"You can run with the big dogs or sit on the porch and bark." Wallace Arnold

Issue: November, 2002

Publisher & Editor: Diane Peters Mayer
Co-editor: Vanessa Klapper

A. PeakSpeak

Hello and welcome to all our readers and the many new subscribers who have signed on.

This is the last issue of 2002, dear readers. We'll be on a little break for the month of December J, but will return January 2003 with a super PeakNews!

Many thanks to all of our readers for making this first year of PeakNews a grand success. We are grateful to the handlers who submitted questions, comments and stories that enriched PeakNews and made it so special.

What's new at PeakNews? Pictures of you and your fantastic canine companions are welcome along with your submissions. You can scan and email them to our webmaster Sheri Huffman at: sheri@virtualhelpinghand.com, or send them via snail mail to: 2701 Creek Valley Dr., Garland, TX 75040

November's Training Tip offers a great "stress buster" for the eyes, which will reduce facial tension and fatigue.

In Handlers' Tales, a reader from South Africa writes about her difficulties in the agility ring and how she is finding success.

Meet a rescued Beagle from NYC who went from shelter dog, to hurricane survivor, to movie star in Second Chances !

BookPicks features two titles you might like to get or give for the holiday.

PeakNews offers a unique format in which to engage and connect with handlers from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Finland and South Africa on a topic that may be difficult to think about and discuss otherwise. We need you to share personal stories, questions and comments, poems, etc. Your confidentiality is assured if you request it, writing experience is not necessary, and length is unimportant. Submission deadline for the January 2003 issue is January 20th.

Please join us to become the handler of your dreams. Your dog will thank you!

Enjoy.

Diane & Vanessa

B. Training Tip of the Month

Eye Stretch Stress Buster

In an all around mind/body training program to combat ring nerves, stretching exercises are extremely important. Stretching helps eliminate body tension by warming up and loosening muscles. Stretching aids in readying your body for competition (just as a full body stretch in the morning helps prepare you for the day ahead). Besides, it feels really good. This easy stretching exercise for the eyes will help relax facial muscles and keep fatigue away.

Eye Stretch:

Training Tip: Practice the Eye Stretch a number of times each day. Use Eye Stretch in your car at a show and while you're waiting around for your number to be called.

C. Handlers' Tales

Rosemarie of Umtentweni, South Africa contacted me for One-on-One training a little over a year ago. Here is her story:

"I have been doing agility for the past four years with Kim, a 2 1/2 year old Border Collie.

I seem to be very nervous on the course, and this seems to cause unnecessary stress between myself and Kim. I get the feeling that once we've started in a competition, my nerves are shot until Kim has made a mistake. Then I relax, thinking, "well she at least made the mistake, now we can carry on and finish the course."

Kim is highly motivated. She moves very fast over the jumps and agility equipment. Our biggest problem is the weave poles. In training she can enter the poles from any angle without me getting her in, and completes them perfectly and very fast.

In shows, she misses the last two poles. This happens almost every show. Now and again she enters on the second pole, when weaving the poles. I do walk next to them, if I can get there in time. At home she does them without me walking next to them. At shows, I think I tense up and once she has a penalty of five points I then relax my shoulders, and probably the tone of my voice is also a different pitch.

When I start Kim up at the start, she will not wait in a sit stay. Her eyes are fixed on the first jump, and as soon as I take my hand off her neck, she goes. At training, she will wait at the start and I can walk past three jumps with my back to her, and she will only move when I give her the command to jump.

I am tense at the start because I am scared that she will run out into the ring and be disqualified."

Rosemarie and I planned out a personalized training program, with daily, weekly and monthly goals. We began with breathing to help her relax and stop her thinking about Kim's upcoming mistakes. We added the Focus-On-Your Body techniques and other exercises from our seminar and audio to allow Rosemarie to concentrate in spite of the intense pressure in the ring.

Over the next year Rosemarie practiced diligently. She says Yoga Breath helps her very much and she especially likes Focus-On-Your Body.

Eventually all the training, coaching and practicing began to pay off. Kim has become very successful in the weave poles and has moved up to the top grades. Rosemarie wrote, "At one show Kim worked so nicely at the start and this enabled us to do rather an angled couple of jumps after the smooth start...it was a piece of cake."

In a recent letter, Rosemarie said that they had a "magical round." "I worked at a distance from Kim, and it felt wonderful and her speed was faster...I still glow with pleasure at the thought of it."

Rosemarie states, "I must still relax a little more, and we will achieve even greater results." "When I am nervous, I always think of the breathing first because one's breathing always gives you away."

Note: Please share with us your experiences in the ring: achievements and successes, difficulties and how you coped, funny and/or embarrassing moments, etc. To submit a story, please write to us at: CAYPNews@aol.com

D. Second Chances

Meet an amazing Beagle....

My 4 year old beagle Shelby was in a shelter in Delaware (reason unknown) in the fall of 1999 when Hurricane Floyd hit the mid-Atlantic states. When several cats drowned in the lower level of the shelter due to floodwaters, the shelter staff thought it best to let all the animals go. After the storm, Shelby and her sister were found on some high ground on the shelter property. They were brought to SOS (that's Save Our Snoopies) Beagle Rescue, then in Bordentown, NJ.

We were looking for a beagle and knew that since they were a popular breed, we could find one at a shelter. Surprisingly, none of the local shelters had beagles. We live in NYC and were told by one shelter that the city shelters usually don't take beagles because they are barkers and difficult to adopt out to apartment dwellers.

We found Linda Forrest and SOS Beagle Rescue on the internet. When we visited her we were introduced to perhaps 12-14 beagles and told each of their stories. We chose two females to meet on a more personal level in the house. Shelby was the obvious choice. She was much more people-oriented and very sweet. Her tail was missing the white tip (probably got caught in a door, according to our vet). She came home with us the same day.

Initially she was frightened by a lot of things--mailboxes, parked cars, air brakes, garbage dumpsters, blue tarps covering motorcycles, etc. Makes us wonder what her first 1 1/2 years were like. Slowly she became bolder and more comfortable with her surroundings. Now she "owns" the territory encompassing two blocks in every direction of her yard.

I took her to obedience classes right away and she has made wonderful progress. She got her CGC. She has one CD leg and is proficient in most of the Open exercises. She has been taking agility classes for 6 months and just received her therapy dog certification. She has a bit part in the new documentary "Bowling for Columbine". Despite working with her for 6 months, tracking is just not her thing (can you imagine?!). I can honestly say that she is the perfect dog and has truly spoiled me for any other dog we may get in the future.

Susan and her husband live with Shelby on Staten Island, in New York.

"I am a part-time receptionist in a medical office, which gives me lots of time to spend with Shelby. She is my first dog as an adult. However, I'd say my primary hobby is gardening. Shelby is superb in the yard and has never caused any damage to my plants and flowers. In fact, we both enjoy cocktail hour on the lounge chairs after a long day in the garden. I also enjoy birdwatching.

Thank you Susan and Shelby for this lovely tale. CAYP is honored to send a $25.00 donation in both your names, along with your story to:
Linda Forrest, SOS Beagle Rescue,
2905 Walkertown Road, Dayton, TN 37321.

Please send along comments or your own Second Chances tale for the January 2003 issue....Don't forget those photos!

Note: Please send us the story of your rescued dog and how it became or is becoming a competitor. As a thank you for your contribution, Competing At Your Peak Inc. will donate $25.00 in you and your dog's name, to the shelter or rescue group of your choice. To submit a story, please write to us at: CAYPNews@aol.com

E. Book Picks - These books can be purchased from Amazon.com by clicking on the book title.

With your canine companion snuggled next to you, a fire in the hearth, and something hot to drink, the following books would be great to pick up after a hard day of training or competing. (For those readers who live in warm climates, our apologies, but we live in the Northeast, and winter is upon us).

The Compassion of Dogs: True Stories of Animal Courage and Kindness

by Kim D. R. Dearth

The Greatest Dog Stories Ever Told

by Patricia M. Sherwood (Editor)

Includes tales by Thurber, London, Bradbury, Mann and others.

These volumes will cause you to laugh, cry, be amazed, and they highlight why dogs are so important to our lives, and why we love them..

F. Announcements & Coming Events

Seminar - COMBATING RING NERVES FOR ALL DOG SPORTS
For Handlers and Their Dogs

Saturday March 1, 2003 - 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Blairstown, NJ

Make plans to join us and learn to:

• Break the cycle of negative thinking
• Relax and focus with exercises that work
• Move smoothly in the ring
• Stop standing in your own way
• Channel those "nerves" into a great performance
• Practice with your dog in simulated show situations

We've added great new techniques to help you beat "ring nerves"!

Register now and see the difference a day makes!

$135.00 for seminar and materials.

Click here to register
or call Diane at 215-348-8836

Can't make the Seminar?

STOP "RING NERVES" FROM HOME with our Audio Ring Nerve Program for All Dog Sports, with Training Manual.

• Great Exercises & Techniques
• A Super Quickie Stress-Buster
• Guided Imagery to mentally rehearse your perfect performance
• Terrific Training Tips.

This program will help you do it!

The Audio Program & Manual is $29.95 plus $6.00 S&H in US. (PA residents add $1.80 sales tax). International add $10.00 S&H.

To read more about it or purchase by check or secure credit card, please click here.

or call Diane at 215-348-8836.

G. Invitations

We invite you to submit your questions to Ask the Coaches, comments, replies, ISO and stories to Handlers' Tales and Second Chances.

Please share your experiences and questions with your fellow readers, to help make PeakNews a dynamic arena in which to talk about the various aspects of "ring nerves" with handlers from all over the world.

We'd also love to hear from you with topics you want to see covered in future issues, and any comments you have about PeakNews. Please write to us at CAYPNews@aol.com

If you enjoyed PeakNews we invite you to forward it, intact please, to other handlers who might benefit from it.

Thank you and —

**Note: Columns may vary from month to month.

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