No, this has NOTHING to do with dog training or dog agility.

Several years ago I got hooked on a few reality TV shows. I remain hooked on a few of them. And I’m hoping to UN-hook myself in 2012.

I feel my brain cells dying off every time I watch the UN real housewives.

In the first place, they’re NOT real housewives. And there’s nothing REAL about the shows. It’s not real because there’s a camera crew, producer, and sometimes even a script.

There’s nothing real about a camera crew in someone’s bedroom, broadcasting pillow talk between husband and wive. There’s nothing real about the assorted vacations given to these “reality stars” by airlines, resorts, vacation destinations.

Oh, and while we’re on that — they’re not stars! A star is “a prominent actor or actress given top billing.”

The ridiculousness of reality TV struck me as I watched an episode of the Real Housewives of Atlanta.

“Housewife A” is suing deadbeat ex-husband (retired-and-broke NFL football player) for child support. She’s living in a condo while her 5,000 to 6,000 square foot “chateau” is being built. She’s deeded the “chateau” to her mother to hide assets from deadbeat ex. Regardless, UNreal.

“Housewife B” is her attorney. And, as an entertainment attorney for strippers, and aspiring funeral home owner, she’s REALLY qualified to handle the child support suit.

Housewives A and B show up in court only to find deadbeat ex-husband has filed a motion which ends that day’s session without any important work being done. Just thousands of dollars worth of court time wasted — but all on film, of course.

“Housewife A” faces the camera for an individual interview. Claims that “Housewife B” was supposed to file HER motion, but didn’t find time to coordinate filing that motion with the camera and production crew. So the motion was un-filed when they entered the courtroom.

“This isn’t about camera crews,” says Housewife A, “this is my life! For real!”

The irony of that moment was not wasted on me. In other words, this isn’t reality TV, this is my real life! Whaaa?

In order to kick this addiction I’m seeking out “Criminal Minds,” “The Closer,” and MSNBC coverage of the Republican primary race.  And working, and blogging on Tempest’s return to agility.

Wish me luck.

First he had an injured shoulder and was occasionally lame. Second he was diagnosed with osteochondrosis (an overgrowth of cartilage in his shoulder) and we had surgery performed on Med Vet in Columbus, Ohio.

After 4 weeks of crate rest he was cleared for take-off.  In early December I was jubilant at having my pup back, and was ready to start with jumping drills and more agility fun.

On December 14 Tempest’s epilepsy reared it’s ugly head and — as of January 17 — we’re fighting back.

On two occasions, December 14-15 and December 30-31, I’ve faced the possibility I’d have to euthanize my sweet little boy. “Devastation” doesn’t quite describe the emotional toll this disease claims.

I’ve devoted several hours a day to learning everything I can about epilepsy in dogs. I’ve joined an international chat list made up of incredibly supportive people.

I’ve also reconnected with a few friends who have been my shoulders to cry on (via facebook, mostly – guess that makes them “e-shoulders” or am I “e-crying”?).

So I’ve had time to give lots of thought to the 2-minute dog training protocols with which Tempest was trained.

What worked? What didn’t work? How would I change the protocols?

In the throes of our training I became convinced that Tempest and I weren’t going to be able to manage absolute directionals. Either I’m not clever enough to teach them or he’s not clever enough to learn them.

Well, it now appears neither is true. He had a damned sore shoulder. For quite a while, probably.

Left turns hurt. Right turns hurt. Going straight hurt a little less.

LESSON — when a dog appears unable to learn something, look for a physical reason for why the dog won’t offer the wanted behavior.

In our little 5-minute training sessions this week it is clear to me that Tempest absolutely knows left and right, and is quite willing to jump-left and jump-right when cued to do so. Go figure.

When we first started trialing Tempest had a bar-dropping problem. I wanted to work on his jumping this winter.

Well, it now appears Tempest doesn’t have a bar-dropping problem at all. He had a damned sore shoulder.

Jumping hurt. Landing hurt. Sometimes it’s hard to lift a foot when your shoulder hurts.

LESSON — when a dog appears unable to do something, look for a physical reason for why the dog errs.

In our little 5-minute sessions this week it is apparent that Tempest knows how to jump, knows how to keep bars up, and actually enjoys jumping. Go figure.

So we haltingly resume our agility career. Epilepsy keeps us from working very hard, and I’m on pins and needles waiting for the next seizure, but my friends are helping me relax with this monster disease, and assure me that my agility partner will be back in the near future.

I’ve set no goals. I’ve entered no trials. I just want to get through the next 2 weeks without a seizure.

Here’s what’s happening. We’re able, on occasion, to implement my 2-minute protocols and they are keeping us in the game even during recovery.

October 21, 6:27am
“Off to what is supposed to be our last trialing weekend of 2011. Tempest is just 19 months old, has earned his NA and NAF, and has run in AKC as well as USDAA. I’m hoping to work this weekend on better partnership in Jumpers with Weaves class, and keepin’ all those bars up! Wish me luck! It’s been an amazing journey so far ….”

October 23, 6:27pm
“Tempest finished his weekend a little early. Saturday afternoon a Q and 2nd in Open FAST, finishing his Open Fast title. On a family walk Saturday evening he came back from the woods on 3 legs. Skipped Novice JWW on Sunday morning, still lame at noon so skipped Open Standard at 2 and pulled from T2B Sunday afternoon. This was our last 2011 trial (probably) so we end our first trialing season with an NA and OF, plus 2 Open Standard legs and 1 Novice JWW legs. Our winter lessons start in a few weeks, after puppy gets a complete rest and break from agility.

Best news of the weekend — switching from 20″ to 24″ made Tempest struggle in JWW on Friday, but he ran Open Std on Saturday with no dropped bars at all. I’m guessing 24″ will be his AKC jump height from here on.”

October 31, 7:32pm
“A big shout out, hugs, and thanks to great friends Tamara Kurtz and Kathy Ihle Clark! They noticed Tempest’s lameness at Zanesville (he came on Sunday but didn’t run because of it) and took the time to share information with me regarding Osteocondrosis (OCD) in Border Collies. Long story short – I had my vet take x-rays and look specifically for OCD. Because it’s tough to diagnose she sent radiographs to Dr. Barnhart at Med Vet. He confirmed OCD in Tempest’s left shoulder. We have a consult appointment in a week and probable surgery shortly thereafter. If my vet hadn’t been aimed that direction we might have missed this entirely. Thank you Tamara! You went out of your way to get me talking to Kathy. Thank you, Kathy, for all the information and for reasuring me. Love you both! (Tempest says thanks, too!)”

November 7, 7:09pm
“Tempest goes back to MedVet at 7am for arthroscopic surgery for OCD on his left shoulder. Physical exam showed extreme pain and substantial loss of muscle mass (after just 2 weeks). Hope to be home by this time tomorrow, with 4 weeks of leash walking — and then a complete recovery. Fingers crossed!”

November 8, 5:36pm
“Home from Dr. Barnhart’s at MedVet. Tempest is very uncomfortable, but is on strong pain meds so hopefully will get more comfortable in the next 3-4 days. Then 4 weeks of crate rest, pottying on lead, etc.”

November 8, 5:57pm
“Finally! Tempest stood and whined at me for about an hour. He’s on pretty strong meds so I knew he couldn’t last forever, but he FINALLY eased himself down onto a cushy dog bed and is sound asleep.”

November 9, 7:03am
“After a really good (aka “drug induced”) nights’ sleep Tempest woke me up at 6:30am, standing on all four feet, wagging his tail, smiling, and wanting outside. Walked down the ramp interested in the critters in the woods (instead of totally into his own discomfort as yesterday) and peed. Back up the ramp and into his pen for breakfast, all the time standing on all four feet. Not putting full weight on left front but not dangling it or folding that foot under as yesterday. Ate a hearty breakfast, chewed on his nylabone for a few seconds, now back asleep.”

November 10, 9:56pm
“On Thursday, just 48 hours post surgery, Tempest is putting weight on his left foot, is acting comfortable and happy, and is able to sleep on either side. Started Adequin injections today (2 x week x 4 weeks) and begin with Chondroitin + Glucosamine dietary additives tomorrow.”

November 12, 1:08pm
“Days 1-2-3 post op Tempest’s potty breaks were actually much more brief than recommended — probably 2-3 minutes each. Today (4 days post op) was so beautiful I took him to pee, then we walked together to dump the pooper-scooper at the bottom of the yard. Back in the house in about 10-12 minutes, and my pup seemed to appreciate getting to walk in the sun a bit. He’s very nearly putting full weight on his foot, moving his shoulder in a natural way, and seems to not notice any pain. He’s such a good boy and — once again — I’m glad I worked so hard on calming behaviors, loose-leash walking, and good house-manners.”

November 22, 8:44am
“Tempest’s staples come out today. He hasn’t had to wear his elizabethan collar at all, lucky boy. Since I’ll have him in the car I’m going to give myself a little outing.”

November 27, 10:07am
“One more week of crate confinement for Tempest. Time has flown by, even with my impatience and desire to get on with our winter training fun. We return to MedVet for our follow-up visit with Dr. Barnhart on Dec. 7. Rehab begins Dec. 8, hopefully. By Tempest’s 2nd birthday (3/13/12) we intend to re-enter the agility trial scene.”

December 7, 2:34pm
“Tempest is officially “cleared for take-off” today. Dr. Barnhart said his shoulder is very solid and that what he needs now is exercise. Free to play in the yard and house, free to interact with Kory. Free to do agility with gradual resumption of his full jump height. I’m so elated I can barely contain my glee. It’s been 6 weeks since our last agility outing and I was figuring we’d have a gradual re-entry to activity. ‘Get him out there running and playing. He’s got some scar tissue he needs to break up and he may act slightly lame on occasion, but he’ll work through that and gain strength through the exercise.’ YAY!”

December 15, 6:18am
Well, all in all a bad evening. Tempest seemed a little restless, over-anxious to do agility, and then a seizure in the training building. And another, and another, just minutes between seizures … for 55 minutes and a total of 10 seizures. Five before we were able to pack him up and get on the road to the emergency vet, 5 more on the way. By the end of the 30-min drive he was nearly unconscious and I really thought he had died. He’s spent the night at the emergency vet clinic in Parkersburg, I pick him up in an hour, and he starts anti-seizure meds on a regular basis. Second most horrible evening of my life (first was Bud’s accident a year ago, in ICU for 2 days four hours from home).

December 15, 1:30pm
“Tempest has spent the day at my local vet’s office. Took him 5-6 hours to get even marginally out of the anesthesia. Lots of vocalizing and thrashing. So here’s the thing. I’m afraid to bring him home. I’m afraid he’ll start again and I’ll be alone. I’m afraid he’ll die on my watch. Vet just called and said he’s resting easier but still wobbly on his rear end when they walk him. Hasn’t pooped or peed for them yet, so I’m certain he’ll be more comfortable with me. Last night’s episode was such a strong correction that I’m afraid to offer behaviors of any kind. Feel like I’m operating in a fog. Go to pick him up at 4:30 – vet has a Christmas party at her house tonight so they’ll all be there. Biggest concern is brain damage due to oxygen deprivation last night.”

December 15, 6pm
“Tempest is home, still coming out of [huge amounts of] anesthesia, has lots of separation anxiety we’ll have to work on, has eaten today, pooped and peed, and is resting comfortably in a soft crate on about 6″ of blankets. Still has some lack of control in his rear and some loss of vision. Hope those improve over the next couple of days. I appreciate all the care and concern we’ve been shown.”

December 15, 6:09pm
“Poor dude, after 4 weeks of crate rest for OCD, he finally got to go to agility class last night, worked for 10 minutes, and had 10 seizures in an hour. Luckily my dear friend Beth Murray was here for class (she’s a DVM) and she held Tempest while I contacted my vet and the emergency vet. We got him to the emergency clinic within an hour of the start of the seizures. They took care of him through a bad night, I took him to my vet this morning, they resumed recovery and observation (one sweet vet tech sat on the break room floor with Tempest on her lap for 2+ hours). It was terrifying. My sympathies go out to anyone dealing with seizures — in kids or dogs. Very distressing. I’ll probably have PTSD.”

December 16, 2:12pm
“Tempest had a slightly restless evening with a bit of whining when I left the room (still vocalizing as a result of the meds). Awoke early needing to go outside. Did his business and seemed upbeat and smiley. Making eye contact, working hard to keep his rear end under control, and being my very good boy again. My biggest fear — that Tempest wouldn’t be Tempest anymore — put to rest. Gobbled breakfast, ate his pill, and has been resting all morning. Every journey out of his crate he’s steadier and more like himself. I’m blessed. Thank God for veterinarians Dr. Beth Murray (friend and student), Dr. Helen Rutter (emergency vet clinic), and Dr. Roberta Haught (home vet). And thanks to the vet tech who spent 3-4 hours yesterday, sitting on the floor holding and petting my disoriented pup.”

December 17, 8:27am
“Tempest showed great improvement all day yesterday (greeting our house guest’s dogs at the fence confidently) and was allowed to attempt the ramp into the dog yard off lead this morning. Very coordinated and seems happy to have a little freedom. Fetched his toy for me this morning, so his brain is engaging again.”

December 19, 9:27am
“This morning Tempest woke up coordinated and happy. I thought, “wow, he’s moving better and seems more himself than yesterday.” Then he walked to the back door to go outside, jumped straight up in the air and landed in a heap on his side. Stood up, did it again. Jeez. Beauty is fleeting but goofy is, obviously, forever. <g> Thanks and blessings to friend Bonny who shared that she put Mojo’s pill schedule on her cell phone alarm. After only 3 days this handy system has ensured prompt dosing when I’ve been distracted. You’re a life-saver, Bonny!”

December 28, 7:52 pm
“I think this was my best Christmas ever. I kept my expectations low (my family doesn’t fit the Norman Rockwell ideal), made sure I had plenty of quiet time, I was intensely grateful for a healthy pup and happy family. When we had get togethers I tried to remember that our enjoyment of each other was most important — not the decor of the house, not the volumes of food, not the money spent on elaborate gifts.”

December 30, 7:56 pm
“Well crap. After 2 weeks on Phenobarbitol Tempest had a seizure at 6:05pm (55 minutes before his next dose) quickly followed by a second. In between we crushed up his pill and popped it into his throat. My home vet had one of her staff prepare two doses of rectal valium and I drove 50 minutes to pick it up and race home (should have had this on hand, I know). Bud stayed with T. Said second seizure was the last in this episode. Tempest was whining in his soft crate. I let him out, on lead, and he drank a ton of water. Now back in crate and resting easy. This is sickening.”

December 30, 7:56 pm
“I would feel so alone without my FB friends. Not fake friends. Not electronic friends. Actual friends with whom I’ve talked face-to-face, cried face-to-face, hugged. All of you are cherished by me. Knowing I had friends out there listening to me during this tough time, lending support, is priceless. We have a plan in place, giving me hope for Tempest’s future with epilepsy. First, we will do what we can to minimize the seizures. If we are able to provide him with relief, but he’s unable to resume agility, he’ll go live the quiet single-dog life with my sister and her husband (they adore him). If he’s able to continue with agility, well you’ll see us bobbling about local courses. And I’ll always be laughing at the end, because agility with Tempest is going to be the greatest gift I can be granted in 2012. Blessings to each and every one of you. My sincerest wishes for a Happy New Year go out to you!”

January 2, 2012, 2:06 pm
“Tempest’s pheno is increased by 50%, and our family has been able to ask all our questions and feel more prepared for the future. Have our valium, know how to administer it, and when. Well begun is half done …”

It’s now January 11, and a lot has changed since I began this blog post. My life has turned upside down, inside out, by “the monster” of epilepsy.

Tempest’s breeder claims she has no epilepsy in her line, though I’ve read that 5% of all dogs being treated by emergency vet clinics or university vet clinics (where this survey was taken) have idiopathic epilepsy (aka “seizures with no known cause”). So it’s probable that every breeder in America has epilepsy somewhere in their line.

There are thousands of regular veterinarians treating epilepsy in their exam rooms, and these are not reflected in the survey results, so 5% is probably a low average.

Since this disease has engulfed me and my family, I’ve engaged in an effort to read everything and learn whatever I can. I’ve read that epilepsy is a big problem for Border Collies from American AND Great Britain. I’ve read that it strikes across breed lines, more purebred but mixed-breed as well. I’ve read that it’s fairly rare in cats (because a minority are purposely bred?).

I’ve experienced that breeders, in general, are reluctant to discuss epilepsy and prefer to think it is environmental (aka puppy owners are doing something to create epilepsy in their dog).

I’ve experienced that there is power and confidence in knowledge, so I’ve got my seizure kit prepared for Tempest, we’ve attended a brief tutorial with my favorite vet tech on the use of the syringes and medicine, and have practiced valium injections on a nectarine.

Tomorrow we have our first Phenobarbitol level check. The drug builds to a pharmaceutical level in the dog’s blood stream, but must be administered every 8-12 hours in order to maintain that level. There are “peaks” 3-4 hours from administration of the drug, and “troughs” 1-2 hours before the next dose.

Our level check tomorrow is a “trough” test — does Tempest have a pharmaceutical level of phenobarbitol in his system during a trough, or immediately before his next dose is due?

We’ll know by Friday morning if we need to bump up, or add another drug, to keep the epilepsy “monster” at bay.

My vet leaves Saturday morning for several days’ worth of vet convention in Orlando, FL. She’s given me her cell number. I’m praying I won’t need it.

I’ve experienced that Phenobarbitol is a narcotic which can cause lethargy, restlessness, lack of coordination, excessive thirst and hunger, and associated excessive urination and weight gain.

Each increase in AEDs (anti epilepsy drugs) results in some loss of coordination for 7-10 days.

With regards to dog agility, Tempest and I did some agility yesterday. I have yet to put him on a high / skinny dogwalk or teeter, but he’s fine with jumping and a-frames, etc.

It remains to be seen if Tempest will respond to AEDs. If he does, his quality of life will remain as before — euphoric. <g>

If he’s able to do agility he’ll become my partner pup again. If he’s unable to do agility my sister has asked to have him.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens. I’m not sure I could exist in a home that didn’t also contain my T-man, but my sister’s quieter city-home might be easier on a dog with coordination issues.

I’ve been surprised by the response to this from the performance dog community. Support has been overwhelming, but denial has been evident as well.

I was asked, years ago, “if people aren’t allowed to breed dogs where is your next agility dog going to come from?” My answer at the time was, “the same place my last 2 agility dogs came from — breed rescue.”

Now that I’ve experienced 20 months with my first purebred agility puppy since 1996, I imagine my next agility dog will come from rescue. I’m probably done with puppies for now.

The 2-minute dog training protocols have served us very well for contacts, weaves, tire, jumping, pause table downs, and for many of the minutia of dog agility.

Tempest has been a breeze to run in Standard classes, where I have the opportunity at every contact obstacle and table to redirect him.

We have 2 issues right now that have haunted us, and we’ll be spending the winter working on them.

Bar-dropping … Tempest has no respect for the pvc bars and, therefore, finds it as thrilling to go through them as to go over them. In an attempt to solve this issue I worked Tempest at 4-inches over his measured jump height for a few weeks. I entered him in a weekend of AKC agility at 24″. He actually jumped better, and looked more thoughtfully, at 24″.

Straight lines versus turning … Tempest keeps bars up best, and seeks out the mission of jumping (looks for the work and takes responsibility) when I use the “Go On!” cue.  Unfortunately, he “goes on” when the judge has the course turning.  In a jumpers’ course, for example, there are often 3 jumps in a row, but then the course veers sharply in one direction or another. Tempest prefers to take a fourth and fifth jump in that straight line.

My goal 2-3 weeks ago was to finish up our 2011 trial schedule, and then embark on some jumping and turning protocols to teach him:  1) keep the bars up regardless of their height, and  2) watch me for turn commands and absolute directionals.

Then we attended a 3-day trial in Zanesville, OH.

On Friday Tempest was adjusting to the 24″ jumps, had a few lovely runs (though no Qs) and was looking like a real agility dog. His weaves were, for the most part, lovely.  He stuck all his contacts, recognized the teeter and rode it down, and did an automatic down on the pause table.

On Saturday evening I took the dogs for a walk in our field and adjacent woods. Tempest came wandering back at the end of our walk on 3 legs.

I checked his leg for cuts or briars, but saw no injury.

On Sunday morning Tempest was still lame, but I was committed to returning to the trial with one of our students. Tempest rode along but didn’t perform at all that day.

Some friends suggested I have him checked for Osteochondrosis. Eight x-rays, and one week, later we had our positive diagnosis and an appointment for consultation with Dr. Barnhart at MedVet in Columbus, OH.

On Monday 11/7 we met with Dr. Barnhart. Tempest’s left shoulder was very painful and he’d lost substantial muscle mass in just 2 weeks.

On Tuesday 11/8 Dr. Barnhart performed arthroscopic surgery on Tempest’s shoulder to remove the flap of cartilage.

We’re 2 days into 4 weeks of total crate rest. He’s on pretty strong pain meds, and we begin Adequin injections this afternoon.

By the first week of December we’ll be ready to begin building him back up. The official rehab begins then.

By New Years I hope to be able to start the jump training to fix the aforementioned issues.

In the meantime everything here has screeched to a halt. My lesson in being patient began yesterday.

Here’s my theory.

Our workaday worlds are characterized by a lot of “same old thing.”  We wake, we feed dogs, we shower, we get our coffee, we go to work, we train our dogs, we visit with our friends.  Same ole – same ole.

We seek out hobbies that meet our desire for exhilaration and tribulation (aka “DRAMA“) without entering into activities with too-high risk.  I don’t, for example, go rock-climbing, para-sailing, extreme anything, off-road anything except mowing. <g>

I do dog agility and it provides me with all the exhilaration and angst I can stand.  In fact I’m slightly addicted to it. It fulfills my need for drama, for exhilaration, for tribulation.

Would agility be as addictive with a “steady-Eddie” dog that Qs every run, or a dog that runs clean every time but is slow? Do I need to live on the edge to get my agility high?

And, if my dog is a “steady-Eddie,” is the accumulation of MACh points and double-Qs and championship titles enough drama?

Would agility be as addictive with a dog that didn’t really like agility trialing?  A dog that enjoyed the training, the socialization, the travel, but didn’t appreciate the stress of the agility test?

Well, we all have our own definition of fun, and we all clearly have our individual needs in the drama department.

All I need to do is either ramp up my tolerance for excitement, or get my demon spawn (18-month-old BC) Tempest to be more predictable.  When he’s more predictable, more responsive to my movement, our trial experience won’t be as “exciting.”

He does a lot of stuff very right:  1) start line stays 99% solid,  2) 2-on-2-off contacts 100% solid,  3) weave entries 90% solid,  4) automatic down on table 85% solid,  5) recognition of jump job 80% solid.

He does a few things very wrong:   1) straight line of jumps,  2) pinwheel of jumps,  3) accepting handler movement,  4) attending to my position,  5) keeping bars up.

My first plan of attack is to continue my conditioning exercises with Tempest. Our mealtime training for winter will include:

1) straight lines of jumps (go on!)

2) pinwheels of jumps (go on!)

3) front crosses on the landing side of jumps

4) rear crosses on the approach to jumps

5) absolute directionals (jump, left! and  jump, right!)

 
I’m going to go back to jumps at 16″ and start from scratch with “handling” Tempest in jumping sequences.  He drops bars at 20-22-24-26″.  I don’t think it’s that he can’t clear them. I think he doesn’t have the skills to see the jump and estimate the effort needed to perform it. So we go back to the beginning.

At the same time I want him more accustomed to absolute directionals.  These skills will enable me to pre-cue a turn without being in front of my freight-train boy.

Additionally, I’m going to keep in mind what Bud keeps saying, “Tempest is exactly where Kory was at that age” and that Tempest is a little faster and has no regard for physical pain or survival.

I got what I wanted in a pup — self-destructive brave.  I’ve got to be the voice of restraint, calm, control.

This winter’s lessons are going to constitute the last chapters of my 2-minute dog training book for agility training from 8 weeks to 2 years.  We’ll forego trialing in favor of training, and hit the trial scene again in the spring!

This week Bud’s been out of town more than he’s been home, so I’m using my free time to focus on these skills. Hopefully we’ll have great news for daddy when he gets back into town.

First, retrieving.  Tempest’s favorite game is chase-the-toy-and-kill-it, then drop-it-and-wait-for-mom-to-come-get-it.  The game the dog likes is the correct reward, right?

However, it means a ton of walking for me, and I’d much prefer a dog who fetches his toy and hands it to me.

So this week we began working on a formal retrieve. Once he is retrieving his dumbell to hand I’ll introduce various toys, and help him start generalizing the “fetch” command.

When he’s retrieving to hand I’ll be able to use the toy for a reward and get more training done. The current game is very time consuming as MY toy-fetching speed is a direct reflection of my age and physical capabilities — I’m no 18-month-old BC.

Second, absolute directionals. Bud often says, “You’ve spent the time on Tempest’s contacts that I spent on Kory’s absolute directionals.”  And the dogs’ skills reflect the time we’ve spent on training them.

So Bud can direct Kory through a complex course, using minimal movement and well-conditioned absolute directionals.

Tempest and I, however, struggle with any sequence where I can’t be in the picture helping direct him.  If I say “left!” he’s more likely to spin right, indicating two things — 1) he has no idea what “left” means, and  2) just shouting “left” confuses him and makes him spin.

“Right” is an easier directional for Tempest. Primarily, I believe, because “right” consists of a hard vowel followed by a hard consonant. While “left” consists of a soft consonant followed by a soft vowel and a hard consonant.

So our mealtime training has been to train left-and-right.  At some point in the afternoon I break away from my TDAA and computer work to do a little retrieval training with him.

Mealtime left-and-right — with Tempest’s food bowl in my hands, I have him face me.  He immediately starts guessing what I want, often getting two 360-degree left turns in while I’m setting up.

After several days of “left” training, nearly all his guesses involve “left,” by the way.

When I’m set up I say, “watch me!” then “left.”  I’m looking for an indication of his head to the left. Sometimes it’s a flicker, sometimes he does a complete turn to the left, depending on how hungry he is.

The “watch me” command settles him down just a little and stops him from countless offerings of “left” head flickers and spins.

Not that I don’t want him to offer behavior, but I’d really like him to watch me and offer the behavior he hears/sees me cue.

He’s improved from 20-25% accuracy to about 65-70% accuracy in 2 weeks. So, as Bud says, “that’s better odds than just guessing, so somehow he’s starting to make the connection,” between the left-or-right commands and the correct direction for his head turn.

With the retrieve he’s progressed really quickly from jumping on the dumbell, putting it in his mouth, dropping it, and eating a treat …. to …. picking up the dumbell and bringing it toward my hand.

I’m helping him a bit at this point, getting my hand in really quickly so he’s delivering it to hand without too much effort.

The training I’m doing is following Sue Sternberg’s “Inducive Retrieve.”  It’s the method I’ve used to train my dogs to retrieve since 1997 and I’ve always be incredibly pleased with the results.

Sternberg’s method emphasizes the retrieve-to-hand, and the dog is constantly rewarded for releasing the dumbell into my hand.

As I learned some time ago, “fetch” has nothing whatsoever to do with chasing a toy or carrying a toy around.  It has nothing to do with holding a dumbell, or trotting across the floor with a dumbell in mouth.

Fetching is the act of putting something in my hand. Period.  Afterall, dogs carry things in their mouths all the time. They chase things all the time. Neither of those activities result in the item in my hand.

Sternberg’s training puts so much emphasis on dumbell into hand, treat into mouth, that the rest of the “fetch” behavior becomes just a means to an end. The toughest part of my dogs’ retrieve training is the stay while the dumbell flies away. They love retrieving, and I’m hoping Tempest is no exception.

Sue Sternberg’s well-written publications, including the inducive retrieve brochure, are available at <http://www.suesternberg.com/00shop.html> and all proceeds benefit the dogs in her Rondout Valley shelter in upstate NY.

Tempest and I had a 7-week stretch of travel and trialing, and we made great strides at improving our communication. I also felt like we were living out of suitcases. My weekly check-list included “unpack car, refresh dog food, repack car.”  It was a little tiring, and very exhilarating.

As a minor matter, we completed our stint of AKC trialing with two titles (Novice Standard and Novice FAST), a Q in Novice JWW, 2 Qs in Open Standard, and a Q in Open FAST.

I had resolved that we’d get back to our AKC trialing in the spring, after a winter of building confidence with jumps, and developing the skills to work technical jump sequences (our weakness).

Bud Houston, my husband and instructor, initiated a series of technical jump handling class lesson plans (Nancy Gye’s Alphabet Drills – Clean Run magazines March 2005 through October 2006 — book and CD available from www.cleanrun.com).

We adjusted our class offerings for Fall and Winter to reflect our shifting emphasis, from writing and teaching to trialing and focusing on our own dogs (and Bud’s “Gather and Go” handling system).

We had a weekend off, due to our entries arriving too late for a 3-day trial, and we were looking forward to a little decompression after all the traveling. I was wanting a quiet weekend for Tempest, as it was the full moon and 4 weeks since his last seizure. Then an old friend of ours passed away, leaving a USDAA club in Oregon in a lurch and in need of a masters judge. Bud headed off to Oregon and I was left home alone.

Bud’s trip was followed by 3 days of advanced agility training on Nancy Gye’s highly technical jumping sequences, with Tempest keeping the majority of bars up and surprising me with his capacity to understand and respond to technical handling. I was literally left slack-jawed, saying “where’d he learn that?”

Well, of course, he’s a dog and he follows handler motion, and all I really need to do is learn and perfect the timing he needs from me.

Having missed just one weekend of travel, having Tempest remain in excellent health, and having conquered (for the most part)these marvelous complex training sequences, I just couldn’t stay home any longer.  Our return to AKC trialing will occur in September instead of March, while we continue to prepare for Tempest’s debut in USDAA in late September.

At the same time, we’re getting our house in order. Literally. We’re doing a spring cleaning in the log home. I’m a proponent of use-it-or-lose-it, so a few plastic bags of accumulated junk have made their way to the curb.

And we’re continuing to nibble away at TDAA’s system improvements while keeping up with the day-to-day work coming in.

All the time I’m working on the house and on TDAA registrations, memberships, trial applications, and events calendar, I have this excitement and obsession on the back burner.

I completely understand something now that I didn’t understand 12-10-8-years ago — the obsession with dog agility trialing.

For the first time in my life I am blessed with a dog who loves the sport, who can go from calm and relaxed in his crate to 100% on the start line, and who is physically capable of supporting our participation.

Having done all of Tempest’s training I have been able to build my own agility dog. And I’m absolutely loving this blessing at my side.

I do not take him for granted.  His love of the sport and ability to ignore all distractions on the field makes running him a total pleasure. Nature AND nurture, not nature VERSUS nurture, have created a perfect storm, my Tempest.

I know my future will hold another dog with issues. But, for now and for a few years, I’m praying to continue enjoying the blessing of Tempest.

First first was our Time To Beat class. Neither of us had run it before and it was lots of fun.  Bud’s going to document it on his blog, probably, but certainly it will be included in the soon-to-be-published electronic Houston’s Book of Agility Games.  Points are awarded to dogs for qualifying (must run clean, refusals are not faulted), with additional points awarded to the fastest qualifiers in the class.  Ten (10) Qs and 100 points earns a title.  When a title is earned the slate is wiped clean and you start from scratch.

Second first was our Novice JWW run where Tempest ran clean (yikes! we scared up some off-course jumps) with no off courses and no bars down.  The ring crew had forgotten to set the electronic timer at the final jump so Tempest’s time didn’t get recorded properly.  I was given the opportunity to accept SCT or re-run for time.  Well, of course I re-ran for time.  Our second run wasn’t nearly as clean as the first but it was fast, earning Tempest ….

Third first was the blue ribbon Tempest brought home for his first Novice JWW qualifier.  These two runs took place within minutes of each other and left me with a slightly over-stimulated youngster.  I put him in his crate and waited for the crew to build Open Standard, a tiny class with only about 15 dogs entered.

Fourth first was Tempest’s approach to the start line for Open Standard.  He was still over-stimulated from his jumpers’ run and I should have seen trouble brewing. He held it together through 75% of the course, hitting his contacts and holding them, nailing his 12 weaves, performing an automatic down on the pause table and holding it, though dropping 2 bars in a long line along the back wall. The closing line began with a really tight pinwheel and I was providing limited motion when everything went pear-shaped.  Tempest started to the first jump, turned to look back at me and, when I said “go jump!” he darted in and nipped me so hard and so quick that I yelped “Ouch!”   The judge didn’t see it, but I asked to be excused.  Tempest’s first “BC walk of shame” occurred after that nip.  I got a blood blister the size of a dime on my thigh and he listened to me repeat ”no biting!” all the way to the ring gate.

Let me reiterate that I train with positive reinforcement and negative punishment.  Positive reinforcement is the application of reward for wanted behavior that you want the dog to offer again.  Negative punishment is the removal of reward for unwanted behavior you don’t want the dog to offer again.

Positive reinforcement trainers and force-based trainers often get into arguments about which system is better. When the argument degenerates into “I love my dog too much to hurt him” the language becomes a barrier to further discussion. I don’t think force-based trainers love their dogs less, they just don’t trust that the dog will offer behaviors consistently without being required to.

Positive reinforcement trainers often lack the training consistency to build behavior consistency in the dog. And, regardless of the quality and quantity of the reward system, you must have a response when the dog performs incorrectly.

I’ve practiced a “no command response” to errors in performance. Often the positive reinforcement trainer is caught out with no prepared response, and their disappointment is evident to all (including their observant canine partner, of course).  Disappointment is counter-productive, and is enough to shut down the softest dogs. The response to incorrect performance has to be neutral, the removal of all good responses.

On the other hand, when the dog does bad things (i.e. “bites the momma”) the response has to be immediate (i.e. “Ouch!”) and have an effect on the dog.  If the dog continues to smile and play, if the handler continues with the course thinking “I need this Q!”, if there is no immediate negative result from the bad behavior, the dog will be confused and unable to process the results of their behavior.

If we consider that dogs are constantly calculating “when I do this A happens, but when I do that B happens” then we know what we need to do.

Our response must be black-and-white.  “This is my response when I like what you’ve done (over-the-top praise, treats, tugs, toys, continuing with the course), this is my response when you’ve made a small error (removal of all positive reinforcers, allow the dog to try again), and this is my response when you’ve crossed the line into bad behavior (no attention, no continuing with the course, no praise, no tugs, no treats).”

A trainer cannot be too obvious with these cues. We get confused dogs when the handler’s positive responses are quiet and subtle, and their negative responses are big and pronounced.  The dog may think, “Well I know I did something wrong but I wonder what the right thing is.”

I’ll be interested to see if Tempest learned a lesson with Saturday’s standard round.  Our courses always end with over-the-top praise, tugging, lots of attention.  Small errors on course earn a neutral request to try again. His bad behavior was followed by no praise, no tugging, a “lie-down” for his leash, and no attention afterwards.

Today will be a little test.  His novice jumpers’ round will be quickly followed by open standard, and I’ll watch for over-stimulation at the start line.  I’m going to keep him out of the room as long as possible so he doesn’t get jacked up, and I’ll try to keep moving on the course in order to not incite his inappropriate herding behavior.

We have NO novice jumpers legs due to dropped bars and off courses.

My goals this weekend are to keep the 20″ bars up and to have no off-courses due to Tempest misunderstanding my handling.  I’m trying to NOT set goals that sound like, “I want to come home with 2 novice jumpers’ legs.”  <g>

We’ve run the first class of the day, AKC’s new game “Time To Beat.”  Tempest had an off-course to to misunderstanding my handling.  Well, we’ll just have to try harder in the rest of today’s classes. <g>

However, on a rather technical, complex sequence, Tempest kept all the bars up, hit all his contacts, completed 12 weaves (the second time around).  Time to Beat is not leveled so all dogs, novice to excellent, run the same course.

The most marked improvement in our performance, from my perspective, is his increased attention to me. He’s watching me and turning when I turn, but (and this is the important bit !!!) allowing me to move without altering his obstacle performance.

In other words, he hits his contacts and holds them even with me moving.  He weaves with me moving and pushing him.  He allows me to get into position while he’s jumping, and (today at least) is keeping bars up.

Tempest’s 2-minute training is focusing on two elements of his performance.

First, contacts.  I’ve had several people say to me, “my dog had great 2-on-2-off contacts until he turned 18 months old, then he got a little crazy and his contact performance went away.”  I consider this unacceptable.  I’m also guessing (hoping) that my contact training has little in common with their contact training.

If I do the math, Tempest has performed his 2-on-2-off about 2,000 times for meals (6 times a day when he was eating 3 meals a day x 3 months, 4 times a day while eating twice a day x 11 months).  He continues to perform his contacts for meals at least twice a day now.

Amusing sidebar on conditioning performance …. this week I walked away from the contact trainer while Tempest was eating … I emptied the dehumidifier in the basement … as I walked back Tempest’s bowl had moved and he’d walked off the trainer …. he glanced at me coming back and replaced his back feet on the trainer … waited for me to push his bowl back to him.

I continue to allow Tempest to hit his contact performance.  I don’t release him until he’s settled into position. I refuse to become so rattled in competition that do the wrong things for my youngster. I’m hoping that the continued conditioning at mealtimes, and allowing him to settle into 2-on-2-off on course, will keep his contacts solid.

So I guess what I’m hoping is that broken contact performances are a result of inadequate conditioning, lack of support on course, and allowing the first mistake to be self-rewarding.

Second, jumps.  I’ve said all along that I was not going to worry about Tempest dropping bars. I’m not going to punish him, correct him, or drill him.  I’ve considered raising the bars so he jumps a little rounder but — guess what — as he matures and pays closer attention to his coach he’s jumping rounder at 20″ !

As he matures he’s becoming more “forgiving” of my movement, and naturally taking more responsibility for his job. Interesting …

On another note, I continue to gather information on canine seizures. Friend Bonny is recommending an anti-convulsant that, unlike phenobarbitol, does not result in loss of equilibrium or weakness in the back legs.

Tempest loves to travel, enjoys agility, and will continue on this journey as long as possible.  I’m hoping to partner with this boy for 9-10 more years.

I’m off to run novice jumpers and open standard in Dayton, Ohio !!

We introduce jumps fairly early, keeping the bars low, but often we neglect to reinforce the act of jumping or the skills needed to negotiate a line of jumps.

Frankly this is true of novices, experienced trainers, even folks with jumping systems.

The novice dog will attack a course with focus on their handler, on the contact equipment, on the weavepoles, or whatever their handler has been focusing on in recent training sessions.

Jumps are often taken for granted. They are, for sure, the weakest link in my training with Tempest.

My timeline for jump conditioning for Tempest is as follows:

July 2011:  With high temps I’ll be doing no drilling. I’m experimenting with the notion that Tempest keeps bars up when he’s working at a distance from me. At trials and in class he only drops bars when racing at my side, or if I’m turning away from him while he’s jumping.

August 2011:  We have 3 weekends with no trialing, and I want to set up some technical jumping sequences.  I want to experiment with different types of handling and figure out if slow dog handling or fast dog handling works best with Tempest.  I also want to set up some lines of jumps and figure out if the bars drop when we race because:  A) we’re racing,  or  B) he’s flattening out in straight lines.

September 2011:  With Tempest’s first USDAA trial looming large near the end of this month I want to establish whether Tempest should jump 24″ in AKC or stay in his 20″ jump class.  He has to jump 22″ in USDAA and he’ll drop most of those bars if he gets too accustomed to jumping 20″.  I’d rather teach him to jump nicely at 24″, with USDAA at 22″, than have to babysit him through a course at 20″ to make sure the bars stay up. Does that make sense?

October 2011:   October is going to be all about TDAA, I’m afraid.  We’re having a working seminar / judges’ recert weekend the first weekend of October, leaving on Tuesday for the Petit Prix warm-up workshops and national event, then we have three TDAA trialing weekends in a row (Ostrander OH, Springfield IL, Latrobe PA).  Tempest gets to do class and gets the rest of the month off.

November 2011:  Bud and I have yet to determine whether we’re going to enter trials during cold weather months.  Bud’s accident has created a negative opinion of winter travel, I’m afraid.  No …. seriously …. I’m afraid. <g>  We’ll see what happens.