Monday, June 6, 2011

MAC Gets a 4 Star Updo: Highlights and Lowlights

So. Much. Agility.

I just counted, 20 runs scheduled, 19 actually ran.  No wonder The Dog and I are dead. Really dead. Certifiably dead. Like, the coroner is filling out the paperwork right now.

I’m really not sure what I was thinking when I filled out the entries (Probably something like “lalala, we are amazing and 20 runs is only like 10 minutes of work and we work for an hour sometimes! Lalala”)… but rest assured this was a onetime incident of psychosis.   I’ve found our limits of how much agility is TOO much  and I doubt I will be forgetting any time soon!  

In fact, there was SO MUCH agility it’s pretty much impossible to give any kind of play-by-play.  The internet would overflow and all the technology would spill out onto the streets and the world would drown under the deluge of words I’d need to use to give that much detail.  So instead a spiffy recap is in order à la those “Previously Seen On” segments they show for complicated Smart People TV shows.

First up, Lowlights. 
1) Hot.
Sweaty.
Ick.
2) Did I mention too many runs?
3) Sunday was basically our Worst Single Day Ever. See above for the reason. Many pretty parts, no individual Qs.   Oh well. At least I have the pretty parts. 
4) Sad/scary moment where The Dog zinged her wrist on the chute entry AGAIN and came out gimping up a storm AGAIN and had to be carried off early.  It was the CLONK heard round the world, but luckily was just a stinger.  I think she was more traumatized by the judge looking at her after it happened.  Rest of the weekend spent shoving her into the chute at perfectly straight angles only.
5) Two otherwise lovely runs lost to missed DWs.
6) Sun burn for all. Ouch.
Hehe, mega sunburned me, mega cute her. 
And now, the beautiful, shiny highlights!
1) At least there were no sirens or severe storms, which have ruined many a weekend around here recently.
2) I got my wish- super challenging courses- proud to say not one off course or similar naughty pants incident (I’m forgetting that Sunday Gamblers happened, it’s better this way). 
3) While a few DWs were missed, she had NO super sticky DWs like last weekend, gorgeous Aframes and even nice teeters.  Weird.
Sticky hot, but no sticky DWs (Thnx JLove for the pics!)
4) She actually was able to find difficult weave entries ON HER OWN! More than once! An OMG is in order.
5) Before the sun doldrums ate her, she was flying!  Excellent times for the first part of the weekend, then a noticeable dip, then good again for the last few runs. Don’t get that, except that maybe she felt more rested after I pulled her from one Snookers class.
6) Excellent results in the team competition- Third place overall for her team with Black Dog and BFAM, and she was ranked third for overall 22” dogs!  
7) We ran both IHC classes for fun and she stayed on course for both! WOW! AND she ended up 2nd in Standard and 3rd in Jumpers. In both classes I caused refusals at dumb places but she survived all the hard challenges. Pretty good and very fun to run plus I enjoyed getting the special ribbons that have the confusing European color (or should I say colour?) scheme. 

(Here are the maps- such bad quality I can't POSSIBLY get sued for unlawful reproduction, right?)
IHC Jumpers
IHC Standard
8) And the very best part? She got the last 8 qualifiers she needed for her Bronze Lifetime Achievement Award! Not too shabby for only being in Masters a little over a year. 

So yeah.  It was a 4 star weekend, and I’ve got a 5 star dog. She’s such a good little teammate.  She tried very hard all weekend (except the one Gamblers run that didn’t really happen) and I only wish the interwebs were big enough for me to detail ALL the awesome without running the risk of sending us all back to the Stone Age.   
TIRED. Running and running and running is hard work.
***
And, exciting, it’s about to get even awesomer (really, that's not a word??) around The Project.  Dogwalk supports have been built!! 

Ta-daa!! It's even adjustable! Thnx Boyfriend!
Next weekend’s project is procuring, painting and pining on planks!  So we will soon have the most amazing DWs on the planet.  Plus, we’ve got REAL weave poles so no doubt those will be the most amazing too.  (I’m excited to start on weaves with The Pup now too- my plan is channels without guides as a slight variation of what I’d normally do.  Since its channels and they will be VERY wide with no chance of actual weaving for a long time we don’t have to wait for silly old growth plates to close. Diabolical, no?)

REAL weaves! Adjustable! Oh, the awesome!
***
The Pup had her highs and lows this weekend too.  Lows included biting me in the face (hasn’t happened in a LONG time!), screaming awful bloody murder whenever I ran The Dog and running away. Highs include her coming back, letting me scale her teeth, popping out the last of her evil baby shark teeth and being a cute cuddle monster last night, sleeping on my lap for 2 whole hours.   We also got to meet another Clone sibling and her 'mother' which she LOVED, and attempted a cute but short lived photo shoot. Is there anything wigglier than a BS? Why yes, there is! TWO BSs!
TIRED. Screaming and running away are hard work.
***
On the docket now is one week of rest for The Dog and a trip to the chiropractor if I can swing it. No doubt she needs it after all the twisty turny courses.  Then a show in two weeks, and after that, very low key up to the Regional in August.  We have some training points to hit before then- I want to make sure we go into that competition with our best feet and paws forward.  

Besides, I am not going to be able to focus much on agility anyways going forward.
Harry Potter…so soon…
And the aftermath will probably be me in a HP coma of delight for another few weeks. 

I might not even remember agility at all. 

3 comments:

  1. Shiv was brilliant this weekend :) BFAM sends a horray out to SFAM for LAA-Bronze :D

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  2. Love The Dog's DW photo - nice!! You need to show us pics of your DW when it's done - very curious I am about the adjustable base! Of course, don't show these anywhere near July 15th as I will be in my own HP coma! LOL

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  3. Woo hoo! Yay for happy dogwalks and an awesome new title!

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