Videos from MHACB AKC

Last weekend we were at a one-ring AKC trial in Golden. I was really pleased with most of the runs I had with both dogs. Summit had a 50 percent qualifying rate - which tells me we are becoming more consistent as a team. Both dogs would have had a double Q on Sunday but for a handling error with Sage and dropped bar with Summit.

It was a nice well-run trial with the exception of the ground. By Sunday the dirt was packed down hard and Summit, who really likes to "dig in", had a difficult time getting his feet under him to turn.

Here is Summit's Saturday Standard run. Q and first place with a time of 40.17 seconds.

I'm pretty happy with that run. I did cue too much extension over the jump after the teeter and had a pretty deep turn to the a-frame. I am really pleased with his performance of the serpentine. Surprisingly, many teams had problems here. Most handlers attempted a front cross on the landing side of the first jump but couldn't get there in time so cued extension over the jump. The result was wide loopy turns in the serpentine. I liked staying on the approach side and rear crossing the last jump.

Another thing I did differently than most handlers was the front cross on the flat between the table and the dogwalk. Many handlers led out from the table and attempted a lead out push to the dogwalk. This worked fine with the small dogs but quite a few large dogs anticipated going to the dogwalk and had a nasty approach. The front cross created a straight (and safer) approach to the DW. I don't have a video of Sage's run but it was really nice although she did miss the weavepole entry.

The next video is Sage's Standard run on Sunday.

What a nice run! What is that saying? "Great dog, shame about the handler"!

This would have been a double Q except for my mishandling at the end. Why I felt the need to turn and leave without first making sure I had my dog's head is beyond me.

I ran Summit second and so did not make that mistake with him.

He dropped the bar on the second jump. I was late rotating for the front cross and cued extension. He also did not read the collection cue from the tunnel to the table. I think he needed more collection cues. I was also still moving towards the jump as he exited the tunnel which also created extension. In hindsight, I may have planned to have been on the landing side of the jump and pushed to the table if I could have gotten there by sending to the tunnel - not sure. I ran Sage first and she had a nice tight turn over the jump.

Sundays jumpers run began with THREE pinwheels! Sage qualified with a 3rd place. I handled the course the same with both dogs.

Here is Summit's run. He also qualified and got first place. The funky half-cross move after the third pinwheel was unintentional. I forgot where I was going for a split second and started to front cross for another pinwheel before remembering that was the last one. Too many pinwheels on this course. I am particularly pleased with the forward send that allowed me plenty of time to front cross the landing side of the double. Most handlers chose to rear cross it.