A big week for the "champagne kids"

What week is it?

It's birthday week for the "champagne kids" of course! Bungee included! She will turn the big 1 year old this Friday! We already have part of a birthday plan in mind for her but we will save that for later.

Some Homework Updates:
Ruff Love - going great at a modified level, Bungee doesn't know she's on it, and is being much more respectful of my time with Guinness. They've had many more lessons together on the field with no more negative incidents of any kind. Just lots of great work. The pushy, jealous behavior I was starting to see around the house is already gone. They have always gotten along great together one-on-one, and they continue to do so.

Agility Homework - We have now advanced from just flatwork to transfering our skills to equipment. The transition from circle work to sequencing is our focus now.

Jumping - Setting up small sequences now, 2 - 4 jumps. Lots of emphasis on focus forward vs. focus on me. I have to hide the toy to run with her over 2 or 3 jumps and have her look where she is going, but if I do she does. Her jumping style is fluid and lovely - really pretty. When she's looking where she's going - bars stay up, I'm working them at max. 16" or 40 cm.

Grids - She is due for some - on the "to do" list.

Box Work - Yes, that's what I said! I worked some sit stays around the box from different positions with success. Curious to see what she'd do, I went to the jump at the Left (L) of the 1st square, tried a Lead-Out Pivot (LOP) w/ a Front Cross, (FC) to the L and she read it beautifully. I rewarded at the turn before the jump. A 2nd try, I let her go over the jump rewarding on the outside. Ditto to the Right (R). So much success I sat her & went down to the 2nd square. LOP w/ a FC to the L - she handled it like a pro so ditto to the R - again success. This time I went back and tried running with her through the same sequences - success again but wide around me through the FC (easily tightened up on a 2nd try). Worked each direction with success.

Later came back to a 270 at the top of the box, wow and wow again, by George she got it! Worked 270's on both sides, son of a gun - she got them. So we had a little session of a 270, then a threadle on the same jumps, then a 270, then back to pulling through the gap - each time changing the task, over the same two jumps, working in each direction to the L & R, and each time she's on it like white on rice! So wow, and wow again for Bungee. Now I see the true magic of circle work! We've only worked on the box twice but very exciting beginning!

The box work also provides an option to drive straight up the center or some turns at the top and drive back down the line of center, which Bungee did nicely.

FFD - However, "before we can run we must walk", and in AAC Starters Jumpers courses that means long straight lines of wide open jumps, maybe with only 3 turns in a whole course and perhaps only 13 -15 jumps in total. That translates to huge, wide-open spaces, jumps set at 18' - 25' apart and so forth.

The point of explaining all this is yet another reason Bungee will need to understand to drive long straight lines, starting "first thing out of the gate" with these long, large, simple circles so frequently seen in Canadian Starters & Novice courses (U.S. too). FF work is really going to be the key to success, but in fairness we will start out by breaking this work right down and that's where we are at now.

Contact equipment - not before contacts of course! But skills work continues.

Contacts - 2o2ow/nt continues .