Well, mixed bag at the trial today.
First, I thought it was 30 minutes away - but it was really an hour and 15 minutes. BAD BAD BAD.
not a good way to start of f:)
They ran the trial 2-3-1 and of course, guess who the last dog in the entire show is in level 1? of course - RAH!
Rah's level 2 run was first - it wasn't a bad course, and we were motoring, he was ON - and I had some concerns in the beginning about the jump placement but the judge said just don't be on top of it. Then I get to the corner - its a recall, right finish, forward, right turn straight into the jump... and I ended up too far directly in front of the jump and I didn't realize how close we were - I tried to send Rah over while at the same time running to the right to get AWAY from the jump (this needs to be a send - you can't run next to the jump with the dog, you have to be 6 feet away and the dog needs to leave you)... and Rah never saw the jump. At all - he jumped the sign and the cone, instead - almost but not quite? I called him back, he saw the jump and took it (reverse doesn't count!) and then I resent him over (third times a charm) and we continued - and it would have been a perfect run.
I think it was a few things - first, 4 of the 6 BIG dogs in the trial missed the jump - Rah, a greyhound, a lab and a golden retriever. NONE of the small dogs missed it. It was also not the regular obedience bar jump, but instead just a white agility PVC jump. I honestly don't think he ever saw the jump, period - there was no black/white standing out when he looked, and it was white PVC - same as the ring gates ahead of him. I think for the dogs jumping the bigger jump heights, the bar of the jump must have been in line with the ring gates maybe? Also, because of the prior signs, I ended up way too close and too far to the left for the jump. I tried sending him to my right, but my body was going to my left to try to get 6 feet from the jump, and clearly that's just ODD.
oh well.
I slept through most of level 3 (or tried to), had lunch, played with the dogs outside on the grass (it was 65!!!) and Berlin's run was first. She was good, pretty up in the ring. First station was a call front, forward right - the station ended up being right in front of the front doors to the building and Berlin and a bunch of other dogs stared at the doors and the people coming in and out 5 feet away - I told her to leave it and she looked back up and me and finished it up (good girl!). Then we got to the married stations -- a sit-walk around dog, a sit-down-sit, and a left pivot. You can share sits with all of these, so I did. Berlin is funny because for some reason the ONLY time she ever does a straight curl is when I tell her to down from a sit. EVERY other time, she sphynx's -- and it means that when she comes back into the sit, she's slightly crooked. Today, it was a little more crooked, and silly me instead of fixing it before trying the pivot, I just went on with my bad self and her pivot SUCKED (as did my footwork). the rest went just fine, and she rocked her bonus (lateral fronts). 207!
Rah's run - same course, level 1- he was last. He was on, he was perfect, 210. Not much can be said because I didn't feel anything wrong - he bumped me a bit on the inside spiral the first time, but he he responded to my verbal cue to back up.
Then, of course - Rah is last in the class - but Berlin is in a run off!!!!!!! three dogs tied with 209's, and three of us tied with 207's! so I throw him in the crate and get her out and get her going - she's jumping, barking, tugging, I start working some positions with her and get her into the ring and she was great.
She won the run off for 4th place to finish her RL1 (woohoo!), and Rah won the 1B class with his perfect score.
The judge came up to me afterwards before the pinning of the classes and commented on Rah - she said he's such a joy to watch because he's a machine in the ring, he just works his heart out and he's doing it with such joy, she says if I find another one like him let her know because she wants one! That's how I knew Rah had taken the class :)
Anyway, Berlin finished her title but Rah did not - but I'm sorta not sad for a very silly reason - the ARCHX and RL2X ribbons were TINY! like, regular ribbons, not the long, spectacular, glorified ribbons of a CH title that they usually are! So, I'm happy we didn't finish there...
now to find more trials. And to start working more on the moving stand so I can enter him in damned level 3 again and start working on his EX!!!!
I promised Roo she wouldn't have to show again for awhile...
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