Monroe Trial 2011

Maxie:  6 runs, 3 Q's XJ, XJ, XS, 2 3rd places XS and XJ, 1 QQ, 39 MACH Points Videos Posted
Lucky:  6 runs, 2 Q's, 1 1st place, 1 2nd place OJ, OPEN JUMPERS TITLE Videos Posted


Lucky, Maxie and Willow cozy in their crates,
bedecked with ribbons, and finally, me in a "crate space" picture.
The black X-pen propped up behind Lucky's crate, rugs
 draped down the back and sides, and the cooler,
gave them a "front view only and almost complete privacy.

This was my second visit to the Ike Exposition Center in West Monroe.  Last year it seemed huge, so this year I made sure I arrived early on Wednesday so I could position my crate space with some privacy.  To my surprise, the arena seemed smaller!  Still, it's a 4 day trial, away from home 5 days,  with 2 rings going at once -- very stressful.  We stayed at Motel 6, a roomy ground floor "handicap" unit with king bed, microwave, fridge and desk, very comfortable, and only 1/4 mile away from the arena.  It was $44.75/night, including tax, and no pet fee. My cooler was packed with 4 Ocean Spray bottle blocks of ice, which actually lasted thru all 5 days.  As it melted, we drank our own Baton Rouge water.

GOALS FOR MAXIE:
1-3 Q's XS, if 3, he earns his Masters Standard Title (3 chances).  DONE! Earned 2
1-3 Q's XJ.  DONE! Earned 1
1-3 2Q's.  DONE! Earned 1
A few Placement Ribbons  DONE! 2 3rd place ribbons, 1 QQ ribbon

GOALS FOR LUCKY:

1 Q OJ, earning her Open JumpersTitle OAJ (3 chances)  DONE!
2 Q's XS - A, earning her Excellent Standard Title AX (3 chances)
More Q's if possible, of course.   DONE! 1st Q in XJ
Improved time.
A few placement ribbons.  DONE! 1st place in XJ, 2nd place in OJ

However, I had another goal . . . . . . .  to run my dogs at all.
Nursing a 3 week old calf injury, I went to the doctor Tuesday Morning, who okayed me to run (nothing seems torn), but fixed me up with Naprelan 500 mg. anti-inflamatory and Metaxalone 800 mg muscle relaxer.  Supposedly, both are non-drowsy.  I took my first pills Tuesday around noon, and by 3 p.m. I was so loopy I tripped and fell once, and felt tongue tied all evening.  But by Wednesday my calf was only slightly tender.  Things were looking good. Left at 10 on Wednesday, and had the highway to myself the whole 200 mile, 4 hour drive.

My strategy for the weekend, therefore, was to take these pills after settling in for the evening, let them work their magic overnight and leave me pain free and alert the next day.  Secondly, recognizing myself as a complete wuss where pain is concerned, I primed myself to ignore any pain I might feel.

This didn't work at all!

THURSDAY: Maxie was the 9th dog to run.  The XS course was easy enough, I walked it several times with no discomfort, and felt confident.  But 3rd jump into the run, I felt my calf rip, pain jammed thru my leg, I winced, Maxie got confused and missed the next jump.  I managed to hobble thru the rest of the course without fault, but of course we NQ'd, and my weekend came to a screeching halt. 

Maxie was perfect, and there he was prancing around expecting a treat.  But the crate area now seemed blocks away. The arena seemed enormous again. My face felt like a water balloon, filled with tears, but none came out.  My heart was so heavy I could barely lug it around. Tracy, who was videoing us, came up and said the camera misfired, so more bad news.  I didn't catch any more videos this day.  That night I discovered the memory stick had become dislodged.  I pushed it back in, and we were good to go.

All of my aforementioned goals -- down the toilet.  All my entry fees lost.  My weekend ruined. Or so I thought, until Tracy offered to run Lucky in XS.  They have never run together but Lucky has played with her at the field.  So, after a bit of bonding and tugging, they headed onto the course, and miraculously Q'd!  It was a beautiful run.  MOST UNFORTUNATELY, I didn't have the good sense to hide, so when Lucky crossed the finish line I screamed for joy, she heard me and leaped over the ring gates to me . . . . . . . and was immediately disqualified.  SHIT! SHIT!  SHIT!   It seems I have to learn each and every single lesson in this sport personally, at cost.

.
I caught this run on my Sony Cybershot, and will certainly add this blooper to my ever-growing list of WHAT CAN GO WRONG IN THE RING.  Here it is:

On their second run of the day, Open Jumpers, Tracy took Lucky around the ring like the pro she is, Lucky Q'd and my first goal of the weekend was miraculously met -- Lucky's Open Jumpers Title.  Plus 2nd place!  Lucky walked thru the weaves and her time was a few seconds over SCT, but she Q'd.  I made sure I was hiding this time, and only screaming for joy on the inside.  My heart was pumping, though.  What an adrenalin rush!

Noel offered to run Maxie's second run of Thursday, and they did amazingly well, too, but not a Q.  Noel has never run Maxie, but she pretty much taught me how to handle so we handle similarly.  They warmed up awhile, Maxie pretty much paid attention to the hot dogs in Noel's mouth, but a few times during the run it seemed Maxie was looking for me and missed a few of Noel's cues. She did manage to catch him after the run.  I videod this with my little Sony Cybershot, but I can't find it now.  Bummer!  I'll keep looking.

Went to dinner with clubmates at El Sombrero Mexican restaurant, next door to Motel 6.  Wonderful enchiladas!

Tracy/Lucky with OJ TITLE ribbon,
1st and 2nd place ribbons

FRIDAY: Again, Maxie was 9th dog to run in XS, only this time Sandy R. ran him.  He ran wonderfully for her and Q'd . . . . . .  BUT, afterwards she couldn't get his leash on, he kept backing up and eventually ran out of the ring looking for me, and got eliminated.  Another perfect run gone awry.  Later, she ran him in XJ and they Q'd with time to spare.  She had practiced slipping the leash over his head beforehand this time, and he sat for her.  Another goal met.  It was a QQ day in my estimation.  AKC disagrees.

Lucky fared about as well, with Tracy running him, and me hiding up in the bleachers.  It was her first XJ - A run and a difficult course.  She ran 3 seconds over SCT, so 6 points were deducted from her 100 score, but she was the only dog to Q at 20", so she got 1st place.  What a frickin' shock!  Another goal met.

Went to dinner with club-mates at Outback Steakhouse.  It was Brittany's birthday (Noel's friend). The spinach/artichoke dip was a big hit.

SATURDAY:  With 4 runs to go and my leg no better, Tracy and Sandy agreed to run my dogs again on Saturday.  Both claimed they were enjoying it, though both were running multiple dogs of their own!



Noel and Sandy pose with Maxie,
wearing his QQ ribbon, 2
3rd place ribbons, and 3 Q's.

To my great joy, Maxie double Q'd with Sandy, and both were 3rd place runs.  So 2 more goals met.  Sandy said Maxie was "lots of fun to run", so now somebody besides me knows that!  I did hobble through the courses with her and gave a few handling tips, such as calling Maxie hard off the dog walk or he will take it every time, not front crossing after the A-frame because Maxie shoots down that sucker very fast, that he sends to the A-frame, dog walk and see-saw from a great distance, and that he has good "go outs". I learned later than one of Maxie's 3rd place wins was only by 1/100th of a second!  If the 4th place dog had exactly tied, there would have had to be a runoff!

Lucky didn't fare so well.  No Q's.  She just couldn't seem to focus, ran around jumps, and walked thru the weaves.  Her time was terrible.  Tracy chalked it up to "doing that hound dog thing".  Plus, by the 3rd day Lucky is always tired.  Tracy didn't seem quite herself either.  I myself was so tired from all the adrenalin pumping and stomach churning, not to mention trying with each step not to limp and make other body parts sore, I fell asleep by 4 p.m. watching TV and icing my leg, and didn't make it to dinner at Olive Garden with the gang on Saturday night.  I didn't even have the energy to download and watch the videos I took, and I always look forward to that!

MUSINGS: RUNNING EACH OTHER'S DOGS:
All of these goings-on this weekend, with the Noel/Maxie, Sandy/Maxie, and Tracy/Lucky teams demonstrating that dogs can run for multiple handlers,  led to various comments among LCCOC clubmates about running each other's dogs once in awhile at practice, for insurance purposes. 
Reactions were mixed:

• Some claimed their dogs would never run for anyone else.
• Others opined that they didn't want to confuse their dogs with different handling techniques.  In my classes we practice each sequence several different ways. How can one know what what works best for you, until you try them all?
• One person claimed she could never concentrate well enough to do the close handling my dogs take. 
• Another said she would never let anyone else run her dog, because she didn't want to be shown up!   Oh, contrare!  I am so happy if someone can show me up, Q my dogs. I have no grand illusions about my skills, and what better way to learn how to improve myself.
• Someone summed it up that dogs who enjoy agility will run for just about anybody, and dogs that don't enjoy agility just do it because they are velcroed to their handler. 

All I know is, Maxie will follow anyone who offers him food.  Lucky will chase after anyone carrying her toy. The hussies!  And having someone else willing to run my dogs this weekend really saved my ass!  All my goals were met!
 

Maxie, Willow, Lucky, Michele

TRIAL SITE SUMMARY:  See links.

LESSONS LEARNED: 

• Make sure to train my dogs so anyone can grab their collar, and put on their leash.
• If someone else runs my dog, disappear.
• Don't tug too long with Lucky before a run -- it tires her out.
• Lucky does best with a long lead-out, where she can see H standing on the landing side of the jump.  If not, she tends to go around the first jump.
• You never know where your help is going to come from.  Someone you might not have expected to be there for you, can suddenly save your day.
• Travel with instant heating pads, and instant cold packs. 
• I learned that for inflammation or swelling, use cold packs (makes sense to reduce the "flames"), for tight muscles or charlie horses use a hot pad (makes sense that a hot bath relaxes you).

Packed up to head home, I wheeled us thru the arena and heard lots of comments how cute Max and Willow look tucked in the caboose, how awesome my red wagon is.  I finally got someone to take a picture of me by my wagon.  On the way out, I discovered Lucky loves to pull the cart.  I had her leash attached to the upright pole (by my shoulder), and she just steadily walked by my side and pulled, pulled, pulled all the way out to the car!  Is she a cart-puller?

NEW GOALS:

• Maxie is 1 Q away from his MXJ title, and 4 Q's away from his MX title.
• Lucky is 2 Q's away from her AXJ title, and 2 Q's away from her AX title.
• Need to attend at least 2 more trials before November to reach these 2011 goals.
• Not exactly a goal, just a fact, Maxie needs 2 more QQ's and 189 more MACH points by November 30, 2011, to qualify for AKC nationals next year (6 QQ's and 400 MACH points required). It would be sweet to qualify, whether we go or not, but I don't think I'm up to that level of stress yet.  
• Heal my leg completely before any more running!  Give it 6 weeks, at least.
• Learn to teach my Wednesday night class without running!  Nedra says I demo too much anyway, just let them run the sequences and figure it out for themselves.
• Get signed up for the Hattiesburg trial on August 18-21, only 8 weeks away.
• Get signed up for the 2 Kiln trials in September and October.
• Find some first aid cold packs and hot packs.  Need a box of each. 

What a weekend!  I will never forget the friendly support extended to me by my clubmates, and their professionalism, which saved our weekend and made it possible to stay on track with my 2011 goals.  They told me to disappear, get lost, etc., and I never worried that they would forget to go get my dogs out of their crates, warm them up, treat them right, do their best.  Even with Sandy, who was running Tango in the same 8" XB class, I was totally confident she would do her best for Maxie, and she did.

Upwards and onward,

USDAA Trial - Lucky's First Trial

Lucky jumps 26" with room to spare.
She is a jumping maniac.

Lucky Lucy
4 runs, 3 Q's, 4 1st places
Videos posted here

Last weekend was Lucky's first ever trial, and my first entry in a USDAA trial.  I entered her as Lucky Lucy (to distinguish her from another dog named Lucky that runs in just about every trial), running twice on Saturday and twice on Sunday.  She earned one leg each in SStandard, SSnooker, and SJumpers, that's 3 Q's.  But she got 4 1st places!  I found this very confusing, even picked up a 4th Q Ribbon because I got a sticker and assumed that meant a Q, but apparently in USDAA, one can "place" and get a sticker without Qing.  One can also knock a bar, as she did in her 4th run, and still Q.  Exceed course time, though, it's an automatic NQ. So different from AKC.

Her NQ in our first run, Starters Standard, was due to being 4 seconds over SCT, but her run was clean.  By Sunday I figured out how to make her go faster by locating the straight sequences, getting further ahead and running them faster myself.  By her last run she was 8 seconds under SCT.  Also by Sunday she was more used to being in the ring, running on sand.  By reviewing the videos I can see she needs a lot more speed.  How can she run like a border collie at home, and lope along like an old nag in the ring?????????

Here are her scores:

2/26/2011
Starters Standard - 26 Inch - Judge: Jelinda Pepper
Distance: 137 yards SCT: 63.00 seconds
Score: 4.08 (NQ) Time: 67.08 seconds 1st Place

Starters Snooker - 26 Inch - Judge: Jelinda Pepper
Score: 40 (Q) Time: 37.75 seconds 1st Place

2/27/2011
Starters Jumpers - 26 Inch - Judge: Jelinda Pepper
Distance: 119 yards SCT: 33.00 seconds
Score: 0.00 (Q) Time: 31.91 seconds 1st Place

Starters Standard - 26 Inch - Judge: Jelinda Pepper
Distance: 145 yards SCT: 67.00 seconds
Score: 0.00 (Q) Time: 58.85 seconds 1st Place

It was a very laid back trial, at Parker Coliseum in Baton Rouge, with only about 50 dogs entered.  The ring stewards and staff were very attentive, helpful and supportive, which I appreciated.  Due to so many teenage volunteers, I didn't ring crew.  I got to relax between runs, go home and sleep each night, all way relaxing.  The RV spaces, though, are flat, nearby, and suitable for my pop-up camper.  No nighttime bathroom facilities though.  No showers. No freezer.

I ran into a handler with a dingo.  Third dingo I've ever seen, second one at an agility trial.  Another stab of guilt that I never did agility with FoohFooh, except at home.  He would have been so awesome in the ring!

Roku (left) and Jitsu (right), at 12 weeks old.

I brought the two Papillon puppies I have for sale, and they got a lot of attention. Teenagers and college students held them all day, both days. Both puppies seemed perfectly relaxed, no whining, barking, etc. They weren't as playful as usual, no doubt a bit of stress, but after the trial ended we closed the arena doors let them out and they tore all over the place. I was afraid for awhile we would not be able to catch them.

Roku caught the eye of a local couple who came to my house a few days later and bought him. They renamed him Winston. He is going to a wonderful home, with people who train in agility, and who live nearby so I will get to watch him grow up. All this makes me very happy.

I had time to video all the newbie dogs, including Lucky, and got inspired to put up a new web album on Red Stick's photo gallery, called Doggie Debuts.  It will feature Red Stick Agility students who are running their first trial, also seasoned trialers who are running a new dog.  This weekend, these included Alyce and Ro, Bonnie and Luna, Kay and Toozie, Michele and Lucky.  As time permits, I will go back to videos I've taken from previous trials and see if I can transfer the "first runs" of other students, too.  That should be fun and inspiring for them to watch.


Our crate space, behind the raffle table.

I crated us along the wall, in the arena fartherest from the ring, behind the raffle table.  There was very little traffic so it was less stressful on the dogs. Lucky behaved beautifully when crated -- no barking, whining, or wiggling around.  She seemed to enjoy her crate time.

My red wagon came in handy again.  I was able to pack my entire crate space, including the wire X-pen for the puppies, in one load.  Afterwards, I was able to help Meg, the trial secretary, load up all her office stuff in one load, and then Tracey's crate space in one load.  They were impressed with the wagon, too, especially since it folds up small and fits in the trunk.

I tried to encourage Tracey, Trial Chairman with the sponsoring local club, OverCome Agility, to put on a second trial in Baton Rouge each year, but she said there is too little help. They don't actually solicit members to join, but I'd agree to spiff up their website to attract more members and/or volunteers in exchange for a second local trial and free runs. It would be well worth my time and effort not to have to travel to the next nearest USDAA trials.

Lessons Learned:

• In USDAA, dogs run without their collars.  Thanks Tracey for stopping me at the start line from running our debut run with Lucky's collar still on, and keeping us from getting whistled off.
• It's less taxing to video the runs from a hand held position in the crowd, and other people are more willing to help out, but the videos are a lot more shakey.

Lucky and her first ribbons

Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture of Lucky with her ribbons.  But here's the best I've got and it will have to do until I can stage a better one.  And I'm so darn busy these days, that may never happen.

Meanwhile, upwards and onward!

New Iberia Trial

Maxie, 6 runs, 1 Q, XJ (5th place)
Videos posted.

Just got back from the New Iberia trial, where Maxie only Q'd 1 out of 6 runs on his FIRST EXCELLENT B trial.  Not sure why we did so poorly.  He only completed the weaves correctly twice, which could be the 22" spacing or the gap between the 2 6-weave-pole assemblies, but there were many other faults.  I was well rested the first 2 days, feeling confident and focused, weather was balmy and beautiful, everyone was friendly, the atmosphere was jovial.  I brought Willow to keep Maxie company in the crate.  Left Lucky home. Sheryl Mc and I roomed together Fri and Sat nights at LaQuinta Inn.  Charlie, Willow and Maxie got along well.

I used my new collapsible red wagon for the first time.  It carried everything in one trip except the wheeled cooler, and got lots of compliments.  Well worth the $150!

Applying my new Pre-Competition Routine skills, I was able to memorize the courses quickly.  In fact, Sunday morning with small dogs running at 7:30, I arrived too late to pick up a map or walk the standard course, but by getting successfully bumped back to the last 8" dog to run, I was able to watch 6 dogs run before I had to run it myself.   I was proud of myself for being able to memorize the path in that short time, but Maxie popped out of the weaves so we NQ'd anyway.  This is the first of Maxie's runs that did not get videoed.

I was NOT proud that on Saturday's Standard run, Maxie went into the tunnel (3rd obstacle from the end), and when he finally came out after what seemed like 3 minutes (about 8 seconds), he stopped and pissed on the tunnel exit!  OMG, how embarrassing!  I was in AGONY, but was so far ahead of him and on auto pilot, I asked him to finish the last 2 jumps.  The trial came to a screeching halt while a ring crew came out with spray cleaner and paper towels and we commenced wiping down every little groove in that tunnel exit.  Then Snow, the next Papillon to run, stopped to sniff the cleaner so out I rushed again with water to wipe off the cleaner scent.  I found out a few runs later that all the equipment had been locked in a trailer all weekend, and when the crew opened it a cat jumped out.  Apparently the cat had marked in the tunnel and several dogs either stopped to sniff it, and in Maxie's case, PROTEST the conditions found therein.  After the 8" dogs ran, the ring crew changed out that tunnel, so I guess he did everyone a favor!  I would have asked for a re-run, which would have been fair, but Maxie had also messed up his weaves so we would have NQ'd anyway.

There was a VMO present, so Maxie finally got his permanent Jump Height Card., at 10"

Judges:  Friday, Heather Dickenson; Saturday, Chris Dewey
Both judges were fair and pleasant.  Their courses were challenging but not too difficult.

Trial Site Summary: see Trial Site Summaries, New Iberia, Sugarena 

Lessons Learned:

1. If your dog pisses on the equipment, don't finish the run! Pick up and remove them from the ring immediately, indicating totally unacceptable behavior. GAME OVER! I did get some praise for helping the ring crew clean up the mess.
2. Just before and during a run is NOT the time for Conflict Resolution.  Susan Garrett warns about this in her PreCompetition Routine course, which recommends developing a mental strategy for dispelling all negativity and focusing instead on the task at hand.  A conflict happened to me on Sunday and I didn't do worth a crap dispelling it. I staggered thru the course feeling knifed in my back, Maxie felt my pain, exceeded course time for the first time, turned wide, and faulted 6 times (more faults than any other run ever). I clearly need to develop a strategy for handling negativity. (see 1 below).
3. Once you get to Excellent B, you stay there forever, with 20MACH dogs competing in the same class with pre-MACH dogs.  That seems grossly unfair and I'd like to see this changed (see 2 below).
4. Nedra says I take too long to get to the start line when the previous dog has cleared the appointed obstacle, and too long to remove Maxie's leash after the judge says GO.  I thought I was doing fine but I'll try to be more conscious of that. 
5. Videos: I am becoming more comfortable with the hand held camera, it is more convenient, and easier to zoom, but also easier to screw up, and end product shakier. Transportation and set-up of the tripod is more time-consuming, I still prefer the tripod method, especially with multiple users, except that it's harder to find friends willing to sit apart to operate the camera. Sitting apart is essential to avoid recording unwanted commentary.
6. Leashes: I started out using a clip-on leash, but the ring on Maxie's tiny collar is so small and my hands used to shake so badly after a run, I could not get it back on.  A few times I just picked him up and pretended the leash was attached.  Since then I've switched to a slip on leash (much easier) but sometimes the leather slide gets tangled in his ear feathers.  I now try to loosen the noose before we enter the ring then just slip it off at the start line. 

Actions to take:

1. After the trial, I visualized carrying an aerosal can of "Knife Dissolver" in my pocket, that I can immediately spray on any psychological wound. I plan on keeping it handy as you can never predict when a poison dart will fly at you.  Best to turn off the phone, leave family and friends at home, crate in a quiet space, tag and avoid folks who repeatedly mess with your head (whether intentionally or not), learn to dispell negative thoughts or feelings immediately. Concentrate on the thrill of trialing with your dog.

2. Write to AKC to create a new class so pre-MACH dogs don't have to vie for placement with MACH dogs who routinely Double Q.  It wouldn't cause much trouble.  They'd still all run the same courses.  Same run orders.  Just one more category in the computer.  Here's the letter I finally wrote, and AKC's response.

So much to do this week.  Download, process, and upload to Picasa over 120 videos and photos, which takes about 3 days.  Help Nedra set up a course Monday afternoon, Monday night class, Tuesday night meeting, teach Wednesday night Beginners class, Thursday and Friday prepare for Lucky's first trial, USDAA, in Baton Rouge, on Saturday and Sunday.  Help Kathy with the raffle. Deal with the puppies, whose incredible drive, curiousity and enthusiasm keep me endlessly entertained.

Upwards and onward!