Best EO ever ;)

European Open 2018 in Austria, Magna Racino, was definetely one of the coolest ever and I couldn't be happier. 

It already started great with a pre-EO party at Laura's place, when I finally got to see two of my "grandpuppies" (Zookie & Aivo) and they are awesome 🧡💗💜💚💙❤️💛, plus we got to see some friends and meet some new ones. After some delicious food and ice scream we arrived at the venue, which I think is one of the best in Europe to host such an event - no problems with facilities, good bar (aperole!) and decent restaurant with a shaded terrace, lots of space, perfect surface, lots of water hoses to cool the dogs and yourself, plus there was even a nice place by the stream to walk the dogs (thanks Elisabeth for showing it to me!). 

On Thursday we had vet check, measuring for Mojo (so now very officially small) and training, which went really well for both Mojo and Brava - no problems with new frameless tyre (love it!) or anything else. Then in the evening there was opening ceremony which like for the first time ever was actually quite cool with a different song chosen for each country (we got "Do przodu, Polsko!" and Sweden got an ABBA song and so on) and beautiful horse dressage demonstration with Fresian horses and riders in historical outfits. Then we had a lovely evening with our friends and Agility Board Game. I also got to meet Mojo's family - beautiful little Rosalie and Pippi, both of them really cool and really beautiful. Obviously I also HAD to do some shopping and got a new leash and new Floramicato toy (you just can't resist, they are the funniest, most colourful and greatest toys ever and my dogs are CRAZY about them!).

On Friday we had team runs, both Brava and Mojo had clean jumpings, Brava dis in agility (but the course was... well, not my favourite type let's say) and Mojo mistake in the slalom. There was some fuckups with the results and at some point we thought our small team was third in agility, but then it turned out we weren't after all :P. Actually the results and especially live-results were the only really bad thing about the competition - they were even horribly late or incomplete or both. Anyway, I was really happy with my girls performance, especially baby Mojo for her first big event, so here are Mojo's team runs:

Brava's team jumping - same course as small and it's funny to see how much more relaxed and trusting I am when handling her in comparison to how I handle Mojo - of course it's only natural and that's the place we're gonna be with my super spaniel in 2-3 years time:

In the end Poland ended up with just one medium team in the final, despite the fact that one of large teams ended up second place in jumping also. I finished my runs quite early on, so could enjoy aperoles from the bar, great company and watching others for the rest of the day - I totally love social aspect of agility competitions 😃💛. I couldn't even feel bad about all the calories consumed as I walked over 20 km each day, so burnt all the alcohol I drank (or so I tell myself). Speaking of the social aspect - we had a family meeting with five of Brava puppies present at the EO (sadly, Daniel and Neo couldn't come even though they also qualified). The best Pyrsheps in the world for sure!

Left to right: Brie, BB, Babou (team European Open 2018 winner), Brava (EO 2018 vice champion), Brego (AWC 2017 team large winner), Zookie (EO 2016 winner, team European Open 2018 winner). 

Saturday was the individual runs. The agility medium course seemed a bit too easy and I was actually a little bit worried that on such speedy course 9,5 yo Brava wouldn't be competitive enough, but well, she proved me wrong, ending up on 5th place which was enough to qualify for the final. She also had a nice jumping run later, with one tiny refusal, because I was too slow :P. Mojo was again awesome, one mistake in the slalom in the jumping course and unfortunately dogwalk fault in the agility run (we sure have a list of things to train after this EO 😀), but in general I was really happy with her performance, we just had some young dog's mistakes, but she handled the heat and the atmosphere brilliantly. Other Polish competitors also had some super cool runs, so we ended up with one small, four medium and three large dogs in the individual final! Not bad at all, especially that all of them are such great and mostly quite young dogs!

Sunday came - since I was not participating in the team finals, I let myself a bit of lie-in and woke up just in time to see our medium team - three smashing clean runs and one elimination sadly - but since it's the same team that will be participating in the world championship, I'm very optimistic about their chances! My puppies made me proud again, since the medium team final was won by Austrian team with Babou and Zookie among them! 

Small individual finals was really interesting and challenging course by Svetlana Zolotnikova - I actually liked the course the best of all the final courses, it was great to watch and the winning performances of Marusa Podjed with Nai and Sandi Okanovic with Mia were really amazing! It was great to see friends on the podium again! 

Medium course was set by Wolfgang Tieber - most of it was fluent and nice, I just didn't really like the ending, since it was a bit of "who can outrun their dog" and I'm really not very fond of courses in which the dog has to push forward even though handler's body is showing a wrong line... 

There were lots of refusals or eliminations on the very last obstacle and that was not so fun to watch actually. It also happened to Magda with Mora (Brava's younger sister), who had clean and fast as crazy run until then... Otherwise I liked the fact that the course demanded the dog to be able to work independently (like the best solution on the slalom was to let the dog find the entry themselves, almost everyone who tried to help with the entry pushed the dog too much towards the tunnel, or you really had to let the dog do the "out" after the dogwalk alone if you were to make it in time to number 17). I told Brava she needs to read the numbers since and I told my body to make this last effort in horrible heat and despite my sore muscles (I walked over 20 km on each day of the competition and that's not counting the running...). Well, what can I say - she is the most amazing dog ever, she did everything I asked of her, found the weave entry alone, nailed the dogwalk contact, sent to number 18, found the tunnel after the A-frame even though I was miles away already, trying to make it around the dogwalk and cleared that double even though I was so out of breath I was not able to give the command I optimistically planned to give when coursewalking). I don't remember ever being so exhausted after a run though, I couldn't speak for like 5 minutes after. We were beaten by Daniel Schroeder with Cashew who had a smashing run 😲 and ended up being European Open 2018 vice champions - that is more than I would ever imagine this year! especially that Brava had a small injury in May, didn't run our AWC qualis at all and had very little training before (but lots of swimming, walks and conditioning instead). 

Video of the run:

In the large final Poland had amazing dogs and it was great to watch them - actually all three of them had great runs, but this time luck was not on our side - Applause dropped the first bar, Yuca had fault on up contact, Chica also one bar. But I really believe that if one year luck is not on your side, one day it will help you, so it all balances itself. In general it was fantastic to watch Polish team this year, we had some great dogs and super runs and it really made me proud. There were lots of clean runs in large final, it was great to see that so many dogs had perfect running contacts, interestingly enough there was a tie of Mona Grefenstein and Lisa Frick in the second place (maybe we need to measure even more exactly now?) and many many fantastic perfomances that made me feel inspired about what to train now. 

Big thanks to our team leader, Michał Pieniak, who stood, or rather walked constantly between four rings, in this crazy heat, carried all the water bottles, bags, hats, toys and what not between start and finish lines, measured times for fastest lines, updated all the important info by messenger for everybody, cheered and supported all of us and still managed to be calm, composed and in good humour all the time. As always, huge thanks to Roman for driving, helping ,filming and supporting me 💚💙🧡❤️💛💜🖤. 

On fair competition

I don't know why recently I tend to post more "philosophical" posts than "what's up with us" kind of posts. Maybe I'm getting middle-aged know-it-all :P (the change is in the "middle-age", I've always been unsufferable know-it-all, my best friend on the university told me once that she used to hate me for this and then realised she was the same 😂). Anyway, here it goes, three situations, three lessons:

1. Years and years ago on the way to my first AWC ever, we stopped on the way and I was waiting in a queue to the toilet holding someone's dog and someone from our team was walking by with their dog and said something like "ok, let's go tread on ours competition paws", which was said jokingly of course (and not actually stepping on anyone's dog) but my then-trainer got really furious about it, saying that for f.. sake, you're on the same team after all. That was lesson number one. 

2. Some years later, when Evo and Brava were already competing but still young, we went to some competition in Motesice in Slovakia and met with Martina Klimesova there and she said something like: "Oh, it's so cool that you came, I really like having some good competition in medium". That was really nice, first of all hearing from someone with much more experience and succeses that we were treated as good competition, secondly that kind of attititude that competition is good and welcome (I will elaborate later). That was lesson number 2. 

3. I already mentioned it before, but when Laura Reinhalter with Zookie got their 3rd place in EO 2017 final, I saw Werner Goltz sincerely and happily congratulating Laura on her run and looking genuinely happy about it, even though she "pushed him out of the podium". That's lesson number 3. 

Anyone who knows me, can attest to the fact that I am a competitive and ambitious person. But there it goes: in order to be competitive, you need fair competition. You need someone to give you the run for your money, to really push your limits, to really work on getting the best possible line, the best turn, the best running contact. If you have good competition, you cannot allow yourself being sloppy - so simply you get better. That's first reason why competition is good for you. Second reason is that easy win does not taste as good. If you were running World Championships alone and all it took to win was to finish the run, would you still feel a champion? While I am truly happy with every good run with my dogs (there is this magic feeling of flow and connection that I always strive for and that is best part of agility for me), I have this additional pleasure coming from objective fact that it was not just my feeling that the run was good, but it was actually good enough to beat teams that I admire and respect.  And when I lose to someone because that someone was faster, had better line, chose better handling option - it's a valuable lesson. It is not a shame to lose to someone better. It is not praiseworthy if you win because there simply was not anyone else in your league. 

And seriously, if someone in your country has a great dog in the same category as you run in, be happy. That means you have someone to push you without having to go to compete abroad and that also means that potentially you  have a great teammate. Team world championship cannot be won single-handed.

 

Say yes to a wocker, but...

Some time ago I wrote an enthusiastic post about wockers and why everybody should get one. Since the popularity of the breed in agility seems to be on the rise, I feel like I need to expand a little bit. 

I still am totally in love with my own working cocker and still think that generally speaking the breed is a joy to live and to train with. However, before you jump into buying a working cocker (or any other breed for that matter), stop for a while.

First of all, well, that might sound obvious, but think if you actually like the breed for what it is for 24 hrs a day. Agility or any other performance sport is just a little part of your journey together and for the rest of the time you'll have to live with a breed with strong hunting instinct, high energy and excitability and yet tendency to be rather soft and shutting down under pressure. Best if you like the looks, the size and the character of the breed, especially that well, we might plan all we want, yet sometimes things go their own way. I admire some border collies in agility - with the right handler and trainer they come to the absolute top of the discipline and are as close to perfection as possible. Yet having met many BCs I know it's not a breed for me, not a breed that I would enjoy on everyday basis, not a breed that would pull on my heart strings. As hard as it is for me to understand, you might be a person that doesn't feel any particular personal sympathy for wockers or Pyrsheps, even though I couldn't imagine my life without them. 

Second of all, find a reputable breeder. Whenever a breed becomes popular, some people think it's an easy money and would breed without proper respect to the dogs and breed's welfare in mind. Don't choose a breeder solely on basis that this or that animal that comes from this kennel is succesful in agility, as this stems from many factors.

What a breeder can (and should) do:

- answer questions about dog's lines and pedigrees, provide factual information concerning those matters,

- show you the health results of the parents. In working cockers, genetic tests are available for several serious conditions, including prcdPRA, FN, AMS. In addition, it is recommended that the parents are also tested for slipping patellas, ED and HD as well as eye diseases (ECVO certificate) and heart conditions

- answer honestly questions about breed's characteristics, including problems that might occur,

- welcome you into their home, showing where and in what conditions all their dogs live and how their puppies are raised. Of course, it you're buying puppy from abroad, you might not be able to visit, but it shouldn't be a problem for the breeder nowadays to send you pictures and videos regularly,

- discuss with you openly and upfront the legal agreements concerning your puppy. Things like price, details of purchase contract, co-ownership etc. should be discussed before you pay any kind of advance and should never change later,

- give you full documentation of all the above (health checks, pedigree, contract in writing etc.). 

What a breeder shouldn't do (or can't possibly) do:

- guarantee 100% that the puppy will remain competely healthy and of sound temperament. Genetics is a bitch and you need not only knowledge but also huge amount of luck, especially that while we know some things are hereditary, we don't really know how they are inherited. If the breeder claims they have never bred an animal with health or temperament issues, they are either not breeding for a long time or lying. This is not to say the breeder should "wash their hands" from any responsibility, health testing of the parents and proper way of rising the puppies go a long way to ensure healthy dogs, but noone can control everything. 

- ensure the size of the puppy as an adult. Working cockers are usually medium for agility, sometimes they happen to be in small, but this is not a rule, and while there are smaller lines, noone can predict the exact size of the adult dog (same as with Pyrsheps by the way). You get small wockers out of medium parents and vice versa. Find out the healthy range of height and weight in puppies of certain age, having in mind that it can vary a lot - still, a puppy wocker should not be the size of puppy Great Dane or a chihuahua. For instance, Mojo was over 3 kg and 22 cm as a healthy, happy and plump 8 weeks old puppy and she is just over 8 kg and 34 cm as an adult, being on the smaller side of the breed. Also, size should never be the main objective of the breeding and should never come before health, good structure and sound temperament.

- the breeder cannot sell legally puppies less than 8 weeks of age by rules of most national cynological organisations,

- the breeder cannot guarantee that the puppy will become succesful agility dog. That again depends on many conditions and mainly, but not solely, you. 

What you as a buyer should do:

- ask questions. Reputable breeder has nothing to hide and will answer. 

- educate yourself. Thanks to the internet and social media it's easy nowadays to find owners of particular breed, ask their opinion, ask them to tell you about their dog, ask if they would recommend the breeder of that dog (and WHY). Of course, noone is liked by everybody, and what suits one individual, doesn't necessarily suit another. Hence, don't stop on just one opinion, whether enthusiastic or otherwise, but try to find more. 

- don't rush into any decisions. Take your time. Think. Sleep on it. Be critical. 

Picture of Mojo, because she is perfect 💚💙💛💜💗.

Back from B.A.C.K.

Ok, this year B.A.C.K. was certainly one to remember. Almost to the last possible moment we weren't sure if we would be actually able to go, since we had considerable financial problems and also dog and human health problems. In the end, we decided to go... thinking we need something to get our minds from all the difficulties. Everything was going fine up until the moment when we were about 60 km from the destination, still on the highway and our beloved Pyrkobus just stopped... the engine broke completely. After lots of waiting and a debate on what to do, we were towed to the competition site. Since it was already past midnight, it took us a while to actually find a place where to put our car and then the cable winch in the towing car broke sending lots of sparks all around. So we were like, ok, maybe we will have to sleep on the towing car, but then, what to do with the elderly driver? I wasn't so keen on sharing bed with him ;). Anyway, turned out he was quite resourceful and somehow managed to short-circuit the winch with a screwdriver (more sparks and little exposions) and lower our car on the ground. It was already past one o'clock in the morning and before we showered and so on, we went to bed about 2 am. 

So when the first coursewalking started at 8 am in the morning I was far from ready - add to this numerous worries I had and that might explain why I had the weirdest run ever with Brava. Frankly, the course was awful and I didn't like it a bit, which might also be a factor. Brava normally runs clean or gets eliminated, she might knock an occasional bar once in a year or so - but in this run she jumped ALL the contacts (and I mean, she really jumped), turned the other direction than I indicated, missed the long jump and in the end finished with like 5 mistakes and a refusal or so :D. Worst run ever. That was so weird I actually started to wonder if everything was fine with her... but I guess it was somehow my poor shape that was responsible. 

When it was time to run with Mojo I was already after a nap and coffee, so I was in considerately better shape and had pretty nice run with one mistake (ok, so Mojo doesn't really like Galican dogwalk it seems). Jumping medium 3 course was even worse than agility 3, which I hardly thought possible - but I had pretty nice run with Brava with one bar and then really nice clean jumping 2 with Mojo and first place. 

Roman was running with Brego and even though I was worried that due to lack of training Brego would be totally over the top and crazy, he was such a good boy :). All his runs were nice and Flaszek actually had runs of his life, really fast and cool. It's so funny how he just gets better and better every year - well, apart from the A-frame, but that doesn't even count :P. He rarely does it properly in training, so we don't really expect him to do it properly in competition either ;). 

By the end of the day I was in considerably better mood, mainly thanks to our friends there, who helped us a lot, driving us for shopping, making phone calls in German to sort out the car problem and generally keeping us company and cheering us up. You were all awesome and I am so grateful to all of you :). 

Second day was the important day in which you might qualify for the final - and Brava did with a pretty nice jumping run. Mojo unfortunately no luck - one dogwalk fault and elimination in jumping. Final was judged by Sandra Deidda and I was really happy about it, since she is one of my favourite judges. I was also really happy with her course - challenging, but fun. When I was going to the preparation ring with Brava I thought that I really want one of those runs in which you feel that amazing connection and everything just works out. I could see before the run that Brava was really happy and crazy also, so I approached the course with good energy and wow, that was such a cool run! See for yourself, but I think my wish came true and it was one of those runs which make agility such a wonderful sport for me. Thanks to Franky Vanroy for the streaming and video. 

Meanwhile we learnt that we will get the replacement car from ADAC to get home. Our Pyrkobus would have to stay there till next week. 

Sunday was for fun runs, again I got clean jumping with Brava (and stupid elimination in agility), stupid elimination in jumping with Mojo (rather than turn into the tunnel she went straight ahead and took an additional jump... not something I would expect with a spaniel :P), pretty nice SA2 run with nice dogwalk (finally!) and then stupid refusal because I tried to babysit her too much in the slalom. Brego and Roman had two really nice clean runs. Roman decided not to run with Flaszek, since we could see he was getting tired, hence a bit more reactive. 

In the evening we got our replacement car which turned out to be a VW Golf... so we had a puzzle of how to actually squize seven dogs and the most essential things (like dog food, LOL) into it. Well, we managed, although it wasn't perhaps the most comfortable drive home. Roman said though that the car was really quiet. Personally I think it was because he was sitting in such a position that his knees blocked his ears. 

Anyway, I hope all the bad luck with the cars etc. is behind us and the rest of the year will be splendid :D.