So, AKC Nationals was a blast, and we had a lot of fun. Not quite the outcome I was hoping for, but considering everything Trip and I have been through, a respectable showing. I went up early (Wednesday morning) to have that extra day for Trip to relax, stretch her legs, etc. Last year it was so chaotic getting there Thursday, setting up, running the warmup run–I didn’t want to do that again. This year, I almost had TOO much time–it was easy to forget why we were there.
I spent the first night in Tahoe, went on a cold, windy walk with Trip, and the weather was generally miserable. When I headed back to Reno Thursday morning, it had cleared up, and I was finally able to see how pretty it is. After setting up at the show site, we pretty much had nothing to do. And we were in a casino. So… poker for all. 🙂 This is where it really started to feel bizarre. We were at the National Championship, yet here I was, playing Pai Gow. It just didn’t FEEL like Nationals. Plus, knowing that the first run Friday morning was just a warmup, I didn’t really take it seriously or care too much. I can’t work my contacts (running). I just did it to get Trip used to the equipment/ring, and get her happy and having fun.
Unfortunately for me, Trip got into TWO bags of treats in the hotel room, and had the worst diarrhea she’s ever had. She felt pretty miserable Friday. Lucky for me, her mom is a vet, and she always travels with drugs. It improved by Saturday, thank goodness.
So, Trip was stressed at the start line for JWW Round 1, and started a little slow, but picked up, and really ran well. That was the run I was MOST worried about, and we got through it, so I was ecstatic. Round 2 was standard, and we were called for the aframe (!!!), and the teeter. The teeter was an ongoing issue all weekend, with many dogs–I’m really not sure what was going on there. I know that I saw the exact same teeter performance numerous times (including Finals), and some dogs were called, and some weren’t. So, I went into Round 3 knowing I needed to place to have a shot at Challengers. The opening was a little technical, so I felt like at least I had a shot. Trip ran that opening perfectly, just as tight as I’d hoped, but unfortunately, the teeter got us again. Not a fault, but we wasted 1-2 seconds with her being unsure and waiting for it to tip from near the pivot. We finished the rest of the run well, but lost it there. So, clean 2 rounds–I’m still super happy with how she did. We’ve been fighting so many vague injuries and ring stress, that doing that well in that environment feels like a win to me. So proud of Trip.
As far as Nationals itself, I really liked the show site. It’s the only one after Tulsa that I can say that about. Ring 4 is still an issue–it’s too small and dusty. But at least this year it was right next to the other 3 rings, instead of across the facility. It was really cool to stay at a resort-type casino where everything you needed was onsite. We never had to leave for dinner or entertainment. It did get really crowded and smokey on the weekend, but that didn’t affect Trip at all. Reno airport is much smaller then I thought it would be. And it definitely sucks that it’s almost impossible to get non-stop flights. I think that’s the biggest issue I would have to returning, and it doesn’t even affect me that much. If I had a dog in cargo, I don’t know how I’d handle it. Even traveling with a dog in cabin, it makes for a long day. Compare that to Las Vegas, where you can get a non-stop flight from almost anywhere.
My only issue with Nationals itself was the course design in Round 1 and 2. They were too easy. I feel like if those courses were submitted for a typical AKC weekend, they would be reviewed as not having enough challenges. And I truly feel like the National Championship should have courses that are tough. Not world team tough, but not this easy either. I’m all for starting with something more straightforward, and increasing difficulty–that’s what the warmup is for. Round 3 at least had an opening that you could tighten up to improve your time, and the Challengers course and Finals courses were fine as well. But the only contact/tunnel discrimination all weekend was in Finals? Really?
And I know I’m WAY in the minority here, but I missed the ISC classes. I didn’t really care for having a throwaway standard run on Friday, followed by Time to Beat. It made Friday feel kind of pointless to me. Honestly, if we aren’t going to have ISC, then why not make the Nationals 5 rounds, like Invitational? One round could still be Time to Beat for that Challenger Bye. And if you wanted to do a warmup, you could do it Thursday afternoon.
Just my two cents. I had a great time, and enjoyed seeing all the Champions crowned. Challengers and Finals were exhilarating as always, and I came motivated to get Ticket where she needs to be to make the trip next year. 6 Double Qs!!! With Trip, I’m just going to take it easy. I’ve decided to skip world team tryouts this year, and just focus on having fun with Trip. We’ll get qualified for Tulsa, and then see where we end up next year. 🙂
Agility by .
So, warning, rant ahead, and a bit of a rambling, disjointed post. When did agility become so negative?
Sure, we’ve all done it. Honestly, trying to rid myself of that negativity has been a huge part of my mental management, and I feel like I’ve come light years. Want to know why I wear head phones in a walkthrough? It’s not because I’m trying to avoid answering someone’s question (I’m HAPPY to offer advice when asked). It’s not because I’m some kind of uber-serious competitor who needs to be in my own little world to focus (my co-workers would probably tell you I’m almost TOO good at tuning extraneous things out). It’s for two reasons that both involve eliminating negativity–the first, my music makes me happy. The second–listening to complaining about courses wore on me mentally, and inevitably sucked me in. If you’re so busy thinking about all the things you CAN’T do on a course, you’ve already lost. Know your skills, create a plan. If it doesn’t work, figure out what skills you need to attack the course next time. But I don’t want to lament over x is too tricky, y is too hard, I just can’t do this.
So, that’s one form of negativity I see at agility trials. Another is much more personal. I have a friend who competes in agility. She has a great, fast, young dog. Who, absolutely, has tons of potential. But fast, young, green dogs are NOT easy to run. There are going to be mistakes. There’s going to be great big combustive events as the dog completely obliterates the course as it was meant to be. But she’s trying. She goes to more classes. She asks more questions. She looks at options she hasn’t considered before. So why has my friend been repeatedly approached at trials by various people who tell her she has “too much dog?” What exactly is she supposed to do with that? What good does it do to tell her, essentially, “your dog has a ton of potential, but you sure suck?” This isn’t someone who blames her dog for all that goes wrong. She knows exactly what kind of dog she has. She’s TRYING. But on top of actually training, she has to fight the constant, unsolicited discouragement, from people who have NO idea what she’s currently working on. She’s been told her dog is too fast, she is too slow, has she should think about giving her to someone else? Seriously. I just don’t get it.
Before you point out I’m a hypocrite, yes, I have run other people’s dogs for them, and currently run one regularly. I will do it when asked, and I try not to question their motivation too much. But I’ve never told someone let me run your dog because I can do better. I’ve been asked for various reasons (usually physical for the handler), and I always say I’m happy to do it. But I also really try to push people to run their own dogs. That’s why we do agility, right? To get out there and have fun with our teammate? Just go see what happens–you never know!
Sure, I have seen fast dogs with a ton of potential frustrated by slow handlers. But I would never presume to tell someone they should just give up. Quite frankly, for every good handler out there, it’s not hard to find a better one. One who could probably do things with YOUR dog that you can only dream of. I have accomplished plenty with my dogs, and I’m not ashamed to admit there is a long list of people who would have done better given what I had. Just don’t come up to me at a trial and tell me that person is you, so hand over the keys, or you’re liable to get an earful. What our challenges show me is whatever we need to work on as a TEAM to improve. I really believe these people don’t mean their comments to be hurtful. But they can destroy the self-confidence of a handler (and secondarily the dog), and take the fun out of agility.
I make a point of finding something I’m happy about with EVERY run. Even the colossal disasters. So while yes, I may be disappointed, at least I can think, hey, she kept all the bars up, or wow, that was a beautiful contact. Little goals within the course of a run. So, having someone come up within 10 seconds of leaving the ring to say, wow, sorry, you really bombed that, is not helping. If I want feedback or criticism, I will solicit it. If you REALLY need to tell someone what went wrong, can you at least give them 5-10 minutes to cool down/put up their dog, and decompress, before hitting them with it? I’m not perfect, I’m sure I’ve “commiserated” with someone as they’ve left the ring. But my goal is to only say something positive as someone is leaving–those weaves were great, your front cross was perfect, etc. Anything else is just dragging people down, and adding to the negativity. And that’s something we just don’t need more of.
Next week, Trip and I leave for the AKC National Championships in Reno. I’ve always had big goals for my perfect girl–really, some of the biggest–NAC. And sure, my ultimate goal is to run 3 clean, make the Finals, and give the Finals course everything we have. I also realize that even if we are perfect, it might not be enough. And that’s ok too. Trip has been battling an on-again, off-again injury for months. Every run is a gift, no matter what the outcome. And I keep reminding myself my biggest goal in Reno is to enjoy every moment with my girl, and appreciate everything she gives me. So cheer for us, no matter what the final score sheet says. If we’re running, then all the rest is gravy. 🙂
Please feel free to share this if you feel so inclined. If you find yourself struggling with negativity and the mental aspects of competing, I HIGHLY recommend Lanny Bassham’s book “With Winning in Mind.” As someone who used to feel physically ill when she stepped to the line, it has made a huge difference for me.
Happy trials, and safe travels for those of you I’ll be seeing in Reno.
So proud of both my girls this weekend! They really both did GREAT, and it was probably their best weekend combined ever. That’s mostly a reflection of how well Ticket ran, but I’m so happy with both, for very different reasons.
Trip was HAPPY. She was 3/3 on Saturday, all 1st place runs. But what made me happiest was when she barked at me when I was setting her up at the startline in JWW, and then proceeded to stand from her stay at the start before I released her. She used to do that all the time, but since her injury, has been less eager to go, sitting perfectly still at the start. Unfortunately, on Sunday in Standard, that extended to her breaking the start before I turned around. Which would have been fine with me, except she crashed the first bar and freaked herself out (she does NOT like to knock bars, especially hard). She skipped a weave pole, pulled off the tire, was hesitant on the dogwalk–we made it to the table, and found an exit strategy that would leave her happy and not thinking something was wrong. In JWW, I kept my eye on her on a long lead out, but she had no problems, and ran the course well, for another 1st place. I’m thrilled with how she’s looking right now. I pulled her from this coming weekend’s show so we don’t “overdue” it before Nationals, though it’s probably an unnecessary precaution the way she’s running. We have one more show in San Marcos, then a weekend off before Nationals. I’m training her 2-3 times a week right now, with most of that a little dogwalk work, and one day of coursework a week. Still doing acupuncture 3x/week since it seems to be helping.
Ticket was really a superstar. She got her second Exc. A Standard leg on Saturday, and an Exc. B JWW leg on Sunday. She also won 16″ T2B, and got her Exc. A FAST title (on a dogwalk send). She was SO consistent over the weekend–her jumping was mostly good, she had some excellent decel moments, and her rear crosses looked good. She really feels like she’s coming together–I’m trying not to be TOO hopeful that she’ll finish that AX this weekend, but it sure would be nice to get that done. I also got to see Ticket’s brother Rugby nail a ridiculously hard Standard course on Sunday–so proud of him and his mom. 🙂
