How did those 2012 training resolutions work out for you?

I highly recommend making New Year’s training resolutions and putting them in writing, because it is so entertaining to read them one year later.  In a separate post, I’ll make my resolutions for 2013.  This post is a reflection on last year’s resolutions and results.

I put my 2012 resolutions on this blog a year ago, making them very easy for me to go back to.

For Alder:

My major resolutions for Alder were fairly simple: Get successfully through the long sit and get that last CDX leg.  We finally did it last spring, although it did take 2 NQs (both from going down on the long sit) before the 3^rd Q.  I had also resolved that, if he did it, I would never, ever, ever show him in Open again. I have not changed my mind about that.  I had thought I might work on adding Rally RAE legs while teaching Utility.  I showed him at least once in Rally last spring CDX and he added another RAE leg (maybe two; I don’t remember), but quickly decided that

1)      Alder, with his poor fine muscle control and slooowww reaction time is ill-suited for the herky-jerky nature of Rally.  He Qs, but his scores usually aren’t great.

2)      More importantly, after I made the decision to go ahead and take the plunge into Utility training with him, I decided I didn’t want to use any amount of his (somewhat limited) mental capacity on anything other than Utility.

Since starting the Utility training with Alder, there have been times (MANY, many times) I’ve had my doubts that we were getting anywhere, but, amazingly, he’s now coming along fairly well.  I think I’ll be ready to enter him in Utility this spring.  Amazing. 

For Maple:

Boy, did 2012 veer abruptly from the plans I had a year ago for Maple.  Back then, I was most concerned about her high anxiety and stress at trials. (Still am, and still struggling with that issue.)  I continued to show her in Novice in spring, instead of Open because I didn’t want to be showing two dogs in Open and because I wanted to work on bringing her scores up in Novice.  She’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to an OTCH prospect, yet her Novice scores were lower than Alder’s.  She was getting high 180s and Alder ended his Novice career with low 190s.  But Maple HATES riding in a vehicle and she doesn’t like being away from home.  I tried concentrating on smiling at her in the ring, even talking happily to her during heeling in one Novice run.  (I expected an NQ, but the judge must have been hard of hearing.) I tried Rally, thinking the talking would help.  It didn’t.  My dog, who is so wonderful in the yard at home, will not even make eye contact at a trial.  I tried being a firmer disciplinarian in practice away from home, being more demanding about her keeping eye contact.  Things in the ring got worse, with scores in the low to mid-180s. 

I had gotten serious about agility training with Maple last winter.  I subscribed to Clean Run, decided on a handling system, and resolved to work on a new agility skill once a week.  I was also hoping that maybe agility, with all its (possibly) stress-releasing movement would help Maple’s anxiety at trials.  Maple went along with the agility lessons.  Jumping isn’t her favorite activity, but she would do it because I wanted her to, and treats were involved.

All that fooling around with agility changed when I joined the Spokane Bird Dog Association and went to their spring training day.  I had been, sporadically, throwing marks (bumpers) for Maple with some vague idea about hunt tests one of these days.  The spring training day opened my eyes to how much Maple LOVED hunt training.  I bought hunt training DVDs and more equipment (lots and lots of equipment…).  I started making the long drive to training grounds on the weekend.  (Extreme downside of hunt training: You can’t do it in a small yard or indoors.  You need lots of space, water, and different cover.) In fall, I took several private lessons.  I initially tried keeping up with the training of all three activities: obedience, agility, and hunting.  With a full-time job, the agility went down the tubes fast.  There are only so many hours in a day.

So, Maple has ended the year with a couple of her JH (AKC Junior Hunter) legs and an SR (NAHRA Started Retriever) leg.  We took her on a pheasant hunt this fall and George and I have tromped through several Saturdays of upland bird hunting with both Alder and Maple.

In my resolutions for 2012, hunt tests and hunting were not even remotely on the horizon.  Now, I love it and it consumes as much or more of my training time as obedience.

You just never know what a year will bring.