Run Like the Wind

Every now and then, something extraordinary happens. This weekend, something extraordinary happened to us.

Viva is a fast dog. Once I figured out some handling basics (things like giving your dog information before she needs it rather than after), I could count on Viva making course time. She usually picks up several speed points when qualifying on AKC agility courses, and I see a lot of speed from her when she's being her fuzzy happy self at home. Two years ago, she beat the 6 yards-per-second (YPS) mark for the first time ever, in a NADAC Tunnelers course. Since then, I'd seen pace from her in the high 5s, but nothing breaking 6, and nothing hinting at the capacity to reach 7 except in the living room while being chased by her Labrador Retriever sister, Luna.

In our second Tunnelers run last Saturday, Viva ran at 7.14 YPS. I didn't know it at the time. I never pay attention to our times at the end of runs. I figure we either make time or we don't, and if we don't, it's too late to affect that particular outcome since we've already crossed the finish line. Not only that, but other than a couple of spots where Viva really got to open up her stride, the run didn't seen much different from usual. There was one perfect turn coming out of a tunnel -- I started calling to her on time for once, and she came out of the tunnel on a PERFECT line to the next. When the scores were posted, I noticed she was faster than two border collies I pretty much idolize. That's when I thought we might have had a better run than usual. My mom called for directions to the trial site, and I asked her if she had a calculator handy. I made her do the math twice. Then I started looking at other runs and dogs' time. I did the same thing on Sunday.

Viva turned in the fastest run of any dog on any course all weekend long.

I'm still working on wrapping my brain around this. I know this is a speed sport, but honestly I've never rewarded for drive (at least not intentionally). Perhaps I may think about speed in training more than I have, as a result of this run, perhaps not. It blew away any concept of speed limitations I may have had, so I can guarantee there will be some shifts in self/team-image, qua Lanny Basham's model.

Not one to leave stones unturned, I figured since we'd gotten great speed on Saturday, I might try for some distance on Sunday. The bonus line in the first Tunnelers course looked like something doable, something that wouldn't frustrate Viva if anything went awry, and I wanted to see how Viva would do. I definitely didn't want to try the bonus line on the second Tunnelers course. There was a lateral section way at the other end of that second course, and I didn't think that would be fair to ask of my dog, given our distance training level. I got Viva revved up at the start line of the first course, and sent her through the first tunnel. She charged through the second tunnel, then noticed I was yelling, "Go, tunnel!" from what seemed to her like an awfully long ways away, and she turned to look at me. She stayed out, but her glance had put the wrong end of that tunnel in play, so when I asked again for "Go tunnel," she ran happily into the wrong end of the tunnel. I yelled "GOOD GIRL!" and brought her back through the first two tunnels in reverse order to me. I thanked the judge, and we ran for a treat jackpot. My mom was really perplexed. So were most of the other handlers (at least the vocal ones). After all, I had just rewarded my dog for doing the wrong thing. I explained to my mom that I was really happy that Viva had responded to my "Go tunnel" command by going into a tunnel. I figured we can hone this later, but I wanted Viva to know that her distance effort was something to celebrate.

Then the judge talked me into trying the bonus line for the second Tunnelers course. (Thanks, Michelle!) Viva charged through the first tunnel, charged through the second tunnel, *charged through the third tunnel* (at the distance that she'd felt insecure about just one run earlier), through the fourth tunnel, the fifth tunnel (at which point I'm pretty much jumping out of my skin with happiness and pride), then took the wrong end of the sixth tunnel. I smoothly got my happy fast dog to the finish line (skipping a bunch of tunnels on the way so I could reward as soon as possible) and we celebrated with lamb lung and liver biscotti. Good girl.

Those were the highlights. To summarize how the rest of the weekend went, well, in the past two trials she's collected sixteen blue ribbons. But the happiest moments? Two non-qualifying Tunnelers runs. I love agility. And my little red dog who can run like the wind.

Going Positive

Welcome back. This is the new home of the agility addict formerly known as Agility Spaz, now Agility Muse. Right around the time I last posted to my Agility Spaz blog, I got thinking about the power of the positive, especially as it applies to my teamwork with Viva. I didn't post much in 2008, initially because I was overwhelmed by our success at the 2007 AKC Agility Invitational in Long Beach, California. Coming in first in the FSS/Misc. Group blew my self-image as Agility Spaz. It's not that our runs at the '07 invitational were free of handler error. Some of my handling felt overcautious; I didn't always run the way I wanted to. But leaving the invitational, I had to acknowledge that I wasn't a novice handler anymore. I was better than I thought I was, and much of the success that weekend came from thinking positively. Inspired by Lanny Basham's story of shooting in snow for the first time at the world championships, I paced around the convention center muttering affirmations that seeped into my subconscious mind far enough to keep my conscious mind from sabotaging myself or my dog. Returning home, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep going as Agility Spaz. I also wasn't quite ready to assume a new mantle, a positive one, at least in such a public space as a blog. (Okay, so my public here may be a tiny one, but anyone can read this who runs across it.) A year later, I'm ready. It's not that my posts will be more positive than they were at Agility Spaz (the Agility Spaz posts were pretty positive), but I want to affirm that I can handle smoothly, confidently, and effectively, and staring at the "Agility Spaz" moniker on a frequent basis seemed counterproductive. So, welcome back to the home of thoughts and comments on the general topic of me-and-Viva, now reframed as ongoing musings. Maybe this will keep me from falling off the blog wagon the next time we experience more success than my conscious mind expects.