Difficulty of AKC Invitational Courses

Sealtainn said:
You would have to get Koji to measure 16 7/8" or less to avoid him having to jump 26" jumps in ISC.
If Koji is taller than that I'm afraid AKC's rules for jump heights will discourage you from entering.
If Koji comes in at or under 16 7/8" then he will have to jump 18" which is still higher than what you are currently.
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Holy moly!!! Um, yeah, Koji is pushing 18" himself. Forget that. I don't even like running him at 22" in USDAA. Good thing I don't have ISC around here. lol. Bummer though, that we can't do it. Maybe if HopeShelties finds a map, I can talk my trainer into setting up parts.


Also, AKC does require your dog to already be in EXC for both STD & JWW whereas in USDAA you can have a starters/novice dog compete & possibly win in IHC.
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Thanks for the information. I guess it doesn't matter since my "little" boy isn't going to jump 26" and clear it safely. Maybe I should see what is in my area for USDAA tourney stuff. Just to give it a try :)
 
k9kreationz said:
:lol: You don't think that's an ugly and bad run? Huh. Maybe my idea of "clean" is whacked. I guess once I feel like I'm in "survival" mode, it's bad.

But in that run, there were a lot of spots where I was soooo out of place and had to RC versus FC. You can tell when Koji is WAY behind me and I'm RC.

Really? That's not bad? Yikes. Maybe I'm way too hard on myself. I know I'm not great by any means and Sealtainn hit the head on the nail. No one told me it should be perfect, but I feel if it doesn't go according to plan, then I didn't do a good job (or Koji didn't).
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Cheryl, you are definitely too hard on yourself. If you continue to seek perfection you will always be disappointed in your performances.

Just because a run doesn't go as planned doesn't mean you did a poor job or even that Koji messed up. Heck, I can't tell you the number of times I walked a course with a front cross planned and forgot to do it or had added an extra cross in at the last minute because it just "felt right" at the time.

I honestly believe part of the game is learning to think on your feet and be able to adjust on the fly in case something doesn't go quite right. I good handler can make these adjustments with very little disruption in the flow of their run.

The nice thing about agility is that it isn't rocket science so if something isn't spot on perfect it's not a life or death situation. As Rachel said, this is agility. The idea is to get the dog over the obstacles in the correct order. If it's not spot on perfect, so what.
 
Sealtainn said:
Susan Garret has said something along the lines of "stop looking for perfection".
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I think I'm aiming for what I plan, not necessarily perfection. Trust me, I know I'm far from perfect when running. When I complete the course I planned, that to me is "perfection". Even if I had little bobbles. And even if I chose to RC everything because I knew I wouldn't' make those FC's.

And just so you guys don't think I'm a crazy perfectionist either...this is one of my happiest/proudest runs: http://youtu.be/KLg1dP_yry4
There's 2 bobbles, but we were connected and running, overall, smoothly. I ran the path I made, that's perfection.

I know there's no true perfection in agility.
 
So if you know going in you might not make those front crosses, why plan for them? Just walk the rears and be done with it. I am learning the River loves rears, and that he sends out nicely, which gives me more time to cross.
 
ClantyreSheltie said:
So if you know going in you might not make those front crosses, why plan for them? Just walk the rears and be done with it. I am learning the River loves rears, and that he sends out nicely, which gives me more time to cross.
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I don't plan for them, that's the point. I look at the course, know FCs are better, but I know what I am capable of and usually then I'll decide if I should do a FC or RC as I'm walking the course, not while running (of course, when running there are times you have to change your mind, right?).
 
k9kreationz said:
I think I'm aiming for what I plan, not necessarily perfection. Trust me, I know I'm far from perfect when running. When I complete the course I planned, that to me is "perfection". Even if I had little bobbles. And even if I chose to RC everything because I knew I wouldn't' make those FC's.
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That's where you and I differ in our approaches, Cheryl. My idea of a good run isn't necessarily running what I plan but in how harmoniously Edan and run and to keep that harmony even when I have to deviate from the initial plan for one reason or another.

There are times when Edan surprises me and will be faster than I predict when I a course; sometimes slower than I expect. Situations like those necessitate I change my pre-planned approach to adjust for how he's running at any given time.

Having to change your plan because of how your run actually IS going rather than trying to force your walked plan to work when the situation is actively changing is the sign of a good handler.

Remember, dogs are living beings and not robots we can program. Just because we think they are going to behave a certain way while running the course may not be the reality of the situation. Being able to compensate for that IS good and does take skill. It's obvious just how much skill this actually takes when you watch a newbie handler.

Case in point: I watch Glen and CJ run. Back in June, Glen had no idea how to compensate if CJ didn't follow his exact course. This caused him to 'panic' and really loose track of where he was on course. It also helped with CJ's shut down mode.

Just because you have to change your plan while running the course because of a fluid situation with a live animal doesn't make your run bad in any way shape or form. It makes you a handler with a clue of how to communicate with your dog so he 'gets the message'.
 
I agree with Silaria. It isn't about always sticking to the plan. You have to be able to adapt, and so long as no major mishaps happen when you have to change your plans, nobody else even knows it wasn't the way you planned it.
A good handler is able to adapt, and try to save the run when things don't go according to plan.
I've done fronts when I've planned blinds, rears when I've planned fronts, fronts when I've planned rears, and if I've already blown the first run of the day and am just pushing my handling to try different things, I'll sometimes have a blind cross planned in case I'm in the right place at the right time.
It's not wrong to save the q and still feel good about the run if you have to change something. It is something I have often done with my greenies. A dog who isn't used to trialing yet, and may not be fully comfortable can change greatly from run to run, and I always try to be on my toes, ready for those occasions with backup plans, just in case something doesn't go to plan.
 
I'm still not sure why everyone is disagreeing here. We're all saying that changing your plan doesn't always equal an ugly run. Adapting = good!

But, sometimes changing your plan does result in an ugly run. You planned a FC, realized too late (because you're a green handler, for example) that you needed a RC, cued too late, and the dog went behind you or WAY wide. You call their name, get them on the right side of you again and keep going. You have a run where you make a couple of those mistakes.

It's a Q, and you're proud and happy that it was. But deep down you know it wasn't your best effort--you and the dog disconnected a few times for whatever reason. You're still happy and proud of the Q, but in your head it was "ugly" because you know that you normally make better decisions, have better timing, etc...

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder! :biggrin2:
 
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