Today's dog agility lesson is on different jump styles in matching small black dogs that are not the same kind dog at all. Everyone always says, but they look so much alike! And granted most people can't tell them apart. In fact, I just got them new collars that have their names right there on the collar. So no more trying to tell the few interested people that want to know, how to tell them apart. (Ruby-no tail. Otterpop-tail. Ruby-black, Otterpop-brindly. Ruby-terrieresque, Otterpop-perhaps cattle dog in chihuahua clothing. Ruby-quiet and stealth, Otterpop-makes many weird sounds at all times).
Here's Otterpop going over a jump. She has a nice arc, she's just popping over this very short jump (in CPE she is so short she only jumps 8", which is like nothing for her) with a nice, relaxed expression, ears up, smiley face, not much effor.
Here is our Ruby. Ruby does agility with much intensity, as if her life depended on it sometimes. She can be casual too, but rarely at a trial, unless she just decides she's done at the end of the day, or, she is sore. She has an appalling jump style, which, when I had her at 16" for all those years, resulted in many dropped bars. She takes off very early-her sense of the appropriate time to jump is that of a much larger dog. She generally could put in one more stride. I've noticed too, that when I think she is sore, she leaves even longer. Sometimes, it's just because she's so fast and barrels down there or I run ahead of her on a long line, but other times I think it has to do with something else.
Her front end is plain old weird a lot of the time-she crosses her front legs. She looks like a little bullet and then, usually at the end of her arc, kicks out her back legs and hits the bar. All of which result in a landing that can look like this.
Ouch. It's only 15 lbs landing on those shoulders, but still. They are small shoulders.
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