August is a fun month because this Friday will mark the one year anniversary of this blog. It's hard to believe how far we've come in a year. When I started the blog, I was thinking it would be good to record our experiences and potentially helpful to others starting out. I desperately wanted to read more about people's first agility classes and trials, so I hoped that I might be able to give someone else a sense of what they had ahead of them. Now here we are, a whole year later. Even though the progress can be up and down, we've had a lot of progress overall and I'm proud of what we've done and the possibilities we still have ahead of us.
Here's a look at our goals from July:
1. Enjoy our first experience camping at a trial next weekend at Sugarbush. Hopefully collect some Q's and have a good time at a new facility.
Yes! We had a wonderful weekend at the trial and camping at Mout Greylock. The trial wasn't our greatest and we did miss one Q in Jackpot, but we also got our first Level 4 Q, our first 51 point Snooker, we won our Standard class with a nice clean run, and we had a good, fast Wildcard run, too. So, there was still a lot to be happy about. The hiking and camping were very big successes and we're looking forward to getting back out for more fun soon.
2. Maintain solid DW contacts away from home.
Mmmm...sometimes. Jonah has still never blown a dogwalk contact. He always touches the yellow. That said, the 2o2o has been a little shaky when we're not at home. Luckily I've been able to drill it some in class and that seems to be helping. We'll have to keep working on this one, but progress may be slow because he's always so perfect at home and we don't get unlimited opportunities to practice on dogwalks away from home.
3. Attend our first USDAA trial and have a positive overall experience. Hopefully we get through the measuring!
Well, we got through measuring easily. Overall it was certainly not a negative experience, but it wasn't especially positive, either. I really need to work on lowering my expectations and not putting pressure on a nervous dog. We'll be back to more USDAAs where I can try to redeem myself. I hope Jonah manages to have more fun, too.
4. Continue to work on manners on and off leash with other dogs and humans both in our group class and away from home.
Yes. I think we're making real steps forward, but they are always slow steps and sometimes we step back before going forward again. This is going to be a long road but I'm glad we're on the road and trying.
5. Hopefully this month we can have our agility area up and running, without stumps or leaning trees.
It's up and running! There is still a leaner, there are still 3 large stumps, and there are still some cut logs that I need a hand moving out of the way, but it was so very exciting to set up a full length course last week, map it on the computer, and run it out there without worrying about tripping. It's a great space and we are so blessed to have it.
So, July was a great month overall with less excellent trialing. Here's a look ahead to what I'd like to accomplish in August. Hopefully we can have a great month on all fronts this time!
1. Have excited, happy trials at Muddy Paws, Amherst and Gemini (all CPE). My job will be to make sure Jonah has fun, no matter what the result is.
2. Make weave poles really, really exciting with good cookies and lots of praise.
3. Keep all training sessions short, do-able, and high reward.
4. Decide how to proceed with lessons at DogStar, whether group or private.
5. Set up one new, full course each week in our backyard area.
6. Discuss an A-frame strategy with Grace. Do we need one at home? What can we do in class and trials to make him more consistent?
Here's a look at our goals from July:
1. Enjoy our first experience camping at a trial next weekend at Sugarbush. Hopefully collect some Q's and have a good time at a new facility.
Yes! We had a wonderful weekend at the trial and camping at Mout Greylock. The trial wasn't our greatest and we did miss one Q in Jackpot, but we also got our first Level 4 Q, our first 51 point Snooker, we won our Standard class with a nice clean run, and we had a good, fast Wildcard run, too. So, there was still a lot to be happy about. The hiking and camping were very big successes and we're looking forward to getting back out for more fun soon.
2. Maintain solid DW contacts away from home.
Mmmm...sometimes. Jonah has still never blown a dogwalk contact. He always touches the yellow. That said, the 2o2o has been a little shaky when we're not at home. Luckily I've been able to drill it some in class and that seems to be helping. We'll have to keep working on this one, but progress may be slow because he's always so perfect at home and we don't get unlimited opportunities to practice on dogwalks away from home.
3. Attend our first USDAA trial and have a positive overall experience. Hopefully we get through the measuring!
Well, we got through measuring easily. Overall it was certainly not a negative experience, but it wasn't especially positive, either. I really need to work on lowering my expectations and not putting pressure on a nervous dog. We'll be back to more USDAAs where I can try to redeem myself. I hope Jonah manages to have more fun, too.
4. Continue to work on manners on and off leash with other dogs and humans both in our group class and away from home.
Yes. I think we're making real steps forward, but they are always slow steps and sometimes we step back before going forward again. This is going to be a long road but I'm glad we're on the road and trying.
5. Hopefully this month we can have our agility area up and running, without stumps or leaning trees.
It's up and running! There is still a leaner, there are still 3 large stumps, and there are still some cut logs that I need a hand moving out of the way, but it was so very exciting to set up a full length course last week, map it on the computer, and run it out there without worrying about tripping. It's a great space and we are so blessed to have it.
So, July was a great month overall with less excellent trialing. Here's a look ahead to what I'd like to accomplish in August. Hopefully we can have a great month on all fronts this time!
1. Have excited, happy trials at Muddy Paws, Amherst and Gemini (all CPE). My job will be to make sure Jonah has fun, no matter what the result is.
2. Make weave poles really, really exciting with good cookies and lots of praise.
3. Keep all training sessions short, do-able, and high reward.
4. Decide how to proceed with lessons at DogStar, whether group or private.
5. Set up one new, full course each week in our backyard area.
6. Discuss an A-frame strategy with Grace. Do we need one at home? What can we do in class and trials to make him more consistent?
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