The 2-Minute Rag

Finding our rhythm.

Another 2-minute practice. This time we faced a few challenges, which actually seemed a little comical, in retrospect. So in keeping with this attempt to foxtrot with my little fox, I added a ragtime music track to the video.

We're making progress on rear crosses, but I still need to work a lot more on my timing. After years of doing nearly all front crosses with Taylor, it's clear I have a gap in my handling understanding.

The other challenge is fast approaches to 180's. Taylor has always been a hard pull around the big angles, but Samurai hits them faster and with more momentum.

I need to get him a better deceleration cue to to help him make the turn more efficiently.

I'm also playing with the annotation tools provided by YouTube, so you'll just have to endure through those. Mostly, I wanted to document some of the areas we need to work on, and where we're having some fun. And mostly more and more, Sam is becoming a very fun dog to run.

A 40-Obstacle Q

Never happier than when he is doing his job.

Taylor earned his third QQ toward PAX3 at an agility trial this past weekend. He also earned the third and fourth legs toward MJP7 and ninth leg toward MXP5.

Taylor was first dog in the ring for Sunday’s Standard run, and unfortunately the timer didn’t function correctly. Because he was clean he had a chance to run again for time. Taylor pattern trains really well, and I was sure that if ran again right away, he would remember everything on the course, and that his chance of making a mistake was really small.

His heart rates was coming down nicely and he was still ready to rock and roll, and so we went back into the ring.

In total, he ran a very tricky 20-obstacle course perfectly, TWICE – or 40 total obstacles, in the span of about 5 minutes. The judge commented on Taylor’s professionalism in doing his job and also recognized him as a 2010 National’s finalist. I couldn’t be prouder of this special little dog.

2-Minute Practice Session

Getting ready for prime time.

This video was taken with my iPhone at a practice recently. Floor time was limited to 2 minutes so there wasn't much time to do actual training. So it was mostly proofing, I guess. My main goal was to try to run connected with Samurai, since we've had some pretty migraine-inducing experiences lately. This one went pretty well, and I was happy to see that we are making progress, despite the occasional backslides.

Looking for the lead

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Slow motion videos open a view to the mechanics of lead changes.

I think it's because the frame-by-frame movement allows the viewer to actually see the things an agility handler only senses while running. I have always been fascinated by lead changes and I've learned that understanding how they work can be of such a value in running courses successfully. Handling informed by an understanding of how leads work also puts less stress on the dog.

This is because it allow you a better chance to give cues in a way that is more in tune with the movement of the dog, rather than just cueing based on where the handler might "think" they need to be placed (often too late).

These videos really allow you to see the mechanics of the lead change, and particularly, how they are initiated by offside hind leg before the new front lead leg extends. The dog really cannot engage the turn until both of these things happen.

It lets you see that the motions required for a four legged animal to literally make a turn, are a lot more complex -- and take a little more time -- than what the uninformed eye would imagine.

So as you watch this, try to trace the lead change back to the very first subtle weight shift that starts it all. It's an education for the eyes. In this particular video, it's most visible in the weaves.

Once you can see it in slow motion, try to detect the mechanics of the lead change while you watch other people's dogs run, and also your own.

In a while, it will become instinctive. When you get to the point when you can think in terms of leads, without really thinking about it, you will find it becomes very much easier to stay in tune with where and how to cue your dog for changes of direction on course.

Thanks once again for Michal Vokruhlik for posting these beautiful videos.

Dark Questionner

This was actually taken while Taylor was watching me eat my dinner. But it looks sort of otherworldly to me and captures this dog's native intensity. And if you're asking, yes, I did relent to the staring and gave him some of my fish.