Dylan at Westminser

aka Wingssong Rock Star

A little late, but I thought I would post this of Samurai's father. He's a very beautiful, little dog, and one of the top Papillons in the country. We're very proud of him and his co-breeder/handler, Chris Jones and her mom, Pat Jones. Wonderful job!

Give him what he needs, not what he "should have"

Soft eyes mean something in our world.

My husband bought the book and the entire set of Control Unleashed for Christmas. One concept I came across, was to watch for the look of soft eyes, and to reward it.

This is something I've been working on with Samurai. By rewarding calmness, he is beginning to attach a value to it, and is starting even to come to me for calming. What a nice little miracle!

Here is another thought I had all on my own:

I remember that oftentimes, I set a standard for Samurai for whatever criteria I think he should be able to achieve in a training session. However, I started to noticed this was more of a reflection on what I might have expected from Taylor, had I been training him.

There are two very different dogs, trust me. And training one is not very much like training the other.

And so I decided to flip the formula. Give him what the needs, instead of what he should have.

Many times, this means rewarding him for less than what I might think he should be rewarded for, simply because he needs it.

I think this makes a difference.

Because sometimes he is making an effort, even though the current approximation of the behavior is far from what I hope that it someday will be.

Doing less in agility training is so often doing more. Particularly with dogs like Samurai.

We are so very early in our journey together. The road is still more full of potholes and pitfalls than smooth, pleasant progress. But I do begin to see some hope.

And it starts in those soft eyes.

Time to Beat (T2B)

The new game proposed by the AKC combines aspects of Jumpers and Standard. Course design places an emphasis on flow and speed. Here is a course that will be presented by AKC Judge Lisa Potts at our Competition Agility Class this week. It was designed for an exhibition event in the Pacific Northwest awhile back. It looks like a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to trying it.

Test Pattern

Good night. Pleasant dreams.

Taylor has mediocre weekend

The weekend started out well enough. A nice run and a Q in Exc. Standard.

But in Jumpers, the problems started. Taylor's handler began running amuck. First sniffing, then visiting the pole setters, then finally running out of the ring to jackpot herself on snacks in the training bag.

Taylor was not amused at all at this behavior-- he was SURE he had ironed out these deficiencies through a careful program of Control Unleashed conditioning.

However he consoled himself by remembering that some issues are born in, and so, can only be partially addressed by training.

Next day, praying for a miracle, Taylor trotted into the Standard ring. He was soon dismayed to find his handler's brain was again, nowhere to be found.

Several crosses into what he knew should have been a fairly straightforward opening sequence, Taylor was astounded to find himself staring up from the foot of a very tall A frame.

Clouds swirled around its lofty summit, and its slopes were strewn with the remains of tiny dogs who had attempted the climb without oxygen or who had otherwise been lost.

Taylor stood back and gathered his resolve. He ran hard and made a speedy ascent, pausing only to plant a small American flag at the top.

The judge raised both palms in salute.

Returing from his trek, Taylor was relieved to find that his handler had held her stay and had not run off. She was focused, and thankfully, ready to work.

The rest of the Standard course passed pleasantly and without incident.

After that run and before the next, the handller found her brain. In the training bag! She packs EVERYTHING in there!

They had a wonderful Jumpers run, and lived happily ever after.

(With a couple more legs to boot: A second MXP4 leg and a first leg toward MJP5).