After awhile another competition.....

I agree that tighter turns and weaves played role in this. I just talked about this w/ friend at the competition. I was like "Yea, we still have a lot of work to do. I should try and run as advantageously as possible. But I'm always so nervous, I'm just happy to finish w/ clean run". lol She has very tight turns and runs really fast. Curious thing about this sheltie is that for a bitch, she's really tall (taller than my dog) and she also doesn't look like your typical "european" type of sheltie. She has very different head and also different body structure. She and her relatives who run agility are all pretty fast and tought to beat. I've heard they have american ancestors,too. That'd explain different head. Anyway, I hope we will get better w/ tight turns - that's our weak spot. And you have a good eye - he could be faster in weaves, too. No matter how hard I try, he still doesn't like weaves and doesn't give it his best :rolleyes2: :razz:
 
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I spot it because it's the position I'm in quite a bit here. Sitting in 3rd 4th or 5th with Athena behind the top handlers in the area (mom and daughter both run and have amazing dogs). Athena and I are usually behind them due to the same reasons- wasting just enough yardage to keep us from beating them, and not as fast in the weave poles. We DO do our share of winning. They don't go to Indiana, and are often not at the Kentucky trials, so we do a good amount of winning in both of those states.
 
On the other side, I think it's positive we know of these "problems" and we can work on improvement. TBH, we've been competing for a year, I attended like maybe sixteen competitions?! So I'm still dealing w/ being nervous and all I concentrated on so far was finishing the course and if possible have a clean run. I've never ran against top handlers before, so I wasn't even thinking about saving up time etc. :o Before when we finished w/ clean run, we'd usually end up first, so this was very good experiece for me, so I can move on and train these things we struggle with. :smile2:
It's good actually. We've got new goals to achieve.
 
I agree. I'm really competitive, so like being able to compare my dog to the top dogs as finding where I missed opportunities makes me a better handler. When I'm beaten, I go home and train harder to be able to come back and do better. My times have improved a lot over time because I am always pushing for better.
 
just wow!
Weeeeeeeee faaaast!

it looks so awesome, those courses are so tight everywhere, little of what we are used to over here, that's for sure
a lot of handler focus! I love the videos how much fun do you guys have!!!
The winner also looked marvelous, really looks like you all had a great time!
 
You did well in your runs.
Comparing the video of the other handler to yours, she is cueing earlier & then setting the line for her dog earlier resulting in better turns & use of motion.
But not knowing how you train I can't say whether that would be an option you'd be open to. Some of your turning cues and at least one side cue I noticed are late to varying degrees. More experience for your dog & confidence on your part & I'm sure you'll be able to match this competition.
Your handling was otherwise effective in directing your dog around nice flowing courses. You would be very competitive over here.
Congrats.
 
just wow!
Weeeeeeeee faaaast!

it looks so awesome, those courses are so tight everywhere, little of what we are used to over here, that's for sure
a lot of handler focus! I love the videos how much fun do you guys have!!!
The winner also looked marvelous, really looks like you all had a great time!
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Thanks a lot! You're too sweet! :biggrin2:

You did well in your runs.
Comparing the video of the other handler to yours, she is cueing earlier & then setting the line for her dog earlier resulting in better turns & use of motion.
But not knowing how you train I can't say whether that would be an option you'd be open to. Some of your turning cues and at least one side cue I noticed are late to varying degrees. More experience for your dog & confidence on your part & I'm sure you'll be able to match this competition.
Your handling was otherwise effective in directing your dog around nice flowing courses. You would be very competitive over here.
Congrats.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input :smile2:
I actually agree w/ all that you mentioned. TBH, I'm not really confident competing and so far I've been always just trying to finish the runs w/o being disqualified. I never really focused on tight turns that much, but I'm trying to. This was just another lesson showing me how important it is to watch out for your tight turns. You're also definitely right that she's cueing earlier and setting the line, too. My excuse might be that she's way more experienced and so is her 5 years old sheltie. Plus now she's the winner in teams and runner up in individual competition in World Championship :razz:
 
helps said:
Thanks for your input :smile2:
I actually agree w/ all that you mentioned. TBH, I'm not really confident competing and so far I've been always just trying to finish the runs w/o being disqualified. I never really focused on tight turns that much, but I'm trying to. This was just another lesson showing me how important it is to watch out for your tight turns. You're also definitely right that she's cueing earlier and setting the line, too. My excuse might be that she's way more experienced and so is her 5 years old sheltie. Plus now she's the winner in teams and runner up in individual competition in World Championship :razz:
Click to expand...

that just means that we'll be seeing you in World competitions once you get some more experience and confidence:yes:
 
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