Since last week, when I put out the idea that you all should run out and get five weave pole and contact challenges from three elite agility handlers, some of you have come to the conclusion that I should provide you with the actual challenges to try. You guys are cracking me up! Okay lets recap, I outlined the program, I promised to help you to improve your weaknesses once we out line them and now you want me to give you the actual challenges as well?
Aaaaah no, nor will I come to your home, set up the obstacles or run your dogs for you either:). There is coaching that is provocative, inspiring and challenging and then there is spoon feeding. The later is not my style at all, but kudos to all of you that tried:).
If you want to take part in the $5 Challenge, you need to do the leg work yourself. Here is what I will do though. I will facilitate.
I will encourage anyone that has a challenge to post it here. Those of you that go out and gets a challenge from others ask for permission to post them publicly. This will be our first Pay-It-Forward event of the year. You will be not only helping yourself but helping all those that read this blog. Just post your findings in the comments section of this post under a title identifying it as either a “Weave Challenge” or “Contact Challenge” and share what you found Ideally it will be in the format of CRCD (Clean Run Course Design) or in a pdf, gif or jpg.
Who to contact? I did suggest you contact seminar presenters (not including me:)) or other elite agility competitors. There must be at least 30 – 50 people out there doing agility seminars right now. You can also look at former world team members and don’t just think Large Dog Team members either. There are lots of talented handlers that have represented their counties in the small and medium dog classes (can you tell it annoys me that of all the 30 the seminar presenters out there that that you can name, likely no more than 3-4 are small dog handlers— and it has nothing to do with the talent level of the small dog handlers!).
If you can’t get any of these people to help (we must be at well over 200-300 people now) go to your favorite venue’s homepage website, look up the list of judges and email one of those to get their toughest challenges they have ever put out. Now if within this pool of 1000 or more people you still can’t find someone other than me to turn to for help, go and look at your old course maps that you have saved and find the sequences that has stumped you over the last year.
What’s that? You don’t save those course maps? (my European friends, you are exempt from this exercises since I know you don’t get course maps) Those old course maps are a great source of improvement –so a good New Years resolution would be to save them AND use them. Review/improve your challenges and weaknesses by going back over these course maps. Okay what if you have never trialed in agility so don’t have any course maps. There are lots of judges (especially the European ones) that post their courses on their own website. So start googling!
As a coach I like to see some initiative, an internal drive from my students (and I have adopted you all as my students– in one way or another), to get out there and show me some hustle while they are waiting to be hit by their next training epiphany. Now get out there, find your challenges and then come back here and post your findings. Either post the individual “Contact” or “Weave” challenges or post the websites where others can find course maps.
Today I am grateful for everyone that is out there collecting challenges to help each other in the drive to save five bucks.
Weave Poles and A-Frame challenge
Ok, better late than never 🙂
I went to a Tracy Sklenar seminar this past Saturday and she had this awesome and challenging Weave Poles and A-Frame Challenge (including handling). We enjoyed a lot, and I hope you do to:
Begin Course Designer
Version 3
For a free viewer, go to http://www.coursedesigner.com/viewer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End Course Designer
Weave Challange
I enjoyed the way this course left you needing to trust your dogs ability to seek out the weaves.
Begin Course Designer
Version 3
For a free viewer, go to http://www.coursedesigner.com/viewer
AADQeJxjZhOfoDJBhQEKGIEASDCzMnAxMDAxMDAzM6bIT4/L98ja0HKZ4euD4FBm
8SAhRnkWRqDi0xwLeKWBikA8bwZR1mm/wLwQkNwCbq3/Fpz//zMHPL77S4v5xN8J
fxT/yRcxMgQw6EnVCPN8gGjTYhD+J8IF1ga00INB5+/qTy+YjzHJ7wO55s33VQyM
DIayEJ4Dc8MvRgYjKG8KexhQvzGUJ8LwipuRwURWHgC4ni3E
End Course Designer
Thanks everyone for the help….didn’t know to include the “Begin….
all the way to the End Course Designer” and the problem was I was trying with Lynda O-H’s second map on her Jan 6th 10:05pm submission which only gave me a text box and Kim’s Jan 7 2:55pm submission, which just keeps giving me an error message in course designer. Just my newby bad luck. Tried it with other’s submissions with success. Went throught the help section of CD, but only found the bit about .agl files…..was starting to wonder if I had to save out the gobledy-gook as a text file and then change the extension to .agl……but didn’t think it should be that much work….
Anyways, got it now and Ollie is a happy puppy, but maybe not later this afternoon….heh, heh, heh (evil laugh).
Wendy
This is exactly why i endorse ALL forms of agility…every venue. Why? A jump is a jump is a jump. I challenge myself. Period. If i want to challenge myself with a simple jump or sequence…i give it distance ’til we push the edge.
Never focused on beating anyone else…because i have one thing, and one focus. My dog, and my challenges.
No judge can challenge us…because our challenges are just as unique as our own dog, and our own relationships. Their critique is pass or fail…and our criteria is FULL of variables.
Wendy, just copy from “Begin…” to “End Course designer”, then open the software and press ctrl +V or go to “edit” “paste”
hth
this is for wendy. I think you have to highlight the post from where it says begin course design to where it says end course design. then copy in the usual way. Open course design programm then paste
regards,
Jo
Wendy,
Select the whole course description,(all the goobly goop) including the “Begin Course Designer” and “End Course Designer” lines. This is what you copy
Open Course Designer 3.
In Course Designer 3, click on the little clipboard icon (10th from the top left)
I had to look it up by looking under the help tab and going into the table of contents, there is alot of info there.
Hope that helps!
Susan – this is a great idea. There is nothing like a little (cash) incentive to increase the pressure on the handler to make the environment more like a trial situation for the handler…
I’ve collected my favorite weave, contact and handling challenges in a post over on my blog: http://bit.ly/4CrRBI
Some have multiple sequences and some have video with me and my dog Meeker trying different handling approaches.
I hope they are useful to folks giving this challenge a try!
No, seriously, how do I look at the courses youz guyz have submitted? I have the free viewer…..do I cut and paste? if so, what do I cut and where do I paste? help!
Wendy
owned and trained by Ollie-man, who is getting frustrated with me for not having figured out this map thingy yet
What a cool idea!
Here are a couple of my favourite weave drills…
Begin Course Designer
Version 3
For a free viewer, go to http://www.coursedesigner.com/viewer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End Course Designer
Here are some challenges from one of my favorite agility pals, Nancy Gyes.
Nancy sent me:
A sporty little number that she uses to kick tushes of potential World Team members.
A really, really hard European Standard course from one of the judges of World Championships this year.
A little cutie pie she likes to call Nightmare Weaves
All right. Here’s a little ditty we just ran tonite, so me and Gustavo can’t do it as a challenge, but it was a fun little sequence with a challenging pole sequence, made up on the fly by Rob Michalski. Maybe someone else would like to run it.
http://teamsmalldog.com/blog/images/2010/dirt_nite_010610.gif
Ok, maybe I had too much egg nog at Christmas, or too much pudding with brandy, or too much champagne at New Years, but can someone explain to this newby just what am I supposed to click on in order to look at the challenges? I did download Course Designer 3 and installed it. But now what? I’m feeling like a novice dog whose momma just did a landing side front cross with the opposite side airplane arm while running the wrong way calling out my sister’s name!
lkjhsdoiuaweiuq3948e98q3487q34hdfjbvuckcoadpo89fvajfdlksdfglm to everyone out there! Just kidding, I have no idea what that would look like…
Wendy
owned and trained by the Ollie-man
Oops my CRCD weakness shows… Liked this because it tests lots of peices of contact performance! Running or Stopped…
Begin Course Designer
Version 3
For a free viewer, go to http://www.coursedesigner.com/viewer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End Course Designer
For Laura’s Training Endeavours!
Can’t take credit – Im sure I learned it from Susan along the way… Weave Pole Entry Game.
Begin Course Designer
Version 3
For a free viewer, go to http://www.coursedesigner.com/viewer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End Course Designer
This contact sequence from the full course from the 2010 Judge Bob Griffin’s course – available The whole course is Page 4 of this document http://www.wac2010.com/attachments/sample-courses-bob-griffin.pdf
Begin Course Designer
Version 3
For a free viewer, go to http://www.coursedesigner.com/viewer
AADweNpjZpR0sHigxwAFjEAAJJiZGbiAHAYGZmbGFPntvoFedlfsPjKUrs4/yCwZ
w8EkbwaUY3gqmM/EIOCQwSjgOMFYwIlRQOEDg4AiQ0hGqkJ5Rn5OqkJyfmlRcapC
ZrFCQGJ6qoKJQn6aQkkGkJuSn1yam5pXopBWlJ+rYGRgaKDg6eYcrOBVmpKeaqXg
lJ+k4F6UmZaWmSdgwCBgyMDAlVFSUmClr19eXq5XnpgM0qGXnJ+rn1hSkpicATKq
WL84MbcgJ1UXYmmxblJ+km46xBC9gpQ0LtkJxgwM8gB9vUE9
End Course Designer
Nope Lynda, that one is all you . . . although I do like the innovation!
OK…I got permission from Bud and not only is this one free, I got an extra freebie. A free course viewer and the experience of using it for the first time. Very interesting. (That should count extra.). After I got it downloaded and counted, I figure this course should count for all five weave challenges. 🙂 He said:
“Here’s a devil of a weave pole exercise for you:
Begin Course Designer
Version 3
For a free viewer, go to http://www.coursedesigner.com/viewer
AADfeJxjZhBXkCkQ/8AAgYxAACSYmRm4GJgYGBiYmRlT5BUSnnncMrp9k6HiQaUh
s7gAA4t8ESNDNkMaqzgHzx0GBhAvh+GLQDMrmMfCyJDLsOG7+t8HjB8Y5PcBTWHI
+arPzMhgKAvhPeRY+JeRwQjKk+VyZGdkMIbyGn88+cnIYALlif+c/p2RwRTKM2Pd
BDTbDMqz5az6z8hgDuXZ/QwGutwCytvxdT/QFEtZeQBBmDPY
End Course Designer
Good distance training begins with independent performance of an obstacle. And for speed and reliability the approach and entry are integral to the overall performance. Some will think that this is an “ugly” sequence. But it fact it is about the ultimate test in the dog’s understanding of weave pole performance.
Regards,
Bud Houston”
So some of my reasoning for not positing is that my free trial of the clean run software ran out…..and as little as I need to “create” courses in such a designed fashion (I usually drawn them by hand) I could not see purchasing it at this time.
With that said I will do my best to throw out some easy to write out (versus use diagrams) challenges. I see these challenges at a level of novice-intermediate dog……not necessarily a more advanced dog as these won’t have much to do with their understanding of more difficult sends and handling or object discrimination (BTW- I think that is was is difficult about this challenge, you have to know “what you have trained” to get a true assessment of if the pressure is the issue or if it truly boils down to lack of understanding on the dogs part…..so while I will put these ideas out, be fair to the dog you “have”).
WEAVES
1) I like to try out my dog’s ability to be in extension and still hit his/her weave entry (especially pole two) before I decide to ask for weaves at a trial. So I set up 2-3 jumps in a straight line directly before the weave entry (I have the weaves closer then regulation between obstacles typically would be to push the envelope so to speak) and run with them in extension to the weaves and see how they do …..Note: this can be fairly physically demanding on the dog and unless your dog has a great understanding of their hind they may fail and that will speak to where you should focus your energy. So this exercise could be adjusted based on your dog’s skill level…..
2) Go sit in a chair set up at the middle point of 12 poles and send your dog to the weaves…… (No other objects in the environment) and see what happens….
3) Send your dog into the weaves and pretend to fall down (right next to your dog is best…..I learned my dog was not completely obstacle focused in his weave performance with this one so I went back to 2×2 stuff to get better “true” understanding of his job)
4) Try a very far away send to the weaves…..does your dog accelerate with the release or look at you like “mom/dad aren’t you coming too?” if they look at you they may be relying on your forward momentum and not complexly independent)
CONTACTS
1) Try this only if your dog can be safe in this type of entry – set up any contact and try a send to the object with a pull (either side) from the middle of the object with you pulling the dog towards the entry and see if your dog will enter from a straight line on the bottom of the object or if they decide to take a “flying leap” onto the obstacle…..this would speak to working that entrance to the contact.
2) Okay so I said no discrimination but this is a basic one….set up a tunnel under the dog walk or a-frame so that the opening of the tunnel actually blocks the entrance and is closest to you and the dog when approaching the entry…..send dog out to contact obstacle and see if that tunnel sucks them in or not 😉
3) Assuming you have a two-on-two-off send your dog to a contact and just as they reach the bottom take off like a raging lunatic (in any direction) hooting and hollering (oh yeah and you can pretend to fall again if you like ;-)…..see if they stick to their criteria…..takes running past them to a whole new level.
4) Send your dog onto any contact obstacle and just as they hit the entry take off backwards…..do they come off or complete the object?
Anyway, I was not sure if this was the type of challenge we are looking for….but all of these experiments with the obstacles have proved very helpful for me in my assessment of where my dog is at and what I need to go back and clean up in their understanding.
Hope others find this helpful….have fun and BE SAFE…..especially with the contacts, again I will re-iterate know the dog at your side and what you have trained them….and be fair!
Happy New Year,
Mary
Thanks for taking all that time to write those out Mary!
Susan, This blog is wonderful and the idea of collecting challenges great!
Sometimes I feel as though everything is a challenge for me. Since I do read and very much enjoy your blog very much I will do my best to find a way to
take part it in!
Thank you!
Peg
[…] than 10,000 visits to my blog this week I have only gotten 5 of you that have contributed to the challenges I urged you all to submit. Hmmm […]
It’s not free, but it’s got a heck of a lot of sequences in it – Agility Training in a Small Universe, an e-book by Bud Houston. I bought it last year. It’s $18, but has 800+ sequences for small spaces, which is what I have to train in. A small space. He divides the book into chapters by small-space size. 🙂 It’s on this page http://countrydream.wordpress.com/web-store/ It’s very nicely organized. I’m going to pull it out for help with Susan’s $5 challenge.
Here’s a link to some USDAA course maps
http://coursemapwench.blogspot.com/
Hi,
A few challenges from courses by one of my favourite judges, Mia Laamanen from Finland (she judged World champioships in 2006).
Two weave entries AND exits (and many more like this on most of her courses):
http://www.stratwin.fi/kennelkvarkin/courses/2009/2009-12-12_jumping3m.gif
http://www.stratwin.fi/kennelkvarkin/courses/2009/2009-12-12_jumping3e.gif
Contact challenge:
Dog walk/tunel discrimination and a nice turn after a-frame:
http://www.stratwin.fi/kennelkvarkin/courses/2009/2009-08-29_openSM.gif
And a twist after dog walk:
http://www.stratwin.fi/kennelkvarkin/courses/2009/2009-08-30_agilityL-a.gif
Katarina
Mia is awesome, these are bound to be doozies!
Susan, this is SUCH a great idea. I can’t wait to get started. 🙂
Here are some dutch courses, sorted by judge.
http://www.belgians.nl/agendajudges.htm
some more I bookmarked:
http://www.agility-ch.ch/
http://pompilio.wordpress.com/index/ (<< nice one)
just to get you started 🙂
For those of you that either don’t save maps or can’t save maps there is now a website posting maps for you to check out. Maybe some challenges, hint, hint!
http://www.agilitycoursemaps.com
These maps are from all different venues and organizations, enjoy!