Agility With a Side of Rain

Apparently the May MMBC NADAC trial is notorious for bad weather.  That is why I bought water-proof shoes last year and ran out and invested in rain pants last week.  It turns out that those were the best purchases ever.  Saturday started with an already soaked field with a few sprinkles mixed in.  I'm thinking "Not bad, glad I have my rain gear."  Zoe was jazzed by the cool wet weather and for the first time made elite time and earned her first two elite Q's and first open weavers Q.  So now I'm thinking, "Wow, my dog thinks this is awesome...we are going to have a great weekend."  Little did I know, it was all downhill from there.

After a brief respite from the rain, it started to rain hard.  Three dogs before our run, the trial was on hold and I was stuck scarfing down my lunch with Zoe at my side in a crowded tent.  No big deal...I didn't want to savor my food anyway.  So then the trial begins again and it's finally our turn.  We start our run and Zoe looks unusually distracted and even starts to veer away from me.  Crap.  Quite literally actually as she never got a proper walk and chance to eliminate with all of the steady rain.  So our run ended with an E....there is definitely a first time for everything.  At least I couldn't blame her given the conditions and in the end, she was a happy camper.

The rest of the day was a wash - no pun intended.  As the rain persisted, the ground got soggier and soggier.  Zoe became less enthused about the weather and had to slow down to avoid slipping...good girl.  No more Qs for us, but we had a good time braving the elements.

Sunday came and I thought it would be a new day.  Instead, it was a repeat of Saturday plus severe weather.  We ran our first 4 runs, NQed in all.  Mostly chalking that up to soggy fields and bad footing.  Ok, there was some tunnel discriminations Zoe and I had to sort through as well.  But mostly the soggy fields.  By noon, the weather turned south and we headed back to the comfort of home.  It was no longer about the Qs...just staying safe and dry.

All in all, I can't say it was a terrible weekend.  There was good teamwork, excited dogs, and fun conversations.  I am quite pleased with Zoe's effort, especially showing that she can make elite time.  After that, it didn't really matter how we did.  I am just glad that we got through the weekend safe and that it will go down as a very memorable agility trial!

Riding the Wave

I really cannot complain about the past two months.  I could highlight our stellar Q-rate, but what I've really been impressed with is how focused and consistent Zoe has become.  I also think I have improved greatly in reading what makes her run better and being where I need to be to help support her.  I enjoy the fact that CPE agility is challenging, but never so much that I doubt we can meet the challenge.  Right now, we are 8 runs away from our C-ATCH, which is CPE's Agility Trial Champion title.  If Zoe keeps up her pace, we should be able to accomplish this towards the end of the summer.  It would have been really exciting to get our CATCH at the CPE Nationals event next month, but we would need at least one more trial before that to do so.  Either way, the Nationals event should be a blast and I am really looking forward to meeting more people who enjoy the sport of agility.

This past weekend I also got the opportunity to run Breeze at a Fun Run again.  She did great this time and being on turf, there were far fewer distractions than in the horse arena.  She hit her contacts beautifully and did a nice job following my lead.  I can really see the difference, however, between her and Zoe because our teamwork is not quite solid yet.  I am still learning what handling works for her and she is still learning how to read my cues.  At this point, it's just going to take practice.  She seems to really be enjoying the game and I am excited to start her in competition this summer.  Thankfully, spring is finally here and we can start practicing in the back yard again!!