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I started using visualization this past weekend and I think it will really help when we’re running a course at AGI 2-3 hours after we walk. Any additional pointers in situations like that?
Make sure you revisit the course in your mind several times at intervals. So if it’s going to be 2-3 hours, make sure you do your visualization sometime in the middle and then again a little before you’re due to run.
Also – make sure you can visualize the whole course without referencing the map. If you’re uncertain about a part, then you haven’t memorized it well enough yet!
Will the future Mental Mastery course being release later this fall be part of this Prep Course? thanks.
Hi Dee! That course is still “on the drawing board”, but if we do produce it (and we do have an outline, so I expect we will at some point!) it would not be a part of this course. But a larger course available for stand alone registration. Thanks for the reminder! I’m going to remove that reference for now until we have time to release that online course!
I’ve been practicing visualization more recently and we’ve benefited from it. What do I do at the Invitationals if my dog does something totally unexpected outside of what I visualized? For example, at our last two trials he has totally refused to do the dog walk at one and would not get on the table at another. He stood back and barked at me so I finally just walked off the course. The day before we did fantastic! He is in top physical condition so it isn’t a matter of him not being able to do the obstacles. I’m starting to stress over this, I know I need to relax because he can sense my stress. Your last module Mental Mastery will certainly help me!
Once you get a refusal, you’ll be out of the running for making the Finals (in almost all cases), so I’d consider bringing the dog away from the dogwalk/table (after he refuses) to give him a running approach to the obstacle. If he still refuses, you can choose to leave the ring or continue on in the course (I favor leaving the ring so I don’t reinforce the behavior of refusal+barking, but this is up to you).
We usually visualize for optimal performance or perhaps 2 different choices at a specific point on course (like a front cross and a rear cross, walk and visualize both), but in this case, I would not spend any time visualizing a refusal–focus on your optimal performance.
To reduce your stress, focus on your breathing and visualize the course when you feel the stress coming. This gives your mind two tasks that should immediately stop your anxiety.
Thank You for your input! I agree with trying to reconnect once then leaving so he doesn’t think it’s all part of the game. He’s a Airedale and can be quite cheeky at times. Also, the other dog we had passed away about a month ago. Even though they weren’t that close he seems “off” at times. I’m sure that may have something to do with it. I have a breathing app on my watch and have used it in the past to calm myself. Thanks again!
Hi, I do mostly NADAC. I’ve been doing agility for a long time (15+ years) and recently added visualization. I’m 62 with an artifical knee and I’ve had back surgery within the past year. I’m also a family doctor in private practice. Up until the past few years I’ve run cavaliers and just remembering the course and guiding them and sending them out for distance is what we’ve done. A few years ago I adopted a rescue border collie, Allie. Agility is an entirely different sport now. Think go cart to race car….I have trouble staying in the moment and not zoning out at all while I’m running courses with her…I could do that and get away with cavaliers but not with Allie. I get excited about a good contact and then she’s run over the table to the other side (we are doing some AKC now as well) and we’ve NQ’d again. She’s also very social so she tends to go visit if I’m the least bit unintentionally disengaged.
I’d appreciate any ideas for staying in total focus while running. You would think that 35 to 60 seconds would be easy to stay focused but it is harder than I thought it would be.
Hi! It sounds like you are getting distracted during your run and then you have trouble getting back on the plan you walked. There’s two strategies for this:
#1 don’t get distracted (getting excited over a contact, looking at the judge to see if they called a contact, etc). If you didn’t walk it, don’t do it. This takes practice and intentional focus, perhaps reminding yourself during walk throughs and before your run.l
#2 build in these distractions to your walk through (and visualization) routine. For example, if you are going to praise the dog for htiting the contact, do it in the walk through each time you get to that part, and also in your visualization before your run. This way you will have rehearsed what comes next. For dogs who get distracted or visit people, when they go off, I ignore them for a moment while I look at what part of the course was next, and when I have it, then I can start calling my dog to me. Basically, I come up with my plan for finishing the course first (including if I want to just leave the ring), and THEN get my dog. Everyone mostly does the opposite–they immediately forget the course in order to 100% concentrate on getting their dog back, and once they do, they have no idea what to do next! Make a quick plan and then get your dog.
Please let me know if you have any follow up questions.
This is not really advice, but maybe is pertinent. I find myself in a different world when we walk into the ring (no I didn’t ask/train for that), but that feeling of ONE/US pretty much is with me through out. We are kind of “wrapped together with some “invisible energy…. “we” us, one unit. I’m not promoting the idea, just sharing the experience.
Thank you for sharing! I also feel this way when I enter the ring with a dog, especially in the Finals at big events. It’s quite the bonding experience.
Do you see incorporating muscle memory aspects that you might develop just as you walk/run the course prior to competing?
Certainly. Many people benefit from “shadow handling” on the sidelines as they visualize. Miniature versions of all the arm changes and footwork they will use on the course.
Mental Mastery? I sure need that! Sometimes, but not always, I have to do deep breathing exercises to get rid of the stomach butterflies so I don’t stress my dog. Especially the first run of the day.
I def need that too!Does anyone know the price of that?
There is not separate mental mastery course at the moment. But it is in the works!
I do self-positive talks to myself before runs to get myself ready