Bad Energy

Agility trials are stressful places.  People often forget basic manners because they are so focused on what they're doing with their dog.  In my experience, it's not uncommon for someone to walk away mid-conversation, let a door slam on someone behind them, or cut the line while waiting for course maps or armband stickers.  Some of it is pure rudeness, and some of it is the result of inattention and stress.

A certain level of crazy is to be expected at an agility trial, and to get mad at all of the things I've mentioned above would leave a person in a full-out rage at any trial they attended.  However, this past weekend totally exceeded any level of bad energy that I've encountered thus far.  It was one of those weekends that left me feeling really discouraged and disillusioned with agility. And I HATE when that happens.

Every year, this trial has been a particularly noisy, close-quartered trial. I knew that when I entered, but because I had been there before (and Marge had run successfully there before), I thought nothing of entering. This year, however, it seemed infinitely worse.  It started in the parking lot (where there are barely enough spots for the number of cars at a 990-run agility trial), continued to the crating room (where people took up extra space by laying down more mats than they needed to), and reached its peak near the rings.

There were some administrative issues with the trial -- people being entered in the wrong classes, stewards using the wrong gate sheets for a class -- and I think it made people go crazy.  There was so much rudeness and franticness that it made the trial very unpleasant.

The dogs definitely felt it.  I saw dogs that hardly ever have any major issues really crash and burn in the ring.  My own dog was not immune to it, either, though I think that at least some of her issues were caused by me getting miffed about all of the craze around me rather than worrying about handling her.

Our first Jumpers run we really blew.  My handling was poor and she was high as a kite.  The Jumpers ring seemed to be the epicenter of all of the commotion.  I didn't think much would faze Marge, given the fact that the ring is comprised of walls on 3 sides, but I was wrong.

Our second run, Standard, we qualified for 17 points.  It was actually quite a nice run.  17 points is our new high total for MACH points in a single run, so I was really happy with that.

The next day, our Jumpers run was one of the worst we've had in a while.  Someone snapped at me prior to my walkthrough and I was really angry about it.  For a few seconds, I thought about confronting the person but I decided it wasn't worth it.  When I got in to the ring, it started out well enough, but then I didn't call Marge enough on a turn, so she took an off course.  Then I FORGOT the course, which led to more off courses, and finally, she took more straight lines instead of making turns. It was bad and it felt horrible.

Our Standard run was a bit more of the same.. it started out very well, but a hard line after the chute to the weave poles did us in.  Then, she sorta semi bailed on the teeter, though I don't think the judge called it. Then, I gave up, which lead to another off course.

I'm upset that the environment was what it was and I'm upset that I let it get to me.  I need to learn to worry only about having fun with my dog and tune everything else out.

We have one more trial next weekend, then we're taking a break from trialing for about a month.  I'm really looking forward to it.  We didn't really have any long breaks this year.. we didn't trial every weekend, but we trialed at least a couple weekends out of every month.

I'm also just about giving up on our goal of qualifying for Nationals.  With under 200 points out of 500 needed, school starting in 2 weeks, and only a few months left in the qualifying period, it just doesn't seem realistic.  I don't have the money, the energy, nor the desire to trial every weekend with Marge.. and I'm not sure she desires to trial every weekend, either. So, I think it's time to alter our goals some and just think about getting that MACH and having fun at our own pace.

Over all, Marge has 8 QQ's, 15 Masters Standard legs, 25 Masters Jumpers legs, and 365 MACH points.  We're getting almost to the halfway point.. so that's pretty cool!

Here are Marge and Arrow with their ribbons for the weekend.  Arrow had a really nice Jumpers Q on Sunday.

Master

It took nineteen tries before we qualified in Excellent Standard.

It was always something... usually a teeter bail or table refusal, but occasionally it was something completely random, like a bar down or missed contact.

Then, after that long dry spell, Marge earned her AX title in November 2011 with three straight Q's.  Then began her Excellent B/Masters Standard career.

And finally, though we've been plagued with many of the same issues - she still hates that damn teeter - Marge earned her MX this Sunday in a 16-point run at my dog club's agility trial.

Her best buddy Spirit also earned her MX on the very same day.  We had the two girls pose together with their pretty giant ribbons.

Not much else of note happened the rest of the weekend.  Marge picked up 12 points in a Jumpers run, but all of our other runs were NQs.  The courses were very hard.. a couple of them almost too hard, if you ask me.  That, coupled with a few communication issues between Marge and I, put us in to a slump for the weekend.  
But, we still had tons of fun.  Marge hung out with her friends and got to play agility.  And that's what matters most!
Our new totals: 6 QQ's, 263 MACH Points, 10 MX legs, 20 MXJ legs.  For 2014 Nationals, we have 2/4 QQ's, 8/20 total Q's, and 96/500 MACH points.
We're taking a couple of weeks off (including no agility at all, not even class, this week), before gearing up for FIVE weekends straight of agility starting on Memorial Day weekend.  It's the most agility we've ever done, but I think Marge can handle it.  It'll be a big push to get some of what we need for Nationals before things quiet down for the warm summer months.
 I wouldn't do it if she didn't love it!

April Agility Overnighter

This past weekend, Louie, Marge and I ventured to a brand new trial site in Pitman, NJ.  It was an indoor turf arena that I really liked.  The footing was great and there were some nice places to take walks.  I have reservations about trialing there this summer since the area where the agility rings are located is not air conditioned, but it was a really cool place for a trial.

Marge was very successful yet again, earning QQ #6 on Saturday.

There's not too much negative to be said about two qualifying runs, but I do think I could have tightened things up a bit and made my cues more clear.. like, for example, on the wrap at the end of the Jumpers run, where Marge takes the turn really wide because I did not cue the wrap at all.  Between these two runs, Marge came away with 26 more points, and reached a new high for number of points in a single run (16).  This Standard run was Marge's 9th MX leg.

Sunday, we were on the line for our MX.  But, I flubbed things up...


I sent Marge off course over the jump after the dog walk by rushing things.  I could have a) front crossed after the dog walk or b) shaped the turn like a rear cross.. instead, Marge did not read any change in direction of motion and followed my right arm to the nearest jump.  Bad handler!

We got things together in Jumpers later on Sunday afternoon.  That Jumpers run was my favorite run of the weekend.. from the bold lead-out to the many front crosses, I really like how we worked together on this one.  A few turns could have been tightened up, but to qualify on this course and earn 9 points.. I was happy with how things went.

And we had a great time when we weren't doing agility, too.  Though we missed Arrow, who had the weekend off, Marge enjoyed sprawling out at the hotel.

She also hung out and took walks with her best pal, Spirit.

Posing with her QQ loot:

Our efforts this weekend boosted us to 2 QQs, 6 Qs, and 68 MACH points on the year.  Over all, Marge now has 6 QQs, 9 MX legs, 19 MXJ legs, and 235 MACH points.

We'll take next weekend off, then head out for one day of outdoor trialing in Willingboro, NJ the following weekend.  I hope our good luck and solid teamwork continues!

Where We Stop, No One Knows!

This weekend marked Marge's return to the agility ring after a nearly 5-month hiatus from trialing and a 6-week break from heavy agility training (due to my surgery).  It seemed like we were destined for a rough weekend, especially considering that Marge has not seen a contact obstacle since November.  Seems Marge had other plans!

Saturday

Standard was up first on Saturday.  The course was tricky, with a weave pole entrance that everyone thought was very challenging.  The rest of the course had wonderful flow. Marge ran the course beautifully, but missed the weave pole entrance.  I was originally going to pull her out of the poles and have her re-start them, but because she was so determined and moving so quickly, I decided that it wasn't worth it to risk demotivating her for a run that would have been an NQ either way.

I think I should have slowed down more and perhaps shaped the weave pole entrance as you would shape a rear cross.  I think our fault here just came down to lack of experience with this type of challenging entry.

We did have a successful Jumpers run and scored 9 points.  This was Marge's 15th Masters Jumpers leg. I really liked this run, particularly the cross behind the weave poles.  It's such a cool skill to show off :)

Sunday We were wildly successful on Sunday.  Once again, Standard was first; once again, we smoked the course, only this time, we qualified for 14 points.  I was thrilled with the way she moved around the course. This is Marge's 8th Masters Standard leg, which means we only need two more for our MX title.
My instructor did point out that she thinks I released her a bit too quickly on the A-Frame; you can't see in the video, but she was adjusting her stride to hit the 2o2o and I released her before she could even get in to the position.  To avoid missed contacts, my instructor wants me to hold her a bit longer. I also think that I ate up a lot of time because of how slowly I crossed in front of the teeter; I think I could have chopped a second off of our time by doing that more quickly.
Later in the day, we qualified in Jumpers for 10 points.  This course was a lot of fun.  Marge was a little pokey in the beginning, as she seems to often be at the beginning of a Jumpers run, but then picked up speed later in the course.  It was fun to be able to layer the jump before the tunnel and to do so successfully. New totals: 5 QQs, 8 MX legs, 16 MXJ Legs, 200 MACH points! And, in our quest to qualify for AKC Nationals, Marge now has 33 of the required 500 points, 3 of the required 20 Q's, and 1 of the required 4 QQ's!  If she keeps running like this, we may have a shot at it. The nicest thing is how happy Marge looks in these videos.  I think the time off actually did us some good.. Marge was very happy to be out trialing and her performance reflected that.  It's hard to believe that 3 years ago, at this very trial, Marge made her Novice debut. Stay tuned for next weekend, when we try out a brand new indoor sports venue.  Hopefully, two more days of shows yields some more great results!

We're On A Roll!

This past weekend, Marge and I competed in two days of agility trials at one of our favorite trial sites.  Marge has not competed in a show since the beginning of August, so it was really nice to get back out in to the ring with her.

She must have felt the same way!  She qualified in three out of four of her runs, earning a Jumpers leg on Saturday and her 4th double-qualifying score on Sunday.  We were one measly off-course jump away from a perfect weekend.  This was one of our best weekends to date.

Maybe she ran so well because she was happy to hang out with her best friend, Spirit, for the entire weekend.  (I was happy to see Spirit, too, as well as her mom, as well as all of the friends who I tented with or near).

Both Jumpers runs, though they were qualifying, were somewhat unremarkable.  She had slow weaves in both, which I think might have to do with the fact that they were very early in the course (it usually takes Marge a few obstacles before she really gets going).  She picked up 5 MACH points in each of them.

Her last run of the weekend, Standard, was completely different.

She started out at her normal speed, but, after completing the #2 tunnel, shot right over the dog walk and never looked back.

During one part of the course (just before the weave poles), I felt REALLY far away from her and had to yell out my commands to her from probably a solid 15-20 feet away.

She also attacked the weaves in this run, jumping in to them so quickly that I am lucky she didn't pop out due to lack of collection. This eased my worries that her slow weaves earlier in the weekend were the result of her feeling sore or injured.

She still placed towards the bottom of the qualifiers (seems I am doomed in the 20 inch class when it comes to placements), but she matched her previous high and picked up 15 MACH points for her effort.  She is no Border Collie, but the fact that she's running more quickly and more accurately is very exciting.

Here's a video of our double-Q runs:


Our totals to date: 4 QQ's, 148 MACH points, 14 MXJ legs, 6 MX legs.

We'll be attending one day of a trial in Long Island this coming weekend.  I hope we can continue to build on our success, and add another double to the ones we've earned at each of our last three trials!

(Temper)ature

I hope I come back to this post should I ever again consider entering a summer trial at a facility that is not air conditioned.  The past few days have been brutally hot, hot, hot and I'm not sure I could ever stomach it again.

As with all AKC agility trials, I entered the July 7th and 8th trial many weeks ago, before I had any idea what the temperature would be like (though you would think that the fact that the trial was in July would have given me some indication of the possibilities!).  In the middle of last week, I realized that this trial would coincide with yet another heat wave, with triple digits and excessive heat warnings posted for Swedesboro, NJ, where the trial was located.

I strongly considered not attending the trial, but my host, my good friend who is nice enough to let me stay with her in her RV, had decided to go, after deliberating it herself and speaking to those who went down to the site earlier than we did.  They said that the building was warm, but not at all unbearable.

Since I knew we'd have cold air conditioning in the RV (as well as the car air conditioning should anything happen to the RV electric), and since we wouldn't spend a heck of a lot of time in the building, anyway, I decided to make the trip down with her.  I decided that if it was too hot on Saturday (the day forecasted to have the worst heat), that I would just skip my runs and stay in the motor home.

We made the trip down Friday night and all was well.  We arrived by about 9:30 and hooked up the RV next to my friend's cousin's RV and hung out together for a while before heading to bed.

Saturday morning, we woke up early to get ready for our runs.  It was already starting to get hot, but I was hopeful that I'd get my runs in before the worst of the heat set in.

My Standard class was first on Saturday.  I liked the course a lot and thought we would do well on it.

We did do very well, but did not qualify.  Marge came out with her rocket boosters on during this run, and she leapt the A-Frame contact and took a bar down to prevent us from receiving a qualifying score. I do think that some of whatever she was feeling was stress, but because she did her teeter and table, I wasn't too worried and was still very, very happy with the run.





We returned back to the RV to wait for my next run.  I left Marge in the air conditioning to watch my friend run with her Golden, Spirit, and then waited for my Jumpers walk through.  I walked the course, watched a few dogs run, and then returned to the RV to get my dog.

However, by the time I got to the RV, my stomach was doing flip-flops.  I had my dog leashed, my treats ready, and I was ready to go, but I literally had to take her off her leash, throw her back in the RV, and run to the bathroom.  I felt very, very, sick, and don't think I would have been able to run without taking a potty break first.

I returned to fetch my dog and made the lengthy walk to the rings.  I figured that I was still OK on time, since I usually get my dog out way too early before a run.

Turns out I was wrong.

"They were hollering for you, Sam," said one fellow competitor.  I checked with my friend, who was working the class, and indeed, I had missed my run by about 5 dogs.

They offered to put me in, but another competitor was very angry and thought that she shouldn't be made to wait for a person who wasn't there and wasn't ready.  While I would be annoyed, too, she had a HUGE attitude about it, which made me very, very upset.

She was totally unsympathetic to the fact that there could have been - and WAS, though it was unbeknownst to her - a very good reason that I was late for my run.  This is when the ugly side of agility shows up - when people are such die-hards and take themselves way too seriously, and forget that this is a hobby.  We are parading our dogs over obstacles around a dirt ring in the middle of July, for goodness sake - it is NOT life or death here.

So, after hearing this person get all snarky, I told my friend to scratch me, citing "I don't need to deal with these people's attitudes" as the reason.  The snarky woman was well within earshot and I hope she heard me.

"Marge is not running," I told the gate steward.  Then, the snarky lady had the nerve to say to me, "Why don't you run?  They put you next in the order."  I told her no, that I wouldn't be running my dog, and that it was fine.

As I walked away, I thought I heard them call for my dog's name again, so I again stated that my dog would not be running.   As it turns out, they were calling for a different dog, and the snarky lady made sure I knew it, shooting nasty glances in my direction as she snidely and slowly pronounced out the other dog's name.

I was very, very unhappy with the exchange, very, very hot from the weather, and very, very uncomfortable from whatever the heck happened to my stomach. I went back to the RV in tears, telling my dog she was a good girl and feeding her the treats she would have received had she run.  I texted Louie in an absolute rage, which prompted him to ask me if I wanted him to pick me up.  Let me tell you, I was very, very, close to taking his offer, because there was no where I wanted to be more than home.

I get very upset when I am spoken to in such a manner at agility trials and this was no exception.  It reminded me of the time recently when I volunteered and got berated by one of the head-honcho agility people for not bringing the score sheets over fast enough.  That sort of stuff makes me absolutely livid, and quite honestly, I wanted so badly to go home after missing my run and having someone act that way towards me.

My friend's cousin, who was parked next to us, came over to chat with me and calm me down, telling me to let it roll off my back and reminding me that aside from those who I choose to spend my time with, the majority of these people are NOT my friends, do not want to be, and never will be.

My stomach troubles eased that night, as I played solitaire with my friends and chatted about whacko family members, but worsened the next morning.  I spent a disproportionate amount of time in the bathroom before my first run and was afraid I wouldn't be running at all that day.

To make matters worse, I wasn't the only one with tummy troubles.  Marge had diarrhea that morning as well.  She seemed fine and I figured it was likely just from the heat, so I didn't worry too much about it.

Thankfully, my stomach calmed down enough for me to run my first course of the day, a very fun Jumpers course.

Marge started out a bit slow and then picked up her pace towards the end, qualifying for 6 MACH points and her 11th Master Jumpers leg.  I was worried in the beginning as she trotted out of the tunnel (and so was my friend, who was recording!), but Marge appeared to feel fine.




Now that we had run and qualified in Jumpers, I wanted to make every effort to run in Standard and try to pick up a QQ.  
After walking the course, I went back to the RV to get my dog and sat with her in the bleachers while we waited for our turn.  Didn't want to chance missing my run or getting yelled at again...
Unfortunately it's not on video, but Marge qualified on the course for her second QQ.  It was a fairly difficult course with some nasty, nasty off course traps (including a tunnel and a table), but because Marge wasn't moving all that quickly, we managed to avoid any mishaps along those lines.  She picked up only ONE MACH point, but that's alright - we both had bum stomachs, it was over ninety degrees, and we really need those QQs - so I was very happy!
A little while later, after Spirit qualified in Standard, we set out for home.  I couldn't wait to leave.  
I don't think either of us have fully recovered from this trip yet.  Unfortunately, Marge still has diarrhea as of tonight, so we may be putting a phone call in to the vet tomorrow. It is very, very unlikely that I will ever enter a summer trial indoors without air conditioning again.  Even with the RV air conditioning, it was just too warm.  I'm happy that I picked up the QQ, but based on how horrible I felt, I don't think I'd ever want to do that again.
We're done trialing for about 4 weeks, and then will gear up for a couple of days in August, indoors, but in air conditioning.  Our new totals: 2 QQs, 110 MACH points, 4 MX legs, and 11 MXJ legs!

Ten Up, Ten Down

This past weekend, nearly one year to the day after she earned her first qualifying score in AKC agility's Excellent B Jumpers with Weaves class (and nearly two years to the day since she finished her Novice Jumpers title),  Marge earned her tenth and final qualifying score and finished her Master Excellent Jumpers title.

(Thanks for taping, Amy!)

It's been quite a ride for Marge and me, and I really never would have thought a few years ago that we would rise to such an advanced level of competition.  Sure, she's not lightning fast, and our record is not stellar compared to some, but I'm sure whoever was responsible for her at the Cherokee County Animal Control in Georgia never thought she'd compete in agility.  They might even be surprised to know she made it out of the shelter/rescue system and is, in fact, alive today.

Our totals so far: 1 QQ, 3 MX legs, 10 MXJ legs, and 103 MACH points.  When we're slumping or not seeing the results we'd like, it helps to look at those numbers to see how truly far we've come.

My goal for the remainder of this year is to even out the number of Standard (MX) legs that we have and hopefully finish the MX title. Once that happens, I have no doubt that we'll pick up a couple of more QQ's and get to work on the title that we really want.  I estimate that I'll probably have about 10 to 15 more days of trialing this year to get the ball rolling!

Stay tuned for some non-agility updates in the future, including a new training endeavor we've taken on, as well as Marge's yearly video compilation.

Heating Up!

This weekend, we braved the heat and humidity and attended two days of agility trials in Somerset County, NJ.  The trial site has, in the past, been a local favorite location for events, but bad experiences with flooding scared most of the host clubs to indoor sites.  However, a couple of clubs in our area clustered together to bring a trial back to the park this year.

Fortunately, we didn't have any rain, but boy, was it hot!  Arrow is unaffected by the heat, but Marge didn't put in any stellar times this weekend, courtesy of the sun beating down on her black coat.

Saturday, Marge was on the line for her MXJ.  The course looked quite doable, and I only identified one problem area for Marge.  If we were going to NQ, we were going to NQ on the tunnel.  Guess what? That's what happened!  Instead of driving ahead in to the tunnel (the third to last obstacle), Marge made a left and stopped the timer, taking an off-course jump.

At first, I couldn't figure out why this happened.  But, on my way to the site the following morning, it clicked in my head: I screamed out "tunnel," which probably sounds similar to my rear cross cue, "turn."  This has happened a couple of other times in the past, and it makes sense now - Marge is confusing the two words!  I am going to have to start saying "go tunnel," which has worked in the past.

Marge's second run that day was another near-miss.  A tunnel-to-dogwalk challenge did us in, and instead of rocketing out of the tunnel on to the dog walk, she went straight back in to the tunnel.  I didn't upload this video, because there's not too much to see in it otherwise.

Arrow had a stellar Saturday.  We snapped a streak of NQ's in Jumpers for her 9th MXJ leg, and then put the cherry on top with a Q in Standard. I was on Cloud 9 after her Jumpers run... it felt great to finally qualify, after coming so close so many times.




Sunday was brutally hot.  My day was made much more pleasant by Louie, who surprised me by driving out to the trial after telling me he wasn't coming to cheer me on and hopefully see me get at least one MXJ title.  (He brought with him a little MXJ present in anticipation of Marge finishing her title.. she didn't get it, but a present is a present and she'll get it soon enough!)

Once again, I stepped to the line in Jumpers, now with two MXJs on the line (one for each dog).  It wasn't meant to be.  The weave pole entrance was extremely difficult, moreso than I gave it credit for, and neither dog managed their entrance.  That was Marge's only fault - Arrow had a bar down in addition to the weave run-out.

Between runs, we hung out in my friend's RV with our buddies, Bailey and Spirit.  The dogs were very happy to get out of the sun and in to the AC for a little while.

Later in the day, Arrow had a little bit of a wild Standard run - she missed her weaves, took a bar down, took an off course, and released herself on the dog walk after hanging off of the side with her back feet way above the contact!  She also missed a jump after I botched a front cross. Not a great way to end my weekend with her, but I wasn't too upset, considering our very successful Saturday.

Marge, on the other hand, added a Q to what was about to become Q-less weekend.  Though I really wanted to finish her Jumpers title, I'll always take a Standard Q - they're hard to come by!





Some candids from the weekend:

And, my personal favorite...

Next up - one day (Friday) at a park we haven't been to in two years.  Two MXJs on the line again - here's hoping we snag them both!

An Agility Slumber Party

Last weekend, Louie and I went overnight to a two day agility trial with Marge and Arrow.

I only had one Q all weekend (Marge's 9th MXJ leg, for 6 MACH points).

This was probably my favorite course from the weekend, because both dogs did extremely well on it.  Although Arrow didn't qualify (due to having the first bar down and skipping the 3rd weave pole), my run with her felt so connected and smooth.

Arrow's Standard runs were plagued by bad handling on my part, and her Jumpers runs were both beautiful, heartbreaking near-miss runs (one bar and weave pole issues in both).  I hadn't practiced with Arrow for two weeks before this trial, which definitely impacted my handling, particularly in Standard, since timing is of the utmost importance with a dog as fast as she is.  I chickened out of front crosses that might have saved a run or two and went back to my old arm-straight-up-in-the-air nonsense that pulled her off of at least two obstacles in Standard.

You'll see what I mean if you watch a video featuring all of her runs here.  The Jumpers runs were so nice.

Marge's Standard runs featured the same old, same old... beautiful, clean, runs, but a teeter jump-off on Saturday, and a table jump-off on Sunday dashed any MX legs or double-Q hopes.  Her non-qualifying Jumpers run, too, was doomed due to a very stupid handling choice by me.  I haven't even bothered to upload them, because there's not much to be learned from them.

Bottom line.. I need to practice more.  between finals, graduation, the weather, and various other factors, I have not been doing a lot of agility lately.  And Marge, of course, needs some serious contact obstacle proofing.  We're NQ'ing in Standard on the same things, over and over again.

Despite the low Q rate, we had a wonderful time.  Arrow was perfectly behaved, and she and Marge shared the hotel room like they'd been living together for years!  They even played together a little bit.. a first for the two of them.  They have always sort of coexisted by ignoring each other, but I think after spending some time together at the past couple agility trials, they have become friends.

Marge preferred to snooze on the bed adjacent to mine.  Though she would have happily shared with Arrow, Arrow decided that the cushiony chair next to our bed was the perfect Border Collie recharging station.

Apparently, their sleeping quarters were more than sufficient, because they were both ready to go by 4 AM, jumping all over the bed to wake me up to go outside.  I was not happy, but obliged, since I knew Miss Marge had to poop.

The trial site did start to heat up quite a bit on the 2nd day.  I had a fan blowing on them and they had ample water, but the air was definitely stuffy. Arrow thought that jumping up and biting the hose was the perfect way to keep cool.  Marge preferred to suffer through the heat.

Understandably, they were pooped when it was all said and done, and curled up together for a nap on the way home.

Next up: two days at North Branch Park in a week.  Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but it sure would be nice to finish two MXJs that weekend!

Six, Seven, Eight

We had my dog club's three-day agility trial this past weekend, and I think we had a good deal of success!

Marge qualified in three out of six runs.  This is exactly what she did at my club's November trial, with one minor difference.  In November, she qualified three times in Standard.  At this trial, she qualified three times in Jumpers, giving her 8 of the 10 qualifying scores needed in Jumpers for the Master Jumpers title.

Here are her Jumpers runs:

She seems to be running really well lately - putting in some fast times and reading my handling very well. She picked up 9, 10, and 9 MACH points, respectively, in each run, putting her total at 83.
Our Standard runs were not horrible.  On Friday, she was a little bit stressy and went around a jump and then took an off-course dog walk (probably due to bad handling).  On Saturday, she skipped a weave pole (just a fluke thing), and then jumped her A-Frame contact.  On Sunday, we were clean up until the very end of the course, when she took an off course jump (that I pretty much sent her directly to) and then took down a bar.
She did do her teeter all three days, though, so that's a gigantic plus.  She did her table, too, but was hesitant to lie down on it, so we'll need to work on that before our next trial.
It's important to note that this is the trial site that, back in 2010, I was convinced that Marge hated.  There were planes overhead, trains going by, and it was just very noisy and industrial over all (it's sandwiched between oil refineries!). She ran here again in 2011 and did much better, but did not qualify.  The fact that she ran here this past weekend and DID qualify and DIDN'T appear to dislike the site makes me very, very, happy.  Naturally, now I'll start to change my tune a bit about this site and admit that I actually like it!
We've got a fair number of trials coming up - two days over Memorial Day weekend, and then FIVE days scattered throughout June.  I expect for Marge to finish her MXJ title and begin to put a dent in those much-needed double Q's!  This is the best she's ever run and I want to capitalize on it.

Why Hello There

Yes, it seems that three weeks have slipped by without a single blog post from little old me.  As I sit in my bed at just past 1 AM on this dreary, rainy night, I think it's finally time for a little update!

The first week in April, we went to one of my favorite trials, a two-day event about forty five minutes away.  MargeDog and I were lucky enough to get to stay in my friend's new RV (she literally traded in her smaller one and bought this new one only about 48 hours before the trial!).

I won't post everything from the trial since it was so long ago, but we had two nice runs in Standard (including one where we NQ'd on the second to last obstacle, and another where our only mistake was the weave poles), one wonky Jumpers run on a super hard course, and one clean Jumpers run for Marge's fifth MXJ leg out of ten needed.

We had a lovely run and the course played extremely well to Marge's running style, but encountered a bit of trouble at the back tunnel.  Some judges call a tunnel entry like that as a fault, and some do not.  I have been on both the winning and losing side of that call.. and that day, I was on the winning side.  Lucky.

I also ran Spirit, the Golden Retriever, to her AXJ, while her mom was at a bridal shower, and had a smoking run with Arrow, but bars came down.  We got to watch Amy and Layla earn their AXJ as well.

Anyway.. now to a bit more modern times!  Today, Sunday, I had a 1-day agility trial way out in Long Island, about an hour and forty five minutes away.  Rain was in the forecast and I strongly deliberated about not going, but Louie and I took a chance on it.

We got through the morning without much weather trouble.  Thankfully, when it was my turn in the ring in Standard, no rain was falling.  I always hate to run Standard in the rain, since I don't think Marge likes climbing on wet obstacles.  Fortunately, it wasn't an issue.

She had an absolutely beautiful Standard run.  I really liked her speed, her focus, everything.  Her teeter looked wonderful and it was so quick that it actually took me by surprise a bit (hence the botched front cross!).  We managed a Q for 15 MACH points, putting our total number of points at 55.  Only 695 to go!




With a double Q on the line, I decided to stick around for Jumpers.  The rain was really starting to come down, but since there were no contact obstacles involved, I didn't mind giving a run in the rain a try.

Marge was quite animated outside of the ring, barking and jumping, so she didn't appear to be too bothered by the weather.  When she got in the ring, she was definitely moving at a snail's pace, but picked things up a lot at the end.

We didn't qualify, because I didn't support the double after the weaves and she didn't even think of taking it.  She also went in the wrong end of the tunnel at the end of the course.




Oh well.  I appreciated her effort, since I know running in the rain isn't her most favorite thing in the world, so she got a whole snack baggie full of meatballs and chicken after the run.

Well, I've got lots more to update about, but I'll save it for another post.

Day Two, Season Three

We went back to the hotel shortly after my Jumpers runs with Marge and Arrow.  I was initially nervous about how Marge would fare, but she actually really enjoyed the experience.  She thought the hallways and staircases were the coolest thing ever, and settled right in in the room after a few minutes of jitters.  I'm sure it helped that there were other dogs around.

I put a blanket down on one of the beds and let her go to town on a chew.  She remained on the bed pretty much all night and had herself a long, deep sleep.  I would not hesitate to stay with her in a hotel again.

The next morning, we got up really early so that we could get to the trial early (which meant time for obsessive walkthroughs -- woohoo!).  Our Jumpers run was first.  The course was more difficult than the day before and a lot of people were complaining about it, but I didn't think it was too bad.

Marge ran it like a pro!  She even worked through my lousy late front cross and a bad rear cross to the weaves.  We qualified for 6 MACH points and our 4th MXJ leg.




Arrow had her turn next in Jumpers.  Although everybody that watched said it wasn't that bad, I felt like we crashed and burned a little bit.  By moving forward just a couple of steps, I sent her off course over the jump next to the tunnel.  Then, she took down three bars.  Not sure what that was about.  She clearly enjoyed herself, though!





My last run of the day was Excellent Standard.  With a double-Q on the line, I felt pretty good about our chances.  Unfortunately, one wrong course ended that idea... BUT, there was so much good in the run that I didn't even care about the QQ.




For starters, she did the teeter even after I sent her off course, getting on it from a weird angle and riding it all the way down to the bottom (a huge deal, considering if she's even the least bit stressed or confused, her teeter performance is the first thing to go). She also did the table, even with the auto table count that I swore scared the pants off of her a year and a half ago at a 2-day, outdoor trial. (I'm still not convinced she's unafraid of the auto table count; I do think the loudness of the trial site helped her deal with it better, though). Her contacts weren't wonderful, but she was speedy and really running well.

Shortly after Standard (and after watching my friend and instructor get a MACH 5 on her Novice A dog!), we headed home. We were all pooped. We stopped for one little picture with our several-hundred-dollar little green ribbon from the weekend.

I thought it was a great way to start the trialing season.  Marge had a great weekend for many different reasons - the agility was great and she also enjoyed herself hanging out at the trial site and hotel... a little vacation for her, if you will.  We'll be back out in two weeks, for one day, at this same trial site.  Hope our sync continues!

Nineteen To Go

This past weekend, Marge and I attended a huuuuge AKC agility trial at Dream Park, located about 2 hours from my house.  Normally, I'd attend only one day of a weekend trial at this facility, but this time, I got to stay in my friend's little travel trailer for 2 nights.

This trial was a big deal for MargeDog, as it marked the biggest trial she'd ever been to (1100 runs per day!),  the longest she'd slept away from home (2 nights), and the most runs she'd had over two days (five - the usual two classes plus an extra class, Time 2 Beat, on Saturday).

We went down to the site Friday night, in preparation for our first runs of the day at 8 AM on Saturday morning.  We hung out inside the RV, ate spinach ravioli and talked about horses until almost 11 at night.  Marge and her friend, Spirit, had an awesome time with each other.  When they weren't laying next to each other, they were wrestling and slapping each other with their paws.

I didn't sleep well at all Friday night, but Marge didn't seem to have any problem getting comfy.  To save space, I decided not to set up her crate, and had her sleep, curled up in a little tiny ball, next to my pillow.     I thought for sure that she'd be antsy, especially with another dog around, but she had no problem getting comfortable.

Saturday morning came, and I was super worried about the gunshots that I was hearing that sounded very, very, close by.  Living in New York City, I totally forgot that it was deer hunting season.  Marge had a bit of a breakdown, but was definitely comforted by Spirit, who didn't react to the noise at all.  Once I got her back inside the RV, she was totally fine.  (In a bit of a milestone, she actually managed to poop outside on the grass despite the fact that she was unnerved by the sound.)

Now for the agility!  My first run was at 8 AM Saturday morning - Excellent B Jumpers with Weaves.  I don't have it on video - my friend asked if I wanted her to record it, but I told her that she could just watch this run, and record my later run.  Boy, am I eating those words now!  Here is the course.

I ran with Marge on my right until the takeoff side of jump #7, where I put in a rear cross.  I also reared on the takeoff side of 11, 15, and 17 (I think).  We ran in to a little of of trouble after the 180, where Marge was *so* close to taking the off course #19, but ran it clean for 6 MACH points.

The next class was Excellent B Standard - our first time in the Standard B class following our 1-2-3 AX legs at our last trial.  It was a tough course with a lot of tough discriminations.  Here is the video.





Again, not the most beautiful of Q's (I think I'm very very lucky for not getting called on that tunnel refusal), but a Q nonetheless. We came in at 11 seconds under time for 11 MACH points. Our first double Q of what I hope to be at least twenty of them!

I was absolutely thrilled to have QQ'ed and quite honestly wished I hadn't entered a third class.  But, one more run was to be had, and just a little while later, I walked the course for Time 2 Beat (T2B), AKC's newest titling class.

I had entered T2B so that I could have more practice on a Standard-esque course without the stress of having to form my own sequences in FAST (another AKC class, for those who don't know).  The course was fun and fast, but it was clear that Marge was tired; we did qualify and picked up 4 out of a maximum 10 points for the class, but it didn't feel like a great, connected run.

I was absolutely pooped after that, and headed back to the RV, ribbons in hand, and took a nap.  I slept like a rock that night, with Spirit and Marge curled up beside me.  Spirit had a successful Saturday, too, scoring her first 17 MACH points in Excellent B Standard, as well as wrapping up her Open FAST title.

Sunday, we couldn't repeat our stellar triple-Q day.  Mostly, our double-NQ was due to my own bad handling.  Unfortunately, though I asked people to record me, none of the videos came out (a lot of people have trouble working my camera, for some reason.. I think it's easy to use, but whatever!).

Jumpers was an interesting course.  It started out tight, then got big and flowy with pinwheels and 180s, then tightened back up for a tough weave entrance, then spread back out again.  Marge and I aced all of the hard parts, but we incurred a jump refusal as well as a knocked bar due to a rear cross that Marge just couldn't pull off on a tough angle.  We definitely ran really well, though, considering the difficulty of the course.

Standard was one of those beautiful courses that you can't wait to run and qualify on.  I thought we'd be a shoe-in for a Q.. that is, until, I tried to front cross and pulled poor Marge right off of a jump.  We then incurred a tunnel refusal, most likely due to bad handling, and, then, the worst of all.. Marge walked on to the teeter, remained motionless for a good 2-3 seconds, and then bailed without tipping it :( My guess is that she was worried and stressed from the mistakes I made and that's why she bailed.  On a happy note, she did nail all of her other contacts, including the table, and we had a pretty nice finish to the course.

BUT, now, of course, I'm worried about the teeter again!

We hung around until Spirit's Excellent Jumpers run (which she aced, save for one knocked bar), then got back on the road.  Here are the two amigas posing in the RV parking area before we headed home.  We had a GREAT time together, and I am so fortunate to have a friend who enjoys my company and lets me come along and stay over at trials with her.

And that concludes the 2011 trial season.  Though I didn't formally set any goals, I completed my biggest goal - the AX - and, much to my surprise, finished the year with a QQ as well.  We're going to take a couple of weeks off from agility because we're totally pooped out, then train and get ready to head back out to the shows in February.  It seems like Marge is getting a) more consistent, b) faster, and c) less forgiving of bad handling.  We're having a blast together and learning a lot about each other as we go    on.

Two Sundays Ago

So this is, oh, two weeks overdue. Yeah.. sorry about that.

But now that I'm stuck in the house with a nasty ear/nose/throat cold yucky icky thing that I probably caught while volunteering in the Physical Therapy department of a nursing home, I have no excuse not to update.

Thankfully, the agility gods must have read my last blog post and rewarded me with a great day of agility the next day. It was quite a long and busy day, actually, so I guess it didn't leave me time to get upset about the snarky people at the trial.

The reason it was so action packed was because I had double the work to do! I had two dogs with me - my own lovely MargeDog as well as one of her best friends, Spirit, the Golden Retriever, who I ran and qualified with last December. I'm also her dog walker, which makes me one of her favorite people in the world.

The Jumpers course was lovely and I knew it when I walked it (which isn't always a good thing - it usually leads to me not qualifying!). However, Marge totally rocked all of my rear crosses and powered through the course, picking up 8 MACH points and her second MXJ leg.

Spirit, too, had a lovely run with me. I handled it exactly the same way as I did with Marge, and, aside from her one error (popping out early at the weaves), I actually thought her run was nicer than Marge's. If you want to see the run, you can find it here.

Next was Standard, that class that Marge and I just can't seem to qualify in. Unfortunately, in this run, we were extremely close. If she would have held on to the teeter for literally another second before bailing, we would have qualified. Unfortunately, this was a new teeter that squeaked at the tipping point, so Marge was startled. I think that's why she bailed.

But there is a lot of good in this run.  Look at how close the freaking judge is to Marge while she's on the A-Frame - and notice that she doesn't even look at him!  She did notice him when she got to the table, but I kept verbally praising her and tried to position myself so that I was kind of in between the table and the judge.  She also hit that really difficult weave entrance, which I am SO proud of her for.




Spirit ran very well, also. But she, too, did not qualify. In her case, hopping the dog walk contact and incurring a refusal at the weave entrance (which was EXTREMELY tricky) prevented a clean run. Her video is here.

After Spirit's run, we stuck around to see Amy and Layla's Standard run, and then headed home.  I really don't know how the heck I would have managed to get two large dogs and two large dog crates back to the car without Louie and Amy's help.  I can see why all of these top agility handlers like working out of the car so much!

And that was our weekend! I would have liked to qualify more than once out of the 6 attempts that I had all weekend (and really wanted to bring home a ribbon to Spirit's momma), but, aside from Marge's zoomy run on the first day of the trial, I had 5 really solid runs with my two girls. I was so glad that Sunday was a pleasant and fun agility day - which is how it should be!

Our next trial is the trial that I kind of flipped out at last year. It's still about 3 or 4 weeks away, I think. It still remains my worst weekend of agility ever, but, because the both of us (ESPECIALLY me) have done a little growing up since last year (in addition to the fact that they will not be using the automatic table counter), I was willing to give it one more shot. If this year goes icky, too, we'll sit this trial out for good.  It ain't worth the stress!

A Lonely MACH Point

Last Saturday, Marge and I spent the day at a local agility trial.  Normally, we would have spent the weekend, but the weather at this trial has been, in the past, extremely hot.. so we took our chances on one day only.

Our first run was Standard, and, as is becoming a bit of the theme, the run was completely botched.  We actually had two shots at the opening because the timer didn't start before I started running, and we NQ'd on the second and third obstacle, respectively, both times.  She then took a wild off course (because she just can't resist taking a straight line of jumps), and offered her A-Frame contact twice.  She also missed her weave entry and popped out at the 10th pole or so.  It was a wild run.

The little devil.  She doesn't look particularly stressed - I sure hope not.  I  don't want those
crazy runs from last year to sneak back. I think Standard just requires a ton of mental
 focus that we still need to work on.

On the bright side, she held all of her contacts, got on the table, and actually read a landing-side front that I put in.  But, we still don't have a connection in Standard the way we do in Jumpers.

I was not hopeful about Jumpers (what else is new?), particularly because it was super sunny.  Since the sun likes black dogs, Marge wasn't exactly thrilled with things.  I had her in her crate, covered with my sun-blocking mesh silvery thing (that I commonly refer to as my space ship blanket), my small fan hanging on the door.

The wait wasn't terribly long, as the trial was small, at only 397 runs.  That's about 200 per ring (as opposed to 330 runs, which is the maximum number per ring).

As usual, I walked my Jumpers course with all rears (just one front cross, after the weave poles, where a rear would have been highly inefficient.  When I stick to my strengths (rear crosses), we qualify.

Turns out I would have to employ a bit of a different strategy to get around this course.  When I released her from the start line, she began moving at a snail's pace!  I had to play cheerleader throughout the whole course, and even put a front cross in that I hadn't even walked - just because there was no way I could wait for her to pass me to do the rear!  I do not think it was stress in this case - I think it was the heat, as well as the fact that the front of the ring was extremely soggy (see how she trots out of the first yellow tunnel?).




Her speed picked up considerably at the end of the run.  Once it was over, I searched mightily to see if we made time.. and we did.  Our time was 40.16 seconds, and the allowable course time was 42 seconds.  That meant we picked up our first MXJ leg (out of 10), and our very, very first MACH point (points are awarded for every full second you are under course time).

As is customary at every trial we attend, I had her pose with her loot.  In this case, she only received a green qualifying ribbon.. yep, you have to be faster than that in Excellent B around here in order to place.

By no means was it a great trial. After all, the weekend marked one year since our last Standard Q, other than the lone one we picked up back in April to get out of Open. But it certainly wasn't a bad trial.  How could it have been? - now, we've only got 749 more MACH points to earn!  And while that seems like a big number (because it is), my hope is that runs in the cooler weather will yield us way more than 1 point at a time.

Next weekend, we're heading out to PA for a trial in a sports building.  I've never been to the place before, but from the set-up of the rings that I've seen on YouTube, I'm hopeful that Marge will like it. Keep your fingers crossed for us!