CISSC Agility Trial

Devon is back to agility trials after a 6-week holiday break. This is a fun local trial. It's small and mostly everyone knows everyone. The only thing I don't like is the change in the running order this club made back in November and repeated this weekend. They ran all standard and all JWW classes together. So both days Excellent exhibitors had to sit through Open and Novice before running their second class.

Don't get me wrong: I'm very supportive of Open and Novice dogs and handlers. In fact, one of the biggest reasons I don't like this running order is because of the pressure on the Open and Novice dogs and handlers. The building is congested with dogs and people, and many very nervous first time green teams are being watched by seasoned old-timers. Open and Novice dogs and handlers are much better served when the building is quieter and there are fewer dogs when they run. It just makes a very long day for all dogs and handlers - not to mention parking is terrible!

Well, back to the fun part! I really enjoyed hanging out with Kathy and Emma. I think I saw Emma was at least 10 seconds under time in one of her JWW runs! Amazing! And Zoe and Terrie are hot in Excellent B! And we got to see several folks make their agility debut this weekend: Sammy and Columbus, Laurie and Dusty and Steve and Archie. All three teams did fantastic for their first time out and some even earned ribbons! Teresa and awesome beagle Jordon have been bit by the bug in their second trial and promise to make it a 2-day affair in February. Let's see if they can talk the others into the same thing (Laurie). I had a lot of fun standing behind the ring reminding Novice teams to breathe and connect with their dogs. Thanks to Kathy who took on video duty for Novice on Sunday!

Now for Devon's runs. I thought we were a bit rusty on Saturday. We ran in the afternoon, and Devon had a busy morning here at the house. I only gave her half her breakfast as usual for a trial, but since she ran in the afternoon I probably could have given her a full meal. Plus I'm sure she did not nap in the crate. Considering she shredded another crate pad, I know she wasn't napping (why oh why do I continue to feel sorry for her and put them in her crate)!

The error you'll note on the video clip is that Devon popped her weave poles. She has been doing that in practice off and on, so this didn't surprise me. But she hasn't popped them in a trial at this facility. I realized as I turned her around she was worried about the moving shadows on the ground from the Big Ass Fan. I was pleased she did the poles correctly on the second try.

Devon also ticked the double after the chute pretty hard. I was surprised the bar didn't come down. I'm sure this was because she wasn't as prepared for it coming out of a chute. It worried her, and I struggled to keep connected with her on the next two front crosses. I made sure I stopped and connected so we could keep that teamwork.

I felt Devon was slow on course, and her time reflected it. I was concerned she may be sore or need an adjustment with all the rough play she and Page do. I decided to not worry too much and see what she did on Sunday.

Sunday proved to be a much better run for Devon. The running order was tall to small and JWW ran first. Devon was eager to run, and she tugged up to the back of the ring, which is a first. I got worried when Devon started stress scratching at the start line, but once she was on course she only ran faster and faster.

I didn't know how the rear cross on the 180 would work, but she read it beautifully with a nice line. She handled the send to the landing side front cross on the next 180 well, too. I was really pleased with the very tight line she gave me after that front cross into the weaves. There were two places through there where she gave me a couple of sniffs, which had to be stress, but she didn't seem to break stride. She had very nice weaves, which were a little slow but accurate.

I almost didn't get that last front cross in. As I was rotating I knew it was the wrong choice. I also could hear Kathy in my head saying we'd get a wide turn if we drove too hard and showed too much extension getting into position. That was true! But Devon saved it, and we had a lovely run. This run earned Devon her second AXJ leg and a pretty blue ribbon.

Although Devon's speed was good, it was not as fast as she has been. I still think she is likely sore and in need of an adjustment. I also continue to wonder what handling works best for Devon. As this Sunday run shows, Devon runs very well when I'm out of her way and giving her space. She can handle tight turns, but she doesn't seen to like them as well (note the sniff on the collection before the weaves and the slow down I felt on Saturday). It makes me wonder if she thinks she's doing something wrong when I completely decelerate showing that much collection.

We are still a very green team. Now that we are executing pretty well, I'm going to try and pay more attention to what handling she prefers and give it to her. I like her running happy and fast, even if we don't always Q!