Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Bo Gee CPE Trial June 25-26

Last weekend I entered Spot in the Bo Gee CPE trial at the Deerfield Fairgrounds in NH. We entered 2 classes on Friday and 3 classes on Sat.

Friday was planned to start at 4, but got off to a little bit of a slow start. The first class was Jumpers, and Spot was entered in Jumpers level 3. Spot and I really weren't in sync for this run. He ran around 2 jumps, then had an off course, and we were over time, so no Q. Second run was Jackpot. It was a non-traditional Jackpot and you needed to take 3 single jumps for the jackpot. Spot did much better in this run. I tried to keep him running, using the tunnels, and not as many jumps. There was a combo of 2 jumps worth 5 points, but Spot ran around the second jump, so I just kept going. I had planned it so we were in the area where the jumps were when the whistle blew and it turned out to be really good. Spot had just entered a tunnel when the whistle blew, so I was able to call him out, then send him over 3 jumps, then the table. A lot of people either were on the A frame when the whistle blew, or their dog took another obstacle on the way to the jumps,so they didn't Q. But we did!

On Saturday we were entered in Snooker level 2, Wildcard level 2 and Colors level 3. I moved Spot up to Colors level 3 not realizing there would be weaves. Oops! We started out well. My plan for Snooker was not to go for 3 7's in the opening because the flow would be not so good, so instead I went for the 3 tunnel, a 6 jump, and the 7 A frame. This made a little loop, which worked well for us. Spot finished the entire course and the whistle blew just as he jumped onto the table.

Next was Wildcard. This was a pretty easy course, but Spot didn't want to get set at the start, so I ended up running with him instead of leading out as planned. And he took the first two jumps, but then didn't take the tunnel, which was a wildcard. He never misses tunnels, so I wasn't sure what was going on. The rest of the course he did well, except for running around a jump, but I brought him back around and then we finished the course and got a Q.

Last was Colors. The course was super easy except for the poles. He did great with the first 5 obstacles, which were jump, jump, tunnel, jump, tire. But then he just basically ignored the weave poles. I almost got him through, but then he wouldn't do the last one, so I just tried to finish the course, but I guess he was stressed out because he skipped a couple of jumps. Oh well.

So it is becoming imperative that Spot learn weave poles at least at a basic level, or all I will be able to enter him in is Jackpot and Fullhouse and Jumpers!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Earthdog practice!

Today we had earthdog practice in Gardner. Of course, I was too tired to show up at 9, so I rolled in around 10:30. Thankfully a few other people arrived after me, but the early arrivals were a little peeved, I could tell.

First I tried Shelby in IQ. In the past, she hasn't wanted to go around the corner in the tunnel, so we started with a straight piece and she went in no problem. So then we just added the corner piece. She was hesitant, but when she backed out a little I gave her a little push and encouraged her to go back in, and she did. She was really working the rats well. She barked, dug and bit at the bars, which is great.

So then we added another piece to the tunnel, and she went in and hesitated just a second and then went around the corner all on her own. We did that twice to make sure she was good with it. I'm very excited-I hope this is the breakthrough she needed. Hopefully we can practice again next Sunday if it doesn't get cancelled.

Spot was last. I actually took him to the IQ tunnel because we just needed to work on taking him out of the tunnel. So we took all the pieces out except for the end piece and had someone stand in the tunnel so he couldn't back out. He worked and I took him out, then put him right back in, and we did that about 5 times. Hopefully it reinforced that getting taken out means he gets to go again, not that the fun is over. We'll see what he does next week!

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Courses from this weekend

Here are the courses from this weekend.

Standard level 2-Almost Qd-slightly over time.



We Qd in Level 3 Jumpers-our first level 3 Q!



We Qd in Colors level 2, finishing our Colors level 2. We did the circle course.



We did not Q in Jackpot due to a handling bobble on my part.



We did not Q in Snooker level 2 because Spot got distracted then back jumped a red.



In Wildcard level 2 we only got as far as jump 1 before Spot disengaged and I left the course.



We did not Q in Standard level 2 because we can't really do weaves yet, and Spot wasn't engaged in general. We left the course after he skipped a tunnel and A frame.



We did not Q in Fullhouse because we did not get enough points.

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Gemini Dogs CPE Trial June 5-6, 2010

Well, I had high hopes for this trial held at our training center, but it didn't turn out very well. We got 2 Qs out of a possible 8. We came close on 2 more, but Spot showed some behavior I wasn't very happy with.

Saturday was miserable. The temperature was about 82 and sunny, but the humidity was also very high. It really sapped my energy, and I think Spot's too. I definitely didn't plan my courses too well. Plus, I was working every class and it was just too hectic. I didn't really have time to study the course maps.

First class was Fullhouse. If I recall correctly Spot broke his startline say, and then ran around jumps and we were over time. Next was Standard Level 2, which I knew Spot would have trouble with the weaves. He did the course well and I got him through the weaves with some effort, but we were 6 seconds over time, which meant 6 fault points, and you can only have 5 faults to Q. So 1 second faster and we would have made it. Next was Snooker. The 7 point obstacle was the A frame, which Spot likes, so I planned to do that twice, then the 3 tunnel. Spot got through the A frame the second time, took the next red, but then disengaged and was sniffing. When I called him, he back jumped the red, so that was the end of that. Last was Wildcard. We started, took 1 jump, then Spot disengaged and was sniffing and the judge gave us a majot fault, which I still don't really know why. She didn't really give me a chance to get him back in line. So when that happened I just left the ring and Spot followed me.

Sunday the weather was iffy. It was cooler, but it rained and there was a threat of thunderstorms all day. We started with Jackpot, and it rained. By the time we went, it had stopped, but everything was soaked. It was a non-traditional Jackpot where the gamble was a tunnel/A frame combo in any order, then a distance to a jump and table. Spot actually did really well, and was faster than expected so I had to fill time by having him take the A frame and tunnel a few times while I waited for the whistle. Once the whistle blew, I asked him to do the A frame, and then the tunnel, but when I released him from the A frame I didn't come out far enough and he turned around and went back up. I kept going, because I didn't hear a whistle, and we completed the rest of the gamble. Some people thought I got it because they didn't think Spot had actually come off the A frame, only turned around, but in the end we did not Q.

Next was Standard again. We started well, but then got the weaves and Spot didn't do them and we got a major fault, so I kept going, but then he skipped a tunnel, and then the A Frame, so I left the ring. After that was Colors, which we actually Qd in! The course I chose had fewer jumps and more tunnels so we could just keep on running as fast as possible. Spot actually listened and we had a good run. We came in second. The last class of the day was Jumpers level 3. This was a fast course as well, and the first 7 obstacles were the same as the Colors course we had just run, so I had high hopes. The course went well, except for one off course that was my fault. Spot took the near tunnel entrance rather than the out tunnel because I didn't cue fast enough. Really I should have been on the other side for that section. Other than that it went really well and we Qd and got 4th place.

So we were able to end on a high note, which was good. I really need to get Spot learning the weave poles, and also to go ahead and take jumps that are ahead of him.