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| The judges at this trial have had just fabulous courses, and today was no exception. My dogs were 0 for 4 "Q-wise" today, and it had me a bit down. But just before I left, someone commented to me about how wonderful my dogs are and how awesome my runs have been....someone I didn't even know. She said one of my runs was her top 3 favorites of the weekends so far, and it was because she thought Smitty was so adorable on her table (you'll see why in the video below). And you know what? She's right. So before I give the run down on each run, I'd like to list what has been great about our trial weekend so far: 1) I am fortunate to be staying "rent-free" with my parents 15 min from the arena. My dogs have had a fenced in backyard. I've had access to a full sized refrigerator. Staying with Mom and Dad is always relaxed and comfortable. 2) The facility is very nice. Plenty of crating room. They are keeping it nice and cool, to the point that I wear a fleece when not running. The courses are fun and challenging. The competition is high quality. The equipment is beautiful. 24" weaves are wonderful. 3) Some of my dearest friends are here with me. It has been easy to exchange video cameras and get all runs captured. There has been lots of time for socializing and hanging out. I've also enjoyed talking with some folks that I haven't talked to as much in the past. 4) All of my dogs are healthy and happy, whether entered in the trial or not. I know I made the right decision with who was/wasn't entered, and Austin and Cole were relaxing and stretched out in the A/C while I was away each day. 5) Regan just keeps getting faster and faster. She is now quite easily tugging before we got into the ring. I can turn her on very quickly if necessary. She is becoming more independent with obstacles every day. She had several moments of doing things more "on her own". Small bobbles no longer shut her down. She had at least 2 runs where she should have peed first and she still ran fast and focused. She also hit a shoulder on one set of weaves and kept weaving. 6) Smitty's potential continues to shine through every pore of her skin! Her startlines have trended better and better over the weekend. I'm beginning to feel comfortable taking handling risks with her, whether or not they work out. Her weave poles are DRAMATICALLY better since the last trial we did on this turf. Her teeters have been totally solid. Her tables have been totally solid. She is understanding this game more and more, and I feel good that all of her training and trialing is trending in the right direction. So on to the videos for today.... Smitty - Standard: ROCK SOLID on her startline. So the missed weave entry really threw me off. I think you will hear that I was very unhappy with that, then I had a little trouble deciding whether to stay or leave. She really seemed to get the point that I was not happy, so I decided to go on. I'm glad I did, as the rest of the run was awesome! Regan - Standard: I guess I didn't have *quite* the commitment to stay in the weaves that I thought I had...and she missed the last pole. I didn't quite see it...thought she might have banged a shoulder (doesn't look like it in the video), so ignored and went on. The dogwalk was just naughty. I've got to noodle on what to do about her contacts. The more excited I get her to run, the harder it is for her to do her contacts. Smitty - JWW: Loved the tunnel start, so opted for no startline. I was super pleased that she got in her weaves and stayed for the blind!!! I decided to take a risk and go for a double front after the weaves. I was late with the first rotation, then distracted by the bar going down, and then late for the 2nd. Oh well. I'm glad I took the risk, but not 100% sure what I would do if I had it to run again. I was very uncomfortable with the rear cross option, so probably need to put that on our list to work on, as we should be able to do either. Regan - JWW: I thought she might be a touch drivier on this run, given the tunnel start, but she still ran decently. My front cross before the weaves was a tad off, and of course, Regan requires that I be perfect, so she missed the entry. I hadn't walked this option, just found myself so far ahead I decided to throw it in. I did get the double front in with her. | ||||||
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