AgilityNerd

Fast Forward Dog Sports - Rachel Sanders

Steve Schwarz — 2008-07-20T10:00-06:00

In my prowling of the web for web sites to add to Googility, I found that Rachel Sanders has posted reprints of some of her CleanRun articles online. So far she has articles on weave entries, speeding up 2o2o contacts, and motivation.

Here is the direct link to her library page.

I really like Rachel and have attended all of her local seminars. I especially like her thorough approach to training the handling around contacts. I just ordered her DVD Contacts: Bridging the Gap Between Training & Competition and am looking forward to seeing it. I've also been using her running A Frame technique to retrain Meeker and will purchase that DVD when it is available.

Web Site(s) Updates

Steve Schwarz — 2008-07-13T23:00-06:00

Along with the launch of search.agilitynerd.com I launched a parallel site: Googility.com named for the combination of Google and Agility. Please tell your agility friends and neighbors.

I also decided to revamp my other search pages and create a new menu system for my blog too. So if you are reading this entry from a feed reader, please take a look at AgilityNerd.com to see the new look.

On AgilityNerd I've removed the top left menu and converted to a menu spread across the top. The items that didn't make sense for the top menu were added to the very bottom of the left hand menu. I've removed the little search box from the left hand menu and put all three types of search into a drop down menu cleverly titled: "Search". So Search now contains the original search of the site (which now remembers what you searched for once you've performed a search for easier refinement), the Clean Run magazine search, and a link to Googility.com.

The layout of the Clean Run magazine search has been greatly cleaned up and looks more like the Googility layout than its old look which was more like the blog. I've gone to a clean bluish theme instead of my old greenish theme. I've also added Google ads to the right hand side of the page. While I was at it I added all the magazine descriptions through the current issue. I still need to update the individual article index thought.

When I launched Googility I thought I had loaded all of the sites I've referred to in the past. I found out Friday I had left off about 30 prominent sites. Then I realized I had left out all the agility equipment plans/manufacturer sites. So I did some Googling myself and added over 70 sites on Saturday and Sunday. Now there are nearly 200 sites directly entered into the search engine. Google also adds sites linked from (some of) those sites. So after many hours in front of the computer this weekend I think as Laura would say: "I searched the web so you don't have to".

So far I've only heard from a half dozen people asking me to add websites, which I've done. I'm starting to come up with "rules" for the types of websites I won't add. The search engine is only valuable if it returns useful sites, add too many sites and the value of the results could be diluted. For example I won't add generic dog/pet stores, I'll only add their agility sections. Similarly, I've only added agility training related pages from the websites of a couple dog breeders. I am adding websites for agility clubs and agility trainers as I learn about more of them because I've already seen people search for trainers by areas of country.

Lastly I played around with the list of Googility websites and wrote a small program to manipulate and display a randomly selected list of three of the websites used by Googility on its front page. So each time you visit the site you'll see links to three different agility related websites.

New Agility Search Engine!

Steve Schwarz — 2008-07-06T11:00-06:00

Ever search for agility terms and been frustrated with the results returned by conventional search engines?

I've taken the web sites, blogs, forums, and individual web pages to which I've referred over the years and entered them into a Google Custom Search. This customized search engine limits its searches to pages only on those sites, giving much more useful results for every search I've tried.

I've created a new web site just for this search: http://search.agilitynerd.com/

As new content is added to these sites Google automatically updates the search engine, so it is always up to date. I'll also add new sites and individual pages to the search engine when I learn of them. If you know of a useful site or even a single page that doesn't show up in the search please send me an email.

Happy agility searching!

Working The Little Grey Cells - Course Memorization

Steve Schwarz — 2008-06-27T07:00-06:00

There was a discussion on the AgileTeach Email List this past week about helping students with learning difficulties remember obstacle sequences. That got me thinking about a method Dana Pike used in her advanced classes that challenged students course memorization abilities.

When I first started training with Dana I was surprised when she didn't put out numbered cones on the course. As a student you had to show up on time and she'd walk the course with the group and point out the obstacles in order (but without giving any handling hints) and she'd usually only walk it twice with us. Then it was up to the students to remember the course and come up with their handling. I was pretty terrible at first, but over time was able to find the patterns in the courses and that helped with remembering the courses. For experienced students I've found this to be a good way to challenge their course memorization abilities.

Not putting out cones also has the side effect of encouraging students to come to class on time. If they miss the walk through they get to practice the experience of missing the walk through on trial day and trying to deduce the course before running it. This is actually a valuable skill, although one you'd like to not ever use...

When training students running full courses, as an instructor it is easiest to lay out cones and say "Walk it". But it doesn't exercise the handler's course remembering abilities as much as it could, so if you are looking to challenge your students you might give this exercise a try.

School Pictures

Steve Schwarz — 2008-06-22T07:00-06:00

Back in December Nancy Reyes, the thoughtful owner of For Your Canine, had photographer Karen Hollis of Sirius Pet Images come in and secretly take pictures of the dogs in day care. She then gave each dog's owner a calendar with a picture of their dog as a holiday present.

Well Karen's photo of Petey was so cute that we had to get bigger pictures. So Nancy, that's Petey's Mom Nancy, got me an 8x10 of the little monster last month:

Doesn't it remind you of a picture you'd get of a kid graduating from grammar school? Or a yearbok photo? All cleaned up, smiling, and looking innocent. When we know the truth...

It reminded me of a similar photo Sheri Berliner of Petraits Pet Photography took of Milo years ago:

Most likely to...

Cream City USDAA Trial - 15 & 16 Jun 2008

Steve Schwarz — 2008-06-18T23:00-06:00

This past weekend Meeker and I trialed in Wilmot WI at the Cream City USDAA trial. It was an outdoor trial with two rings. Our judge for both days was Eric Quirouet. It was Meeker's first outdoor trial and we did pretty well: we had 4 Qs out of 7 attempts.

Dana Pike Tornado Fund

Steve Schwarz — 2008-06-10T20:00-06:00

This past Saturday night agility trainer Dana Pike had her training building destroyed and her home damaged by a tornado. Fortunately, she and her dogs were able to get into the crawlspace before the tornado hit. She posted some photos and her account of the incident on her website. In minutes Dana lost years of hard work that went into the facility and the equipment it contained. She now faces a huge clean up and repair effort.

While she has insurance it in no way will cover the expenses she will be facing. In response to numerous requests I have set up an account at TCF Bank for those who wish to help Dana.

There are three ways to donate:

Online Via PayPal
You do not need to have a PayPal account in order to use PayPal. You can use a credit card or check and your account and other financial information is kept at PayPal and not forwarded to the fund. This is the PayPal secure link
Or you can click on this button:
Via Check Sent by Regular Mail
You can make a check out to "Dana Pike Tornado Fund" and mail it to:
```
Dana Pike Tornado Fund
c/o AgilityNerd LLC
P.O. Box 789
Prospect Heights, IL 60070
```
I will deposit the check for you into the account.
At a TCF Bank Branch
You can give the teller the name of the account: "Dana Pike Tornado Fund" and they can deposit a check or transfer money directly into the account.

The IRS does not consider donations to an individual to be tax deductible. The bank is not charging any fees and no expenses will be deducted from the account. All the money deposited in the account will be given directly to Dana Pike. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this fund.

I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who has contacted me with their concerns and desire to help. Special thanks to Whitney Rupp who kindly setup the PayPal account and will be assisting with handling the donations.

Please keep Dana and her family in your thoughts as she goes through this difficult time.

Please cross post this request or email a link to this blog post to anyone who may wish to contribute: http://agilitynerd.com/blog/journal/dana_pike_tornado_fund.html

Thank you very much.

Tornado Destroys Dana Pike's Training Building

Steve Schwarz — 2008-06-09T07:00-06:00

My agility friend and mentor Dana Pike had her training building destroyed by a tornado this past Saturday night. She just sent an email that she and her dogs are alright and her home is still standing although damaged by the tornado. She posted some pictures and a brief description on her website.

I'll find out what we can do to help her out and post back here. Keep Dana and her family in your thoughts in this very difficult time.

Linda Mecklenburg's Awesome Paws Website

Steve Schwarz — 2008-06-07T20:00-06:00

Top agility competitor and trainer Linda Mecklenburg now has a website. That in itself isn't notable, now a days most trainers have an online presence. What I like about Linda's site is she is including some very useful reference information.

The information is a little hidden. At the bottom of the Agility Service - Instruction page there is a link to "Online Instruction". Here is a direct link. That page has three sections:

Course Handling Analysis
Handling Discussion
Library

It is worthwhile studying all the material Linda has placed under these sections. While her approach, like all top trainers, evolves slightly over time, even her oldest articles have a lot of value. Her explanations can be on the technical side because she is trying to be accurate in her descriptions.

I just came back from Linda's camp where she, Wendy Pape and Ann Braue each taught one day. I found them all to be very positive trainers and very helpful to all levels of competitors. Wendy and Ann's approaches (at least at this camp :^) are compatible with Linda's handling system. I'd definitely recommend training with them and learning more about Linda's handling system.

Honda Element "Dog Mobile"

Steve Schwarz — 2008-06-02T08:00-06:00

In response to a comment on my Window Film Application post here are my thoughts on the Honda Element as a dogmobile and how I store my dog stuff in it. Basically it is a fine vehicle. I've had mine for just over two years. It has 42,000 miles on it. I don't keep track of mileage too much but I probably get around 25 MPG with mostly highway travel.