Dottie is tempted by the gourd.
Nibbles.
Patient Pie. Also Pumpkin Pie.
Fancy is a very thoughtful dog.
The rest of the photos are here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=49492&id=100000152104007&l=9e3b34f967
In agility news we had a three day weekend. This is a special trial for me because it was my very first trial 5 (or is it 6 already, or only 4?) years ago with Bloom and also with my mom and Roscoe. I wish they still trialed!
Last weekend it was a double double Q for Pie. This weekend we had 3 days, 6 runs and only 1 Q. Yikes. Lots of knocked bars, 2 missed contacts and even a popped weave exit, with an off course thrown in afterward for good measure. Even Fancy NQed. Must not have been our weekend. To make up for it we went to Goleta Valley Dog club for the Fun Day.
However, even though we are not closer to our Mach 2- still need four more QQs- I'm grateful for this weekend of low Qs. It gave me stuff to be aware of for the Invitational. I should try to get Pie to hold her contacts in Friday's practice so she will be thinking of not jumping them during the competition. I should not be over confident in her ability to stay in the weaves as I leave laterally. I am always careful of knocked bars (or try to be) but other than being a smooth handler, there is not much I can do about those.
We had a good time at the Goleta Fun Day. Here is a link to Dottie's videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQEV8tdUZzI First Run.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YdyfuQH_s8 Second Run.
Her first runs outside of class. And we haven't even had very much class experience. Maybe 6 total? All the rest of our work has been in the backyard. Mostly I am happy with our performance. I KNOW she has more speed than this. The speed off the line vs when she catches up to me is markedly different. You can see her kind of loping along next to me, and she doesn't speed up for the straight away at the end. I hope I can change that. It was very cool that day, so I am sad to think on hot days she will only be slower. Other than her speed, there were lots of good things for such a green dog. Her weaves were good- first time on 24 inch poles. She missed the last part of the one set because I took off, forgetting baby dogs need support. Only one knocked bar- with me saying tunnel right over it. And she went around one jump and pulled off another. Again, just baby dog mistakes. I should have continued to support the one she pulled off of and the one she went around I wasn't supporting at all because I was trying to get to my front cross which I was horribly late for anyway. I liked how she went out of the straight tunnel to the jump nicely both times.
Also at the fun day we did a barrel racing tunnel course. The three tunnels were set up in the clover leaf pattern. The only rule was you had to run the correct pattern but could pick any sides of the tunnels. Everyone was timed and Pie tied for third with a lab behind 2 BCs. We had a run off, where the lab ran faster than her first time and Pie ran slower so the lab won the bragging rights. Pie ended up in fourth and Dottie right behind her in fifth. Fancy was a bit further down, but still had a respectable time. Neither Pie nor Dottie did amazing at the hot dog bobbing contest, which was taken very seriously and had people upset over how much water should be added based on the length of the dog's muzzle.
I took the left over hotdogs home and used them for tracking today. Pie did well- we have had to go back to more food on the track. Dottie did ok. She is more frantic. Fancy just sniffs around until she comes across a hot dog. She bolts off the track using her eyes and thinks she sees something edible. I think she is following the hot dog scent wafting on the breeze. I've had good help from fellow club members but I wish I knew what I was doing so I could progress when working alone. When ever I go tracking alone I don't think I make progress since I have no clue what I'm doing. I remember some things I've been told but new situations arise and I probably don't remember all the solutions to the old situations. Sigh. Maybe I can pretend my dogs are cadaver dogs and only go for a SchH A (no tracking.) Cadaver Dogs are never supposed to follow a live scent so that way I'd have an excuse for not tracking, rather than just, "It's to hard and I don't know what to do."
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