Last weekend Spot and Shelby were entered in the Gemini Dogs CPE trial. I like trialing here because this is where we train, and they have a chain link fence with gates, so I can close them for Shelby and be sure there will be no problems. The August trial is traditionally miserable weather, and this year was no exception. Saturday actually wasn't too bad. It was overcast, but then got really humid and warm around noon, then started raining about 3pm. The Sunday trial was cancelled due to the hurricane, which bummed me out because I lost about $75...
Shelby was entered in all 4 classes, Spot only in Standard and Wildcard. The day started with Fullhouse. I had a good plan and it was going well when for some reason Shelby decided not to take the tunnel, but instead to run around it a couple times. Of course by doing that we ran out of time so no Q.
Then it was Standard level 2 for both dogs. Spot was first. It was a doable course, but we only got about 3 obstacles in. He took 2 jumps and the dogwalk, then went in the tunnel and wouldn't come out. While I was doing the walk through, I had a friend hold him, since we were the first dog on the line. That's when it started to get hot, and I think he got a bit heated and needed the shade of the tunnel. Shelby was next and I was super pleased by her performance. She really gave me full attention and we ran well under time for a Q and first place.
Next was Wildcard. Spot and Shelby were both entered in level 3. One of the wildcards was a set of weave poles vs a double, then there was another set of poles, so I decided to take the double with both dogs. Spot went first and he was much better, since the sun had gone in again at this point. However, we had an off course and then he couldn't get through the weave poles, so no Q. Shelby was a little nervous as we were setting up, so I wasn't sure if she would perform well. I kept eye contact with her pretty much the whole time, and tried to cue 2-3 obstacles ahead and she did very well. I thought we Q'd until I saw the scores and we had a major fault, which I think must have been a dropped bar at the double.
Finally was Snooker for Shelby. By this point it was raining pretty hard. My parking area had flooded with about 2 inches of water, so I had put the dogs in the car. I had a pretty good plan, needing the do the closing through #5 to Q. We were doing pretty well until we hit the weaves at #4, then Shelby smelled something and started digging in the grass, then started rolling around. Everyone got a kick out of it, except me, since we blew our time and didn't get a Q after waiting around and getting soaked.
So we only had 1 Q for the day, but two others were really close for Shelby. Even though he didn't Q, I was pleased with Spot's performance because he did the A frame and the dog walk no problem, so I don't think there are any issues from his tumble last week.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
American K9 Country CPE Trial, August 19-20, 2011
This weekend Spot and I went to a CPE trial at American K9 Country in Amherst, NH. The judge was Denielle Stasa.
I like this venue pretty well. It is indoors with padded footing, the equipment is nice, and there is a good amount of room. I can't really trial Shelby there though because the way the ring is, there isn't room to set up a gate chute, so I wouldn't risk it at this point.
Spot was entered in Snooker 4, Jumpers 4, and Fullhouse 4 on Friday, and Snooker 4, Fullhouse 4, Jackpot 4, Standard 2 and Wildcard 3 on Saturday. We ended up scratching Standard 2 and Fullhouse on Sat.
Friday started out with Jumpers. Spot was very energetic and did some extra running which resulted in 2 off courses, then he skipped the tire, but we just kept going since I knew we weren't going to Q anyway. Next was Snooker 4. This course didn't have any weaves, which was awesome for us, however the A frame was the 7 and while I could have gone for it, Spot has some issues with the A frame now that he is 13 years old, so I decided not to risk it. I had a plan the just included the A frame once. I guess Spot didn't like the plan, because he first went to the table in the middle of the run, then I got him back, but he left the ring...see the video.
I didn't have super high hopes for Fullhouse at this point, but we continued on. I made a plan that was a lot of tunnels and jumps and the A frame one time. I was going pretty well until the end, when Spot was on the A frame. He was near the top and I was ahead of him and he tried to go too fast off the A frame and took a tumble, rolling over on the floor. He got right back up, and we did a tunnel and a jump and finished the course. I checked him over, and he didn't seem sore, so I figured I would just keep a better eye on his A frame performance on Saturday.
Saturday I brought Shelby with us for the day, even though she wasn't running. It was a hot day and I set up my tent outside rather than inside because the crate room was open only to competing dogs. Saturday started with Snooker. This was a tough course for us because the weaves were #4, so I had to figure out how to get enough points, yet not do the A frame multiple times. I decided to run a course that would get us enough points if we could finish the poles, and we did, so we got a Q. Spot did the A frame with no problem, so I figured we were good.
Wildcard 3 was next. It was a very do-able course. The first choice was the A frame or a tunnel, and I was going for the A frame. Spot ran around it, and then didn't want to retry it, so I had to do the tunnel. We kept going but used a lot of time at the poles. Then on the up part of the dogwalk, Spot was very tentative, and I'm not sure why. The buzzer rang while we were on the dogwalk so we ran out of time on that one.
Jackpot was next. Again, a very do-able course. I planned to do all jumps and tunnels, no contacts. Spot got set up and we started, but his heart wasn't in it. He was running so slow. It was more like walking. We ran out of time halfway through the gamble, so no Q there. Then I decided to make it a day and we scratched Standard and Fullhouse.
Looking back, I'm still not sure if he was just tired, if he was sore, if he could tell I was in pain from my back...but he seems to be acting normally now, jumping on the furniture, etc. We have a trial this weekend where I am running Shelby in everything and Spot in 2 classes per day, so we'll see how he is there. It would really be too bad if Spot's agility career were over...especially with Nationals in New York next year.
I like this venue pretty well. It is indoors with padded footing, the equipment is nice, and there is a good amount of room. I can't really trial Shelby there though because the way the ring is, there isn't room to set up a gate chute, so I wouldn't risk it at this point.
Spot was entered in Snooker 4, Jumpers 4, and Fullhouse 4 on Friday, and Snooker 4, Fullhouse 4, Jackpot 4, Standard 2 and Wildcard 3 on Saturday. We ended up scratching Standard 2 and Fullhouse on Sat.
Friday started out with Jumpers. Spot was very energetic and did some extra running which resulted in 2 off courses, then he skipped the tire, but we just kept going since I knew we weren't going to Q anyway. Next was Snooker 4. This course didn't have any weaves, which was awesome for us, however the A frame was the 7 and while I could have gone for it, Spot has some issues with the A frame now that he is 13 years old, so I decided not to risk it. I had a plan the just included the A frame once. I guess Spot didn't like the plan, because he first went to the table in the middle of the run, then I got him back, but he left the ring...see the video.
I didn't have super high hopes for Fullhouse at this point, but we continued on. I made a plan that was a lot of tunnels and jumps and the A frame one time. I was going pretty well until the end, when Spot was on the A frame. He was near the top and I was ahead of him and he tried to go too fast off the A frame and took a tumble, rolling over on the floor. He got right back up, and we did a tunnel and a jump and finished the course. I checked him over, and he didn't seem sore, so I figured I would just keep a better eye on his A frame performance on Saturday.
Saturday I brought Shelby with us for the day, even though she wasn't running. It was a hot day and I set up my tent outside rather than inside because the crate room was open only to competing dogs. Saturday started with Snooker. This was a tough course for us because the weaves were #4, so I had to figure out how to get enough points, yet not do the A frame multiple times. I decided to run a course that would get us enough points if we could finish the poles, and we did, so we got a Q. Spot did the A frame with no problem, so I figured we were good.
Wildcard 3 was next. It was a very do-able course. The first choice was the A frame or a tunnel, and I was going for the A frame. Spot ran around it, and then didn't want to retry it, so I had to do the tunnel. We kept going but used a lot of time at the poles. Then on the up part of the dogwalk, Spot was very tentative, and I'm not sure why. The buzzer rang while we were on the dogwalk so we ran out of time on that one.
Jackpot was next. Again, a very do-able course. I planned to do all jumps and tunnels, no contacts. Spot got set up and we started, but his heart wasn't in it. He was running so slow. It was more like walking. We ran out of time halfway through the gamble, so no Q there. Then I decided to make it a day and we scratched Standard and Fullhouse.
Looking back, I'm still not sure if he was just tired, if he was sore, if he could tell I was in pain from my back...but he seems to be acting normally now, jumping on the furniture, etc. We have a trial this weekend where I am running Shelby in everything and Spot in 2 classes per day, so we'll see how he is there. It would really be too bad if Spot's agility career were over...especially with Nationals in New York next year.
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