Shane and I were asked to be on a team at the Belton trial (I still can't believe that), so Friday we went to a practice and nailed everything. I felt so confident as we headed to Kerrville that afternoon. Maybe we'll have a chance. I'd been working Shane's contacts all week. I kept moving further and further away and he got the spot every time.
This was our first trip alone, without Woody. Shane is much easier to travel with. He has fewer potty needs and eats his food. We even took a long walk up and down route 16 past all the speeding cars. Shane now sits down when a car goes by and waits for his treat. How can I get this behavior to transfer to speeding border collies?
Saturday morning started well. The first run was Starters Gamblers. I had two courses mapped out. One if he got the dog walk contact and one if he didn't. Sure enough, he flew off the dog walk, so we went into plan B and got our points. 3rd place and a Q. Would have been 1st place if he got the contact. Oh well. Still, he got his SG title! So ironic that he got a title after 3 runs when it took me 8 years to get one gamblers leg for Woody and two for Jake.
Next was Starters STD. Flew off everything. Knocked two bars. 20 faults! Our time was 3rd fastest.
Last run of the day was Starters Pairs. I had no partner, but a few others had dropped off. I felt badly because I knew we were going to blow it. We ran second. The first obstacle was a chute and Shane came out flying and took a tumble right at my feet. I just barely missed stepping on him. We got ourselves together and Shane ran around the jump and backjumped before I could act. The judge let out a loud noise. Not too professional. On we go and Shane got the A frame by a hair. 3rd place and a Q. My partner was pretty happy.
I had taken Shane out to the field numerous times during the day and ran him in circles on a retractable for hours. I used to do this to Jake and Woody to wear them out. I also walked him around the rings a few times at a very slow pace. We stopped and chatted with people and Shane did very well. He still goes nuts so I need to find a way to reduce his anxiety. At the hotel, Shane just collapsed. He slept all evening and night. Poor baby.
Sunday started with Starters STD. Jumped off everything again. Ran behind me to a jump as we headed to the table, and then he wouldn't go into a down. Spun before the weaves. I stomped my foot to get him to go into the weaves. The judge gave me a lecture on that. Don't want to discourage any potential agility buffs in the crowd. Right. Later on, I saw a handler lift her dog by the scruff at the start line and then slam him into a down. That's OK? I thought that looked much worse than stomping my foot, but whatever. Oh, and I also inadvertently set up my crate near the woman who beat her dog at the San Marcos trial. I then had to watch her husband beat the dog as well. The poor thing just screeched whenever he touched it.
Next was Starters Snooker. Judge made a comment that we probably knew the rules better than he did. Three teams had to redo their runs because he blew the whistle when he shouldn't have. We started out well, and then Shane knocked the 3rd red jump on his way to doing a sequence. Couldn't stop him from taking the next jump. No whistle. I looked at the judge. No reaction. Whatever. Started the closing and he finally whistled. 13 points.
Not having a good day. Last run was Starters Jumpers. I ran Shane around that field and walked him all over the arena. Stopped for a long time and chatted. He seemed tired. Had to drag him out of the crate to go for our run. Poor thing. Got 1st and Q after a battle with the judge. The details are in the previous post, Pride is a Bitch. I was so upset that I had to write about it last night to get it out of my system.
We have two weeks until Belton. I need to find a way to reduce Shane's anxiety and keep working on his contacts. That final jumpers run gave me some hope.
This was our first trip alone, without Woody. Shane is much easier to travel with. He has fewer potty needs and eats his food. We even took a long walk up and down route 16 past all the speeding cars. Shane now sits down when a car goes by and waits for his treat. How can I get this behavior to transfer to speeding border collies?
Saturday morning started well. The first run was Starters Gamblers. I had two courses mapped out. One if he got the dog walk contact and one if he didn't. Sure enough, he flew off the dog walk, so we went into plan B and got our points. 3rd place and a Q. Would have been 1st place if he got the contact. Oh well. Still, he got his SG title! So ironic that he got a title after 3 runs when it took me 8 years to get one gamblers leg for Woody and two for Jake.
Next was Starters STD. Flew off everything. Knocked two bars. 20 faults! Our time was 3rd fastest.
Last run of the day was Starters Pairs. I had no partner, but a few others had dropped off. I felt badly because I knew we were going to blow it. We ran second. The first obstacle was a chute and Shane came out flying and took a tumble right at my feet. I just barely missed stepping on him. We got ourselves together and Shane ran around the jump and backjumped before I could act. The judge let out a loud noise. Not too professional. On we go and Shane got the A frame by a hair. 3rd place and a Q. My partner was pretty happy.
I had taken Shane out to the field numerous times during the day and ran him in circles on a retractable for hours. I used to do this to Jake and Woody to wear them out. I also walked him around the rings a few times at a very slow pace. We stopped and chatted with people and Shane did very well. He still goes nuts so I need to find a way to reduce his anxiety. At the hotel, Shane just collapsed. He slept all evening and night. Poor baby.
Sunday started with Starters STD. Jumped off everything again. Ran behind me to a jump as we headed to the table, and then he wouldn't go into a down. Spun before the weaves. I stomped my foot to get him to go into the weaves. The judge gave me a lecture on that. Don't want to discourage any potential agility buffs in the crowd. Right. Later on, I saw a handler lift her dog by the scruff at the start line and then slam him into a down. That's OK? I thought that looked much worse than stomping my foot, but whatever. Oh, and I also inadvertently set up my crate near the woman who beat her dog at the San Marcos trial. I then had to watch her husband beat the dog as well. The poor thing just screeched whenever he touched it.
Next was Starters Snooker. Judge made a comment that we probably knew the rules better than he did. Three teams had to redo their runs because he blew the whistle when he shouldn't have. We started out well, and then Shane knocked the 3rd red jump on his way to doing a sequence. Couldn't stop him from taking the next jump. No whistle. I looked at the judge. No reaction. Whatever. Started the closing and he finally whistled. 13 points.
Not having a good day. Last run was Starters Jumpers. I ran Shane around that field and walked him all over the arena. Stopped for a long time and chatted. He seemed tired. Had to drag him out of the crate to go for our run. Poor thing. Got 1st and Q after a battle with the judge. The details are in the previous post, Pride is a Bitch. I was so upset that I had to write about it last night to get it out of my system.
We have two weeks until Belton. I need to find a way to reduce Shane's anxiety and keep working on his contacts. That final jumpers run gave me some hope.
Cold and rainy here in Texas. Had to take the picture inside this time. This is my crate in Mom's office. I like to spend time in there watching Mom work on her computer. 
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