Evergreen Golden Retriever Club AKC Agility Trial, Day 2 (Trial 4 of 5)

Today we ran tall to small and were supposed to have started right away at 8am with Excellent Standard in one ring. It turns out the trial got booked enough that one judge would have exceeded the maximum number of runs to judge in one day. So, Excellent Fast ran first judged by Craig Josling and then we got started. We probably ran right around 9am. The course was nice although quite a few zigzags that presented almost obstacle discrimination type challenges. The maps are a little rough. I had to take pictures of them with my BlackBerry because a bird pooped on my map.

I was really pleased to see the way Vegas started the dog walk...actually the entire thing was pretty fast for her, at least especially compared to lately. I wasn't sure what caused her to not take the weaves at first until I reviewed the video. At best I think I must be crowding her. I was fairly close to the weaves and I think I need to trust her and stay back more. As you can see from the video after, she did really well getting through them and continually picks up more speed. The rest was pretty simple. She could definitely be faster on her sit on the table...that costs us an extra two seconds or so each course. Inevitably tomorrow will be a down...hopefully she can be cooperative and not cost time. I like her consistent pace as she runs. She's not slowing down and lolly-gagging. She's steady, solid, and energetic. All in all, a good run.

Then we got to hurry up and wait. I had Leo out for quite a while since he was not happy being crated. He is starting to build a fan club of his own. We walked around, ran some, chatted with people, browsed at the vendors, and watched the goings-on to do with the Golden Retriever specialty. All in all, it was pretty boring between runs as it was rainy, wet, and gross outside. Both dogs were getting wet, muddy, and stinky.

When Jumpers was finally set, I was fairly pleased with the course. It looked completely doable. In fact, it was. Here is the part where I get highly peeved. Somebody not only had treats on their pocket while walking the ring, they managed to drop one on the ground!!! What would be the likelihood the tallest dog running the course would find it? You got it. Ugg! I was so irritated. We started off well and she was moving at a nice speed just like her standard run. I made a front cross just beyond the #6 jump and looked straight at Vegas with her head down right in front of the jump. I called her and she looked up, chomped like she was chewing, and we continued through the course flawlessly. OMG, there was a treat down there!!!! Talk about frustrating, especially since we finished with two plus seconds to spare which could have been three or more had she not gotten distracted by food!!!!!

Needless to say, I was pretty peeved and still am. Maybe I need to scream into my pillows for a couple minutes to get it out of my system. Damn because that cost us points we need!!!!!

On an agility note but unrelated to the trial, I was super excited today to pick up my order of 2x2 weaves from Agility A Go-Go. Now I'll be able to start working on Susan Garrett's weave pole strategies with Leo. Yay! Plus, 3 C's Dog Show & Grooming Supplies was there and I got an exercise pen mat of my own finally. Double yay!