I think adding the grid to the A-frame box work is a very interesting puzzle.  It's almost difficult to keep in mind that this is all supposed to translate into a contact behavior!  It's such a complicated process of adjusting this and that to make the dog successful that it seems like the end behavior is just getting them to complete the grid the way I want them to.

My first adjustment was to bring the first jump from 48" to only 40" from the second.  This did the trick for Spy.  She went 100% on her attempts today and looked very confident.

Marron on the other hand leaped the contact zone after the first two hits every time with this spacing.  She looks like she might be able to stretch to get the two hits when in frisbee drive, but not with anything less.  Unfortunately, I don't think Rachel Sanders would quite know what to do with a dog like Marron.  She mentions dogs who give three hits great in practice, but who revert to two hits under pressure in the ring.  What about dogs who shut down and who may be able to stretch to get the two hits fine in practice, but under pressure in the ring don't extend enough and wind up short of the contact zone with only two hits?  So I moved the box out to 10'4" and she went 5/6 with three hits, but they look compressed.  I'm wondering if I ought to end the process here with her.  I'm soooo tempted to train for the two hits with her by bringing the box closer and then stretching the distance out.  I'd REALLY hate to "break" her A-frame though by encouraging two hits if she can't maintain it under a trial situation.  On the other hand, the other part of my current training is to get rid of her stress associated with agility, so maybe she could do it when I'm through with that training.  Oy!
 

In other news, Marron (indirectly) killed a cat.  About two weeks ago, she went nuts barking at this semi-feral cat that my parents have had around for over 10 years.  Marron was inside the house, but the cat didn't know that.  She took off and leaped over the stone wall in front of the house just as a car was going by.  My mom thought the car missed because the cat climbed back over the wall a minute later but a few hours later I saw her limping BAD across the backyard.  We went out to try to get a better look, but she took off and we didn't see her again for over a week.  She reappeared Monday morning, skin and bones and barely toe-touching on her right hind.  I didn't get a chance to see her until last night because she disappears when I'm around... I think she associated me with the dogs.  Last night though she seemed desperate for help.  She let both my parents pet her and let me stand near her.  She rolled on the ground, meowing, clearly wanting something.  It was heart breaking.  The muscles in her leg were so atrophied that you could see the outlines of the femur underneath.  It also became very clear that it was her femur that was broken- you could see the instability if you watched from behind when she toe-touched.  She still wouldn't allow herself to be caught though.  She's unvaccinated, and was attacked by something a couple of weeks ago that left some bite wounds on her tail.  By the time we caught her to investigate those though they had already pretty much healed!  Not knowing what bit her, we couldn't risk her biting someone.  I didn't want to have to tell my parents to have to have her rabies tested.  Since I'm vaccinated, I thought about trying to catch her, but if I missed and she got away from me, I thought she'd never give us another chance.  So this morning my mom went out with a carrier and put her food in there and managed to get her in.  With the cat being geriatric, and semi-feral, my mom couldn't put her through surgery to fix the leg, so she took her down to the vet to her put to sleep.  I know my mom felt really guilty.  Even though the cat wasn't exactly a family pet (she never even warranted a name!), we all had great respect for this cat.  She was independent and hardy, and I do feel a little guilty myself that Marron caused her death when she lived such a healthy life for so long.