Lucy's flyball blog

Last post

2009-11-28T21:49:00.001-05:00

I've made the leap and integrated all of Lucy and Walter's blogs into one single blog. So from now on, updates on Lucy's flyball fun will be at www.muttsandaklutz.blogspot.com. Hope to see you there.

FBI U-Fli tournament (Navan)

2009-07-05T15:11:00.002-04:00

Lucy ran only in Singles and Pairs this weekend. Her previous best singles time was 5.5, which she smashed in her singles race on Saturday: 5.2! That race was one of the funnest flyball moments I've had with her. She was running as fast as she ever has and luck was with me in getting some really good start times.

She also ran in Pairs with her best dog friend Sammy. It was Sammy's retirement tournament as she will be pursuing other ventures such as agility and helping look after her new human brother. Lucy and I will definitely miss Sammy and her human in the flyball lanes. Sammy and Lucy learned the flyball ropes together, with house league in Kingston in the winter of 2006-2007 and then graduating on to singles/pairs at U-Fli in their first tournament in April 2007. It was a fun journey; we wish Sammy all the best in her other pursuits!

POF's "Rescue Me" U-Fli tournament

2009-04-26T21:49:00.005-04:00

Lucy ran half a spot at this for-charity tournament. She ran second into height dog Sadie, followed by mini aussie Tag and bc Tylor.

Lucy ran all four of her races clean and didn't bobble at all. When the pass was snug her time was 5.4. Lucy earned her TF-1 title.

Our clubmates Tashtego, Tucker, and Zara made their official U-Fli debut running in singles and pairs!

Flyball goals

2009-01-01T08:58:00.000-05:00

The goals I had set for Lucy's 2008 flyball year were "to see her tug drive continue to improve, and to see the racing debut of our home team". I guess there has been a wee bit of progress in the first in that she loves her new water bottle crunchy tug, although her enthusiasm for it lasts for only one race. That's ok though. Lucy's a food hound through and through and I'm good with that. As for the second, that goal was achieved in November. Yay!

For 2009 I really don't have any goals, other than to keep having fun with Lucy in the flyball lanes.

Dogzworth's Big O tournament

2008-11-30T22:36:00.016-05:00

Lucy ended her 2008 flyball season with this weekend's tournament, NAFA Region 20's biggest: Dogzworth's Big O! Held at Montreal's Olympic Stadium (known as the Big O), the tournament is part of a huge dog show/companion animal expo, featuring a two-ring flyball tournament, an AAC agility trial (which Lucy participated in last year), obedience competitions, disc dog trial, a conformation dog show, a conformation cat show, and of course tons of vendors and breeders. The flyball tournament this year was pretty darn big with 62 teams coming from as far as Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Michigan, and Connecticut!

Lucy ran with DGB's regular team: Start dog extraordinaire Kia (NAFA's #1 Red and White Setter), yes-even-huge-dogs-can-have-gorgeous-swimmer's-turns Rocky (huge chocolate lab and mellowest rescue dog ever), Lucy running in third, and squirty-9"-height-dog-who-even-with-teency-short-legs-is-way-faster-than-Lucy Niki (fellow Ottawa Humane Society adoptee, corgi/german shepherd mix). All the dogs ran well, though in the spirit of true teamwork they each made a contribution or two to the flag situation. Lucy VERY uncharacterisically dropped a ball in two heats in the second race on Sunday. She never ever ever drops balls. The only time she might leave a ball behind is if it's a bad bobble and it rolls too far out of her lane. But in that one race she dropped the ball after the first jump coming back from the box, in the first two heats. The only possible explanation I can come up with is that this race was in the rightmost lane of the right ring, which was adjacent to the crowd (see photo), so maybe she was distracted? Strange though since she had run in that lane on Saturday and had no problems. Oh well -- aside from those two goof-ups there were no other issues all weekend, and hardly any bobbles. I was happy with her times which were 5.4s and 5.5s when the pass was decent.

Going into the tournament Lucy needed only 100 more points (i.e. four heats under 25 seconds) to get her next flyball title, so she is now Lucy, Flyball Master. Oooo, doesn't that sound impressive? My best-time-5.2 hound mutt is a Master of Flyball! Funny eh.

Oh and a professional photographer took AMAZING photos of all the dogs so there's *finally* a nice shot of Lucy jumping in flyball! Lucy has an awkward jumping style so her flyball jumping photos usually come out looking not so great. But he got a really nice one of her stretched out which will be posted here when I get a copy of it. In the meantime, here are a few more very unprofessional photos:

The setup for the two-ring flyball tournamement.

The cat show cats had some pretty fancy-looking crate setups. Do you think I'd get any strange looks if I dressed up Lucy and Walter's crates like this at our next agility trial or flyball tournament? :-D

We stayed at the Auberge Royal Versailles, an easy eight-minute drive away. Perhaps not quite as fancy as that cat's digs, but I would definitely stay there again - the room was huge, with a reasonable rate of $107 per night including taxes. Lucy and Walter were superstars and have come so far in the hotel manners department. Not a single peep out of either of them the whole time. It would appear that gone are the days of having to keep them leashed the whole night so that when the slightest noise caught their attention I could grab them quickly and shove food in their faces to keep them quiet!

1-day NAFA tournament (Montreal)

2008-10-26T21:10:00.001-04:00

Lucy and I were thrilled to be joined by two of our teammates who made their official racing debut! Of course, Lucy's best flyball buddy, Sammy, was there too. Here's the video from our last two races.

First practice at new location

2008-09-20T19:03:00.003-04:00

As of the start of this month our club now practices at a new location that's quite a bit closer for most of us. Due to agility I've missed the first two practices so this was our first time here.

This was also the first day we tried using some new stride regulator props to help get Lucy to land/takoff between jumps rather than right on top of the jumps. Today she just did recalls with the props in place.

Also we tried a new adjustable fake box today to help one of our dogs figure out how to pick up the ball and turn at the same time. Today it was on the flattest setting and she was doing just great with it.

Region 20 Co-Host NAFA tournament (Carp)

2008-09-07T18:29:00.002-04:00

This was the first ever co-hosted tournament in Region 20 and Lucy and I were happy to be a part of it as well as helping organize it. Lucy ran on OTB's open team, running in fourth, same as in August. Again she was running slow, with times often in the 5.8 range, even with the jumps still at 7".

Oh! But the great part is she did some really great tugging on Sunday with a non-treat tug! Usually we just use her treat tug and as long as she grabs a hold of it then I'm a happy camper. Well, for some reason the thought occurred to me Saturday night "hey, why not try the new water-bottle-tug I bought at Guides Canins in August?". Then I thought "no, the sound of the crunching bottle would be too loud and be an unfair distraction to the other dogs." Then I thought, "well, flyball is so noisy as it is, and lots of people use squeaky toys as flyball motivators without causing any problems." So we gave it a go on Sunday, and she LOVED it! She ran a couple of full races with the bottle tug only, no treats in the lanes at all. After that though her enthusiasm for it started to fade so we went back to the treat tug. Still, while it lasted it was great and she was really tugging hard. Will definitely use it again at the next tournament.

POF NAFA tournament (Carp)

2008-08-10T19:08:00.003-04:00

Lucy ran on OTB's open team, running in fourth and passing into height dog Keno. A few bobbles on Saturday but she figured herself out by Sunday. Like in the July tournament, her times were slower than they were in May, not sure if it's due to the heat or what.

FBI's "Come Fly in July" NAFA tournament, Navan

2008-07-13T15:41:00.002-04:00

Lucy ran as part of the Burnin Rubber team in Regular 2. The lineup for most of the tournie was Glimpse (speedy little height dog setting the jumps at 11"), Maya (beautiful blond rescue bc mix), Lucy, and Sammy. Blink joined us for the last race. Everyone ran really well and we took home some very pretty third place ribbons. It was pretty hot and muggy outside and even more so inside, so that might have been a factor in Lucy posting slower times than normal. Usually she easily gets 5.5 with the pass but this weekend when I looked at the times they were often in the 5.7-5.8 range though with some 5.4s in there too. Could also be that some of the passes were wide as we didn't have a pass-caller, and/or the jumps being higher than she's been jumping lately.
Anyway she was a very good dog and the only flags she got were for a couple of hot passes.

The highlight was the open practice held in the racing lanes Saturday evening where a bunch of our team's green dogs came out to play and did just fantastic!! :-)

NAFA tourney in Trenton; Lucy gets a new title

2008-05-19T14:01:00.002-04:00

Lucy and Sammy raced with an open DGB team at the beautiful Community Gardens in Trenton. The lineup was Chaos (a Dutch Shepherd from Pawzie Traction who got not one, but two perfect .000 starts!), Lucy, Sammy, and Envy (mini aussie who set the jump heights at 10"). The team ran very cleanly and got tons of points. Lucy picked up her FDCh-G title and a cool handmade memento to mark the occasion. She ran a nearly flawless tournament (just one bobble) and for once I didn't make her do any hot passes, so for once we didn't cause a single flag. Lucy was her usual steady self.

I changed how I release her. Instead of a hand on the collar and one at her waist, I hold her waist only with both hands. This has the benefit of keeping my feet out of her way, and I'm hoping this will better enable her to crouch down. Might try in practice working up to lifting her feet onto mine as I saw lots of people do, but I'm not sure how that will work.

One last note about the tugging situation: She's at the point now where she happily drops the ball to latch onto the treat tug, which she did every time. But, no real tugging yet, and I'm not pushing it for now, although she was tugging well outside the ring for a little bit.

DGB's "Go Ballistic" NAFA tournament (Carp curling rink)

2008-04-26T19:49:00.006-04:00

Lucy and Sammy raced on an open team with speedy little bc Maxi and the reliable veteran Idgie who set the jump height at 8" for us. For most of the tournament the lineup was Sammy, Lucy, Maxi, Idgie. Jasmine made her tournament debut as warmup dog and did great with her recalls.

Lucy not only ran the whole tournament clean (except for a few hot passes, my fault), but for the first time ever she didn't bobble a single ball, 32 heats over the course of the tournament. Yay!

When she passed into Sammy, releasing her at 36-37 was avoiding hot passes but I'm not sure how tight the passes were or weren't.

When she did starts (last two races on Sunday), I released her on the last yellow at about 26 feet. Whenever she does starts again I'd like to try backing her up and starting on the second yellow. It was kind of funny, kind of annoying, that when she was moved to starts, she kept leaning to the left while waiting to be released, since she was so used to leaning to the left to move into the lane after Sammy flew past her.

Here's a photo taken at last weekend's tournament. Is it just me, or does she vaguely resemble a kangaroo in this pose?

Oh and I boxloaded one race for another team. It was fun and neat to see a different perspective on the dogs.

Paws On Fire "Rescue Me" U-Fli tournament

2008-04-19T18:30:00.009-04:00

Our first tournament since September! It was the first annual Paws on Fire "Rescue Me" U-Fli tournament. The fantastic thing is that all proceeds from the tournament go to rescue! Kudos to POF for a fantastic idea. A local tv news station filmed a piece about the tournament, viewable here.

It was also the debut of our home team, the first time Sammy and Lucy have had the opportunity to run on the same team at the same time. It was a pickup team with two guest dogs and the lineup was Sammy (who did a great job at her first time in starts), Lucy, Niki (an awesome little german shepherd/corgi mix height dog rescued from homelessness in Iqaluit), and Blink (a very charismatic rescue mix working hard to overcome her issues) in anchor. Milo made his tournament debut as warmup dog and looked like a total pro doing his recalls and full runs. Short-but-fast little Niki set the jump height at the minimum 6". Special thanks to Jasmine's human who did a terrific job as first-time boxloader, and to two other teammates who took detailed stats for every race.

Lucy ran clean the whole tournament except for her one and only bobble which resulted in her missing a jump. Well, she did get flagged for some hot passes, but that was my fault, not hers. :-) Her times were in the 5.2-5.3 range when the pass was relatively tight, and she set a new personal best time: 5.222 (previously 5.241... funny how we flyball folk can get excited about such miniscule time improvements!) including the pass into Sammy.

On Saturday, releasing her from 30-32 feet mostly resulted in good tight passes. On Sunday, releasing her from 35-37 feet was necessary to avoid hot passes.

Reviewing video from today's races reminds me that Lucy's flyball striding is terribly inefficient. The peak of her arc is midway between jumps rather than over the top of the jumps, so she's practically landing on top of each jump, coming down within inches of each one. If we can get her striding over them properly she could shave a bit off her time.

The photographer captured several nice shots of Lucy, viewable here (pages 7 and 8).

The weather was beautiful: sunny and warm with an unseasonal high of 22 degrees.

Team practice; getting ready for U-Fli

2008-03-29T11:33:00.002-04:00

Our flyball team will be making its debut at the U-Fli tournament in April. Woo hoo! It will be a pickup team consisting of Sammy, Lucy, and two guest dogs from other teams. One of those guests joined our practice today, running into Lucy. Passes were kept wide but Lucy was just fine with it.

Supplementary team practice at K9 Sense

2008-03-18T19:49:00.000-04:00

Gearing up for the tournament debut of some of our flyball team's up and comers, our team is having a few extra practices at a different location to help the dogs learn to generalize flyball (which they have done like total pros). With a few tournaments coming up in the near future Lucy could use a change of flyball scenery too so I brought her tonight and she raced head to head with Tucker and Zara. All the dogs did great :-)

Team practice

2008-02-23T16:09:00.002-05:00

Lucy did head to head full runs against Z. and Tk. for the first time. The two greenies acted like seasoned pros, taking a look at Lucy at the start line but never so much as thinking about crossing over.

Team practice

2008-02-09T12:39:00.000-05:00

At today's practice we had Lucy and Sammy race head to head, giving Lucy a nice big head start because Sammy loves to race (unlike Lucy who seems utterly oblivious to the fact that there's a dog running in the other lane). When Sammy has a fast dog to race against, or if she's behind the dog in the other lane, she picks up so much speed racing to the box that she has trouble coordinating herself at the box/ball. Took us a while before we realized this because our team doesn't have a speed demon dog. Anyway, giving Lucy a headstart worked like a charm, and Sammy was flawless, running fast and not only catching up to Lucy but even passing her several times!

BREAKING NEWS: At today's practice, 3 of our up and comers completed several beautiful, totally independent full runs with gutter but without a knee, some with the box partially sprung!! Yay!

Yearly review of goals

2008-01-01T10:42:00.000-05:00

Here's what I wrote this time last year:

"My goals for Lucy's 2007 flyball year are for her to regain her straight return pass, prove herself in head-to-head racing with strange dogs, do more tugging with her treat tug, and race if a possible opportunity materializes. Mostly I just want to keep having fun with her and watch/help our flyball team continue to develop!"

I'm happy to report that all of those goals were met, and I'm especially happy about the passing one. For 2008, I'd like to see her tug drive continue to improve, and to see the racing debut of our home team.

Practice

2007-12-29T15:54:00.000-05:00

Put the video camera on a tripod facing the start line to get a better look at how Lucy's passing Sammy. Today, 25 feet was resulting in hot passes.

Team practice

2007-12-15T13:58:00.001-05:00

Practiced passing into Sammy and set up the tape measure to find the ideal release point. 25 feet seems to be the sweet spot, releasing when Sammy's midair over the first jump from the box. The first few times she was hesitant going into the pass which therefore was quite wide, but after a few times she was diving into the pass.

Dogzworth open practice (Guides Canins)

2007-10-22T00:23:00.000-04:00

Several of our team members went for a shared practice with Dogzworth at their practice facility, which was the first time there for all of us and our dogs. I was hoping that all Lucy would need before doing a full run would be a single recall, which worked at her last tournie. Ideally this will be all she'll need at our team's first tournament next year so that most of the warmup time can go to the greener dogs. Well, it didn't exactly work - she was in scatterbrain mode and took a few upclose boxturns to get into it. I think this might be because I hurried her into the building and right away put her to work without letting her get accustomed to her environment. Plus, she was slow overall tonight.

Lucy and Sammy took turns passing into each other, which went great.

Team practice

2007-10-20T21:59:00.001-04:00

Lucy was handled first by L. and later by C. and did just great while I boxloaded. I had given them some super delicious treats to give her, so she didn't care about me at all. I've been leaving the box untriggered for a while now to pattern her into placing her mouth properly over the ball.

Saturday October 13th 2007 - team practice

2007-10-13T10:35:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Lucy helped the green dogs with distraction training by doing recalls (on the flat since we're down to one set of jumps at the moment) in the other lane while they were doing recalls in their own lane. She also helped them with more of the passing exercise that we did last week. At one point, I handed her to K. to try running her while I hid and watched. While she did do a run or two, I think it would have went a lot better if I had put her in a crate, then casually wandered off, then the other person would take her from her crate. I suspect she wouldn't have been looking for me as much that way, especially if she was being rewarded with some super duper treats. :-)

2007 entries to October 13th

2007-10-13T10:04:00.000-04:00

Here are Lucy's 2007 flyball journal entries to October 13th.

Saturday October 6th 2007 - team practice

2007-10-06T10:34:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today Lucy helped the green dogs learn about being passed. They would do a recall from the box, and then Lucy would pass into them on her way to do a full run. Some of the dogs looked a little surprised to see her, but she was a pro and just went and did her thing.

Saturday and Sunday September 8th and 9th 2007 - Burnin Rubber NAFA Tournament (Carp curling rink)

2007-09-09T10:32:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Now that the 90 days are over, Lucy got to race with another team (still waiting for our home team to be ready to race next year). She was originally supposed to have one full spot, but due to a sick dog teams were reshuffled and she ended up double running. She ran starts on Regular 3 and sometimes third, sometimes anchor on Multi 2. I was extremely pleased with how she ran as she had several successes:

Success #1: No deeked jumps while passing into or being passed into!!! Including when she was hot passed into 3 or 4 times on Saturday!!! All that remedial passing practice and running with seasoned dogs has been a tremendous help and I'm tempted to believe that she's completely overcome the passing incident of last November. :-))))
Success #2: Much improved non-bobble to bobble ratio!
Success #3: She set her new personal best time! Her best start dog time (ie not including the start) was 5.241 over 11" in her sixth race on Saturday and she was pretty consistently in the 5.2s and 5.3s with some slower times on Sunday. My best start was .062 but there was quite a range in there! Her best time on her half-spot team was 5.5 including the pass.

Here's one of her runs from Sunday where she gets her butt whooped by a border collie:

There was one "oh crap" moment on Saturday, which was when she was on her start-dog team in the lane adjacent to the head table, and someone had a grilled cheese sandwich at the head table (which is apparently a no-no), and when I released Lucy, well, she decided that that smell was too interesting to pass by uninvestigated. Fortunately she let me pull her off and send her down the lane but her start time for that heat was over 3 seconds!! Thankfully she didn't repeat that performance! Another minor "oh crap" moment was when the ball was loaded into the wrong hole once on Saturday. She wasn't able to do her turn, but she did pick up the ball and bring it back. Early oOn Sunday, she had a few NFs due to ball dropping; these were due to not picking up the ball on a couple of bobbles as well as not having a good grip once or twice (video playback is very helpful in that area!)

I've learned that for warmups even for her very first race, she doesn't need upclose pops off the box in order to situate herself as to where the box is. A recall before the first races of the day is sufficient, and the same goes for Sammy. This will be great when our team is up and running next year so that we can give the green dogs most of the warmup time.

She got a new title: FDCH-S (1000 points), and was awarded one of the couple of dozen individual dog awards: The Twist "New Blood" Award "given to a dog who has recently joined a new team and is doing great this past year". :-)

Notes to self regarding release points:
- STARTS (regular 3): I release her when the third yellow appears. 27' 9" did well at the start of Saturday including a 0.06 but also a false start. Towards the end of Saturday, 26.0' did well including a 0.1. On Sunday, 27' got some .1 starts in the morning, but by the end of Sunday I had to move her up to 25' for .1 starts.
- PASSING INTO K. (multi: on Saturday and one race on Sunday): 27' worked well at the start of Saturday. 26' 6-8" good towards the end of Saturday.
- PASSING INTO J. (multi: mostly on Sunday): mostly I just released her when told to depending on how the previous dogs had run. (due to the post-seeding lineup change, breakout was a risk.)

Thursday September 6th 2007 - guests at other team's outside practice

2007-09-06T10:31:00.001-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Lucy did some nice tight passes into K., and she didn't deek around any jumps when being passed by R. including one which was relatively tight.

Saturday August 25th 2007 - team practice

2007-08-25T10:31:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Did a bunch of no-jump up-close boxturns with the box unsprung to get her to place her mouth better. Also, did the lanes-close-together thing doing recalls with Sammy. No question, Sammy's got the racing thing down, but Lucy, well, not quite! :-)

Sunday August 19th 2007 - guests at another team's practice

2007-08-19T10:30:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Did a new exercise which is full runs with the lanes right up next to each other, only a few inches apart, with very low gates the whole length separating the lanes. The idea is to increase the competitiveness, getting the dogs to really notice the other dog and to want to race them. It was a very neat exercise and with a few more repetitions it may just get Lucy to clue in to the race aspect! Of note, Lucy did a lot of tugging today.

Saturday August 18th 2007 - Demo at The Ex!

2007-08-18T10:30:00.001-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

We were guests on another team doing three demos over the course of the day at The Ex'es Pet Pavillion. I learned that Lucy can play flyball even on an overly full stomach. :-) She got a hold of one of the treat pouches while in the car waiting for me to finish setting up her crate and did a terrific job of cleaning it right out! About a cup and a half of treats downed in one fell swoop! Somehow she found room in her stomach for more treats and so happily played along in the flyball fun, which consisted of racing not only dogs but also children who volunteered to give it a go against the dogs! It was a fun experience and Lucy's brain stayed in gear despite the interesting smells of a pot-bellied pig and pony who were hanging out in stalls adjacent to the ring.

Thursday August 16th 2007 - guests at another team's outdoor practice

2007-08-16T10:29:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

She passed tightly into K. with no jump-deeking, and didn't do any of the weird interested-in-K. stuff she did last week.

Thursday August 9th 2007 - guests at another team's outdoor practice

2007-08-09T10:29:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Lucy hasn't done flyball outdoors in a long, long time, but she did well and didn't go off following her nose. Practiced passing into K. -- at first, she was interested in K., but after a few runs with someone holding her and me up at the box, she was doing much better.

Wednesday August 8th 2007 - home practice

2007-08-08T10:28:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Having run someone else's seasoned tug-crazy flyball dog at a tournament last weekend, I'd love to get Lucy to the point of enthusiastically grabbing onto her tug as her reward before she gets treats. So, I've been having her do recalls at home for the treat tug, and also sending to the ball on the floor over/back one jump coming back for the tug. The former is going well, but for the latter she's still reluctant to let go of the ball to take the tug.

Sunday July 29th 2007 - guests at another team's practice

2007-07-29T10:28:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Lucy did the wide-jumps-with-gate-down-middle passing exercise well, and then for the full runs she was passed into by M., starting wide, then to 4 feet and then to 2 feet and no deeking!!! Woo hoo! Rewarded the full runs with superduper treats.

Saturday July 28th 2007 - team practice

2007-07-28T10:27:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Woo hoo!!!!!!!! Today was a really exciting practice because our team's novice dogs made some terrific progress! Today was only the second time (I think) for them to try a ball retrieve (no box) over a few jumps, and by the end of the exercise, Zara was sending over three jumps completely independently and back over all four, and carrying the ball the whole way back!!! And, after a few no-box retrieves for Milo, they put the ball on the ledge because just this week at home practices he's started to pick up the ball and maintain the turn. Lo and behold, he sent from two jumps back, totally independent, did a gorgeous boxturn, picked up the ball and brought it back over the jumps!!! Plus, Jasmine's and Tashtego's ball retrieves are coming along too!!! I see Sammy and Lucy having some company in the full-run department very soon! Sorry for all the exclamation points, but it was our most exciting practice since the new dogs got their boxturns.

New for Lucy today was doing full runs passing into the green dogs doing a recall from the box. She did running passes into Milo and Jasmine and we held off a bit for Zara who needs a bit more time to get used to being passed into. Finished with some full runs passing into Sammy who was racing (and I do mean *racing*!!) today's guest, malinois Emily.

Sunday July 22nd 2007 - guests at another team's practice

2007-07-22T10:26:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today was a great opportunity to get Lucy some practice with passing and being passed into very experienced dogs. The lineup was N., Lucy, and wee little I.. At first my passes were way wide since I don't have a clue what I'm doing yet, but when I tightened up too much early in the practice she went around the first jump. But, that was the only time she did that all day and she was really starting to get the hang of it even with some relatively tight passes. Being passed (real passes, not run-bys!) by little I. wasn't a problem (in contrast to the practice on April 28th!) - she would look at her but never went around the jump. Lucy is still learning that when going to the box she should be on the right, the other dog on her left -- she looked a little unsure going into the pass sometimes, and poor N. must have wondered what the heck Lucy was doing. I was releasing her at 26 feet (my toes at 26) when N. was airborne over the first jump coming back from the box. We also did a neat passing exercise with recalls over wide jumps and short gates separating to create two paths. It was a great passing-focussed practice which is just what she needs.

Saturday July 14th 2007 - team practice

2007-07-14T10:26:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

After a couple of two-jump recalls with Lucy not even looking at little Miss Fluffy in the lineup area, we did lineup full runs with Sammy, putting Lucy first for the first time in a long time. She took a look at Sammy, BUT she took all the jumps, yay! The passes were kept very wide. She was definitely jumping the duct tape startline again today - how she manages to clear the jumps with that kind of striding I really don't know!

Saturday June 30th 2007 - team practice

2007-06-30T10:25:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

For her passing exercise, did boxwork with one jump while two dogs were lined up behind the jump - no problems.

Saturday June 23rd 2007 - team practice

2007-06-23T10:25:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Stepped it up in her passing exercise where two dogs were lined up pretty darn close to the middle of the lane, and only a metre or two back from the start line, and she did great with her two-jump recalls! Also, for full runs someone else ran her while I stood up close to the box and watched. Her first or second run was good, but after that she started to come to me after doing the turn so I went back and hung out in the lineup area instead.

Saturday June 16th 2007 - team practice

2007-06-16T10:24:00.001-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Thanks to the keen eyes of our team captain, it was discovered today that Lucy thinks the duct tape startline is there to show her where to take off for the first jump! She's jumping the tape which makes her land way short for all the rest of the jumps going to the box. When we placed a second piece of tape between the start line and the first jump she used the new tape as her guide and so took off at the proper place. In other news, her remedial passing training is coming along really well! Recalls with a couple of dogs in the lineup went well (might be time soon to push it up and put the dogs closer to the centre of the lane), and we tried something new which is using one jump and the box, putting a dog in the "lineup" after the jump so she does a turn with one jump then grabs the ball and back over the jump past the dog.

June 3rd 2007 - guests at another team's practice

2007-06-03T10:23:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Passing into one of their experienced dogs went well but she's not at a point where she drives forward into the pass yet.

Saturday June 2nd 2007 - team practice

2007-06-02T10:23:00.001-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

No-jump boxwork with eavestrough "wall" to tighten turn. Her passing exercise with recalls over two jumps went very well today: started with just Milo in the lineup area, held quite close to the lane. Then we had Milo do a recall but only after Lucy passed him. Then we put Milo and Zara in the lineup area. She didn't deek around any jumps. Canned dog food was the treat-du-jour for the passing work.

Saturday May 26th 2007 - team practice

2007-05-26T10:23:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Two-jump recalls with Jenn and Sammy off to the side went well. Participated in the "honoring the running dog" recall exercise and she did great even with 3 or 4 dogs in the lineup area (though off to the side a bit). She was quite happy with the canned food she was being rewarded with. A few full runs with some good tugging finished off her flyball day.

Saturday May 19th and Sunday May 20th 2007 - HDD tournament (Trenton hockey arena)

2007-05-20T10:17:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Despite a sleepless start (Friday night was Walter's first night at a motel and he thought he was supposed to sound the alarm at every single sound of 10 decibels or higher), it was another great tournament! Like last weekend, Lucy and Sammy shared a spot on BackDraft's Regular team. The hectic and noisy two-ring format didn't faze them at all and they both ran clean and consistent the whole tournament! Not a dropped ball or missed jump! They are really proving themselves to be reliable, solid flyball dogs. Both earned their FDCh titles this weekend and their consistent performance was a key factor in the team taking third place out of six teams in the Regular 4 division.

By far the biggest highlight of my weekend was that Lucy has started to tug as her reward! Until today (Sunday) I've only rewarded her with treats but her tug a-ha moment must have come to her Saturday night as she slept... because right from the get-go on Sunday she was tugging hard for all of her races and having a ball with it. The interaction of tugging provides a whole new level of fun for both Lucy and me compared to simply doling out treats and praise. I can definitely see phasing out the treats in the future (I was still giving her a treat or two after tugging, but only after she "won" the game by pulling the tug out of my hands) and hopefully even graduating to a more tuggable type of tug than the treat tug we're using now.

Another success is that she only bobbled the ball on 3 of her 20 heats which is a pretty darn good ratio for her! She still hasn't figured out that flyball is a *race* but that's ok, her a-ha moment is bound to come sooner or later and I'm really happy about the tug a-ha moment that happened!

Time-wise, from the few times that I looked she was in the low sixes. From manually timing the actual run times on the videos we took (ie not including the pass), her fastest was 5.5 on Sunday (which was also her best time at U-Fli), not bad at all considering the jumps were at 12" and she was starting from only 10 feet back due to the dog before her not being able to be passed into.

In summary I'm just so happy that she was totally confident and happy, getting into the game of it especially on Sunday. Our next tournament likely won't be for a long while but this was a good way to go on tourney-hiatus.

Temperature: Clear on Saturday, cloudy on Sunday, highs of about 17 degrees.

Here's a video of one of Lucy's heats. She's the fourth dog racing in the far lane.

Note the wagging tail while she's in the lineup!

Taking full photographic advantage of the gorgeous parkland at the tournament site; I think that's the Bay of Quinte behind the dogs. A sign on the nearby bridge calls it "The Gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway".

Saturday May 12th 2007 - FBI tournament (Navan curling rink) - Lucy's and my first NAFA tournament!

2007-05-12T10:14:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today Lucy raced in her first ever NAFA tournament! Backdraft had an opening on one of their teams so Lucy and Sammy are sharing a spot for a few tournies, this weekend being the first, until our own team has enough dogs ready to race next year. Lucy raced today and Sammy will race tomorrow. Anyway, Lucy ran great! Jumps were at full height and she ran last in the lineup. Coming in around 6.1 seconds (from the few times I glanced at the clock) she's not the fastest dog, but you know what? She ran clean each and every heat, taking all of the jumps and bringing the ball back even when she bobbled it (which wasn't very often with the exception of the fourth of five races where she bobbled 3/3), so I'm very proud of her! Her passes into Solo were very good and she was the last dog so no return passes to deal with. Of note, she did some nice treat-tug tugging after being treated after each run and it helped rev her up a bit; I'll tap into that more now that I'm reminded that she does have some tug desire (though I wouldn't call it tug drive just yet!). Warmups all day were one or two no-ball turns followed by a run with ball started from one or two jumps back. All runs started from 10-15 feet back. After earning her first title a few weeks ago (CGN) she has added a couple of more new titles under her belt after today: FD and FDX! Weather: Mostly sunny, 6 degrees in the morning up to 14 in the afternoon.

The customary after-the-last-race photo

Saturday May 5th 2007 - team practice

2007-05-05T10:14:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Five recalls over 12" jumps: sometimes she'd bounce, sometimes she'd sneak in an extra stride, and a couple of times she hit the jumps enough to dislodge the top 1" slat (good thing it's the special splinter-free kind). Up-close boxwork with BR box: Not a single bobbled ball out of about a dozen turns! Either she was feeling particularly unclutzy today (after getting the clutziness out of her system during the recalls) or she likes the BR box better than ours. Full runs with Sammy over 12": once or twice she dropped the ball after the first jump coming back, not sure why, could have been the 12" jumps were a little overwhelming for her today? Lucy and Sammy took turns going first for the full runs and when Lucy was first, a couple of times she deeked around the last jump but also a couple of times she didn't. One last note, last week I started to modify the release hold where instead of straddling her and holding her collar/shoulders, I kneel down and prop her back legs on mine so that she has something to push off against. Worked on sending her to treats at home this week to get her more comfortable with it which seems to be working. Needless to say I don't think I'll be trying this with 20-lbs-heavier Walter!

Saturday April 28th 2007 - team practice

2007-04-28T10:13:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Did some recalls and 5 runs over 12" jumps with Lucy first then Sammy. She did her usual going around the last jump thing a few times. Then we did full runs with the cutest, most unthreatening little dog, a guest from another team, Lucy being "passed" by that dog. Out of 6 or 7 runs she went around the last jump twice but I was glad that she was able to do 5 of them correctly even though there was no actual pass happening.

Wednesday April 25th 2007 - practice

2007-04-25T10:13:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

While at the agility field today I recalled and sent her (treat/bait bag as target) over 4 jumps 10 feet apart at 16". She seemed to be more comfortable with it there than at flyball practice and her bounces were midway between the jumps which is good.

Saturday April 21st 2007: U-Fli Tournament, singles and pairs (Carp Curling Hall)

2007-04-21T10:06:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

It was Lucy's and my first ever official flyball tournament as well as the first ever U-Fli tournament held in Canada and she did fantastic, no issues at all. She seemed really comfortable at this venue, bringing the ball back every time despite bobbles of varying degrees. It probably helped that the hall was really quite for singles and pairs. She raced 16 heats: 2x4 in singles and 2x4 in pairs, no crossing, no being crossed on, no hesitating, no worries :-) A best time of 5.500 (including the start) over 9". It was a great day. And now the details...

The first race was singles. For the first 15 seconds of warm-up she was a little scattered, but once she realized what was going on she got the idea and did some turns with ball, ending with a recall. All 4 heats were fumble-free and clean! She started her runs from 25-30 feet. We didn't take stats for this race but from what I noticed on the time clock my best start was 0.2, and her times (including the start) were as follows over 9" jumps: 6.017 - 5.629 - 5.500 - 5.885

Next was pairs with Sammy. I was a little too ambitious with the pass in the first heat so Lucy said "nope" and went around the first jump but immediately got back on track. Jumps were at 7" (no time to raise them to 9").

(1) Start: 0.253 Sammy: 5.726 Lucy: 7.722 (bobble) Total: 13.448 but it was NF due to Lucy missing the first jump
(2) Start: 0.116 Sammy: 5.842 Lucy: 6.855 (bobble) Total: 12.697
(3) Start: 0.746 Sammy: 6.178 Lucy: 6.544 Total: 12.722
(4) Start: 0.083 Sammy: 5.412 Lucy: 6.471 Total: 11.883 (this would be our best pairs time of the day)
Then our last singles race of the day, jumps at 7" (again, no time to raise them to 9"). Started her at 10-15 feet this time to see how it would go.

(1) Start: 0.717 Lucy: 8.583 (big bobble, rolled behind the box)
(2) Start: 0.236 Lucy: 6.063 (bobble)
(3) Start: 0.110 Lucy: 5.705
(4) Start: unknown Lucy 6.633

And finally our last pairs race of the day, jumps back at 9":

stats to follow
Here are Sammy and Lucy after the very last race of the day, which was Sammy and Lucy from Best Friends' Flyball Fanatics vs. Sammy and Lucy from Hot Diggity Dogs!

And here's Lucy with her certificates. Every dog racing in singles and pairs gets one:

The weather was sunny and warm, 9 degrees early AM up to 23 degrees in PM.

Saturday April 14th 2007 - Team practice

2007-04-14T10:02:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Thanks to a video camera and the frame by frame feature of my vcr, something peculiar surfaced about the way Lucy jumps: she's taking off so far from the jumps that her landing hand barely clears the jump wing, a far cry from the ideal where the dog's bounce is midway between the jumps. This is worthy of more close observation and see if some stride regulation exercises are called for. The following series illustrate (yes, I have WAY too much time on my hands!):

Sunday April 1st 2007 - House League #5

2007-04-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today was the the last house league of the 2006/7 season! Here's the summary of the day:

- How suitable for April Fool's Day, I suppose: On the very first heat of Lucy's very first race, she got crossed over on when the green dog in the other lane decided it would be more fun to chase Lucy than to go to their own box. In the dog park, Lucy absolutely loves being chased, but it's "a whole different ball game" when she's playing flyball as she seems to feel a bit stressed/vulnerable. Fortunately it wasn't a high-drive-type of dog and didn't nip at her or anything; it doesn't seem to have unsettled her as no new issues cropped up over the course of the day. It was the only time she was crossed on today so with all the interference-free runs that followed I think she's forgotten all about it.
- In preparation for racing with BackDraft in May we ran 3 or 4 races with them, Lucy always running last, with the jumps at full height which she's never done before. I think she had a little bit of a crush on their cute male BC, Skip...
- She handled BackDraft's box well as her fumble rate was about the same as normal.
- Lucy was timed in her third race of the day with the jumps at full height (these times don't include passing time):

6.41 - fumble
5.97 - clean
6.09 - clean
5.90 - clean

Boy if I thought she deer-hopped over minimum height jumps, does she ever do it on the max height jumps!! She looks so hoppy going to the box but I can't tell if she's equally hoppy on the way back so I'll videotape her at the next practice to see what's going on. The good news is she can run fast when she wants to, so if we can only figure out how to get her to bring that speed onto the flyball lane then her times can only improve. Of course we'll keep working on tightening her turn too.

- For one race I had someone else hold her and I was standing up close near the box to get her running faster but we didn't time it.

In summary, it was a good way to end the house league season as there were no "issues" today and she ran pretty consistently. House league was a very valuable experience that allowed me to learn a lot about my dog. It will be so much more fun when the rest of our team is doing full runs and joining us in the racing lanes next time!

Saturday March 31st 2007 - Team practice

2007-03-31T10:00:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Timed Lucy on a couple of solo runs using no slats: her first was 5.5something and her second was 5.4something. She does this terrifically time-wasting deer-hop thing on the way to the box, so there's definitely room for improvement! Then we did a few lineup runs with Sammy, and Lucy's pass into Sammy is going really well, with Lucy doing only a slight arc. Also a few head to head runs against Sammy which went fine.

Saturday March 24th 2007 - Team practice

2007-03-24T10:43:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Started Lucy's remedial return pass training today, doing a two-jump recall with someone crouching down a few meters back from the timers as if their invisible dog was next in the line-up. At first she gave a leery look at the person, but after a few goes she was nice and straight. Also tried full runs with Jenn holding Sammy in the lineup but with Sammy to the left of Jenn, which went ok too. In anticipation of the upcoming U-Fli pairs event, we worked on passes with Lucy passing into Sammy which went really well. Last but not least, Jenn ran Lucy for a couple of solo runs while I boxloaded. After a couple of tries, she got the idea. For most of her runs today we left the box unsprung.

Friday March 16th 2007 - Team practice

2007-03-16T09:58:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Since TTH isn't available this weekend, we practiced at our old flyball stomping grounds, Best Friends. Focused on no-jump boxwork with unsprung box and I video recorded her so I could later watch to see exactly what she's doing at the box.

Sunday March 11th 2007 - guests at another team's practice

2007-03-11T09:54:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

First we did head-to-head lineups with Lucy running after a big handsome chocolate lab. Well, aside from treats, tall male dogs are Lucy's favourite thing and the first time he ran past her on his way back from the box, she had to go flirt with him instead of go down the lane. After that she got back on track but still she had some trouble peeling her eyes off of him. Then we did a speed drill using two jumps: someone else holds her and I'm up close to the box facing her, I start running and call her name as soon as she passes me. The boxloader said she was definitely picking up the pace, particularly on the way back. We ended with more head-to-head lineups, this time with two different dogs in our lineup, Lucy running second, and in the left lane with a different box. She fumbled the ball without picking it up several times and I imagine it's the combination of different box, being in the left lane with nothing to block the view of the other box, and running with two new dogs. But also the captain noticed that Lucy catches the ball in the air several inches in front of the box rather than putting her mouth over the hole, which increases the chance of bobbles. So, I'll be doing some work with her with an unsprung box to get her to better position herself.

Sunday March 4th 2007 - House League #4

2007-03-04T09:43:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

A great day! Here's the summary:

- This is the first house league for which they removed the gate down the middle, leaving a section between the boxes.
- A familiar teammate boxloaded for every race and did a fantastic job of putting the right type of ball in the right hole despite the different line-up for every race.
- No one crossed over on Lucy.
- Lucy didn't cross over, but I had no worries that she would.
- Started her from 30 feet back for the first 4 races, which seemed to be a good distance. Started her closer at the end because she was getting pooped.
- She had a lot fewer fumbles than in the past, and when she did fumble she always brought it back except for the last race.
- She seems to be getting more relaxed with the whole thing (passing aside). No more worries that she'll run out the doors in avoidance, yay!
- Passing into Sammy went great. I didn't attempt any running passes into the guest dogs.

And here's the play-by-play:

Race 1 - left lane - Lucy, Sammy, guest, guest
- 1st heat: Clean
- 2nd/3rd heats: Dropped the ball after the third jump on one and went around the last jump on the other
- 4th heat: Clean

Race 2 - right lane - Lucy, Sammy, guest, guest
- All heats: Clean! (no running passes though)

Race 3 - left lane - guest, guest, Sammy, Lucy
- Put Lucy in anchor since she did well at being "passed" into for the second race and didn't want to push it
- All heats: Clean! Some good running passes with Sammy too.

Race 4 - left lane - Sammy, guest, Lucy
- All heats: Clean!

Race 5 - right lane - Sammy, guest, Lucy
- All heats: Clean! She's getting tired though.

Race 6 - left lane - Sammy, guest, Lucy
- 1st heat: Fumbled ball and didn't pick it up
- 2nd heat: Clean
- 3rd heat: Fumbled ball and was attempting to pick it up but I called her off because it was rolling into the other lane.
- 4th heat: Clean!

Two pooped out pooches at the end of a long but fun day!

Saturday March 3rd 2007 - Team practice

2007-03-03T09:42:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Did some head-to-head with a guest. For a couple of runs we started behind Sammy since Lucy usually never has to run past anyone on her way to the box. She got confused and didn't know where to go, but that's probably partially because we were starting from way far back which she's not used to. Also, did a couple of runs with someone else holding her and me up close to the box; it would be interesting to time it to see if it makes any difference.

Sunday February 25th 2007 - Guests at another team's practice

2007-02-25T09:41:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today Lucy and Sammy were guests at another team's practice. We started with double recalls with Sammy, with another dog working in the other lane. Lucy did well the first few recalls but then started doing her deeking around the last jump routine, so they suggested I modify how/where I pick her up which definitely helped. Then we moved on to head-to-head racing (no gates, not even between the boxes) with our lineup being Lucy, Sammy, and one of their dogs. We happened to be racing in the right lane which was good for Lucy since it meant she was turning away from the other lane. She did really well! As far as I know she didn't deek around any jumps, and she didn't seem phased when a dog from the other lane went sniffing near her during one of her runs. We realized that we hadn't set up the slant board but the dogs maintained their turns regardless. However, Lucy's turn was becoming pretty wide so at future practices I'll do some drills to help tighten it. Anyway, I was really happy with how she did today, especially considering the busy, lots-of-activity atmosphere compared to our tame, low-key team practices. Sammy did excellently today and she was fast! Neither dog crossed over at all. It was fun being part of a practice with so many people and dogs.

Here's a great shot of one of her bobbles:

Saturday February 24thd 2007 - Team practice

2007-02-24T09:40:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Did some solo runs (no head-to-head, no line-up) and after the first run, for the first time we removed the slant board to see what would happen. She maintained her turn, yippee! Of course, most of the time we'll leave it in place. I don't know if it's just my imagination, but it seems Lucy is happiest (ie fastest) when she's not running head-to-head or in a line-up. Not exactly ideal for flyball eh! Anyway, later we did some lineup racing with Sammy, Lucy going first. She didn't go around any of the jumps, yay! Sammy's still being released from far back though.

Saturday February 17th 2007 - Team practice

2007-02-17T09:40:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

(Last week's practice was cancelled because TTH was in use for an event.) Today for the first time ever Lucy raced head-to-head with dogs she never saw before and no gates between the lanes! Two dogs from another team joined our practice for some head-to-head racing as a warmup for an upcoming tournament that they're in. I'm so proud of Lucy; she did just great. She never even thought about crossing over, and she didn't seem bothered when one of the other dogs came over to her lane and sniffed the ground for crumbs while I was holding her. The only time she didn't bring the ball back was when it fell out of the hole before she got there and it was hidden behind the slant board (which was the only prop we were using). We were racing as pairs with Sammy, alternating which dog went first, and the bonus is that with the excitement of having new dogs around she seemed to forget her worries of being passed coming back from the box: she took all of the jumps and I didn't have to block her! Mind you Sammy was being held a fair bit away from the last jump and not released until after we passed, but still this is great progress! We raced 2 races with 5 heats each.

Saturday February 3rd 2007 - Team practice

2007-02-03T09:39:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

No special guests this week so we did some lineup racing with Sammy, mostly putting Lucy first. Lucy would take all the jumps when I met her at the second last one with Sammy held back a fair bit and not released until after we ran past them. She's still decent at passing on the way to the box thank goodness! Sadly, this month's house league has been cancelled due to bad driving weather.

Saturday January 27th 2007 - Team practice

2007-01-27T09:39:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today we met our new house league guest, a cute little JRT. After a few warm-up solo runs we did line-up racing with Lucy first, followed by Sammy then the JRT. Lucy is clearly still having problems being passed coming back from the box. No, correct that, because we haven't been doing any actual passing. Her problem is even more basic, which is that if when she's coming back from the box she sees dogs who are lined up, she gets worried and goes around the last jump. So I picked her up at the third jump and sort of blocked her way while running with her and holding the tug over the middle of the jumps.

Saturday January 20th 2007 - Team practice

2007-01-20T09:39:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

More head-to-head against our house league guest, and like last time I only released her after the other dog was coming back from the box. This went fine other than I can tell due to her slowness (one time she actually *trotted* between me and the first jump) that she's worried. Once she realizes that dogs in the other lane are no threat to her, I'm sure she will be much more confident.

Tuesday January 16th 2007 - home practice

2007-01-16T09:38:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

I have the box at home this week so I took advantage. Did some turns with the box unsprung to remind her to really put her mouth over the ball. Also, took the jump away and for the first time ever she did the turn while getting the ball with no jump. The first two were great, but after that she realized that it was just as easy to only put her hands on the box.

Saturday January 13th 2007 - Team practice

2007-01-13T09:38:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Started with the no-passing passing exercise over two double-wide jumps with Abby (finally back from her maternity leave, yay!), which went well. Then we did some head-to-head against our house league guest, which went well too. Also, for the first time we put two slats in the jumps. Lucy didn't cross over, but one time at the box she turned way wide and missed the first two jumps coming back. Note, today it was only quasi head-to-head since the second dog was released only after the first dog was returning from the box.

Sunday January 7th 2007 - House league #3

2007-01-07T09:37:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Lucy and I had a great day today! Here's the short version:
- Left Walter at home so that Lucy would have my undivided attention
- A familiar teammate boxloaded for every race
- Lucy was last in the line-up for every race, running after Sammy
- Rewarded mostly with extra-special treats that she will only ever get at house league or flyball tournaments
- She was just fine at starting back past the end of the gates
- She never once looked at the doors or stuttered on her way to or from the box, and I never got the feeling that she didn't want to be there
- She got in some running passes with Sammy but I didn't push it since her confidence is just coming back
- In the final race of the day, someone timed one of her heats and she ran in 5.83 seconds. I'm not sure if that included the pass or not but I assume it didn't. Not too bad though, given it was the end of the day!
- Out of 5 races, Lucy ran two entire races totally clean!

And here's the detailed version:

Race #1 (Left lane with small door) Warm-up: 2 turns with ball and no jumps + 1 turn with ball and two jumps then run all the way back
- Heats #1 and 2: Whereas for the first heats of the last house league Lucy was craning towards the door instead of up the lane, this time she was focused ahead, but she dropped the ball halfway back. I praised and treated her heartily anyway.
- Heat #3: Clean!
-Heat #4: She dropped the ball early again. I rewarded, but with her less-special treats.

Race #2 (Right lane with huge door) Warm-up: 1 turn with no jumps (can't remember if ball) + 1 turn with ball and two jumps then run all the way back
- Heat #1: She fumbled the ball and didn't pick it up. I rewarded anyway.
- Heat #2: Clean!
- Heats #3 and 4: Can't quite remember but I think she dropped the ball for one and did it cleanly for the other.

Race #3 (Left lane) Warm-up: none due to time shortage
- All heats: Clean! Yay!!

Race #4 (Right lane) Warm-up: two turns, no ball, no jumps
- All heats: Clean! And no fumbles either! Yay!!

Race #5 (Left lane) Warm-up: two turns, no ball, no jumps
-Heat #1: She fumbled the ball and didn't pick it up. This time I didn't reward and instead said "where's the ball" in an upbeat voice.
-Heat #2: 100% clean!
-Heat #3: 100% clean!
-Heat #4: She fumbled the ball, but this time she took the time to find it and pick it up again and brought it all the way back. Yay!

I'm so happy that Lucy's confidence is on the rebound! It will still be some time before she can again confidently pass a dog while she's returning from the box, but what she accomplished today was a huge success and certainly our best house league so far.

Saturday January 6th 2007 - Team practice

2007-01-06T09:35:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Started with the passing exercise over two doublewide jumps. First we tried it with Milo and let the dogs go at the same time. Milo did great but Lucy went around the second jump as soon as she saw Milo coming towards her, even though he was going straight to his human. We did it twice more but this time not releasing Milo until after Lucy was at the second jump, and she handled that fine. Then after a warm-up of a few box turns with ball, we did lineup racing with our house league guest and Sammy. It went quite well as it did last week. However, by far the most exciting thing about today's practice was that Milo can now do the swimmer's turn! He had been practicing all week at home on stairs with a cone and this transferred like magic to the box.

Monday January 1st 2007 - Goals for 2007

2007-01-01T09:34:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

My goals for Lucy's 2007 flyball year are for her to regain her straight return pass, prove herself in head-to-head racing with strange dogs, do more tugging with her treat tug, and race if a possible opportunity materializes. Mostly I just want to keep having fun with her and watch/help our flyball team continue to develop!

Saturday December 30th 2006 - team practice (TTH)

2006-12-30T09:23:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Last week's practice cancelled due to inclement weather, Lucy seemed even happier to be at flyball today. She did a passing exercise with Tashtego and Milo, using two double-wide jumps and she did just great although no actual passing yet. Then, we did some line-up racing with Sammy and our house league guest. Lucy ran last and it went really well: She was eager and happy to run and maintained a nice straight path on her return. I made sure to pick her up fairly close to the timer area, 2 or 3 meters back. It was a good practice to end the year on!

Saturday December 16th 2006 - team practice (TTH)

2006-12-16T09:22:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Started with some non-head-to-head, non-passing full runs and her path was nice and straight. Then did some full run "passing" with Sammy and she was fine being the passer but still went wide on her return as the passee even though Sammy was not released until after Lucy passed her.

Saturday December 9th 2006 - team practice (TTH)

2006-12-09T09:22:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Not much to report; did a bit of boxwork including runs with two jumps. Also did a two-jump "passing" exercise which went ok.

Sunday December 3rd 2006 - House League Tournament #2

2006-12-03T09:20:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today Lucy told me early on that she needed to be given the opportunity for a confidence boost. She ran in three races and this is how it went:

- First race: Warm-up consisted solely of one or two recalls which went alright, but as soon as I lined her up for full a run as the last dog in the race line-up, her stress/anxiety/discomfort with the situation became immediately apparent. Right from her first run as I was holding her she was not focused on looking down her lane but rather had her head craned towards the door (classic avoidance behaviour!) so I released her close to the start line where the gates blocked her view of the door. None of her three runs of that first race were clean; she either fumbled the ball and made no attempt to try to pick it up again (very odd), or she didn't run all the way to the box but instead turned around early. I think one mistake I made during this first race was to ask for some tugging before giving her her treats from the tug since tugging is something we've only just started doing in practice. Upon seeing her level of stress I should have relaxed that criteria and rewarded her big-time just for doing the run.

- Second race: Since she had made it clear as ice that she was very uncomfortable with being asked to do full runs today, for her second race of the day I only had her do recalls, as the last dog in the line-up. The first two recalls she refused to take the last jump, instead veering around to the right. For the third one I placed myself directly facing her in front of the last jump and this time she took it. I mega-jackpotted her from her treat tug with very special treats every time to remind her of the big payoff associated with playing flyball.

- Third race: Again being the last dog in the line-up, this time I had her run to the loaded box from only one or two jumps back, running all the way back with her and mega-jackpotting every time. My sense is that she had become more comfortable than when we started the day.

Lessons learned: Looking back on the day, I am reminded of a practice we had last summer outside where I started her with full runs rather than easing her into them by starting from one or two jumps back (August 12th entry). I think recalls may not be the best type of warm-up for her in new, potentially stressful venues, so next time I will be sure to use her warm-up time to do some simple no-ball box turns as well as sending her from just one jump back to boost her confidence. Also, I have a feeling she will be more comfortable at the box once she gets to know our new boxloader. So, it was a more challenging day than the last house league, but it was a real lesson in the importance of reading my dog and understanding and appreciating her needs, and allowing myself to acknowledge different definitions of "success" in different situations. Today, Lucy and I were successful not because she did a gazillion clean full runs (in fact she did none), but because we worked together to improve her confidence level over the course of the day. I look forward to the next house league having gained a better insight into my dog.

Saturday December 2nd 2006 - team practice (TTH)

2006-12-02T09:19:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today we did some one-lane racing with Sammy and Bonnie in preparation for tomorrow's house league, with Lucy running last. She is really going wide in the passing area both on her way to and from the box, even though I'm not asking her to do a running pass. Seeing as dogs have such wonderful memories when it comes to unpleasant experiences I suspect she may be anticipating a dog "attacking" her in the passing area even though she's only ever had one negative passing experience. I'm confident that given more time and practice with her team members she will learn that they can be trusted and will overcome this little blip.

Saturday November 25th 2006 - team practice (TTH)

2006-11-25T09:19:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today for the first time ever, Lucy and Sammy did head-to-head full run racing with no gates, and both dogs did great! The dogs turn in opposite directions so for the first few runs we set them up so that they were turning away from each other. We started with them running from just one jump back and quickly progressed to full runs. Then we had them swap lanes so that they'd be turning towards each other. Each dog remained in their correct lane, but both of them were like "What the!?" when doing their turns facing each other since never before had they seen another dog in the other lane with no gate separating them. Since we were short on handlers today there was no boxloader to urge them on to their proper boxes (which were set up against the wall) so we were really glad that the dogs did so well.

Saturday November 18th 2006 - team practice (TTH)

2006-11-18T09:18:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Did some recalls and no-ball boxwork. Today was the first ever flyball practice in which I didn't give her a single treat, instead rewarding with her new ball tug which I found out recently that she enjoys tugging. Although she tugged with some enthusiasm, I got the sense that she thought something was missing...

Wednesday November 15th 2006 - tug shaping sessions at home

2006-11-15T09:18:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

A few days ago I started shaping sessions with Lucy to get her to fall in love with our fleece tug. I put the tug on the floor, shut my mouth and don't give any cues and she's now at the point where I can be a couple of metres away from it and she'll enthusiastically go and pick it up and tonight she's starting to bring it to me. This is the first real shaping exercise Lucy has done and I'm brand new to it too. It's a really fun process, watching the dog learn how to think for herself and figure out on her own what gets rewarded. I got a new tug tonight and used it, and she had no problem transferring her behaviour to this new one.

Saturday November 11th 2006 - flyball seminar with Theresa Rector

2006-11-11T09:17:00.001-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

It was a long day chock full of flyball training tips! Lucy had a really tough time with the sprung box today, fumbling the ball because she wasn't getting her head where it needed to be. Something to work on with Lucy to increase her push off the box is sending her from close up to the loaded box and throwing a treat or toy out for her as she's doing the turn. I learned tons more but my brain is fried so I'll just stop here.

Sunday November 5th 2006 - House League Tournament #1

2006-11-05T09:16:00.002-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today was Lucy's (and my) first ever (unofficial) flyball tournament! It was a totally casual atmosphere, props and training allowed and gates separating the lanes, and nobody kept track of who won/lost races, so it was very low-stress (for us humans at least). Our team today consisted of Lucy, Sammy, and a guest, and we didn't bother double-running to fill up the fourth spot. The venue was warm so to keep temperatures down doors were open on both sides, including one gigantic garage-size door. I was concerned that Lucy might decide that it would be more interesting to go and explore outside than play flyball (I had even seen deer a few hundred meters away when we arrived), but except for her giving one good hard look at the door as she was returning on a run towards the middle of the event, my concerns were for naught. With 6 races each with 4 heats (or is that 6 heats with 4 races? I'm not sure of the terminology), she ran a total of 24 runs which really tired her out. The most runs she had ever run in a day before is probably about a dozen at most. By the middle of it I was releasing her right up close to the start line and picking her up close to it as well so that she wouldn't have to run so far. She ran as first and last dog and did fine with both positions, provided Sammy was the one she passed. (She got intimidated by the other dog after a passing incident on her return from the box on one of her first runs.) I noticed by the end of the day Lucy's return path veered quite far to her right after clearing the pretend timers, giving the next dog (Sammy, who she's used to and comfortable with passing) a lot of clearance. I will keep an eye on this at our next practice and see if her path needs to be straightened out. The strangest thing she did all day was towards 3/4 of the way through the day: she was the first dog to run, she dropped the ball after the second jump, then completely stopped right between the pretend timers, blocking poor Sammy's way. (But she moved out of the way when I called her.) Oh yeah, and a few of the earlier times when I sent her from further back, she would run part way to the box, then get confused as to where she was supposed to go, then when she saw the boxloader urging her to the box she picked up her speed and finished the run. In summary, Lucy gave a very respectable performance today: She was fine with strangers as boxloaders (many thanks to the other teams for helping out!), and the majority of her runs were clean with the exception of a handful where she either fumbled the ball and didn't pick it up, or dropped the ball too soon, or missed a jump due to turning too wide. I will work on building up her stamina over the winter, and I will be buying a food-stuffable tug thing which I think Lucy will really enjoy. And now, I'm off to give her the best massage she's ever had!

Monday October 30th 2006 - Anniversary!

2006-10-30T09:16:00.000-05:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Happy 1st flyball anniversary, Lucy! Lucy's (and my) first ever flyball class was about a year ago, October 2005. From humble beginnings obediently complying to my strange requests for her to jump onto and off of a carpet-covered plank leaning against our living room wall, to now doing full runs and getting super-excited every time she sees a flyball lane, she has from day one been a wonderful dog to learn the sport with. It's a true joy for me to have the opportunity to witness her eager, enthusiastic enjoyment of the sport. I look forward to a future of more flyball with Lucy!

Saturday October 21st 2006 - team practice (TTH)

2006-10-21T09:15:00.001-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Practice went fine; nothing new to report. Due to various circumstances, Lucy's next team practice won't be until mid-November. Between now and then, we have a flyball seminar to look forward to and hopefully our first house league event as well!

Saturday October 14th 2006 - team practice (TTH)

2006-10-14T09:15:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Our teammates all having other commitments, today it was just Lucy and me, and today's session was all about proofing with loose balls, starting with just one and working our way up to more. She made some "mistakes" on some runs where she just went for the closest loose ball, but by the end of the practice she was doing full runs with 7 or 8 loose balls scattered on both sides of the lane at various places such as where the timers would be, right next to the box, offset from the jumps, and immediately in front of jumps. I had practiced some loose ball proofing at home this week as a warm-up to this. I think this will be a two steps forward, one step back thing, meaning the next time we try this she will likely be back to square one but hopefully won't take as long to progress to where we left off today. In any case, it was definitely a worthwhile exercise.

Saturday October 7th 2006 - team practice (TTH)

2006-10-07T09:14:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

We started with some head-to-head racing with Sammy, and the two of them decided to play comedians. In the first run, I released Lucy a few seconds after Sammy started, and Lucy decided she wanted to run in Sammy's lane (what a good dog, she totally ignored Lucy). I wondered if she was trying to chase Sammy, but then she did it again the very next run, when Sammy hadn't been released yet. Once Lucy got it straightened out which lane she was supposed to run in, Sammy decided she wanted to play the same game so Sammy ran over to run in Lucy's lane (before Lucy had been released)! These were their first runs of the day and after those initial goofups they ran in their proper lanes the rest of the practice. Good news: Lucy and Sammy can now do running passes with each other! "Passing" has been going so well in recent practices that we decided to let the dogs do an actual running pass. Both dogs did excellently, no matter if they were the first or second dog to run! I videotaped today's session and it's fun to watch the pass in slow-mo. For some of the runs I set up the video camera for a good side shot close-up at the box at dog's-eye level. Watching it in slow-mo you can see how the dog actually catches the ball in the air so I now have a much better appreciation for the co-ordination it takes on the part of the dog! Also, from watching the slow-mo I could see that she's starting to develop a half-decent push off the box.

Saturday September 30th 2006 - team practice (TTH)

2006-09-30T09:14:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Nothing much new to report other than I noticed that in the full run passing exercise, I can release her before Sammy has run all the way past. Also, she didn't fumble the ball today and the days of her crazily wide turns when there's no wing seem to be behind her.

Saturday September 23rd 2006 - team practice (TTH)

2006-09-23T09:13:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Worked some more on proofing with balls as distractions along the lane. Someone stood close to each ball and shooed her away when necessary. On one run she ignored the balls going to the box, but then on the way back dropped the one she had and picked up a loose one. Still, I think she's starting to get the idea.

Saturday September 16th 2006 - team practice (TTH)

2006-09-16T09:13:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today's practice got off to a late start due to traffic, so it was a short practice and Lucy only did 5 or 6 runs with all four jumps and no wing. Her turns were actually pretty decent without a wing! Usually she swings way wide if there's no wing. After a few runs I tried something new: placing tennis balls along the sides of the lane. Lucy took the bait so obviously she needs some more proofing! By far the most exciting part of today's practice was Tashtego discovering how easy and fun it is to carry a small-size tennis ball compared to a normal one, and once he figured out that the whole point of running to the box is to get a ball, he couldn't get enough of it! Kenton could even send him from behind the fourth jump -- he didn't have to run along with him!

Saturday September 9th 2006 - team practice (TTH)

2006-09-09T09:12:00.001-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

For the first time, Lucy did some head-to-head full runs! Sammy was in the other lane (divided by gate), and both dogs ignored each other aside from the occasional glance at the start or end of the run (three jumps, fourth as wing). Later, we did the full run "passing" exercise with Sammy. She fumbled the ball on 3 or 4 of the dozen or so of today's runs. I video recorded the whole practice just for the fun of it, and it just so happens that today was a really great practice for all of the dogs! We said farewell to Abby until the new year, but she really ended her flyball year on a strong note.

Saturday September 2nd 2006 - team practice (inside at TTH)

2006-09-02T09:11:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today was our team's first practice at TTH and Lucy's first time there. She just keeps surprising me: when we go somewhere new I keep expecting her to want to sniff around and check things out, but no; as soon as she sees the equipment and realizes she gets to play flyball, nothing else matters and it's right down to business! We did a bunch of full runs (including some "passing" with Sammy) and I started to experiment with how far back to send her from. It's so neat now to have all that space to play with. For the first time ever we timed her runs (using a stopwatch, jumps set at the minimum height, slant board, and wings). I was a bit nervous thinking she might ring in in the 8 or 10 second range! Here are her times from the ones we timed, in order that she did them:

5.86 (sent from close to the start line)
5.7something (sent from close to the start line)
5.34 (sent from a bit back from the start line (15 feet maybe? didn't measure)

Obviously she does better with a headstart. I will keep experimenting with the distances to find what works best for her. Of note, she didn't fumble the ball at all today. Also, on one run there were no wings and she did a wide turn but corrected herself in time for the jumps.

Saturday August 26th 2006 - team practice (inside BF)

2006-08-26T09:11:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Not much room inside so did some "runs" with just one jump. Did some turns without the eavestrough but as soon as we tried it with the ball, she cheated by only putting her hands on the box. Also, Jenn tried sending her while I boxloaded. For the first time I tried calling her while she ran to the box and it really seemed to give her more power, but it was hard to tell if she was actually running faster or not since there was hardly any running room. It will be fun to try that at the Training Hall where there's so much more room. A few times while I boxloaded for her with the ball, she turned around and looked at me after getting the ball as if to say, "Look, I got it, see? Aren't you gonna give me a treat?" but when she remembered that Jenn was the one doling out the treats she got the hang of it again.

Saturday August 19th 2006 - team practice (outside)

2006-08-19T09:10:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Started with boxwork, warming up to full runs. She was clumsy with the ball a few times but overall did well. "Passing" while doing full runs with Sammy went well too, but we did it mostly with Lucy first, then Sammy. Later on, for the first time, I tried being the boxloader while Jenn ran Lucy from two jumps back. The first time she did the turn but then stayed at the box, looking at me for treats (I hadn't put a ball that time). The second time I added the ball and she did better. By the third time (with ball again) she had it figured out that Jenn was the one treating her and she didn't so much as look at me. I didn't say a word to Lucy as she ran to the box today so as not to confuse her too much, but next time I'll try calling her to get her speed up towards the box. Did a bit of distraction work by having her do recalls while Tashtego was doing boxwork in the other lane. Also we had some new people there today including a boy who helped out and did some boxloading, which Lucy was totally comfortable with.

Saturday August 12th 2006 - team practice (outside)

2006-08-12T09:02:00.002-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today was the team's first practice with our second set of jumps! Lucy did several full runs (now with all four jumps) with box sprung. I will make a point of doing two or three warm-up turns before bringing in the jumps and ball since she does much better that way. We ran out of time so didn't do any other exercises today. After practice our team went to watch some flyball in Carp. I got Lucy to do some sits, downs, and other stuff to get her focus while all the competing dogs were barking, to get her used to working with all that noise. She's pretty easygoing and doesn't seem bothered by the noise. I ballshagged for one race while Lucy hung out with Abby and barked. Thanks to Tim, here are some fun photos of Lucy at today's practice:

A little awkward at first...

Getter better...

After a few warm-up runs, now she's really into it.

On the box (this might have been a warm-up run with no ball)

Got the ball, now back over the four jumps to go get her reward for a job well done!

Thursday August 10th 2006 - lesson with Claire at another outside venue Lucy had never been to before

2006-08-10T08:58:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

I am so proud of Lucy! Today we had a flyball lesson at another place she's never been to before, in the country, outside, unfenced. As soon as she saw the box and the jumps and realized she was going to get to play flyball, she got all happy and excited. We started with some boxwork, using a slant board instead of eavestrough, did two or three turns with no jumps or ball, then quickly progressed to full runs (3 jumps, 4th as wing) with springloaded box. She was so excited to be playing flyball, leaning into my hands as I held her back before releasing, and we both had so much fun. Then we did some work towards passing with Sammy, with one dog doing a run and on the recall actually running past the next dog who was being held and then sent after the first dog finished passing. This is a great exercise to get Lucy comfortable with another dog running past her and it went well. NOT ONCE during the whole lesson did she make any false starts, go offcourse to sniff this or that, or miss any jumps. Sure she was a bit clumsy with the ball at the box sometimes, but I can live with that seeing as she did so great with everything else. Fun fun fun!

Also, recently came across a piece called "Learning to Fly" by Marisa Coppage. The second last paragraph really sums up how I feel about flyball. It is so well written that I thought I would include it here:

The heart of flyball is not about points, titles, ribbons, or even world records. It is not about breeding or training for success and it is not about playing to win. It is not about form, or method, or speed. The heart of flyball is about an entire crowd of people stopping what they are doing to cheer a dog on. It is about a little dog who does her very best to get a ball and bring it back to her person because for some odd reason that makes her person happy. It is about stopping on the way home to share a scoop of vanilla, because, win or lose, you both did your best and you both deserve it. It is about getting to spend one more day in this short lifetime with a dog who makes your world complete.

Almost enough to bring a tear to your eye, no? :^D

Monday August 7th 2006 - team practice with Pam at outside venue Lucy had never been to before

2006-08-07T08:58:00.000-04:00

Hooray! Despite all the exotic and enticing country smells, she didn't run off following her nose! That in itself was a huge test for Lucy and I'm thrilled she passed it. The tasty and smelly treats I brought did their job. We did a few turns without ball, then brought in the ball. She fumbled the first one but then did some good turns. Pam suggests putting a board (an eavestrough will do), straight out like a wall, on the right side of the box to help tighten her turn.

Saturday August 5th 2006 - team practice (outside)

2006-08-05T08:57:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Started with boxwork, had someone hold her back and I would race her to and back from the box to get her to run faster, but it's not working too well because I'm not exactly fast myself! She was a bit clumsy and dropped the ball a couple of times when the box was unpsrung. Then we did full runs with Sammy (three jumps only, fourth as wing), where as soon as one dog finished and was focused on their handler then the other dog would go. I noticed Lucy is more eager now to go and do her run, and I didn't have to ease her into it by adding more jumps one at a time. Then we did two-lane passing with Emily, the two lanes now only two feet apart, and the dogs were released simultaneously, passing in the middle. I noticed Lucy look briefly at Emily but she came straight to me, good dog! (The other times we did passing exercises, the dogs were released more or less one at a time, so this was new for her.)

Thursday August 3rd 2006 - home practice

2006-08-03T08:56:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Have been practicing for 5-10 minutes every day this week since had the box at home, putting a jump 15 feet back from the box and springloading it. Either she's just had a good week or she has really improved in terms of getting her coordination and not accidentally dropping the ball and having it get all tangled in the jump/wing. In fact I don't think she's dropped it once all week. Also, if I practice with Walter beforehand she gets jealous so she's really excited when it's finally her turn, and she really pushes forward against me when I hold her back before sending her. Here's a photo of her getting the ball.

Saturday July 29th 2006 - home practice

2006-07-29T08:55:00.001-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Lucy missed today's team practice due to having eaten something she shouldn't have yesterday. She was feeling better later on so we did some runs at home with one jump 15 feet back. Here are some photos from today's practice:

Saturday July 22nd 2006 - team practice (outside)

2006-07-22T08:54:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

For full runs, someone held her behind the third jump and I stood between the box and the next jump, then ran with her back over the three jumps. It was the first time that she was sent to do a run by someone other than me and she was quite cooperative. Passing with Sammy went fine.

Tuesday July 18th 2006 - home practice update

2006-07-18T08:44:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Over the last few days I've been practicing Lucy on my home-made box, getting her to do the turn without the aid of the eavestrough. I worked on this a bit the last time I had the team box at home, but this week I really focused on it. At first she was a bit confused, but within minutes she had the hang of it. She now does the proper turn every time, and I no longer have to warm her up by putting the eavestrough in front of the box and then moving it away. I'm not sure when the right time will be to work on getting her to do this at team practice WITH the ball, but at least I know she can do it no problem in the absence of a ball.

Saturday July 15th 2006 - team practice (outside)

2006-07-15T23:31:00.001-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today we did a bit of distraction training with the boxwork. Our teammates were standing off to the side of the box rather than in the runback area. So when I sent her to the box (no ball), she took the three jumps (fourth jump at the box for a tighter turn) but then looked around and came back without hitting the box. After a few tries she did it better though. She was a bit faster today with the recalls, probably because it was cloudy and cooler and she was showing off for Walter who joined us for this practice. She even did some nice tugging on the recalls! But once she remembered about treats, her desire to tug pretty much disappeared. On a side note, it's really exciting to see the other dogs coming along. For example, the two height dogs are really really close to being able to go over the jumps with their handlers running alongside, hit the box, and run back over the jumps, and I imagine the ball will be introduced to them soon. All the dogs are just doing great and having fun too!

Saturday July 8th 2006 - team practice (outside)

2006-07-08T23:30:00.000-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Considering Lucy's last outside flyball practice which went less than great, my goal for the practice was for Lucy to do full runs (minus the last jump which we put at the box to help tighten her turn) with the ball, like she did several weeks ago. After a few goofups with Lucy hoping to get a taste of the treat bag that was sitting behind the box, she was soon doing it! Goal achieved. Recalls, honouring running dog, and passing were no problem.

Sunday July 2nd 2006 - team practice (inside BF)

2006-07-02T23:30:00.001-04:00

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Lucy was back on track at today's indoor practice (the ground was wet outside). Left Walter at home today so that Lucy could have my full attention. For box work, warmed up with 1 jump back, then added ball and quickly added in all 4 jumps with ball. Recall from box: No problems there. Two-lane passing with Tashtego: Did well with that too. It was a great practice and she didn't deek around any jumps at all.