We had a gorgeous, sunny day for the trial today in Staten Island. Brisk, but nice. There was white frost still covering the grounds as we arrived around 7:30, and I walked my FAST course in several layers. By noon I was happy in a fleece pullover and sunglasses.
Sadie did her typical first run, pretending she had no idea what all this stuff was for. Well, not really that bad. Just after we got to the start line, there was some kind of problem. We couldn't run, and I couldn't leave to ring with Sadie to get her more treats. I tried to play with her, but her attention just drifted off... I ran as soon as we got the "go," not trying for a real start-line stay. She blew me off for about half the course, but I was able to recapture her attention and finish with dignity. It meant some on-the-fly course planning. Novice FAST should have been a simple, flowing course. In fact, you could have run it for 52+ points without a single lead change. Since Sadie went a bit nuts, however, I wanted to end together. She knocked some bars as she careened through the end, but it was better than ignoring me!
Jumpers was immediately after FAST, and I had high hopes. The course flowed nicely, and I didn't feel there was anything that Sadie would have trouble with. I forgot to take into account the sun. The starting sequence faced directly into the early-morning sun, which was fiercely bright. Sadie took the very first bar down, along with one or two thereafter... all facing into the sun. She also decided to skip the weaves and go straight to the tunnel. Sigh. I could tell she was still (mostly) mentally with me, though, so I called her back and re-tried the weaves. Success! The trial photographer even got a really nice shot of it. And you know what the best thing about that photo is? Here's a hit. Think about what's NOT in the shot. Me! I knew we had already NQ'ed, so I decided to challenge her and go ahead while she was in the poles. So we got distance on an outdoors course, which is huge.
There was a super long break before our last run. Mrs. Trainer took out her elderly golden retriever, and I got both my pups, and we walked along the neighboring beach. Maxwell was fixated on the sea-birds the entire time. It was really nice, though. We humans chatted about non-dog stuff, the pups got to sniff, and we all got to relax. Maxwell was offered one of Mrs. Trainer's toys to play with, and he was in love. He'd catch it, writhe on the ground with it, and chase it all over.
I also volunteered as the gate person for half the excellent standard course. It was a mess, as people moved, re-moved, and un-moved their dogs around. Some people had already written stuff before I took over, much of which was difficult to read. One person got a bit nasty with me when I hadn't written a move in correctly, and another complained about how hard it was to read the run order. People, gimme a break! It's my first time as gate, and half that stuff wasn't me! I hate to say it, but maybe that's why you had such a hard time finding volunteers... (And oddly enough, this happened after Mrs. Trainer and I had a conversation about how people at AKC trials generally were pretty nice.)
Standard was last, hours after jumpers. Poor Sadie had definitely been cooped up too long, and showed it. She started off okay, but got refusals on the table, the first tunnel, and the A-frame. Consecutively. It wasn't her usual zoomies or distracted sniffing, either. Her head was down, but I got the sense that she was simply stressed. The second half of the course was much more difficult, with a hard turn from the chute to the broad jump (nearly a U-turn), another sharp turn to the dog-walk, and an about-face from the weaves to the finish tunnel. She did all of that just fine!
Not a bad trial, but I have to say that I'm disappointed. She has been so reliable lately, picking up at least one Q each trial. I guess today was her reminding me that she still has a lot to learn. We'll have to wait until the trial in December to finish her Novice Standard title.
Good dog.
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