We had two full days of agility competition. We were in ten events over the two days. It went so well and event after event, Journey just seemed to have numerous lightbulb moments. He has been doing very well, but this weekend he seemed to focus on a different level. Instead of taking obstacles and then looking at me to see if I approved, he is now checking in with me ahead and confirming his course. I can see it in his eyes. I could swear he is flashing me high signs saying "I got this!" He did have it too from day one to the end of the trial. he was on it.
Saturday morning we began with Jumpers, Level 2. With a 1st place, clean run Q, his run time was 25.13 seconds for a course that was rated at 40.0 Standard Course Time (SCT).
Next event FullHouse, Level 1. Journey ran a clean run in 38.41 seconds for another 1st place Q.
Next event, Wildcard, Level 2. He ran a clean run, 18.85 seconds on a coarse rated at 36.0 SCT. He got a 1st place Q.
Snooker is a challenge and requires very special teamwork. Instead of a flowing course, snooker requires some threading in and out of obstacles, without taking those obstacles. He was required to bypass many jumps and other inviting obstacles in order to get to the special ones he needed to complete this course. We need to be totally in tune and he needs to focus entirely on my directions. In most of the other games, he can usually anticipate by the flow of the course, what our next obstacles will be. In all my years of doing agility, Snooker has normally been the last game that my dogs usually accomplish on any regular basis. It is a wonderful game and is about my favorite. It requires planning strategy on the handler's part and concentration and focus from the dog. I am usually pretty good at planing the course, but we need to work as a team and as in any team, you are only as good as the other half of your team. This time my team mate was pretty determined. It was a hard course though and for the last ten years I have only worked advanced dogs in this event. It is easy to forget how much patience you need with a baby dog. I have been resigned to Journey probably not mastering this game for some months yet.
Instead of being whistled off the course for an error in the first part of the event, we made it half way through - that covered the most difficult half. We only had the sequence (easy part) to do. The whistle blew at the halfway mark and we did not Q, but still managed to get 17 points of the 24 we needed. This is probably difficult to understand if you are not familiar with the event, but what Journey was showing me, as he was working this event, was more exciting to me than all the other 1st place Q's that he received that day. We were actually operating as a team. I was walking on air and I think he was too.
Jackpot, Level 1 was our last event of the day and it was a NQ for us. No matter - I was still so surprised and elated at the Snooker performance.
DAY 2 -
Sunday began with Jackpot - all levels together. This time Journey ran it clean with a 1st place Q.
Second event, Colors was a NQ. Pretty much my fault, as I sat him at an extreme angle and led way out from him. He nicked a bar, which is, I believe the first bar he has ever knocked down in competition.
Third event, Wildcard, Level 2. Journey ran his only run that was not perfect (clean). He still got a 1st place Q, but he had thrown in an extra jump. Maybe he thought it was a bonus!
Fourth event, Snooker! This time I was not thinking "practice session". I worked out a good course. Not quite as good as the Saturday course, but still pretty showy. I sat him on the start line in front his first jump. I wanted to send him into a tunnel next. It was not well lined up to the jump, but I figured I could get him to do it if I stood in the right place. He got it, then I managed to turn him back where he came from and catch the second "red jump" of the three he needed to do. Then came the hard part - I had to send him the entire length of the barn (alone) to pick up a tunnel in the very back of the course. He did it! and while he did, I managed to get in position (in the middle of the course) to send him to his last red jump, and then to his final double obstacle so he could continue with the sequence part of the event. Because I had planned the course to get us enough points in the beginning half, we only needed three obstacles of the sequence section to get the points we needed (24). We got to the last obstacle of the sequence - it was a two part obstacle. A jump was part "a", followed by a tunnel which was part "b". He made it to the opening of the tunnel. When the ending horn blew he was right next to the table, which stops his time. I called him off the tunnel, which he did immediately and he hit that table in style. Yeah! He Q'd with 33 points (9 more than we needed). He got 1st place in 54.45 seconds. What a run that was and what an agility dog I have. We just need to do some smoothing out of our communications now. I had successfully been able to call him off of at least three wrong courses - so it was stressful, but he was amazing. Of course I am not partial or anything like that.
Last event was Jumpers, and he ran a clean run, with a 1st place Q. He ran it in 29.88 seconds for the coarse rated SCT 38.0. That finishes his Jumpers requirements for Level 2 and will put him in Level 3 next time. He also finished his Wildcard Level 2 requirements so can go into Level 3 for that also. The rest of the games he will be in Level 2 - he is finished with Level 1. This weekend he got a new Title in Fun Games - Level 1 and a new Title in Strategy Games - Level 1. Then of course, his seven 1st place Q's. It was a great weekend.
"I think it is my turn again"
Didn't get quite all of the ribbons in the picture, but you can see most of them.
We had such a nice time with Julie & Penny, Martha & the 3 Z's (Ziggy, Zena & Zipper). Mary, our wonderful instructor was there and so many other friends.... just a wonderful way to spend a weekend. It got a little muddy on our rainy Sunday, but didn't dim the fun. The food was wonderful and the company exceptional. Thanks again to Joe Camp for all the wonderful pictures.
Most of all, congratulations to my special boy. I suppose I am going to miss that sweet up turned face, looking for pidgeons in the rafters of the barn. However, his new found focus and attention is the beginning of a whole new era for us.
