another weekend of Agility :)

Well, 3 Sundays in a row of Agility! WooHoo! We drove up to Derby yesterday for another Winter Series at Capable Canine. This is the first time I've gone to the show. I like the venue a lot. It's a friendly atmosphere and I like their colour theme, Orange and Black (mainly orange!). You don't know how much I like Orange and Yellow :)

Oh, the best thing was the weather is just perfect. Dry and sunny! I was worried that we couldn't get there on Saturday night as the rain hasn't stop and most areas were flooded! Even on Sunday morning, the wind was still howling! I determined to go :)

There is only ONE ring, so you won't miss anything but I found it very crowded on the Finish line. If the courses were set the other way, it won't be too bad but sadly, all the starts and finishes for the entire day is the same. I am not worry about Sizzle and Sipzie but Sonic doesn't like people on top of him and I certainly don't want any dog grab him by mistake at the end of the jump. So, our first run was a nervous one. I have never pick him up and walk him over to start jump before, so he really dislike it. I did ask the people if they can kindly give him some room to finish the last jump, I have to say, the helpers were really good to clear  off the finish area for us but not the people queuing outside the ring waiting to run. The other mistake I made was, I normally let him tug on my sleeve when he finishes the last jump where I can't take a toy in the ring with him. At the first run, soon after he finished the last jump, he grab my sleeve and I've just picked him up worry other dogs might get to him and he was shocked and he struggled to get out of my arm. 

The first run was Sonic's Grade 1 to 3 Agility. It was a very messy run. I have to say I don't like the angle of the jump after the A Frame and also the weave. I think for a baby dog like Sonic, I like a more straight forward course that he can go and have fun. He got fault on the A Frame because he took one less stride due to me stop short and sudden (I know we need to practice more! This seems to be our major problem at the moment). With him can't see the weave, I guess it's a combination of baby mistake and my body was not clear enough for him. Of course, after he went off course, he enjoyed barking than concentrate to finish his course LOL Nutter puppy!

Sonic @ Grade 1-3 Agility: 

Our next run was Sizzle's Grade 4 to 7 Agility. Sizzle can't get his footing right on this surface. In fact, he can't walk properly on the surface! He's slightly tip toeing around the surface, he won't put pressure down too much. This is why he isn't going as his usual speed. Even at this first jump, he took off funnily. He did won the class though :)

Sizzle @ Grade 4-7 Agility:

Well, what can I say about Sipzie? She is getting stronger each time, Her confident is back and she is enjoying agility again. 3 weeks in a row, she is getting her DW perfectly each time. You can see me releasing her quicker each time. Her creeping down plank is getting better each week as well. Hopefully we can work through that this winter. She is missing her A Frame most of the time as she has much longer stride than Sonic. I don't really want to train her to stop at A Frame as I have learned from Sing how much "damage" it can cause if they landed badly at the bottom of the contact point. I just want the weather to dry up so I can put the A Frame out again to practice with her and Sonic!

Sipzie @ Grade 4-7 Agility:

Next up is Sonic's Grade 1 to 3 Jumping. After I review what I did at the Agility with him, I've decided I will go back to the norm and walk him to the start jump and play along the way. He was so much happier that way. From this weekend, I can see our problem is if the jump angle is slightly off, he will miss or not take the jump. This is another winter project to teach him to take the obstacle! He got a 2nd place in this run, very close to the winner's time. I guess if he didn't too busy barking at me and take the last jump, he would have won that easily. Nutter puppy!

Sonic @ Grade 1-3 Jumping:

I don't know why Sizzle cutting off behind me after the tunnel? I have to say I got a bit less confident after the tunnel as I was worried how I should handle the next 2 jumps. Sizzle did ran that well because of my crap handling. Sipzie ran the same course and she ran exactly the way I want to handle with Sizzle as well as her. 

Sizzle @ Grade 4-7 Jumping:

Silly Sipzie missing the weave again. We have been practicing hard at home and she's brilliant at 6 poles or 12 poles. I don't know why she can't do that at competition? 

Sipzie @ Grade 4-7 Jumping: 

The last class was a fun class called "Beat The Judge". The judge will set out a time and seal that in an envelope. The handlers will only when they call out the result. At this course, the judge set out for 40 seconds! This mean the slowest dog wins! Sonic did it in 19 seconds with a refusal at the last jump (again!) and Sipzie did it in 18 seconds! Sizzle did it in 20 seconds but he is the only clear in Grade 1-7! So, he won that class as well :) Poor Sizzle, slowest dog! Hahaha ...

Sizzle @ Beat The Judge: 

Sonic@ Beat The Judge:

Sipzie @ Beat The Judge: