Quick Agility update

A very quick Agility update ... we went to UKA Quadpaws on Saturdays, 2nd & 9th June. I was planning a long weekend camping but the weather put me off :(  Where is the Summer? 

I went with an intention to get a Game point for Sizzle and also to try running Sipzie. I am doing the very minimum with Sizzle at the moment. He is doing great with Loxicom alongside the weekly acupuncture. I am really happy how well he response to the acupuncture and hopefully by next year, he will be back in full swing.  

The first Saturday, Game didn't goes well as planned. It was a rather tricky Gambling. See diagram below. I can't remember the whole course but I never forget the Gamble! Sizzle ran great. His opening sequence was good, we collected lots of points, he managed to do 2 x DW, 2 x AF, 2 x 12 weave and some jumps in between. In the Gamble part,  I plan to send Sizzle to tunnel A and then do a scoop to tunnel B, so that I can block him seeing tunnel A again; but I moved a fraction too much and he ran into tunnel A again! We didn't Gamble :(

I then concentrated with Sipzie. I've entered her in the Beginners Agility, Beginners Jumping and one Novice Steeplechase classes. Her first class was the Agility. What can I said? She was far too excited although she had a good run in the exercise area before running. She was a wild child! She only did one stride on the down plank on the DW, so you can guess the rest :)  She also skip a few poles in between the weave but I carried on as I can see she beginning to stress again. After a short rest, we went in to do the Jumping. She was totally a different dog, she was amazing all the way ...

I decided not to run her in the Steeplechase, I sometimes thought it must be me that she felt uncomfortable with running in the Agility that made her missed her contacts. Matthew was there, so I asked him if he likes to run her and there we go, they both hit it off, surely Sizpie will love anyone with food :)

In between the runs, I also did the Senior Jumping and Senior Steeplechase with Saturn. Bless him! He has not done any agility for a long long time but being a mummy's boy, he just wanted to please me. He tried so hard and he got placed in both classes. I am very happy with him. I know how much he enjoyed to do agility so he can get treat as well :)

This is Saturn's Senior Jumping from the 1st Saturday. I walked the course wrong but I managed to pull through :), Saturn came 2nd behind the very clever Brodie

Just before going home, I decided to do one more run with Sizzle. That's the CSJ Grand Prix qualifier. I didn't think of qualifying but I just wanted to go out and do an agility course with him. Sizzle was flying. Goodness me, he was like the old speedy sizzling self! I only remembered that I had to run all the way. Phew! And of course, the little weasel qualified for the Final in December; and so do his brother Brodie in the Midi.

You have to turn down the volume on this one as Sonic was  barking crazily in the background!

After a Game failure on the 2nd of June, I wanted to return to get the Game point during the week (BTW, it is a week long show), I was too lazy to wake up early in the morning, as the Game class is the first thing in the morning! Then, on Saturday, 9th of June. I thought I better get up early and go get it. 

I was very happy with the Gamble course. I thought the Gambling part is easily do-able. The Gambling is the handler has to stay behind the B and D jumps. I've done that too many times and I know I can do it BUT sadly, I didn't hear the whistle blew! WHAT? I must turned deaf! I kept running round and round the course and I was getting fed-up that the whistle didn't blow and I asked the judge, she told me the whistle blew long time ago! Doh! No Game point again! I am such an idiot! Poor Sizzle has to put up with me :(

After a disaster start, my day didn't go well with Sipzie either. I decided not to do Agility with her, so we have Jumping and Steeplechase. After last week, Sipzie forgot how to weave :) I didn't want to put her back after my experienced from last week, so we carried on like she has done nothing wrong. I think we need to weave more :)

Our Steeplechase was a laugh! I was walking the course and thought I walked a wrong course. I know Steeplechase is generally flowy but I was expecting more from a Novice class. Anyway, I realised, we can't do a simple Steeplechase course either, how sad is that? There is nothing wrong with Sipzie, just me being a lazy handler. I was expecting her to take the jump after the tunnel and forgot that she is a very clingy dog :)

On the other hand, Saturn showed that he is lacking of practice. I was expecting him to go to the tunnel and he surely didn't think so :)

But, he decided he will be good in his next run, and he won his Senior Jumping :)