Flying Poodles

Lows and Highs…

I train so much–too much?–and sometimes it seems it’s all for naught. Yesterday, I was thoroughly skunked: 0 for 5. Elly took three obstacles and started going around jumps in standard, so I scratched her out of jumpers; Dancer did a lovely opening in FAST but then stalled out on the teeter–she jumped off–and I was docked five points for going over time, so she got… 48 points. (She needed 50 to Q.) We had an off-course in Jumpers. In standard, she didn’t do the teeter, again, so I helped her, and we got whistled out. I came home feeling discouraged and wondering if I should just give up and spend my days taking long walks in the rain.

It didn’t help that I have a nasty cold. Stuffed nose and low energy.

I took drugs and slept about ten hours last night, and decided to skip the teeter in this morning’s FAST run; Dancer got 51 points and her Novice FAST title. Elly did all the obstacles in Standard–at least I thought she did, until I saw that I had an off-course on the score sheet, but I’m not sure—maybe she went around the teeter instead of taking it? She was energetic and jumping well and paying attention, so that’s okay, anyway. Dancer stalled out on the teeter again, but a little farther up, and I helped her finish it, again, then we left and she got a lot of treats for it. In jumpers, we didn’t Q, but it wasn’t a wrong course–it was three tries at the weaves. She did the tricky bits well but struggled to find her rhythm in the weaves.

One more day of the trial tomorrow… I feel a bit less discouraged.

BUT. I would really like to have a bit more success than today!