October 14, 2000
AKC Burlington KC
The Technical Adventures of Beanhead
Yet another weekend of agility trials. I never really
thought about it until Julie and I were in conversation the other night.
Crumpie and I are campaigning in Agility. Wow. Never realized that is what we
were doing.
I thought I was just lining up
weekends of waking up earlier then I do for work and for Field Standing.
Besides, if we are supposed to be campaigning, doesn't that mean we are suppose
to be Qing a whole lot?
Yes? Then we are not campaigning.
Today was one of those days to
have a blast. No rain, no cold mornings, just a plain old late summer day�the
kind of day that you are happy to be out doing something you enjoy.
AKC
Courses offered:
Standard (all of the equipment)
Jumpers (jumps, tunnels, weave poles)
Classes: Novice (A&B), Open, Excellent A, Excellent B
NQs - dropped bar, jumped yellow contact areas, exceeding the refusal limits.
There are no placement ribbons for NQers. Do or die.
Harry was at home, so I just
had Crumpie today. In other words, I was on vacation and boy did Burlington KC
let me know that. My first run did not happen until 2pm and then I had another
run an hour later.
Did I mention Elaine and I were there at 7am?
Excellent A Standard.
Crumpie
Oh my gosh. I have never seen
so much agility equipment smashed into such a small area before in my life. I
have also never seen two contact obstacles with such unsafe entrances before.
But we did today. Most of the obstacles were about ten feet apart and I do not
think I am wrong about that.
This course was designed for
those small, slow dogs and last I checked Crumpie was small, but not slow. Ut
oh.
Ooops, I forgot to also
mention that the first jump was set on an angle and that meant I had to put
Crumpie on a severer angle to start out with. There was a tunnel under the
entrance of the DogWalk as a trap��.and a Chute under the middle of the DW as
part of the course. (This I have never seen and the handlers had to play a
"gamble" for it. This was also an unsafe choice of obstacle placement, but hey,
I was excited. I wanted to see if Beanhead would actually pull this one off
without getting tangled up in the Chute.)
There were a few other
extremely technical areas of the course, but to be honest, they are hard to
write about�so just take my word for it�it was HARD. : ) But this is AKC and I
decided that I was going to keep smiling no MATTER what. : ) I am NOT
COMPLAINING. The last time I mention ANYTHING about Julie being fair in her
training courses, I doomed us all. So those two happy faces above are supposed
to be HUGE. I am not going to doubly doom us all to even "worst" courses for
class. : )
So I have done my 7 hours of
social time, Crumpie had the same, and then it was our turn.
Put doggie on the start line
and call him over the first jump�which he promptly knocks.
AAARRRRUUUGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shrug those shoulders and we
continue on. A whole bunch of jumps, rights, and lefts flying, and then Crumpie
has to hear "Here, Walk" as "please that that yummy tunnel under the DW".
AAARRRRUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!
I collect his focus and get him
onto the DW. Change of strategy once again for the DW contact. Treat the
yellow area that Crumpie has been jumping like I used to. That would be to not
do anything but run. I will be darned if he doesn't get it. That was because
we had already NQed with the knocked bar.
In to the next tunnel, over
the Triple Jump, left to the Chute. He does everything and comes out of the
Chute with the biggest doggie smile. I am impressed, he did it. I am still on
the other side of the DW and I call a "left" to the Table.
I swear he was going to jump
off it and I thought to yell "Stop" He did and actually sat with his butt
hanging off the edge. Of course he had to start barking to let me know that
this obstacle is DUMB. Why does he have to wait when there is a tunnel RIGHT
there.
Off to the tunnel, deal with
the awful angle to the Frame, call off Crumpie from a trap jump to the Weave
poles, circle back around over a whole bunch of jumps, get Crumpie into a
correct end of a third tunnel and over the last jump.
Good googly-moogly. All of that in 64 seconds�.13 seconds under course time.
Believe it or not, I actually
enjoyed running this course and I think so did Crumpie. Maybe my buddy was
right when he said I was weird.
NQ
Excellent A Jumpers
with Weaves
Crumpie
Now this was a cool course.
There was fair spacing between jumps and a tunnel that I knew Crumpie would not
be able to avoid because of that "direct line of sight" thing. I also knew that
this was going to be a fast course and I was not disappointed.
We started off flying and
Crumpie knocked the third bar.
NQ. Like that was a surprise?
Now we can go for broke. We
hauled around until we got to that tunnel�which Crumpie completely ditched me
for. I hate being right. Trust me, I worked that tunnel, but when you are
running full tilt with Crumpie and he sees a tunnel, well, you just know certain
things.
I hate knowing that yummy
tunnels are more important then Happy Mom.He comes flying out of the tunnel
with his little Crumpie Smile and that gets wiped off his face when I call my
"turn" command (which means go back and do whatever you just did) "
Ooops, my
bad" replaced his expression, which he really doesn't mean, and he disappears
back into the tunnel.
Fine, we hit the weaves and he
does them perfectly, and we finish off the rest of the course with our normal
Crumpie and Joyce flair.
Hooray for yet another NQ.
The one thing that I learned today:
Ever notice how noisy most
handlers are? Good lord, if I were a dog, I would go off course more often if I
had a handler who constantly called, COME, here, over, here, COME,
frame, COME, out, over, go�."
I noticed this on the Jumpers
course as all I called was "right and left"�with the exception of the tunnel.
Then Crumpie got a few others commands NOT spoken. No wonder Crumpie ignored
me. : ) It was that mind meld thing.
For those who know and care:
Crumpie & me, Nan & Elaine, Ticker & Deb, Robin & Ann, Mr Mozart & Karen�..well, we all NQed.
Tomorrow, darn it, I am pulling out the clothes line. We are ALL going to Q.
I have no idea how Mr. Mozt did in Open Jumpers as Elaine and I left before we could see his run.
On the other hand, Dolores and Harry finished their Novice Standard title. Hooray. I believe the rest of Dolores' runs were NQs, but we left before they were all over.
Well guys, that is the report
for Saturday. Be sure there will be another tomorrow. : 0
Joyce, the vacationing Captain of the Partial Team Bean
Beanhead and Backseat Buddy Nan
Ahhhhh, the late summer
weather. Makes for a great weekend of field sitting.
It also makes for a day of
allergy attacks. Elaine was not feeling well all day. By mid afternoon, I was
starting to feel the same way, but managed to pull out of it with the help of an
Advil.
Joyce, Honda Civic Standard:
This course should have been
easy as it was the route to Elaine's House. First run of the morning, done
twice a week. Crumpie is chillin' with his chest on the compartment between the
front seats. Mom makes a "right" and goes off-course. She thinks she is going
to work.
NQ, no placement.
Bad Joyce, go lay down.
Hey, this is not as bad as the
off course Elaine and I took to get home last night. We would have liked to
have been taken off the course and returned to our crates, but we weren't. We
were doomed to keep driving.
AKC
( Same as yesterday. )
The next time I talk about
having a vacation, I am doing so quietly. I think it disturbed a lot of people
that I was not running three dogs, and they thought I was lonely. I was
enjoying the social time as my runs with Crumpie were not until 2pm again, but
noooooooooooooooo.
Elaine was disturbed the most,
so much so that she worked herself into a sinus headache that made her beyond
dizzy. She asked me to run Nan in Open Standard and Open Jumpers while she held
the fort. (Hey, I also got to drive her nifty SUV with the HEATED seats.)
Guess what that means???? Yup, you guessed it, you all get to read about our two runs.
I also pulled out the clothesline.
In the order that I them:
Open Standard
Nan
Nan is Crumpie's best friend.
She is a black and white Border Collie, but is different then the ones you
normally see. She is not slow, but not super fast either and she LOVES to do
those Gambles. She is a plain, old, sensitive, honest dog that works her heart
out for you as long as you are fair. If you are not, she "shuts down". Do you
blame anyone for doing that?
Anyway, Nanny and I go to the
start line and what happens? There is a problem with the dog ahead of us and
its score sheet. There I am on the s-line with a dog that will shut down if
left sitting for too long. Me being me, I decide to make this experience fun as
I hang on to a dog with no lead and collar.
I make one almost fatal
error. Never, ever ask an agility dog if they are "ready". Nanny was and she
launched forward almost taking me with her. Finally, everyone else is ready and
we are off and running.
I was completely shocked that
Nanny was pulling off some cool doggie handling. The only thing she did wrong
was pop out of a tunnel and something else, but I am not sure where. Two
refusals that resulted in an NQ, but that is not the point.
She worked her heart out,
listened to every command, and got her contacts. I got lost twice on course
because I was so focused on what Nan was doing, but she recovered faster then I
did.
Elaine should be proud of all
the work she has put into her four-legged kid, especially since I have not
worked with Nan since February and she was willing to work for me like it was
yesterday.
Excellent A Standard
Crumpie
Now this was a course worthy
of being deemed USDAA or NADAC. It had handler restrictions, traps, and FLOW.
(Julie's courses are harder, but they still have flow.) You know we are going
to haul some serious butt.
The course is two jumps to a U
shaped tunnel under the Frame. We want the left tunnel entrance to come back
around to the DogWalk.
Alllllllllll righty then.
This is going to be fun. It is the tunnel!!!!!!!
Crumpie had other plans. Yes, my tunnel monging dog went up the stupid Frame. One off course.
He gets the DW contact, takes
the next jump and focuses in on the wrong jump. "Right, Crumpie!!!!" He
collects himself and turns right at the last second�..but right what mom?
Refusal as Crumpie runs around the jump.
Needless to say the rest of
the course is flawless, in control, and fast. What do we NOT do? Drop a bar.
NQ
Vacation is seriously over.
Open Jumpers and Excellent A Jumpers is being walked at the same time. I walk
both courses and then ask the Judge reaaaaaaaally nicely if I can run Crumpie
before the 24" class. Hooray, I can.
Excellent A Jumpers
Crumpie
My, my, my, my, my. Jumps
everywhere and two tunnel calls offs before we can hit them on the way back. I
know bars are going to come down, but I really do not want an off course. Had a
few of those already this weekend; human and dog.
Crumpie hauled around this
course like a true pro. He did knock two bars, but he avoided the tunnels and
slammed through the weave poles. Personal accomplishment? I actually did a
"blind cross" in the most insane, smashed with jumps, area of the course.
As my buddy Jim would say�..
"That deserves a beer". He was not there to see it so that meant none for me.
NQ
Last class of the day and
the clothesline is still empty. I WAS thinking POSITIVE today.
Open Jumpers
Nan
This time, I decided to leave
Nan in a stay on the start line and handle it from one jump out. This was more
to give me a head start to the weave pole entrance that she had been missing.
(This morning it was an easier entrance and she got it.) The problem here is
that Nan has no stay and if she does, she might just run around the jump. I
gamble on the positive side and Nan was willing to work with me. She stays and
takes the first two jumps, along with the pole entrance. We slam through and
continue on with the course.
The good thing about this
run? Elaine had taught Nan "right and left" so it made my job so much easier.
The bad thing about this run? Nan's command for the jumps is "jump". Crumpie's
is "over". (Fred & Harry once upon a time had Jump as their command, but we had
to change that reaaaaaaaal fast.)
So, as we get to this one part
of the course I call, "left over". She looks back at me like she is mortified.
The JUMP is right there and I am about to take it and what the heck is Over?
Ut oh, doggie is shutting down.
"Jump, jump, jump, jump,
Nanny", I plead, being as positive as I can. Oh, you mean the jump I was
heading for????? Beanhead's MOM. Yes, Nanny, that one.
Nan gets back on track, picks
up speed, and gains confidence. Oh thank god as things are going really well.
We haul around, Nan is following every direction and is getting faster. It comes down to the last
three jumps and I can see her start to slow down.
Don't give up on me now,
Nanny" I call out and that was all she needed. She flys over the triple which
is the last jump on the course��with���.
A Q and a 3rd place.
Everyone clapped for Nanny.
It has been a while since I had an AKC crowd to cheer us on.
I also got lots of offers for
potential 20" and 24" puppies to own and to run. Call me crazy, (which I have
been), but I think I like the 12"ers so much better. We all line up when the
class starts.
Of course, by this time the
tent is packed away and so is the clothesline. Ironic, isn't it?
For those who know and care:
Since Deb and Karen were there
and they do belong to the email list, I thought I would let them post about
their adventures of Team Tickie and Team Mr Mozt.
Dolores, I believe, NQed in all of her runs today, but I am not sure about that.
I will however say that Q or NQ, you guys did a great job and made the weekend fun.
That was my weekend. Two more
to go and then this craziness ends. It was kind of sad not to finish Crumpie's
AKC standard title today, but as Elaine pointed out before we ran�..we can begin
next year's AKC Trials knowing that at least one title is within early reach.
She is right. Thanks, Elaine for being positive. : )
Hope you all had a great weekend because you know Crumpie and I did.
Joyce, the Captain of the other half of Team Bean.
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Last Updated on April 21, 2007
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