MOLLY OAJ!!!

It is very ironic to me that Molly at last earned that final Open Agility Jumper leg to earn her OAJ on Friday the 13th.  We just needed a little extra luck I guess!

But we started with Open FAST and a poor decision.  I thought that I might leave Molly in a sit stay and walk roughly 15 feet away from her and release her over the send jumps ...  Her first time at a three ring trial in over 5 months, first run of the day, brimming with cabin fever energy...this was the thought I had.  Molly broke her stay and ran around the jumps and churned towards me and up the Aframe, then hopped off the side towards me when she saw that wasn't what I wanted!  I sent her from a dead stop to the Send and she of course did it...and earned the Bonus.  I know my dog would send that far, why oh why didn't we gather some points before heading in there??  We ran out of time about five points shy of a Q ....

Open Standard next and much to my surprise we qualified for our second leg towards the OA!  Have not gotten an AKC Standard Q since last April.  The contacts were close, we got an off course (did not talk to her enough in that chute!) but we made it.

And next was Open JWW and Molly was so very calm for this last run of the day and we got a clean run for our last leg.   We pull one leg out of Open Purgatory!  On to...Excellent.  Yikes!

We returned to the trial today, with Molly only running in FAST again.  (Perri got to do Standard and JWW, that will be tomorrow's post!)

Again!  A bad decision!  The Send was in the back of the ring.  It was a tunnel underneath of the Aframe and a jump after that.  Molly and I ran up a jump line into a tunnel in the back of the ring and flew up the Aframe...and when she saw how far away I was and decelerating, she jumped off the Aframe....failed to collect her feet...and took the jump bar down that was part of the Send.  Sigh.  I knew this was a potential Thing That Could Happen but "trust your dog" and all that, I tried it anyway.  I gathered her up, sent her into the tunnel and over the remaining 12" bar and out my closing line of obstacles.    I don't know why, but I cannot seem to feel as relaxed in AKC FAST as I do in Gamblers or Jackpot.  Maybe it's something about the "send" being available at any time...

And in closing here is Molly nomming up the cone of vanilla soft serve that I bought her for earning her OAJ title.  (I also "topped" it with several chicken nuggets.)  Good pitbull!