What a weekend we had! Terrible weather to be in a cold barn; in and out walking three big white dogs through mud and water in a parking lot that had such deep puddles that there were Mallard ducks swimming in some of them. There was a high wind alert and torrential rain. We even had warnings about trees coming down and power outages.
Our family all had to go, which makes for a lot of loading and unloading of a soft crate for Journey and a cabana for Pirate and Andi. Then there are treats to prepare; tarps to spread on the dirt floor of the barn. We brought blankets; my chair; water and bowls; coolers for food; and lots of stuff I can't remember. I had thought of taking the RV until the high wind warnings. Decided the car would handle better under these conditions.
Journey got to try out the cabana as I took him in first. The other guys stayed in the car for a while. I was hoping for a break in the rain and maybe a little warm up.
Journey, Andiamo & Pirate
Pirate and Andi had fun wrestling as usual. They enjoyed watching all the dogs and we had front row seats to the arena. In between Journey's runs I let the other guys have turns walking around in the barn with me, and going outside during the periods when the rain stopped for a little while.
Our friend Mona came to watch on Saturday and she was such a help. I am sure that is why I did not hear barking while Journey and I were in the ring running events. To some people, this probably does not sound like an enjoyable weekend, but to agility sport fans, well that is just the way it is sometimes, in the northwest corner of the United States. We still had a great time. When I lived in Southern California we just dealt with hot, hot and more hot weather. A good many agility folks didn't even attend events during the hottest months of summer.
The club that hosted this event, CAT (Columbia Agility Team) did a wonderful job of moving games along, and we all got to celebrate the birthday of the wonderful Judge of this event. I should have taken a picture of the big cake! That was in addition to the well stocked hospitality table which was loaded with cheeses, sliced turkey, ham & chicken, crackers, hard boiled eggs, veggies with several types of dip, chips coffee, tea, muffins, donuts, and cookies.
*Toss the lead ... on the line, getting ready to run...
Journey displaying his normal easy form over the jumps. Ten events this weekend and not one bar dropped or even ticked. What a guy!
Wish I could say the weaves were as smooth ... I don't know what was bothering him about the weave entries. The poles were checkered, but I think he has done those poles before. The only other difference was that there were only six poles and he is used to doing 12. He was just having a problem with entries, for the most part. After he got past pole 3, he was usually okay, although he popped out of the last pole once. This is so unusual for Journey. Weave poles have always been his best obstacle and he loved them. When ever I let him run free on our course, he heads for the weave poles by choice. One of our instructor's dogs (who is also normally very good on poles) also had trouble with them this weekend. Tomorrow is our agility lesson, so I will work him on the poles and see how it goes. While I was looking at these weave pole pictures it occurred to me that the poles look closer together than usual. It may be the angle of the photograph, but it might also be that someone accidentally used the old bases with the shorter openings. The short openings are okay for little dogs, but would feel strange to a big dog like Journey. I believe the difference in the spaces is at least 4" shorter, between each pole. I will check with our instructor. At least that would explain the mystery with Journey's performance.
Guess what is wrong with this picture!
Statistics: Five events per day. Journey got 7 for 10 and they were all 1st place Q's. We also got one new title in Handler Games (Colors and Wildcard). One more Jumpers Q and we will be in Level 5.
Saturday:
Jumpers Level 4 Qualified
Colors Game Level 3 Qualified
Wildcard Game Level 4 Qualified
Snooker Game Level 3 Qualified
Jackpot Game Level 3 No Q
Sunday:
Full House Game Level 3 No Q - My fault. We were late and I could not walk the course before running.
Snooker Game Level 3 No Q - My fault - forgot my own course plan.
Wildcard Game Level 4 Qualified
Colors Game Level 3 Qualified
Jumpers Level 4 Qualified
Our Sunday Snooker course is worthy of description. Journey did an amazing thing that I have never had a dog do before. When our team finishes the course, or when the buzzer sounds (whichever comes first), Journey is supposed to run fast, to the table and touch it. He needs only to touch it with a toe to stop the clock/timer. Most dogs jump on it, then off. That is normally what Journey does too. This time he touched it with his nose and did not get on the table. Then he turned and looked at me. I knew it did not matter, as we had not qualified on that event, and I said (just kidding him) "did you touch it?" He looked at it and went back and put his foot on it. Sure was funny! If I decide to purchase the video I am hoping the video photographer got him doing that.
*All the action shots on this blog are taken by Joe Camp, our favorite agility photographer.
So much stuff to pack and getting harder and harder to fit it all in the Subaru. This time Journey & Pirate shared the passenger seat. Loading took about 6 trips to the car, sometimes in rain and sometimes with sun coming through - so bright it was hard to see. Home and in the garage I unloaded the car. The storm continues today and is only supposed to be over on Thursday, maybe.
