Boston Terrier Club of Western Washington
November 26,27,28, 2004
Auburn, Washington
Judges: Edie Allyn and Bonnie Drabeck
This was a three day trial with 600 runs per day. Held indoors on dirt. The two judges are favorites of a lot of people around here, and they make the trials a lot of fun!! I have only one Q (if that) from Bonnie Drabeck, but I won't hold that against her. I like her courses, and eventually we will get a Q on her courses. Earlier this year she made a mistake, and somehow it got through the AKC. She used the same course twice in a row at a trial in Seattle (two different trials just a few weeks apart??!!) Everybody after the second time they did the identical course told her how much they loved it and how it got easier the second time!! Could she bring it again next time?
This trial we weren't that fortunate.
Al and I had most of the month of November off from competition, and since we weren't taking classes any longer, we hadn't had much practice. I was wondering how we would do.
International Sweepstakes Standard Run 1
I take back what I said about liking Bonnie Drabeck's courses. This one wasn't an ISC type course. The dogs never got a chance to really run, there was too much handling, and not enough speed. It was a regular AKC course as far as I could see. I forgive her though, and will give her another chance to redeem herself.
As you can see when I walk out to the start line with Al, It is COLD!! The temperature was in the mid 20's inside a building!!?? Al walked out, excited and then did a sit when I got to the line. I had to wait for too long at the start for a "GO" command, and as a result Al got on his feet, lost his focus and wouldn't re-sit when I asked. The ground was too cold. Off we went, and Al put his nose down just before he took the first jump. He cleared the second jump and then he slowed down, and I was expecting him to be running, and he wasn't. He got the the chute, stopped and then turned away to sniff at something. It was pretty ugly, but I got him into the Chute without stepping on him or falling over the chute, and then we were off again. Al ran great from this point on. The hardest part was right after the Chute. Al had to avoid doing a jump that was right beside the furthest one, then a rear cross to the left, then a 180 over another jump and a rear cross at the tunnel entrance. It was a lot of work in a short distance and Al did it perfectly.
The rest of the course was Great. Two fast passes through the weave poles, and a Wrong Course onto the Dog Walk instead of the teeter, which was my fault ( I should have done a front cross in front of the teeter and this would have prevented this fault). This Wrong Course cost us a Q as ISC allows refusals but not Wrong Courses in calculating your score. Still, even without the Q, after our initial trouble at the start, this was a good first run for Al.
This was a fun course to run. I take back what I said about Bonnie Drabeck's courses!
Al ran very enthusiastically for the whole course. I was kind of amazed as we went around it. After the Teeter there was a tunnel that had a really easy entrance. There was no way Al could miss it or get confused. When we started moving toward it, I had him on my left and pointed to the tunnel, and then ran toward it and Al never took it. My momentum forced me to turn away in the direction I had to move otherwise I would have fallen over the tunnel. When I moved away from the tunnel entrance Al followed me, stopped when I stopped, and then took the tunnel after I said the magic words "TUNNEL Al"!! I am such a bonehead!! On our first try, I didn't say tunnel, so Al thought this was one of those trick tunnels that you go in the other end, particularly, because most tunnel entries in Excellent are much harder. This can't be what you want because it is too easy, and since you didn't say "tunnel" you must want me to run with you!! Yeah!!
That was our only mistake of the run. Al even sat on a 25 Degree table!
This was a nice run by Al. He could have run harder but I'll take it.
The things I like about this run are that Al didn't have to check in with me too often, he was looking for the jumps. He also did good weave poles and he really did well on the final tunnel sequence, where I had to run hard after leaving him in the first tunnel, so that I could get a front cross in after the next jump. Al really gets pumped when I do this, and I like it too especially, when he comes out the right end.
If I always ran like I did to get the first front cross in after the first tunnel (dirt flew), and ran like I did between the second last tunnel and the next jump, Al would be running JWW courses in the 5.25 yards per second range or faster. I know he can do it, but I have to figure out how to get myself around the course and not loose Al in the process.
Al Qd with a time of seconds. The Standard Course Time was seconds (yds.)
International Sweepstakes JWW Run 2
Another Cold Morning!! But not as cold as the previous morning. It was in the low 30's in the building.
Al was the first Mini Dog to run the course, so we hadn't much time to dry our eyes after Al and I were awarded the "Zoe". There must be some relaxational effect that results from having an emotional ceremony and cry at 8AM because both of us were very relaxed.
The course began with a tunnel, which is Al and my favorite start! Yahoo! The video starts after we get out of the tunnel. What I did with Al was stand about 2/3 of the way towards the exit end of the tunnel and send him back to the tunnel entry, and then I ran like heck once he was in it!!
Al was flying! I I babysat the weave pole entry a little too much the first time through the poles, but it was a hard entry because he had to turn 90 degrees to get in line with them and if he cut it short he would have missed the entry, so until I trust him more and we have more practice, I have to babysit the entry. I liked the way he did the weave poles once he was in them, and you can see him about 2/3 of the way through the poles really start to push to go faster, and having to change to a single front foot plant in order to get through.
The second time through the tunnel I remembered the lesson of the previous day, and on an almost identical entry to the tunnel, Al knew exactly where to go and flew into it. All it took was for me to say the word "tunnel"? I am such a bonehead!!?
I liked the way Al responded again when he came out of the tunnel and I was a jump away from him. He really charged over the jump. The next few jumps I was ahead of Al enough that he had to run hard and did every jump with me further from him than I often am. He knew what to do and he did it well, and with speed. I'd like to be able to run like this all the time!
The final time through the weave poles Al had one of his favorite entries. Which is offside after a 90 degree turn into them. He started to push hard again, and actually got bogged down and had to take two steps between poles 10 and 11!! Out of the poles and over a couple of jumps, and we were done. A clean run!! and a Q for Al on his big day!!
Al's time was 35.03 seconds. The Standard Course Time was 47 seconds ( 152 yds.) Al placed 3rd.
30 minutes after our ISC JWW run, it was time for Al and I to run again!! Yeah!! This was a fun course to walk, and figure out how to get through it fast. I knew Al and I could get a good time if I took a few chances. The big question was whether I could get a front cross in just before the 4th to last jump on the course. It would be close and I would have to have good timing and really move quickly to get ahead of Al.
When we went to the start line, Al got up from his sit, but I got control of him before he bolted and he paid attention as I crossed the start line and led out a bit. The opening sequence was a little reserved and Al almost sniffed as he started out. He put his nose down and sniffed his leg as he started out? Once we got going though, Al got into it.
Al almost short cut and missed the 6th jump but I caught it just at the last possible second, and he took the jump. It was nice to see him respond so quickly to take the jump because he was definitely going to miss it if nothing was done. Al did a good tunnel entry, and then pretty fast weave poles, and then really liked the 4 jump sprint to the front cross that I was worried about. Everything worked out, and Al finished clean. His second Q of the morning.
Al's time was seconds. The Standard Course Time was seconds (yds.)
One of these days Al is going to break the 30 second barrier in JWW?! All I have to do is figure out how to stay out of his way, run faster and shorten our path through the course. Is that all????! We have work to do.
There is a saying that I really like.
"You know you have had a great day, when you have laughed, loved and cried all in the same day."
This run was a chance for Al to go 3 for 3 in one day!! A triple Q; if there is such a thing? Anyway, if we got a Q in this run it would be a Double Q as far as the AKC was concerned. The only problem was that it was a Standard Course set by Bonnie Drabeck. Yikes!!
When I walked the course I knew we could Q (Qualify) on the course, and I had walked it many times, memorized it, and visualized it. When Al and I walked to the start line, I was a confident as I could be that we were going to do well and be fast too.
When we got to the line Al was excited and full of energy, even though it was his third run for the day. But this was Al's Big Day, and he was ready to go.
Al's tail wouldn't stop wagging when we were at the start line. He sat obediently, and held his sit stay for a long time (for Al). I led out, Al started to creep up, and then I said OK, and we were off. Al was into it right away. Over the start line, and then a hard 90 degree turn to stay on course, and over the second jump with Al on my right. The angle of the third jump required the dog to stay on your right, but after the landing the dog had to be pushed away from you and "out" to the 4th jump which was a panel jump, which I planned to do with Al chasing me as I wanted to be ahead of him after the third jump to avoid the potential of a collision. As we ran the course I started to sprint away from Al once he committed to the second jump and my plan worked well. I was ahead of Al after the third jump and pushed him "out" over the panel jump. He committed to the jump, and I looked away for just a nanosecond in order to get my bearings. That is when I heard a "Clang". I looked back and Al had cleared the panel jump, and no bars were knocked down? Al was not right, and he was creeping towards me and slowing down from a run and finally, started to limp and eventually stop a few feet from me. Then the crowd watching let out a collective "Groan". Christie Bowers the trial Secretary hollered "Hurt Dog!!" When Al stopped, he started to make little cry/whimpers, not his unforgettable "baby cry", and he held one of his hind legs up off the ground. I tried to see if he wanted to go on, and he stayed still, and looked up at me, and then I said to the Judge, "I'm going to pick him up". Bonnie Drabeck came over and said it was the top of his hind foot that was hurt, and he had clipped the top of the bar with it as he cleared the jump. She looked so sad!! She said she was was sorry, and that Al wasn't going to get his Q on her course!! Someday!!!
I carried Al off the course in my arms. Everybody watching was going Awww! It was a disappointing end to the day, because I knew Al would have done well with the course. We headed to a private spot, Al walked off the hurt, and in a minute he was wondering where his treats were. He was fine, although it must have really stung him, because there is no padding on the top of the foot, and there must be a lot of nerves in there, as well as a lot of bones. A few minutes later we left the arena, had a nice play with Grace in the field, and then went and had some professional portraits taken.
Back to the saying:
"You know you have had a great day, when you have laughed, loved and cried all in the same day."
This was now true for both Al and I. We each had a Great day!!!
A new DAY!! Al didn't seem to have any aches or pains when we woke up in the morning. A lot of injuries and bangs like Al had, really appear on the day after the original injury. He seemed fine.
Al was very happy to be doing agility for the third day in a row, which kind of surprised me, as the drive down to the arena was a sleepy one. We were first to run, and had to get up at 5AM in order to get there in time for the walk through.
The course looked fun, and it had a tunnel start, which is one of mine and also Al's, favorite starts. Al pranced out to the start line, and sat almost immediately, and was looking right into the tunnel. He knew what was coming. I didn't know how he would run. He looked at the tunnel entry the whole time I led out, and when I said OK, he bolted into the tunnel at full speed. Next was the hardest part of the course for us, as it was a Dog Walk with another tunnel that was not part of the course, right beside the upside of the dog Walk. This is a really hard discrimination for Al, and fortunately, he listened to me and took the Dog Walk. If it had of been the tunnel in the same situation, I don't know what would have happened, but I bet he would have done the Dog Walk and earned an NQ, because we train contacts more than tunnels.
We were on course!! When I got to the downside of the dog Walk, Al became very interested in something or somebody in the viewing area right beside the course. He took forever, and I mean forever to decide to go on. I had to reposition myself well in front of the dog Walk so that Al would move ahead, and not jump off to the side and miss the contact. Time spent looking into the crowd, 10 Seconds!!??
The rest of the run was great!! I hurried and moved faster because I knew that time would be tight because of all the time we had wasted already. Al was really cute when he got to the table. He sat quickly and held his sit, even while the judge moved to my right as she stood behind me to make sure that he was in a legal sit. As she moved, Al craned his neck from one side to the other and leaned to his right so that he could watch her move behind me. Through these contortions, Al held his sit and we were off the Table quickly.
Al did really good two-step weave poles and then blazed through the rest of the course. He really paid attention the whole run.
Al's time was 63.82 seconds. The Standard Course Time was 70 seconds (162 yds). The extra 10 seconds on the Dog Walk cost us some MACH points, but I'll take the Q for this run anytime because of what Al did after wasting some time sight seeing.
This is one of my favorite runs with Al on an AKC Standard Course.
Another chance for an elusive Double Q. Except it was Bonnie Drabeck's JWW course.
This was going to be our day for sure. I was totally prepared and knew the course backwards. When we went to the line Al was ready to go. His tail was wagging and he was excited to run for the 8th time in 3 days. He sat for me when I heard the "GO" signal from the starters table. I started my lead out, and just as I turned to call Al over the first jump, I noticed the Judge (Bonnie Drabeck) walking off the course and to the side of the arena.
I thought "What the...??##!!" .
If there is one thing I do not want to do EVER, it is mess around with Al at the start line. I held up because I am a person who tries to please people. Nobody stopped us, no whistles were blown, but I noticed that the Judge wasn't ready and decided to "please her", by waiting until she was ready.
This was one of those actions that you regret, but can't do anything about it because the act is done in an instant and nothing can be changed. What I did will never happen again!!!
What I did, was stop our routine; told Al to wait, crossed back over the start line and moved toward Al. In a training situation, I would have said "Good Boy, Good Stay" and given him a treat. On this run I didn't reassure him because I was flustered, and I couldn't give him a treat because they aren't allowed in the ring. Al thought that he had done something wrong, and it put him off just a little bit. In the confusion, I noticed the Judge walking back into the center of the ring, and decided what the hell, and off we went.
Al was a little hesitant, and after the second jump I had to do a front cross, and Al almost went behind me. We weren't together. Then I got him back and over a couple of jumps then a hard 90 degree turn to go over a jump and straight into the weaves. The problem was that Al went straight over to the Bar Setter sitting in the corner and had a visit with the little boy. He even stood up and put his paws on his legs and looked him in the eye. A refusal!! Damn!! No Double Q for you today!!
I got Al back, and off we went and had a pretty decent run from then on. I ended up doing two rear crosses for practice that didn't help us with time, but they were good practice. The "visit" took about 9 seconds, so if Al had run without the problem his time would have been in the 35 second range.
The mistake I made (And It Was A Big One) was not going when I was ready to go. I had heard a "Go" from the timekeepers table, and should have run. If the Judge wasn't ready to watch, then she could have blown her whistle and we could have started over again, or had a fight about it. If I didn't run when we were ready to run, then I should have stopped everything right then there and gone back to Al and told him he was a good boy. Instead, I decided to avoid a potential problem, and possible conflict, by making Al wait when he was ready and expecting to Go. What I did was break up our start line routine, make Al think he might have made a mistake and ended up creating a problem for us later in the course.
If this ever happens again, Al and I are going to run like hell, and I'm not even going to look at the Judge. They can whistle us off the course, and I'll insist on a restart, and take Al out and have some treats and tell him what a good boy he is before we run again. The Judge can wait for us.
Incidentally, if you watch the video closely, you can see Bonnie Drabeck's body language when she gives Al the refusal. She was so much hoping that we would do well, that her knees buckled and she dropped a few inches when Al climbed on the Bar Setter!! Next Time Bonnie!!!