Another One Mind Dogs Groupie

Some people snicker at “handling systems” and Silvia Trkman famously says she doesn’t have one, but I just want for someone to tell me how to get through a course alive, you know? Like if you go to a riding school (or whatever the heck that thing is called) do you get there with your brand new unbroken colt and they say to you: let’s teach your colt how to do its thing and in the process you will figure out how to ride it properly? They don’t do it that way. I wonder why we think it’s such a brilliant idea to do it that way in dog agility.

Looking For Competition Zen… Have You Seen It?

When I competed with Ruby I dreaded those wide open courses in A1 (novice) level because he was very handler-focused, but had no intention of slowing down just because I was slow. Instead if I was late he would turn into me and at that point there was basically no way to get him focused on the next obstacle before getting a fault. I knew he needed more independence, but I thought I had a good reason not to train it: I was afraid that with his length of stride and over-the-top attitude he would become very difficult to turn so what would work for us in A1 would work against us in A2.

So I put this pressure on myself that I must get three clean runs in A1 as soon as humanly possible so that we can move up to A2

Photoshoot!

This weekend my awesome sister came by to do a photoshoot of my doggies. The result are these A.M.A.Z.I.N.G photos. I expected them to look great, but these are way better than that. I think she has really outdone herself. Thanks, sis!

Click on a photo to see a bigger version in a slideshow.

Treats! Did someone say treats?

My beautiful girl 🙂

Java portrait

Black on black

Modeling for Anubis statue 😉

Keep calm and love whippets

Java loves to be in my lap and look over my shoulder (c) Stisnprtisn!

Mmmm… are those flowers for eating?

Even his feet look good 😉

This photoshoot gig is soooo tiring…

(c) Stisnprtisn!

Taking A Break From Agility

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about preventative measures to keep my whippets healthy and fit for agility. Usually we wouldn’t be able to do agility for at least two months during winter, but since this year it’s so warm that it feels like spring, we weren’t forced to rest. I read somewhere that it is ideal to have a yearly break of 2 months to give soft tissues a good chance to regenerate and heal any micro injuries that have not yet become apparent to human senses.

Ruby and Java take this break very seriously

I asked my agility friends how much rest from agility do their dogs get and they said anywhere between 3-8 weeks in winter and some also a few weeks during summer when the temperatures are too high to train. One said she gave her female a break during heat. It was very interesting to learn about similar practices in equine world. They said that they gave jumping horses a break after competition season or once per year. The horse was kept fit, but not jumped for a few weeks. And we know that human athletes also take regular breaks from training.

During the break the dog could be kept fit by

Hello there, 2014 :)

Built for speed

Some photos of Java which my wonderful friend Monika Pleterski took on our first walk in 2014. What a fun way to start a year! It wasn’t as warm or as sunny as some of my Aussie friends adventures, but there was water and there was sand. And that’s pretty close, eh? 😉