The Weekend Report - We are Qualified!

This past weekend was an agility trial given by the Blue Ridge Dog Training Club. This was a one ring trial which usually means a very long day. However they arrange the running order nicely so the Novice and Open classes go first in both Standard and Jumpers. That way the beginner dogs are finished before the Excellent/Masters dogs even start. No getting up at 5AM for this trial! Woohoo! I arrived at 10 on Saturday and 11 on Sunday and I was still had plenty of time to settle in.

Saturday was a great day for us! Jimmy qualified in both of his runs so it was Double-Q #7 toward his PACH#2. Even better, the 30 points we earned in our Standard run was enough to push us over the total needed to qualify for next year's National Championship! Woohoo!!!!! I knew we would get there, but it is very nice to be all set this early in the year. We had until November 30th to meet the requirements, so we are done in plenty of time!

I was lazy about my video camera so I am afraid this will be a rather dull post. Here are Saturday's maps. The trickiest part of our Standard run (blue map) was where you see the two tunnels underneath the dogwalk on the right side of the map. The dogs ran across the dogwalk to a left turn into the tunnel, and then they needed to go into the far end of the 2nd tunnel. I can't beat Jimmy to the end of a tunnel placed like that, he's faster than I am! So steering him into the correct end of the next tunnel was not pretty but we got it done without a refusal called.

I guess I used up all my good karma on Saturday, and on Sunday we had no success at all! That hasn't happened in a while, but since I was still riding on the buzz of qualifying for the NAC, it was not a big deal. Here are Sunday's maps. In our Standard run (yellow map), Jimmy taking the wrong end of a tunnel ended our Q. If you look at the top of the map, you see a tunnel, then the dogwalk, then another tunnel. On that 2nd tunnel, the dog must enter the end further from where the dogwalk comes down. Of course, as the dogs run down the slope of the dogwalk, they often "lock on" to the tunnel end that is staring them in the face. For us, the contact zone at the bottom of the dogwalk is always a challenge, especially when a tempting tunnel is nearby. I knew I would have to get Jimmy's attention as he exited the dogwalk to keep him from just barrelling into the wrong end. But I also needed to be sure I didn't cause him to blow his contact. Amazingly, I did manage to get his attention and turn him toward the other (correct) end. But in his little doggy brain, he was already positive it should be the other (wrong) end. Even though I had him turned, we did a bit of a jig together, Jimmy trying to dodge through my legs to get to the wrong end,. Unfortunately he was successful, and darted past me to disqualify us. It is said that it is always the handler's fault, but for this one it was all on Jimmy! I just laughed. The rest of the run was clean, of course! In Jumpers it was the handler's fault! I didn't do a good job lining Jimmy up for the weave pole entrance and he went in at the 2nd pole. Totally on me!

Since I don't like a post without pictures, I have this.....A lot of the clubs give out dog toys as part of the perks for entering their trial. You never know what will be in the mix they put out. Going for its uniqueness, I chose this. There has to be a Hump Day joke in there somewhere!

AKC Nationals 2017: Perry, GA
Double-Q's: 10 (out of 7 needed)
Points: 573 (out of 550 needed) We qualified on 07/09/2016 !!!

Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress:
Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016

QQ#20: 
Masters JWW legs: 43...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15
Masters STD legs: 40...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 10/11/15
Double Q's: 7 (out of 20 needed)
PACH Points: 792 (We are starting with all the points we need, so I'm not even going to track them!)

The Weekend Report: Jimmy Was on Fire!

This weekend was another agility trial given by the Potomac Valley Golden Retrieve Club. Jimmy definitely had his game on, as we qualified in all four runs with all 1st places! That hasn't happened since last October. We had great judges who designed fun, fast courses.

I had both my Standard runs caught on camera.

This is Saturday's:




And, for Sunday, first the map. This was a very challenging course with many places to lose your dog to an off-course obstacle. It was closely spaced and was especially hard for the bigger dogs with their longer strides. The two worst spots were Jump #11 to Table #12, and the Weave Poles #14 to Jump #15 which was actually a backside.

Here's Jimmy doing a great job on a tough course:

AKC Nationals 2017: Perry, GA
Double-Q's: 9 (out of 7 needed)
Points: 524 (out of 550 needed)

Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress:
Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016

QQ#20: 
Masters JWW legs: 42...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15
Masters STD legs: 39...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 10/11/15
Double Q's: 6 (out of 20 needed)
PACH Points: 792 (We are starting with all the points we need, so I'm not even going to track them!)

Jimmy Update

I thought I'd give an update on where Jimmy is with his injury. We had good news. He's doing great and the chiro vet felt it was only a mild strain. She said I should rest him a couple more weeks and then it should be OK to try agility again. Walks are fine and maybe try to get a bit of weight off of him! Holy Moly, I've never had a chubby dog before! Shame on me....I'll blame it on the winter ;-)

I have a few cute photos to share from our oh, so short weekend at the beach....

So this weekend is the AKC National Agility Championship (NAC) down in Tulsa, OK. That's a very long drive from me (like 20 plus hours) and with a new job I just couldn't take that much time off. I did sign up for it on the off chance it worked out but alas I must be content with the live-stream on the AKC website.

To ward off a case of the blues from not going, I signed up for a local trial this weekend. With Jimmy's injury, I could not attend that one either. Talk about burning through some serious entry fee money! These events have a closing date, and if you don't pull your entry before that date, there are no refunds. C'est la vie! But, hey, here's Jimmy's name on the roster at the NAC, proof that we got in!

Plus, all that really matters is that Jimmy will be OK and is well on his way to being healed! Yay!

This Picture is Begging for a Caption!

Here's a photo from the NAC competition. Jimmy's expression cracks me up! Click to enlarge for the full view and then please leave your best caption in the comments....(Photo credit goes to Great Dane Photos, all rights reserved.)

Have a great weekend, Everyone!