DSA AKC Trial

We were at a one-ring trial this weekend at a venue that is seven minutes from my house. It was a great trial with a great judge and a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Sage was 50 percent each day. I would like to say we had just one thing wrong in the classes we NQ'd in but actually, we had several wrong courses. Unusual for us and at first I was thinking, "Oh no! I have fallen victim to the "one more double Q for our MACH" syndrome. But after really analyzing the courses (this judge is known for nice flowing courses that let the dogs really open up and extend), I realized that they were a bit too wide open for Sage. I ended up having to handle with a lot of lateral distance from her and we had several disconnection points on course. I found this observation interesting and realized that as a team, Sage and I do much better on tighter more technical courses where I can really handle close to her. She reads my lateral motion cues much better when I am closer to her. So she NQ'd Saturday morning in Jumpers, then WON Standard that afternoon with a smokin' time of 38 seconds. Sunday - NQ in Standard and then Q'd in Jumpers that afternoon (6th place I think).

Summit had an awesome weekend. He did very well on these courses. There were a lot of wrong course posibilities which were a non-issue with Summit. Saturday morning he had a great Jumpers run that would have won the class but for one dropped bar. Saturday afternoon he Q'd with 3rd place in Standard with a time of 41 seconds. I was really making him hold his contacts and he did a great job of that. I found it amusing that so many people came up to me later after the results were posted and wanted to know how Sage could have beat Summit by three whole seconds. Well when you watch the videos, you will see how (hint: contacts).

Sunday Summit won Standard with a blazing time of 37.18 seconds. That afternoon he placed 3rd for a double Q. The first double Q he needs for 2011 AKC Nationals (5 more to go).

I am so thrilled to see that Summit and I are becoming more consistent. My goals have been to trust the training and make sure I uphold criteria in the ring, and perfect my timing.

Speaking of training....
I can't believe it's been two months now since I have trained my dogs. The snow has partially melted off the field but the water is not draining well and between soggy muddy grass and sheets of ice, I have not let the dogs out in the back field at all; not even to play. But we've had a couple of private handling sessions and the first week of February, we have my agility club's 4-day seminar. I am co-chair of the club's seminar which has been a lot of work but not only did I get to select the instructors, I will also get to participate all four days.

Anyway, although I'm a little nervous about not training, I haven't really seen any issues in competition - so far.

Here is the video of Sage's 1st place Standard run on Saturday.



And here is Summit's Standard run (3rd place)



Summit's Saturday Jumpers run (one bar)



Summit's winning Sunday Standard run (not holding contacts)



Summit's Sunday Jumpers run (3rd place. 1-4th places separated by 100ths of a second)
He stumbles a little at the end (second jump after the weaves).




We have this weekend off from competition. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some training in. It's supposed to snow though. Maybe we'll just go hiking.