tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78447216563903802542024-03-05T03:32:27.210-08:00Agility - The Chaos TheoryJust an agility blog. Agility stories, Agility training, Agility jokes, Agility Frustration, Agility success, Agility advice, Agility questions, Agility dogs, Agility handlers, Agility judging, Agility Courses... I think you get the idea... This blog is about AgilityAletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.comBlogger178125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-20336284768277247012015-09-03T09:43:00.001-07:002015-09-03T09:43:12.410-07:00Some more about this dog walk thingFor now I am not going into my training methods or ideas or plans. I will start sharing general ideas that I had:<div>
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1. I don't like training ten million repetitions of anything or training anything every single day. I train contacts once, MAYBE twice a week, and really not even every week. The video in this post is 4 minutes long, has a title and a slow motion replay of every single running contact... and that is two FULL sessions which include the running and 2o2o. That is how little I train. I like varying my dog's time with me and keeping things interesting. I also don't like parrot learning or just teaching muscle memory. I like it when my dogs have an understanding of what they should be doing (and should not be doing). I wanted to devise ways where Hex (and Volt) could figure out what was wrong and right. This meant that speed should definitely NOT be a priority or a required criteria in the initial stages of training. Hex does generally offer speed with anything he does though, so I had to accept this. </div>
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2. My job is made slightly easier by the fact that I am not planning to do any turns for the forseeable future. This is where my 2o2o comes in. It also does mean that I have to spend a lot of time making sure Hex understands the difference and even more time making sure my 2o2o is fast and reliable. It really annoys me to no end when people try to condescend 2o2o training, when it should require just as much fun, hard work and satisfaction as a running contact. My 2o2o is NOT a fail safe, it is NOT a back up, it is NOT a plan B. It is a skill that I am teaching with specific goals and scenarios. Again I believe in my dogs fully understanding the behaviour. I believe in throwing in as many scenarios as possible from day 1. We are adding jumps at the end, straight and angled. Throwing in different approaches and have lots of other obstacles in the vicinity and we are still only on a plank. I am also changing the height and angle of the plank slightly with each session (up AND down) to ensure understanding. He does still struggle with the entries and sometimes comes off to the side, but we will work through that too.</div>
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3. Those that have attended my training seminars will appreciate this point. I hate BOF trainers and the behaviours they train... 'But Only If'... as in 'my dog has running contacts But Only If I am ahead/behind/standing on my head'. This was never an option for me. This meant that I needed to remove placement and nature of reward as a requirement very early on in the game. This was achieved very easily with my multiple reward system. We are now on a system where his tug toy or ball or food (whatever I choose to use on the day), can be anywhere from in my hand or pocket to behind or in front or offset or in the car or on a table 30m away, it doesn't matter. Jumps are always at different distances or angles and I never put the plank in the same place twice. I will also change it in the middle of a session, even 3 or 4 times.</div>
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Those are just a few of the 10 million thoughts I have related to contacts... here is this week's session. It might look like we have not done much in the last month (which is when I posted the last video), but we have seriously upped the variables... also he is just under 10 months old, so I have no plans of doing much more in the next few months.</div>
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Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-51749978534081271162015-08-06T09:17:00.001-07:002015-08-06T09:17:51.179-07:00Project Dog Walk 2.0For someone who, for years, was very anti-running contacts, I have sure made an about turn. I am very honest about that. I believe that we should all be evolving in our training and just as importantly we need to admit our evolution and change heart or mind.<br />
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To me training is a process. A journey. We should always be observing and adjusting to maximise the potential, rather than try and force or package our dogs into little boxes.<br />
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Hex has started his contact journey. I am training it quite differently from all the recognised methods that I know about, while using aspects and snippets from many. I started off on a similar road to Volt but since I have amended, adjusted an evolved through experimentation and observation. I don't know where the journey will take us, but maybe one day I can use it to help others.<br />
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I am definitely sticking to teaching dual stopped and running contacts though. And I really do find equal enjoyment in both and especially teaching the understanding in differentiating between the two and performing both with enthusiasm.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WMzPWIxs04c" width="420"></iframe>Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-7127961317559038792015-05-18T14:33:00.004-07:002015-05-18T14:33:58.150-07:00National Champion!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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While I still can't quite believe it, apparently it is true... Volt is the South African Agility Champion 2015 in Small. On top of that we have qualified to represent South Africa at the FCI Agility World Championships for the 4th year in a row!<br />
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Honestly it is quite a dream come true for me! In the past I have a history... every single year... 2 rounds I will be brilliant and win or be on the podium for that round, in the other two rounds, I would not be able to keep it together and disqualify myself (and by association my poor dog....)<br />
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This year we ran an additional fifth round to qualify for the Agility World Championship. This round was on the Friday. Honestly still my favourite of the weekend! A very nice course to start off the weekend, enough speed and skills tested to get everyone in the game and ready to go. Volt was a rockstar in this round, putting some good points and a win in the bag.<br />
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Saturday morning started off with another contact Agility course. Again, awesome course. This was also the first round of the SA Champs, so I was running both Psych and Chaos too, we started with the large dogs, Chaos had knock on the wall, but otherwise brilliant round, which of course gave me a bit more confidence for the other two dogs. Psych however proceeded to disqualify into an off course tunnel, which is not surprising really :) She had a ball though and her increase in confidence and speed this weekend, was heart-warming. Volt went ahead and ACED the course, with perhaps a slight bit of over-management on my part... this is my first SA Champs where I have both a running dog walk and a stopped dog walk available to use. In the practice session, I had only done running (ran out of time for 2o2o2) and in round 1 I had used the running option. This course was definitely more suited to a 2o2o and for some reason, I doubted that he would stop... a bit stupid since he has literally NEVER missed a cue... he did a great job, for another win!<br />
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Saturday afternoon we ran our first Non-Contact Agility round. Another nice fast course that tested enough skill to be perfect :) Again I ran my large dogs first... Chaos had a rather fun disqualification and Psych surprised me with a clear round (heehee, if I had been judging myself, I might have called her for a refusal), but nevertheless, she worked so nicely! I then proceeded to very nearly lose Volt on this course before the weave poles, but a recovery saved us and we ended up with another clear and a win.<br />
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The Sunday morning started off with another non-contact/jumping course. When the course plans were handed out, it was clear that THIS would be the one to separate the men from the boys... and unfortunately I failed the test. Volt made a really hard pole entry and I then pulled him out of it? I ask you with tears in my baby blue eyes, bright spark I am. We managed to get through the course HORRENDOUSLY and I was feeling some serious de ja vu... my own personal SA Champs curse was rearing it's head again. Some additional triggers whisked in with the mixture and my head space was SHATTERED. Going into the last round I actually doubted whether I could do it, handle the pressure. Something I haven't experienced for a while.<br />
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My last round was not my best, it was not as aggressive or reckless as I normally run. I have very mixed feelings now that it is all said and done... on the one hand, very proud of myself that I kept it together and maybe that required me to be more reserved in this instance? On the other hand I feel that maybe I could have run just a little bit harder... I love 'all or nothing' rounds, pushing it, going for it.... Regardless, we ran CLEAR and third and with that, we became South African Agility Champions 2015! Just as a side note, I at this point completely forgot that I had large dogs.... or that I was first on the line with one of them... which resulted in me sprinting full speed to get poor Chaos and back to the startline to run him... he rewarded me with a super clear round finishing fourth in the round!<br />
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Chaos and Psych realistically took a bit of a back seat to Volt this weekend, but they had fun in each round and I enjoyed every second with them as well!<br />
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Volt is truly a special dog, a one in a million in so many ways and SO much more than just an Agility dog. While I realise that his new title means nothing to him, he just enjoys every run, every opportunity to spend time with me, run some Agility or after a ball, the title is just another HUGE gift that he has given me! He always gives me everything he has, never fails to amaze me or amuse me or be there when I need him! Love my special dog X<br />
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I guess it is inevitable that there will always be some tantrums, incidences of bad sportsmanship, unhappiness and some form of negativity here and there... and this weekend was no exception.... but I have to say that in general it was the most amazing, supportive competition I have experienced in a long time in South Africa! Handlers really wanted the best for each other, the cheering and laughing and general happiness was contagious! It made it much easier not to let the stupid little negative things get to me!<br />
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Thank you so much to everyone that has been part of this journey, this dream!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nQpdddkb_v4" width="420"></iframe>Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-69284040247739628772015-04-20T16:08:00.003-07:002015-04-20T16:08:51.269-07:00Happy Dances and Cheerleader Moves!So after all my bitching and moaning in the previous post, I only have happy place thoughts for tonight's share... well two happy place thoughts and both rather overdue...<br />
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First off, I am very excited to announce that all 3 my dogs have qualified for Nationals (South African Agility Championships)... the top 60 dogs in the country (all heights combined) qualify for the event, with the next 10 dogs being reserve. Psych did qualify in a reserve spot, but since some peeps won't be able to attend, the Girly Whirly Slinky Malinky Chicken Licken dog will be attending her first SA Champs. <br />
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A couple of months ago when we ran the try-outs, Volt was having issues, me and Psych were WAY out of our depth, but I could always depend on my Spaz... since then things have all turned around, but nevermind, with no further delay.... my Trials Video for 2015:<br />
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And then a couple of weekends ago, a group of friends travelled to Eastern Province (1000km roughly), for a weekend of awesome laughs, jokes, support, competition, wins, losses, tears, happiness and a general fantastic time!<br />
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Volt took Saturday off with a shoulder injury, but I cannot actually in written words describe how happy I am with his weekend... He RAN, he played with his ball, he barked, he screamed, he was permanently ready to go, he interacted, he was BACK! Of our 8 Agility rounds, he ran 7 clear with 5 or 6 wins. He rocked it and came back wanting more!<br />
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Chaos had a ball as always, despite me scrutinizing him and watching and considering and imagining and seeing into things... For the first time in my eyes, Chaos was off the pace... quite acceptably from a 9-year old... but if there is one thing I know for certain is that Chaos needs to retire before 'too late'... the poor dog is bound to be scrutinized for the rest of his career, but there are only two rules: Are you still having fun? Are you still capable of having fun safely and pain free? On the Sunday he made my weekend by clocking some of the fastest times (with a fault here and there), settling my doubts.<br />
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But the real and true super duper star of the weekend, was my Girly Whirly Chicken Licken Psych Malycho Slinky Malinky dog! Hex has been a blessing for her, having a super duper bestest friends apparently works. He has built her confidence exponentially and all of that exponentialness exploded on the PE weekend.... she ROCKED... not a little bit, but as in full on, live show, smash the guitar, rip your shirt off, bra's on the stage ROCKED it! In reality she just qualified into Grade 3 Contact Agility and Grade 3 Non Contact Agility... in my mind, she won 17 QC's, flew to the moon and back, won South Africa's got talent, started a non-profit and then opened a coffee shop... THAT is how well she did. The reward is just so great when the journey has been so hard...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xqza1vkIGXo" width="420"></iframe>Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-50667814037970126302015-04-16T11:17:00.003-07:002015-04-16T11:17:52.645-07:00Be the JudgeTonight unfortunately, my thoughts are not very positive. With increasing frequency I have been experiencing very disrespectful or ignorant judging.<br />
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I have been competing in Agility (Dog Jumping) for just about 22 years. I qualified as a judge 15 years ago, due to our Kennel Club rules only allowing individuals to judge at 18 years of age, I have been judging for the last 13 years. I thoroughly enjoy both the competing and judging side of things and have many ideas of how things 'should be'.<br />
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Due to our small numbers here in South Africa, you will often hear judges defending themselves or being defended by 'weekend warriors' or non-competitors and at some point the statement will come out 'but we can't lose him/her as a judge, so just leave it/let it be'. A statement to which I COMPLETELY disagree. If a judge cannot fulfil their duties, due to a lack of interest, ignorance, laziness, bias intentions, inability to understand the sport, refusal to admit shortcomings or any other fixable reason, then I would rather have one less judge.<br />
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Yes, more often it is competitors disrespecting judges, but tonight I need to vent with regards to judging.<br />
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I realise that judging Agility is generally a thankless, hot, unpaid job. I do it often enough myself to remember this. However, handlers spend hours and a small fortune on training and preparing for competition, as a judge you owe the competitors some time and commitment. Designing appropriate courses and studying them takes time, if you do not have a good few hours in the weeks preceding your appointment, don't accept it. On several occasions this year, I have 'assisted' judges in setting up courses, except there is no course plan and they are making it up as they go along? This goes hand in hand with laziness, where a judge will change a course from Grade 3 to the lower grades, but be unwilling to move one jump, change one angle, often making it more difficult for younger, inexperienced dogs.<br />
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Some judges spend so little time thinking about their courses that they are completely unjudgable (my own made up word). Can I effectively judge all my contacts? See all tunnel entries and exits? Will I be in the handler's way? Will I be standing at the correct angle for important obstacles like the tyre, long jump and wall jump? Can I judge all dogs/handlers equally on this course? Surely these are questions that any judge should not only be taught to answer when being qualified, but should realise very quickly when they start to judge? Design grade appropriate courses, think about what you are testing at every single obstacle or turn. Right it down and ensure you are not testing the same thing 3 or 4 times over and that you are not testing too little or too much.<br />
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Contact obstacles cannot be effectively judged from 20m away... or even 10m away really. Not at the speed dogs are moving in modern Agility. A dog walk cannot be judged accurately with a judge standing still, there has to be SOME movement. Or ask for an up contact judge! This is not admitting defeat, it is respecting competitors enough that you try to judge as accurately as possible. Try and design your courses so that the majority of the handlers will NOT be between you and the contact zone.<br />
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When measuring a distance between obstacles, use a measuring wheel to ensure that the distance IS in fact legal, pacing it out just will not do at the end of the day. If you measure it too short, you cannot just 'measure wider' to try and justify the distance. The dog's natural path is not the 'dog's adjusting to judge's measuring path'. While judges might differ dog's natural path, you cannot adjust measuring to justify yourself. On that note, use distances greater than 5m (much greater like 6m and 7m), this will avoid having this problem. Don't depend on software to dictate the distance, measure it on the day to be SURE you are happy. If your ring is suddenly smaller than expected, rather adjust your course to what it is on paper, don't 'squash' things!<br />
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If it is suggested in guidelines or rules that you have a 'straight approach' this means that it is for safety reasons. Saying 'but there is enough space to straighten your dog out', is NOT valid. The approach should be straight. The end. This also does not mean that the obstacle is necessarily 'straight on' from the previous obstacle, but that the dog's natural path will be straight on. It is a good idea to study dogs running on a regular basis to understand the natural path and straight approaches.<br />
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I think most importantly KNOW your rules, make sure that you read them each time the night before you judge. Look at the guidelines for refusals. Jumping over a tunnel if it is the next obstacles is NOT a refusal, handlers jumping over dog walks is an elimination, the long jump maximum distance is not 1.9 meters, you can only get 1 standard fault in the weave poles, touching the dog is faults, repeating the see saw after a fly off is a disqualification, you are allowed an up contact judge on the dog walk only, you cannot change timekeepers or scribes in the middle of a class... to name just a FEW I have seen this year!<br />
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Yes, the benefit of the doubt should always go to the dog, just remember that for each mistake you make in not calling a fault, another dog is losing out on a placing or a qualification or a win or a prize or just the knowledge that they finished in a top 10 or 5 or 20 for that matter. ALL judges will inevitably make mistakes, going both to the advantage and the detriment of the dog, but if you can say you made an honest mistake while being aware, having the knowledge, giving your best effort, that is okay. If it is due to bias against the handler, because you were busy on your phone, because you were looking away, because you were too lazy to move, because you didn't know your rules... then I think you should reconsider why you are judging!<br />
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I have all the time in the world for judges that TRY, I will continue to help them build courses, scribe for them, discuss judging with them and enter under them, despite any shortcomings. But for those that have shortcomings due to ignorance, bias, superiority... I think I will rather spend the time playing with my dogs, thank you.<br />
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Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-52229959838046636662015-03-27T05:51:00.003-07:002015-03-27T05:51:51.846-07:00Hexed!But actually we will start with the Volt news... we are not out of the woods yet, but HUGE improvement. Last weekend Volt had the fastest ever disqualifications, making me the world's happiest handler... happy dances were a thing....<br />
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With most of our SA Champs Qualifying trials completed, Chaos and Volt are guaranteed qualification (Chaos will be at his 7th SA Champs and Volt at his 4th) and at this point in time, Psych is lying in the reserves, so there is even a chance for her....<br />
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I was asked to do a promotional video for our SA Champs:<br />
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But more importantly... puppy update:<br />
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Hex will be 4 months old on Sunday, how time flies!Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-72404141994641237772015-02-28T09:29:00.000-08:002015-02-28T09:29:10.745-08:00Hex 13 Weeks<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">I often get asked what you can do with your baby puppy... here are some ideas. Hex has been with me for 2 weeks now (He only arrived when he was 11 weeks). In my experience he has learned quicker than most dogs,except maybe Volt, but there are not limits, be creative, think of new things.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">I have to say, that I am so grateful for Hex and Psych's breeders for really only introducing dogs with a SOLID temperament into their lines. It makes the world of difference not to have to struggle with issues.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V46Zz1PKJIo" width="420"></iframe></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;">On a different note, I am really having heartbreaking problems with Volt. He has developed a very big problem with our regular show grounds. The problem seems to be that he has gotten a fright of any people or dogs that are even remotely close to the ring. Training or competitions at any other grounds are not a problem and even if I train at these show grounds outside of a show environment he is still my mad, crazy, loving, barking Sheltie. Seeing him shut down in the ring is heartbreaking. We have cut down on competition a lot (doing maybe one round a day, maybe none), while I am trying to find ways to make it all a positive experience again. It seems it might be a very long Agility year ahead for me... and no AWC and maybe not even any big events. His welfare is a lot more important to me.</span></span>Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-48962594554928253692015-02-19T06:53:00.000-08:002015-02-19T06:53:02.876-08:00Erm.... Oops... Introducing Hex...I have an incredibly unplanned puppy... That is the long and the short of it. Basically I saw this picture on the Monday:<br />
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And by Thursday I had a puppy!<span id="goog_1053230705"></span><span id="goog_1053230706"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><br />
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He is from Psych's breeder, in fact he is a half brother. So many things in his favour that brought him here. I absolutely LOVE his mother, in fact my next Border Collie was planned from her or a grandchild of hers... of course this was supposed to be in a few years time. A good few years! Anyhow Tula (dam) is a bit of a noisy, crazy, nutso, hard as nails, non-stop looney tune! Explains why I like her right? He shares his father with Psych, a dog that I also adore. A tall, lanky, easy-going, workaholic boy from the UK (Astra Lad). Most of the other puppies had left (some of these pups in the background are from another litter), but the breeder had kept this little guy back for a bit, thinking he would rather keep him for a bit and look for the right serious working home...<br />
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Of course there are several factors that contributed to Hex coming home, but being a tri-colour with a left blue eye really did help his cause...<br />
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A few people have asked, why I would get a related dog, after stating several times that Psych has been the most difficult Agility dog I have trained to date. First and foremost I live with my dogs, Agility is a big second. I LOVE living with Psych, when she is not being a ultra serious, perfectionist, confidence lacking Agility dog, she is the most fun, amusing, intelligent and easy going dog to live with! I did, after all, take the pup with the strongest herding instinct when I chose her, so not completely unexpected. I love the confidence, character and intelligence of the <a href="http://chrisridogs.co.za/" target="_blank">Chrisri Dogs</a>...<br />
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Today Hex has been here a week, but looking at it, you would more guess that he has been living here for the last century. Luckily for me, we hit it off from the word go and he fits in like a dream. I look forward to many years together!<br />
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Without further a due:<br />
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Having an unplanned pup means a lot of crash planning for training and thinking of what one wants to do differently and the same from previous dogs. I am very busy with work at the moment, but really hoping to catalogue Hex's youth and training and my thoughts and some more videos on the blog. I am also hoping to fully catalogue his story growing up, but once again, we will see how things go with regards to work.Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-13667009674760895252015-01-02T06:57:00.000-08:002015-01-02T06:57:05.402-08:00The contact debate becomes the contact comparison...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My, my, it would appear that my previous post made the Facebook rounds in a moderate way... I kind of followed some of the threads around it, so here are some of my additional comments to add to the comments that have already been commented on comments I commented...<br />
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- Dave Munnings made a comment that was misinterpreted by some (he was referring to his own stress when training and I get that one!). Anyhow this interpretation led to several comments being made that handlers felt 2o2o training was 'stressful for their dogs'. Personally I have never been in a situation where I have not managed to make any form of training fun and carefree for a dog. I can't categorically state that in all eternity there will be a 100% guarantee of this, but I really believe that if any training is stressful for your dog, you can be doing something different. I don't think this is a valid argument for not training 2o2o, a nice excuse if you are looking for one, but not really a reason.<br />
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- There were a few references to the fact that people were teaching running contacts to 'lower drive'/'less confident' dogs because it was 'better'/'easier'/'more motivating' for them. I have seen the complete opposite side of this. With less confident dogs completely breaking down, because running contact criteria wasn't clear enough for them or the pressure and excitement was too much for them. I mean it when I say that I don't think there is ANY set of rules to determine which method is best for your dog. There are just too many factors (and combinations there of) that come into play: Confidence, work ethic, ability to handle failure, build, size, drive, weight, stride size, angulation, speed, intelligence... just to mention a FEW. No-one can categorically state that either running contacts or 2o2o WILL work for a dog because of XYZ... I still believe that each dog needs to be analysed individually. Remember, failures are hardly ever published, don't judge by the amount of success stories you see on the internet. The one big secret is KNOW YOUR DOG.<br />
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- One very important factor that was highlighted was the importance of course design. Several good examples of the AWC 2014, EO 2014 and EO 2012 was brought up. And if you watched this year's AWC you can also appreciate the different exits. Please remember these examples, as I will use them in the next comment I want to make:<br />
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Small Agility courses both had very severe turns off the dog walk:<br />
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Individual Agility:<br />
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1. Primadonna (Stopped)<br />
2. Amiga (Running)<br />
3. Jet (Stopped)<br />
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Team Agility:<br />
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1. Coopy (Running)<br />
2. Inna (Stopped)<br />
3. Eyleen (Stopped)<br />
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Medium Agility Courses, Individual had a straight-ish go round and team once again had a severe turn:<br />
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Individual Agility:<br />
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1. Kiki (Stopped)<br />
2. Esmerelda (Running)<br />
3. Olli (Stopped)<br />
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Team Agility:<br />
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1. Dizzy (Stopped)<br />
2. Esmerelda (Running)<br />
3. Curly (Stopped)<br />
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Large Agility Courses, Individual had a straight go round and team once again had a severe turn:<br />
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Individual Agility:<br />
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1. Lilli (Running)<br />
2. Hoss (Stopped)<br />
3. Chica (Running)<br />
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Team Agility:<br />
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1. Reav (Stopped)<br />
2. Hoss (Stopped)<br />
3. Elium (Stopped)<br />
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So this is only one competition and one set of results, but to me still proves that often, a course with a sharp turn after the DW will still favour stopped contacts.<br />
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-It also brings me to my next comment, with a lot of people saying that A. it is easier to teach a running contact to a Small dog and B. It is more necessary to have a running contact with a small and a medium dog. I strongly disagree with both. Once again it depends on a load of other factors, but I don't think the size or jump height category of your dog makes such a big difference, or more accurately the only difference. While it remains to be seen and I will take on a few students next year to test my methods, I think my way of teaching the running DW should be effective on any height dog, provided they meet a load of other criteria. Volt is purely the only one of my current dogs that it will work on, because he is self-propelled, forward driven and confident. <br />
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Now back to my own training:<br />
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Here is the next in my series of comparison videos:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/32Y10zRk4HM" width="420"></iframe><br />
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Things that I learnt today:<br />
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1. If I have forward motion, regardless of my position with regards to Volt, he has much better running hits.<br />
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2. A badly executed turn from a running contact is pretty useless and can be beaten by a 2o2o.<br />
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3. On a straight exit, a running contact is (quite logically) pretty unbeatable (1.18 seconds in my case). However even on slight turns the margin does become less (0.56 and 0.71 for today). You DO have to consider though, that the average difference in dog walks was only 0.451, so the actual exit increased the time gained. It DID encourage me to work on the timing of my quick releases (WAY too late still) as well as the speed and drive off my releases for 2o2o. I am sure I can significantly decrease this margin.<br />
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4. My dog is awesome... oh wait, I already knew that, didn't learn that today... still feel the need to share it though.<br />
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Those that follow this blog, will know that back in 2012, there was a Project A-Frame too... I started with a stopped A-Frame only. After AWC 2012, I decided to teach a running A-Frame... erm for straight exits only...<br />
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At the moment my plan is only to teach running exits in this range:<br />
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But then, that was my plan with Project A-Frame too... and I ended up teaching all turns in all directions. In all fairness teaching turns of the A-Frame is MUCH, much, MUCH easier. <br />
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Today's experiment however DID confirm my current way of thinking that dog walk exits in that range WILL be quicker, so all is good for now.<br />
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This experiment continues (think I will do some go-rounds next), but one thing I DO wish is that people would stop being blind, blind-folded, blinkered and stupid. By this I mean that I really want handlers and trainers to stop knocking one method OR the other and accept that both have merit. The proof is ALWAYS in the pudding and since both 2o2o and running dog walks still feature on local, national and international scenes. I don't think anyone has the right to be horrible, nasty, derogatory, evil, bitchy, negative or aggressive towards either method.<br />
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Much more importantly than 'having' running or stopped contacts, your dog (and you for that matter), should 100% understand and enjoy what they are doing.<br />
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Heehee (insert evil laugh here)... best solution is to have it all.... muhahaha, have both! Many brilliant trainers have proven it is possible and now so has Volt... just another tool in your toolbox right...<br />
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Happy, happy, happy New year and happy training!Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-48408498125874945882014-12-28T09:37:00.000-08:002014-12-28T09:37:12.377-08:00Back to the Contact DebateAs a former sworn enemy of the running contact, as well as a current trainer of dual contacts, I feel that I am still grasping the full matrix of pro's and cons, disadvantages and advantages, do's and don't s, yays and nays of running contacts vs. stopped contacts every day. Currently my conclusion is STILL that both have a place in Agility and will not win or lose the game for you. It does depend on your own abilities, time, patience and most importantly common sense. Now a few of my thoughts:<br />
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On 2o2o Contacts:<br />
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-I don't mind 'over-shooting', if my dog stops dead off the contact, but doesn't self-release so be it. In a training situation, I will encourage reversing or targetting for the contact with back legs, in competition, I would have released before this moment.<br />
- A slow or creepy positioning will not get rewarded. This generally means there are huge gaps in training, or problems have been created by handlers not making criteria clear enough, or messing up releases.<br />
- Striding is very important to me, yes, even in 2o2o, I actively train this. It is even more important in 2o2o in the sense that a small 'wobbly' will cause severe deceleration on the contact obstacle, because it is already an exercise in deceleration.<br />
- Position and release, POSITION and RELEASE, position and RELEASE, POSITION and release. If your dog does not have a 110% clear understanding of these two things, you are lost in the dark without a GPS. Many people tend to neglect their release.<br />
-When it comes to self-control exercises ON an Agility course, I don't believe in over-proofing or over-compensating. We are promoting super high drive and speed and super duper excitement on an Agility course. Personally I don't expect my dogs to hold a wait or a 2o2o or any other seriously controlled position while 15 people are throwing balls, 37 sheep are circling the dog walk with 15 border collies herding them, while 3 Mallinois does attack work on the judge and the president arrives in a helicopter. If a dog is struggling with the position, I won't ask for a 10 second wait, I will ask for 2 seconds and have something to reward. If a dog continuously self-releases, I won't UP the criteria for holding (increasing time or distractions), but rather decrease it and have something to reward. I work up to high levels of proofing with verbals (I can use tunnel/go go go with all my dogs but they won't release until the 'okay'), physical cues (I can sprint past, none of my dogs will move) and distractions (I can throw a ball or toy, but none of my dogs will move) and combined (so I can say go go go tunnel, while sprinting past and throwing a toy) and my dogs won't move until they have been released. BUT if a dog should break, you go back to making it easier and working back up to the ultimate proofing.<br />
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On Running Contacts<br />
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- I believe in very clear understandable criteria for dogs. While hind leg awareness is very important to me in my dogs with regards to Agility in general, I don't think hitting the contact with hind legs while in a full sprint is an actual understandable criteria. I was a long jumper in high school, for me to hit my mark correctly while in full sprint was hard enough, and I was only running on two and had a full comprehension of my requirements. Striding patterns can be taught easily enough though.<br />
- I believe the egg should come before the chicken. A dog should be willing to sprint/run/gallop full speed ahead/behind or next to the handler without chasing a toy or food before any contact training is taken on. I don't want my dogs to be running after a toy while they are negotiating any part of the plank/contact.<br />
-Running contacts might never have a 100% consistency rate. Accept it.<br />
- Running contacts are not meant for all dogs. You have to take the build/size/striding of your dog into account.<br />
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Comparing Running Contacts and Stopped Contacts<br />
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-It all depends on the scenario and course design. I have timed many a split in my life, as in tons, from small shows to EO and AWC and I have always found that sometimes stopped contacts still give you the edge. If you have both... well then you are in the pound seats.<br />
- Neither one is easy to teach, they all have difficulties and all dogs differ, so no predicting in what will be the easiest or the hardest with any given dog. Don't compare badly trained stopped contacts with running contacts and vice versa. A high success rate with high speed is possible in both.<br />
- Having trained both, I can assure you that teaching both PROPERLY are equally exhilarating.<br />
-Whether your dog is small, medium, large or anywhere in between is irrelevant, build, forward drive, striding and work ethic are the factors that will determine whether you can teach fast contacts or not.<br />
-If any part of your contact training depends on where you are, what you are doing with your pinkie or your middle toe or whether you get a word out at the right time or not, whether you stop or go, then I you still have work to be done. Contact performance, if trained properly, shouldn't depend on you.<br />
-2o2o requires more ring training and people often make the mistake of comparing splits/times of when the dogs is released compared to a running contact, instead of thinking when the dog WOULD have been released in a big competition (ie first foot touching contact zone)<br />
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All of that said and done, the point I am actually trying to make, is don't knock one method for another, properly trained, anything can be a winner. Today I did a quick comparison on Dog Walks only, over the next few weeks, I will do a few video studies involving different exits off Dog Walks to expand my ability to read my dog and course we may be presented with.<br />
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Today's video shows that, speedwise, 2o2o of dog walks can yield a very different performance depending on many factors, while running dog walks will show marginal differences in this regard. However hits with running dog walks differ a lot more than with stopped contacts. A lot of room for interpretation, thought and growth here...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Sv3i7wTKd_Y" width="420"></iframe>Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-19805426899635289632014-12-26T09:10:00.000-08:002014-12-26T09:10:16.139-08:002014<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UaD5Ju_DWGU" width="420"></iframe><br />
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While 2014 yielded my best, most enjoyable and most memorable AWC trip ever, I can honestly say that I wouldn't want the rest of the year ever again ;) Here is to hoping next year is a better one! But here are some of our highlights... bad year or good year, one thing that never changes is the fact that I have dogs that will make any experience better...Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-56389351525314744882014-11-28T10:28:00.000-08:002014-11-28T10:28:55.082-08:00Project Dog WalkLet me preface this post by saying that I am a big believer in Agility Evolution. Collectively as a sport, we are growing, learning, adjusting every day. And so we rightfully should. I have very little respect for trainers that get stuck in a rut due to prideful arrogance or ignorance. Obviously I have training 'rules' and systems in place, not only when running my own dogs, but also when teaching students. All trainers should, having criteria (and being consistent within your criteria) is the basis of dog training after all. However it is of utmost importance that through careful analysis, observation, research and logic, we constantly ensure that our methods, criteria and systems are the most efficient and effective training and handling methods.<br />
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So for example, I at once stage encouraged and actively taught 'reverse pivots' as a method of doing a pull through sequence. It fit in with my handling criteria. I depended on my shoulders as my main source of physical cueing. By doing a reverse pivot, I was opening my shoulders, encouraging what was effectively a recall to the front, before redirecting. Over the past few years I have improved/changed my training to greatly increase my dog's sensitivity to mere hand movements. I now actively DISCOURAGE reverse pivots as a method of doing pull through's, my reasoning being that it sacrifices the handler's ability to get course position, risks off course due to movement timing (due to increased sensitivity of dogs to hand movement) and the recall to the front act may cause hesitation. I don't just say these things willy nilly, I took video, analysed, timed splits, tried several different options that all support my current hypothesis. I never asked Chaos to compromise on his criteria. To this day, he still knows a perfect reverse pivot. When I made the 'change', I taught it as a brand new command, a brand new behaviour, with different criteria, different foundation. Similarly I at one stage discouraged blind crosses, back crosses, a down as a startline position etc. I have since learnt that all those things DO have their place.<br />
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I think trainers that evolve and admit their evolution (not try to pretend that they were always right, but package their 'new solutions' under false pretences) are the future of the sport.<br />
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So let's get back on track. Those that know me will know that I have been the world's biggest doubter of running contacts. The criteria attached to the available methods were just not clear enough in my mind. I am very much a 'black and white' kind of girl and there was just too much grey out there for me. I have great respect for Silvia Trkman, Jenny Dam (this handler is on a pedestal for me even, I have endless respect and admiration for her and often turn to her writings and teachings as a guide and inspiration) , Daisy Peel etc etc, that have achieved great success with running contacts. Their methods and input, while influencing my thought process, just didn't work 100% for my mind. That part hasn't changed. Not quite. But after a lot of observation, calculation (yup the actual mathematical kind, I LOVE math) and some calculated guesses, I determined that there was a way that I should be able to teach Volt running Dog Walks on top of his 2o2o (he already has a duel A-Frame).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQ6jQvCkzvKA-nmCxkiRtXSNv2DCYYNlKiRP3CR3R71Ck72CGdbbzSslvP0tGtxLsrC-hM7IuMgE5A6bfykzvlR3LQXD8YVNicky9Kio_sMphV_iaNJsYSEy5prDLuhRai57ilktV5AP8/s1600/Volt+AWC+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQ6jQvCkzvKA-nmCxkiRtXSNv2DCYYNlKiRP3CR3R71Ck72CGdbbzSslvP0tGtxLsrC-hM7IuMgE5A6bfykzvlR3LQXD8YVNicky9Kio_sMphV_iaNJsYSEy5prDLuhRai57ilktV5AP8/s1600/Volt+AWC+1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a>Currently my process is still one giant experiment, but I am starting to feel a lot more comfortable in my experiment parameters.<br />
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Below you will find 5 videos of our recent Dog Walk training. The training process, however, has not been the most interesting part in this journey though. Running contacts is one of those 'it' subjects. At the last few competitions, I have been running Not For Competition (NFC) with Volt, taking in his toy to try and bridge the 'training to competition' gap with minimum fuss using running Dog Walks. Unfortunately they have all been 'national' competitions, so I cannot post those rounds for now, but I am VERY happy with the result. It HAS however gotten some tongues rolling...<br />
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First of all, without exception, most people have assumed that I am using Silvia Trkman's training method. Immediately offering input that applies to this method. I always (try to) listen politely, thank the handlers and then inform them that I actually have not used the method at all. This is generally met with great suspicion (as if they don't believe me) and then criticism. While I can see some of the things she uses in Volt when he is running, it is just a cross-over, not intentional training. I do appreciate input in general, but it seems that even people that have not USED this method are stuck in this manner of thinking, while the followers, trainers and believers in this method struggle to accept that there is another way. Well maybe there is, maybe there is not, that is what my 'Project Dog Walk' is all about.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg981_pyDya0Hzcao9qPCtp8Vb0lIB63aixsB_4orb3vmUQk395fiv5ot0nq933tSbUjchbf2Em1oCi1WYZAUL7I52ku-CkkhUtCvTbrQmlXvaGb2GP8jvHeYccCoMe4Zm3RE1Iv8rjpLtL/s1600/Volt+SAC+2013+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg981_pyDya0Hzcao9qPCtp8Vb0lIB63aixsB_4orb3vmUQk395fiv5ot0nq933tSbUjchbf2Em1oCi1WYZAUL7I52ku-CkkhUtCvTbrQmlXvaGb2GP8jvHeYccCoMe4Zm3RE1Iv8rjpLtL/s1600/Volt+SAC+2013+1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>At this point in time, I don't know where this project will end for us, but as I always do with Volt, we are having a very (VERY, very, Very, very) large amount of fun with Volt. I assure you (because many people have confuse this issue), I have the greatest respect for 2o2o and will most probably never stop using it. Running contacts are not better or more fun for me, I enjoy the process of training a dog to achieve success with great enthusiasm, regardless of what I am doing. I don't think that running dog walks will ever be a 'must' to achieve amazing things, which include winning World Champs and European Opens. I am pretty convinced running dog walks will NOT be for all dogs (the same way I feel about 'four on the floor' or 'down' contacts). I am not nearly far enough along in the process to tell you whether what I am doing will work categorically. But I am looking for some 'sucker' students for next year to further develop my thought process with other dogs and handlers.<br />
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It might be worth a mention, that after timing many, many, many splits at this year's AWC (as in many, you should SEE the spreadsheets), I will not be trying to teach super tight turns off my running dog walks, but rather use 2o2o off for that. Even the best of dogs lost time in subsequent sequences to tight turn dog walks, where 2o2o were FASTER in total, despite the slower dog walks. But once again, let's see where we go with this. <br />
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13 November 2014<br />
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20 November 2014<br />
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21 November<br />
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26 November<br />
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28 November<br />
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I will keep you updated in my little training experiment. Until then happy training...<br />
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Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-83789828296381603542014-11-13T10:01:00.001-08:002014-11-13T10:01:30.974-08:00Overdue Post Travel TriviaThe team maketh the trip... that is a very sweeping statement, but also rather true. I had the best trip ever this year.... of all holidays and overseas trips ever, that has ever existed. I had the world's best travel companion, the ever relaxed and easy going Voltensteinenmeister dog. I had the world's most adventurous and hilarious team mates. We had an awesome team leader that truly understood the importance, the stress, the excitement, the meaning and the agility of the trip! We had an exciting and busy itinerary. Things to see and places to go. And German beer... lots and lots of German beer. The world is not complete without German beer. I had friends for laughter. Training partners for advice and support. Beagles for amusement. A German bus for precision, A Nigerian bus for seeing the sights. A camera to capture the moments. Spectators offering to carry all the heavy stuff, help at every turn. My ever faithful video camera for AGILITY. We had a crazy supporter that was willing to paint his face. There was lots of hiking (my favourite). There were butterflies. And rivers. And pretty scenery. There were caves... or cavelike things. There was sparkling wine and barrels. There was a HUGE hill and a race. A pretty city. New friends made and old ones reunited. It really was an amazing trip! I won't go into a day by day recount, I will get lost in foreverness if I did that. I have already forgotten so many things... I will try and share a FEW select photos that is not included in my videos...<br />
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But now I am guessing that if you are reading this, you care a little bit less about the beer and the views and the butterflies and a bit more about the Agility... Please be sure to read my previous post before I left before reading further (if you haven't yet of course... what is wrong with you, haha, are you not an addict of blogs like I am?) I went with very different ideas this year. Ideas of living and running and having fun and sharing an amazing time with my truly amazing dog Volt.<br />
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This I did. Volt absolutely loves being in Europe, not that surprising since he comes from there. He ran and partied and played his heart out all the time we were there. I was also privileged enough to meet Volt's breeder Jenny Vandenhole of Golden Fir Shelties. She travelled all the way from Belgium in her motor home (I say all the way, since she is not even an Agility competitor) to support all her pups that were competing. As far as breeders go, all I can say is wow! A woman that really remembers each and every pup she ever bred and got tears in her eyes when meeting up with them again. She truly has a passion for the breed and her contribution to it. She has a true interest in every dog she has ever produced. Needless to say, I will no doubt get a puppy<br />
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from her again. In fact, I nearly stole one her current pups that she brought with and promptly attached herself to my sleeve for a huge tugging game! I want to thank Jenny AGAIN (I have done it in a few ways already) for coming and supporting us. I really do appreciate it!<br />
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Next up I would like to make some general comments about the AWC. First of WOW and well done to the organisers this year! By far the best organised AWC I have been to, to date and I can really say that I felt they had the competitors best interest at heart. The volunteers themselves were amazing and friendly, the surface was good, the equipment in general was brilliant (except for the TABLE), the logistics was thought through and accurate. The venue was beautiful with plenty of running space and nice crating space. The arena itself was maybe not as ideal as previous years (being on ground level with the spectators and not 'below them' as many arenas in the past), but perfectly acceptable. All in all I was really impressed.<br />
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But speaking of the table... me (and many other spectators and competitors), felt that it was really surprising (and not a 'nice one, wow' surprise, an 'argh WHY?' surprise) that the table was used in all three rounds of team Agility. First of all because we haven't seen the table in many years in the AWC, but mostly because it is, in my opinion, an outdated obstacle that doesn't quite belong in modern Agility. A silly concept that breaks the beautiful fast flow and excitement of a good Agility run. To add to this, the table this year was made of a very slippery plastic surface and the electronic programming of it was not accurate. It put quite the damper on some rounds and cost good teams medals on the final podium. I hope that this obstacle gets reviewed and removed from FCI Agility.<br />
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Next up is a subject that has been very dear to my heart for many years, although it did not affect me at all this year (as I was only running my small dog). This is the up contact of the dog walk, see saw and A-frame (particularly the dog walk). That small fault cost several large dogs very good placings in the Individual Agility round this year, because the approach was a nice fast +- 7m approach from a tunnel.<br />
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None of these dogs came on at an angle, or compromised their own safety (the original reason for the contact points) or leaped it or jumped it. The reality is that we have all been training our dogs to run faster and faster and with bigger and bigger strides. Nothing wrong with that. Realistically many handlers are teaching their dogs to hit the up contact straight on like a target/fly ball box which is much less safe and more harmful for the dogs. I think we need to either increase the size of the up contact or think of another way to ensure a 'straight entry' onto the obstacle. Just my opinion, but if you want, the firing squad may now commence... just my opinion, but you are always welcome to share yours.<br />
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Very unfortunately for me, Super Woman with Super Immunity that hardly ever gets sick... well the flu hit me BIG time the night before the competition started. I was man-down and had to be drugged by my local vet that doubled as a pharmacist. It was utterly heartbreaking actually. I know that it did affect me... but in this story there are only reasons, no excuses :)<br />
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Here is a video of some of our Agility adventures and training before the competition started. How much more heart can one little dog have?<br />
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Now we can get to the important stuff... the beyond awesome Super Sheltie Voltensteinendogenmeister... but before we get there, here are some random pictures of butterflies and stuff...<br />
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The first round will always be the most nerve wrecking if you ask me. Especially since it is a team round. In team rounds you always have the added pressure of not disappointing your team mates. When we first got the course plan, I though that maybe it was rather on the easy side (you can find the courses on the website, or contact me if you can't find them and I will send them along. As I mentioned before, I was sick as a dog and drugged out of my skull, but I can super proudly say that my and the Bean Machine ATTACKED this course right out the start gates. We ran our hearts out until Volt came out tunnel 15 and I realised that I had NO clue where we were going... I actually had to search for the *insert swear word here* number. I eventually spotted number 16, but Volt was already wiiiiiide coming out of the tunnel and jumping in completely the wrong line for the line from 16 to 17, luckily he is such a super honest little dog and we could recover and come back with a clear, but that little mistake cost us a lot of time. I don't know if the moment was too big or if my drug clouded brain just malfunctioned for a second... it is all irrelevant though, since Volt still had a ball and couldn't care about the 2 odd seconds we might have wasted. He was my rockstar.<br />
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On Saturday we were running 2 rounds, one team and one individual. It is not always easy to switch your mind from one to the other, but being our 'third' (2013 was different) year at AWC, I really felt my and Volt's relationship was right up there and ready for what the world could throw at us. The morning was Individual jumping and the course was AWESOME! Tricky and fast and tested some nice skills. I walked several options and I was ready to go. I was determined to maintain focus all the way around the course, unlike the previous day. Once again I was very happy with our start, especially the blind against the flow tunnel entry, which is not our strongest point. But as I sent Volt over the long jump, I realised that I had completely lost peripheral course positioning and I had to look around for the next obstacle. I was gutted, as this left me completely out of position for the very hard pole entry which I knew Volt could actually nail! I scrambled for a few seconds, managed to recover and get him in and run the rest of the round, which was a bit wide and uncontrolled from my side (as always my dog was awesome), as I was still flustered.<br />
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I walked off the course feeling proud of my dog, being happy that we at least had no course faults, but our time would be off pace. As I turned around I saw 5 faults on the scoreboard. I was completely rattled. I turned to my friend that had walked to the start line with me and queried where I had gotten faults... he looked at me like I was crazy, and told me I was clear. He had also not seen my faults called. Turns out the judge had called me for handling before the weave poles. I will admit that I was quite devastated, I took Volt for a looooong walk. And he played. And bounced. And smelled the flowers. And fetched me a leaf. And he just didn't care that we had some number written on a score sheet somewhere. And the less Volt cared, the less I cared. I still got to go home with the best dog! This got us back on track quickly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0uKmUwJO43tKI9KW2rgkdmMTQ7_S7VlahUw-m6Nv8MM429mQowE8dWC450MVOiWLUrVFflj4shJWqsHp-e0J3BpjXlU_lRVRUR9hFLRYMoHi7rX2dkvXupqY9fcedhlNRCWFRij0pBpVe/s1600/IMG_5061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0uKmUwJO43tKI9KW2rgkdmMTQ7_S7VlahUw-m6Nv8MM429mQowE8dWC450MVOiWLUrVFflj4shJWqsHp-e0J3BpjXlU_lRVRUR9hFLRYMoHi7rX2dkvXupqY9fcedhlNRCWFRij0pBpVe/s1600/IMG_5061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0uKmUwJO43tKI9KW2rgkdmMTQ7_S7VlahUw-m6Nv8MM429mQowE8dWC450MVOiWLUrVFflj4shJWqsHp-e0J3BpjXlU_lRVRUR9hFLRYMoHi7rX2dkvXupqY9fcedhlNRCWFRij0pBpVe/s1600/IMG_5061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0uKmUwJO43tKI9KW2rgkdmMTQ7_S7VlahUw-m6Nv8MM429mQowE8dWC450MVOiWLUrVFflj4shJWqsHp-e0J3BpjXlU_lRVRUR9hFLRYMoHi7rX2dkvXupqY9fcedhlNRCWFRij0pBpVe/s320/IMG_5061.JPG" width="320" /></a>The next round was team Agility. Once again a super awesome, super technical, super skills, super lines, super duper course. I really like it! The only problem was... that again it had the table in it. The table had already malfunctioned several times during Large and Medium and I was very surprised that the FCI commission and judges STILL decided to use it in our course. Our team made a deal to slow down our dogs drastically before the obstacle to ensure that our dogs didn't have slips like the medium dogs the day before. The judging on the table was a bit inconsistent due to all the problems that it had been giving throughout the competition, but such is life... some calls go your way and others don't. Volt had an all in all awesome round on this course, other than the refusal fault at the table that I caused with ridiculous mistrust and over-managing in my own dog (seriously, if I was Volt, I would have bitten me). His A-Frame was one of his random Crazy Super Sheltie A-Frames where he under-estimates his own power and then still desperately tries to meet his striding criteria. Have to love this awesome honest dog!<br />
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Our last round was the individual Agility. A very nice course again (I personally think the smalls had the very nicest courses at the AWC). There were two sequences where I had two distinct choices where I knew we could do both, but I couldn't decide what was the best. I often walk plan A, B, C, D and E... and kind of make up my mind on the spot.... so this part is nothing new for me, but somehow I managed to make the wrong choice at the weave poles... Volt was flying and my forced front cross was just too late, I physically pulled my dog into the wrong entry! The other maybe not so good choice that I made was back crossing the dog walk. Normally this is one of Volt's best 'moves' as he drives very hard, but at this big event, his dog walks slowed down when I tried this. A lesson learned, don't worry and watch this space for my solution... heehee *she says rubbing hands together secretly in anticipation*.<br />
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Here is our official AWC videos:<br />
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All in all, I felt that Volt really held his own with the world class dogs this year. Of course we have a lot of work to do, but that never stops in Agility. We had an amazing time together and we did ourselves proud. I couldn't be more happy! Of course I cannot predict what our journey together will bring along next, but we are both ready for whatever the world may throw at us!<br />
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In my next post, I will write about more recent teaching travels and training projects of my own....<br />
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<br />Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-59476651664134837552014-08-30T12:24:00.001-07:002014-08-30T12:24:32.913-07:00Preparing for Luxembourg...In 5 days we are flying the approximate 8963km, from Johannesburg to Frankfurt. We will then drive the 198km from Frankfurt to Luxembourg, where we will be spending the majority of our stay.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlQmetrANPqFrDyekVz7nkn8I0-EzEalaqSHnJKWxDeEi8MIsDwgRfAh12Nz-p7CsWbTxkRFxWRZPtad_JT3xiBzywMyPmPMszQWFsOfI0SUzbgOPofY6gHjZirJTylnfJYpManyqEZsZ/s1600/Volt+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlQmetrANPqFrDyekVz7nkn8I0-EzEalaqSHnJKWxDeEi8MIsDwgRfAh12Nz-p7CsWbTxkRFxWRZPtad_JT3xiBzywMyPmPMszQWFsOfI0SUzbgOPofY6gHjZirJTylnfJYpManyqEZsZ/s1600/Volt+24.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a>Each 'World Championship Event' has it's own feel, format, it's own personality. I don't think preparation for any final that an Agility handler might run is the same... my take on the South African road to the FCI Agility World Championships is just a single view, a single opinion, a single way of preparing.<br />
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As a South African, I travel halfway across the world, spending a large sum of money. This is a choice I make, it is something that you work towards over many months. Once you are selected for the team, there are mounds of paperwork and technical details: flights, cargo costings, titre tests, EU Health Certificates, Customs Clearing, Schengen Visa Applications, flight crates, to mention a few. On top of that most of us need to do some serious fundraising (we are talking a trip that costs in the region of 2800 Euro or 3700 dollars here). In between holding a day job and planning logistics, this trip is not something to be underestimated.<br />
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In between worrying about all of the above there is the actual preparation...<br />
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This is not all 'running AWC judge courses'... If I ran one full course a week in the last month it is a lot... It started with analysing my own weaknesses (weave poles speed, full wraps and a million other thing), improving those, thinking of better ways, videos and analysis, dreams and sleepless nights. Only then did I analyse courses from the AWC judges, A LOT of courses, pulling them apart and separating the small individual sequences and then analysing the patterns and calculating the repetitions percentage for each judge... yes I am VERY technical.... Then overlapping my own skill strengths and weaknesses with judge habits and determining the best ways to train these individually to build our partnerships as strong as possible... have the most skills possible available at our finger tips. There is of course also fitness and muscle building exercises to ensure we are both as strong as we can possibly be. And then my best friend, The Mental Game. Making sure that I am prepared for every step from leaving South Africa, to stepping on the start line. Coping with disappointment and failure, just as much as success and triumph. Prioritising, shutting out, keeping in. Practising startline routines and exiting the ring and rewarding. I have two team rounds, where I owe it to my team mates to keep it together, to make sure that we stay in the game, recovering from mistakes and making it through. I know Volt runs at his best when I run all out, with everything I have, but balancing that with not incurring a disqualification is the key. I have two individual rounds where there is only one rule, all or nothing, those are the Agility rounds that I live for. I will have to be sure to run each round as it is called for.<br />
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Now I am starting to get excited. I am a traveller after all. Sight-seeing and laughs with good friends. A European 'Braai' (barbecue). A local show. A team that wants to. A fun fair. My runs in the morning. Seeing 'old' Agility friends and making new ones (if you read this blog and you are going to Luxembourg, come and say hi). Quality time with Volt. New food. Good BEER! Walks with my dog. An unforgettable experience.<br />
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The support from Agility South Africa has been absolutely mind-blowing this year. People from near and far have been showing their enthusiasm for our team in so many ways and I hope we will do everyone proud! I want to thank everyone, sorry if I forgot to do it personally. All your messages, all your good luck gifts, all your kind words and all your positive thoughts will be going with me to Luxembourg. I want to especially thank my amazing training partners and friends, the journey has been one that is bigger and more important than words.<br />
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I don't go to the AWC to win. If I had to spend all the time and effort and money to have the goal of winning, the outcome has a very small chance in being successful. I go to the AWC to have the most awesome Agility holiday ever (this year I am fortunate enough to have awesome friends on the team even). I go to learn from people across the world. I go in with the knowledge that I have given the preparation my all, I am ready. I will give every round, every second my all, I will run to the absolute best of my ability. I go to do Volt proud, do him justice and give him the rounds of his life. I go out there to make my country proud, regardless of the results on paper. This entire journey has brought me and Volt so much closer and our relationship is stronger than ever. Those 30 seconds (x4) we are going to spend out in that Arena, the Arena of Dreams, the Arena that has made some and broken some, those few seconds are really just a small part of our story, but without that Arena, this journey would not have happened. I go with no regrets and I am not planning on returning with any. My journey might include podiums, disqualifications, top 10s, unexpected moments, medals, but it will not change the outcome. My time with my amazing partner.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/FK_3sv7OovI" width="420"></iframe>Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-55869272367598372312014-07-02T06:47:00.003-07:002014-07-02T06:47:45.104-07:00LuxembourgI have been terrible at blogging this year... mainly because things don't stop happening in 2014... bad things, some good things, more bad things, neutral things, bad things, good things... that thing called life you know.<br />
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Today all I want to say is that me and Volt are going to Luxembourg! We will take part in the team and the individual events... if I had won the lottery, maybe Chaos would have been going as well, he really did perform well over the weekend of the Try Outs (he walked away Reserve South African Agility Champion 2014), however without the added pressure of competing for a spot on the team, things do have a very different dynamic.<br />
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Volt and me had a bit of a roller-coaster ride leading up to the Try Outs.... for the whole year I have been very concerned that Volt is just 'not right', but the vets and physios could not find anything wrong. Then 10 days before the finals, the chiropractor saw Volt... and FIXED him ten times over. He fixed him so much that Volt quadrupled in speed, leaving me jogging behind with dust in my eyes. Literally in every single training session leading up to the finals me and Volt dq'd... generally spectacularly because I was not used to him running The Flash.<br />
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I decided that I would take it as it comes, in actual fact I couldn't care less about our result or whether we would go to Luxembourg or not, I was just happy I had my super speedy super Sheltie back.<br />
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The first course was a very enjoyable technical course and Volt was running so amazingly that I did not foresee our elimination AT ALL. So we started off on the back foot. In the next round we had 5 faults due to another timing error on my part. Admittedly I ran my last two rounds a bit more carefully, but still very happy with how Volt handled it all, finishing 2nd in the third round and winning the last round.<br />
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And more importantly we qualified as the second highest qualifier for the South African Agility Team (highest qualifying small dog). So now the FUND RAISING and preparation for the World Champs begin!<br />
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Chaos was beyond amazing the entire weekend, after a dog walk fault in our first round, he managed 3 clears to become the Reserve South African Agility Champion. SO proud! This amazing dog has given me everything he possibly could in the last 8 years and he keeps on giving more, getting better and stronger. He really is my heart and my soul!<br />
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I am really looking forward to seeing many of my international Agility friends in Europe in September. And making some new ones! And now I would like to introduce you to Team South Africa 2014:</div>
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Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-12485476123516992652014-04-16T12:01:00.002-07:002014-04-16T12:01:24.643-07:00An Away Weekend...So on my return from a weekend of HOT weather, the beach, fun, drama and lots of Agility, I guess I should contemplate things a little bit... I will start off with my awesome dogs, travelling with them is always a pleasure and I appreciate every moment I get to spend with them.<br />
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Volt never used to have environment issues, as a youngster (okay he is STILL a youngster, but I mean a YOUNG youngster), he travelled a lot, both in the car and on flights, before and after the start of his Agility career and never showed any signs of stress. However last year, in Port Elizabeth, things changed, even though I still don't know why. Twice we travelled there last year and twice he was stressed, unwilling to run, slow, distracted and all those other qualities that breaks my heart. With changing handling plans, running some rounds with a toy and the help of fantastic friends with regards to rewarding and de-stressing, I feel we made progress as the weekend went along, although not nearly running to his full potential, we definitely got somewhere. I am determined to work all the way through the Bean-en-Stein's environment issue and insure he is a Happy Sheltie Dog under ALL circumstances. Regardless of his issues, the little dude DOES know how to be consistent, raking in a total of 10 Qualifying Certificates and over-all Small wins for all his categories. Honestly I think his results mostly reflect the lack of Small competition in South Africa though. Regardless I had a ball with Beans in Port Elizabeth, he loved the beach, had some tugging games of note with certain Border Collies and made sure he made his V for Volt mark ;)<br />
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This was Psycho Malycho Slinky Malinky Chicken Licken dog's first 'show weekend'. On top of this, Psycho has been a very different challenge since day 1. While being the dog I have bonded with the most easily and while crawling so deep into my heart, she is a very difficult Agility dog, but I can definitely see why she was the herding pick of the litter. While everyone has their mouthful about how she runs, what I should be doing, what I did wrong and why I will never get it right, the handful of people that have actually been involved in her training, understand the long journey this has been and how long it will still be. I think she has a bright future though and I enjoy almost every second of the challenge. What was even better than the Agility is the manner in which the Malycho handled the travel, playing with everything human and canine when she had the chance and sleeping when I wanted her too, playing games, herding on the beach (even with waves crashing over her head) and being generally good! She even pulled of a stunning winning clear round with a qualification (which was unfortunately not caught on video).<br />
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But the most jaw-dropping performance of the weekend came from the Spaz. At almost 8 years old, Chaos keeps surprising me, while my handling was off on a couple of rounds, I forgot two courses and I made a couple of bad choices, Chaos managed to pull off 13/19 clear rounds, knocking only 3 bars in all those rounds. He won 3 x Agility, 2 x Non Contact and 1 x Dog Jumping QC's and maybe could have added to that if his handler didn't turn into a ditz on occasion. What made me the happiest is that he came off the weekend perfectly sound with not even a hint of stiffness! It will never stop amazing me how much heart this dog has and how he somehow just manages to find a little bit more to give me every single day of his life!<br />
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A few things caught my attention this weekend...<br />
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The lack of rewarding dogs. Rather sad to see how many dogs give it their all and storm out the ring into nothingness for nothingness. Well done to those that did!<br />
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The commitment and success of handlers against all odds. Those handlers that have no support system or mentors close by. Starting schools from the bottom up. Training on their own.<br />
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Running for 'clears' and not for running. The screaming, over-managing, lack of handling, nerves, stress, unhappiness and blame is not always fun to witness. Wish more people could find the enjoyment of running for yourself and your dog.<br />
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The willingness to ask for advice from random 'strangers'. Handlers that recognised their shortcomings and recognised the strength of others and tried to bridge the gap.<br />
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The lack of contacts. Well not so much as the bitching and moaning OVER the lack of contacts while in the same breath failing to be consistent in actually training and running the contacts.<br />
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The willingness to share advice. The handlers that were willing to share the information on their strengths and promote other handlers fixing their own problems.<br />
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The lack of knowledge in the rules. From both judges and competitors. Worse than that? When politely pointed out or rudely confronted (yes both happened), instead of admitting and correcting, getting hackles up and trying to defend the lack of logic or blatant ignorance. Would love it if the whole country could attempt in a friendly manner to get on the same page, recognise short-comings and understand difficulties. Incompetence is a reason, not an excuse.<br />
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As you may notice, there was good and bad to the weekend, but I had a thoroughly good time! So did my dogs! So did my travel companions! I might share some more thoughts on Psycho and rules and training and rewarding soon... but for now I will just enjoy the afterglow of a fun weekend.<br />
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<br />Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-10707443544514611952014-02-24T11:30:00.001-08:002014-02-24T11:30:36.343-08:00Where have I been?This year... 2014... well if it has been a crazy one so far. If I updated you on it all you would still be reading tomorrow morning and the day after.<div>
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So concisely then where have I been?</div>
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Fixing stuff that is broken. Everything in our house broke. Gate motor, freezer, cars, it didn't stop.</div>
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In Hospital... some undiagnosed, unidentified, mystery disease that left me with a fever of nearly 40 degrees (Celcius btw), nutso crazy bloodwork and general 'feeling-like-crapness'. All fixed now, but still no idea what it was.</div>
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Studying. Yes in my old (haha funny me, I will never be old :) ) age I decided to study again. I am now officially a Basic Ambulance Assistant. Hoping to start working on the Ambulance soon. Absolutely love it.</div>
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Working. A lot. After I initially decided Luxembourg was off the table this year, I have decided it is back on the table so now the race to save up enough money is on.</div>
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Losing and finding Chaos. Well we kind of lost each other and we are currently busy finding each other again. We have been terribly disconnected of late. But yesterday we had one hell of a rocking day at our second SA Champs/AWC trial. They boy knocked my socks off let me tell you. Videos on these trials of ours will follow much later, as I will wait for all provinces to finish all trials before posting any. Chaos has always been my special boy. Most other people will say 'special' in inverted commas. That is what makes life with him so rewarding. </div>
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Wallowing and wading in the awesomeness that is my awesome Voltensteinenmeister Sheltie dog. We have a lekker training group going and it is doing the already cool Volt another seven worlds of good. And me, probably mostly me. He has always been close to perfect, me not so much. He is doing well in competition, and kicking ass and taking names in training, here is some of that:</div>
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Psycho Malyko Girly Whirly Slinky Malinky Chicken dog finally came into season, only took her 16 months. Now THAT was a pain in the butt... just not being able to compete with her. How painful with outdated, stupid rules. Please note that my ENTIRE male dogs trained with her in a crate a few meters away with no problems, so honestly get terribly annoyed when people tell their crazy stories of how it is impossible for entire males to work through a bitch in season. Moving on. At her second show back, my baby child ran her first clear round!</div>
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All in all I have many Agility related thoughts that I may or may not have the time to share in the near future...</div>
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The End.</div>
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Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-72133292163435158152013-12-09T13:21:00.000-08:002013-12-09T13:21:04.759-08:002013... A year in WOWAnd by WOW I do NOT mean World of Warcraft, in fact I played very little of that this year.<br />
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I didn't quite realise... wait let me rephrase that, I STILL don't quite realise what a phenomenal ride my dogs took me on this year. <br />
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But let's talk about WHY this has been the year in WOW...<br />
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The round that changed my life. Before you watch this unspectacular, yet momentous round, think about this... I live in a small country with a tiny little Agility community on the other side of the world of all the OTHER Agility countries. So what means a lot to me, might not mean a lot to you... but honestly I am not really going to care.<br />
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In 2012 I by some miracle, support and, in my own personal opinion,dubious selections, won a spot in both the South African Large Team and Individual competitions for the AWC. I was also on the South African Small Team, but that is not quite relevant to this story yet.<br />
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From day 1, when I picked my pony puppy, I felt a connection to him, I saw a light that no-one else could see until many years later. As the years went by, I learnt to really appreciate the small things with Chaos, as the ride was a roller-coaster... a bumpy roller-coaster in the middle of a thunderstorm at that. But the fruit of our works slowly accumulated and I was fortunate to end up in a really supportive, understanding and motivated Large Team in 2012 (thank you Helena, Annaret and Julie for this experience).<br />
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Up until the SA Champs/AWC Team Selection weekend, I had quite a problem with mental management. I am not afraid to admit that. During that weekend I had a rather thoughtful friend that did all but crumple my toilet paper for me. Embarrassing as that dependence might seem, it did lead to me making the team, which lead to me having a life-changing round, so it is all good up to here.<br />
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Being realistic and all, I knew I wasn't exactly aiming for an individual podium position... let's face it, maybe 10-20 dogs every year really have that potential, but it just wouldn't be the same if only those 10 or 20 dogs competed for the title. But we had a team that we knew could do well enough to matter for us (which we did, finishing 9th... the best finish since the SA gold medals in 2004 and 2005). This is where my head-space, my preparation, my thoughts and my dedication went in the months leading up to this event. I managed to run a (albeit not so pretty) clear round in the team jumping even... the next event was the Individual Jumping... and it very suddenly, harshly and fantastically hit me while I was in the queue... I have nothing to lose??? How cool is that??? (and yes it actually took me 16 years of competing in Agility to FINALLY realise that). I started with a smile on my face, Chaos started with a skip in his beat and we ran the best round ever (up to that time, remember this is more than a year ago)... I ended up with tons of faults due to one small miscalculation, but it didn't matter! I remember taking Chaos out after that round for a long and private celebration that had lots of happy tears and tennis balls.<br />
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While that was far from perfect, it was as perfect as I will ever feel again.<br />
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From that moment Agility bumped up 10 levels of fun, enjoyment, go, love, investment, commitment, laughter and competition for me and my dogs (no, competition is NOT a bad thing, I think it is fantastic for a good relationship with one's dog... especially competition against yourself).<br />
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Of course we have still had our ups and our downs. Frustration, pain, happiness, humour and pure ecstasy just like before. But everything went to a next level. Things I never thought possible, wins and losses that I never even imagined became a reality. An experience that I could never put into words. This last year has been madness of good AND bad, but one thing remains... I have to be so thankful to my dogs for their continuous commitment to our journey in the sport I love so much. I won't deny that the National League wins, the SA Champ medals, the QC's and the World Team isn't very friggen awesome, but also the fun, the laughs, the dq's, the training and the cuddles is something beyond explanation. <br />
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To my friends (I won't embarrass you by mentioning names), my training partners, my husband and my mother... I could never thank you enough for your continuous support and I look forward to many more years of just that.<br />
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My advice to Agility handlers everywhere and anywhere is to Love and Live YOUR game and let the rest of the world pass by. We are all fortunate enough to already take the best partners home, so nothing else matters.<br />
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Just to end of my year, Chaos and Volt rewarded me by winning their respective categories in the National Agility League and Psycho Kiddie Winks decided to learn how to weave...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UgcPEH5mJWA" width="560"></iframe>Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-70327145594387251052013-11-18T21:14:00.003-08:002013-11-18T21:14:28.278-08:00Agility is rewardingRecently I was watching a large group of handlers 'mess around' before starting an Agility class. I was rather gob smacked at some handlers' response to their dogs though. Please note I am all for messing around, me and my dogs have learnt such valuable lessons while in a slightly chaotic, informal environment. Although even a setting like that has to has its rules. And most importantly handlers should know that it should NEVER change your feedback system. By this I mean your rewards and markers and reaction.<br />
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Controlled chaos is good for proofing and having fun too. This doesn't mean you should have 3 of your own dogs running loose, all trying to please you at the same time. Generally this leads to you screaming at one and affecting all. Remember, our dogs understand body language and tone of voice, they don't ACTUALLY understand English. If you don't believe me, ask my friend that accidentally taught her German Shepherd to lie down every time she said Damnit! Even in craziness your dog should have your near sole attention and devotion. I say near, because just like driving, Agility generally requires you to at least be a little bit aware. And when I say a little bit, I mean A LOT. While I will admit watching two people send their dogs into the weaves from opposite sides could be amusing, it is a lot more detrimental than anything else. Do that three or four times and instead of worrying about finding the next gate in the weave poles, Fido is going to be a lot more concerned about impending possibility of head-on collisions. So be aware. Of dogs, people, cars, equipment, squirrels, geese and raining meatballs.<br />
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Okay lets get to the important part though... rewarding.<br />
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Failing is training. If you haven't failed you haven't trained. It is important to push the boundaries and until you have not pushed it a little bit too far, you don't know where your limits are. Failing is also the difference in teaching our dogs to think and have some understanding of what they are doing and just teaching another parrot. But at no time does this mean you should be holding your dog hostage to a reward. Just because your dog 'failed', you shouldn't be bodily removing the reward from them, while flinging insults like a bully in the school yard.<br />
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A reward and a marker are two different things. The reward is what the dog gets after you have marked it. So in the dog's mind the process should be something like this: 'La-la-la, okay lets try to lie down, okay nothing, must be something different, let's try to sit, OOOOOOH marker, yeah baby, NAILED it, now where is that damn squeaky rabbit'. You can mark using a clicker, your voice or a French horn for all I care, but you mark immediately and then REWARD. It is always rather amusing when I teach a class and a student comes sauntering over at leisure after doing a 15 jump sequence, just to be startled by my Boot Camp persona yelling at them to 'reward, reward, reward'. Before listening to other people's input, before going to have a sip of coffee you really do need to reward. Even in a class environment, well actually especially in a class environment. Make sure you have engaged your dog in some fashion (with food, toys, cuddles), before listening to your instructor's analysis. Honestly I would rather see handlers 'accidentally' reward (so reward to early and the dog actually made a mistake), than NOT reward immediately after the dog has done something correctly.<br />
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Pick your battles. If you are struggling with three different sections of a 16 obstacle sequence and by some miracle, you happen to get one of these sections right. Stop and REWARD immediately. Don't be a hero and immediately try and run the rest. Chances are (since you were already struggling) that you will get it wrong again at which point you are left with two options: Reward and your dog is most likely to connect it to what he last did, which was get a subsequent sequence wrong, or don't reward, leaving Fido confused as to what exactly was right and wrong.<br />
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Be in control. People have their preferences, dogs have theirs, but sometimes people are just lazy. You have to know the value, potential, limitations and implications of each reward you use. For one, there are only a few instances where I choose to reward with a ball thrown ahead. This is a very dis-connected reward, its value is higher further away from me (otherwise the fetch game wouldn't have much of a challenge now would it) and once it has left your hand, you don't have much control over it. It is good for situations (especially with the lower confidence dog) where you want to teach dogs acceleration away from the handler. Tug toys are in complete control of handlers, which is fantastic. It should not be used to encourage 'velcro-ism'. Dogs should only come into their tug toy reward once they have heard their marker. The same goes for food. Don't leave the reward lying on the ground if you are going to have control issues. If your dog will shoot off in the middle of an exercise to go and find that reward. If you were a moron and you DID do this, do not under any circumstances scream at the dog for going to get his reward. You can't punish your dog for your stupidity and you do not want to connect any negativity to what is supposed to be your dog's reward. Phone a Friend. Ask someone else to help out and hold the reward and give it at the right moment.<br />
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Know your customer. Dogs have different tolerances. Some dogs will completely break down and phone the suicide hotline if a reward is withheld more than once. With dogs like this, sometimes you need to offer the reward without using a marker, just to keep their confidence up. You are basically saying 'okay you haven't gotten it right yet (no marker), but things will be okay and the world won't end today (have some food/a tug). Other dogs don't need a confidence boost and will be happy to try and try again until kingdom come. My Psycho Slinky for example, bless her nerdy little soul, will NOT take a reward if she feels she hasn't done something right, even when I am begging her to take it. I also know that after a few tries of not getting it right, she will panic. So if we fail a few times at any one thing, I will ask her to do something which she is almost guaranteed to get right (like a tunnel), mark THAT and reward. But heaven help me if I tried a stunt like that with 'prom king' Volt, he would take advantage of me in so many ways it is not even true. Volt was issued with 3 cc's of extra confidence when he was manufactured. Volt KNOWS the world won't end, he doesn't need me to tell him that.<br />
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Be effective. If you throw a ball as a reward, Fido kind of starts after it and then veers of 47 degrees North East to go and pee on a tree, your award wasn't effective. It is fair and well to have all this theory about what toy is the best or what kind of treat, but if the reward holds no value for your dog, it is pointless.<br />
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Your feedback system is the only guidance your dog has to what is wrong or right. So if they ARE getting something wrong, it is best you look at which part of your feedback is confusing them.<br />
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In conclusion: Reward your dogs!<br />
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Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-88422397963000787802013-11-05T04:33:00.000-08:002013-11-05T04:33:32.595-08:00First response - A short explanationAfter some feedback from handlers that read my previous post, I would like to clarify the following (sorry international followers, again it is a South African thing).<br />
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The SA Champs regional trials and the AWC regional trials are NOT the same thing (contrary to what many handlers believe). They follow two completely different sets of rules (Schedule 5L Appendix C applies ONLY to AWC Trials and Schedule 5L Appendix D applies ONLY to SA Champs). Historically these two competitions have been run in conjunction (in other words the same actual rounds have been used for both competitions, but the different rules applied for the different competitions).<br />
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The regional trials would therefore still go ahead exactly as it has in the past, but ONLY the SA Champs rules/results applied to determine who qualifies for the SA Champs event. So the top 40 large dogs, top 10 medium dogs and top 10 small dogs would still qualify for the SA Champs.<br />
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The proposal that came from us and is currently being discussed applies ONLY to the AWC regional trials. In other words, instead of what has been happening over the years, where dogs that did NOT qualify for SA Champs and has NO intention of making Team South Africa to Europe for the AWC, but entered the AWC regional trials are invited to the finals/SA Champ, ONLY the dogs that intend to MAKE the team will be able to compete at the finals/SA Champs. Most of which already qualified for the SA Champs.<br />
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I am hoping this clarify matters.Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-11710443435345661452013-11-04T04:06:00.001-08:002013-11-04T04:18:53.497-08:00Here are the facts...This is a post for my South African friends... I will try to explain the ins and outs to my international followers as well, but this post is purely about the selection of the South African Agility team for the FCI AWC.<br />
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How it currently works:<br />
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The Point System<br />
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- Points are awarded as follows:<br />
0 faults - 10 points<br />
In addition, bonus points are awarded as follows: SCT-Dog's Time = Bonus points<br />
Bonus points are awarded for clear rounds ONLY<br />
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(Prior to 2013 bonus points were awarded differently: 0-1.99 seconds under SCT = 1 bonus point, 2-.3.99 seconds under SCT = 2 bonus points, 4-5.99 seconds under SCT = 3 bonus points etc)<br />
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0.01- 5 faults - 8 points<br />
5.01 - 10 faults - 6 points<br />
10.01 - 15 faults - 4 points<br />
15.01-20 faults - 2 points<br />
20.01 - 25 faults - 1 point<br />
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- The winner in each height category is awarded 1 bonus point<br />
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The Format<br />
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- Four regional trials are run, consisting out of a Contact (Agility) and Non Contact (Jumping) round each.<br />
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- Each dog drop their worst contact score and worst non-contact score. <br />
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- Adding each dog's best three contact scores and best 3 non-contact scores, you get the trials total for each dog. The top 10 Small dogs, top 10 Medium dogs and top 40 Medium dogs are invited to the finals.<br />
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- At the finals each dog runs two contact rounds and two non-contact rounds.<br />
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- To determine the South African Agility squad, points are calculated as follows:<br />
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Finals points + 1/3 of the regional trials points = Total points<br />
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- All dogs (irrespective of height category) are placed onto one scoring table. The top 9 dogs (provided not more than 6 are in the same height category) will be awarded spots in the Individual competition at the AWC, the top 4 dogs in each height category will be awarded spots in the Team competition at the AWC.<br />
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The logistics<br />
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- Each year a National Course Coordinator is appointed. This person has to source courses, historically the majority of courses were designed by local judges (in 2010/2011 it was approved that competing judges could also submit courses), in 2013 courses were sourced from the Norwegian AWC judge.<br />
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- Courses are adapted by the National Course Coordinator and coordinates for each obstacle is determined, using an A/B Baseline system. For hurdles and the tyre jump only a centre coordinate is determined. For the contact obstacles, tunnels, weave poles and long jump a start coordinate and end coordinate is determined. <br />
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- Each province nominates a non-competing provincial course coordinator. The National coordinator will send the courses to the provincial coordinators once they have been selected. Provinces can then run the regional trials in the months of January, February and March. It is not very often that provinces can manage to run the courses on the same day.<br />
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- Should there be a mistake on the course plan or a query, the provincial course coordinators should phone the national coordinator to seek clarification. It is also the responsibility for the provincial course coordinator to set the angles of each jump, which has to be done using a course plan (since only a centre coordinate is given for the hurdles).<br />
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- Courses are supposed to be at a grade 3 level. Speeds used are supposed to be an average of the speeds used at the previous year's AWC.<br />
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- The courses at the final are also supposed to be of a Grade 3 level, however the judges have the discretion to set the speeds to what they want.<br />
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That is the system in a nutshell.<br />
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Now for the last 3 years, I have been researching, studying, investigating and calculating the effectiveness and fairness of the trials. Two and a half years ago, roughly, I submitted my preliminary findings to my provincial committee. My research included the statistics of local results, photos, video, as well as extensive research into the qualifying systems of other countries, focussing on countries with the best medal histories at the AWC. Our provincial committee then continued the research and eventually submitted a full report and presentation to the National Agility Committee in August 2012. Response has been few and far between, it has come to my attention that the full information with regards to our findings have not reached all handlers and/or committees. I am therefore going to present the evidence here, as this is the most public forum I have available.<br />
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Here are the facts as to why regional trials, as we know them, are NOT a fair or practical selection system:<br />
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Before I discuss all the aspects of the trials, I would like you to read and keep the following in mind. Remember with our point system, 1 fault = AT LEAST 2 points, and points can be directly translated into time, 1.23 seconds = 1.23 points on a clear round. In 2013, which provided to be our most competitive year, as the AWC was local, the difference in getting a spot or not was as follows:<br />
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Small Team: Point difference between 4th and 5th dog: 4.68 points<br />
Medium Team: Point difference between 4th and 5th dog: 2.08 points<br />
Large Team: Point difference between 4th and 5th dog: 2.25 points<br />
Individual Spot: Point difference between 9th and 10th dog: 2.23 points<br />
The closest point difference for a spot, was the 0.58 points that separated the 5th medium dog (which was awarded the reserve spot) from the 6th medium dog<br />
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Looking at this model, we have to keep in mind that the regional trials only account for 1/3 of these points. So per round in the regional trials we are looking at the following equation:<br />
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To make up the points in a regional trial: (points missed out) x 3 (since only a third of the points will count)/6 (since only your 6 best rounds out of 8 will count) = points per round that could have gotten dog a spot in the team. <br />
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Small Team: 4.68 points x 3/6 rounds = 2.34 seconds/points per round<br />
Medium Team: 2.08 points x 3/6 rounds = 1.02 seconds/points per round<br />
Large Team: 2.25 points x 3/6 rounds = 1.125 seconds/points per round<br />
Individual Spot: 2.23 points x 3/6 rounds = 1.115 seconds/points per round<br />
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This is just some silly examples to try and demonstrate the impact each small aspect of the course can have.<br />
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- Ground Conditions and Weather: The provinces that run regional trials, vary from coastal to inland cities, this affects humidity and temperature. Average temperatures in January (as per the South African Weather Service) vary from 25 degrees Celcius to 31 degrees Celcius. We have a province that is a winter-rainfall area and a few provinces that is summer rainfall areas. This will obviously affect the grass growth/hardness of grounds in said provinces. According to the South African Weather Service, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town battle continually for the 'windiest city' in South Africa, with Cape Town experiencing winds of 1.6m/s 95.6% of the time and Port Elizabeth 95.7% of the time. Meanwhile here in Johannesburg, we can hardly spell wind and certainly don't know what it feels like on a regular basis.<br />
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- Differences in equipment. Because there are parameters for various obstacles (instead of set measurements), equipment differ very much from province to province. Here in Johannesburg, our cross bars are 30mm pvc, some with wood-filling and others without. Our older hurdles have angled jump cups as pictured below, while our newer hurdles have rounded, shallower cups, all metal. From my travels, there are variations of angles cups, round rubber cups, round metal cups. <br />
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Some provinces have wood cross bars, others have pvc, varying from 30mm-50mm (all within the rules of course). This of course will affect the statistical probably of a cross bar falling, even if hit with the same trajectory at the same force. I will work out an average example for you of how one knock can affect a dog's final points:<br />
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The course is 150m, set at 4.1m/s (the speed used for contact agility in 2012) which puts the SCT at 36.58 seconds. A dog running at 4.4m/s will run a time of 34.09. If it is a clear round, he will be awarded 12.49 points, however with one knock, he will be awarded 8 points (so lose out on 4.49 points). The dog will lose 1.49 points that it could have carried through.<br />
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The see-saw is especially important where equipment differences are concerned. I used my own dog to compare various see-saws in the country:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CU_XYch8aTU" width="560"></iframe><br />
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For those that can't watch the videos, Gauteng's seesaw tipped in 1.11 seconds, FS in 1.51 seconds, EP in 1.79 and KZN in 1.99 seconds.<br />
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I also did a comparison of one of our lightest competitors in South Africa doing two different cloth tunnels.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4uQw9ihG23E" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Let's use the see-saw example, my dog gains 0.88 seconds on the see-saw each time. So let's say I ran 3 clear rounds in contact agility in the regional trials that will count towards my final score, it will work out as follows:<br />
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0.88 seconds x 3 rounds = I would have gained 2.34 points in the regional trials on the see-saw ALONE. Which will equate to 0.78 points towards my final score. That added to all the other factors, could definitely mean getting a spot or not. Not even taking into consideration that those 0.88 seconds I gain could very well earn me a winner's bonus point.<br />
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We also have Dog Walks lengths that differ, weave pole diameters, tunnel lengths, contact surfaces.<br />
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There is also the matter of timing equipment. We were the last province to get electronic timing, so for years we had the advantage or disadvantage? Now we have a timing device with multiple beams, which basically means that it is much more likely that the time will stop when the first part of the dog breaks the beams. Other provinces have a single beam timer, which is generally set to the height where the chest of most dogs would pass over the obstacle, which means the timer would stop fractionally after the first part of the body has passed the plane of the last obstacle.<br />
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- Judging calls. First of all, in 2013, Johannesburg and Western Province used an up-contact judge for every single trial. As far as my knowledge goes, no other province made use of an up-contact judge, but I could be corrected on this matter. Once again having travelled through most of the Agility world in South Africa, I know that judges disagree very much on refusal calls. It has recently come to light that one of the provinces in general deem it acceptable to run with a toy in the pocket, while it is a complete taboo in other provinces.<br />
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- Difficulty in setting up angles and courses. Even with a course plan and a central coordinate, it is very hard to set up exact angles, and the smallest differences could influence a dog's time. In the example below, you can see that (due to no fault of the people involved), a course was set up in two provinces with the tunnel two different sides of the dog walk frame.<br />
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If we once again look at it mathematically on a contact course, you needed 1.125 seconds in one round to be on or off the team, so 1 see saw and 4 spots where you could gain a mere 0.2 seconds, that would have made the difference!<br />
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Now that I have discussed some of the motivations against the regional trials, I would also like to point out certain scenarios that actually happened in the last few years, this is not aimed at anyone at all! And sometimes things just happen, but that is the point, by sticking with a flawed system, we are opening up more opportunities for things to go wrong.<br />
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- A video was accidentally published of a trial on social media before all provinces had completed the trial.<br />
- The coordinates on the first contact trial in 2013 did not work out, Gauteng and KZN was running this trial on the same day, both provinces set up the course on 'feel' from the course plan, using different coordinates. Effectively we did not run the 'same' course<br />
- There is a province that places second bars on all the hurdles that are jumped twice. The reasoning is that the dog still has to 'jump' the second time if it dislodged a bar the first time. This is not within the Agility rules, but is a regular occurrence.<br />
- An official instructed a judge not to call faults on the break-away tyre if it broke because no other province was running with a break-away tyre. <br />
- A province replaced the cloth tunnel with a rigid tunnel and ran their round like this. The national course coordinator was not informed and all other provinces ran with a cloth tunnel.<br />
- After certain events, some provinces were instructed to not divulge any details or video of their trials at all, which to me is concerning, since surely we should be transparent in this matter.<br />
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Several solutions have been suggested for the regional trials:<br />
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I would like to start by pointing out that none of the below suggested solutions will solve the problem of equipment, grounds and environmental differences, but I will list the suggestions with my comments on them.<br />
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- Have a travelling coordinator or judge that can judge/observe and/or give input on course set up in all the provinces, in order to try and ensure that all provinces compete on the same terms. This would be very costly first of all and is money that could rather be spent to develop Agility in South Africa. This would also be a logistical problem, as there are 5 provinces that run the trials, so that is 5 provinces, 4 trials which would equate to 20 separate days that would have to be booked for running trials.<br />
- Set two coordinates for each jump to determine the angle as well. Which would mean double the work for our poor National course coordinator, but we would still sit with tons of problems.<br />
- Standardise equipment across the country. Well this is the dream of course, but honestly, most of the provinces don't have the money to upgrade all their equipment at once, this would take many, many years. A person/body would have to be determined to oversee this project.<br />
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Why do we have trials?<br />
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The truth of the matter is, that even in 2013, when the amount of people to declare interest in being selected for the team almost DOUBLED, we only had 25 large dogs, 7 medium dogs and 7 small dogs paying their deposits to make Team South Africa. In the last 5 years, ALL dogs that entered the AWC trials were invited to the finals. Therefore the trials has NEVER been used to short list dogs or limit the numbers, as we just don't HAVE the amount of registered dogs. In fact, MANY more dogs run in the trials than dogs that put down their deposits. So why are we allowing more dogs to compete in the finals than are intending to go to the AWC?<br />
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The main motivation for the trials is ensuring 'consistency', which I am all for (the consistency that is). But should dogs be penalised purely based on which province they live in? As for finding other methods to ensure consistency is taken into consideration, please see some of my research below.<br />
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Having researched many qualifying systems and not including selection panels that some countries make use of, there are generally three qualifying methods that are followed:<br />
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- Handlers have to travel across the country and compete in different parts of the country. This qualifying always leads to a final that is held over a weekend.<br />
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- Dogs have to meet certain requirements (a certain amount of clear rounds/wins/speeds) to be eligible and then travel to a selection weekend.<br />
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- A single weekend event where all dogs eligible (and only those dogs with intent to go) get together and have to run their rounds.<br />
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Now for many South African handlers, it would become much to expensive to travel across the country and then once they have made the team, pay a huge amount of money to travel to Europe. So I don't think the first option is really viable for us. <br />
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The second option would be viable I think, determine a certain amount of clear rounds each dog has to run at certain speeds. Example: The requirement to go to the final is 6 clear rounds, 4 of which have to be contact agility, at a minimum of 4m/s in the year preceding the Finals. The objections that was brought to this is that some provinces have fewer shows than others, as well as the difference in measuring from judge to judge.<br />
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The third option is our best option in the current environment, however I would suggest increasing the final from the current 4 rounds, to 5 or 6 rounds to increase the consistency requirement. This option also most accurately simulates the actual AWC event, which tests the handler's ability to handle the pressures of such a big weekend event. <br />
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Please note that while the actual proposal is the work of many people, including input of team mates from various provinces. I am open to actual, factual input. I am open to good suggestions. You are welcome to ask away if you may have any questions. However if you are one of those that are just planning to say 'because' but can't counter-argue my facts, maybe you best rather not comment. <br />
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While I have the regional trials to thank for my spots on the team in both 2012 and 2013 (since I had rather terrible finals), I still feel it is not the way to go and doesn't make logical sense. I really hope that this post serves to broaden the awareness of all South Africans that has AWC dreams in their future.<br />
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Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-34100520873722161852013-10-28T00:07:00.001-07:002013-10-28T00:07:25.103-07:00Expectations... The AWC Part 3 - SaturdaySaturday morning started off with Small Individual Jumping... And with me forgetting my brain at home... together with my cooler box and several other things... I had friends and husbands driving around and running to my car fetching stuff and generally just trying to mop together all my loose ends...<br />
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There is a big difference in the running of the team event and the individual event. In the team event you have a whole load of other people depending on you not to mess it up... easier said than done of course, one thing to always remember is that our dogs don't understand 'running safe', all they know is what we teach them and that is generally to 'run fast and all out'... so therefore it is always a good idea to run your team runs hard to get a good result, do what our dogs understand. However in the individual event there is a little bit extra to that... it is the 'all or nothing' aspect. In the individual runs, you really have nothing to lose and there are only 2 options: Be on fire or go out in flames...<br />
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The judge was Harald Schjelderup from Norway:<br />
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I liked the course, I felt it was a good match for the surface (even if it was on the easier side). I was the only Small dog from South Africa to run for competition... oh for those that do not know quite how it works... each country is only allowed to enter 9 dogs for the individual competition with a maximum of 6 dogs in any height category. However due to the low entry numbers this year, they were allowing the 'team only' dogs to run as NFC (Not For Competition) at the beginning of the class (actually this was also a huge confusion, since the draw orders were initially published with these dogs running in the middle of the actual competition, which I was NOT happy about... and of course we then prepared ourselves for this draw, just to be told that these dogs would now run at the beginning)... I had some good advice from a friend walking the course.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZVnHP7THNeAm3NIDJn6JoijoxDM_nYmbez991tfbIflkf2f9KfRLG1S5gv29tLpSEI46fKVHosMwQMiU9Kpod2DtG15yJa_BBLUx97SOrYmJuWO0NrIaEIhcDeARFlw4N1MMT6FjIWyb/s1600/Volt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZVnHP7THNeAm3NIDJn6JoijoxDM_nYmbez991tfbIflkf2f9KfRLG1S5gv29tLpSEI46fKVHosMwQMiU9Kpod2DtG15yJa_BBLUx97SOrYmJuWO0NrIaEIhcDeARFlw4N1MMT6FjIWyb/s320/Volt+2.jpg" width="212" /></a>I think this was the run I was the calmest about. The favourite to win the event (and an awesome person that I had trained with the week before) was running right before me and I was rooting for him big time. It was very saddening when he made one small mistake, it really did bring that little bit of 'extra awareness' to my mind. If I had to choose, I would say this was our best round of the weekend. He was VERY wide coming out of tunnel number 4, much more so than it seems on the video and my front crosses after the wall and 15 were rather late, but all in all not a bad round. Our biggest downfall was that by this time Volt slowed down to a near walk in the weavepoles... This cost us some serious time. He had been checked out on the Monday before the event, but subsequent to this round I had the team physio take a look at him and his right shoulder was really stiff and taking some strain. Regardless, this round left us with 0.42 time faults (which could have been avoided with tighter turns after the tunnel, 14 and 15... stupid handler) and in 8th place over-all.<br />
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Next up was Medium Individual Agility with judge Gawie Faul:<br />
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Less than a handful of dogs managed a good turn out of tunnel 6, but other than that it was a nice course with some good rounds.<br />
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And then of course Large Individual Jumping with judge Harald Schjelderup again:<br />
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They did however move the tyre to jump 12 though, which I felt was much worse actually due to a TURN after they tyre... AGAIN. And always for large dogs which makes it so much worse. It was an interesting course with many different options in the opening sequence. After the event we actually set up this opening sequence to train and I subsequently timed the splits. The most economical option, for those that would like to know, was a left turn after 2 and another left turn after 4. <br />
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It was finally time for the first 'world champion' rounds of the weekend, starting off with Team Medium Agility by judge Gawie Faul:<br />
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There were four teams in this competition, with the team lying in 4th already carrying a DQ from the first round, so as long as none of the other teams had 2 DQ's, their podium places were guaranteed. The end result was 1st Switzerland, 2nd Germany and 3rd South Africa.<br />
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Next up was the Small Team Agility, judged by Gawie Faul:<br />
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There were 5 teams in this event and it was the only of the team events where no teams were carrying any DQ's... which at least made for some exciting competition.<br />
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Running first was Austria, carrying 20.48 faults through from the jumping round. They had a total of 10 Course faults on the Agility course, so could still be in contention of the other teams had huge problems...<br />
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Next up was Switzerland, they were only bringing in 5 faults from the jumping round, so were nipping at our heels. They managed to run 3/4 course clears in the team to give them 0 faults for the Agility round... and to our knowledge at that point 5 faults in total.<br />
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South Africa ran next, with Hilary and Euro leading us off with a nice course clear and according to the score board and announcer 0.37 faults, Nan and Noodle were up next and ran a lovely course clear (it was announced as clear and a clear was shown on the board). Things were looking good. Gaby and Scoobie was up next, she had a very unfortunate fly-off on the See-Saw, followed by another contact fault on the Dog Walk. So by my calculation at this point, to ensure our spot on the podium, I HAD to run clear, there were still two good teams to follow us that was very likely to pull off all clear rounds. This was my first time running in the last spot and I was half laughing walking up to the start and telling our coach that I hoped I had what it takes to be in this position. I did it. I ran a course clear. It was NOT our prettiest round, all I remembered after the round was Volt's bad faceplant after the long jump and the crowd gasping at his seesaw (don't worry peeps, I know he will stop, he just likes living on the edge :) ), the rest was a bit blurry, super proud of Volt for coping with my retardedness!<br />
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So at this point, by my calculation (and the scoreboard's), we were lying in the lead with two teams to come, technically (once again according to the scoreboard) we had 0.37 faults in total with they USA on the start line. When they had 1 clear, 1 x 5 faulter, 1 x time faulter and 1 x dq this meant we had moved in one spot above them! <br />
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Last up was the German Team, a very good team indeed and it surprised no-one that they had 4 very good clears to, without a doubt, win the gold! While they were celebrating 3 other teams were standing by the marshalling gate waiting for the official results. I was pretty convinced we had silver and either USA or Switzerland was lying 3rd. After about 10 minutes they announced the results... but Switzerland was 2nd and we were 3rd. Please understand that I am not unhappy with the placing, but I was totally confused, so after some celebration, we called over an official and was just repeatedly told that 'they results announced ARE right', but it is only after about 20 minutes that someone bothered to tell us WHY... they had captured the SCT wrong??? The majority of the dogs that we thought was clear and had been announced as clear, actually had time faults. I feel like a bit of an @ss going on at everyone that they had the results wrong, but in my defence, if you had gone by the display, I kind of was right. <br />
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Anyhow, well done the the German and Swiss teams for good performances, well deserved :)<br />
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And well done to my Super Sheltie for being... well Super :)<br />
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And thank you to fantastic team mates that really supported one another and did their best.<br />
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I am going to share my AWC compilation in this post and I will write one last post about the final day of competition:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CfCivKULd6A" width="420"></iframe>Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-30930117775361069742013-10-23T08:02:00.001-07:002013-10-23T08:02:23.129-07:00Getting it done... The AWC Part 2 - The first couple of rounds...After the completion of the KUSA cup, the 'real business' started. Opening ceremony went without any real drama.<br />
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First up was the Team Large Jumping, designed and judged by the South African, Gawie Faul (Click on the picture to see a bigger version):<br />
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Now if you ask me, the AWC does have one very big flaw in the fact that scrutiny and approval of courses for the event take place without any knowledge (and by the looks of it sometimes consideration) of the surface. This has been a factor in the AWC many times before. There could be many different solutions for this. Judges could submit two possible options for each class, one for a 'good surface' and one for a 'bad surface' and only once the official practice has been completed does the judge choose. Perhaps judges should be allowed to make changes on the floor if they realise that the course is appropriate for the footing. <br />
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I attended the AWC in 2010 (as a spectator), 2012 and 2013 (as a competitor) and watched every second of livestream in 2011. I assure you that the effect of the surface could be confirmed in each of the official practice sessions.<br />
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The large team jumping was my least favourite course of the weekend, because I felt it was inappropriate to test the exact same thing 6 times in one course and of course the dreaded HORRIBLE turn after the tyre. This last part really annoys me, because it seems judges will never learn. Yes, I know it is a break-away tyre, but I think the European Open amongst others proved that a breaking away is not a guarantee. The course was most definitely not suited to the surface, especially not this early in the weekend before dogs adapted to the footing. Regardless, some lovely rounds, especially from Helmut Paulik and Lane (that also won the round). <br />
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Next up was Medium Team Jumping designed and judged by Norwegian judge, Harald Schjelderup:<br />
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This was definitely a much better course and produced some really enjoyable rounds. I do have to say I was a bit disappointed in the lack of pole entries though, many handlers had to manage terribly.<br />
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My first AWC round was the last round of the day (just another note, I was not too impressed with the program for the AWC, as it saw the Smalls running either first or last or both 3/4 rounds available to us). Gawie Faul was the judge again and while we were all dreading the course after the Large course, it turned out that we had a very easy (almost grade 1 or 2) course waiting for us. Regardless you still have to go out there and do your thing:<br />
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Our running order for Team South Africa Small was 6/7 with only Switzerland running after us. Me and Volt were running last for our team. There was some controversy regarding the Small competition which I really don't even want to get into.<br />
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The first dog for our team had a very unfortunate disqualification jumping through the side of the tyre, followed by two nice clears from my other team mates. This meant that in order to give us a chance for a podium finish, I had to run a course clear. This was my first time running in the last spot in the team event and it does have a different dynamic to it (a dynamic which it turns out I really enjoy). This round was not exactly my best round ever, but I did manage to get around (coincidentally with my best individual finish of the weekend in 6th place). I did thoroughly enjoy running this round and pretty sure Volt did too. And these rounds managed a third place on the team podium as well.<br />
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<br />Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-83638577964278737052013-10-20T02:16:00.000-07:002013-10-20T02:18:12.441-07:00Dealing with it all... The AWC 2013 Part 1 - The KUSA CupGoing into this year's AWC was not an easy feat at all for any of the South African team... some statistics...<br />
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Of the 14 dogs/13 handlers on the team:<br />
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- We had 4 brand new handlers (with new dogs obviously)... a large dog that had both a team and individual spot, a large dog handler with only an individual spot and a small and medium dog each with only a team spot. These were handlers that never had the opportunity to try out in the past.<br />
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- 2 new team dogs, with repeat handles, one medium and one large, both with individual and team spots.<br />
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- 8 repeat dogs and handlers, 2 large, 1 small, 1 medium with team and individual spots, 1 large with an individual spot only, 2 small and 1 medium with team spots only.<br />
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The dynamics of a team always contributes towards the entire event experience. You have a responsibility to your team members to give it your all and try your very best for them. <br />
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Before I continue I would like to mention one thing, regardless of whether there was 10 dogs or 400, every handler still had to go out there and do it. Run the clear round, make the right choices. Our dogs still had to keep the bars up, touch the contacts. You still had to beat the competition. So well done to all the winners!!!<br />
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This year presented itself with a very unique set of challenges.<br />
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- With so few countries and dogs attending, it actually added to the pressure in many ways. Where one could often go anonymous in the masses at previous AWC's with hundreds of other dogs competing (if you were not a 'household name' of course), this was far less likely in 2013. With only 13 dogs in medium individual, 12 mediums in team , 16 smalls in individual, 19 smalls in team, 23 in large individual and 19 in large team, people were bound to remember every dog that ran. At one of our team events earlier in the week, one of the organisers jokingly said to a team mate (with regards to the medium team competition) that all they had to do was 'not finish last' and they would be on the podium??? I don't know if this was supposed to be a 'comforting thought' but all it did was disturb me. <br />
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- The statistical probability of ending up with a medal also increased greatly of course... mentally this was one of the hardest things for me. While it has always been my dream to be on an AWC podium, I wanted it to be a more 'rightful' place and less of a 'default' placing. More than once I had the thought that I would actually prefer NOT winning a medal this year, but rather do it at a representative AWC (yes, I know, what a horrible thought to have), while at the same time thinking that I wanted to run the full on, hardest, most intense, best rounds of Agility I ever have in my life! Oh the contradiction. At the end of the day I chose to look at it as just another competition and forget what they were calling it. And please understand the individual placings were all well-deserved brilliant dogs and handlers that deserve their achievements. This DID however also add much more additional pressure to all the participants I think.<br />
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- For our team, we had a decent contingent of supporters for the first time ever. This made for noisier support (awesome), but also more scrutiny (stressful). The new team members of course didn't know anything else, so I think this would not have affected them as much as repeat team members.<br />
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- The controversy surrounding the competition. It was hard to avoid all the negativity and drama flying around in cyberspace. As per my previous post I, myself, had a ton of objections regarding the matter too. I had to deal with this, I owed my team mates and supporters the best I could give, despite my personal feelings, or those of others all around the world.<br />
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There were many other aspects that influenced me mentally and physically, but at the end of the day my goals were:<br />
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- To run the utter best rounds I possibly could.<br />
- To appreciate every course I could run with my awesome dogs<br />
- To enjoy every second<br />
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Due to the lack of numbers, the organisers arranged for an additional event starting on Friday morning called the KUSA Cup. This was open to all AWC participants, reserves, white dogs and South African Grade 3 Agility dogs up to 100 dogs (on a first come, first serve basis). I have to admit that I was rather happy about this turn of events, as it meant that I would have a chance to run Chaos against the international competitors. I was rather gutted that he wouldn't be able to compete. He has been on such form coming back from his injury, that it was a rather hard pill to swallow. I also made the decision to run Volt and if he was faulted in the first round, I would not run him in the second to save him for the AWC.<br />
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First off... jumping... this is my own drawing of the course (click on the picture to see a bigger version):<br />
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We had an official practice the previous day, but only AWC dogs were allowed on the surface. The surface wasn't ideal at all, with no cushioning. Volt had slipped a lot the previous day and adjusted his pace accordingly... he also banged his head into the weave poles rather badly and then proceeded to weave rather slowly, choosing to go around each weave pole instead of touching them. I had warmed up Chaos before his run, but the warm up area was rather small and I don't think it gave the dogs a true feel of the surface...<br />
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Order was large, medium then small. Chaos was draw number 19 (of 45 dogs). He landed on his face after number 1, not expecting the slippery surface on a turn, but he recovered well to run a course clear with some time faults (only two dogs ran in the course time I THINK, since these results were never published) finishing 8th in the jumping round. I have to admit that if the bars weren't so insanely heavy (I estimated at least 3kg-4kg), he might actually have had a knock, but who knows.<br />
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Steinermeister was draw 2, which is not ideal for him, as his excitement builds with each dog that runs. Volt landed on his face after jump 1 as well, had several bad slips before jump 8 (luckily no face plants, but you could hear his nails dig in to the surface badly) and then adjusted his pace even more... this left me out of position for my actual plan from 15-19 so it turned into a wide mess... Course clear, with time faults. He still gave me everything he could and for that, I am very proud! He also finished 8th in the jumping round (out of 23 dogs I think). Eight seemed to be my haunted position of the weekend... unbeknownst to me at this point, 208 was my catalogue number for the weekend too.<br />
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They immediately set up the contact Agility course:<br />
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Sorry a rather bad picture I found on the internet... As you will see from the video, 11 - 12 was quite different and 16-20 was VERY different.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzS6JXmiS6sxqDV46D_J4pJKZZmVOQx0yBMmLE0hPDA_7ecuHWj6zrGNOE1mTaqIM6pIBaXnEYCbuz_bd9y9fdwhO-wRlcAdnKHEA1FIFX7mDZTKSMi2CR7xGEkbXaxxD1Gu-cLcUvVDOZ/s1600/Volt+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzS6JXmiS6sxqDV46D_J4pJKZZmVOQx0yBMmLE0hPDA_7ecuHWj6zrGNOE1mTaqIM6pIBaXnEYCbuz_bd9y9fdwhO-wRlcAdnKHEA1FIFX7mDZTKSMi2CR7xGEkbXaxxD1Gu-cLcUvVDOZ/s400/Volt+4.jpg" width="267" /></a>Draws were in reverse order of merit, so both my dogs would be running towards the end of their classes. Smalls were running first this time around. Volt started off rather slowly, not extending his stride, putting my timing off by miles, eish, I really need to learn to adapt better on my feet. Another bad slip before the poles. I am very happy with his contact performance though, especially the see-saw which I have been working hard on. His dog walk was on the slow side, but got better as the weekend went along. He ran a wide slower clear round, to finish 9th in Agility and 5th over-all. All in all, despite the slipping and pace adjusting, I think this competition was good for our confidence, just getting out there and getting around the courses.<br />
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With Chaos this was his 'all or nothing' round of the weekend... These are my favourite kind of rounds. Having nothing to lose. We had a ball out there. He managed to get a 7th in the Agility round, finishing 4th over-all. Honestly, super proud of the dude and happy with the result, but finishing forth sucks a$$! That 'almost on the podium' spot...<br />
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Starting off with 4/4 course clears did give me a lot of confidence for the competition, while it could have gone the other way. It DID make me wish even more that Chaos was on the team (since he finished the highest of all SA dogs)... more about the AWC in a next post...<br />
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<br />Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844721656390380254.post-71951226837570340042013-10-17T00:37:00.002-07:002013-10-17T00:38:53.185-07:00About the Controversy...Please note what I am about to write is not 'new' to me, however earlier this year a general letter was sent out advising Agility handlers in South Africa that if we were not 'positive' about the upcoming South African AWC, there would be consequences. <br />
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First of all I would like to say from the word go, that even though I am a South African and I am on the team and I live in the city where it was hosted and I am involved in many aspects of Agility... I can still not answer any questions you might have, as the answers were never shared with me. However I would like to share some facts with the rest of the world.<br />
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1. Many South Africans were actually not in full support of this event being held in our country (yes many were for it too). The concerns included:<br />
1. 1 Shipping of dogs - Yes, we fly our dogs to Europe annually. However it is a much smaller amount of dogs. We know how South Africa 'works' (yes, Africa certainly has its own way of doing things). I was as surprised as the next person when I saw pictures posted on Facebook of how dogs were received in Johannesburg, seeing as our dogs have never been received like this for the 10 years I have been involved in our world teams. Despite promises of arrangements for 'non-listed' to be able to attend (The Department of Agriculture List that determines quarantine), I would have bet a rather large amount of money 5 years ago already that our government would never allow for this (once again this is an African thing...). There are only 3 options for direct flights into Johannesburg from mainland Europe (Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris), these flights are generally limited to 5 dogs per flight, however we have in the past been able to make special arrangements to accommodate more dogs per flight.<br />
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1.2 Money, money, money - This was my main concern. First of all, our sport (and this is world wide) does NOT have the money to spend 3000 - 5000 euro PER dog and handler to send them to an AWC. Most teams don't even have decent sponsorship for a European AWC, never mind flying to the other side of the world. In fact our own South African team has barely ever had semi-decent sponsorship. Shouldn't the powers that be have tried to clean our own house first? Even if the whole world WANTED this championship to be in our country, the money would never be there for a representative event. Not being able to try out myself for many years because I could not afford the trip (and I am one of MAYBE 20 handlers in South Africa that aspire to go), I could sympathise with the 300 odd handlers that would not be able to afford the trip to South Africa. My monetary concern included the lack of a sponsor. Having been involved for many years, I knew that we suffered a serious lack of sponsors.<br />
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1.3 Lack of experience - For those that have been attending the AWC for many years, have you ever seen a decent sized contingent of South African supporters? I think the most we have had at one time is 10? All the little things that we take for granted at the AWC, is foreign to 99% of South Africa's Agility community. Start line protocol at AWC is something that the volunteers that worked at the event have NEVER EVEN HEARD of or seen. Replacing bars, queues (here in SA we don't queue to compete), microchip scanning, vet checks, measuring of dogs (we don't even have proper rules regarding this matter), watching up-contact judges, electronic scoring systems... these are things that almost NONE of the volunteers would be familiar with. Never mind the small traditions, like the 'elimination song', dancing, slow claps. 99% of Agility South Africa is not even willing to travel to Europe to experience this, but now we have to bring it all the way to them? I can count our FCI judges on one hand... and of these FCI judges only one has judged ONE event in Europe. Unlike me, hardly any of these judges even follow international trend. How can we expect a judge that has never judged more than 60 Grade 3 dogs at a time (outdoors, without an up-contact judge) to deal with the pressures of such a major event.<br />
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1.4 South Africa's 'Non-Pet-Friendliness' - Unfortunately the majority of South Africa is NOT pet friendly to the same extent as Europe and North America (I can only testify to those continents I have visited). There is very limited (in my neighbourhood for example there is none) public transport available and there is absolutely no pets allowed at all on the public transport that IS available. Pet-friendly accommodation is also not that readily available. Animals are not allowed in any shopping centre, shop, restaurant or any other public area that I know of (well there is a dedicated dog park where the dogs are allowed in the restaurant, but not much else).<br />
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These concerns were voiced to the organising committee on several occasions... I know this is true, because I was the person voicing them.<br />
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Now the event has come and gone. I was there. I've got the t-shirt (a few actually). Every year people do have problems or issues or concerns with random matters regarding the AWC or things that were said or done, this year will be no different. I have tried to think of a way to categorise my thoughts, but I find it very difficult, as some thoughts are bittersweet and don't actually belong with the positive or the negative. I will also try to share some facts that you might not know. I will not comment on any judging or course design, as I have many personal feelings, but that is Agility ladies and gentleman, that is part of the game we play and at the end of the day it is our choice to run a course or not.<br />
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- Of course comments have been flying through cyberspace for nearly 2 years within the Agility community regarding this event. Some just being ridiculous and others with valid concerns. It does feel to me (like it does to many others), that the FCI actively ignored this commentary. I think the FCI could have gone a long way to resolve the issue(s) instead of just keeping quiet and make quiet statements of 'this will happen'. This of course was my experience, perhaps I don't visit the right websites.<br />
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- I have to admit that I DO resent those that immediately judged every handler on this earth that is willing to fly their dogs in the cargo hold. This implies that, not only is our entire South African Agility Team, cruel, but so is every person that has ever imported a dog to South Africa, or every non-European country that attends the AWC or EO (USA, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, China, Mexico etc). I assure you my dogs's health and safety are my first concern. I categorically do not think there is anything wrong with shipping dogs in the cargo hold provided you have made the correct arrangements and you know what you are doing. Especially our dogs, that are subject to loud, noisy and strange environments on a regular basis. Agility handlers crate their dogs in these environment on a regular basis. I also have to leave my dogs in crates at home on their own on a regular basis to work. My dogs love their crates and I have never had a dog that stressed excessively flying. Those dogs of mine that ARE nervous, will never ever fly.If you choose not to fly your dogs, I respect that choice completely, however I also don't appreciate you judging me for my choices.<br />
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- What also annoys me to no end, are the South African handlers, spectators and supporters that had their mouths full about countries not attending. Firstly because it is each handler's choice and each spectators choice and you cannot judge people for this. But mostly because the people moaning the most had never even bothered or could not afford to attend a European AWC themselves, yet they somehow expect the reverse? <br />
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- In September last year an 'Events Manager' was appointed by the organisers to run the event. This company had no connection to Agility in the past and none of its employees were known to the Agility community. The notice read:<br />
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MESSAGE<br />
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Dear Karene<br />
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Please will you place the following message on the KUSA website.<br />
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QUOTE<br />
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AGILITY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2013<br />
<br />
The Kennel Union has pleasure in confirming that it has appointed FULL<br />
STRIDE MEDIA as our Events Manager for the above which will be held in<br />
Johannesburg at the Dome during October, 9th-13th 2013. FULL STRIDE MEDIA<br />
will be responsible for arranging the event in conjunction with our Agility<br />
people and they have assumed full responsibility for the financial liability<br />
hereof.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
This is a tremendous step forward for South Africa and we feel sure that all<br />
members of the Kennel Union will want to support it in one way or another.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Full details will be available from time to time in the coming weeks.<br />
<br />
UNQUOTE<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Greg Eva<br />
<br />
G R EVA<br />
PRESIDENT<br />
<br />
KENNEL UNION OF SA<br />
P O Box 2659<br />
CAPE TOWN, 8000<br />
SOUTH AFRICA<br />
<br />
- I did experience a bit of a 'black hole' where information was concerned and would have appreciated more regular updates. This was so much more important in light of the controversy surrounding this event. Even if it was just a message of reassurance on a bi-weekly basis, that things were still happening. The silence invited the start of rumours.<br />
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- The 'Meet and Greet' - While it didn't interrupt the proceedings much, I still feel that a generator should have been at hand. Power failures are not a 'new thing' to us South Africans, more of a given. <br />
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- The surface - Yes, it wasn't ideal, I ran on it too. However let me remind handlers that the surface is one of the most controversial issues at the AWC and it has been 'wrong' many times in the past in many countries. The lack of funds to test a surface for extensive periods prior to the event is NOT own to South Africa. My personal opinion on this surface is that there was nothing wrong with the actual 'top layer' surface if I can call it that, but rather a lack of decent soft under-surface. By the end of the weekend, as they always do, most dogs however had already adapted to it. The complaints regarding surface was just as bad after the 2011 Lievin AWC.<br />
<br />
- Incorrect results announced - This annoyed me to no end and in actual fact cause massive confusion for the celebration of a few rounds. The timing equipment and results were out-contracted to an Austrian company that does this on a regular basis. We had two gentlemen fly in to take care of this matter for the weekend. I don't know where the communication error was, but several times the SCT was either left out or incorrectly captured, which led to results being miscalculated for the KUSA cup and also incorrect time faults being announced in the AWC. In one of the events four teams were mulling around in the marshalling area convinced the placings had been announced incorrectly. This is a matter where more careful attention should have been paid.<br />
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- Bibs - The bibs were also out-contracted to a company that very obviously has never had anything to do with Agility. They ended up being a dress-size to too big for me (yes, it was literally longer than the skirt I ran in). They had to make a special exception where handlers could run without bibs. Was a sample never checked before confirming the order? Even if the events company took charge of these arrangements, a member of the organising committee should have followed up.<br />
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- Lack of music - HUGE gap in communication. For those that were not there, we spent the first two days in dead silence. Somewhere along the way, someone forgot to apply for a 'public music license', seeing as the venue themselves do not have one. This is really something that should have been checked, double checked, triple checked and then maybe checked once more.<br />
<br />
- False starts - There were two of these (and two almosts) that I saw over the weekend. The person that was responsible for marshalling the start had never attended an AWC and never seen a video. There were several volunteers that had actually been to the event and had fulfilled a similar duty before. I would have perhaps considered rather using them.<br />
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- The general lack of public updates - It was only discovered close to the event that they would not be able to publish live results. I have no idea what the reason for this was. This is something that should have been on a 'to do' list months ago. It should have been followed up by an Agility person, as we are the ones that know how important it is for our small community to follow the event 'live'. The fact that the German Facebook page was more regularly updated than the official page confirms that this was a rather big oversight.<br />
<br />
- Livestream - This point is particularly close to my heart, especially seeing as the organisers insisted from the beginning to take responsibility for this themselves (initially this was because they believed this would be a huge fundraising scheme). At an open meeting held more than a year ago, I personally raised several concerns regarding livestream. These included very slow South African data speeds (at that point the fastest lines available was 4mb/s... and this on paper, no speed test that I ever ran at that stage could reach those speeds), unreliability of connections (due to the layout of Johannesburg, where everything is very far spread out, wireless connections rely on the infrastructure of a widely spread network of towers, which regularly buckle under the strain of high usage. Fixed lines are regularly subject to cable theft). Satellite would have been way too expensive for any Agility event to make use of. And while I understand that this task was out-contracted to a company that claimed they knew what they were doing, it should have still been followed up by the organisers. It is THEIR name that is tied to it, it was THEIR choice to have it linked to the actual FCI2013 Agility pages. Blame was being thrown around like nobody's business, however since I pointed these concerns more than a year ago, I actually don't have much sympathy.<br />
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- While there were few dogs, I personally still feel that at least there was some competition and excitement in the individual event.. I appreciate the handlers that DID attend. The atmosphere was quite good (mostly), very supportive. I do hope that the South African supporters realise that while they saw some awesome rounds and good handling, this was not an AWC like they normally are. I would love to see all these supporters travel with the team next year!<br />
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- Stickers for record cards - We do not have these. They were never arranged. Another one of the aspects that the organising committee blames on Full Stride media, but that I feel an actual Agility person should have followed up on.<br />
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- There were several other issues, I don't feel it is my place to share, but then I guess there always is.<br />
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My one hope is that the FCI realises that our sport is not ready for an off-continent AWC (as much as I loved not spending a fortune this year), whether it is North America, South America, Asia or Africa, I don't believe that our sport is financially ready for this specific event to be hosted on another continent. I hope that the FCI delegates start listening to their handlers. I hope that the handlers believe the FCI the next time they decide on something.<br />
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As always, the AWC has left me motivated and fired up to train. More about my own experiences and runs in a next post.<br />
<br />Aletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05175681309300271818noreply@blogger.com1