The trial this weekend is just a games trial. They are doing it in a very interesting way. It is a two ring trial. So they set up a Tunnelers course in each ring and divided the competitors into two groups - A & B. Group A ran one course while group B ran a different Tunnelers course in the other ring. Then when each group was done they switched rings. That way there were no conflicts and there were fewer course changes. Scores weren't posted until both groups had done each course. It was a great system.
I really like this club as they put on great trials. They reward the workers well with lunch coupons and coupons for money off future trials. In addition they have a hospitality tent for all exhibitors that is extremely well stocked all day long. They even have cheese sticks for the dogs!
The trial committee does a great job every time. And many of their members have become really good friends of ours. And another fun thing is that there are always a lot of border terriers there so it's fun to watch each of them run and imagine what Boogie will be like. What I've discovered is that he's going to sniff the ground while running. I guess I shouldn't be surprised - that's all he does now when we walk around! Okay, on to the trial.
All three dogs ran really well today - but had varied results. Sparkie was really fast and was running really well. But the last couple days her IBD has really flared up and she's been very ill. Today she was running a Weavers run probably the best I've ever seen her do. She was half way through the last set of weaves with only one tunnel left to finish the course when she suddenly popped out of the weaves and acted all scared. She was having a tummy cramp. Poor Sparkie - she was running so well. In each of the Touch N Go runs she ran well but just missed a contact. She ended up with a very respectable 3/6.
Wazzu was only entered in four of the six runs each day this weekend. And since it was cool today she was pretty happy. But she was a little stinker! She always wants to be right so she always goes exactly where she thinks I'm telling her to go. But today she was downright defiant. I was clearly telling her where to go and she just put on her blinders and went where she wanted to go! What a silly Wazzu. I thought it was fun to see her actually go out and just do what she felt like doing. I made her think she was a really funny girl and that she had really pulled one over one me. That made her even sillier. How fun! So she ended up going 2/4.
Slugger must have eaten some rocket fuel as he was really fast today. His little head was bopping up and down and his poor little feet were just going every which way. And he is actually looking for the next obstacle to do. And just as exciting is that he is listening to Mike and trying to go to the correct place. Today he did all of those things. He was so great today! However, there was one little hiccup. At one spot on the course he would stop and look and just stare off to the tents. We couldn't figure out what he was looking at but he did it every single run at the same spot. He'd just stand perfectly still and stare for a good five to ten seconds! You have to run really fast the rest of the time to overcome that. So that shows you how fast he was really running the rest of the time. In Weavers he was only .58 over time! And in Elite Tunnelers he was 1.09 over time. In Touch N Go he made time and came in 1st - even with a stare down with some invisible thing. Slugger ended up 1/3 but we were so proud of his effort today. He's getting back to pre-surgery form. That's very exciting for us.
Boogie just had fun sniffing every inch of the park. To be fair he did pay attention when I tried to get him to practice a tiny bit of Rally. He was very focused when we practiced his weaves and a jump. He's actually a very good boy on these days where he really doesn't get all that much attention. His favorite thing, other than cleaning the grounds, is sitting in the dashboard awaiting our return upon which he barks nonstop for almost ever it seems!
Sunday morning was chilly but it warmed up much more quickly than yesterday. That's not good for two of our dogs. Slugger ran really fast and didn't even do his staring routine on his first run of the day. It wasn't an easy course by any means and Slugger did great....but somehow he was called for a contact. Well bummer - but it's okay as we were just so pleased with how he ran. His next two runs he didn't stop either - progress! But he was much slower. He had a long break between his first and second run so he was still in nap mode when it was time to run. Unfortunately he didn't make time in the afternoon. He was still trying though - just more slowly.
Sparkie doesn't care about the temperature. Any day is a good day for agility. As usual she was running fast and trying really hard. In fact, she was perfect - she went right where Mike told her to go on every run. One Touch N Go run was very tricky. Sparkie was going to the correct place but, as can easily happen, Mike moved a flash too soon and pulled Sparkie off course. But the rest of their day was a thing of beauty. Sparkie ended up going 5/6 and placing right at top against some very strong competition. Some of the top contenders at the Championships are from this area so each run is very competitive.
Wazzu wasn't quite as excited as yesterday which I guess meant that she'd do my courses instead of making up her own. She was having fun on each run though - especially on one Tunnelers run. There was a sharp turn away from a tunnel they were headed straight at very fast. I wasn't fast enough to do a front cross so I did a blind cross and ran just as fast as I could while calling Wazzu. She came out of the tunnel and saw me running away really fast so she just started chasing me. She ran right by the tunnel and started running with me. What a silly girl - she thought it was very funny. I was laughing too which made her even sillier. We fixed our error in plenty of time and ended up going 4/4 today.
We had a great weekend with the nice afternoon temperatures in the high 60's and full sun. Many great dogs and really nice people. Interesting courses and fierce (but very friendly) competition. Just a great weekend all around.
The minute our last run ended we pulled out and made a beeline to Tucson arriving just in time to see the Survivor finale and football. The best thing about this RV park is that they have free high speed internet - which means I can actually do a post easily and timely!
High speed is good for both internet and agility dogs!
Debbie
12/15-16/07
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