MLK day agility trial

[areese]

There was a one day trial last monday and the dogs and I went. Rob too, although he never did make it to the trial but hung out at the motel 6 and then went to BEST BUY (I'm sure that was his motive for going all along...)
Salsa qualified in 5 out of 5 runs, all level C so she got 5 more pretty rainbow ribbons as well as 5 blue first place ribbons!
Owen went 3 out of 5. I messed him up in Jackpot and then he was over time in Jumpers. Which never happens but he has been knocking bars due to his overzealous jumping style. He'll start a jump from 4 feet away-fly about 20 inches up and then land right on the bar. So I've been working on his jumping some and I was trying to watch him as he ran, which made him nervous, which made us slow down. He did NOT knock any bars which I was really happy about except I heard him hit the bars a few times but they did not fall down. Then I was course building and set the bars at 4" (his height) and realized that the bars were really crammed into the holders at that height for some reason and they were so tight he wasn't knocking them down even though he hit them pretty hard. O well. Burst my bubble. He usually knocks bars there so I dunno-maybe someone adjusted the jumps cuz they were getting loose or something. He did get two standard runs which I was very happy about as he sometimes jumps off the teeter at this facility. He did not jump any of the contacts either so that was good. Many new people there who all seemed to be amazed at my dogs as they hadn't seen weens and teeny chis running before. Laika was quite upset by not being allowed to run. First time I've seen her like that :( She was barking at strangers to come get her out (she has a specific demanding bark for such things). I let her visit a lot and took the bars off the practice jump and let her do it but she wanted to be out on the course.

[Barb]

Good job Owee and Salsa !!! And Laika sweetie...heal for just a while long :heart: bet your out there in no time !!!

[areese]

Good job Owee and Salsa !!! And Laika sweetie...heal for just a while long :heart: bet your out there in no time !!!

Laika will not be running agility ever again :( I really don't think I can risk it. Even though jumping 4 inches is barely jumping... I dunno. I certainly can't risk her doing the contact obstacles (dogwalk, a-frame, teeter) or the weaves...she might jump off the obstacles and it seems like weaves would be really hard on her back... So unless some canine neurosurgeon came out and said agility was good for them...our surgeon said NOT.
I asked the head of CPE (we know her well) if Laika could run FEO (For Exhibition ONly) with the bars down and she said no.
HOWEVER, another person we know well who puts on trials said Laika can run after the other dogs are done...we can take the bars down and let her run and our friends can cheer her on. I am :crossfin: that she remembers to let us do that. She said she talked to the judge and it's ok with him. We will be going next Sunday. One good thing about CPE agility is that we know the people well-it was started here in MI and we've been doing it for some years now...and people love Laika and love dogs and want her to be happy so I'm hoping a run after the trial will make her feel better.

[Barb]

We will cyberlly cheer her on !!! GO LAIKA !!! :cheer3:

(don't understand why they would not let her run FEO ???? What would it hurt? :crossfin: that the other person remembers ! )

[areese]

We will cyberlly cheer her on !!! GO LAIKA !!! :cheer3:

(don't understand why they would not let her run FEO ???? What would it hurt? :crossfin: that the other person remembers ! )

It takes up time I guess...they used to let people run a course with the leash on but really that is training...and that's not what a trial is for. Although if a dog has a problem with an obstacle...falls off or for whatever reason is scared and it's a lower level dog, they will let the owner get the leash and do the obstacle and finish the course. They just aren't allowing full courses to be run FEO. Trials do go really late a lot so I guess they can't allow it anymore :(
Sonja (woman who is putting the trial on) used to run her old dog after the trial...Jackie was about 15 and a collie...she'd do a few jumps with the bars down to prob. 4 inches and then run to the table and we'd cheer (and cry cuz Jackie was so very old and so very sweet and happy getting to run). So Sonja understands... I told her I really wasn't expecting Laika to be upset about it. I don't think she loves agility that much. But she feels that something is wrong cuz she should be running and she's not. Each trial now she is more agitated...I can't leave her home and she does get a lot of attention and belly rubs and treats but she knows it's not right.

[Rafi]

Great job on the MLK Agility Trial.

Is there some other activities you can do with Laika? What about the stuff in water? I know it would be in the summer time only but wouldnt that be kind of like water therapy?

[areese]

Great job on the MLK Agility Trial.

Is there some other activities you can do with Laika? What about the stuff in water? I know it would be in the summer time only but wouldnt that be kind of like water therapy?

Although she for sure will be swimming this summer in our pond, the only water activity I know of to do officially is dock dog and I don't think she could do that. I prob. won't let her leap off the raft anymore...I dunno. Some things I have to think about more. Like earthdog...field trials.
One thing we could do competatively is rally obedience. She might like that...I found a place to take classes but I think I will wait until spring.

[Courtney]

Congrats on the good trial for Owen and Salsa. They are just starting to have CPE in the Dallas area and I think I might check it out. There is a trial in April. At our trial last night I thought, we are never gonna get out of novice.... :(

It breaks my heart about Laika, Amy. Thor and I are just getting started but we both have fun that I do not want anything to stop us. Do you have any ASCA trials up there? They have the FEO option and you could always ask.

[Tex]

:congrats: to Salsa and Owen!!!

I hope that the lady remembers to let Laika run. I'm sure she is confused at not being able to run, but I understand your need to keep her safe too. :)

[areese]

Nope, no ASCA agility around here. We have CPE, AKC, UKC, USDAA, and a Canadian one-think it's AAC. There used to be NADAC but no more. There are some teacup trials up north..I still want to do that.
Even if CPE had FEO, they wouldn't let me take the bars totally off :( And if she's going to jump, I might as well just enter her...I CAN enter her as a specialist (CPE) and then she could run level 1 jumpers courses which would be shorter and less sharp turns...
I'm going to email Sonja and thank her as a way of reminding her :) And I'll get her a bag of gummy bears (she loves them) that way I can give them to her at the trial as a thank you and another reminder :)
CPE is a blast and you can get through the lower levels so quickly it makes you feel really good and confident. And the games are so much fun. AND I can explain all of them to you too if you have questions! I love going to a trial and getting to run 5 runs..

Congrats on the good trial for Owen and Salsa. They are just starting to have CPE in the Dallas area and I think I might check it out. There is a trial in April. At our trial last night I thought, we are never gonna get out of novice.... :(

It breaks my heart about Laika, Amy. Thor and I are just getting started but we both have fun that I do not want anything to stop us. Do you have any ASCA trials up there? They have the FEO option and you could always ask.

[Courtney]

PLEASE explain the games. Especially Snooker. I have seen it, I have read about it....I still have no clue. :D

[areese]

PLEASE explain the games. Especially Snooker. I have seen it, I have read about it....I still have no clue. :D

I LOVE Snooker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Basically you just have a course numbered 2-7 and then the table and 3 or 4 red jumps with no numbers. There is an opening and a closing. In the opening, you must first do a red jump. Doing a red jump succesfully earns you the right to do an obstacle. Any obstacle. (You can even do the same obstacle 3 times, but you must do a different red jump each time) Then you must do another red jump, then another obstacle. Then one more red jump, then an obstacle. So that's a total of three reds, and 3 obstacles. That is the opening. Then you start with 2 and do the course through 7, then the table to stop the clock. That's the closing. So it's red jump, obstacle, red jump, obstacle, red jump, obstacle, 2,3,4,5,6,7 and table. If you knock a red jump, you have to go do another before you can do an obstacle. If you knock a bar on an obstacle or say, your dog jumps a contact in the OPENING, you still go on to a red jump but you don't get the points. You need a certain number of points to qualify, which varies by what level you are in. And it is timed of course...when the whistle blows you are out of time and must go to the table to stop the clock. Obstacle points are whatever they are numbered. Red jumps are 1 point. So you don't necessarily have to finish the whole closing to qualify..if you got a lot of points in your opening. It's generally harder to get to the higher point obstacles from the reds , and #7 is often a combo or the weaves or something that takes more time.
It's the most fun game but it does take some practice to feel comfortable about it. half the time when I first started if I got a "thank you" (that means you messed up and must go to the table) I didn't even know why... Now I really really love it.
ok..next game??

[Tex]

I got to run Zandra's Sophie in a Snooker course during practice once. I loved it!!!! I like that you can chose which obstacles to do...kinda like tailoring the course to your dog. It was a blast!

[areese]

In CPE there are 3 games where you make your own course: Jackpot-where you just gather points doing whatever obstacles you want until time is up (whistle blows or whatever) and then do a sequence of obstacles with the handler stays on the far side of a taped line; fullhouse, where again you gather points doing obstacles, making sure you get 3 single jumps, 2 "circles" (tunnels or tire) and 1 "joker" which is determined by judge but is contacts or weaves or maybe a double jump all done in a certain amount of time, then a whistle and 5-7 seconds to get to thentable; and then snooker. Fullhouse is the easiest..if you dog is out there running even if he isn't doing what you want, as long as he does a bunch of obstacles, you will prob. qualify. Of course I've seen dogs get zoomies out there and not do any obstacles in the time allowed.
CPE also has wildcard, where at 3 points on a short course there is a choice between two different obstacles and, depending on your level, you need wither 2 one point and 1 two point obstacle, or 1 one point and 2 two point obstacles. It's fun cuz sometimes your dog chooses and you gotta think on your feet. And Colors, where there are two short courses imbedded (different colored cones marking the courses) and you pick a color and run that course, the trick being that your dog doesn't take an off course obstacle.
I love being able to make a course that is best for my dog. If you just worry about how it "flows" and not about the points too much it works best.

[Tex]

I liked picking the obstacles because sometimes the dogs wouldn't like the teeter or the A-frame, and choosing meant we could just do the obstacles they were good at (and the obstacles that I was good at getting us to :rolleyes: ).

I really had fun in that class. I need to see if there is an obedience for agility class that I could get Julie into....

[areese]

I liked picking the obstacles because sometimes the dogs wouldn't like the teeter or the A-frame, and choosing meant we could just do the obstacles they were good at (and the obstacles that I was good at getting us to :rolleyes: ).

I really had fun in that class. I need to see if there is an obedience for agility class that I could get Julie into....

Yeah and sometimes there's an obstacle they don't like and it gives you an opportunity to kinda practice it (cuz they aren't faulted in the games-if they don't do it you just don't get points) before Standard when you HAVE to do it.

[Courtney]

I think I will try the CPE trial. I like the games classes, esp because we aren't solid on weaves at trials yet, and this week Thor has decided he's no longer going to do the teeter. :( And the CPE trial is at the same place we were this weekend, where there was a dachshund magnet in the corner - a bunch of junk piled up! Friday he investigated and left the ring - sigh. I came back Sunday and they had put a RED (dark) tunnel all scrunched up IN THAT CORNER. Lovely, but we did manage to leave the corner all alone with no issues and actually got into the tunnel the right way on the 3rd course. :D

[areese]

CPE level 1 has no weaves or teeter!!! In Fullhouse where all levels run together, they might be out there but you don't have to do them.
Can you work with distractions like the junk and tunnel in class??
It just takes time, really. I remember Laika...she had been the star of classes inside, then when we went outdoors, it was like she had never done agility before!

I think I will try the CPE trial. I like the games classes, esp because we aren't solid on weaves at trials yet, and this week Thor has decided he's no longer going to do the teeter. :( And the CPE trial is at the same place we were this weekend, where there was a dachshund magnet in the corner - a bunch of junk piled up! Friday he investigated and left the ring - sigh. I came back Sunday and they had put a RED (dark) tunnel all scrunched up IN THAT CORNER. Lovely, but we did manage to leave the corner all alone with no issues and actually got into the tunnel the right way on the 3rd course. :D

[Linus]

Rally is so much fun. I was going to put bailey back in agility in the spring, but now I am scared about his back. It seems to me like that one disc is bulging more and more, but my vet says its not. I watched some rally at a show I went to and I totally think he could do it. He had so much confidence when we were in agility that he has lost (as evidenced at barbs) and rally will help him get it back.