July 29, 2000
NADAC
The Adventures of Beanhead, Backseat Buddy Nan, and a Whole Bunch of Friends
I am waiting for the
pizza delivery guy to get here and thought I would hit the Internet to post my
Adventures of Beanhead email. I bet you are all praying for the dude to get
here soon. But alas, this place is slow and I have a whole 45 minutes.
Hee hee hee hee hee hee
Today, Crumpie and I headed
out for a NADAC agility trial. We are still in Novice as we have only done this
venue twice before.
In perfect company were Elaine
and Backseat buddy Nan, plus Deb & Tickie Time Bomb, Dylan & Brogen, Mary & Tess,
Megan & her crew, and Dave & Caly.
Needless to say we all had an
awesome day either in Qing or in company...if not in both.: )
Novice Gambles
Crumpie
Well, we managed to gather our
needed 20 points in the "opening sequence" in about 8 obstacles. Now, we just
had to hang around and do extra stuff until that whistle blew signaling that we
make our way to the Gamble Area. It does so in a perfect location for us and we
head out to the area. (For those who do not know, handle MUST stay behind a
line while the dog gets "out" and does certain
obstacles)
Crumpie does get out to a jump, followed by a second jump, then a
right turn to a far out tunnel. He then has to make a full right and go over
the last jump. I can see him watching me with his left eye....and I also see
him drifting toward me instead of drifting right to the jump.
Out of nowhere
comes this "Right, Out, Over" set of commands and whala, instant success, as he
not only follows each one, but also KEEPS that last bar up!!!!!!!!!!
First place, a Q, and a nifty
new NGC title behind his little doggie name.
After all of that work and the
gamble, I was going to be darned to lose it at that last jump, especially since
the finish line was two feet past that jump. No room for error. : )
Wait around for a million and
one hours and we head off for 2 standard runs. By this time, I could barely
move as the dampness of the morning rain and humidity reeked havoc on my aging
and frail body.
(Hee hee hee hee)
Honestly, I could barely run and Beanhead knew it.
Novice Standard #1
Crumpet
I should have handled the
first 3 jumps and left turn to the DogWalk differently, but oh well. He pulled
everything off despite the fact I could not keep up with him. Then he went and
jumped the DW yellow contact area.
NQ right there.
Soooooooooooooooooo, since
this is now all for fun, why not practice "gambles" which by the way I SUCK at.
I stood or moved very little and he did all of the hauling...perfectly. No, I
was not showing off, only using the Novice course as a training ground and
shaving my knees for the next run.
Believe it or not, we took a
4th placement after the 3 Qers....which in the words of Beth M....means FIRST of
the LOSERS!: )
Novice Standard #2
Crumpet
We haul around the course
until we come to that tunnel/frame discrimination. Crumpie looks at the correct
obstacle...the FRAME and at the last possible second, takes that darned tunnel.
BEANHEAD.
AARRUUGGHH!
Of course he makes all of his
contacts. So, what do we do? Practice the Gambles. Once again, we take a
fourth behind 3 Qers.......first of the losers.........again.
So, as Betsy and I like to say
after a day of conformation showing and of being dumped....tomorrow is another
day. That tomorrow yields 2 more standard runs and 1 Jumpers.
For those who know and care:
Elaine & Nan- NQs in both Standards, 4th place Q in Gamblers.
Deb & Tickie- 3 1st placements in 2 standards, 1 Gamblers
Dylan & Brogen- NQs in all 3, but the Gamblers run was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!
Mary & Tess- I believe one 5pointQ and one NQ in both Standard runs.
Aaaaaaah. I managed to get this email done before the pizza guy got here. Either it took me 45 minutes
or.....he got here sooner.
Type you all tomorrow.
Joyce
The Continued Adventures of Beanhead, Backseat Buddy Nan,
and the Whole Bunch
Well, as promised, here is the
second installment. I learned something last night about these little emails of
mine. NEVER, EVER write them when you are beyond tired. I had so many mistakes
that I could die. Of course, the words were correct and the spell check did not
pick up on it....nor did proofreading from tired eyes.
Don't worry, Dylan has already ribbed me. Oh well, you guys know me.
On with the show.
There is nothing like thinking
to yourself, as the car pulls into the parking space on the field, that you are
so happy you thought of extra pairs of socks and a change of shoes......only to
realize that both of your bags, one for Crumpie with EVERYTHING in it and your
bag with those extra socks and shoes are in the trunk of your car, parked in
Elaine's driveway, 80 miles away.
No snacks/treats, no slip
lead, no pick up bags, no Nike running cleats. The crate is already in
Elaine's car. Looks like I am doing this on the fly. The only thing I have is
Frosted Mini Wheats for me in my little cooler bag and Crumpie's normal "happy
faced" quick release collar with the "tie me up with two snaps" lead. Elaine
supplies the pick up bags and the Addias soccer sneakers are GOING to have to
do...on wet grass.
Thing I learned of the day.
When waiting for your first
run and using FMWheats as bait, always check your dog's tongue. If you feel
thirsty because you have been eating them too, HE HAS GOT TO BE AS WELL. A
quick run back to the tent/crate for water and we are off to the ring once
again.
Stop laughing, I am serious. : )
Novice Standard #1
Crumpet
I took one look at obstacle
#3...you know the DogWalk with that YUMMY tunnel right under neither/next to
it. Ok, the tunnel entrance was set about two feet from the DogWalk but it is a
tunnel we are NOT to take. A quick look down the jump, jump, DW running line
from the Start and I realize that it is a straight approach with the wings of
the jumps blocking the view of the tunnel.
God is with me.
So off we go. Over, over, and
eye-spy that tunnel.
Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk"
I say while pointing, more like praying to God for this one. Crumpie looks
soooooo confused and is completely torn.
Happy Mom or Yummy Tunnel?
Happy Mom or Yummy Tunnel? Happy Mom or Yummy
Tunnel? Oh, I am soooooo confused.
Yes, I could see this dilemma
go across his little doggie face....all in about two seconds. He looks to each
then back to me without stopping.
HAPPY MOM!!!!!!! and wow wee she seems pretty darned happy with me!!!!!!
This simple correct act puts
the light in his fire.....not like it is already lit and he hauls even
faster....if that is possible. I realize somewhere along the course that I am
seriously doing Gamble work and he is more then a few obstacles ahead of me. I
can barely keep up with Crumpie and the commands are coming fast and furious.
Nails everything perfectly
and...............a
Q, 1st place and a whole lot of the frosted shredded wheat
from the VERY happy mom.
We now have 25 points out of 30.
Half an hour later
Novice Standard #2
Crumpet
Now this one was a jump,
weave, jump, jump, left turn, frame.....opening sequence.
Did I mention that
really YUMMY tunnel trap right before that left turn????
Ok, here we go. Crumpie does
the offside weaves perfectly, does the two jumps. I had elected to hang back,
wait until he was over the second jump then call a left. Flow of movement thing
going on BIG TIME. It works like a charm and Crumpie did not even see that
darned tunnel. Now all we have to do is at least drop one bar (for a 5point Q
which we need) and make the DW contact and we are home free.
He keeps the bars up, makes
the contact. Two jumps to go......one done, two done
and....................................................
The second title of the
weekend with a 10 point Q, first place, and a WHOLE lot of frosted shredded
wheat.
Tongue hanging to the ground covered with it.
So after all is done I head
over to confirm those Qs. Yes, they are and the 1st placements as well.
Yeaaaaaaah for Crumpie. But while standing there looking, I realize that the
first run was done in 32.?? seconds and the second run was done in....are you
guys ready for this? 29.?? seconds. (The next fastest dog was 11 seconds behind
at 40.??
I may be incorrect, but this
29 might have been the fastest time for all height divisions over two days for
this particular standard run. If that is incorrect, Crumpie's time for this run
put him in at least the top five for time.
For the first run, I know that
Tickie Time Bomb's run on the same course yesterday was 31.?? seconds, so we
were 1 second slower then a Border Collie....a favorite "ticked colored" one.
: )
And people make fun of the
12-inch dogs. Crumpie is not a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, but a Border Corgi.
I manage to get some "real"
doggie snacks from a vendor who is giving out samples and tells me to "take a
whole bunch" when he heard about my situation. (It is not that everyone did not
offer, but I did not want to take the amount of treats that I give to Crumpie,
from anyone.) Very, very, very kind. I should have stuck with the FM-Wheats.
Wait around for about two hours and we have Open Jumpers.
Open Jumpers
Crumpet
This course was pretty
straight forward, but I had decided to try something different..something I have
not done in a while. I realized that although the first 6 jumps were jagged,
the running line was straight. Plus there were no tunnels in this
course....only a tunnel trap. ARUGH!!!!!!!
So I decided to "blow the leg"
and try out my original idea. Put doggie on the line and just put him through
the whole line of jumps with no "angle handling" that I am famous for. Crumpie
pulls it off flawlessly, keeping up all of the bars. He makes the left turn and
goes over a really easy jump....and knocks it. Figures. No holes barred
now...GO GO GO GO. Knocks another "easy" bar on the jump in the middle of
three. Hang back for the flow of movement call off from that trap tunnel and he
responds beautifully. Then he goes on to do a serpentine/shoelace line of jumps
flawlessly and completes the course.
We take a 2nd place.....first
of the losers!!!!!!
I wish I had time to look at our time score, but Elaine and
I were in the process of packing the car and trying to get out of there.
For those who know and care:
Deb & Tickie Qed and titled
in Novice standard, 1st place. NQed in the second run. Qed in Novice Jumpers, 1st place.
Elaine & Nan - NQed in all
three. Nanny was working her heart out but missed contacts plagued her all
weekend, we think the weather might have had an effect in the Jumpers run.
Dylan & Brogen - Qed in both
Standards..2nd place (behind Tickie) and 1st place. NQed in Jumpers.
Mary & Tess were not entered today.
So that was my weekend. Not bad for great company, ideal situation for a tan line, 2 titles, 3 1st place Qs,
2 4ths and 1 2nd.
Hope you all had a great weekend. You know we did.
Joyce
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Last Updated on April 21, 2007
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