#agility trial

[fayeandknight]

I am so incredibly proud of Forte and myself.

We got our first Q in Jumpers!

We NQed our Standard run because he stepped on the broad jump and hopped off the table. But he stayed in the ring, didn't visit anyone, and didn't pee on anything. He recalled and was redirected well.

Then we promptly came outside so he could pee on something, lol.

We took a break for a course change and Forte happily rolled around the grass while I told him what a good dog he is.

I didn't run in Time to Beat so my instructor volunteered me to run the timer while she scribed. It was pretty cool to work "behind the scenes" so to speak. I also did gate calls for Open.

When it was time for Jumpers I feel like he and I were both less overwhelmed by all the activity. He did run past weaves at first but we're allowed a retry in Novice. We earned our very first Q! We also got first place in our height class

[blueboyluca]

And here’s the other run.

[caniscorvidae]

up, over, and FEET

[theadventurek9]

I think I have Aayla's retirement plan solidified for obedience and rally. I've spent a lot of time talking with friends and I really think it's time.

She is starting to appear a little more stiff in the mornings and is starting to struggle more and more with weird phases of utility.

AKC

Aayla is entered in a trial in two weeks for UB/OB, if she does very very well I may try and finish the year out to see if she can get her UDX. Yet I would expect her to have a utility Q rate of higher than 50% so that means over the next two weeks she needs to Q 3/5 times she has between this weekend and in two weeks. If she doesn't, then she is retired from AKC obedience and I will not enter her again.

I will then start entering her in rally only to get her RACH. She needs 9 more 3Qs, and she should be able to get that by May of next year. Then she will be retired from AKC rally. She really loves rally and I don't mind doing rally longer with her.

ASCA

I have a trial this weekend and then nationals planned. Aayla will most likely get her OTCh at a pretrial at nationals and compete in utility finals as her last obedience finals. I will not continue on to Superdog next year. After that I will not long travel for any obedience and we will only compete locally at her home training ring until she gets her UDX, then she will be 100% retired from obedience.

Aayla will continue in Rally until she gets her RTCH title. Depending on how she is doing I may be trying to qualify for rally finals next year, if we get in we will attend nationals for one last time for Rally and maybe Nosework/tracking. Then she will be retired from ASCA Rally.

----

All of these are the longest she will go in these sports. I am prepared to retire her sooner if needed. We have Nosework to pick up and I hope to find someone to help with tracking.

She loves training and working still and it's breaking my heart that it's her body that is slowing her down.

[border-collie]

The biggest thing that sold me on herding? Everyone was wearing hiking boots so I KNOW it's my kind of crowd 😂

[abirddogmoment]

it's so funny i spent sooooo much time being embarrassed about Mav's normal dog behaviours (e.g. worming in the grass, pulling on leash, soliciting pets) and then he would do something objectively hilarious and embarrassing in front of a crowd of people (e.g. heeling away with the judge during an obedience trial) and it was like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[pfhwrittes]

might write myself a very niche little fic about dog sports….

[twobigears]

mmm gotta say, so far there has been no noticeable drama in the MN agility people and while i know it’s far more likely that i just haven’t seen it yet because dog people are dog people…it’s nice

[elvenferretots]

Someone thinks he's in puppy heaven because I brought out all of his favorite toys and chews. Little does he know it's because he is on vet-mandated rest this week after throwing out his back.

[fayeandknight]

We NQed both our runs yesterday. In standard he dropped a bar and in jumpers we got a wrong course because I couldn't cue him away from the weaves fast enough. But I'm still really proud of us.

I honestly did not expect to get a Q at all between both days so that we got one feels huge. Also I got a lot of compliments on our runs from random folks which was flattering.

I did get friendly with a lady who is part of the club and ended up being ring steward for her last Q in excellent. She runs a Giant Schnauzer and it was really awesome to see. Later she introduced me around and people were shocked to find out Forte is my A dog. I explained that I'd practiced with a corgi mix but due to COVID we never went to trial.

Ended up winning the NQ raffle which was nice, got chocolate (yum) and a West Paw lick mat/slow feeder.

All in all it was a good first experience and I'm excited to see where the journey takes us. But I was so tired I fell asleep right after dinner last night, lol. So definitely glad I didn't sign up for three days.

[thelittlespanielthatcould]

Kovu got called a show off by the agility instructor for the 2nd week in a row. There was a sub today so this was a completely different instructor btw he's just Like That

[pawsitivevibe]

I was talking to a family member at Easter brunch about upcoming dog shows I'm taking Arthur to and they were like "how much money can you win at those?"

Haha.

Hahaha.

Ha ha ha ha ha.

WIN money at a dog show. That's a great joke!

No no. I SPEND hundreds of dollars to go!

[border-collie]

Everyone wants me until they figure out this is the kind of daily activity I need to maintain mental health. (I rarely get this amount of activity)

[theadventurek9]

For the first time in a while I took the camera out for some photos. I think I have a few cute ones, but none are really great quality or in focus. ( 17 year old cameras!) Yet it felt good to get out and try it again.

When I find the cord to download the photos I'll have a few up.

I can't wait until the day I'm not fully paycheck to paycheck, able to pay the trials I want to attend and then be able to afford a nice new camera.

[whatisshelties]

Whether or not to continue agility with Mud is like...constantly on my mind and I've had some thoughts recently.

So like, he's almost always had a kind of weird vibe when we practice agility. He gets hyper/aroused and usually will redirect/release by running off (mostly to a toy). I used to get lots of jumping up. It's almost an anxious/nervous/frantic vibe. If I use a toy for training, I get lots of victory laps.

In contrast, for scent work he usually has a great arousal level/working mindset when we practice. Yes, he will get distracted (less and less in practice), but he doesn't have the anxious/frantic vibe. I've mainly used food rewards, so I dunno what energy I'd get with a toy. I don't know if I need higher arousal, since he's got good hunt drive already.

Obedience/rally is somewhere between. I can get a little bit of the frantic/anxious vibe when we're working around distractions like critters.

So my feelings at the moment are that agility really isn't his cup of tea, but scent work hits the right buttons. While writing I realized I know what "higher arousal" searching for him looks like, and that's barn hunt/crittering. I'm not even sure I get the same vibe from that as agility training.