Wanderings of a Slightly Insane Mind

Without a doubt I over think things, it's just who I am.  Sometimes it actually leads to mind blowing epiphanies, and sometimes it leads to obsessing over details.  Yesterday I had what I considered an epiphany.  In the past few weeks, not surprising being the new year, everywhere you look there is information on goals.  Making them, doing them, how to make them, how to stick to them.  When I started this blog it was about setting up a plan and already in two weeks the plan is gone :).  I have to work on a new plan, again.  Luckily I am the eternal optimist and will keep setting up plans until one works.  Here I am using goals and plans interchangeably that may be wrong, but for me my goal is the plan.

Anyway, I digress my epiphany was without goals you have taken away a huge reward for yourself.  When I look at what Iggy and I have accomplished in the last few months I have no choice but to be really pleased.  We have strong sits and downs on hand signals and verbal, we have a good hard nose touch with multiples, we have a recall that has worked in a room full of people and dogs, we have a retrieve, we have jumping, we have shaping...  Since I have never sat down and defined goals with due dates I have denied myself the sense of accomplishment of achieving the goal.  Instead I just keep wanting more, which is fine but you have to stop and appreciate what you have achieved before you want more otherwise you are never satisfied.

So back to goal setting and planning

Ultimate Goal - an agility dog that has good speed and confidence when running an agility course.  Confidence from having the skills to know what to do and when to do it

1 Year Goal - be able to enter in a trial and have confidence that my dog will be able to stay with me, do the equipment, and handle a starters course in a trial setting

1 Month Goal - this is where I start losing my way, I get overwhelmed by what I need to teach, I don't know where to start or where to go

• nose touch on plexi on the ground
• tunnel from any angle from ~ 20 feet
• 180, 270, pinwheel, serps
• find the line 2 jumps no toy
• LOP with toys no jumps - improve understanding of when to come to me when to drive to the toy
• bang game on tunnel
• jump far, jump turning - put both on cue
• recall with surprise distraction
• backup
• smaller box
• shape go around bucket
• tug all over the basement
• 100% recall in the front field
• front cross on flat

Surprising enough once I forced my brain out of the stratosphere and to write down a list it felt good and doable.  One article said not setting goals is due to fear of failure and that sooooo applies to me, we shall see how this goes.

1 Week Goal 

• nose touch - multiples before releasing him to whatever
• nose touch - moving hand to the ground
• tunnel - short and straight going through consistently
• 180 - both directions with some distance
• LOP with toys no jumps - improve understanding of when to come to me when to drive to the toy
• back up
• basement - tug at bottom of stairs

Put the list on my to do list and am all excited.

Today was supposed to be a rest day since we do class on Friday and are at the barn on Thursday.  For our morning walk we pushed the boundaries by going out into the front field.  I don't know if it's the long grass or what but I have a hell of a time calling him off when he sticks his nose into the snow.  I imagine the grass has a lot of mice.  Anyway we had two failures and worked through them so will go out there again tomorrow.  Will have to ponder how to improve, maybe consider putting him on leash for that part of the walk would be a good idea.

Worked on our 180s in the front yard with snow.  He did great managed both directions with nice distance.