I can’t believe it. My baby girl blue monster is qualified for AKC Nationals in Tulsa. We had a lot of ups and downs, but in the end, she came through. And she did it all with a partial CCL tear. As you may (or may not) know, I have been managing this injury for several months, while seeing if Ticket could qualify for Tulsa. I almost gave up a couple of times, and if she had become lame or was obviously hurting, I would have stopped. But Ticket is all heart, and you would never know she was injured when you watched her run. But the fact of the matter is I’ve had to manage her VERY closely in terms of her training and showing to keep her sound, and no amount of management in the world is going to fix the problem. So sadly, she earned QQ #6 on Saturday, and will be having TPLO surgery on her right stifle on Monday. Extra sad–that’s her birthday, she will be turning 3.
Despite my winning the award for “worst birthday present ever,” I know it’s the right thing to do. And hopefully, with a good rehab plan and a little luck, she will be back at full strength in time for Nationals. I am cutting it a little close and taking a chance, and she might not be ready in time if we have any setbacks. But I decided awhile ago that I was willing to take that chance–at least this way we have a shot of competing. I have no problem scratching her if necessary.
With Nationals looming, I’m more determined then ever to be diligent about Ticket’s rehab, and even though we did a lot of things well the first time around, I want to do even better. Fitness/cardio once she reaches that point is definitely going to be a priority–I feel like I let her “work herself” into shape a bit with TPLO #1. Like before, I will be blogging each step of the way, and hopefully will find some new things to help others in the future.
Ticket TPLO and Rehab by .
Photo by Jozef, Ted’s Photo Reflex
So, an update on how we are doing competition-wise lately. We had one more show, Labor Day weekend on soccer turf. Awesome surface, awesome courses! And lucky Grandma Mary there again.
Trip was perfection. She was 6/6 for the weekend, earning 3 QQs with 1st and 2nd place runs. Just brilliant. I also found out over the weekend that she is currently in the Top 5 in Shelties for the 2013 Invitational. That’s what all those QQs will get you, I guess–she has been on fire lately. I really don’t think we show enough to keep it up, and I’ve never really paid attention before, but if she continues to run this well, I will for sure keep my eyes open. I can’t really spend the time or money it would take campaign for Invitational, but we have a lot of shows on our own–who knows. Like I said, I will definitely be paying attention if this Q rate keeps us. 🙂
Ticket was brilliant! She earned a standard leg, a JWW leg, and a Double Q. She also earned her MXJ title! We were SO CLOSE to another QQ, but I let down for a split second, and she took me off guard and went off course. Very disappointed in myself, because we had that run. The JWW courses were challenging for us–one I had to keep improvising, but managed to QQ, and one I had to suck it up and go for it, and she did fantastic! So proud of little baby blue. We are just clicking and really becoming a team, and every run with her is a joy. She continues to make progress towards qualifying for Tulsa–only 2 more QQs needed now. We have shows coming up in Baton Rouge, as well as San Antonio, before our local shows start. I really hope to knock those 2 QQs out in our next 3 shows (that’s me trying not to be too optimistic). Baton Rouge will like be headed home for me, though just another place for Ticket. I’ll get to visit with my LA friends, and show under a couple of great judges–can’t wait!
I’ve also been working some “international” practice courses to get some video of Ticket on a few of those style of courses prior to her next TPLO surgery. I know it’s coming–I’m trying to plan ahead. Ticket now only needs 1 JWW score to qualify for next year’s World Team Tryouts. I’m not 100% we’ll go at this point–I will wait for news on what the plans are for dealing with the location, but I’m leaning towards it. Ticket has such a solid foundation–it amazes me that there are things I can trust her not to do, that I have to watch for with Trip. Mostly, I need to learn where I’m realistically doing to be when running her, so that I don’t try to force handling maneuvers that won’t then work. I’m pretty good at figuring it out on our typical courses, but with the challenges of international courses, often you have to more stationary to handle a technical sequence, which then leaves you behind for the next bit. But, we continue to make progress, and Ticket continues to blow my mind.
Both girls are getting an agility-free week while Ticket recovers from a respiratory virus she picked up at the last show. I won’t rehash the details here, but she started coughing pretty bad, but is doing fine on medication, and acting like her normal self (plus cough). Definitely much improved. I’m trying to look at it in a positive light–I know I have a hard time doing NO agility, even if we don’t have a show. We go to class, or even if we skip class, go train with a friend. I can’t tell you the last time we went over a week with NO agility. After a pretty tough month of training/trialing, I think the week off will be a nice break to recharge those batteries, recover from any soreness, and get ready for the next bout. Double Qs or bust! 🙂
Here are 5 things to look for in a GREAT instructor/coach…
1. Has more then one answer to a problem — Every dog is different, and there is no “one size fits all” answer to every training problem. A good trainer will have an alternative solution if their first one doesn’t work.
2. Understands the mental aspects of the game — Agility is a partnership, and if the human half of the team is a mess, it doesn’t matter how skilled the dog is. An instructor who helps the handler manage their nerves, develop positive self-talk, etc, will be doing more to help that team in the long-run then by trying to speed up their dogwalk by hundredths of a second.
3. Recognizes how agility has changed — Agility continues to evolve. Trends in course design have changed, and different handling maneuvers are needed. Weave pole entries are more difficult, serpentines are prevalent, and wraps are becoming more common. A good trainer recognizes this, and will also alter the focus of training exercises to focus on current challenges in agility. While I do not believe a good instructor has to be actively competing, they do have to be aware of what is happening within the sport.
4. Is available to their students — A good coach is going to be there for their students at shows. They may need to answer a question about how best to handle a sequence, or help figure out what went wrong after a run. That means the instructor needs to try to make a point to watch their students. This is a fine line — I certainly don’t think instructors should have to deal with being constantly bombarded with questions so they are not able to focus on their own dog and runs. Nor do I think instructors should dictate how their student should run the course. New handlers have to learn how to analyze the course themselves — a good instructor will teach this, but also be there to answer the occasional question. Obviously, an instructor cannot watch every run of every student, or be at every show, but an instructor who makes an effort is worth their weight in gold.
5. Recognizes when they don’t have the answer — A good instructor will see changes in their students dogs, and realize when it may not be a training issue. The first thing a dog showing a new issue (ie dropping bars, avoidance of certain obstacles, slowing down) should have addressed is potential medical reasons for this. The good coach will recommend having the dog evaluated by a veterinarian to rule out health problems, before starting to offer guidance for training through these problems.
