elie from wiesel

We leave for Scottsdale 2 weeks from today. We are as ready as we can be, and not ready at all. Of course, Austin and Regan are perfect. They can do no wrong; itapos;s just up to me to show them where to go and make it as fun and exciting as possible. I do not wish that I had trained Smitty a minute more than I have. She has learned an incredible amount in such a short amount of time. Thereapos;s still so much more to teach her, but that will come, and Iapos;m sure it will come quickly.

So we have 2 weeks...whatapos;s the best thing to train? Iapos;m anticipating fairly technical courses that will be quite a challenge for lil Spitty Gonzales. Iapos;ve decided we will train things we do well, perhaps taking things a step or two beyond, but this is not the time to cram for the exam. I just want loads of confidence for both of us. So hereapos;s my plan:

Dogwalk: Since she is not in GP, the only place this might be an issue is Team Standard. Well, sheapos;s on a no pressure, just for fun team, so who cares??? We will be doing all easy hits, turns before are ok, but no turns after. I may squeeze in a couple of turns on the ground after, just to practice my timing. Anyone know how hard it is not to pull up/decel at all until you see feet on the ground??? HARD. But I just want her flying and driving. Pre-cued turns after are our 2009 project. :)

Weaves: We will continue to work these a bit. No super difficult entries, but things like me passing her in the poles, increasing lateral distance, front cross before/after, push/pull out of the poles. Just need to keep her at 80 success to keep her confidence high.

Sequences: 2009 will also be the year of the tighter turns. :) For now, we need to let that go. *I* know the turns she is capable of, but those require me to let the speed demon know waaaaay early where to go next, and thatapos;s something Iapos;m not always ready for just yet. So just keeping her on course is my focus, so we will be working on "getting the job done" in the next 2 weeks.

Mostly we will see if we can place very high in Team Gamblers 16"...Iapos;m thinking we can definitely rackup mega points, so that will be fun We will give Steeplechase our best, but a lot will depend on what the course is like, and whether or not it plays to our strengths. Completely out of my control, so Iapos;m not even going to worry about it. Iapos;m so fortunate to have a young dog even eligible to attend I canapos;t wait :)
elie from wiesel, elie god now where wiesels, elie gown saab, elie gown saab wedding.