January 15th & 16th 2011 Trial

Here is video of our runs! Apologies they are not that great, my mom was camerawoman again and until I can train her to record better, this is what we get!

Pretty happy with our runs overall even though we only Q’d 2/4. His times (YPS) were good each run including the NQ runs. Not where I really want them and definitely not as fast as he can be, but it’s a definite improvement over a year ago.

His jumping was terrible in our first run but it started to improve through the next three runs. I can’t say I’m surprised since we haven’t been able to do hardly any practice. I got in a few days worth between finding out we were going to be in the trial and then getting just enough slick snow on the ground that he actually slipped and faceplanted – hard – Monday. Tuesday I took him to the chiropractor and he was out of alignment in his shoulder, elbow, and wrist, which he isn’t usually… and she said even his jaw was a little out of alignment. So no more practice for us after that because there was just enough snow on the ground to make it slick and I wasn’t going to risk him getting hurt. Also no more trials until Louisville in March so hopefully we’ll get enough of a thaw I can work with him and improve his jumping plenty before then.
Also, I don’t own a triple, and I need one. The triple in the standard run Sunday I knew was going to be a problem for him based on the angle AND the fact that the a-frame was right there like “hellooo, come run up me!!” and it turned out to be a problem for both his brother AND his dad too, so I’m not really surprised by that one – but the triple on Saturday shouldn’t really have happened, and if I owned one and we were able to practice with it, I would have had a Q that day. But oh well. I can’t do anything about it now except to build myself a triple and get to work.

I was sort of surprised Sunday when he decided to off-course to the a-frame instead of taking the dog walk. He used to love the a-frame, but we had an issue one time where a judge, wearing clothing that AKC highly recommends they do not wear, was standing RIGHT in his way by the a-frame and he refused it… and then developed buggies with the a-frame and refused it for multiple trials after that. So I was actually kind of glad to see him off-course to it. I know that sounds weird, but it’s the truth. I started laughing and telling him he was so bad, and when I brought him back and he tried to off-course it again I wanted to crack up hysterically. It was just so funny to me. And I know there are people out there who DIE when that stuff happens and get SOOOO mad at their dogs, and there I was going “You are SO bad, you bratface, bad bad bad,” and laughing. I know a lot of people were laughing at me but I’m sure there were people who were horrified that I was so amused by it all.

But the truth of it is that every time he does something like that – or like he did in Glen Carbon where he blew his down contact on the dog walk – I can’t do anything but laugh, because it symbolizes a return to the dog he used to be. As long as he is running with joy, I can’t be angry. We’ve been through too much and worked too hard to get him to start returning to that joyful dog that every sign I get that he is developing into the dog I want him to be, even if it’s “bad,” even if it costs us Q’s, is a reason for ME to be joyful too, ribbons be damned.

And even if it takes us five years to snag the QQ’s we need for a PAX – or even if we never manage it – if I can’t get us there with smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts, then it’s just not worth it.