Today I was tired. I didn't want to get up. I even went back to bed after feeding the dogs and contemplated scratching today. Except I paid good money to go and I had all my stuff at the fairgrounds. Crap. After stopping and grabbing some coffee and breakfast then fueling the truck, we made it through Portland and Vancouver to the Clark County Fairgrounds about five minutes to 9. Being the second day we didn't have to haul a bunch of stuff in which was nice. They were running small to tall today so I knew we had plenty of time. After checking in with everyone, assessing where we were at in the schedule of classes and run order, I decided to take the dogs out for a little jaunt. We've walked a few places near the arena, but not too far. Today we ventured up the hill into the field areas surrounding the entrance to the Clark County Amphitheater. Bordering the fields are some natural area barriers so we couldn't venture off the beaten track. We made due and the dogs had a good time until it started warming up. Romping and sunshine do not mix well.
I intentionally brought my camera along in hopes of spending some time playing with the settings and getting the dogs out. Plus, Leo participates in 52 Weeks for Dogs and I still needed this week's shot.
Every time we've trialed at this location we've heard the remote airplanes flying but never gone over and checked this out. Turns out they have a big fly-in over where we were walking. They had quite the set up with a huge row of pop-ups and quite a few people and vehicles. Dozens of planes were flying. I tried to capture a few as they buzzed over our heads.
After we romped a bit we went and rested in this weekend's version of Camp Vegas.
Thought this was funny...caught mid-yawn
Watering station
Standard was again our first run of the day although not until after noon. JWW was last around 3 pm. The temperature probably didn't go beyond about 72 degrees or so but with the clear skies, metal roofed building, and lack of air flow it seemed warmer and the builder certainly was warmer than outside. Vegas was wearing her cool coat after I soaked her with the hose. She was none too thrilled out that happening nor was she thrilled about wearing the coat, but it certainly helped to cool her body. And when I took it off, it had the extra added benefit of her getting amped up and silly.
Standard
With the exception of long, curved tunnels, the course was really nice! I planned to run up the left side of the 2-4 sequence and then send Vegas into the tunnel. As you'll be able to see, in the video there wasn't much sending. She took herself there very happily! I walked the weaves to the table and beyond from both the right side and the off side. It seemed to make more sense to stay on the off side so that's what I did. From there I had originally planned to bring Vegas over the #9 jump in a wrap back toward the table to take #10. My thought was that by pulling her in on the wrap it gave her a straighter shot to the next obstacle. Unfortunately it also looks directly at the #2/17 jump. Bad idea. I watched a handler send their dog in a "flip" toward the wall and that seemed like a much better line for 10-12 than did my original assessment. The 20" class was having some difficulty with dogs taking the triple as an off course when the obstacle in line to take was the a-frame. From there I had planned on turning using the "flip" move at the panel to turn to the teeter. She swung a little wide but nothing super out of the ordinary for a giant. I was pleased with her speed through the chute - she's been notoriously slow lately - and the next section was to avoid the tunnel suck. I wasn't giving it any opportunity to grab her. Interestingly, what happened caught me completely off guard and nobody really had any explanations for it other than, "Well, it happened to a couple of dogs." Fortunately it didn't cost us a Q; it just cost me precious moments of my life as I panicked over a back jump. She swung toward the tunnel after #17 instead of toward the #18 jump. Strange. But all was well. She finished in 59.09. SCT was 71 seconds. The yardage was 195, I believe. We finished #14 out of 22. That a lone was worth crowing over since we used to be the last of the qualifiers.
JWW
Jumpers wasn't as far off as I thought it would be. They were handling things pretty efficiently and the entry was a bit smaller for Sunday.
This course was a tad bit trickier than the JWW course of Saturday and certainly not as big dog friendly. Of course sometimes in the past non-big dog friendly courses helped us out since we may move more slowly but that helps to avoid off courses. With no lead out I had to play my entrance well and make sure I was in place but not rush things causing Vegas to rush to catch up and subsequently knock bars. To complete crosses I definitely needed to be in place for sure or handle from the side/rear. In this case I planned a front cross after #3 and then to push to #4, pull to #5, and flip to #6. All went well but certainly could have been a little smoother. I then worked from the inside until #9 where I front-crossed. I wanted to be in position when Vegas went over the #9 jump to call her to the left side of the tunnel. I ended up calling her too late - after she had homed in on the right side - and almost blew it. Fortunately the judge was being quite forgiving with refusals (Similar moves had happened on many of the runs...) and she kept her momentum moving toward the correct end so that she didn't actually cross the plane. Saved and into the left end of the tunnel.
My biggest fear in this course was the weaves. Into the wall is not her favorite way to weave and I feared I would lose her at pole 10 or so. She did it! At that point I just worked it from behind and beside her as a push and pull kind of like a serpentine on the final jumps with a flip out to #19. We finished in 43 seconds plus change. SCT was 40. She wasn't moving her fastest but she wasn't moving slow. Not sure what's up with that but quite a few people had the same thought. It's pretty unusual to have high numbers of clean runs that run out of time. Turns out the judge re-wheeled the course and it added a single second. So 41 SCT put us over by two seconds and change. *sigh* So no double-Q for Sunday. Darnit. Oh well; she ran the course well, was happy, and performed things I didn't expect her to. We can't win em' all.
We loaded up most of our stuff then while waiting for scores, times, etc. Then it was off to visit our friends at Oregon Pet Supply to stock up on bully sticks (They have 6" sticks for just $2!) before heading home. We were tired and I wanted nothing but to chill on my couch. Of course we got stuck in a bridge lift again...
Then instead of stopping for regular vanilla ice cream for Vegas' post-trial treat I decided to pick up the dog kind from a local pet store I had never visited. It's called Nature's Pet Market and we got peanut butter and honey flavored Sweet Spots Frozen Treat for Dogs. At first she wasn't so sure about it (whereas Leo grabbed his spoonful and ran) but quickly got the idea that it was good stuff. After a raw bone and a nap then dinner, she slept well and is back to her normal self today. Thank goodness for quick recovery times and happy pups.
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