March/April Classes
We've got several new classes coming up:
- Therapy Dog Prep on Thursday evenings
- Mini Attention Games II on Friday mornings
And....the Platform class is back on Monday evenings!!!!
Plus....you can now register online
The complete class schedule and online registration information can be found at www.blueribbondogsportscoaching.com
Don't forget that Sandi has Rally run-thrus and CDSP run-thrus every Thursday morning at Golden Rule School for Dogs. |
Blue Ribbon Brags
Joan Olawski-Stiener & Rio - Two UKC URO1 legs, WCR ARCH leg, three AKC RAE legs
Caroline LeBel & Beya - WCR RLPX leg with first place
Caroline LeBel & Scout - fifth WCR ARCHMX leg
Andi Skarra & Cara - two AKC CD legs with placements
Linda Sperco & Rye - AKC UD leg with second place
Congratulations to all the BRDS teams who made the CDSP Obedience Top Twenty 2013 National Rankings
Tom Johnson & Greta #16 Novice A
Lisa Butz & Maggie - #18 Novice A
Val Bernhardt & Rocky - #18 Novice B
Bobbie Wood & Emmy - #11 Novice C
Nancy Garrison & Emilie - #2 Open A
Michelle Ostrander & Sawyer - #5 Open A
Val Bernhardt & Jenny - #20 Open A
Sue Kander & Ellie Mae - #6 Open C
Caroline LeBel & Scout - #8 Open C, #5 Utility A, #7 Utility B
Sandi Ver Sprill & Fly - #14 Open C
Linda Sperco & Rye - #19 Open C, #7 Utility A
Val Bernhardt & Rip - #20 Utility B |
Closing The Gap
Getting Your Dog In Shape
It's been a long long winter but spring really will be here soon and it's time to get your dog physically ready for the rigors of hunt test season.
Think marathon runners and Olympic sprinters and the different ways the muscles are used in those sports.
If you've been able to hunt your dog this winter he's been working his muscles like a marathon runner. And while that's a good thing, most dogs take off from the line like an Olympic sprinter, putting entirely different demands on their systems.
Start with the obvious and make sure your dog is at his optimum weight for what he will be doing very shortly and if necessary, start now to get those extra winter pounds off.
If possible, start swimming your dog indoors. It's a great way to build front end strength and increase stamina and endurance as well as a great cardio workout. Regular time on an underwater treadmill strengthens the front and the rear and is another great cardio workout.
Make an appointment with a canine physical therapist for an evaluation now; before that limp suddenly appears. A good canine PT will massage, stretch and manipulate and send you home with exercises to help keep your dog at his peak.
Finally, when ground conditions are safe, throw that tennis ball or toss that bumper to get his system ready to start those 100 yard sprints.
Start closing the gap now between your dog's current physical condition and the lean, mean sprinting machine he is at the end of hunt test season so that you both have an injury-free season.
When Will I Be Ready To Show?
A student recently asked when I thought she would be ready to enter a trial. Quite honestly, I could not make that decision for her; that's not a decision an instructor can make for a student based solely on training class performance.
Instead, I asked the following questions:
- Are you confident your dog can perform all the exercise in the class?
- Are you confident that you know all the exercises in the class and the judging guidelines for each?
- Have you trained all the exercises in new places?
- Have you put all the exercises together in new places?
- Have you closed the gap between what you accept in training and expect at a trial?
Most people want to show after answering 'Yes' to the first two questions and if they do, are terribly disappointed at their performance and tend to blame the dog: "But she knows how to do it!" It's not the dog's fault.
There's a huge gap between training class and the ring. Getting out to matches, run-thrus, training parties, renting training facilities for practice are the only way to close that gap. When you can answer 'Yes' to all five questions, then you're ready to show.
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The Navesink River Hunting Retriever Club Sunday training sessions have started. For details:
www.navesinkriver-hrc.com/ |