We had a great trial at Reliant. Number one–both girls were healthy through the entire thing!!! I was so happy to be out there again with them 🙂
Trip was perfect. Literally. 8/8, three Double Qs, and won Time to Beat twice. 7 1st place runs, and a 3rd place in JWW. She looked good, her dogwalks were fabulous, and as always, she handled the surface well. She got a massage after that 3rd place run because I thought her jumping looked a little unsure, but I was also being hypervigilant. After that, 3 more firsts 🙂
Ticket also did well. She really handled the carpet much better then I thought she would. I could see her improvement as the weekend went on. She got 2 Qs, her first Exc. B leg, in JWW, with a 2nd place, and an amazing 80 point FAST run for her 2nd XF leg. The story of the rest of her weekend was bars. I blame the carpet and an inexperienced dog, and hope she’ll do better there next year and at future shows on dirt. Her contacts were great, particularly her aframe, which I haven’t been able to practice since she’s been out of commission. She got her weave pole entries on a slick surface, and she worked super hard to stay in them. I’m so proud of how she did, and she was happy to be back out there.
We don’t have much coming up–couple of USDAA shows over the next 2 months, but really not a lot until October. Hopefully we’ll be able to get some good training in fine tuning those skills we’ll be needing down the line.
Here are videos from this weekend:
Well, things have been tough down here. Trip and Ticket are BOTH currently injured. It started with Trip in Monroe. Took her to a friend and finally figured out the problem was neck pain. Even figured out what happened–she got her head hung up in a chute in class the day after she had a “all clear” massage. Sigh. So, she was on meds and had acupuncture for a week, but wasn’t doing any better. Then she got more meds, more acupuncture, and as of yesterday, is actually looking much better. So I’m optimistic that she will be feeling good for Reliant next week.
Because I didn’t have enough to worry about, Ticket came up inexplicably lame after class last week. No idea what she did–came home, and later that night, she’s limping on her back leg. Rested her, and she seemed back to normal, but when I took her to class a week later, she was a little gimpy again. So, more rest, trying to play it very safe before Reliant.
Trip can handle a break and enter a show at 100%, but I’m more worried about Ticket. She’s nuts if she stays in the crate all day and doesn’t come to work with me. But honestly, if she’s healthy and happy, I’ll take 4 days of NQs at Reliant because she’s over the top 🙂 We need that ring practice to keep working on becoming a team, so I hope she recovers from this injury quickly and we’re able to move forward. She’s too young to be having problems–she thinks she’s invincible 🙂
I can’t WAIT for Reliant. I know a lot of people don’t like the surface, but I love the AC, the crowds, and the SHOPPING! It’s always a blast, and I look forward to it every summer. It’s not often I get to do 4 days of agility, and while it’s always exhausting, it’s worth every minute. I’m lucky in that my dogs have always handled the surface well (I believe the last 2 years Trip was 8/8 and 7/8, and Mardi earned 2 MACHs there). If anyone struggles, it will be Miss Ticket, who’s motto is “Slowing down is for LOSERS.” Hopefully she will take a page from her mom and ADJUST.
The one good thing about having no dogs to train is it’s given me time to work on this seminar, and I’m making some good progress. I’m really starting to look forward to it, and it should be a great experience. I think I have a lot of good information to share. Hopefully this will be the first step towards doing more private lessons and getting to spend more time doing something I really enjoy.
We had a great time in Monroe for 3 days of AKC Agility. Ticket ran great, particularly in JWW, and got her AXJ title. Her standard runs were also very close–she was in the “one thing wrong” club instead of the “disastrous run” club. She was fast and focused, hit every weave pole entry, and didn’t have too many bars come down. She DID get called on 2 aframe contacts, and the weeks we have before our next show, I will definitely be working on that. Since it’s a stride-dependent contact, it just takes more reps, and with the heat, it hasn’t been a priority for me. You better believe it is now. 🙂
Trip had a couple of nice standard runs (1st place), but in JWW, something felt wrong. She Double Qd on Saturday, but was not running like herself at all and was slow. Sunday she came out of a straight tunnel trotting, and I took her off. We’ve finally figured out it’s a neck injury, and she’s currently on rest and medication. Don’t worry, she feels fine, and acts completely normal at home. I just want to get her healed up in time for Reliant. Luckily, if there’s ever a good time for an injury, it’s now. Our schedule is really light, we’re not training a lot because it’s so hot, etc.
Not a lot else going on for us, except that I am trying to put together a 2 day seminar for the Fall. It’s a little tough to structure from scratch, but I have time, and I have some good ideas. I think it will be a lot of fun. 🙂
