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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Get YOUR Behind Behind Trial Volunteer Action Day!


Get your bee-hind out of this chair.
Chair available from Amazon.com.


Get it into this one.
Chair available from Office Depot.


In support of the Trial Volunteer Blog Action Day sponsored by the Agility Nerd, the View From 4 Inch would like to encourage all agility participants to re-evaluate their level of volunteer support at the agility trials they attend.

Lord knows it's not always easy or convenient, but I would like to suggest everyone in the community take on at least one job at every trial they attend. Doesn't have to mean all day or even for hours.

Maybe it's just helping to empty trash, move some equipment or add an extra set of hands to help a harried trial committee member.

On the flip side, I would like to encourage host clubs to adopt some of the suggestions extended by Steve Schwarz on his AgilityNerd Blog:

"I think the most important things a club can do are: stay flexible, create many short tasks, and thank your workers. Ideally if someone has 5 minutes free and feels like helping you could take advantage of their help.

"For flexibility allowing day of show sign up for tasks is really a necessity. It allows people jump in when they have time and allows them to change their assignments in case the judging schedule has changed or one ring runs faster/slower than planned."


From my viewpoint, the biggest worry I have when volunteering is that I will be stuck in the ring when it's time for my walk through or run.


Since I run in 4-Inch, I am usually the very first dog in the ring or the very last.


If I'm first, there's no leeway in getting to the ring. There's a walk through, then "boom" you better be in the ring. And believe me, there are still situations where the ring crew evidently hasn't gotten the news about the 5-minute warning and they jump the gun to rush the 4-inchers to the ring immediately after they're done walking.


If we're not first, there can be significant time variances in how the rings are running by the time they get to the last dogs, and that might affect a subsequent volunteer job I've signed up for.


I do like the suggestion of flexible sign ups so that if we get out early I can grab a slot, or not have the worry of being stuck in another ring, or if we're running late, I won't worry about missing my volunteer slot.


Also, I do know of club(s) out there that do not provide volunteer appreciation. At minimum this should be lunch, water and snacks.


And as the article in AgilityNerd and Steve suggests, there are organizations who are coming up with lots of creative and motivating ways of engaging volunteers. Free runs and catered lunches get my vote.


Also, I think offering jobs with narrower time commitments and "small chunk" jobs would help with flexibility. Having the availability of smaller time commitments helps address the often unstated concern that raising a hand will commit a person to a half-day or more of being anchored to a volunteer task, while risking time and attention to preparation for their runs.


Thanks to all who take the Trial Volunteer Blog Action Day Challenge to get out of your chair on the sidelines and into one at the ring!


Thanks Steve, and I for one intend to take the challenge at the trials I enter. Take one...until all the jobs are done!



Monday, June 27, 2011

June Timed Practice - Samurai


Trying out our JWW skills.

Samurai and I tried our wings on a timed Jumpers with Weaves exercise this week. I wasn't sure we'd make it on the walk through, but Sami made it work. I was especially proud that he made his weave entry every time and read my far less than perfect rear cross. Those have been a challenge for us since I always did front crosses with Taylor.

The blind cross at :17 was planned to be a front cross. Oops! Sam seemed to read it just fine, though, and it didn't interfere with his weave entry.

Samurai pulled this course off in 29 seconds, which while not super speedy, was pretty respectable. I think he will move out even better as we both gain confidence.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Update on Blended Front Cross Discussion


NOTE: A clarification on this topic with video has been posted here.

See Daisy's dramatic Ketschker turn in the closing sequence of this video, not a blended front cross.

I'm learning a lot more about the execution of the blended front cross than when I made the first post a couple of days ago. Found out some more about what it IS, and more importantly, what it isn't. I'm still more than a little confused, though.
If anyone out there has any footage of a blended cross that they would like to share, feel free to email me or send me a comment.

Linda Mecklenburg has also passed along that she is considering making a video demonstrating the move, and here's hoping she does! This is one of those techniques where a picture would be worth a thousand words.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Experiments with Blended Front Crosses

Samurai and I had a chance to try out some of the "new" blended front cross strategies yesterday. I say, "new" because it seems to be a trend recently, even though I'm fairly sure it's not really entirely new.

The movement feels familiar, and I'm sure I, like others, have probably lapsed into it on our own when editing down a choppy, too "crossy" sequence. Sam even picked it up as if the moves involved were familiar.

We did some experiments with this technique that were hidden in the handling suggestions contained in the Backyard Dogs feature in this month's (June 2011) Clean Run. The suggested handling starts with diagram #4.

I was having a really hard time "getting it" from the description and the diagrams। But I finally forced myself to start moving along with the instructions as best I could, and it came together pretty quickly. Basically, once you fail to complete the first cross and stay in the backing up position, it really only leaves one way to logically finish the maneuver.

With the blended cross, instead of turning toward the dog, as you would to initiate a front cross, you continue to face the dog as you move toward and across the face of the jump.

Basically, a blended cross becomes an option when the course flow suggests that two front crosses be taken back-to-back -- as in one FC at the approach to a jump and another on the landing side.

The advantage to this is that it can work to smooth handling, and accordingly, the line.

What are the disadvantages?

Well, like any front cross, the success depends on the handler's ability to be ahead of the dog and in the right position to successfully complete the maneuver.

If the handler's mobility is limited, or the dog is much faster, the handler may intersect with the dog too far forward of the jump and cause a stall, a big loopy turn or an off course।
For situations where the handler is slower, it almost requires the opportunity to gain some distance on your dog, prior to set up for the maneuver to guarantee you can get into position.

If the handler is able to move fluidly into position, it is, indeed a "cool move" and turns the dog quickly. There seems to be less lag time than in stacking two front crosses and the slingshot momentum seems to "launch" the dog off faster than a cross.

Where would it not be a great choice?

When the dog is moving slowly or lacks motivation. There is a lot of cued collection in the nature of this turn (which makes it great for a fast, wide turning dog). This might drain the momentum of the less drivey dog.

Also, if the handler is much faster than the dog, as I am with Taylor, the rather static nature of the turn might expand your wait times as you are relatively suspended as you wait for the dog to come into position. The tight turn might also bleed off valuable speed from dogs who are laterally inflexible or who otherwise tend to decelerate or resist tight turns.

With Taylor, two front crosses provide more forward movement and drive.

It seemed to work best for me with Samurai (who is a lot faster than I am) in the tighter, more technical set ups (Diagrams #5 and 6) as opposed to the more straight line approach (Diagram #4).

Another caution is that the backward motion over the jump can raise the risk of an off course if the handler does not have good control and consistency of arm movement and cueing.

If the handler's movements are loose and not generally clear, it would be unfair to blame the dog if it took an off course on a jump behind the handler, thinking it was a set up for a blended cross.

For this reason, I would put this move in the "Advanced Handling" category, and best for handlers how already have a stable system of cuing, but who want an additional option for deleting unnecessary back-to-back crosses, and smoothing the line for added clarity and speed.

I would not recommend it for new handlers who have not yet gotten past the "flippity floppity" arm stage that so many handlers of a certain age go through.

Since the blended cross handling strategy is a popular idea right now, it's certain that trendsetter judges will be working it into course designs at upcoming trials. For some, this will be deciding factor on whether to add this tool to their handling tool kit.







Sunday, June 19, 2011

Patron Saint of Gardening

A statue of St. Fiacre, the patron saint of gardening, sits behind Taylor as he enjoys the flowers.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Counting strides on running dog walk

It all counts, not just the contact.

I've attempted to train Samurai with a running contact, picking up tips from Dana Pike and Daisy Peel in my very limited, but very pivotal (at least to me and Sam) contacts with them.

It's really a very complex subject to really do more than touch on, since this part of agility training seems to be one of those things that the more you think you know, the more you don't know: Particularly as your dog begins to develop a true, galloping contact.

Now, I can't say we have truly or consistently reached this prized pinnacle of contact training achievement, but I have been in the range, and know it is within some realm of possibility with Samurai.

But, like some sort of mythic prize, just as soon as you seem to be within reach of the jackpot, the game suddenly changes.

In our case, I noticed a couple of instances in the spring where Samurai hit the dogwalk at a particularly high rate of speed at trials. I could see him simultaneously accelerating, lengthening and extending -- starting in the approach to the dogwalk. In the two "mystery" cases I'm am attempting to describe here, he caught air over the first apex and then continued to accelerate and extend, lowering his body as he came over the second apex and into the contact.

Being a toy dog and only 4 pounds, by the time he was into the contact zone, it was hard to see daylight between him and the contact, and with the speed, he was basically a white blur.

In the video I have of this, I cannot see for sure what is happening in the contact because of the blurring and the closeness he is traveling to the contact surface. I do remember in both instances hearing the foot pattern that I usually associate with him hitting the contact.

However, in both instances, I see in the video the judges staring, then reconsidering and shaking their heads as if befuddled by what they just saw. Then they call a fault.

I thought about these situations for a long time and considered even slowing Samurai down or even pausing him after the contact...something to make the performance easier for the judge to "see".

However in the process of training this, I also have found (at least in Samurai's case), that once the running pattern is set into motion -- and if it is a true galloping situation (i.e. not a collected canter or trot) -- that trying to manipulate what happens at the end of the contact is pointless.

Kind of like trying to unwhip cream or stop a plane that is already in flight. Basically once initiated, once the approach/acceleration is committed to, it's kind of a done deal. Set in stone. Whatever.

So I've been studying the approach and the striding to see what I can tell about what types of striding will tend to be successful and which ones will be destined for a fault. Because, really, if it's a true running contact, you want it to be something, ideally, that the dog will fall naturally into, without a lot of fussing and attempts at manipulation.

Long story short, I found this video that Sylvia Trkman made to share with her distance students. People who presumably, from the subject matter, were having some of the same questions I'm having.

True to running contact form, the video both answers questions while raising more. It breaks down via slow motion footage, the striding count and captures what I have seen with Samurai...that tendency to take air over the first apex and extend low, long and accelerating into the contact zone.

It raises some: the separation of the rear legs, was that trained or a natural adaptation? What is the significance, if any, of the variation in the number of strides?

Because Samurai is a toy breed dog, only 9.75" tall, how do the observations translate to the shorter striding pattern? By theory it would "seem" to make the contact a "bigger" target for the smaller dog, and yet, the speed and extension of the true running situation leave plenty of room for questions.

At any rate, I've found watching these sorts of things helps train my eyes for what I need to watch for and reward. Thanks to Sylvia from Samurai and I for sharing her experience with the rest of us exploring this method of training.


Monday, June 13, 2011

Napoleon's Papillons (Video)



Courageous under fire, though not, unfortunately, the best shots.

Sacre' bleu! Papillons as artillerymen? Who could have dreamed up such a thing? Certainly not Napoleon. Or did he?

In this History Channel style "documentary", small French spaniels are pressed into service at a pivotal battle against the Russian army.

Though the Papillons are plucky, they also manage to wipe out a portion of the rear infantry due to a tragic inability to properly aim cannons.

Reminds me to polish up on our straight tunnel work. Or "Papillon cannons" as they are sometimes called? In this regard, at least, it seems the Papillon's aim can be improved!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Ultimate Dog Agility Video - WAO



Showing the world what America can do.

I've been watching this video for the past few weeks, mostly because it gives such a great visual summary of some of America's best handling of the APHS variety, as demonstrated by four of America's most renowned handers: Mary Ellen Barry, Linda Mecklenburg, Karen Holik and Jen Crank.

The video is a compilation shot at the 2011 World Agility Open Championships in Clevedon, UK last month. I am especially excited because Samurai and I will be training with two of these ladies in just a few weeks.

I am just thrilled with the way the sport of agility has been developing in the past few years. The courses are becoming more thoughtfully strategic and the handling more refined and powerful.

I will be very intrigued to see what I can do along these lines with Sami.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Wild, Wild Weaves



Lee Windeatt puts weaves to the test.

If there ever was a Chuck Norris of weaving, this would be it. Lee Windeatt makes everyday weaving look like last night's leftovers as he pits them against closely placed obstacles, toys and even himself running counter to the direction, standing in the weaves, lying next to weaves...even jumping over them!

There are lots of ideas for weave pole proofing here, even if you aren't up to the entire rodeo of tricks presented. It just goes to show that there's a lot more to weaving than getting a dog through poles.

Thanks, Lee, for sharing this wonderful example of training.