Clean Run Magazine - February 2007 - 31

Warning : session_start : The session id contains invalid characters,
valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in
/mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning :
session_start : Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent
output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in
/mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning :
Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by output started
at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in
/mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 10 BSESSING O I
N M O D E R AT I O N By Elizabeth M. Jarrell Illustration by Catherine
Fischer “Everything in moderation,” my father always said. I took his
advice to heart. Why merely worry when you can wallow in obsessing? I am
fortunate enough to train with one of the most gifted dog trainers in the
country. She, too, obsesses. She steadfastly maintains that obsessing
always works if you do it long enough. In fact, other than myself, she
obsesses more than anyone I know. particularly effective on a weeknight
when you have to wake up at 6:00 a.m. the next morning and put in a full
day of work. When you are truly obsessing, you become so exhausted that
you forget to eat. I do not, however, recommend obsessing as a long-term
weight reduction program. So I spent the entire next week obsessing very
seriously. I have a photographic memory, which has proven very useful in
terms of extreme obsession. I played back in my head all of our runs. I
even visualized the bar dropping frame by frame. I mulled. I mused. I
fretted. However, I was not nearing much understanding regarding my
handling errors. This was no doubt due to my almost complete lack of
understanding of agility fundamentals overall. As a confirmed obsessor,
such details did not overly bother, much less deter, me. Our First Foray
Recently, Mr. Oliver, my Australian Shepherd, and I made a brief and
altogether inelegant foray out of the structured world of obedience into
the wild world of agility. During our first weekend of trialing, Mr.
Oliver was absolutely spectacular but for one small detail. He managed to
take down one jump each run resulting in a flunk. Actually, knocking the
bar resulted in the agility steward handing me a small slip of paper on
which was printed a big, fat “F” which I fully believed stood for
“flunk.” It was later explained to me that “F” meant “failure to
perform.” Same difference. So of course I spent the entire next week
obsessing over why Mr. Oliver and I had flunked. More specifically, I
tried to figure out what handling error I had consistently made that had
caused Mr. Oliver to take down one bar each course. I knew full well that
the error lay with me, not with him. My Handling Error Realized Suddenly
around 3:00 a.m., after a week of professional obsessing, I realized my
handling error. Simply put, I was moving when Mr. Oliver took the jump. He
tried to catch up and then flattened out and hit the jump with a rear foot.
The technicalities associated with my handling error do not matter. What
does matter is that obsessing had saved the day once again. I called my
training mentor later that day. She answered the phone. With great
excitement in my voice, I said, “Oh my God, I have become you!”
Without missing a beat, she said, “I’m so very sorry.” Then I
explained about my week-long obsession fest. She laughed. She replied,
“Well, obsessing always works.” Who knew? Obsessive Fundamentals For
the uninitiated, please allow me to explain the fundamentals of obsessing.
The best time to obsess is from midnight until around 3:00 a.m. This is D
Elizabeth M. Jarrell, Esq. has written a monthly column of short stories
called “Who Knew?” for Front and Finish since 2002. She has also been
published in The Canine Chronicle, Off Lead, The Australian Shepherd
Journal, The Australian Shepherd Annual, Clean Run, and elsewhere. She has
received multiple nominations from the Dog Writers Association of America
for their annual writing contest. February 07 | Clean Run 31 Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid
characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in Unknown on line 0 Warning :
Unknown : Failed to write session data files . Please verify that the
current setting of session.save_path is correct /var/lib/php/session in
Unknown on line 0

Clean Run Magazine - February 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - February 2007