AKC Agility Weekday Trial

I took Molly to a Monday AKC Trial today.  I always love weekday trials, and with a goofy hospital schedule I can often get off on random weekdays in exchange for weekend shifts.  Sometimes it's nice to have a lower entry trial for Molly.  I was feeling a little sad that my Perri girl wasn't running today, though.

Standard was first and it was a surprise Molly-catastrophe run.  Her butt got goosed by a rude dog just as we walked into the entrance gate.  She tucked and scooted in, and then coughed and tongue flicked at a treat she had not finished swallowing.  Molly and I have an issue with this in agility class, so I always am sure to give her her final treat before we enter the ring pretty well ahead of time.  I was surprised to see her coughing!  So she was charged up from two things and it showed.  Broken start line stay, weirdo jump refusal onto an off course teeter that was way far away.  The tunnel trap that I was most worried about in the whole course ate her alive.  She took an off course chute off of the Aframe instead of collecting and turning with me.  And the weaves?  Second to last obstacle.  She got her entry, but popped out at pole five and ran for the hills.  I saw her lips flying and her teeth out in that manic way of her's as she headed for the finish jump.  Well, it's been a while since we had a trainwreck.  I guess we were due.

I scribed the rest of Exc/Masters Standard.  I hung out in the car with my dogs during Open and Novice since all worker positions were filled.

JWW came around and it had some nasty tunnel traps.  A lot of the Masters dogs were taking off courses.  But Molly and I?  We aced that course...  I planned on rear crosses for Molly to show her to turn with me away from the tunnel traps and even though I felt a little insecure - no one was doing rear crosses.  They were doing the flashier front crosses and blinds and being ahead of their dogs, and the reverse spins....  I decided to stick with what works for us because those rear crosses communicate well for Molly.  And we pulled it off, we did awesome.   And then...she was heading for her weave entry, second to last obstacle.   And she started coughing on a treat!!  This time I made sure to give her her last treat well ahead of her ring time.  Goodbye, AXJ....as Molly ran past her weave entry.  Sigh.  I was disappointed...but after a year and a half in Open, we will survive a little more time without that AXJ.  And I need to work harder with Molly with her weaves.  Harder, harder, harder.  We need more road trips, more value built in, more regular practice.

We left the trial, I took Perri and Molly to the local lake park for some lake-chuckit fetch.  We went to a different park for a walk and to find some geocaches.  We went to agility class, where Perri took over for Molly (I felt Molly was too tired for a full agility class.)  I will remind...Perri does not like to play agility at our training club.  But!  For a meatball and the praise of my classmates (remember, Perri loves trials and not classwork.) Perri weaved all 12 poles!  And some tricky weave entries at that!  And she got better as the class went on, even dancing the second half of her last rep through the poles.  I think it is safe to say that Perri's weaves are back!!  I have decided to enter Standard class with Perri at the end of July at the USDAA trial (in addition to the games classes we were already going to do.)  She is ready.