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AKC Agility Nationals – Day 3

By Lisa Selthofer · Comments (0)

Sunday, April 1st, 2012

It’s the last day of the 2012 AKC Agility Nationals and winners in each class will go home with one of the lovely trophies pictured on the left.

Today was the Hybrid Course, the Challenger’s Course and lastly, The Finals Courses. (Note: for information on scoring, placements, etc. click HERE)

I also had an unexpected surprise…I had another opportunity to run Luke, the Golden in the Hybrid round this morning! As a refresher, he recently started having teeter issues in competition and so my sole job was to get him on and then over the teeter obstacle.

If you saw yesterday’s video (check out yesterday’s blog post), I’m hoping you’ll notice the progress we made when you watch today’s video. Needless to say, both his Mom and I were SO PROUD of him and his progress!

If you’d like to see more videos and hear some additional items on the AKC Agility Nationals, stay tuned!

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Categories : Agility Reality, Agility Videos, AKC, Course Maps, Organizations, USA Courses, Yeah Moments

AKC Agility Natls – Day 2

By Lisa Selthofer · Comments (1)

Saturday, March 31st, 2012

Day 2 of the 2012 AKC Agility Nationals and it certainly was an exciting day!

First, the friend I accompanied has been having on-going difficulties convincing her dog to take the teeter in competition (a problem that just started about 6 weeks ago). Luke CAN do the teeter and earned his way to the Nationals, so there is no doubt about that and his success is a priority.

So the plan for the day looked like this…she ran him in Jumpers and I ran him in Standard.

My sole responsibility was to achieve a teeter performance. Sounds easy, but first I was required to run a dog I’ve never had the pleasure to work with and second, I had to make the experience fun so that hopefully his confidence would increase and he would follow me through the steps to a successful teeter. Oh yes, and did I mention I’d have to run at a high altitude? lol

So here is a video of our run:

As Luke and I were exiting the ring, Carrie DeYoung said “A good time was had by all!” and she’s right, we had a BLAST and Luke was successful!!!!!!! All of us ended the day in the BEST mood and so happy. Heck, you’d think we had won our class!

Thanks Luke for a wonderful time and to his owner for allowing me the opportunity to run him.

Before I forget, here are courses from the day.

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Categories : Agility Reality, Agility Videos, AKC, Course Maps, Daily Life and Agility, Organizations, USA Courses, Videos In Agility, Yeah Moments

Me, Myself and I Syndrome

By Lisa Selthofer · Comments (2)

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

Today I reached my tolerance limit pertaining to those who want, want more, fail to appreciate the time and effort donated, tell you how it should have been done rather than admiring what was done (although they failed to show up when you were asking for their advice) and overall, choose to criticize what they received for FREE because it isn’t perfect for them or done to their ideal.

I’m going to call it the Me, Myself and I Syndrome. And I’m certain it has reached epidemic proportions and unfortunately, has spilled over into Agility.

Rather than focus on the two incidents that got me started on this topic, I’m going to focus on a few guidelines to help people avoid the Me, Myself and I Syndrome. So here they are:

If You Didn’t Help Build It, Keep Your Opinions To Yourself!

This should be obvious, but if for whatever reason you weren’t a part of the project, the sharing of unsolicited opinions will more than likely come across as criticism.
This may come as a shock, but please consider that you may not know it all. For example;
Each project has a path of development and there are generally reasons why things are the way they are. If you weren’t a part of the project’s creation, you probably weren’t privy to the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’, which means your opinion may have some big holes in it. There’s nothing worse than a know-it-all who doesn’t actually, know it all.
Hindsight is revealing, so what may now seem obvious to you once the project is completed, may not have been so obvious during the project’s creation.

FREE Means You Get Whatever Comes Your Way

Contrary to popular opinion, criticizing FREE things (work, volunteers, materials, etc.) will NOT make for better or more FREE things to come your way.
In fact, it’s been proven that in the future you’ll receive less and will more than likely not even be aware that you inadvertently insulted your FREE resources.
If you want it done your way, either 1) do it yourself or 2) pay to have it done.
FREE does not create a contract of servitude.
FREE is not an indicator that it is appropriate to request more.
FREE should not trigger an invitation for unsolicited criticism.
FREE means it’s NOT about Me, Myself and I, but rather about Them, Those Guys and Everyone Else.

I’m sure there’s more to be said, but I’m feeling much better for having shared some thoughts on avoiding the Me, Myself and I Syndrome. But I do want to share some great advice.

I’d like to encourage each of you to see and THANK those around you who give even the smallest of efforts. Technically those folks owe you NOTHING, Nada, Zilt, Zilch and therefore anything they do is truly a blessing.

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Categories : Agility Reality, Club Articles, Daily Life and Agility, Featured Posts, Handler Articles, Judging Agility Articles, Things To Know

Tags : Agility volunteer

Getting to Know ME – The Road Less Taken

By Lisa Selthofer · Comments (0)

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

Every year dog agility seems to encourage and catapult my personal growth by leaps and bounds. What started off almost 17 years ago as a funny little hobby has turned out to be the journey of a lifetime.

It has:

Pushed me well beyond my preconceived comfort zone
Helped me create a strong internal code to live by
Clarified what is important in life (Hubby, family, my home life with my dogs, etc.)
Taught that it’s not AAB – ‘All About Me’
And most importantly, revealed my real passion – which is that I LOVE to coach and train people on their agility path of self-discovery and success!

Most well-known agility trainers gain their following and notoriety by dedicating just about all of their time toward training, competing and potentially winning at national and international events.

I’ve taken seminars and workshops with most of the top people and agree, that is definitely one way for agility trainers to get noticed. But it’s not the only way and on the opposite side of the spectrum is the not-so-flashy road.

And that’s definitely the route that I fall into.

I’ve always been an amazing and natural support person. Back in the day when I was an Executive Assistant, I mingled with the top executives, was privy to the real workings of a Fortune 100 company and got to know the high-powered folks on a personal level. My job was simple; to anticipate, to get things done and all while making it look effortless.

Later when I moved into a training and development role, I was able to use these methods to enhance people. I quickly learned to pinpointing successful skill sets, how to evaluating their current skills and most importantly, how to develop them to success. It’s a role I play almost daily in my dog training days and I truly enjoy it.

But don’t be fooled. Just because someone (like me) prefers to remain behind the scenes does not mean they can’t do more. In my case, I have never felt the need or desire to win a national or international event. It is just not something I have any interest in and I don’t consider it necessary for my personal growth. Bottom line, it’s just not my path.

But on the flip side, what I DO enjoy is helping others reach and attain those higher goals! Now that IS something I can get excited about! For me, there’s nothing greater than watching a student reach and exceed their potential – and that is my drug of choice!

For me:

This role provides a more personal connection with my clients and most turn into friends
I get to look at their personal strengths, envision their agility future and coach them to that successful place
My personal goals aren’t in conflict with their agility development
I have the freedom to personalize the experience and be creative
I’m always challenged to continue to grow and bring back new skills and ideas to my clients
My job and goal is to be the best agility coach and trainer to my clients and to see them succeed

The other agility job that compliments my skills is being an AKC Agility Judge. Without a doubt, I get paid to watch and boy do I watch! The last time I counted, we figured out that I’ve seen well over 100,000 agility runs. Conservatively, that’s 45,000 hours of watching dog agility runs, so believe me when I say that has given me one heck of an agility education! After all, you can learn a TON by simply watching.

So the next time you’re around, come on over, say ‘Hi!’ and share a non-agility story about yourself. When you feel comfortable, let’s talk about you and your beloved agility dog. I would be honored.

Lisa

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Categories : Agility Reality, Daily Life and Agility, Featured Posts, Handler Articles, Handler Training

Tags : Agility Coaching, Agility Handling, Agility Training, World Team

Surprise! Invited To The AKC Agility Natls

By Lisa Selthofer · Comments (0)

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Today I received one of the most exciting and rewarding phone calls from a friend and long-time client. It started off like this:

“Hi, it’s Audrey. I just called to thank you…”

But before I spill the news, I’d like to share a little story about Audrey and her gentle Golden, Luke.

This team came to me years ago looking for some agility help. They’d been to a few places and understandably, Audrey had her doubts. At the start of a lesson, Audrey would often say “But I can’t do that…” when I was CERTAIN that if she did it ‘this way’ she could! And so we’d make a friendly wager which included bribes such as chocolate and even a few $5 bills!

One evening during a lesson, she once again said “…but we can’t do that…” to which I replied “I will never ask you to do something I know you can’t accomplish.” In that moment one of my fundamental personal training rules was born AND Audrey went out and kicked butt on the exercise! From that day forward she told me she would never say “I can’t” but instead would openly try whatever I asked.

And she did! But more importantly, Audrey had opened up the door and welcomed her own agility potential.

So let’s fast forward to today’s phone call. To Audrey’s complete surprise, she had received an e-mail from the AKC stating that she and Luke were qualified and invited to attend the 2012 AKC Nationals being held in Reno, NV!!!! Attending a National Event was never a part of Audrey’s goals with Luke, however while working toward being the best team they could be, this wonderful opportunity happened along the way.

Audrey and Luke will be at the 2012 AKC Agility National and to their credit, their only goal is to be the very best team that they can be.

I just want to say, congratulations to an amazing team. I am blessed to have been a supporter on your agility journey.

Lisa

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Categories : Agility Reality, AKC, Daily Life and Agility, Organizations, Yeah Moments

Tags : Agility Goals, Agility Nationals, AKC

Dog Trainers and The Cobbler’s Children

By Lisa Selthofer · Comments (0)

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

My hubby and I are entered in an agility trial this weekend over in Yakima. I love this trial and especially love the beautiful fall days that generally accompany these dates as well. Last night as we were headed to dinner, Dan says “I can’t wait to run my dogs this weekend! They’re doing so good!” And you know what? He should be excited because he has two fine working dogs and they’re ready for competition. Me on the other hand…not so much.

As if sensing my thoughts, Dan says “You’re excited too…right?”

Well, the truth is, I’m not excited and I decide to carefully say so (after all, I don’t want to burst his bubble). Being the caring man Dan is, he asks “Why not?” and I truthfully say “Because I’ve been so busy with other things,” (moving into the new building, judging, meeting judging deadlines, working on a few new training projects and more) “that I don’t feel like my dogs have received the training time needed to go in to competition.”

It’s like the old story of the cobbler’s children who have no shoes…isn’t it ironic that the dog trainer’s dogs aren’t trained?

So, the situation is what it is and now I need to decide (ahead of time) how I’m going to handle it. Keeping a sense of humor is important,

So first, I’m doing the obvious thing which is to cram all the training I can get in over the next 2 days. While this method NEVER worked in the past, there’s always hope it will work this ONE time.
Second (and being serious for just a moment), I have to be prepared, which means I’m not going to blame my dogs for my lack of training.
Third, if I’m embarrassed by what happens well, I’ll either plan and train more in the future or
I’ll talk myself into…err, um…I mean accept the fact that I’m a human with a full and rich life outside of agility <g>
Next, I’ll reassure myself that my dog’s lives are not negatively impacted by this one single event and;
Instead realize that it’s only my ego and competitive nature that’s really taking the hit here <g>

Well, now that I’ve talked about ‘worse case scenario’, it has dawned on me that this isn’t such a terrible ‘bad’. I mean even if I have horrific runs with my dogs, I’ll still go back to the RV and love on ‘em and enjoy their company. I’ll still BBQ with my friends, I’ll still camp under the stars (the bonus of having an RV) and of course my dogs will still be tormented with loads and loads of kisses.

After all, winning is nice, but it’s secondary to making and achieving that special moment with your dog. In this case, I’m going to focus on great obstacle performance (minus the weaves where I’m playing around with a few training methods), fun, criteria and playing. Now that’s a goal I can get behind and be excited about.

Happy Handling Everyone!

Lisa

This blog post continues with the ‘after trial’ recap HERE.

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Categories : Daily Life and Agility, Dog Articles, Dog Training, Lessons Learned, Ugh Moments, Yeah Moments

Open House Agility Pictures

By Lisa Selthofer · Comments (0)

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Dogs and kids can be a great combination and at the Paws-abilities Open House (Spot On Agility’s new agility training home) we shared our dogs with future Agility enthusiasts!

Picture 1 – Here’s Merger focusing on his teeter performance and his young handler ready to reward with his favorite toy squirrel.

Picture 2 – Merger earns the squirrel!

Picture 3 – Merger begins his weave poles…

Picture 4 – Merger completes his weaves and looks for his reward!

Enjoy!

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Categories : Agility Reality, Daily Life and Agility, Just Plain FUN!, Merger - Border Collie, Our Dogs

Tags : Agility Facility

When Facing Achievement Freaks You Out

By Lisa Selthofer · Comments (0)

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Earlier this week I went to lunch with an amazing friend. She’s the type of person I respect, admire and she’s a rock. When it comes to life’s pivotal moments and when I need a compass when there’s a fork in the road, she’s my go-to person.

So, after chatting and laughing for a bit, I dramatically changed the subject by saying “I need to ask you a question…(followed by a long pause)” She immediately caught on to my serious tone and waited patiently for me to proceed.

I decided to just spit it out, so I asked “Have you ever reached a point in life where you’re about to reach a goal and think ‘Holy Sh*t!’ what have I done?!?!”

She started laughing…and replied “What,you’re now just realizing you’re about to attain the agility training facility you’ve been working hard towards and you’re a little freaked at achieving it?!?!”

Okay, maybe those weren’t her exact words, but close enough. And yeah, leave it to one of my best pals to see through me and recognize that I AM suddenly FREAKED by the personal success I’m about to obtain.

Yes, you read correctly, I’m FREAKED out! Why? Well now, that’s a good question!

As I tried to grasp my success-terror, I went down the mental checklist and thought to myself…:

I know I have the talent…years of experience has shown me that.
I know I have the skills…thank goodness!
I know I’m pursuing this for the right reasons (No world domination in my foreseeable future); and
I know I have the heart and passion to make it happen (after all, I love what I do!).

So what’s the Thing that’s got me so concerned?

Well, based on the conversations going on in my head (yeah, that does sound a little weird, but keep in mind I’ve spent the last 3-days scrubbing, cleaning and painting agility equipment so there’s been a lot of room for strange thoughts to creep in), the epiphany I came to was:

That I’ve faced this life-changing pivotal point several times in the past; and
Something always seemed to crop up at the last minute; which
Derailed me from achieving my goal; so…
This achievement-thing is brand new territory for me!

I’m not a negative type of thinker, so I want to be clear that I don’t expect anything to derail my current goals (all feels right in the world), BUT I do recognize that I’m about to enter an entirely new era in my life and I would be a fool not to recognize that:

This is a new path; which
Will require new skills; and
Will challenge me in ways that I can’t even imagine

How exciting is that!!!! As well as a bit scary…<g>

So, what started off a few days ago as a ‘Holy Sheez” moment and an almost-animal-instinct-feeling to RUN, is really just a natural case of excitement/anticipation and nervousness that comes from tapping into a new and exciting stage of life.

To summarize, personal growth isn’t always easy and it isn’t always natural. But, breaking through these personal road blocks is possible and well worth the experience.

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Categories : Agility Reality, Daily Life and Agility, Handler Articles, The Mental Challenge, Yeah Moments

Tags : Agility, Agility Achievement, Agility Goals, Mental Management

Spot On Agility’s New Training Location and More…

By Lisa Selthofer · Comments (0)

Saturday, August 27th, 2011

You know the feeling…some days sweep you away, while other days sweep you along and toward a path you only hoped for.

That’s been my life lately and I’m happily embracing it!

First, let’s talk about the new Pawsabilities facility! Well, I’m excited to announce that Spot On Agility will be hosting agility classes of ALL levels (puppy through competition) in this new, state of the art facility.

What makes it so great? Well…

Besides a kick-butt agility area which will include 1″ foam, interlocking mats, great equipment, positive training classes for all levels and a fun and community-like environment…there is a TON more to enjoy!

For Example:

The Health Facility area has a DOGGY POOL that includes an option to turn a ‘current’ on or off! This means our dogs get some great exercise while experiencing low impact on their joints. What an amazing option for rehabilitation, strengthening or just plain-’ole exercise.
Oh yes, did I also mention the doggy treadmills? That’s right, they have treadmills just for your dogs.
A Groomer…but not just any groomer…one that ALWAYS does FREE toe nail cutting! So if you happen to be stopping through for a class, why not get your dog’s toe nails cut…for FREE!
There are also doggy washing areas. Have your dog washed by a professional or do the washing yourself.

Let’s Talk Classes:

Of course there is Agility…but, there are also some other GREAT options like;
A Nose Work Class. Dogs love using their nose and I’ve heard TERRIFIC things about this class.
Obedience Classes – puppy all the way up through Competition Obedience; as well as
Rally Classes! By popular demand, Rally will be available and dogs as well as handlers love this training.

For more information on Agility Classes, click the Local Agility Tab above.

Personal Life:

So now that I’ve talked about my professional life, let’s talk a bit about my ‘personal’ life. I always laugh at this term because as most of you know, I’m pretty straight forward and am not afraid to share the realities of life in general. After all, it’s life and life is unpredictable, scary and amazing all rolled into one.

So to get started, I’ve adopted the belief that if you see an opportunity – ASK! After all, the worst that can be said is ‘No’. So, I’m in downtown Renton, WA and I see a guy riding a bicycle with a bird on the handle bars. I figure “Oh heck, this will make a GREAT picture…” so I ask “May I take a picture?” and to my surprise, he says “Would you like to hold her?” Ah, YEAH! And so the picture to the left was born.

For the record, you have to pay the guys in Hawaii at least $20 for a picture like this…however this one was mine for just asking nicely : )

My dogs…I LOVE THEM! While I haven’t been actively competing in agility at trials, I certainly have been enjoying the love, care and affection they provide on the home-front. Having young dogs has really afforded me the luxury of not actively trialing and instead, working them, enjoying other outside interests and watching them grow as a pack and PLAY and embrace life. They are so inspirational.

As dorky as this may sound, this sumer I’ve started a rose garden, I’ve actually spent an entire day in front of the TV watching mindless stuff and I’ve had a few friends visit from out of town and have had a chance to be a tourist in my own city. It’s been a fun and varied summer and I want to do it all again.

This wouldn’t be a real and personal update without including my husband….don’t worry, this is still a G-rated blog : )

So, having had a bit of time to enjoy life outside of agility trialing, judging and training, we’ve had a chance to do OTHER activities such as spending a weekend wine tasting in beautiful Eastern Washington State, DockDog Diving at various events, family BBQ’s with relatives from out of town, spending time with friends who have come to visit from out-of-state to hang with us and…a new tattoo for me!

I’ve also spent a bit of time gathering pictures of just some of the MACH and title pictures I’ve been a part of over the years (Part 1 and Part 2). I’ve got a few more pictures coming and if you have a MACH and/or Title picture with me included, PLEASE SEND a copy to me (Lisa at SpotOnAgility.com). I can’t begin to tell you how much these events mean to me…

Well, while there is a ton more to share, I need to head off to bed to prepare for the 3rd & last day of the Pawsabilities Grand Opening Event.

As a good night greeting, I want to wish the East Coast safe harbor as hurricane Irene approaches land. Our thoughts, prayers and good thoughts are with you. For everyone else, let’s take a moment to count our blessings…

Hugs to everyone,

Lisa

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Categories : Agility Reality, Daily Life and Agility, Yeah Moments

Tags : Agility Facility, Spot On Agility Facility, Training Facility