This past weekend was our first outdoor trial of the year and, as such, was full of the ups & downs that come with that sort of thing.
Our last trial was monumental in that Luke got every single contact the entire weekend. I had hoped that we'd finally crossed a bridge in that respect, but everything changed when we got outside (and on rubber contacts, no less!). It started Friday night when we got there early for a fun match -- a great opportunity to give the dog's a warm-up in the show ring and on the equipment we'd be seeing all weekend!
Luke was a freak during both of our fun runs, so I figured it didn't bode well for our weekend and I was right.
Our first class on Saturday was Regular 1. Luke wasn't listening at all, so when he flew off the dog walk I took him back to re-do it (he still barely made it, but you can only school once) and then took him off the course to "think about things" in his crate. Regular 2 wasn't much better. He didn't get either contact and he also flubbed the weaves, but since he'd already NQ'd I just kept going -- so, 40 faults for that class.
Our first stab at Elite Chances was up next and frankly, this class is going to be a big joke for us for a while. I know Luke isn't prepared for the distance required in elite, but I figured we may as well give it a shot. He actually, believe it or not, came really close to getting it. It was my fault when he cut in at a distance because I was SO not expecting him to actually get the DW that I stood there with my mouth gaping and forgot to tell him where to go next!
In weavers I got the usual arguement at the first set of poles. I don't know if he's just so hyped up to do tunnels that he wants to blow the weaves or what. Once he gets it in his head that we're doing that he's fine. After the first set he did well and by the last set he started to find his stride. We still came in 14 seconds over time because of that first flub.
We came VERY close to having an off course jump in Jumpers, but Luke saved it at the last minute. He was less than a tenth of a second under time -- it was a CLOSE ONE, but he Q'd!
With our horrid contact performance, I didn't hold out much hope for Touch-n-Go. Luke blew the dog walk immediately, but he did get the frame two times on course. But still, 10 faults and NQ.
We got to take our first stab at Open Hoopers at this trial and to my delight, there were HOOP WEAVES on the course! Previously they were only available to the elite runners, but they're now letting everyone try them. I desperately wanted to see what Luke would do when faced with that new challenge, so I picked a course that would incorporate that test. He did it flawlessly, which was especially exciting considering we've never practiced such a thing! This ended up being our best class of the weekend, finishing second (although the results that were e-mailed to me listed him in first....).
The trial wrapped up early on Saturday and we were out of there around 1:30/2:00. We all went back to the hotel room to crash, as being outside all day takes a lot out of you! I started to feel a little off around 5:00 when we left for dinner and by the time we got back I was just awful. I was in bed with the chills and just couldn't get warm. I hoped a night of sleep would help, but not so much. I could barely stand up for my shower the next morning, so it didn't bode well for running...
Our day started in the Jumper ring, which I've taken to liking first thing in the morning. The course was very twisty-turny, though, and I thought for sure I'd get lost out there in my foggy state of mind. I very nearly did at least twice and a bad front cross almost send Luke to an off-course jump. We finished the course clear, though, and I thought that would be our Elite Proficient Jumpers title! Imagine my disappointment, then, when the results came in and we were 1.48 seconds over time. *sigh* My fault, completely, I know.
Touch-n-Go was dismal. Luke blew the dog walk twice and took an off course tunnel (which accumulated time faults), so we had 29.41 faults. If it's any consolation, he did get the frame again...
I doubted my ability to be able to make time in our tunnelers course because I was barely staying on my feet. I really tried to push Luke hard to make up for my shortcomings -- and very nearly fell on my face on the line coming home! Luke took some really wide turns on that course and I had my doubts that we would make time for a Q, but he ended up just over one second under time. This ended up being our only Q of the day and the 3rd of the weekend.
In Regular 1, Luke totally blew his start line, which caused him to completely miss his weave entrance (which he then argued about). He jumped the dog walk like usual, but he did do an amazing line of 12 weaves at the end of the course. We also had time faults (odd for us in regular), so this shows just how off I was that day.
Regular 2 was just as bad, if not worse. I caused a dropped bar with a horrible cross and totally threw Luke off his path. Again we got the frame, but jumped the dog walk. We got all the way up to 25.4 faults in that round. Weee.
Our day ended with the most difficult Chances class that we've ever seen. I thought Luke might get the weaves at a distance, as they weren't too far out (the actual test was discrimination between the weaves and the tunnel). He started to get it, but then entered at the second pole. I tried to bring him back and send him out a few times but it just wasn't working, so I gave up and moved on to the next (hardest) part -- that was a turn away and out from the handler to a pinwheel and Luke didn't even TRY it. So we ran for the finish without even completing one of the tests. lol We were both sooooo done. Running when you're sick is just awful and I'm sure it was confusing to Luke because I was so spacey.
Kaiser did really well at his first away trial. He seemed to like the outdoor environment more than the indoor trial. He also did superb in the hotel room and kept quiet AND didn't have any accidents.
This weekend we head to Zumbro Falls, MN for another outdoor trial. This one is only one ring, though, and should be a bit more relaxed. I'm just hoping not to be ill.
I have pictures!
http://s185.photobucket.com/albums/x139/SarMoniet/Dogs%205-17-08/?start=all
And a video of the boys playing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcVTuwAk2fQ
I did get videos of Luke doing a few runs, but haven't pulled them off the camera yet.