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My name is Penny & I'm an agility addict

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Exciting times


Well, it seems that everything happens at once!
Critter had her puppies on Fri evening... she had 2 boys, but one was stillborn.. poor little guy.
The other pup is black & white & actually looks a lot like Bizzie. This is Critter's first litter & she is being a great mommy.




We also had a one day trial on Saturday.
Bizzie had an off course in Steeplechase, my fault, (again..) cause I blind crossed after a tunnel, but I was too late (had a brain fart) so it confused her & she took an off course. I still need to work on her start lines, they're not as good as they should be. She earned an Adv Jumpers Q with a pretty nice run. In snooker, she decided to pick her own course, so that didn't work too well.

Blast ran the Steeplechase pretty well but took an off course jump, I think I didn't rotate soon enough to pull him into the closer jump. He also sniffed at the weave pole entry... We got zero points in snooker since he took a tunnel instead of the red jump, and he doesn't even really like tunnels!
I was disappointed in our jumpers run... it seems that if I rear cross close to the edge of the arena, he leaves to sniff.... need to stay ahead of him & do more front crosses....
Boo had a couple of really good runs (2/3 Q's) - he was pretty fast & had some nice moments (other than the stupid Snooker where I sent him over the wrong jump!) I had 3 tries at that Snooker & didn't get any of them! LOL!

I like the one day trials, sometimes it's nice just to do 2 or 3 runs, especially when you're running 3 dogs...

Monday, April 12, 2010

Agility Trial weekend

Wow, what a busy weekend. This was the first trial that I entered all 3 of my dogs in an entire trial. I also ended up stepping into a trial secretary role (which I've never done before).
At the same time, I was waiting for the birth of my third grandchild, so I really had a lot on my mind!

The trial was great - we had lots of help & it really does make you feel good when people step up to help out just cause they're good people. Thanks to all of you who did that!

The dogs had some great moments & some "dog" moments.
Boo ended up with a Challenge Q and a Masters Gamble Q (his first one in a while)
He wasn't running super fast, & the course times were really tight, so he had a couple of time faults. I haven't practiced a lot with him lately, & he's so different to run than my other two, so our timing is off. I need to get some practice in with him.

Blast had a pretty good weekend - he got his last Adv Std Q, so he's now in Masters Standard, and he got a Masters Snooker Q. His other runs were pretty good, but I still lose him if I take my eye off him for a second! Once again we didn't get the Adv Jumpers due to my handling! GRRR!

Bizzie had a beautiful Adv Gamble & got the Q - pretty good for a dog who hasn't done any distance work really. Her other runs were fast, but had quite a few off courses.... have to put her on a tunnel diet. Again, our timing is off... on the plus side, her start lines were much better.

OH, and yes I am a grandma again - Mya Elizabeth was born this morning & all is well with both mom & baby!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

It's only a Game!

We did the one day TT trial in Olds yesterday.
There were some wonderful moments & some not so wonderful moments...

I ran Boo in Gamblers & he had a pretty nice opening, but I didn't move fast enough in the final gamble, so he didn't get it. Lorelei ran him in the other runs & did a great job. She did get lost at the end of the steeplechase or they would have Q'd, and she' Q'd the Masters Jumpers.. pretty good for a novice handler with a rent-a-dog!

Blast was pretty sniffy - a new arena with lots of horse smells. He Q'd the Steeplechase round. He also Q'd the Adv Jumpers, which we have been trying to get for a long time, but, alas, the timer didn't work & we had to re-run. Of course he missed a jump the second time around so we didn't get that elusive Q. I'm pretty embarrassed that I got upset since it really is just a game & the dog doesn't know any different. It's just so hard to qualify with Blast, he's a difficult dog to run & we're just starting to get it together.

Bizzie was "Bizzie Bad Girl" this weekend. Since I've been playing a lot more with her on her own, she seems to be cheekier than ever! She was the entertainment in the Standard round, taking quite a few extra obstacles & generally blowing me off. She had a beautiful Adv Snooker run which she Q'd, so she's now in Masters Snooker. Our Adv jumpers run was just after I finished running Blast twice & I don't know if she felt my frustration, but she was a little devil on the startline & wouldn't listen at all, so I picked her up & she didn't get to run.. don't know if it will have any impact on her but it was worth a try.

Cactus had her usual weekend with Wayne, but he's been working her contacts at home with a hoop, & he probably should have pulled her from the events with contacts since she still did her usual swan dive off the Aframe.

The exciting news of the weekend was that Wayne won a set of 24" weave poles made & donated by Randy Turner!

Next weekend is the Paws N Effect trial, so we'll see how that goes! I'm still trying to decide if I should enter Bizzie or Blast in Regionals... so far it's not looking so good!