Borderfame Twist Of Fate ADM :-)

Congratulations Epic on gaining your Agility Dog Masters title!!! What a little trooper you are :-)
On Friday night she ran her little paws off to receive her last pass!! Wheeeeeeeee!!!
AND....in both Open and Masters she didn't come off the end of the dogwalk....she did her 2o2o and waited for her release :-) Couldn't be happier!!
I have discovered one thing though........I'm soooooooooo unfit!! After each of my runs I was practically gasping for air, now I'm only 33 so really I have no excuses...what can I say I'm obviously just plain lazy :-) Sorry Epic for not being able to get you back to the car as fast as you would like, so you could have your "jackpot" but it seems my body can only deal with 40sec bursts of energy before it wants to collapse in a heap. LOL.....New Years Resolution....find someone to hold Epics "jackpot" outside the ring....so I don't have to run back to the car :-)

Thanks to Jennifer Coton for the photos!!!

Obsessions

I find it amazing how we as humans (myself included) can become so obsessed with such small things, to the point of ruining relationships...with our dogs in particular....seeing as this is an agility blog :-) We become fixated with faster contacts, where we can shave seconds off our next run and in turn place enormous stress on our dogs to perform to the level of perfection we seem to be striving for. And in the blink of an eye our four legged friend begins to shut down and the once strong relationship we thought we had with our beloved dog begins to unravel.
I feel in particular since coming back from America, my whole outlook has changed quite dramatically. For me agility is not quite the same. Yes I believe I still have an obsession with getting the best out of my dog. For example I know that every stride Epic does is 0.3sec and if she adds, say 5 strides extra on a course I'm already 1.5sec behind the leader...let alone whether her ground speed comes remotely close to the winning dog!
But for me, my relationship with Epic is more important. Agility is supposed to be FUN and I think there is a very fine line between having fun and winning, and placing too much pressure on your dog and in turn getting a poor performance.
I think there is a lot to be said for having a game of tug for the pure enjoyment of it with your dog...not just because you're trying to warm them up for the course they are about to run or because they are soooooooo high drive that it stops them from barking at you for attention. Just purely for the simple pleasure of hanging out with your dog and building on that fantastic relationship that will ultimately bring the best performance your dog can give.

Happy Birthday Epic

It's Epic's 4th birthday today and it really doesn't seem like I've had her this long. We woke up nice and early and took both dogs down to South Perth foreshore. She LOVES it down there. What with the many trees to sniff and all the birds to chase, it's doggie heavon. On our way home we stopped in at Pet Stock so she could pick a toy and a treat out :-) This is also another of Epic's favourite places and the minute we walked in the door, she made a bee line for the kangaroo sticks, almost inhaling one straight off the shelf!! The toy she picked is a very funky blue and yellow squeaky dog. (though I'm sure it'll last about 2secs!! LOL)

For the past 3 weeks Epic and I have had some time off in agility. Nothing like putting your feet and paws up and just chilling out.

I have been trying to teach her a new trick (saw a dog doing a handstand!!!) and I've managed to get her to put her back end up onto the lounge which stands about her shoulder height. Not too bad ....just have to work out how to get her higher!! LOL It's been really interesting teaching her new things. The biggest thing I've discovered is she had very little backend awareness and even though I'd done certain things with her when she was younger...obviously it wasn't enough.

2010 has already begun and there's so many things I'm hopeful for and want to work towards. Having fun with Epic is a BIG one. Yes the Nationals are here this year and I'd like to do well. But I don't want to lose sight of the fact, that first and foremost she's my best friend and there's no need to become so obsessed with getting into the finals that I forget that agility, is really just a sport. My life isn't going to change if we don't pass. Don't get me wrong I'll be disappointed, but I guarantee you that the very next morning, I'm still going to get woken up by a licky blue eyed border collie who loves me more than life itself.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EPIC!!!!!