The May 24, 2011, issue of Dog Sport Magazine featured a really nice overview of the experience of competing in the Finals competition of the 2011 AKC National Agility Championship. The article features a profile on a Chicagoland 12" Poodle, Remy, experiencing his first trip to Nationals and a 6th place finish in the Finals. Quite a story!
The article concludes with a listing of the 2011 National and Preferred Finalists. Taylor and I received a mention there. We were not present for the photo, but appreciate being included in the recap of this year's event.
Taylor and I have been listed on the AKC National Agility Championships page of Champions. You can view it here. It includes the names of all of all national and preferred national agility champions who have earned their titles since the AKC National Agility Champions began in 1996.
So as I have been trying to figure this whole thing out, guess who should pop up on my YouTube while I'm aimlessly browsing agility videos? That's right. Dana Pike pulling off a perfectly executed blind wrap, actually what would be defined as a Ketschker turn, jumps to weaves. Darn her and her blue Pony! She does this in a knee brace, too, for heaven's sake! Watch for it in this video, after the chute. Tres chic!
And not to be outdone by her own self, Dana pulls a couple more blind tricks from her sleeve in the following clip. It takes a lot of trust between handler in dog to pull off this type of handing, not to mention great timing and very accurate placement of cues. Amazing job Dana!
New! Help your dog master weaves and contacts at the Dana Pike Contacts and Weaves half day seminars, Oct. 29, 2011 at Town and Country Kennel Club in Bloomington, Illinois. Private lessons on Oct. 30. Get the details here. Download registrations forms at www.tckc.org.
Also big congrats on winning 2nd Place with Tangle in the 8" Finals of the 2011 AKC National Agility Championship. Your handling made all the difference and left not a spare inch of yardage behind!
We saw some of these turns on display at the 2011 AKC National Agility Championships this year, particularly in the ISC rounds. I was intrigued and wanted to see how difficult it might be to train. I've looked into it a bit and tonight did a few lead ins to it with Samurai. We haven't gotten quite to it yet, but started by working with some blind wraps this evening. Samurai picked this up turning to the right immediately. Turning to the left was more of a challenge, and he kept turning right at first.
We got that straightened out and once we caught onto it, he loved it! There's something about facing away from the dog rather than into them, as in a front cross, that speeds them up, or at least that was my initial experience.
It makes sense though when you think of turning into the dog as being a deceleration cue. Something to mull over and consider anyway. As with all "new" techniques, this one carries its share of risk and it demands a lot of clarity in cuing to the appropriate side.
I love the gracefulness of it and lack of herky-jerky-in-a-circle that you so often see handling transitions off of wraps and 180's. Gracefulness in agility is something I strive for, even though I am not very graceful as an individual. I do love movement that flows, and I believe my dogs appreciate that, too.
I hope to continue to work with this a bit just to learn and to see how it fits with our "handling kit."
Take a moment to view the video above to appreciate the beauty of the move in a competition context.
I opened my mail today to find a surprise. Taylor and I, along with the other 2011 National Agility Championship winners were featured as the lead in to the "Your AKC" Newsletter that was sent out today. Really a nice way to recognize this years National Champions! All I can say is, "once in a lifetime!"
We drove into Lexington after dinner at a chain restaurant tonight and instantly agreed we should have eaten here instead.. Lots of quaint shops and interesting-looking restaurants. Antebellum architecture is amazing. Hope we get a chance to explore the Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University on foot. So far only rain so not sure whether we will be able to get out or not.
We bought homemade peanut butter sandwich cookies at a bakery called the Patisserie. The owner said her customers call them "crack cookies" because they are that addictive. And yes, they were that good!
Headed off to take our little Taylor to the AKC Agility Nationals and decided to open a Twitter feed so I could read the scores that are going to be tweeted live as they happen from the 5 rings at Nationals.
Anyway, I called it PapillonAgility, so I thought would invite you all to post your news and scores also. Also feel free to share any Papillon or agility related news. Also news from the Papillon Nationals for those of us who won't be there this year.
Also, I will be posting photos and news from our Nationals trip to my blog, View From 4 Inch. You can find it by Googling "View From 4 Inch" or http://www.viewfr4inch.blogspot.com/
This will be a bittersweet trip since Taylor has been recovering first from a back injury in January, then from having three teeth pulled a couple of weeks ago, and finally...was diagnosed with PRA just last week.
It's just a tragic thing to happen to such a marvelous little agility dog. His vision is still pretty good right now, so we will just adapt day by day.
Good luck to everyone headed to AKC Nationals and to Papillon Nationals. Travel safely and have a great time!
