negligent

i feel really bad that i havent updated this more. life seems to have gotten in the way - ive got my finger in too many pies, and worse than that - so many of the people im associating with are never happy it seems and it frustrates me to no end.

classes are screwed up - i am still without an agility class and i dont know what to do. attempts to get my old trainer back seem to not be working. and my attempt to get a new trainer in was remarkably full of fail as it imploded 2 weeks before we were set to start class.

so im still looking for a class. the problem being that my first priority is rah's UD, so i need to schedule class around when he's in class. and i work insane hours. and i cant travel that far because of those two things. and im picky and want a certain type of trainer - im not looking for run throughs, i want someone that will FORCE me to be a better trainer. i want to be a good handler- not just a "q" handler.

so, berlin is still out of class - great time to start trialing your dog, right? she has one NA leg from the williamsport trial, and this past weekend we showed one day at dream park.

it was a nice site and i will definitely be showing there again - and it was great to meet amy and layla and her brother - nice to see other familiar faces too!

unfortunately all the niceness doesn't mean we got any Q's -

our first run was FAST - our first time ever in the class and i still dont know the rules. in fact (as later reports will show) i dont really seem to know the rules period in some instances so i cost us Q's. ha ha. not.

so FAST - berlin did well. blazingly fast, she ran the course in 19 seconds. and that speed involved not a single contact, at all. she kinda hesitated at the aframe but decided to just blast ahead. and then the send - the fateful teeter. berlin ran and ran and ran right off the teeter. UNSAFE TEETER EXIT. fail. she swears she touched the yellow, it just happened to be in the air. split second decision i opted to not mark the teeter failure and the truth is, we were both trucking - she had a head of steam and well, im a fat girl running as fast as she can so inertia was simply carrying us over those last two jumps :)



standard was next - it was a close quarters run for a dog that moves. it was broad jump right into weaves and she blew past the poles - circled her and she went in, we moved and she hit all her contacts, and even did a nice sloooow teeter (she's like, wait last time you said bang it the world fell out from under me)... and then i was so concerned about her getting the right end of the tunnel (We all know she's a huge tunnel suck) i was pushing so hard i pushed her right around the tire (obstacle before the tunnel. she went past and went through the tunnel and i decided to just run the rest of the class and she nailed everything else.

apparently the heartbreak is that had i brought her back and gotten her through the tire and continued on, we would have q'd. good thing to know, huh?

BAD HANDLER.

JWW - this class will be our nemesis because its built for speed. im not sure i have enough handling control over her for this speed :) the problem started with my failure to execute an effective lead out pivot because berlin failed to hold a start line stay :) so extra bonus tunnel! get her back through the jumps and we needed a second time through the weaves to hit the entrance again (off sides, too much speed, we need to work collection) and i EVEN MANAGED TO PULL HER OFF THE TUNNEL. but no go because of that damned off course tunnel.

so, it was good - no q's but im happy. she is fast. too fast for me. if i can get her pointed in the right direction she easily runs over 5 yps at her slowest. but we need more attention to details and she's very sensitive to certain things (and not to others, thanksverymuchberlin i definitely said STAY)


anyway, rahs doing utility still - in salisbury MD (ill make a post about that since i have lots of videos) we failed go outs in pretty much every trial. i was frustrated and told my trainer i wasnt sure he was marking his stanchion. she turned and said at his level, he shouldnt need to see a stanchion - while he is given a verbal mark, he should know to run away. so she had to illustrate that point to my dubious mind...

80 foot go outs to nothing but a blank white wall? yeah, rah did it, and did it perfectly. 80 foot go outs to all the agility equipment but again, no stanchion? yeah again perfectly. STRAIGHT< sat on a time dead center and was fast.

so the end result is my dog is a dick.


his other bugaboo is still his signals - i need to get him to stop moving. period. he's now got his electronic collar on for this exercise. he needed the collar to clarify that when i leave you for sits/downs that a stay is a stay is a stay - so we are using it similarly for signals. just STOP MOVING RAH ITS BEING STILL FOR 10 SECONDS.

utility will be the death of me.

berlin is showing again this weekend in NY (ill see layla there too, with her handler amy!) and then we're done until january i think - i may enter rah in utility at one trial, and he's entered the first weekend of feb as well in DE. i need to look at what trials to put berlin in and dream park has about 12123123123 in feb.

i was going to take mercury out in open for lydia, but hes out of commission (obviously) for about 2 months - then we will be back in open and finishing his CDX! i told lydia she has to show berlin in agility then!

so thats me. i will try to get more videos and more posts.