Agility Weekend at AARF

This past weekend marked the start of Absolute Agility Recreational Facility's indoor trial season. They host indoor trials at a fairgrounds about an hour from my house. The trials are run in an agricultural arena with an attached large heated room for crating.  You are also permitted to have your dog off leash in the fields beside the arena. You do have to watch for a few cars as some people cut through the fairgrounds to go into the village.

On Saturday, it was all Masters events and Sunday was the Starters and Advanced events; that worked out good for me as I was able to focus on running only one dog.  Beckett ran in four events on Saturday and Keltic got his turn on Sunday afternoon.

Beckett was in Snooker, Steeplechase and two Standards. The Snooker was up first and as we just got our Bronze award we are a long way from the next title so I was treating it a bit like a warm-up run. Because of that maybe I didn't handle things quite the way I should have.

Masters Snooker

We had a nice opening and were doing the close, Beckett was in the weaves and I was turning for the teeter (obstacle 6) when Beckett decided he was to do the jump (marked R3) before doing the teeter.  R3 stands for red jump 3, you only do the red jumps in the opening so we were whistled off the course and without having finished obstacle 6 and 7 we did not have enough points to Q. Perhaps I didn't turn sharply enough or give Beckett a verbal cue soon enough and he thought we were still going straight.

Beckett - Video Master Snooker

You be the judge, you can see most of our run from this video that a friend took.

Beckett did get a Q in Steeplechase, number 33. Only 17 more to go for his Silver Expert Award, that's a lot of qualifying scores.

He didn't Q in either Standard and those are the ones we really want as he only needs 8 more Standards for Silver Award of Merit which is given for 25 Standard and 50 Games qualifying scores. We already have all the Games we need, just need those Standards.

Master Standard 2

In the second Master Standard. I thought we had it. It was running so nicely I was actually ahead of Beckett, maybe too far ahead. I put him into the tunnel at 15 and did my turn to get ready to send him into the weaves but then I had to wait for him to come out of the tunnel. And Beckett did what he hardly ever ever does, he missed the weave entry. A friend said she thought I was too close but I watched him go by me right by pole 1 and into the weaves between pole 2 and 3. I think it was because I had stopped moving so when he came out of the tunnel there was no real cue to tell him where he was going.

So any way we ended the day with only one Q but that doesn't tell the whole story as he ran really well.

Sunday, we didn't have to be there until after lunch but we went early which was a good thing as Starters moved along quite quickly. We had time to take some pictures of Beckett and Keltic wearing their new Christmas collars and have a game of frisbee before settling in to study course maps.

Posing with new Christmas collars

Keltic's first two runs were Advanced Jumpers. You might remember I made a mistake and entered him in an event under a judge that he had already earned Qs with; to move to Masters you need three qualifying scores with at east two judges. All 3 of Keltic's were with the same judge so he needed another. He got a refusal in the first one and I was sure he had a refusal in the second run too but he ran well so I was happy with the runs.  Turns out in the second run we were outside the refusal zone when he turned back towards me so it was a Q.

Advanced Jumpers

What I thought was a refusal happened between jump 12 and the tunnel at 13, Keltic turned back towards me, spinning just a bit (he's no where's near as spinny as Beckett) before heading into the tunnel. So now Keltic moves up to the highest level Masters Jumpers.

Next up was an Advanced Snooker, Keltic knocked a red bar so we had to move onto the last red and getting him across the ring took a little time but I got him there and we finished our opening and had started the close when we ran out of time.  Always good when you can use the full 60 seconds and not get whistled off at a much shorter time, oh say 9 seconds.

Last up was an Advanced Standard, with all the issues I've been having with Keltic, I wasn't going to do Standards till we worked through a few of them.  One issue though I felt was best worked on in a trial situation and that is start line stays. He's been breaking his stay all this year and it's gotten to the point I can barely stand up and he's taking off. So I was pretty relaxed going into this event as all I thought we would be doing is start line stays and then dog walk contacts.

Advanced Standard

Keltic did break his start line but I got him back before he had a chance to cross the start line so the timer hadn't started the clock. The second time I sat him, he stayed! Then, surprisingly, he got his dog walk contact too and then we were off. When we got to the table, I thought he had a refusal there but I guess he moved sort of sideways to the table then hopped on without any backward motion so no refusal there. At the weaves a lot of dogs missed the entry. I had to do onside weaves as Keltic doesn't yet get the offside entry. Rather than trying to just use a verbal and an arm motion I did a false turn (sort of old school) which called him into me, when I turned back to the weaves, he didn't turn so I post turned and sent him into the weaves. You might not understand all the technical stuff but what's important is that when I sent him he went, got the entry, stayed in and did all 12 weaves. He then let me rear cross 13 and get him into the right end of the tunnel at 14. Then we were off again to run the obstacles on the outside of the ring to cross the finish line. I was very happy with how he ran but thought I had two refusals. A friend who had watched the run said "A Q for Keltic"; I took that to mean any time you have a really nice run it's as good as a Q. I still didn't realize he had a Q until I looked at the results. I was gobsmacked as they say in England.

First Advanced Standard Q for Keltic

So all in all we had a good weekend. I was very pleased with how both Beckett and Keltic ran. Keltic Pumpkinhead might not be such a pumpkinhead after all.

March Trial

We had a trial this past weekend on 1 Mar 2015. I sure do hope now that February is done we will get some warmer temperatures. This past February was the coldest February on record but, if it's any consolation, not the coldest month on record.

Keltic had two runs and Beckett had three; well two and half, as one run was with his litter sister Hannah. Keltic was up first and his first run was an Advanced Jumpers. He did just awesome but I didn't go in deep enough with him on one jump and he turned with me and missed the jump. I didn't even see it, I knew he had either knocked the bar or missed the jump as I saw the judge's arm go up in the corner of my eye.

Video of Keltic's Advanced Jumpers run

I was very happy with the way he ran though. Next up for him was an Advanced Snooker; we got through our opening which was sort of unexpected as the "red" jumps weren't that easy to get to. We faulted on the close when Keltic bailed off the teeter.  The teeter was the number 4 obstacle and we had to get through number 5 to Q which was six weaves. Given our difficulty with weaves in competition we likely would have run out of time trying to get them done, so no Q's for Keltic but he ran really well.

Beckett had three runs, two Master Standards and one Team run. Beckett didn't Q on his first Standard. He popped in the weaves, something strange for him.The team run was the first with his litter sister Hannah.  They didn't Q but did run really well together. They will get a chance for Team Part 2 on Easter weekend.

Hannah and Beckett run Team

Beckett's last run was another Standard, no video I'm afraid, but Beckett did wonderfully. We started when the judge said "whenever your ready" only to be whistled after obstacle 5 as the scribe wasn't quite ready so we had to start again. Both times, Beckett nearly stalled at obstacle 5, not sure what caused him to do that. It was a clean run for a Q though; we're slowly chipping away at the Standards he needs for Silver Award of Merit.

We also had some pictures done. A photographer Erika A Photography was at the trial doing a fundraiser for the SPCA and as Keltic was born on St Patrick's day how could I resist.

Pictures from Wee Bit Irish Photo Shoot

I'll let you know what shots I chose on Keltic's birthday.

And another ones gone!

This past weekend, we trialled at Absolute Agility Recreational Facility (AARF) at their last indoor trial of the season; in May they move to the outdoor facility which is father away from my place so we haven't gone there very often.

We ran two Standards, two Gamblers, a Snooker and a Jumpers. First up was a Standard, we were eliminated from that run as I did some training in the ring when Beckett leaped off the teeter so I put him back on twice.  The judge had faulted us for the teeter anyway so we couldn't have Q'd. The last part of the course ran beautifully.

Next up was a Gamblers, I didn't have a lot of hope of Beckett getting the main gamble, but I said I would be happy if he even did part of it.

For our opening, we went down and back, tire, dog walk, tunnel, tunnel, dog walk, tire, tunnel, teeter, 4 point jump, 4 point jump, weave, weave and was just heading to the single jump near the teeter again when the buzzer went. At least the buzzer went, we actually ran this opening twice as the first time they forgot the buzzer, that was the longest 40 seconds ever.  I gave Beckett a few seconds to calm down and lo and behold, he went straight out to the tunnel, did jump 2 and came back to me and did jump 3 but wouldn't go out to 4. I was happy though as usually getting him out to the distance obstacle is hard.

Next run was our Snooker. Technically a two-point Snooker but they only counted one point but since you need 40 to Q, there wasn't much point having the results changed.

I started with the red on the right hand side near the tunnel. That went fine and then it was on to obstacle 6, a jump weave combination. Beckett did the jump and I was doing a front cross to put him into the weaves when he did the back red jump. Not only did he jump it but back jumped it too. Tweet, the run was over.  Beckett usually stays right with me on crosses, I never saw that back red as a trap.

Had we gotten the Snooker Q, that would have been his Masters Snooker title.  Three runs and no Q's, I was getting discouraged.  The next run was another Standard and again we were eliminated for an off-course, I was really getting discouraged and a little tired.

Up next was another Gamblers, this one, I knew if Beckett would just go to the tunnel that he could get it, so I cleared my head and took a deep breathe and off we went.

My opening was nearly the same as the first gamble, down and back along the dog walk. After the teeter we did the chute, the double jump and the 4 point tunnel twice, back to the double and Beckett was in the chute when the buzzer went.  When he came out of the chute, I just backed up a little towards the teeter, gave him a second to calm down and told him over, tunnel. And to my surprise, he went, no spinning, no barking, nothing but a beeline over the jump to the tunnel. For a split second I didn't even move but then I got my focus back, got him over jump 3, did a front cross and put him over jump 4 and he just took off for jump 5. A 37 point opening, doubled for completing the gamble for a total of 74 points in just 56.34 seconds; we even had time to spare as mini dogs had 20 seconds to complete the main gamble. It was Beckett's second Masters Gamblers Q, now two more to go for his Masters Gamblers title.

The trial was running late and I debated whether or not to stay for the Jumpers course. The indoor venue for AARF is about an hour from my place so we had quite the drive home.  After a friend looked at the course map and said it didn't look bad and because there were only 11 dogs in the event, I decided to give it a go.

It did run very nice. The only little bobble we had was that I was way behind Beckett when he came out of the chute. He spun just a bit but I told him tunnel and he went and we were far enough away from the tunnel that we didn't incur any faults. A clean run in 36.13 seconds on a course that allowed a time of 46 seconds for mini dogs. Our second Q of the trial, I was very happy with that result and Beckett and Keltic got a nice jackpot of hot dogs before I packed up.

So now Beckett needs just one Snooker and two Gamblers for his Agility Trial Champion title. I would love to see him do it before the end of the summer but we'll be happy whenever he gets it.  With the Jumpers Q, he also only needs two more for his Bronze Expert Jumpers.

There is video of some of his runs but a friend videoed for us so they are not on my camera but are on her iPad.  When she posts them, I'll be sure to put them up on my blog.

Today, both dogs went to the groomer, they sorely needed it.  Here are the after shots taken from the side. Keltic got what I call a puppy cut as he doesn't mind running through puddles and is still digging a bit so hopefully that will keep him a little cleaner until the yard can dry out.

Beckett's next trial is at Dream Fields in May, maybe by then we'll be able to get outdoors to practice a bit.

Go, Beckett, Go!!

First Q

Yesterday we went to our first trial of 2013. I thought Beckett might be absolutely wild since we hadn't trialled since Nov 2012 but he actually ran quite well. Our first event was a Master Standard. It walked nicely so I hoped that Beckett would do all right; he did more than all right, he Q'd. He did a bit more spinning than I would have liked but we didn't incur any refusals for them. It's something we'll have to work on though as a spin like that did cost us a Snooker Q later in the day, where we got a refusal on the second part of obstacle 5 of the close and we needed to get through obstacle 6 to Q.

Beckett ran this standard in 46.72 seconds and the standard course time was 65 seconds. He was running at 4.05 yards per second which is pretty good for Beckett.

Beckett Master Standard - YouTube Link

Next up was a Masters Gamblers run. I didn't think Beckett would get it as we are still working on a good get-out so when I saw the main gamble with the line from 2 to 3, I was sure we would have our work cut out for us. Beckett dropped a bar on the double jump in the mini so we couldn't get those points. When the buzzer went to end the opening I was sure we didn't have enough points. Beckett did the teeter no problem as we have worked  a lot on a teeter going away and he came nicely over jump 2, then he barked and spun as I tried to get him out over 3. Well, he eventually did get over 3 and when I told him to get out over 4, he did get out but went too far down the line and actually went over 4 in the wrong direction. It turned out we had 29 points in the opening but we were way over time for the Main Gamble and in any case, Beckett didn't do 4 in the right direction.

The next run was the Master Snooker. We had a really nice opening and the close was going great until Beckett decided to spin between the two jumps of obstacle 5.  They weren't that far apart and I wasn't trying to rear cross so I don't know what happened there.

Our next Standard ran pretty well. At one point you had to send your dog into a tunnel that went under the dog walk and they had to stay out to a jump. Beckett came between the jump and the dog walk and started to get on the dog walk, so an off course and elimination. We had another off course later in the run when I did a front cross and Beckett rather than taking a jump went around it. My cross was probably too wide again.  The Standard course time was 57 seconds and even with the two off courses, Beckett ran the course in 46.93 seconds.

Our last event was another Master Gambler.  It had a flip or a get-out to the weaves in the Main Gamble so again I didn't think it was one that Beckett would do. We went in with the view of doing a good opening so I sat Beckett on the start line lined up with obstacle "a" of the mini and led out to the tire, obstacle "c" of the mini, called Beckett to me and then did a front cross to get him over obstacle "b" of the mini. A pretty easy 14 points. We did the 4 point obstacle and the tire and headed to the weaves, then to the jump followed by the teeter and the jump on the other side of the teeter.  My plan was to do the teeter and jump twice but as I turned Beckett back to the teeter, I saw that the teeter hadn't dropped. I post turned Beckett around and waited for the teeter to drop and carried on with our plan which was the tunnel, jump and dog walk. Beckett just touched the contact zone on the dog walk when the buzzer sounded. Beckett got the tunnel and jump of the main gamble but wouldn't turn away to get the weaves so we didn't get the Q. But we did have the nice opening that I planned getting a total of 35 points.

So all in all I was pretty pleased with our first trial of 2013. To top it off, we won a volunteer prize, a fleece and fur tug toy which will be a birthday present for Keltic. The tug toy is green with red fox fur, perfect for Keltic.  Our next trial is at Dream Fields on St Patrick's Day, Keltic's birthday.