Hoosier Kennel Club Agility Trial Day 3

Today was a MUCH better day! I was worried about heat and humidity, which was supposed to come in today. However, it stayed overcast much of the day which helped with the temps. We also had a nice breeze all day.

Today I also repeated what I did on Friday on how I handled where the girls were crated. I parked under some trees away from the rings near other doggie friends. It was cool and quiet back there. This is where I usually set up because Ian is so reactive in the crates/van. However, with the cooler temps and just the two Golden girls, I parked up by the rings behind our tents yesterday. I noticed both girls were awake and sitting up a lot yesterday, and I wondered if that had to do with the difference in Devon's speed.

I only came back to the van once this morning to put sunscreen on, and both girls were sleeping soundly. When it was about time for Devon to run, I moved the van up behind the tents next to the ring. Based on Devon's speed and performance today, I think this was the right thing to do.

The Open Standard course was a nice flowing course, and I thought it would be perfect for my plan to run fast and happy. Devon didn't want to sit on the start line, and I think it was because she wouldn't be facing the interior of the ring; you know how she has to make sure all her fans including the judge sees her on the start line!

I was patient and finally got a sit for the start. I took a deep breath and released her and executed my plan; and it worked to perfection! The run below is flawless. I was driving to my spots on course, but I was keeping an eye on her to keep her engaged. I gave her a beautiful line to the weaves, and she nailed the entrance and kept on going.

I also held my criteria on the table, and she looked less stressed. Yes, I lost maybe 3 seconds by making her lie down when he had already started counting when she hit her sit. Oh well! Devon was clean, earned her first Open Standard Q and was 10 seconds under time. Most importantly, she was really happy!

Since there were only 12 dogs in Open Standard and the Open JWW course was built and tweaked, we had a quick turn time to the next run. Devon was the second dog in the ring for this run. We walked up as they were getting in place and the first dog was on the line.

The JWW course was more challenging that the standard course, and I wanted to run it with several front crosses. I also knew from yesterday that by running with her from the start, I would have to precue all my front crosses so she'd know where we were going. Therefore, I knew I'd have to trust Devon to do her job as I pulled her through the course. As I walked, I made sure I knew where the spots were to keep her engaged as I turned.

We got to the line, and Devon was solid for the start and sat right away. However, much to my shock after she took the first jump, Devon headed to the left away from the second jump to the side of the ring. I was shocked and I was worried at first she was so stressed she didn't want to run. Then I realized what she was doing and what must have happened. The judge had been removing the numbered cone off the first weave pole and throwing it to the ring gates all weekend. As we walked up, I'm sure he did this again and my awesome little field dog marked the throw. She had to be patient until the first dog ran, but then she was going to return (i.e. retrieve) the cone to the nice man in the middle of the ring. Devon is so considerate!

Unfortunately as she came back to me, Devon back jumped the second jump for an off course. We wouldn't Q this course, but I was determined to work it (and now even harder) just as I had planned. Devon did an awesome job! She was tired and hot from her first run, but she did a fantastic job on this challenging course. I gave her a great line to the weaves, and she nailed the entrance once again. She was 4 second over course time, but she wasted more than that when she went off toward the cone at the beginning of the run. This is a "personal Q" in my book any day!

I learned a lot this weekend about me and my dog. Susan, you were right. I do need to trust her more to do her job. And because I'm running with her from the start, I also need to precue all my front crosses to give her the information earlier. I still need to watch for those wandering "environmental" moments and keep us connected, but she is ready for me to stop micromanaging her. I also learned that Devon does need her quiet time to rest so she can focus and be ready to run.

Devon is an awesome dog, and I'm blessed that she tries her hardest for me whenever I ask it of her!