How did those 2014 resolutions work out?

Well, I can see how the resolution to keep up this blog worked out.  I wrote a whopping three posts, all in January.  Here's a toast to crashing and burning on resolutions!

The year's news:
We had to say goodbye to the two elderly ladies.  Camas was about 15 yrs old and Burka was nearly 14 years old.  I miss them both.  It seems strange to have only two dogs again.  I intend to keep it to only two for at least a couple more years.  On to how the resolutions went:

How did those 2014 resolutions work out?

 

For Alder, the poodle boy, who turned 8 yrs in June 2014, I had only one goal:

·        Get legs 2 and 3 for his UD or give up on Utility with him.  He got his first Utility leg the third time I showed him in Utility at the end of 2013, so I was somewhat optimistic.  However, I could not get another leg in all of 2014.  By summer, he was not showing any improvement.  I gave Pre-Utility a single try in early fall 2014.  He was no where close.  He wasn’t showing any improvement in training, either.  I decided Utility was just too hard for him mentally, and his poor vision wasn’t helping either. (He’s always been a bit near-sighted.)  It was a monumental struggle to get him through Open (it took 25 tries) and I should have quit then.  He wasn’t enjoying training anymore.  So, I gave him a crash refresher course in Rally.  He had 2 RAE legs but I hadn’t done any Rally with him for a couple of years.  He LOVED doing those silly Rally exercises and he remembered almost all of them.  We showed 4 times and picked up 4 more RAE legs, and even a few ribbons other than green.  C+ on that goal.  (I figure an F on the UD but a big A+ with bonus points for switching to Rally for the old guy, which averages to C+.)

 

For Maple, the golden girl, who turned 5 yrs in June 2014:

·        Reliable jumping on mats.  We have no local training facility.  We train almost entirely on grass.  For eight weeks last summer, I adjusted my work schedule to 9 hrs/day 4 days a week and 4 hours on Tuesday morning to be able to take Tuesday afternoons to drive up to Spokane (about 2.5 hrs going and 2 hrs returning) to take a Utility class and get work on mats at the Spokane DTC, which is also where many OB Trials are held.  It really paid off in more confidence on mats and in learning to go out to the same white wall she sees in trials there.   A grade of “A” on that goal.

·        Last leg of Open.  We wrapped up the Open title fairly easily with the third leg at the first trial of the year in April.  We got first place as the only Q with a mediocre 187.  The mats were terrible but Maple had no problem on the jumps.  (Hooray!)  A- on that goal.  Would have liked a higher score, since I’m aiming for an OTCH.  Won’t happen with that kind of score.

·        Utility Title.  That was a pie in the sky dream.  Spring was a disaster, with terrible performances.  I essentially abandoned hunt work to focus on obedience and deal with some serious issues we had had since Novice.  She greatly improved and was looking really good in trials by the end of the year.  The articles have been our last major stumbling point.  She missed a Q in the last 4 tries on the articles.  B- on that goal.  An F on actually achieving it, but A+++ for vast improvement and for turning me into a better trainer.

·        Field Work: Blinds, blinds, blinds.  The goal was to be able to run a 200 yard blind by the end of 2014.  With Utility goals taking complete priority, field work was kicked to the ditch.  We ran a couple of mid-level hunt tests (Senior in AKC and Intermediate in NAHRA), but we crashed on blinds.  Maybe next year… Big old F grade on that goal.

 

For me, as a trainer:

·        At the start of each training session, have at least one specific weakness to work on, and a specific plan for improvement.  In other words, don’t just go out without a plan and go through some rote exercises.  I am getting better at this, but would probably still give myself no more than a C+.   I train after I get home from work.  I’m usually mentally tired, and it’s an effort to get creative.  I need to make a plan early in the day, maybe before work, when I’m thinking more clearly.

·        Be more creative about distractions at home.  I live several miles outside of town, surrounded by wheat fields.  It’s nice and quiet and I love it.  I have a big yard, a complete set of ring gates, and regulation-sized jumps.  What I don’t have is distractions.  I try to get into town on weekend mornings when the weather is good, but never as often as I should, so I tried to get more creative with distractions at home.  I give myself about a B on this.  I’m getting better at coming up with challenges, but I get lazy.

·        Keep up my training notes.  I like to read back on my training notes now and then.  (It’s often very entertaining.)  Some years, I’ve practically written a novel by the end of the year.  Obviously, the blog posts were virtually nil last year.  I was better about taking pictures now and then, but didn’t take the time to print out many of them.  I give myself a “D-“ on this goal.