Griffin is smart enough and active enough that I have been giving him puzzles, toys, and “scavenger hunts” each day before I leave the house. Tonight I didn’t set anything up. After all, we had been to an hour long agility training class, and I was only gone for a short time! Guess I was wrong…

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In preparation for USDAA Nationals, Rankine and Aaron entered a show in New Mexico.  This morning they earned a 1st place in Master Gamblers and 1st place in Advanced Standard.  Way to go — that training is paying off.

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Rankine and I attended a Front Range Agility Team seminar this past week with Jennifer Crank.  I signed up for two sessions to work on stress related issues (i.e. Table sniffing) and improved contacts.  I must admit I was a little disappointed in the morning session because it was heavily focused on motivation versus stress and if there is anything Rankine doesn’t need to work on it’s motivation.  That aside, Jennifer made the following very eye opening and obvious statement:

“Those who work on Training tend to perform better in Standard classes versus those who work on Handling tend to perform better in Jumper classes”.  To which I replied, “that explains why have a dog in USDAA Master Jumpers that only has 1 qualifying run in Starters Standard”.  Needless to say that Jennifer and the seminar participates had a good laugh.

So what’s the difference you ask:

• Training focuses on a specific skill (i.e.  you go into the agility ring with one goal such as completing 12 weave poles or training the A-frame down contact).  Note – Online Dog Coach lessons are training focused.
• Handling focuses on sequencing (i.e. you setup and work a full course)

In my case, I am fortunate to have a 100′ x 80′ agility training ring in my backyard with a compliment of agility equipment.  Consequently, I have a tendency to handle full courses because they are readily available.   Prior to moving to this house, my wife and I had a limited amount of space which made us train basic skills versus handle full courses.   Surprise, surprise our older dog, TJ, has beautiful contacts and agility basics.

My goal? Go back to training basic agility skills for the near term.

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In memory of

Kalee Laika Hiskey

1996-2010

and all of the great dogs who came and went before her

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This weekend Diane, Steve, Judy, Dave and Donna along with Yazzie, Ryder, Hunter, and Eli hosted a dog agility demonstration at the 3rd Annual Intermountain Humane SocietyDog Walk at the historic Meyer Ranch in Conifer, Colorado.  We had a blast sharing the sport of dog agility with fellow dog lovers.    Needless to say the dogs were a little tired from a day of demoing so this evening we took it easy practicing start line stays while the sun started to set in the Colorado mountains.  Update from the injured reserve list … Rankine gets his stitches out tomorrow and will be as good as new!

Speaking of Colorado our dinner theme tonight was Colorado grub.  Our menu included buffalo corn bread casserole, anasazi bean and squash harvest medley, western BBQ chicken, quinoa poppy seed muffins, and Donna’s famous peach cobbler.   The dishes were all delicious, but the award for best new recipe goes to Aaron for the buffalo corn bread casserole.  On a personal note, Aaron is quite the chef preparing dinner at our house almost every night.

Western BBQ Chicken – This recipe is a Judy creation from the Western BBQ Chicken Pizza recipe from Colorado Collage and the Norelco Microwave Ove Cookbook.

Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic.  Let marinate in the fridge several hours.  Mix together remaining ingredients except the onions and green peppers to make the BBQ sauce.  Place chicken in microwave dish layering & coating with liquid BBQ sauce.   Place onion and green pepper on top.  Cover and cook in microwave on high 20 minutes stopping halfway to turn over the chicken.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

• 3-4 Chicken breast cut in to serving size pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup catsup
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Anasazi Bean and Squash Harvest Medley – This recipe is from American Food – A Celebration Collins Publishers 1993.

• 1/4 cup dried Anasazi or pinto beans
• 1 piece Hubbard squash (about 1 1/4 lb)
• 1 cup long-grain brown rice
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 6 green onions, chopped
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Quick-soak the Anasazi beans by placing them in 1 cup water in a saucepan and slowly bringing to a boil.  Boil for 4 minutes.  Turn off the heat, cover and let stand for about 2 hours.  Drain.  Place beans in water to cover, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 1 hour or until beans are tender but still firm. Drain.

Either microwave the squash for 6 to 7 minutes, until soft when pierced with a fork, or cut into several pieces and steam fro 15 to 20 minutes until soft.  Remove rind. Dice squash.

In a saucepan, bring rice and 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil.  Lower the heat, cover, and cook for 45 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Mix together the vinegar, oil, sugar, salt and pepper to make the dressing.  Toss beans, squash, rice, and green onions with dressing to coat. 

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