Xander and I had a great time in class again last night. It was a bit hot, which is nice, but we both have to get reacclimated to running in the warmer temperatures. He and I were both panting after performing a few sequences that were heavy on the running. I've been requested to post the video, as I may have mentioned something about "Lauren trying to kill us," when we were rightfully told to repeat a difficult sequence a couple of times. Buster was kind enough to accompany us to the field to provide filming service, but has now been dubbed by my long time friend and classmate Stacy as the "community fiance." Apparently the club bylaws state that all fiances must be shared with the club in providing dog sitting, filming, and equipment moving services. Stacy was gracious enough to allow me certain privaleges that aren't shared, so I appreciated her graciousness.
At any rate, I very much enjoy the opportunity to watch my handling on video from class while I am training, as opposed to typically seeing myself only in competion. I behave differently to a degree, and learned a few key things about my handling on tight turns by watching last night's footage. I also enjoyed running Kirby and Kaylee after Xander's class was over. I admit that my focus has primarily transitioned to training and running Xander, and I already notice a major shift in the way I view courses and handling. When running a corgi, one doesn't have to consider stride length, collection, and speed of approach. My corgis are fast, but I can still essentially outrun them, as they only really have one speed. There is not really an issue of collection, as their jumping is small to begin with. So much more thought and strategy goes into running a dog that can easily leave you in the dust. That's not to say that running a small dog is a peice of cake either. Running small dogs tends to require more "running" because they won't move out as far away as many large dogs will, so you are required to "go with them" more often. I laughed when I briefly forgot that little old Kaylee was not in fact a border collie, and pealed off a straightforward jump because I was too early in my turn. I also notice a HUGE difference in weaving. I spent a considerable amount of time and effort in teaching Xander independent weave entries from many difficult angles. While Kaylee and Kirby are both competent weavers, Kaylee more so than Kirby because she is more consistent, although Kirby is much faster when he FEELS like it, neither of them has an independent entry. Kaylee, who I trained roughly eight years ago, requires that I set her up to enter correctly. Kirby has major issues with on-side weave entries, and is most effective with off-side entries. I could spend more time and effort correcting this, but with his bum knee, I try not to do too many repetitions of anything with him, particularly the A-frame and weaves, his two weakest, and most physically challenging obstacles. I was thrilled when Xander nailed a couple of very difficult entries without much deliberate handling from me, and not suprised when the corgis had difficulty with them!
Regardless of skill, the "low riders" have a blast getting to play. Kaylee will probably always hold the title of "most consisent dog ever" and Kirby just squeals with excitement when presented with agility equipment. I also love my classmates, many of whom I have known for years but rarely spent so much concentrated time with before. (Except Stacy who was my traveling buddy until our dogs became mortal enemies ;)
Also, apparently I am going to run for the board of our club again. Springtime means our annual meeting will be soon approaching, and although the key positions will most likely remain the same, the board members tend to change frequently. I have served several times in the past, mostly when Kaylee was young, and was even Vice President in my last year of service. It has been long enough now that I feel the urge to get involved again. When Lauren suggested before class that we volunteer, I felt my hand go up. Now that there are witnesses, I suppose I can't back out now!
On another note, I ordered a huge box of new Hero discs to prepare for the Florida State Frisbee Championships in June. They arrived yesterday, all twenty assorted colors and varieties, so it was like Christmas! It's been almost a year since I purchased discs, but we were down to only one which was not riddled with holes and rendered unflyable. Here's hoping this supply lasts another year. Frisbees ain't cheap! I am feeling an urge to go test them out this afternoon.....
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