Flying Poodles

Our first serious trial in months….

First off… I can’t quite believe I made it through the weekend, between the cold I had and then the something-else-entirely that attacked me on Sunday (I barely made it home before it got me and laid me low through last night… couldn’t even keep coke down, fever, the whole bit… but today–two days later–I actually feel pretty good and the fever is gone)…

Miss Elinora (Elly, to her friends) got a Q in Elite Skilled (so jumping 16″) Regular, which means she only needs two more for her elite regular title, which I would like to get. She also took second. I was very proud of her. She ran clean but over time in Jumpers on Saturday, and Sunday morning started the regular course with nice but slow weaves before going around the second jump, always a sign that something is achy. I pulled her and got her a massage and she seems pretty good today. I have no idea how she was yesterday, as it was all I could do to make it out of bed to let the girls out from time to time. She spent the weekend charming everyone with her sweet side. No one believes me when I tell them she’s actually a devil dog.

Dancer was wonderful. If I’d felt better I think she might have Qd every run. She jumped over the contact in our first Regular run, but did it beautifully when I made her repeat it so I ran her right out of the ring and gave her huge rewards, praising the whole way. She did the same thing Sunday morning. The rest of the weekend she got every contact. She got a Q and a third in a very competitive 20″ Novice Regular class; she got a Q and a third in Novice Touch N Go (contacts, hoops, and tunnels–HER VERY FIRST EVER TNG Q–she’s come a long way from her first run in TNG, when she got 140 faults!), a Q and no place in Weavers, and her first ever Q in Open Jumpers. (All but one 20″ dog Qd in the Jumpers course, and only one dog from any other height. It was a VERY competitive class.)

I was very proud of the Open Jumpers run. I started by looking at the turns, and planned to put front crosses in all the spots where Dancer would have to turn. That meant three front crosses (besides the one at the leadout). It seemed like everyone else was planning side changes in the straights, and no front crosses. I kept having to say to myself “different dog! different dog!” There was even a “trust the dog” curve that reminded me of one of Debbie’s exercises. I made all three front crosses, got my timing right, and she made the very tight time… 134 yards and she did it in 29.24 seconds. (She didn’t place… as I said, competitive field.)

Photo by Joe Camp