I had a good weekend at the WAG Trial in Corvallis. It was great to be back trialing and seeing people I haven't seen in a long time. I am really happy with the dogs too.
I have been working with Spritz on 2o2o on the dogwalk and waiting for a release. He gave me 100%, so how could I fault that one. I have also been working on his teeters. He used to come right off of the end and on to the next obstacle. This past weekend I think he broke 2 teeters and the rest he waited for his release. His start lines are getting better. He is tons of fun to run!
Lash was awesome. Lash will be 8 years old in a couple of months and is still holding her own in Masters and even placing amongst the young whipper snappers. I was very proud of our standard course on Sunday because I decided to try a blind cross on the fly. I watched handler after handler put in a front cross and did not like it. The front cross, even when executed nicely, was breaking the dog's stride. With Lash, I had her on my left over a couple of jumps, slipped in front of her and lowered my right arm and picked her up on my right. It worked so nice and I was so proud of her that I forgot to call her after the jump and she banked off of the A-frame. My head was gone after that, but I didn't care as I executed the blind cross without even walking it.
Here are the videos of the runs I got filmed at the trial.
I have been having fun training Spritz. We have a trial this weekend, so it will be interesting to see what he gives me. It is getting a little harder to run full out as I am 4 1/2 months pregnant. I find my center of gravity a little more forward then before.
Here are a couple videos of today's training session. He has a great running A-Frame and we have been working on his 2o2o on the Dogwalk. I am teaching him to fight to stay on it instead of coming off as he pleases. In the jumping exercise we are working on him jumping 26 inches and also learning to collect for a turn so that he does not launch himself into space and then turn on the ground.
All in all things are starting to come together.
My love of Border Collies all started with my first Border Collie ADCH MACH Highcroft Blast. He was a rescue and taught me so much about dog training and Border Collies. After I got Blast I knew that Border Collies were "my" dog. I got ADCH MACH Hillcrest Kate and she is our foundation of Hillcrest Border Collies. My Border Collies have worked on many sheep and goat ranches, trialed in herding and are also some of the top dogs in agility. I am dedicated to the life of Border Collies and love every bit about them.
www.hillcrestbordercollies.com