Agility Trial in a Week - Eeeek

Weasel and I are going to try USDAA.  I've been wanting to, but dithering because she is 21 *and a half* inches tall.  That half inch bumps the jump bars up to several inches above her eye level.  But, USDAA has fun stuff, more classes, pairs, team, all sorts of stuff.  When Demon Puppy topped out at under 19" I realized that I really wanted to try the venue.

I have been asking if I should start inching the jumps up with Weasel to get her used to a half a foot higher, but people have told me she jumps so high it's not really an issue.  Both her and Geezer dog jump high.  Every flyball match, someone comes up to me and comments on Spoiled One's boinging antelope jump style.  My bunny-bear Geezer Dog.

Alas, though Demon Puppy was trained the same way, she's a daisy cutter.  While this is good for flyball (except I hate hearing her feet hit the jumps) it isn't so good for agility.  She's a bar-knocker.  I am working on it, with conditional rewards for when she actually clears the jump.  She's making progress, but it's not something I have ever dealt with.  I hope she gets over it.  Someone I know has a really enthusiastic border collie.  The dog is wicked fast and loves agility.  But he wipes out the bars every time.  I want Demon Puppy to do well.  If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to mention them.  Right now, I am rewarding only cleared jumps, and doing ladder drills to make her learn to pick up her back feet, and some strengthening exercises.  At the 20" I am getting about 70 -80% clear.  She doesn't seem to have difficulty physically jumping that high, and much higher when she wants, she just doesn't respect the bars.  

Weasel's  doesn't even see the bar, it's so high over her head.   However, once she saw it, she seemed to have no problem getting over it.  Her biggest problem is, and probably always will be, that she checks out under stress.  I think a lot of it is that I suck as an agility handler, (vague direction, wrong direction, poorly timed direction) but we try, she and I.  Part of me wishes I could video my training sessions to see what I screw up.  The other part is afraid to know.

They are both doing some nice weaves, finding the entry with only one oopsy with Demon Puppy.  Well, two.  One time, she was going through the weaves and nearly tipped the whole set over.  That dog has no respect for equipment.  No fear, but no respect, either. 

Poor, neglected Geezer Dog.  I did play tug with him.