Sadie just finished her Open Agility title on the 5th with a very messy run. Wrong course? Check! Refusal? Check! Agility gods in your favor? Double-check! She missed her Open Agility Jumpers title that day due to being a complete goof, and missed Time 2 Beat because she dropped a bar.
But on the 11th, she was a machine.
We started the day with our first ever Excellent run on a very nice standard course. We were the first dog on the line, so I didn’t get to see anyone else run. It was beautiful. She moved like she was an extension of me, taking tight turns, crossing smoothly, and nailing her weave-pole entry at high speed. She actually carried on past pole 2 and into pole 3, but she clearly intended to stick the weaves. I called her out to fix it, and we completed the course to a round of applause. If you’re going to NQ, that is the way to do it.
Next up was a nice T2B course for Sadie. Once again she had her head in the game, and we sailed through it for a 6-point finish. No hesitations, no disconnects, just a fast and smooth run.
Maxwell was up next for his re-introduction to trialing with a Novice Standard course. He has been an amazing little trooper at all the trials recently, giving me attention and not pestering all the potential four-legged friends. He didn’t disappoint me in the ring, either. I chose not to lead out, and asked him to hold all his contacts for a few seconds – both as a means of keeping connection. He was still certainly distracted by everything, and definitely a bit stressed, but he came back to me every time I called him. And if the A-frame was between us? Bonus! (He loves contact obstacles) I was busy keeping his attention, so I definitely lost track of the course a few times, but he ran nicely anyway. If it weren’t for the extra time on his little ‘detours’ it would have been a Q!
I feel a bad, though, about our ending. I’m so used to Sadie’s bouncy-happy-wound-up enthusiasm that I tried to celebrate the course with Maxwell a bit too much. I threw my hands up and said “Yay!” or some such, and asked him to jump up on me to be leashed. He flattened himself to the ground in response. Oops...
Sadie’s final run for the day was a very nice jumpers course. It had a tight section with several turns quickly followed by an open section for speed, but the whole course flowed. Apparently Sadie really liked it, too, because she finished clean in 28.8 seconds! For first place! For her Open Agility Jumpers title! There were two teeny tiny spots that I thought could have been better, but both were handling issues, not dog issues. Too much of a pull-up for a tight turn and a slightly late rear-cross cue.
Maxwell’s second and final run was a jumpers course. Remembering to temper my enthusiasm, and how well he responded to recalls in Standard, I tried to handle him firmly but quietly. He still went off on his own a few times. I’m pretty sure it was a sign of stress, not simply distraction. I could see him lower his carriage a bit and hold his ears back. But he was still willing, and he kept himself in the game. I was absolutely ready to end the run if and when he seemed too uncomfortable, but he was a trooper. We finished the course clean enough, with about 13 seconds of time faults. Not a Q, but a hell of a good run for my little guy!
To review:
- Sadie had a fabulous first run in Excellent
- Sadie flew through another T2B Q
- Sadie earned her OAJ title
- Maxwell was willing to play the agility game for a whole standard course for a near-Q
- Maxwell was able to stay focused through a whole jumpers course for a near-Q
Congrats on moving into Excellent!! And all the great trial news/experiences with both dogs on the 11th. Sounds like an awesome day :)
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