To say that this is my busy season is probably an understatement. I’ve come off a couple camp weeks; a weekend of classes for our local students; a number of days of private lessons for people who’ve traveled some distance to stay in our rustic cabins and enjoy a vacation in this secluded setting. Add to this a number of chores… building fence, gardening, and the continued wainscot project.

At this very moment I’m sitting in the Salt Lake City airport awaiting my flight home after a weekend of judging DOCNA. I have camp starting tomorrow. Although I’ll be getting back to the homestead about 6:00 pm, I’ll have to set equipment, vacuum the training floor and get my mind right for the task ahead. This is the first of three weeks of camps one after the other. I expect to have little time for writing to my weblog.

The trial in Provo was small but relaxed. We were up against an AKC trial that undoubtedly kept the entry down. But nobody really cared too much. It’s hard to have more fun than playing the games of DOCNA and possibly a bit of a relief to be in the company of the kind of folk who view agility as recreation on the weekend. The folks that ran the trial basically give up a lot of energy and effort to provide agility opportunities for all dogs.

DOCNA is a relatively new venue and the invention of Jim and Mary Kay Mills. While it is a spin-off from NADAC it truly has its own flavor and definition. Any new venue is a hard-sell in today’s world. People are basically resistant to change and will agonize over allocating budget and time to something new. However DOCNA allows grand-fathering of titles from other organizations. So some competitors may get hooked on the idea of DOCNA when they find out how much fun they can have with their dogs.

I would love to see it started up in my part of the world. But frankly I have my own hands full with TDAA and JFF, while contemplating CPE to a certain extent. And frankly the area where I live is a solid bastion of AKC.

APDT Rally and C-wags Obedience

Trial secretary Ginger Alpine is waiting patiently for your entries in this trial (right here at Country Dream!) We're doing an introduction to C-wags obedience on Friday, July 11, morning. That afternoon we'll have a C-wags trial. Saturday, July 12, will feature C-wags in the morning and APDT rally in the afternoon. Sunday, July 13, will feature two APDT rally trials.

Please contact Ginger Alpine alpinesk9@yahoo.com for a premium and registrations.

Come try something new!!

More… on Boxes

An associate asked me if I were going to do “more on boxes” in my weblog. It took me a moment to digest exactly what she said. You can see my evident first glance translation. Once we get outside of the rigidly defined shape of a thing it’s easy to find the essential exercises for box-work throughout the agility course. This is true of the box, the serpentine, the pinwheel and about any recognizable arrangement of obstacles you could imagine. I do not intend to reinvent the basic box-work exercises or challenges just because the box is inherently misshaped beyond any rigid Victorian definition.

This sequence includes a threadle, a 180º wrap, and a 270º turn. Though it’s clear to see, although misshapen, it is a box.

In the context of a larger course the boxes mightn’t be so overtly noticeable. You’ll note in this drawing the subtle relationship between box and pinwheel.