DogSport Weekend - 20.08.2011!

‎200811 - Thank God for the great weather, be it in the morning or evening, the weather has been excellent for Agility Training. This week we focus on weave-poles, motions, flows and control, all students have performed maverlously. Open-stride, close-stride, turns, crosses, weaves, left & right handling, smooth transition into another obstacle ... keep up the good work PUPSters!

Interesting Quote!

Steal from Gary Decker : I once attended a agility seminar where one of the concepts was...see the course from your dog's view. Well, I take that approach on viewing a lot of things these days....and it so simplifies life. Eat, sleep, mark your territory, and play when you can.....that's why I have my "Life is short, Play with your dog" t-shirt on! Have a great weekend everyone!

Great DogSport Weekend @7 Aug 2011

Sunday started off with a heavy morning rain. For those who do not have outdoor activity were very please with the rain and all stayed indoor to catch up with their sleep and rest. But for those of us who have outdoor activity such as Agility, were praying for the rain to stop. The weather continue to rain until about 2.30pm, and the sun came out and bring us hope.

In the evening we have Sky, Toby and Gillian and Bailey, Ken and Cheryl. The first group started at 4pm, we were drilling on movement, flow and intends. With Gillian focusing more on her motion, flow and intends, Sky and Toby read her like a book, keeping all bars up and making an excellent flow and motion on course. Even the youngster Toby is running up to 6 obstacles and keeping all bars up.

The second group came at 5pm, Bailey and Ken need some warm-up exercise to get Bailey up to speed. Bailey were giving great attention after a good warm-up games of tugs, play and treats. Bailey and Ken have improved tremendously, the motion, flow and intends given helps Bailey to quickly understand Ken's motion, direction and intention. Bailey now can jumps up to 6 obstacles such as Open Tunnel, Jumps and Pause Table. Crosses such as front-cross, post-turn, tandem turn, push and pull strategy building up Bailey agility vocabulary.

Marvelous training, excellent execution, motion, direction, flow and intend build up the team confidence in handling agility obstacles. We all had fun and as we stay positive, our training will continue to improve.

Wet & Adventurous Walk!

This morning I took Ashley for long walk. Trying to build bond so I brought him to a wet and adventurous walk. We clocked 1 hour 26 minutes and 41 sec, all drenched and soaked through skin for both dog and man. Our adventure path brought us through Seletar Camp, Jalan Kayu to Seng Kang Riverside Park. After going through the crowded Jalan Kayu, the long stretch of road towards Seng Kang was a very scenic one. Lots of trees, wildlife, fresh air and loads of hills to bring us to the nature.

Along the walks, there were many opportunity to practice on-lead and off-lead exercises. Once we reaches the riverside park, we went to the other side of the park where there is a connector connecting park users to the wetlands. The beautifully constructed bridge suspending over the Punggol Reservoir. I saw a pair of about 1.5 Meter long Monitor Lizards swimming in the wetlands and look like they are on the hunt. What a rare sight to see Monitor Lizards? As we pushes on on the connector, we were confronted by a very brave small poodle barking and charging towards us. And poor Ashley fled for his life. But I managed to coax Ashley to follow me passes the poodle and we continue our wet walk.

On our returning journey, I did some steep hill climbing opportunity, Ashley and me passed the climb with flying colors! We took a different routes back and we were treated with another amazing scenic walk. A very enjoyable and satisfying walk and I would definitely do another similar walk in the near future.

Great DogSport Weekend@ 6 AUG 2011!

A much needed weekend break for me. I was down by a bad flu at the beginning of the week. Took 2 days MC to rest and very please to recover by Friday. Most of my colleagues were heading for a Super long weekend. But I can't as I have a lots of issue to be resolve on this coming Monday.

This morning, Saturday, 6 August, the weather was great. We have a new comer; Herbie and Edmund. Actually there are not NEW, but decided to comeback to Agility Training after a very long 2 years break. Not only Herbie, Edmund is also coming back with Sundae. (Herbie - BC and Sundae - Corgi) Herbie and Edmund had a go a number of jumping sequences, this week we are using the letter Y as a training alphabet drills. Herbie is quick on course but he has mature and no longer behaving as a youngster running aimlessly and tirelessly. We will be focusing back on basic jumping skill and getting Herbie to focus on jumping properly, a good taking off plane and a good landing plane. After a few simple jumping drills, you can see Herbie is back for business and he will only gets better by the day.

We also have Vidya & YuLin and Hope & Nicole in this morning training. Both teams had good tries on the letter Y jumping drill. YuLin is working on being consistent, while Nicole is working on getting Hope to speed up on course. Both teams exhibit good flow and handling skills, working on the strength of their dogs and gaining ground in their superior handling skills.

When I was clearing up my yard for this evening agility class, I do notice there were some dark clouds heading towards PUPS DEN, but thank God, the weather hold up and we were given great windy weather this evening. In the evening class, we were greeted by another NEW comer, Aloysius & Dawson. (Dawson - BC) Aloysius trains with us with blaze but due to some injury, he is letting blaze to rest and decided to start working with his youngster Dawson. Dawson's nose was so keen, he can detect one of my girl are on season and he goes for a hunt for her. After a thorough warming up exercises, Dawson finally decided to follow Aloysius in training. Dawson and Aloysius is coming along well, room to improve on their bonds and Aloysius need to bring along various treats to win the heart of dawson during trying times such as training. This team had a good runs, tunnels, jumps and handing on right and left sides, allow this team to flourishes.

Of course, we have Bernie and Yoyo and Ann with Blossom and Milo. Bernie and Yoyo is back after nursing her dislocated elbow during our 9th USDAA Trials 2 weeks ago. This team is back with a bang, sounding their great intend to all triallers! Bernie and Yoyo did very well, great handling and Yoyo's attention have been fixed in following Bernie. This team can a force to reckon with, if they continue to work like they did this evening. Ann had a few go with upsize Milo but he did well, not forgetting his training and definitely has made Ann very proud of her old boy. Ann and Blo also had a blast at the jumping drill exercises, we had a great discussion of their handling options, and with clarity and great intends, this team will be the team to look out for.

All-in- all a very good Saturday training, very productive training session, a few in-depth discussion on handling options, but all for the good of the team.

As always, happy training and stay positive!

Marvelous Sunday

I enjoyed my marvelous sunday today. After trials, all students wanted a break, and it's also a nice break for me too. Went for brunch in Changi Airport T3 this morning with my sweetie, and we had a good brunch and coffee. Went home to rest for a while before starting my training with Millie and Ashley.

Did some simple jumping exercises, sharpen our bond and execution. For Millie is all about timing, if I can find the rhythm, my execution with Millie will be flawless.

Ashley is getting along smoothly, setting in well in Agility. Did some jumping, tunnel, chute and weave-poles. Maybe his stamina is bad, after a few rounds of workout, he refused to jump on the first jump, but jump all the rest when directed. Poor boy must be tired.

After a good rest, I trained Millie on frisbee too. Rebound, stall, Aubrey, vaults and catches, a good refresher for Millie and me and she is still profusion in the moves.

It's been a long while since I have such a good time to train my own dogs. I will need to squeeze out some time just to do that, so that I can enjoy the training and companion of my dogs.

As always, have fun and stay positive!

Great Agility Saturday - 23.07.2011!

Thank God its weekend again. This Saturday, we all have a blast! Started bright early in the morning, Nicole and Hope came to PUPS, The Household of Champions for a last lesson before the local kennel club agility shows.

This team has shown great improvement and this partnership has blossom. Nicole and Hope had some great runs, showing very good composure and skills throughout the runs.

In the evening, we have a few more teams joining for the training. Ann and Blossom, Aloysius and Blaze, Debra and Ashley and Dexter with Millie. The Course Design today, provide the team the opportunities to exhibit good control, added with some difficulties in jumping angles, tunnel, chute, tyre and broad jump.

All team have shown great control, making very good decisions in their respective handling moves. Pacing steady runs after their dogs has proof successful. I think today's runs will give them the confident needed to do well for next saturday agility competition at West Coast Dog Run.

Good luck PUPsterS, but don't forget to have fun with your dog. As always stay positive!

9th USDAA Sanctioned Trials Update!

The latest 9th USDAA Trials Schedule is now available for download at this official site. Please also take note that, 9th USDAA Trials is a single day event and it's on 16 July 2011, Saturday.

We are attempting to do a LIVE STREAMING for our 9th USDAA Sanctioned Trials this Saturday. So let's keep our fingers crossed. And if all things turn up well, we will be the very FIRST to do LIVE STREAMING on a Agility Competitions in Singapore! Keep watch on this space.

We are honour to have Mr. Kenneth Tatsch, President of USDAA Inc to grace our event this Saturday 16 July 2011. And we also have our long-time friend, Mr Vincent John from HongKong, joining us for this event.

USDAA Games and Intro-Games

USDAA Games are Snooker, Gamblers and Pairs Relay in both Championships Titling and Performance Titling Programmes. All these games require the team to strategize their approaches on the course in order to get the highest points to gain a qualification and win the class.

This upcoming 9th USDAA Sanctioned Trials we are also introducing 2 new intro-games for the new and existing teams who want to have a go at a strategy and mind games. There are the Beat-the-Clock and The-Pacman Manaic Games. Both games will have all obstacles on the ring and you have the choice to take all the obstacles successfully and gain the points that are associated to the particular obstacle.

Beat-the-Clock - Here are the rules of the game;

1. You are given 50-60 seconds to collect as much points as you want,

2. However the points collected are not recognize until you have bank in the point at the Pause Table, (Pause Table is the bank where you deposit your points)

3. Only upon successfully attempts on the obstacle, you will be awarded the points,

4. The team with the highest points win the games,

5. Obstacles can be taken in uni-directions,

6. The starting point is also the Pause Table.

We will be discussing the other games on our next topics.

2 Prestigious International Master Tournament Titles!

Kindly be reminded there are TWO Prestigious International Master Titles up for grasp! For those who are trying to find a reason to take part in our tournament classes, here are TWO prestigious International Master Tournament Title available for your achievement, beside the local qualification to represent Singapore to compete in the 2011 CYNOSPORT WORLD GAMES (WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS) in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

1. CHAMPIONSHIP MASTER TOURNAMENT TITLE &

2. PERFORMANCE MASTER TOURNAMENT TITLE.

Championship Master Tournament Title refers to Championship Tournament events such as Grand Prix of Dog Agility Championships, USD10,000 Dog Agility Steeplechase Championships & Dog Agility Masters Three-dog Team Championships.

While the Performance Master Tournament Title refers to Performance Tournament events such as Performance Grand Prix Championships, Performance Speed Jumping Championships & Performance Versatility Pairs Championships.

In order to achieve each Master Tournament Title, you will need to earn at least 10 Tournament Qualifications with minimum 2 Qualifications from each of the 3 tournament events mentioned above.

Let's all work together and challenge each other to be the FIRST to achieve the Master Tournament Title and make history in Singapore! Dream awaits no one, except for those who dare to dream!

‎

9th USDAA Sanctioned Trials Programme Schedule is now available for downloading at http://usdaa.pups.sg/

9th USDAA Sanctioned Trials at 16,17 JUL!

9th USDAA International Dog Agility Sanctioned Trials has been confirmed on 16th & 17th July 2011. Please mark this date on your calendar and let's get together for another electrifying event!

Application Forms are now available and please take note of the closing is 1 July 2011, FRIDAY.

Great Dogsport Weekend!

Last Saturday was an interesting and frustrating day. The morning heavy showers came when we were conducting our agility training. Force to abandon training, but managed to kick some butt before rain stop. Both Vidya and Hope were having a swell time and since they were already wet, owners don't mind them even wet-tier.

The afternoon training slot were better, no rain but weather were hot! Yoyo was on MC, so we have our veteran Milo, Bloosom, Ashley and Blaze. I must tell you that the small dogs were doing great! Blaze and Bloosom were conquering the courses easily. Even our veteran Milo, who won't even bother to attempt the teeter, just within that hour, Milo attempted the teeter twice. He didn't worry much, but was frighten by his owner Anderson's screaming for him to stop in the middle of the obstacle. This was also Melvin and Ashley first lesson, therefore time is needed to build the bond of this team. But I must say, Ashley is already quite good on basic stuff such as tunnels, jumps etc

Sunday were gloomy, the heavy downpour resulted in massive floods in Singapore, such as in Orchard Road. Our hot shopping belt were disrupted by the floods and even on Monday, people are still dealing with the aftermath of the flood. With such heavy rain, Sunday were largely utilized for sleeping...... I slept through the whole afternoon :)

And in the night, both Debra and me went to Sembawang Park for a very nice dinner. Even-though the ambience wasn't great, the meals were value for money. A nice place to take a stroll after a nice dinner.

PUPS Production - The Making of Champion!

PUPS Production - The Making of Champion! Starring Guinness, Hershey.

Forward Momentum!

Last weekends beside the skills of rear cross or back switch, we also did some forward motion or momentum training. This skill is good for new dogs and also the advance dogs. Passion, Toby, and Sky all go through this forward momentum training grip.

Forward momentum skills allow your animals to focus on what is ahead and drive towards it and not so handler focus. You are unable to release the velcro dogs if their keen attention is on you and only you. This is a good problem, but you will need to teach your velcro dogs that sometime you need to focus on what's ahead and keep driving at it. In Agility, some trainers teach the ability to teach your dogs to be both handler and obstacle focus.

Happy training and always stay positive!

Hershey unexpected retirement

Just a few weeks ago, both Deb and myself were dreaming of Hershey debut in our 9th USDAA Sanctioned Trials in late July. Deb have spent so much time training Hershey and she is good and ready for action. Now we have to prematurely retire hershey from Dog Agility.

3 weeks ago, she had raptured her ligament. Thanks to an inconsiderate neighbour, who let their dog out to roam close to my gate and resulted in Hershey charging on their dog one morning. After that she has been limping ever since. Deb brought her to a Vet and was diagnosed of raptured ligament and was recommended surgery. But after reading so much information on the internet, we decided to give hershey more time to recover than to subject her to surgery which might or might not guarantee recovery.

At this moment, our prime concern is her quality of life. She must have the ability to walk, run and jump at a later stage. If by the 8th weeks, she is not making effort to use her injured paw, we will have no choice but to subject her to surgery.

Now, she has progressed from using her injured paw to walk, run, stand, and putting weight on her injured paw. This is very encouraging and we will start brining her to therapy, swimming in heated water to help in her recovery process.

We won't be rushing her back to active activity or training, we will observe thoroughly and see if external helps is require.

Let's pray for hershey full recovery, thanks.

Haze is back!

The terrible haze is back. Yesterday morning on my drive to work, the haze has blocked my beautiful views of Singapore. Singapore Flyers, Marina Sands, Marina Barrage, Singapore River and Sky line of Singapore Business district all disappeared into the think cloud of haze.

Last night, even with the heavy downpour, the weather was hot, humid and misty. And you can smell the air of the burning haze. I heard from some of friends in KL, the haze is bad and they are experiencing more hazy problem than us in Singapore.


We will need to take special attention during training this weekends. Poor air quality will affect both the health of our dogs and owners.

Have fun and stay positive!

Searing heat is here :(

It's part of the year where searing heat has set in since last Saturday. Incidentally last Saturday was Singapore 2011 General Election. The heat and the GE 2011 have heighten the weekends and rise the temperature beyond average tolerance.

In this heated season, we need to pay special attention during training. Especially if you have full black or black and white dog. Below are what we should take special attention to;

1. Avoid training during hottest period 11am to 3pm,

2. Avoid training more than 5 - 10 mins per session,

3. Allow your dogs to rest twice the training session,

4. Allow plenty of water available for your dog,

5. If possible wet your dog to cool them down,

6. Allow your dog H2O or thirst quenching drink,

7. Allow longer warming up and warming down session.

If you notice your dog is showing signs of exhaustion, excessive panting, restlessness, please immediately stop training and let your dog rest. Please take care, PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE!

Last but not least, have fun in your training and always stay positive!

It's been a long time .....

It’s been a long time since I have time to train Jade. This afternoon training was a beautiful experience. Jade now can move into heel position on my left and on my right. She now automatically move into heel position to get her rewards on motion.

At the same time I worked Jade on Agility as well. The Pause Table was my plan. Now she can jump onto the table and adopt a sit position. Of course, my ultimate aim is to get her to take a down position on the table. Jade don’t seems to like to down position, I will have to work on her separately. Open Tunnel was next. Working with Jade to go into the tunnel on her own. Jade did it brilliantly. Now she dashes out with great intensity.

She is such a darling :0

Millie Teeter Performance!

Excellent teeter performance from Millie, a quick sliding teeter show!