Agility practice without dogs or equipment

So I'm preparing for the WAC whilst oceans apart from my dogs. Mental strategy is part of the equation. Physical fitness and conditioning is another. Yet another is handler decision making. So I have been analysing some courses set by the WAC judges and other judges from around the world; considering how to solve the handling challenges. Whilst practicing my decision making on paper is a useful tactic, what would normally make this a learning exercise rather than an application, is setting up the courses or challenges and running them as planned. By running the course / challenges it is like grading yourself on your decision making. You test your theories on what would be the best strategy and discover what works, what doesn't and which turns produce the fastest lines.

Of course this is a little hard to implement without equipment or dogs. So this is where my awesome friends at home are helping me out. Not only are we comparing notes on how to handle different courses, but they are setting them up and training with them and giving me feedback as to the flow and strategy. This is helping turn a useful actity into a learning activity.

It is also interesting to see how different striding and turning dogs are coping in slightly different ways with the handling strategies. This feedback will help my analysis of my courses once I meet and learn more about the striding and turns of the Belgian Border Collie I will be running.

Reminding myself of the Good Habits

So in thinking about how to prepare myself for when I meet my dog in Belgium I've been reviewing some artices and books on attitude and mental management. Yesterday it was Lanny Bassham. Today I was reading stuff by Jane Savoie, a dressage rider and coach and author of "It's Not Just About the Ribbons" and "A Winning Attitude". Admittedly it is not about dog agility, but I believe that many of the same concepts will translate into our sport. She writes that... "A winning attitude is more important to your success than any other single factor. You may not be able to choose the hand you've been dealt, but you have total control over how you're going to react to that hand."

This struck a chord with me, as did her advice on preparing a horse at a show as listed on this site. I am already familiar with these techniques but re-reading them and thinking how they can be applied to agility has been a useful exercise as the WAC approaches. Here are some of the highlights as they might transfer to dogs and dog agility:

1. First, try to figure out what might make you get nervous. Are you worried about what people think of you? Are you afraid you won't measure up to the expectations of others? If so, QUIT! Quit worrying about what others are thinking, it is beyond your control (and most likely they are more centered on their own problems and performance than to be bothered with thinking about you).

Or have you put unrealistic pressure on yourself to win? If so, focus on "performance goals" rather than "result goals". In other words, rather than having a goal of going clear or placing in the top 3, make a new goal that reflects your effort rather than the outcome. For example, how about running the course without any panicked commands to your dog, or concentrating on the execution of your turns for an entire test?

2. Do you run defensively rather than attacking your course because you're afraid that your dog might leave the ring, blow you off or shut down at a new place or a big event? If so, go to the grounds early. Play with your dog; maybe some retrieve or tug games. Take them out of the crate several times before the comp for walks or sniffing around the arenas. By the time you compete, your dog should be comfortable with the surroundings.

3. Use humour to break up tension. Go to comps with friends who get silly and make you laugh. Or give you "cowboys" as part of celebrating goals. The less intense you are, the more fun you'll have. Remember that it is always a beautiful day if you are out doing agility with your best mate (sure beats work!!!) As you about to run your course, look to the judge, think to yourself, "Get ready to have your socks knocked off!" Watch the previous dog finish and say under your breath, "Hurry up! I want my turn!" As you walk away from your dog have a favourite saying such as "Up, up and away!"; Let's fly!" or "Ready Spaghetti".

4. Also think about what happens to you physically when you're tense. Muscles get tight and respiration and heart rate increase and this is easily communicated to your dog. The good news is that with a little work, you can regulate all of these reactions. Jane outlines techniques to learn how to regulate these; teaching yourself how to relax tensed muscles and control shallow breathing. For me I like to do a big full body stretch and a deep yawn if I feel myself tensing up.

5. Know your course like the back of your hand. That way you can concentrate on handling your dog rather than thinking about where the numbers go. You shouldn't be thinking; "Now I make a front cross, then I have to pinwheel to the left, then where... oh the dogwalk." If you're focusing on where you have to go next, you can't concentrate on what your dog needs from you and/or you may lose your connection with your dog.

I was also reviewing notes I made from Lanny Bassham... specifically his "When the Going Gets Tough...QUIT!" column.

1. Quit worrying about whether you can do it!

–Be positive! Instead of panicking as you walk the course about not having practiced this particular challenge, or whether your dog will get their weaves right, think about the training you have done that will assist you in handling it, and visualise you and your dog doing it!

2. Quit deviating from what you know works!

-If your focus is tied to the environment around you and the environment changes, so do your thoughts. If however, you are focussed on the fun you have with your dog when running agility and letting all the excellent work you both do in training speak volumes out there on course, then you are focussing positively on the process required.

3. Quit worrying what others think of you!
–Easier said than done. But if you focus on yourself and your dog and insulate yourself from wondering about how you look or what others think of you, you’ll stop wasting valuable mental energy. Don’t worry what others are thinking because you’ll never know and 75% of the time they are standing there worrying about their own performances. The other 25% of the time they are simply wondering about whether they should eat now, where the toilets are, and whether they should go now or later.

4. Quit beating yourself up over a poor performance!
–This is a huge one. The more you beat yourself up as a bad handler or a poor trainer the more you are imprinting a negative image of yourself in your mind, which in turn will impact on your behaviour. It is okay to be humble, it is not okay to negate your good performances. Practice saying thank you when someone compliments you on a run, rather than bringing to the fore all the negative parts of the run. When you get a compliment, you should smile and celebrate it, even just if it is an “internal” celebration. And if you goof up, don’t beat yourself up, rather, look at it analytically, try to learn something from the mistake and focus on a solution that will help you achieve success next time.

But it's not your own dog??!!

A number of people, even those who know nothing of agility, have been asking me what it will be like to compete with a dog that is not my own. It will indeed be challenging, but it is not an unfamiliar concept within the realms of companion animal sports. In particular the format of the Individual FEI Showjumping World Championships brings this into play, as does the Modern Olympic Pentathlon.

The format for the final day of the Individual FEI Showjumping competition at the WEG entails the four best riders from the preceeding rounds jumping their own horses over a set course and then rotating and riding the horses of their rivals over that same course in order to decide the individual title. This format was designed to be the ultimate test of a versatile horseman or woman.

Similarly in the Olympic sport of the Modern Pentathlon (that consists of shooting, fencing, swimming, riding and cross-country running) the equestrian leg is supposed to test the athlete's horsemanship skills by requiring them to ride an unfamiliar horse. The riding discipline involves Show jumping over a 350-450 meter course with between 12 and 15 obstacles. Competitors are paired with horses in a draw 20 minutes before the start of the event.

So the concept of being tested as a rider or handler through your ability to partner with an unknown animal is not unusual at a World Championships or even the Olympics.

But what will the experience be like? Well I can't answer that fully until it is done. Though I know what it means for me is that I will have different goals of my performance at the WAC than I would if I was competing with my own dog. If I was running my own dog my goal would be consistent, accurate and faultless teamwork. My goal in competing with an unknown dog is to demonstrate my versatility as a handler; I will feel successful if I come off that course with the sensation that the dog and I shared a connection out there.

Awesome Opportunity comes Knocking

Well, it has certainly been a while between blog posts; but I feel I have a legitimate excuse as I only got the opportunity to compete in one agility competition this year before leaving Australian shores to work overseas for a few months. Unfortunately I had to leave my dogs at home due to quarantine, so I'm travelling solo (my hubby Glenn is at home taking care of the clan). But as part of my overseas travel I had planned to attend the IFCS World Agility Championships which are in Belgium in May as a spectator.

One month into my travels and I am located in Texas in the US working with colleagues when I get an email from ADAA...
The IFCS have made a provision in their rules that permits handlers at the World Championships to compete with borrowed dogs if their ability to attend is hindered by quarantine restrictions (such as Australia and NZ).
Well yes, okay, that is great news. [reads on]
AND the host nation Belgium is offering Australian handlers two dogs with which to compete.
Wow, that is fantastic news, Australia is going to compete at the WAC. [reads on]
AND under the circumstances yourself and Mal Williams are the handlers the ADAA board have approved to represent ADAA and Australia. Are you interested?
[sitting there stunned, then...]Oh My God, oh my God, oh my God!!!



What an awesome opportunity! What a scary opportunity! Two days in which to meet a dog and build a working relationship, some teamwork and the all important timing with that dog before competing on the World Stage. Oh, and by the way, the dog doesn't speak English! Yes, just a little bit scary. But on the flip side of scary, what an incredibly exciting opportunity... I get to play with and run an awesome dog, compete at the international level under world class judges and be there with the top in the world as they battle it out on an agility field. In the words of the Pointer Sisters, "I'm so excited! I just can't hide it!" But it is not official yet... a few days of tense waiting.



[A week later and I'm still pinching myself... can this really be true????]
Yes indeed it is. The news is really starting to sink in as it has now been announced in Australia. And I'm reminded what a great circle of friends and family I have with their supportive and timely emails. So WOW, I'm going to represent Australia at the WAC. In fact there will be five Aussies in total... Steve Drinkwater is the Head Judge; Cathy Slot one of the four competition Judges; Penny Mead as Australia's Team Manager; Mal Williams and myself as competitors. I can't help but already be thinking ahead to how many opportunities this opens for Aussies for 2010!



So for those interested, this is the link to the 2008 WAC in Belgium. I will be updating this blog every few days in the lead up to the WAC with my thoughts and preparations. Of course my preparations are going to be unique as I am without my dogs or access to associates' dogs with which to be practicing and honing my skills. This opportunity has come to me completely out of left-field with now less than 4 weeks to the championships. [And yes, I would love to ditch work and go spend some one-on-one time with a coach and a team of dogs for the next few weeks but alas it cannot be so]. I have work commitments and a tight travel schedule right up to the WAC (I'm now in Amherst Massachusetts and will travel next week to Philadelphia in Pennsylvania). But while this could be problematic I see some advantages in that my concentration will be solely on me and preparing myself physically and mentally. No concerns about peaking with my dog at the perfect moment, just a matter of keeping myself fit, sound and maintaining a winning attitude. [But yep, I am regretting packing primarily work clothes, and in particular not packing my well broken-in running shoes and workout gear... time for some emergency shopping!]

Farewell Bilbo Baggins Man

Many tears fell in our house yesterday; they are still falling today. We said farewell to our sweet boy Billy. He has been our companion for the past 14 years and was our first sheltie. He would have been 15 in April and led an eventful life... he was named for Bilbo Baggins, the Hobbit adventurer, and it was a fitting name. He befriended everyone and every animal he met and seemed to have the disappearing act as one of his "gifts". He followed me everywhere when I was still riding horses, covering many miles on a daily basis. He continued to be my constant shadow around the house until his last day. If something was happening he wanted to be part of it; he hated being left behind. Though, in the past 12 months, he has aged very quickly losing muscle tone and strength and then his eyesight. He really did seem to miss having Katie around too.

It was in 1997 when we moved to the Gold Coast and I decided to get him obedience-tested to reduce his council registration fees that I found the world of dog sports. It was with Billy that I started to learn about competing with dogs. I started in obedience, he achieved his CD, and then I saw agility and embarked on another adventure with him at age 7... Who said you can't teach old dogs new tricks?! And he also taught me how much more effective training with positive reinforcement is. He was not a natural agility dog but managed to get his SAAD title before I retired him at 10. He would have loved the regular program.

We almost lost him when he was 8 years old after he went missing from Glenn's parent's yard in Kingaroy; he was found four days later over 200kms away by some forestry workers. He also slipped away one night from WAAG training, in the days before I discovered the endless benefits of crates. He was recovered trying to cross the Gold Coast Highway. His other near-death adventures included eating a box of rat poison, being run-down by an impetuous colt and coming face to face with an angry snake. But it was old-age that he couldn't dodge in the end.

With many tears we buried him next to Kate overlooking the dam in his favourite oil-skin jacket that he won some years ago at a Cross-Country Fun weekend hosted by Suncoast. He leaves us with many cherished memories. Glenn, Missy and I will miss him dearly, and I'm sure Jonty and Zoom will notice his absence too as our pack restructures itself again.

2008 and Agility is on the horizon again

Had an enjoyable weekend thinking and starting to plan for another year of agility. On Saturday Nat came round with her new pup to see how he was going and introduce him to yet another environment. We then took the dogs swimming in the dam... and it started me thinking and planning my agility goals for 2008. It was raining Sunday so I re-watched some of my favourite DVDs- Great Dog, Shame about the Handler; Crate Games and Success with One Jump. So the exercises I've planned out for the next 6 weeks include:

Zoom:
1. Improve our lead-outs and understanding of positional cues with box exercises
2. Improve my timing on short 5-6 obstacle sequences from cleanrun
3. Improve our discrimination work with some tunnel-contact exercises
4. Proof understanding of fast and angled weave entries

Jonty:
1. Faster weaves by improving his striding and rhythm on 12 poles; open up the 2x2s a little and work short sessions with lots of drive
2. Improve the independent performance on contacts. Exercises to proof his release.
3. Faster start-lines with 1-2-3 game and crate releases

Missy:
1. Maintain safety on her contacts with lots of rewards for her contact position

That is probably more than what I'll be able to accomplish in that time, but they are good goals for the first half of 2008. I have put Missy into the Regular agility program after the scare at the end of last year and will take it easy and see how she goes; she's had a great career and she has always enjoyed the 250mm heights so I'm happy to just let her go out and have a blast doing just a few rounds for fun at each comp.
Then maybe (just maybe) a new sheltie puppy later in 2008...

Life is like a Rollercoaster

I've put off writing this story as my stomach has been in knots for the past 4 weeks while I've been playing the wait and see game.... wait and see how much longer I would have my MissMoo in my life.... wait and see whether miracles do happen.

On October 13 we went to Caboolture for a weekend of camping and the Suncoast Fundogs Double Header. We had a good trip up and I left the dogs in the car while I flipped the camper trailer out. When I went to let them out to put them in their crates I found Missy had discovered my stash of Chico jube lollies and had devoured the remainder of the packet. It is not the first time she has done this and it hasn't had any negative effects in the past. I wasn't especially concerned, just cranky at myself for having given her the opportunity to eat them. I figured she wouldn't much feel like running agility now with a stomach full of glucose lollies.

Well I ran the first class with her, open jumping and she was indeed sluggish, running clear but just overtime. So I pulled her out of the next run advanced agility. As the evening cooled I thought I'd give her another go in gamblers- usually her best event. Still sluggish and not really motivated so I called it quits with her for the night. I ran Jonty and Zoom in the remaining events and went back to camp to find Missy had thrown up in her crate. So the chicos had come back up. I cleaned out her crate and put a fresh bed in for her and tucked her in for the night.
She woke me at dawn with a little whimpering so I let her out, only to find she was disoriented and moving like she was drunk. I watched her for the next half hour and found she was getting worse; walking in circles, pacing rather than walking; she was bumping into things and was agitated and certainly seemed disoriented.

I talked to Glenn and my friend Sam and decided I'd best get her to a vet as soon as possible. I phoned a local to get the nearest vet's phone number; they directed me to the Brisbane Veterinary Specialists about 20 minutes away. So into the car and off we went. When we got there we met a lovely vet who helped Missy relax. She ran a battery of neurological and eyesight tests to come to the conclusion that my little girl had a brain tumour and it was causing blindness and the neurological symptoms and inability to coordinate her limbs. The prognosis was not good; it might be possible to operate on the tumour but it would require a CT scan and spinal tap to determine whether it was in a place and was of a type that was operable. She ran me through what to expect over the coming days or weeks but couldn't give me a timeline of life expectancy without a CT scan. She also said that there was a small possibility that Missy may have had a cerebrovascular accident, though she was lacking the head tilt or head turn that is most commonly associated with canine strokes. Her symptoms were more closely aligned with Meningioma located in either the cerebellum or forebrain. She recommended prednisone to reduce the inflammation and allowed me to take Missy home to decide if we were just going to continue with palliative care or whether we wanted to get a scan to decide whether operating was possible. As we were leaving the vet squeezed my hand and said "Hope for the best; miracles have been known to happen."

That day Missy continued to have petite-mal seizures. The next morning though you wouldn't have even know the previous day had happened. It was like I'd woken up and it had been a nightmare. Missy was up to her usual antics wrestling Jonty on the bed and bringing me her squeeky to play with. Our vet suggested that the prednisone can have this effect, reducing the inflammation a little, and reduced the blood flow to the tumour which in turn had eased the symptoms. His advice was to wait 10 days and see whether improvement had continued before deciding on the CT scan.

We waited and indeed the improvements continued. After the 10 days we returned to the vet and he found that her sight had largely returned and based on there not having been any neurological incidences during that time he reassessed her diagnosis. He now felt that it was most likely that Missy had indeed had an ischaemic cerebrovascular accident (stroke) that may have been induced by a diabetic seizure suddenly stopping the flow of blood to her brain. Nothing could be confirmed for certain without scans but in assessing her condition and the incidents preceeding the event, he felt this now seemed the most likely scenario. So we are still on the wait and see to reassure ourselves that the stroke was not caused by an embolism or thrombosis, but she is continuing to improve.

So a month after the event and my stomach is still in knots and I'm still watching her like a hawk. She has pretty much all of her coordination back and is active again. She is sleeping more and is a little less tolerant of the other dogs. But there do not appear to have been any major behavioural changes even though some brain damage must have occured. I find myself often replaying in my mind that moment with the emergency vet, hearing her say miracles do happen, and I get teary and think yes, they do.

Some links on brain tumours and strokes in dogs:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_meningioma.html
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/vascular_accident_in_the_brain.html
http://www.vetspecialists.co.uk/06_Animal_Welfare/Neurology_Facts/Stroke.html
http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/docs/brain_tumor.html