Working the ARFF Trial

Well, I really didn't feel like getting up this morning, but I had an obligation to my club, so I did. I got there about 8:30 and checked in. I was a little bummed to see they had me working the 9am class, then a 1:25 class and then a 4pm class. I guess they didn't know I wasn't running a dog. Plus-of course with my luck Howard is in charge of my ring, so he's organizing all the volunteers and ring crew, etc. However he was nice and wasn't an ass, so that was good.

So I ended up working the first class, then volunteering for the second as well, as ring crew and leash runner. Then I took a break and worked one more class-being the gate steward. They had me scheduled for the last class of the day as assistant scribe, but I told Howard I had to leave before 4, so it wasn't a big deal. Being gate steward worked out ok. All my people checked in and only one change in the order. Still, not my favorite job. I didn't know a lot of the people, which made it harder. I guess I could probably do it for CPE since I've seen a lot of the dogs and people around before.

I did get to see a few friends from Gemini there. Mary and Ben were there and Leslie and Bethoven. I thought Leslie left Gemini, but I guess she just switched to Thurs night with Carolyn instead of Denielle. I think Denielle rubs some people the wrong way. I had a hard time at first, but now I like her.

Friday night's class was only me and Mary, which was fun. We had a challenging course. The opening was jump, tire, jump, jump, weaves. I ended up doing a lead out pivot to jump 3, which actually worked! I was so pumped I totally forgot my post turn at 4 and did the weaves on the wrong side. Shelby missed the entry, so we re-did them on the left no problem. Then we had the tunnel under the A frame, then a jump and the dog walk. We got to layer the tunnel next to the dog walk, which Shelby handled no problem. Then it was a double jump, which we also layered to another jump and the table. Then it was jump, tunnel, jump, A frame, teeter, jump, jump. The ending was tough because of the angle of the teeter and the last 2 jumps. I totally didn't know what I was doing the second time.

Then after class, we had champagne to celebrate Shelby's level 1 title!

Forgot to mention I also won a raffle item

They had a few raffle items at the trial. I volunteered on Sat and Sun, and on Sun I won a raffle prize that included a hat (ehn) plus 2 tendons, a trachea and some freeze dried tripe (yippee). The doggies liked those!

I found out that I'll be working most of the day at the ARFF trial on Sat. Looks like I'll be assistant scribe and gate steward. I've never gate stewarded for agility. Not sure if I'm loud enough to get people to the gate. And I really don't want to deal with moving people around in the running order. Sigh. I'll give it a try I guess.

Gemini CPE Trial-August 23-24, 2008

Last weekend was our "home" trial at Gemini Dogs in Littleton. I had been looking forward to it, hoping Shelby would have a home field advantage. :-)

The weather was sunny and warm-hot but bearable. Thankfully there was nowhere near as much humidity as last year. The heat definitely affected the dogs, but Shelby was fine. She was a little slower than usual, but willing and ready and having fun. She pretty much zonked out in the X pen when she wasn't running.

Saturday started out with Fullhouse. Our run was a little crazy, with Shelby missing the dogwalk in the beginning, so I had to compensate and ended up doing an extra tunnel in order to get back on the dogwalk. I think because we don't usually practice the dog walk at full height. I didn't think we Qd, because at the end, Shelby was really fast and ahead of me, so I thought she missed the required 3rd single jump, but when they posted the scores, we got a Q.

Next up was Standard. We were still in level 1! We started out, took a couple jumps, then Shelby went around the third jump and skipped the tunnel, but I just kept it going. She got with it and took the rest of the obstacles, missing one more jump, so we didn't Q. We had 78 fault points!

Next up was Wildcard, which Shelby usually does very well. We were in level 3, so it was a change to needing 1 A and 2 Bs, rather than 2 As and 1B, so I was worried I would mess it up, but I did great and remembered what to do! We were humming along no problem through the first 4 obstacles, but then we got to a corner where a bunch of dogs had peed and Shelby stopped in her tracks. I got her going towards the tunnel and she got stuck again. I get her back, she goes through the tunnel, comes out and gets sidetracked sniffing again! Finally we get going up the A frame and finish the course, but at the end she blows by the last jump and she back jumps it, giving us one fault. We were over time, so no Q, but Shelby did perform 6 poles on my right with no hesitation, so I was really happy. It was our first set of poles in competition.

Last but not least was Snooker. I like snooker a lot. I think it's really fun and challenging. At first glance this course seemed like it would be hard to get a high score, but I realized we could take the first red at a really sharp angle, since we had practiced in class. Shelby did great, we got 50 out of a possible 51 points and came in less than a second over time. I was really pleased. We Qd and got first place!

On Sunday we started with Jackpot. Of course, I was running late by about 10 minutes and missed the judge's briefing and the walk through! I was a little pissed actually that they started before 7:45. It was a non-traditional Jackpot, so that made it harder. And they were out of course maps! It was crazy. I definitely think when the judge is a hyper type, it affects everyone. I felt bad for the people who ran first because no one was really clear on the Jackpot rules and the judge was rushing to get the day started and it was not pleasant. One person actually had an argument with the judge after their run when they didn't Q!

When it was our turn, I had a good plan to get points and use up the necessary time. We executed it well and when the gamble whistle blew we were in good position. I look to see where the gamble is and then turn back to Shelby and I see her stopped and sniffing. As I go to her she drops and rolls around on her back, loving it. Everyone gets a good laugh as I try to get her up. Finally I get her up and we complete the gamble but we're way over time, so no Q! But we had fun. Always expect the unexpecgted I guess...

Next was our 2nd chance at Standard level 1. This time Shelby was a little more tired, so a little slower, which is good for me. She did really well, but dropped a bar, which is unusual. I think I crowded her, trying to get ready for a rear cross. But we finished the rest no problem and got our Q. I was so happy!

Next up was Colors. Shelby also does well in Colors. She was super slow on this run. I was able to get a video of this run and it looks like slow motion! We had a clean run-it was a simple course, I didn't even do any crosses.


Last run of the weekend was Jumpers. This was a level 1/2 course and I thought it was pretty complicated. The opening was challenging and a lot of people didn't really handle it well. I was planning a lead out pivot, but Shelby stood up before I was in position, so I just started and did a front cross between 2 and 3. Then I did a front cross between 5 and 6, then another front cross after the tunnel and before jump 8. Then I did a rear cross between 13 and 14. Shelby was perfect other than breaking the stay.

Overall it was a positive weekend, but very long, especially since I volunteered and didn't have a lot of downtime. Spot was not really happy being in the pen all day, either. Our next trial is Bo Gee in October, and we'll be in level 3 Colors and Wildcard and level 2 everything else.

Nutting Lake Sweet Spot SE!!!!!!!

We had a great weekend at the GBAEC Earthdog trial in Garder. Spot qualified in senior both days, getting legs 2 and 3, earning his SE title on Sunday. He was focused and on target both days. His recall was admired by many-taking less than 10 seconds. Now the decision is do we travel to CT and try for Master in October, or train over the winter and start next summer? Dana and Carolyn want me to keep going, since we're on a roll. Maybe if I can get someone to come with me for the weekend!

Last ED Practice in Gardner

Today was the last earthdog practice of the season at the Gardner Fish and Game Club. It was also the AWTA Fun Day.

We got there around 10:30 and headed over to the senior den. They were just getting set up, so we were second. Lucky us! Spot was textbook, as usual. The only hiccup was that he started leaving the tunnel before I called, so when he came out the entrance, I was closer than usual, just outside the entrance, so I wasn't ready to grab him and he turned around and went right back in. But I just called again and was ready this time and grabbed him no problem. He was really biting at the bars today and growling! Usually he barks and whines and digs.

Shelby I tried in IQ again, and she did ok, but still didn't want to go into the tunnel. I don't know what the deal is. She wants to get the rats, and she should be catching on that they are sitting at the end of the tunnel. We got her to do it a couple times, but I'm not going to waste money entering her in IQ next weekend.

Then we did a couple of the fun day activities. Spot did the chuck draw up the tree, but I was disappointed because Spot was obviously into it, and the guy running it, was all, "ok that's enough, he gets it" so we only got to do it a little bit. Other dogs got to jump and try to get it a lot more. Then Shelby did the urban rat hunt, which is a rat in a tube, hidden in a pile of fake trash. Shelby enjoyed it-she got to find it 3 different times, which was nice.

Of course Shelby got to swim. It's good conditioning for agility. She swam for about an hour. She even retrieved a stick. She was playing and rolling in the grass, having a great time. We were lucky that it didn't rain until we were leaving. The forecast was for isolated T storms starting at 10am, then scattered t storms starting at 2pm.

Bay Colony Daschund Club Earthdog Trial-Day Two

On Sunday, I slept in a little bit and arrived at the site around 10:30. Still, Senior didn't start until about 12:30. A few people didn't show up, so there were only 5 of us. Of course, Spot was last. They had changed up the tunnel a bit, and had switched the location of the den and the false exit. Spot just made it to the rats in time after going in and out of the entrance and false exit 2-3 times. I heard the judge say "yes!" when he got to the rats, and when I heard that I figured we were good. Well, for some reason Spot decided to work the false den. The only thing I can think of is that the false den was the actual den the day before, so maybe he was confused. They removed the rats and Spot didn't even notice-he kep working the false den! I called and called, and finally when he stopped for breath, I called again and he came to me. A very weird day. The judge had never seen a dog do that before, so it was a learning experience all around!

There was a camera crew on site, but they weren't filming earthdog. It was a crew filming for Animal Planet. They were filming all the daschunds for a show called Dogs 101. They certainly got a lot of film-there were lots of different colors, coats and sizes.

Bay Colony Daschund Club Earthdog Trial-Day One

Today I arrived in Brimfield around 9:20 to a parking area of dubious suitability. I could see some tire marks in the turf where it seemed someone had already been stuck. However, I had no choice but to enter, so I bravely plowed through the trench to park the Passat. In actuality it was ok, but the ground squished disconcertingly underfoot. I wasn't sure what that foreshadowed for the day ahead.




















I left Shelby at home, knowing that it wouldn't be a super long day. I had to wait for Master to finish, and that took some time, even though there were only 4 braces. Then the judge decided to relax for a bit (the very idea!). Finally they started Senior around 12:15. Spot and I were #14 out of 15, so we didn't get to go until around 1:30. It was agony waiting and waiting. At least the weather and the company were good.

This was our first attemp at Senior at a trial. The judge made a point of saying that once you recall your dog, you may call from the entrance, and once they exit the earth you can go and get them. However, and this is important, you can not call once you go to get them. You can only call from the entrance.

When it was our turn, Spot was ready to go-he almost slipped my hands and passed the markers, which would have sucked. Once I released him he ran directly to the entrance, popped his head in, turned around and looked at me, then went in again. He went directly to the rats and started work. He worked the full 90 seconds, barking and biting and digging. Then they removed the rats. The judge didn't immediately say "call your dog". He waited a minute then gave me a signal. So by that time Spot was already leaving the rats, and I only called once before he was out the false exit. He saw me and wanted to come, but there was brush in the way, so I tried to get him, but realized I couldn't. I saw that Spot was turning around to go back into the tunnel, but knew I couldn't call him from where I was or we wouldn't Q. So I turned and ran back to the entrance, hoping Spot would follow. Once I got back to the entrace I called him again, since you can call as much as you want from there. Spot came and I grabbed him and we Q'd. Yay! I think the judge got a kick out of it, he said "good for you!" Out of 15 dogs, there were 4 Qs.

H-H-H-Hot

Sunday we had earthdog practice in Boxboro. It was a hazy, hot and humid day. It didn't seem too bad when we started at about 10, but it got progressively more oppressive as the day went on. Thank god the sun wasn't full yout, or it would be been over 100 degrees I think.

I treid Shelby in IQ again. Honestly, she doesn't do as well when we train with Nancy-she does better with Gloria. I guess I feel like Nancy rushes. I would have worked her a couple more times. She worked the rats, but hesitates going into the tunnel, so I might contact Carolyn and see if we can do a 30 minute session with her rat.

Spot did well in SE. He went into the tunnel like a rocket-no issues this time with bouncing out. He came out the false exit, but turned right around and went back in and worked the rats the full time. When I did the recall, he was a little slower. He came out the false exit, but because of the layout, I couldn't go around and grab him, so I called him through the tunnel and he came out the exit. I wasn't sure if I could keep calling, but they said yes, you can call as much as you want, and once he's above ground you can go over and grab him. So I have high hopes for next weekend!


In this photo, the person on the right is at the entrance, and the people on the left are at the rats. The tunnel kind of goes straight, then left, then right, then left. :-)

Snugglies

Spot and Shelby both love to sleep under the covers and cuddle. I got a chuckle when I looked over to see Shelby borrowing under the pillows on the couch!

The perils of off leash

Check out this video of a British JRT who was stuck in a pipe for a week after chasing a rabbit.