[Lizzie07]

Oh, Eddie is so cute. Is he jumping four inches? Lizzy is short, but I have her jumping eight inches.

The one thing I notice about Eddie is the way he collects himself before jumping. Neither Lizzy or Jillie do this and I think that slows him down. I wonder if using cavallettis (sp?) with a target at the end could get him to take jumps without collecting himself. These are a row of jumps (5 or so) close enough together for Eddie to land and jump again, without room to collect himself. A super, super great treat at the end would also help. Then back that up with a few more along with praise. When his jumping is good that way, move the jumps a little farther apart, and continue. It should help with his over all speed too.

When we first started out, I really tried for no do overs. If Lizzy was doing a line of jumps and missed one, she missed it and I kept going and praised her like she did a perfect job. I've learned with three previous dogs that this can make them hesitant if you keep stopping and making them do something they missed. It has worked great for Liz. She doesn't expect me to stop, generally. Did you notice in one of the runs that we were suppose to wrap a jump, but she kept on to the tunnel? I just acted like it was part of the run once it happened. It isn't easy doing this, my instinct is to redo, but I've gotten better.

At Liz's one and only trial to date, I have to say I was really proud of myself that I kept going and didn't do anything over, not even the first obstacles which she missed in both her runs. I try to tell myself that Novice is just one of the steps to excellent and you really need speed there. Especially AKC and USDAA. I don't know NADAC as well, but it seems more laid back around here. AKC is quite competitive. So is USDAA, but everything is tougher, higher and harder in USDAA and I don't know if I will do it much, if at all, with Liz. That is not to say that I won't go back to pick something up, but by the time you get to excellent, it doesn't matter. You only Q if you have no mistakes in AKC.

The A frame did look larger that Liz was doing, but maybe you are taller than I am? I'm 5'6". My trainer does a lot of USDAA, though, so it could have been taller. I have sent her over the taller, USDAA height, by mistake, and it was a real struggle for her. Without a good start, it is anyway and it is noticable in one of the runs.

How tall is Eddie at the withers? Liz is 8.5". How long has Eddie been taking classes? I think he looked great in his run. He didn't look unhappy at all to me. He might need more confidence is all. How does he run in class?