our first agility trial... the recap

so, we had our first agility trial this weekend. percentage wise it was probably our worst showing ever in terms of wins, q's, placements - but it was probably the most fun we've had ever!!!!

i want to start out by saying how much i love my trainer - she's the one that encouraged me to do this, and she's really been a huge help in dealing with both dogs - not just in agility, but obedience as well - and drive capping, drive building, and just the relationship with my dogs. she can see when i get hectic with rah, when i get too hard on berlin. the walkers have done so much with me in obedience - i just cannot say how much i love my trainers enough!!!

so, this weekend was the trial. lydia woke up early and drove my truck with the dogs down to the trial since jumpers was SUPPOSED to go first in the am, but they ended up changing order since we actually only had one ring... so i got to work, and still made it to the trial in time to run my own dogs. poor lydia was up at 6 am, and i ran them at 4 pm :)

berlin was first in the ring, and i was so nervous. unfortunately, berlin decided on sat that she couldnt hold a start line stay - the course was not that complex, had a pinwheel with two crosses ... started out with three in a row but i didnt get much past the first jump when she went - i wasn't ready, and she had no commitment to the line... instead of driving her, i gave her no cues at all and she ended up taking a huge loop after the second jump and surveying the ring for a few seconds...

im proud of me though, i didnt get hectic - i called her back, she flung herself onto my right side and i sent her over the second jump and we were off... she was FLYING and she looked amazing - so fast in fact i had to change my game plan in the middle of the run and do both rear crosses with her, since i couldnt get in front of her she was driving so far ahead! she did marvelously and ran clean the rest of the course, but unfortunately she was over course time. nadac is all about the speed apparently!!!!!

rah was last in the class - he held a three jump SLS (YAY RAY!) and he took the first 6 jumps perfectly - then mom screwed up and i crossed him at the wrong jump and actually stopped pushing him and driving him - so he started to spin next to me until i sent him over the jump - he regrouped and except for a few more screwed up cues from me (that resulted in his BC like spinning until he understood where to go), he actually also ran clean... but was 2 seconds over course time due to wasted spins :)

so, they both ran clean - it was nice! just no q's...

tunnelers was next, and berlin went first again - she had a SMOKING run but right before the end, mom was dumb and shot her into the wrong tunnel... she stepped in and came right back out, finished the course well under course time, but off course.

rah - at this point we were both fried. my cues were all over, i was running my ass off to keep up with him and it was disastrous :) i think he took every tunnel about 12 times. i couldnt help but laugh - it was all me.

so that was our first day - i was so proud. i dont think ive ever been so proud to nq on all my runs :) the dogs ran outside!!!! (you know how much i hate to show outside and how crazy distractable rah can be with the critters) and they never even once thought about leaving me in the ring. berlin ignored ALL the people in the ring and focused on her job at hand - no barking at anyone even when they came too close to get her leash!!!!! focus on me and the job at hand. and they ran WITHOUT COLLARS!!! and berlin ran IN THE RAIN.

if you had told me earlier this year, my dogs would be running agility completely naked outside in the rain, i would have thought you were on crack.

sunday was a new day - didnt end up running until later, but i didnt get there until 9:30. and berlin's breeder came out to see us for the day (and be my bucket bitch, handling dogs and holding/taping... LOVE HER!) -

tunnelers - berlin held a one tunnel lead out!! and she would have totally q'd had mom not been so concerned about tunnel end discrimination that she sent her around a tunnel, and then when she did it right, forgot to cross her so i literally threw her into the wrong tunnel turning... UGH! rest of it was beautiful and fast.

rah was MUCH better, but we had problems at the same tunnel berlin had... but we managed to run clean and fast until the last tunnel when i dropped my arm assuming he was going into the tunnel... we know what happens when you assume... we were 2 seconds over time again!

jumpers was crazy and berlin blew her stay - but RAH got a Q!!!! a real life, agility q!!!!!!!!

im so proud of him!!! videos to follow...