Samurai earns first CPE Agility Title

Two fun little runs.

Samurai earned his first CPE title with two nice, fast runs in Jumpers. He finished both 14-obstacle runs in 22 seconds, ranking as the fastest dog, all heights. Most importantly, he stayed with me and did not break away to “hunt zombies.” This was a big victory for the little guy. Sami took home his CL2-F title, formally known as CPE Level 2 Fun. The title represents two Qs each in FullHouse and Jumpers. 

I ran cautiously on this one. We have worked very hard on Sam's reactive issues in the past few months and it's very hard to just let go when the downside is a very slippery slope. I'm hoping that with confidence I can start to let him run more freely again. I'm not sure whether it's possible to bridge that divide successfully, but control seems to be the bigger priority at this point in helping us to have a career at all.

As it is, our time was still pretty good, so the lack of free running seems worth the trade off at this point, anyway. Most importantly, Samurai seems focused and is happily running with me, not tempted at all by distractions.

What you don't see here is a few seconds at the beginning of the video where he looks away at the start line to stare back at the people behind him. He then turns back to me, seemingly having made the tough decision to hang in with me rather than chase "offenders."  He shakes it off, a stress reliever, and starts off running toward me. All things considered, that little moment was the biggest victory of all.

Sheep, Shepherds, Transhumance and Building Bonds

A centuries old relationship and an inspiration for today.

When looking at dogs, there is nothing more beautiful or true than watching them do the job they were bred to do.

Here is a video, produced in France, that records the daily life of a shepherd and his dogs. The video is in French, but you don't have to know the language to understand the connection in the working relationship that exists between this man and his little dogs.

The bucolic setting reminds me of years ago when I shared my life with dogs and horses and a few miscellaneous animals on 104-acre farm.

This was long before I began formally training dogs, and I don't even remember training my little mixed troupe of dogs, led by an English Shepherd, to do the job they helped me with each day.

Every morning, I would call the horses up to be fed. Sometimes they came, sometimes they didn't. Either way, the dogs would go out, and as I was calling, they would sweep out behind the horses and push them in toward me and through the gate. Many times, all I would have to do is stand back and let everyone find their places.

I think it's a shame that there are so few opportunities in the urban United States these days to find places where dogs and people can wander freely together.

Many times, it's in just these situations that easy connections develop. It's like a friendship where you don't have to say what you're thinking. They just know.

If you've forgotten how this feels, or are just ready for inspiration, watch this little video. To begin with, the Pyrenean Shepherd mother and her pup are simply adorable. If their bewhiskered faces and devotion fail to melt you in the opening scenes, the hilarious "circus tricks" sequence will.

You will see shortly, that along with providing comic relief, the tricks have a purpose. As the video rolls on, you see the tricks transformed into valuable skills as herd moves from the pastures and on into town.

The high point is the appearance of a stop sign and a blind, busy intersection on the road ahead. What will happen? Will the group make it through?

No problem. The canny shepherd slams on the brakes, and right on cue, the entire group -- shepherd, Pyr Sheps, Great Pyrenees body guard, sheep and all -- come screeching to a halt at the corner.

No one even thinks about entering the traffic because the now suddenly hard-nosed little Pyr Sheps make sure everyone toes the line.

On signal, they all proceed into town like an orderly group of children on a school outing.

If you are as fascinated with the nature of this ancient sort of human/animal connection, I would suggest a YouTube search on the agrarian practice of transhumance. It's a tradition of seasonal movement of livestock with their people between summer and winter pastures.

It's a practice nearly as old as human civilization itself and is the root of many beliefs, language and work models that are still very much alive today.

Here come the cows!

This is a beautiful video that show how the sheep are all dressed up and fleece dyed rainbow colors for the big event. A gorgeous look at a lifestyle that's ages old.

Three young shepherds, mind-blowing alpine scenery, two Pyrenean Shepherds and about a gazillion sheep.

Footwork on Front Crosses

Daisy Peel stays connected through the crosses.

One of the things we mortals often struggle with is keeping intention and connection going through crosses, especially front crosses. Here, Daisy Peel shows a nice example of how well it can work in this run with her young Border Collie, Juno.

Her footwork is light, and well placed. She stays on her toes and shows intention to the line with every step. In one place she even shows a burst of acceleration in sideways running. Quite a feat.

It's probably no secret that Daisy works very hard on her running style, and it shows here in this video. I suppose the flip side of the coin is that such crosses don't just "happen", but are the result of practice, timing, strategy and of course, strength and fitness.

How much depends on fitness really escaped me until I attended a seminar with Daisy last February. I've been working on it ever since.