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| 1/8 Q's is better than 0/8! |
I have been wanting to make this post since Sunday evening, and I finally won the battle with my scanner. I wanted to share the course maps and explain our demise game-by-game! (Agility nerd?)
Click to enlarge all course maps...
Saturday.
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| Fullhouse, Level 2. |
Molly's plan was to...sniff. She took the first jump (I think) then ran behind the dog walk and sniffed around. She came to me when I called her and I tried three times to get her to take the jump combo. She was only feeling ONE jump. I tried to get her to take a tunnel. It felt like a lot of flailing around. Then the whistle sounded and I trudged to the table with her.
I was told afterwards, "ALWAYS run to the table, you never know what you've got.
I was discouraged. Fullhouse was our first agility Q ever last time, and I had had high hopes for it.
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| Colors, Level 2. |
Our one and only Q for the weekend. She got 5 faults for off course, I believe for a back jump.
She ran around jumps once or twice more, but I brought her back around and jumped her the correct direction. This short course was a blur.
We did the Square course.
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| Jackpot,Level 1. |
I set up...past the start line and got scolded by the agility people (whatever their title is)
I rearranged us at the bottom left jump. I absolutely don't remember what happened here. It was a big embarrassing blur. I think she took that bottom left jump. I tried to get her to take the teeter, but she went on crooked and bounced off. Tried to get her take some jumps and she got all sniffy again. Tried to get her back on the teeter. The whistle sounded for the gamble, so I sent her into the (2) tunnel and just ran with my arm outstretched, yelled JUMP! and hoped she wouldn't pull towards me. She did not! She did the whole gamble line and thundered past the table of course. I almost stepped INSIDE the gamble line and I jumped away like I just stepped in a rattlesnake nest. We NQ'd, but I was pleasantly surprised that we managed the distance jumps.
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| Standard, Level 1. |
I had a small bit of fear that she would pull off of the dog walk, since she did that at our first trial. Not at all. The first two obstacles were great...up the dog walk...and a clean jump without so much as a toenail on the contact zone. Uh-oh.
Ran around the (4) jump and up the aframe...and again! sailed off the Aframe without touching the contact zone.
Molly had truly been good about her contacts. Guess they just weren't her thing this weekend?
I knew we were sunk. She ran around a jump on the way to the finish line and I didn't even bother trying to get her to re-do it. 35 faults, big fat NQ to end the day with.
Sunday.
Sunday was Molly's day last time. Surely we will get at least one Q!
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| Standard, Level 1. |
I will spare the grisly details. Two blown contacts AGAIN. I was horrified.
35 faults. I don't even remember where the missed jump / off course was.
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| Snooker, Level 1. |
Everyone talks about Snooker. It ain't easy. It's a tricky little game. You must alternate three times a Red Jump and Another Obstacle. Then you run Obstacles 2-7.
I had a plan, a good one. And it started out great. We started lower left jump and ran the outside...Red Jump to Tunnel to Red Jump. We did the 7a/7b tunnel combo....and then Molly blasted out of the tunnel and over the Aframe before you can say "Jump".
No mistakes in Snooker, we got whistled off the course.
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| Wildcard, Level 1. |
Molly kept her Aframe contact. You go, girl. But there was no collecting her for the (4) Tunnel because she blasted right into the 5b tunnel.
I had WANTED that tunnel for her, and the plan was to take the two (a) obstacles on our way to the finish line.
I didn't pull myself far enough away, fast enough. She took the next to jumps nicely and then right into the 8b tunnel. Oops.
Then I lost my mind entirely and told her to jump, but she was already headed for the 9(b) jump.
We were supposed to "collect" one B and two A's. We collected three B's. And missed a tunnel. Whoops. Again.
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| Jumpers, Level 1. |
This was it. Our last chance for a Q. A chance to get our Level 1 Fun title. A chance to prove to my crumbling optimism that my dog and I CAN do agility.
Blast off the start line, over (1)...and around number (2), straight into the tunnel. Called her back out and sent her over (2). We did a gorgeous run, no running around jumps...until the end. She ran around one and back jumped before I even asked her to come back to me.
I still thought that we Q'd, but I wasn't sure.
I couldn't remember if 10 faults were allowed in Jumpers. They are not.
Sad day.
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| photo credit - my wonderful and supportive sister, Glenna! She came and stood in the cold and watched us bumble around. Thankfully she saw our Colors course, so that's something! |
Molly is a fast dog to run. I am a florescent green handler. We are trying and we are having fun. No mistakes allowed (nearly) + lightning fast dog + thinking on my feet is all very difficult for me.
But we had a FUN weekend. It was freezing. We got to play lots of agility. We got to watch our friends have an awesome first trial ever of all Q's. We got some advice from different handlers. Molly got a body massage while standing by the heater. The trial was held by a really cool training club that I am looking to join for Molly and Perri's agility training.
You bet I am sad that we got 7 NQ's. That hasn't stopped me from printing off the premium for our next trial. And I can't wait.
We have a Standard and Fullhouse run in two weekends to hold us over.
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| "It's a good thing she's cute!" |
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