Pearls – it’s a bit of a running joke in my BNI group – is a tidbit of valuable info.  Stuff that I’ve learned from the actual experience rather than a video or a story told.

In May, we got to see what we’ve been working toward.  Until this past month, we had only competed in Florida.  We joined the CFDDC, which is an awesome group, and did every competition in FL we could get to.  With Lilli, Jason did really well and Moxie and I had great potential right off the bat.  We had seen videos of other top disc doggers around the country, but not live and in action…. until we went to Freedom Weekend.  I was awed, excited, humbled, inspired and it was so super cool to meet Tracy.

Moxie stylin' at USDDN Freedom Weekend

Between then and now, I’ve learned a lot of valuable pieces that will take us to the next level.  Here are some of the top ones on my list:

1. Don’t repeat tricks if I miss them.  None of the top teams do it.
2. Focus on flow and catch percentage. Can’t get a big score if I’ve got a low %.
3. Video the teams you love the most – and the ones that WIN – and learn something from them. 
4. Relax.  Breathe.  I’ve really enjoyed playing with Moxie at the last 2 events, mostly because I was relaxed and only had the expectation to play with my partner.
5. Try cool new stuff – be innovative.  We added a Japanese dog catch and a butterfly vault to our routine.  Hard stuff is fun to try and creative stuff is fun to watch.

Our first butterfly vault caught in competition!

Some random thoughts:

I think Moxie may be a ACD / Kelpie.  Been wondering what she’s mixed with and saw 2 different kelpies today that look just like her!  Kelpie would be so much cooler in the mix that a terrier of some sort…

Last weekend, the day after UFO in Jacksonville, Jack and Kat Fahle, Chris Engel and Mike Dillon, Jason and I got together at Mike’s place in central FL to jam.  We all played with other people’s dogs and worked on some new tricks and the dogs all ate horse poo (which is a separate story).  We really enjoyed hanging out and playing.  We learn so much watching other people play.  Mike and Molly are coming over this weekend to work on some more vault training and a dog catch.  We’re gonna take lots of video and put together some new videos for the blog.

Moxie and I have made great progress on the shriek.  If you’ve ever seen us in competition – you’ve heard it.  Earsplitting.  A 5 minute session with Susan Garrett and like magic (and holding criteria) – we’ve made fantastic progress.  I love and appreciate the gurus we have in our lives and hope to someday be that for other people.  We’ve been so honored to hang with and learn from great people – Ron and Apryl, Susan, John Arnett, John Geraghty…  We look forward to finding a “more local” mentor to get us to the next level of play.  Can’t wait for Ron and Apryl’s camp this summer in MI!

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.

That’s when we discovered Hero Discs.  I’ve noticed over the past year, lots of people have switched over to Hero from Fastback – and there are so many varieties.  I’m the one who handles all of the disc ordering in the house, so I know them all by name and weight and function.

We switched Lilli to Super Hero discs exclusively after trying all of the “Super” style discs (Super = hard bite/durable) – and pretty much everyone we talk to – all the old cats – think it’s ridiculous that we use such a heavy, soft disc for freestyle.   We did come from an Ultimate background after all, so although Super Heros are the heaviest disc, they are still quite a bit lighter and smaller than the 175′s we’re used to tossing.

When we got Moxie -Tracy had tested her on Fastbacks, so I tried those out first.  She had a really solid 85% catch percentage right out of the shelter.  I didn’t want to mess with it, so I stuck with light discs.  Fastbacks had the same effect though and Moxie’s typical ACD jaws of death literally tore through each disc in one session.  I heard about the new Hero 235′s, so I got a set of those reading that they fly like a Fastback, but they are more durable.  That is accurate – they don’t tear like Fastbacks do, but they still get really punctured and edgy after a few sessions – albeit lasting much longer than it’s predecessor.

Moxie and I have been practicing for our freestyle routine for the upcoming USDDN Fun in the Sun Qualifier this weekend and her catch percentage the past 2 weeks or so has tanked.  The conditions have been windier and her inexperience has made it hard for her to read discs and again, being a cattle dog, she tends to pre-jump in anticipation.  After 5 or so rough routines in a row, and most of the misses coming on her usually-rock-solid 20 yard toss and catch, we did a run-through with Jason’s Super Heros.  It was also the first practice without 20 mph wind gusts too so go figure.

The result was much improved.  She had a much higher catch percentage than with the 235′s and BOY does she LOVE to tug those rubbery discs!!!  I can hang on fine if I keep her front feet off the ground, but if she gets full tug leverage with those discs – wow she’ll take my fingers off with her head whip!  So I’ve decided this weekend for the event, I’ll run her with Super Heros and see how that works.  I’ll likely catch all the same “heavy disc” flack from the veterans…

Next up – a post about all the different disc types, styles, weights, etc that we’ve tried over the past 3 years.

Leilani is still a bit of a puzzle for us.  She is by far the best bed snuggler in dogville.  Her love for Lilli and enthusiasm for the game of “chase me” is unparalleled.  She is a patient and steady shaping dog and has the best retrieve in the house, dropping the object confidently in your hands every time.   It is sad for us though that she seems to lack a work ethic, her drive is stuck in neutral m0st times.  Up next for LeiLa is agility training to see if that is something she might love.  Otherwise we will just teach her a ton of cool tricks.

The Kai bear has fully settled in.  She is very well behaved, soft, gentle and beautiful.  In a few months she has already progressed further than we imagined.  She doesn’t have the intensity of the Lilli or Moxie which makes for a very smooth style.  The other two are killers and Kai is just a chaser. She went from no disc drive or interest to being a disc maniac.  She loves to play and bounces to show her excitement and enthusiasm.  She looks great in the air, all four paws straight out, landing well, and sprinting for the next toss.  Kai is a missile sometimes, charging paws first to the more vulnerable areas of our guests.  She is working on butterfly tosses now.  She will be a great reverse dog if I can figure out how to train it. Ron? Apryl? Tracy? Abby?

Lilli is awesome. I mean I love that dog more every day especially since we worked out our drop issues (Lilli prefers to keep what she kills).  We have some cool new moves with Lilli, the foot vault and the bender.  She is so intense with everything she does.  Her butterfly catches have been less consistent lately, not sure why that is. And her flip (landing) doesn’t seem very healthy so I am phasing it out of my work with her.  Lilli loves to learn new stuff.   Writing a routine to do with her is very fun, since she knows so many tricks and learns new stuff so quickly. She learned the knee scoot in one session.   She is not dynamic in the air, but she is the hardest working dog I know.  She keeps her eyes on the prize be it a long toss or a butterfly leg vault.She and Andrea took first place in their division at the Quad. Not bad since Andrea had less than a week to practice with Lilli, was doing her first ever freestyle routine, and did it all on her own as I was home with a Back injury.

Andrea and I will be busy this month and for a while as disc dog season is in full swing.  We hope to travel to a few nearby states to meet new friends in the sport.  We’ll also have plenty Florida competitions to keep us busy between the Central Florida Club and the Tropicanine events John Arnett sets up. Andrea and Moxie are learning more every day and I expect them to be a very dynamic team!  I look forward to getting back on the field this week in Central Florida with Kai and Lilli.  This will be Kai’s freestyle debut.  We are grateful for our dogs and the dog sport community.

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.

This was Jason and Lilli’s second freestyle competition and they rocked it!  Unfortunately, only 2 novice teams showed up.  That may make it appear that it wasn’t much to finish first…  To give FULL credit where it’s due, Jason and Lilli scored 79 points between their freestyle and D/A scores, (at Canis #1, Jason and Lilli scored 65 – what an improvement!) and the top finisher, Gary Duke, in the Super Open Division (expert) finished with 85 points I think it was…and they score more for each area by 3 points (I believe that’s how it works). We’re confident that she’ll be able to keep up with the big boys when she moves up from Novice at our next event!

Lilli caught every single disc and Jason made good throws each and every time.  It was a brilliant routine and we’re so proud of our freestyle team!  Check out Lilli’s newest trick, the butterfly back flip!  It was SICK!  Here’s the video:

Kai and I registered for her first Distance/Accuracy event.  My expectations were to keep her on the field, and my hopes were that she’d play just like we do at the parks and fields we train on.  D/A includes 2 rounds – 60 seconds each – where the object is to throw the disc within the boundaries of the field – ideally in the 40 yard zone.  The team is awarded .5 points additional for each catch made in the air versus with any paws on the ground.

Our first round, I didn’t notice that in the next field over, people we practicing long throws with their dogs.  She lined up fine and went around fine – ran out, caught the first disc, spotted the dog in the next field streaking after a long disc and schoooooommm…she was off to the races after that dog and his disc.

The next round, our plan was to keep it really, really short and add lots of tug with the goal of just keeping her on the field. We asked that the other competitors keep the plastic out of the air while we were up and that worked like a charm.  I first tossed the disc 5 yards and recalled and she came.  Then 7 yards a few times and she came each time and we tugged each time.  Jason thought I certainly could have stretched it to a further throw – I was a bit too nervous.  We got a nice cheer from the crowd each time she caught the discs and came back!

After the event was over, Jason and I took her back out on the field, with other dogs playing nearby, and threw long throws.  She came back each and every time!  I’m so glad this first time experience is over and done with and we can look forward to a solid round next Saturday!  The camera didn’t record Kai’s rounds.  Jason was judging and something happened and it didn’t record.  Can’t say I’m disappointed!  We’ll have fresh video of a great 2 rounds next weekend!

The height of her jump isn’t an issue alone.  It is that her form could be dangerous to her over time or even in just one bad jump.  Going straight up for a disc does not lead to the safest landings.  A good landing is one Lilli can run out of, or take some action, like land and go. A bad landing is a flat footed landing, a collapse, etc.

And if I make a bad toss on a vault I would prefer her not go straight up for it.  So we need to address two issues.  One is teaching lilli to jump properly and the other is improving our tosses.

The process of teaching Lilli to jump should be simple as Susan Salo is a jump expert who teaches people to teach dogs and horses how to jump so the knowledge is available.  I’m going to improvise what little I know of her teaching and convert it to disc dog training.

About 1 of 5 jumps lilli makes for a disc is what i would call a proper jump where she gathers from behind, launches and gets her butt in the air and attacks the disc.  2 out of 5 she gets under the disc and jumps up.  The other 2 discs we throw low and she chases it down without jumping.

Using the agility jumps to teach her to go for the disc by taking a stride, gathering, and lifting her back end will create muscle memory for jumping that we hope will convert into safer and beautiful jumps.

So that’s the preamble…

Lately I’ve been working on Lilli’s contacts.  Not much honestly – I’ve pretty much sold out on aility lately since Lilli started vaulting – it’s just so stinkin’ fun!    Anyway, we originally trained contacts as two-on-two-off with nose touch.  She would do it, but we had to encourage and remind her to come ALL THE WAY DOWN the contact equipment and Holy Moley did that take forever.  For such a ridiculously fast dog, her contacts move in reverse.   Today I had a brilliant idea…I heard music and saw Angels and the image in my mind became clear…the tasty, juicy, irresistable roast as the reward at the end of the obstacle…it was a FRISBEE!

I took Lilli out as I normally would, with a disc in hand (only one this time) and she fully expected us to play disc.  I pulled out the teeter and put it in the middle of the yard with no other equipment.  I set her up and asked her to teeter.  Now at this point, I didn’t say “touch” or “com’on’” or “all the way” or any of the “helping” I would normally offer to get her to do a proper contact.  (Susan Garrett suggested this as a bandaid for her contacts from how I trained them initially – with a plastic lid to a salad dressing.  If the lid wasn’t there – she wouldn’t target.)

Man, was she confused.  She went 3/4 of the way down and started offering behaviours.  Had no idea what I wanted but she sure wanted that frisbee.  She sat on the teeter, laid down, bowed, stared intently…finally after about 2 minutes she took a small step down…then another…then another…until she had one paw on the grass.  The I looked at her and said nothing (before this I didn’t give her any eye contact or stare down).  She slowly put another foot in the grass.  Then 30 seconds or so later she nose touched.  I said a big YES and released her and threw the disc.

We repeated this about 5 times.  I only rewarded average or better performances – another great Susan method – a couple times she went slower than the time before – and finally when she had the nicest, smoothest trip down the teeter, two on and two off and nose touch I ended the practice.  Tossed the disc several times and she went for a swim.

And I took a deep breath of relief.

Finally…the light went on a bit.  She’s learning to think instead of waiting for me to tell her everything.  Finally.

We’ll continue to practice this “disc reward” strategy for agility and see if it keeps the stakes really high for her.  There is no reward as juicy and irresistable for Lilli as her disc.  I’m so proud of  how she took on our new game today with control, curiosity and concentration.  She’s such a spectacular girl. 

Ami and Jordan brought Jake (their red tri super stud male), Chante (Jake’s beautiful blue “wife”) and Riot (a spunky and true-to-his-name male tri) for the play today and Sketch’s mom and dad brought her and her littermate Patch (who was a HUGE male with the funniest duck dive I’ve ever seen).

I’m amazed at how much hair we’ve pulled out of the pool so far!  We had 7 Aussies jumping, swimming, chasing, barking, smiling, wrestling and herding for a good 2 hours before anyone stopped to breathe, then start back up again.  We settled everyone down a bit, tied everyone around the perimeter and started some disc dog play.  Lilli put on a mini show of her latest vaults and Jake did some great flips and leaps for high discs!  I can’t believe he was able to get that high in the air!

Since today was “technically” about meeting Sketch…we did some initial disc play with her and she doesn’t show any drive for the disc yet, but has some ball drive.  She’s got a fantastic laid back temperament – not bossy or dominant at all and very sweet, playful and friendly with all of the dogs.  She even took on her first swimming adventure today and jumped right in the pool with the other pups.  By the end of the party, she was a swimming pro jumping in confidently and making her way to the stairs without being called.

Ami took some amazing shots of the party today and posted them on Shutterfly to share with the world – here’s the link. Check them out!

Today was so much fun that we’re planning the next Aussie Party for mid-August, right before we head to Ron Watson’s Disc Dog Camp in Michigan. We’ll keep everyone updated about Sketch.  She is such a beautiful girl.  Just debating whether we’re ready to train 2 pups at once for disc dog…not sure if we’d be biting off more than we could chew…

Here’s a great photo from today of Sketch.  What great structure she has!

The problem: Most foods make Lilli throw up.  Any raw meat (other than chicken) makes her throw up.  Most foods give her diarrhea.  Evo was the only food that didn’t make her throw up, HOWEVER the enormous amount of stinky gas that came from both dogs ALL DAY was too much to bear – especially on long car rides with the windows up…GASP!

So, I brought up the conversation on K9Athlete – a forum where Jason and I connect with other disc doggers and performance dog owners.  I’m a bit proud that it’s the current ranking thread for most comments.  That to me means:

1. People want to know more about their pet’s nutrition
2. People want to give advice and share their experiences to help the people that want to know more about their pet’s nutrition.

I know for sure that I’ve asked our vet 12 ways to Sunday about what we should feed and what would help and what to do.  Most responses were to take Flagyl and try a different food.  The ones we tried above were the suggested foods.  I don’t have any hard feelings at all towards our vet, however I have learned from the conversations in that thread, that asking a vet for nutritional info may not be the best bet.

Long story short – I went and got a food called The Honest Kitchen.  I was made aware that it’s mush – basically like oatmeal consistency – and dehydrated raw organic food.  Also, a couple of myths I had heard were busted.

• Busted Myth #1: Soft, wet or mushy dog fod is bad for dog’s teeth.  Nope.  Not bad for their teeth.  They get plenty of chewing action by chewing bones or a kong or their master’s fingers…
• Busted Myth #2: Dogs can get sick by salmonella, e-coli and other bacteria by eating raw chicken.  Dogs’ bodies don’t work like peoples’ bodies.  They don’t “get food poisoning” from chicken and raw meats like people do.  Go ahead – feed raw.

So the purpose of this post…the new food makes great, healthy poops, gives no gas and smells edible.  The girls don’t particularly like it though.  I think they look at it like a kid looks at a pile of mashed peas for dinner…mmmm….nah I’ll wait til I’m hungrier…

So today, I took it a step further and applied some other advice I got from Susan Garrett’s feeding plan for her dogs: chicken necks!  The store was out of chicken necks but they had chicken backs for .69 per pound!  So I bought a bunch up, came home, chopped it up, put it in their green, mushy, super-healthy super-food and WALA!  They ate it right up! AND it gave them something to crunch on. 

I’m grateful for healthy dogs with healthy tummies and clean smelling air.  Thanks to everyone who contributed to our new meal plan!