishing 2nd between the 1st and 3rd efforts of Gary Duke.  Most of these events were windy and my success with Lilli hinged mostly on our high toss and fetch scores.  Kai finished 5th and Moxie 6th at this event.  A big improvement for the rookies.  Next up is a Florida Skyhoundz event which we hear is quite competitive!

Speaking of competitive, one of the dangers of competing is losing sight of fun.  Most of March was a drag for me as I struggled with inconsistent freestyle throws.  My ratios were way down as missed trick after missed trick piled up in my head.  Finally I had enough, it was not working and I was frustrated.  When I looked at what was missing that would make the difference, I realized it was fun.  I was putting too much pressure on myself to be “good” and to compete and I was not having as much fun playing with my dogs.  So I reframed it, putting fun back where it belongs, first and foremost with my dogs. I’m not that concerned with winning or keeping score so I was surprised by how I got caught up in the competition part.    When I step back I can see and accept that I am a slow and steady learner and that my time with my dogs will be much better spent playing and having fun and the scores and wins are the stuff that happens when I finish playing.

Another breakthrough this month was getting Leila on the field for some toss and fetch.  Leila is very social and loves everyone and everything with little love for work at this point.  So we were very concerned to let her loose on a field surrounded by dogs and people.  The first event Andrea kept her on a long lead and the second event she let her off the lead and Leila stayed on the field and chased plastic.   When we move later this month we will be able to practice toss and fetch with her.

Kai is another breakthrough this month as she has struggled with staying focused and on the field her last few events.  Her first TF (Sept09)  she r-u-n-n-o-f-t each round in pursuit of whatever moved and did not want to recall.  At the CFDDC March USDDN event, during her freestyle session, she caught a long skip and proceeded to do her own thing for 15 seconds until I got her back.  At the Markham park TF she had to stop at this one spot and sniff for an extendededed period of time.   At each event she showed a lot of potential.  She is an awesome TF dog and tho her freestyle game is limited, she LOVES to vault!  So at the most recent UFO event she had a clean freestyle round and 3 clean TF rounds. No sniffing, running off, or nature breaks.  One thing that helped I think was walking her all over the place to get in her sniffing quota before the event and a potty break before every run.

Andrea and Moxie grew so much in March.   They are a good pairing.  Moxie is non stop giving 100% and so is Andrea.  The two big challenges for Andrea are having consistent TF efforts and keeping her routine grounded a bit because Moxie loves to take it as high as she can.   Andrea ironed out both of those issues by the end of the month.  Moxie’s TF efforts were excellent with no prejumping, great tracking and speedy returns.  With more experience Moxie will be really have a strong TF game.  Moxie is a big air super fast and energetic dog ACD and harnessing that into a smooth flowing freestyle session is a challenge that fits Andrea.  Andrea is developing flow and rythm and has a great feel for Moxie in just a few months.  Moxie has improved in every way from her house behavior to TF.

Moving to the new house will help us all improve our Toss and Fetch game thanks to the big yard.  I need to measure for exact distance but I estimate it is close to 50yards corner to corner.  We had to go house hunting because the local parks we had been utilizing hired an officer to police the dogs off leash rules.  And our yard is too small for TF and takes a beating from the 4 hard cutting Aussies.  We lose the pool and water view but we gain a stress free practice area and a new town to explore – Jupiter Farms.

Andrea and I would really like to host a Palm Beach disc dog club.  A group of people we could play and grow with in the sport in our own neighborhood.  We have had a half dozen people come over to play with the DragonDogs over the past few months the latest of which was Diane Ford with her 2 kids and 2 furkids Stormy and Mystic the puppy.  Diane wants to socialize her puppy and felt that our playful energetic pack was good company for her puppy. On the second visit Mystic had her first swim in the pool.

We are still learning and adjusting and training for pack dynamics.  As long as there are no new additions, I think the pack will settle in over the next 6 months.  We’ll train a bit more patience with Lilli, a bit more sense for Leila and a bit more confidence for Kai.  Moxie, well, we just need to work on her banshee screeching.    Andrea and I will put a bit more emphasis on creative throws so that means lots of passing back and forth – learning through play as our friends at Pawsitive Vybe say.

Last night I figured I’d try teaching her to flip in the usual space where we do all of her shaping – inside on the carpet.  She loved it!  She did some little “umpa lumpas” and was very emphatic and focused.  I think I’m on to something!

This morning, she was extra amped and playful in her crate so I brought her out to try some more flip practice on the shaping carpet.  She was a disc monster – tugging and flipping and stretching to do more a real flip motion while coming back for more.  (Most often outside during training, she’ll take a tug but doesn’t hold or really pull on the disc.)

I have a new plan.  I’ll teach her to flip, catch butterflies and some short tosses on the carpet inside and when I feel she’s super confident, bring it back outside.  Hopefully building her confidence in the action itself, when she goes outside to practice, the stress of the training itself will be minimized or gone altogether. Check out a quick video of this morning’s session.

We’ve also put a couple more pounds on her over the past few weeks after Jason suggested it may be better for her.  She was very lean like the other girls – which is what I like to see in a disc dog.  However she comes from conformation lines and it seemed she was too lanky -and floppy.  She now seems much more balanced and strong and she didn’t flop at all during flip training – rather landed soundly.

I love the challenge that our girls have brought to us.  They are all very different and it has motivated me to be a multi-dimensional trainer versus just doing things the one way I know how.  We have one hardcore, one soft and one aloof.  I’m certainly looking forward to our next hardcore!!  Learning about the different personalities and training styles that are effective for each dog have taught me the value of assessing the individual dog for how they learn.  There isn’t a single perfect formula.  I plan to write a post soon about different training approaches.  The thought came to me after a great conversation with Apryl Lea yesterday – she helped me by figuring out what type of student I am.  Anyway…more on that later…

Emily requested a Leilani fix today – so shall she receive.

Lei has been developing slowly as a disc dog.  We figured when we got her as a puppy, it would be the same as getting Lilli as a puppy – she would grow up living frisbee and loving nothing else.  About 6 months ago, she started stressing when playing disc outside.  She loves to tug with the disc, but when it comes to rollers and throws, she’ll only stay focused for a minute – 2 minutes tops.  We’ve noticed she doesn’t require play/work like the other girls and is happy to be a couch potato all day.  The perfect family pet!

Considering all of this, I’ve decided to focus on her being our trick dog.  She LOVES shaping and is very happy to train for quite a while – never losing focus or drive.  We’ll give her a break from disc work and keep it to a couple simple catches and tugging and see if she grows into it.

Here’s a video of Leila’s shaping session earlier today.  Watching it back, it seems like all the stuff she’s working on is her favorite trick – and that’s a very good thing!

If anyone has any cool shaping trick ideas – please post them here!!  We love the feedback!

Leila as usual is absolutely adorable and quite puzzling.  At times she shows no interest in the disc and when she does, she still seems misguided or awkward.   Lilli loves to pursue and kill, Kai loves to chase, Leila loves to bring it back. For Leila, all the joy seems to be in the moment of return.  Since her very first day with us she lit up at the praise she received for fetching a  tennis ball. Her drive or work ethic is very questionable at 11 months.  She was bred as a confirmation dog, crate trained, and responds very well to any indoor training.  Take her outside and train and after 3 minutes she is eating grass.  Physically she seems like she is still growing into her body and mentally she seems unfocused though very loving and obedient.  She adores Lilli and Andrea thinks maybe therein lies an issue.

Lilli is so strong.  She is a sack of muscle, built for speed.  She doesn’t have longs legs but she makes up for it with sheer intensity and power.  She wasn’t able to compete in the last 3 weeks of Canis Major but we learned a lot in the first 2 weeks.  Lilli seems to thrive in a competitive atmosphere, she keeps her focus no matter what the environment.  She is not a dog with hops so we need to find the elements that accentuate her power and speed.  Last weekend we did a toss and fetch at Markham Park and Lilli did not place in the top 6.  She was probably in the top 3 as far as how she should have finished, but a combination of wind and bad luck and disc exchange made for a poor performance.  Lilli can read a disc as good as any ultimate player I know.  High discs at steep angles falling away from her, she still catches them.  So our work needs to go into the exchange at the line.  Ideally I would like her to drop the disc in my hand.  Lilly’s drop is erratic and I am not sure what is behind the choices.  It is possible I am putting pressure on her to drop which she interprets as tug.  When we practice she does pretty good with the drop though clearly we need work.  If Lilli and I can nail the exchange we will be a threat to win any TF competition.

Kai is an absolute firecracker.  She is bouncing as soon as she comes out of her crate.  And if you come over be careful not to bend over because she loves to vault!  She has a strong tug and her fetch usually gets the object back within 3 feet.   Kai was in the same toss and fetch this past weekend and she finished 6th in the expert division.  We were thrilled at her performance even more than the placing because Kai had run off twice in her first TF at Canis Major.  This time Kai ran twice each with Andrea and I and while she did get a little tired, she came back with the disc every time. A big breakthrough for us and the Kai Bear.  Kai doesn’t have the intensity (yet) of Lilli but she does have the love of work, play, us, and the discs.  She asks to play all the time.   She is still developing her body for safe and effective disc play and her progress is fantastic.   Outside of play, Kai is full of love and enthusiasm and has become the premier cuddler and lapdog.   Her “sit pretty” is marvelous.

For Andrea and I we are both getting a better sense of throwing the disc for maximum effect meaning the right time and place to maximize our dogs jump.   We are still very basic on our movement with very little flair or “athletic humor” as Ron called it.  So we will be working on TF basics and disc dog flatwork movement.  Also Andrea has nailed a great chest vault with Lilli so it’s my turn now. Leg vaults are coming along and reverse tricks still elude us.

Thanks so much for reading our blog and sharing your comments with us.  Thanks for the ideas and the pictures you share with us too.