So, where should I start?
I miss the childhood, when one week was looooooooong, and anything further than that seemed like it is never going to happen. Now it seems like it is a new month almost every other day…
So, what`s up?
It is probably best if I continue from where I have left off – my Rieden fiasco. After a while, when I was finally able to actually watch the videos from the AWC, my friend Neja made me a special gift – a video which compares Šja`s run, with La`s who finished 4th in the end. La was not in the best shape that day, but the video shows just how perfect Šja`s run was, and it also shows that 1s on top of La`s time would mean the podium for us. Not that it matters now, but from a big distance it feels kind of good…
Šaj and Kiša however are no longer in age where they can be called young and inexperienced. To some degree that can be seen in their performances; finally each of them was able to get a video with successful runs, not only bloopers… 
But they are still a HUGE work in progress. Šaj gain a lot of speed, and as usual, it is super cool to run her, even though it is not as easy as it used to be. The biggest problem we have is her handler/obstacle focus. She is normally very very very handler focused, if there is a 10cm gap between the obstacle and me she can squeeze in to avoid the obstacle, if only she gets the slightest hint that I would like her to come (usually I want her to come over the jump though, but hey, she is really not meticulous) On the other hand she manages to be disqualified where no one else does. I am sure she would came if I called, but since she took the jump that no other dog even saw, calling my glue-ish dog just didn`t crossed my mind.
Kiša – well, the problem of Kiša is, that she seems to lack the normal mode. She can either be extremely fast, but with bars all over the floor or eliminated, or she can be super smart, almost quiet, and really careful with bars, so in the moment I am more or less in a desperate mission to find the optimal Kiša. Fast, but yet focused and calm enough to actually listen to what I have to say. I will have to figure something out on competitions, because trainings are whole other story, but luckily the season is about to start…
It would be cool if they qualify for the EO, AWC seems a little distant at this point…
In November I have participated on IPO competition. Šaj was only competing in obedience (BH program), and Kiša debuted in IPO1. Šaj did it in her style, her obedience was pretty much flawless, but of course there is me. I forgot that dogs have to be on a long leash during the long down exercise, and I never train that, so when I was exchanging my leash for the long leash, she got distracted, and lifted her elbows from the ground for a while. She got 97 points in the end, which was enough for 2nd place. Kiša got 96 for obedience, and she really amused the public with it. Her obedience is very energetic and fast, but when I looked at the video, I couldn’t really be satisfied. Her heeling was one big mess; she was very crocked, leaning on my leg, and of course – there was lots and lots of barking. I was very pleased with tracking. She got 90 points on a really hard surface. I was sure she won’t even make in through, but there is nothing better than a pleasant surprise. In protection I made a very stupid handling error, and it really affected her work. I was sending her towards the blind from a totally wrong spot (don`t ask me how that is possible…) so before she got to the helper, she was totally nervous already. When she gets nervous, she doesn`t think anymore, so her bites were strong and calm, but not full (except for one), which lead to 83 points, and 4th place all together. Not bad for a 14 kg dog in a “big league” anyway.
I got the opportunity to participate at another Mia Skogster seminar, and I loved every second of it. Mia is a great trainer with awesome feeling for the dog, and a great person to hang out with. Along with the crew from ŠKD Ajdovščina, we had some laughs to remember… The seminar gave me a big inspiration to train obedience again, and I am happy to announce that the first results are showing already, so the next update just might be about obedience.
And…
… more about that next time
