Schnauzerpack

A Frog, Stick of Butter and A Potato walk into a Dutch Bar…..

December 18th, 2023

Netherlands here we come again!!!

I just keep pinching myself. I just cannot believe that we were selected this year to have the honor of competing on Team USA for the WAO this year.

Now I don’t want ANYONE to think I am trying in any way to downplay my dog or her amazing accomplishments. She is such an incredible dog and has already done so much in her career that I feel lucky to have been brought along for the ride.

But anyone who knows me well understands that even though I am one of the most competitive people out there I am also a realist. I knew going into this year’s US Open that Kermit was closer to 9 years old than 8 and stacked up against the younger (and many of them much bigger) 8” dogs that we had an uphill battle to earn our spot on the team.

Flash back to last years USO. I finished the event disappointed in myself and my performance in the event. Kermit did everything I asked of her but because we were not the best prepared, we could be for the style courses we were going to see I was not able to confidently handle every course with the skill and trust that is necessary to do our very best. So, when we were selected as alternates, I was 100% dedicated to making sure we would be ready if we were needed. I refused to not be prepared again.

Going overseas and stepping into the ring, although my results could have been better the learning experience was priceless. I left the event feeling even more confident in us as a team and what we could accomplish but a bit sad knowing that this “first learning trip” could have happened back in 2020 (when we made the team but didn’t get to go because of Covid). 2020 should have been our learning year and then 2023 should have been our year to shine, but that isn’t how it worked out.

So, after I got back from WAO 2023 I had a decision to make. What did I want to do for next year? Did I want to try out for the team one more time? If yes, some profound changes needed to be made to make sure we gave ourselves the best chance possible to make the team. And even with that I knew that being older and smaller than many others would be a long shot.

I asked Lori what she thought about it. She asked me about how I would feel if I didn’t make the team. Would I be disappointed? And after some soul searching, I decided that the only disappointment I would have would not be putting my best out there and giving it a chance. If we did that and it wasn’t enough, I was OK with that. Realists remember 😊

So, to work we went. We chose to show only on UKI courses so that we were able to trust our skills that I knew we have. We focused on conditioning, so Kermit was in the best shape possible for the huge USO courses and the long event. (thanks to McIntyre Canine Rehabilitation www.mcrehabilitation.com) trained at home on courses that not only pushed our handling skills but also our mental skills (thanks to Aaron Froude and Joe Boudrau and KYA Training www.flatoutdogs.com).

The US Open was a whirlwind event as always. Long days, huge courses, big challenges, mental management to the max, but at the end of the event Kermit and I had made the finals of every single event (minus team which we didn’t run because our third wasn’t able to run). Every run didn’t go perfect, but I felt we went out there in every run and ran it with the intent to win, never “playing it safe”, 100% trusting our skills and our teamwork and I can tell you never have I had such a feeling knowing that we did all we could do to give ourselves the best chance to make the team.

Both of us gasping for breath at the end of the run but with huge smiles on our faces.

We did what I set out to do. It was now just a waiting game to hear who would be selected for the team. In past years, waiting was so hard. Nervous, worry, hoping, waiting, made it a long-drawn-out time before we got or didn’t get a phone call. But this year was different. I was at peace. I did want to make the team, but I already met my goal and controlled all I could control.

So, the call I got was a bit of a surprise, because I wasn’t “stalking my phone” I actually missed the first call. When I did get to talk to the coaches it was to get the amazing news that I had been selected to be one of the 4 dogs to be members of the 250mm WAO Team USA. First thing I did was grab up my little frog and tell her Thank You little peanut we are going back to the Netherlands.

I still get a bit teary thinking about it that this will be our last “team” together, not that matters to her, but it makes it such a special trip with even more special teammates and close special friends.

We will do our best to prepare and as always to represent our Team the best we can, but I most importantly want to make sure that I am the partner that Kermit deserves me to be. To make sure she knows no matter what happens in the ring that I love her more then words can say, I cannot be luckier to have her in my life and she plays this silly and crazy game with me with the joy and sass only she can exude.

And for those who might be wondering, no Lori isn’t going this year she says the Netherlands is “still moldy.”

What happens when A Frog, A Stick of Butter and A Potato walk into a Dutch bar?? Guess we will find out in May!!
My WHY

November 21st, 2023

So maybe it’s the long drive home or the need for decompression after a big event that leads to “deep thought” posts but for anyone interested….

There was quite a bit of discussion on social media during the USO in regard to course design and specifically this year about how long the courses were and how it furthered the gap between “professionals” and the “hobbies”.

Now the rabbit hole of “professional” agility handlers can be its own post that’s not what I want to discuss.

What I do know, is the first USO that I attended (2017)I was hit with a big reality check.

Having come off a very successful Cynosports a week before I felt both Kermit and I to be a pretty well prepared agility team and……well I was wrong.

The distances and challenges at that first USO was way above our pay grade.

We didn’t make it into the 2nd round of any single class that we entered meaning that one day I didn’t have anything to run at all!!

To say I was disappointed was a huge understatement.

So after the event was over I knew I had two choices, either come back next year better prepared or don’t come back next year.

I have been back every year (minus Covid of course) and my results have not always been exactly what I wanted but each year I have felt I have come to the event with more skills then I had the year before.

I didn’t magically get access to a huge 120×120 plus training space, I didn’t get access to tons of UKI local trials, I didn’t win the lottery so I could travel all over doing seminars to learn and practice all the skills I would need on these courses.

I DID find ways to work within my limitations. I have figured out how to maximize my options and leverage them to my advantage. I tried my best to not let any of my restrictions be an excuse to not be as prepared I could be.

Is this for everyone? Maybe not. Do you have to do it? Certainly not. Does success have to be defined the way I define mine? NO!!

Each person has 100% control of their own expectations. What I can tell you is that if you let others dictate your expectations most likely you are just setting yourself up for a disappointing and miserable time.

National events are a big time and financial commitment. Every year I see so many people who do this, and year after year they never look like they actually enjoy it.

It’s simply math that most that attend any national event will not run in any “finals” and at almost all national events there are no qualifying scores to be earned. I knew that Kramer (my first dog) was never going to be making any finals of any national event and that was OK!! I was realistic that our ability limited us but just getting to go and participate was the WIN!! That was the top of our capability and all though, for others, maybe that would be a disappointment, I never looked at it that way.

Our best was our best no matter how it stacked up to others.

This is why I will always love national events, it is why I will always set goals to be at my best when we go, it is why when I get back home I can be happy with the outcome regardless of the scores.

The only National events that have stuck with me as regrets are ones where I felt I could have gone into the event better prepared not ones where the results on paper could have been better.

So, when people ask why I don’t get more excited or emotional about my “results” this is why. Getting on boxes is amazing don’t get me wrong, but years from now, when I look back on all the times at all the big events with my dogs, I won’t remember the boxes or the ribbons, or the wins or losses, I will remember the hard work, the connection, the feeling of both of us giving it all we had and both leaving the ring looking at each other saying “Wow, we just did that together”.

My dogs give me 100% of what they have every time they step to the line with me and they are going into the ring with me at the other end of that leash.

You will never find me sitting on a podium wondering how many dogs are left to run to bump me off or what my time was to see if the next dog to run beat me. I won’t be frantically checking the results after every group runs to see if my placement stands (all though I do that for my friends). I am cheering for my friends and fierce competitors to do their very best even though I know that their best will beat me. Sad when bad luck for them means I stay on the box. Thankful for all the compliments on how wonderful my dogs are but that winning isn’t everything for me.

For me 5 days of a big competition is physically exhausting for sure. Lack of sleep, not eating or drinking enough, tons of steps, running huge courses, 14 hour days sure takes it’s toll but for me mentally the fatigue is much more challenging. All though I am an extrovert most of the time, to really be at the top of my mental game at big events I do my best to surround myself with a few close friends and stay away from high stress or frantic energy people.

So if you see me sitting off by myself, or I seem upset or quiet this is me focusing and trying to keep my mental game on point or just giving myself a break so that I can be the best I can be for my dogs because at the end of the day that is why I am there.

Stay tuned for my next blog on my thoughts on running multiple dogs at big events!!!

A Frog, Stick of Butter and A Potato walk into a Dutch Bar…..

My WHY