Bay Team CPE, 3/22-3

"'Scuse my dust!"

This was a big event held in Sunnyvale, considerably closer to home than our usual Elk Grove venue.  There were 3 rings going at the same time, but things were so well organized and orchestrated that there were few to no SNAFUs.  I took both dogs, and at the end of Saturday's events was hoping for a double "perfect weekend" -- 9 Q's/9 events for Mox, 7/7 for Miko.  Miko had Q'd in all 3 of his Saturday classes, with a 1st and a 3rd place, and Moxie had Q'd in all 5 of his, with 2 1sts, a 3rd and a 4th.

However, this perfect weekend was not to be.  On Sunday, Miko Q'd in his first class and then he had clearly had enough.  I ran (okay, trotted) him in one more and then scratched from the final 2.  He gets seasonal allergies and was on meds; I don't think he felt very good.  

"I think I'll sit this one out, thanks."

"Not Me!!!"

Moxie ran either hot or ... not cold, maybe "too hot."  He Q'd and finished 2nd (on accumulated points) in his Jackpot class with an excellent run that earned us compliments from total strangers, and he was absolutely brilliant in his Jumpers -- more than 5 1/2 seconds faster than any other Level 2 dog of any size!  But in Full House we ran into some trouble, ended up not exactly where I intended, and I got flustered and patted him before sending him to the table to stop the clock.  This constituted "touching the dog on course," which is elimination.

Our primo disaster, though, was Sunday's Standard class.  The wheels came off, the boiler exploded, it rained rubber chickens and the stock market plummeted yet another 300 points.  Everything that could go wrong, did.  He broke his stay at the start (only time all weekend, and I was doing some lonnngggg lead-outs), which meant I was behind him from the gitgo.  He took an off-course jump.  Blew his weave entry.  Blew his weave entry again.  And again.  And he barked -- at me, not just his usual "look!  I'm running!" enthusiastic noise.  Babysitting the weaves put me behind him again, out of position so I had to rear-cross the teeter.  Apparently I cut it closer than I shoulda, because I tripped and went sprawling -- took most of the skin off my right knee (the one that works!).

Good going! In one class I "handle" my dog, in another I fall over an obstacle...

But I balance these mishaps against the truly excellent runs, and I feel pretty good.  I have a private lesson set up with Sandy to help me teach him directional commands, so that when he gets ahead of me I don't lose him.  I think that'll make a real difference.  I certainly don't want to try to slow him down!

The photos included with this post were taken at the WAG NADAC trial 3/15-16.  Dave Mills is the photographer, and yes, I have bought prints!

CPE, NADAC again, and finally some January pix

It's a bird, it's a plane ... 

... no, it's the flying Moxerati, catching serious air at the WAG NADAC trial in January (see earlier post). All the pictures here are from that trial. They were taken by David Wong, and though it took forever for them to get to me, they were definitely worth waiting for.  I'm particularly glad to have pix of Mox in action, finally.  He looks completely deranged when he's on-course, as these photos clearly show.  Just imagine a soundtrack of non-stop barking as he hurtles past ... and take 3 Advil and lie down in a darkened room :-)  

Seriously, he's an extremely promising young dog -- not only fast and talented, but dead honest and full of heart and enthusiasm.  Our main challenges have more to do with my learning to be a better handler than anything else.  If I can get info to him on time, he'll give me everything I ask for, and then some.  He has recently moved up into one of Sandy Rogers' competition classes, and is thriving there.

Since that January trial we've been to 2 more, also at WAG. We hit a CPE event in mid-February, then gave trialing a rest for a few weeks so I could do little things like fly up to Portland to visit my too-adorable-for-words granddaughter, Evelyn. 

Both dogs did well despite cold wind and rain at the CPE trial, with Miko Q-ing in 6 of his 9 classes and finishing his Level 3 Standard title. Moxie went 8 for 9, with only a mental lapse on my part keeping him from a perfect weekend. He was having a brilliant run in his second jumpers class, and then my mind went blank and I forgot the course. Running 2 dogs, with events taking place simultaneously in 2 arenas, is hard on my aging brain. I scratched both dogs from one of their classes on Sunday, which took a little of the pressure off and frankly I had more fun.  

 Running With My Boys

Comin' Through!!!

This past weekend we hit another NADAC trial.  Moxie had a stellar weekend, Q-ing in 8 of his 10 classes.  Okay, officially he Q'd in 7 of 10; I managed to get us eliminated after his very nice Touch/n/Go run because I had forgotten to take off  the treat-bag I had buckled around my waist.  No treats or toys in the ring!  Them's the rules, and it didn't matter that Mox didn't even know the bag was there.  Shame on me!  Ironically, Sandy (my instructor) had been giving me a hard time about that bag in class just last week.  "People forget and wear them into the ring and get eliminated," she said.  And I went, "I'd never do that."  Yeah right.  Betcha it won't happen again, though.  I'm-a sell that sucker on EBay!

Why let weave-poles slow you down???

Miko's weekend left a bit to be desired.  He did have a couple of good runs, and won one of his classes, but his heart wasn't in it and he just didn't seem to be having any fun in the ring.  He seemed to feel okay; when I let him loose in the exercise field he ran around and played with Moxie, he just didn't want to do agility.  He's been less and less enthusiastic about it lately, and if I can't find a way to make it enjoyable for him again I'll find another activity that he and I can do that he'll like better.  Meanwhile, both dogs are entered in another CPE trial this coming weekend, enough closer to home that we won't need to stay overnight.  We'll see how it goes.

I've discovered a pretty nifty place to stay when I'm competing at WAG and don't want to tent-camp because of cold weather -- Extended Stay America is less than 15 minutes from the WAG facility. It's one of those suites deals, very basic but with a stove, refrigerator, microwave, desk and table with chairs, queen bed, comfy armchair, wi-fi and funky old-fashioned tv that gets basic cable + Showtime. There's a Starbux practically next door, and a Safeway and various restaurants nearby. It's reasonable, too. A lot of agility people seem to stay there.  My dogs seem to like it just fine.  They just seem a little confused about why they don't get to stay in the same room every time.  When we arrive each time they go right to the door where we stayed last.

Cold January weather calls for a warm cap from Peru!

NADAC Trial at WAG , 1/12 - 13

Both dogs piled into the back of the 300 hp turbocharged Dogmobile on Friday, and off we drove in a chilly rain to what's becoming our home away from home, the Western Agility Group's dog-sports facility in Elk Grove. Fortunately, I had booked a room in a motel there, because it would have been pretty miserable sleeping in my tent, even with 2 dogs as foot-warmers. Plus, I'd had a cold all week and was worried it might get worse. It didn't; despite off and on drizzle on Saturday it went away!

This weekend's trial was affiliated with the North American Dog Agility Council -- my first experience with their rules and classes. Unlike the CPE trials that Miko entered last year, NADAC doesn't use the teeter or the tire jump. The A-frame is lower and doesn't have slats for the dogs to stub their toes on. The courses tend to be open and flowing, so the dogs can really stretch out and run. I figured this would be right up Moxie's alley, which turned out to be the case. He Q'd and placed first in 3 of his 4 Regular (standard) runs, one of his 2 Jumpers runs and his Tunnelers run. In each of his other classes, one mistake caused him to NQ -- once he knocked a bar, 5 faults. The other times it was handler error; I just didn't get information to him in time so he took a jump out of order and had to come back and correct it -- 10 faults.

Because of all the emphasis on speed I was a little worried about Miko, who had been kind of a slug in practice lately, but he had his game face on for sure. He motored right along and had a perfect weekend -- 8 Q's out of 8 classes, 7 first places and 1 2nd. We don't call him St Miko the Good for nothing!

One of the things I like about NADAC is the emphasis on distance handling. It was a trip to watch the elite-level dogs and handlers run, with the handlers having to stay behind a line and send the dogs halfway across the arena. The best of them made it look effortless, as if the dogs were remote-controlled ... which in a way they were! I'd love to be able to do that! It's nice to have a goal :-)

NADAC even offers classes with no jumping -- just tunnels, or tunnels and weaves ... and they're introducing a new class called Hoopers, where the dogs run a course through upright hula hoops. When I arrived on Friday they were setting up a hoopers course so I stayed to watch. The jury (mine anyway) is out ... it just seemed sort of weird to me. On the other hand, I can see that it would be a good test of handling, and a good, fun activity for a dog that was unable to jump.

David Wong the photographer was there again all weekend and got some great shots of both my guys. Moxie looks completely demented, wild-eyed and mouth wide open. Miko looks his usual handsome self, but finally I'll have some pix of him doing weave poles. When I've got 'em I'll post 'em.

Pix from 10/20-21 WAG CPE Agility Trial

Well, it took a while, but the CD from David Wong, the photographer who shot the Oct 21-22 CPE trial at Elk Grove, arrived last week. Well worth waiting for! There were over 100 photos, most of them in sequences of 3 - 5, giving me a good look at Miko at several points along the approach-airtime-landing continuum. When you shoot this way, not all of the pix are aesthetically pleasing, but all are instructional and there were plenty of "pretty" ones to choose from too. Here are a few of the best.

You can read an account of Miko's fabulous exploits at this event in an earlier post. However, I see that I forgot to brag that he finished all of his Level 2 titles, which makes him officially Miko, CL-2, CGC. And he's halfway to his Level 3 Standard title (CL3-R).


The A-Frame and the Teeter-totter are 2 of the 3 contact obstacles in agility (well, 4 I guess, if you count the pause table); the other one is the Dog Walk. The dogs must put at least 1 paw in the yellow "contact zone" both going up and coming down. Otherwise it's 15 faults.

Moxie's debut

On 10/28, the Moxerati made his agility debut at a fun run at WAG. Fun runs are for practice only; they aren't competitions. I wanted to see how he'd do in a completely new situation, and I wanted to see if he'd be any more comfortable on NADAC style slatless contacts (specifically, the A-frame) than he seems to be in practice at Ace. His A-frame performance is a mystery -- he's so fast and so fearless about everything but that. I thought it might be something physical -- his shoulders, perhaps, but he's been x-rayed and all looks normal. I ask myself if he's worried about "stubbing his toes" on the slats ... one reason for wanting to try the slatless equipment. (And a reason to give him a pedicure, too.)

Slats or not, his A-frames weren't exactly stellar, but all in all I was extremely pleased with his performance. He had never run a full course before; the most we'd ever done in class was maybe 5 or 6 obstacles at a time. I had no idea whether I'd have any control over him at all! As you can see in the movies below, control wasn't our strong suite, but we were able to correct our mistakes pretty easily, and a good time was definitely had by all.

One of the things I was working on specifically was his start-line stays. He's not supposed to move off the line till I tell him to, and he's so eager to run that it's hard for him to sit still. Another focal area was solid down-side contacts on the teeter, dog walk etc. If it looks like he's just standing there, half-on, half-off while i dance around and pretend to run away, he's doing exactly what he's been trained to do -- wait for me to release him.

Something I *should* have been working on, and will work on in 2 weeks when we go to another fun run, is getting myself properly positioned as we run the courses. He's so much faster than Miko -- I kept finding myself in the wrong place, except that it would have been just the right place for my other dog! Gotta work on the timing...

Jumpers, round 1 ... a little wild!


Jumpers, round 2 ... a little better.


Standard, round 2, with a few extra trips over the A-frame. Note: he doesn't usually blow his weaves! Honest!


Tunnelers, round 2. This was a lot of fun!

Miko strikes again!

I'm waiting for a CD of photos from the Fun Paws CPE agility trial 10/20 -21 at WAG (and yes, it does seem as if I'm wearing a deep rut between Oakland and Elk Grove!). David Wong was there all weekend, taking pictures in the outdoor ring. He uses a motor drive, so there are multiple shots of your dog at each obstacle. Not only a great way to be sure you get just the right shot -- studying the series is also very instructional, almost like viewing a film. I'm tapping my fingers impatiently, and keeping a sharp eye on the mailbox.

Meanwhile, boring ol' text: Mr Meex had another perfect weekend. He Q'd in all 8 of his classes, got 4 blue ribbons, 3 reds and a yellow (that should have been blue, if I hadn't completely blown it at the end). Maybe the high point of the weekend was racking up 66 points in the jackpot (gamblers). Not only was this nearly 3 times the points we needed to Q, it was *almost* the high score out of all the 80+ dogs (all levels ran the same gamblers course). I didn't see anything higher on the score sheets posted after the class, but when the results were actually published there was a 68, earned by a very experienced handler and champion-level dog. Didn't make me any less proud of my boy!

I camped in my tent again; spent Friday night re-pumping my brand new air bed, which turned out to have a slow leak. Found a replacement for it Saturday and expected to sleep soundly that night. Instead, I watched the sides of the tent belly and ripple in the gusting wind and listened to the sound of other people's shade canopies being blown over, too close to me for comfort, so got up at about 1 a.m., found the extra tent pegs, guy lines and a hammer, and battened down the hatches. I don't really think the tent was going anywhere. On the other hand, I wasn't 100% sure it wasn't going to try. I'm used to little backpacking tents with low profiles. My "dog tent" is over 6' high in the center -- nice for moving around in, and airy in hot weather. But not designed for wind, no way.

More when the pix come...

CPE Agility Trial at WAG

Miko, the Mox and I had a lot of fun last weekend (Oct. 6 & 7). On Friday, we drove the hour and a half to the WAG (Western Agility Group) facility near Elk Grove. Miko was competing and Mox was along for the experience and socialization. We set up camp in my wonderful new REI tent, which is big enough for crates for both dogs, plus my sleeping bag and all our stuff, with room left over. A BIG tent! but easy for me to set up by myself, at least when there isn't much wind.

I had brought along the camping stove and some propane bottles, planning to at least make coffee and breakfast each morning, but after learning that there was a Starbucks less than 3 miles away, that opened at 5 a.m., I quickly bagged the camp kitchen idea. The Starbucks, plus a Round Table Pizza (Friday nite dinner) and a Chinese restaurant (Saturday nite dinner) and a bunch of other businesses were grouped around the perimeter of a huge parking lot that was nearly empty every time I went there. Until pretty recently I guess the area was mainly ranchland -- the streets have names like Machado Ranch Blvd, etc -- but now is subdivided; big houses on tiny lots. Not many people, or maybe they were all inside. For sure they weren't having pizza, Chinese food, or lattes!

Miko had a fabulous weekend. He qualified in all 6 of the classes he entered, with 4 first places and 2 seconds. He earned his very first agility titles in the process -- his Level 2 Standard (CL2-R), and Level 2 "Handlers" (CL2-H, which involves obstacle-discrimination games).


Moxie had a pretty good weekend too. He didn't bark or whine AT ALL, he walked (fairly) calmly on leash all around the arenas and crowded warm-up areas, and when I worked him he was focused and attentive. The first couple of times I took Miko out to the ring to compete, I put Mox in his crate. But then I figured he'd behaved so well I'd try just leaving him loose in the tent. So I gave him a chew toy, crossed my fingers, and off Miko and I went. Golden silence :-) Even when the dog in the tent next to ours started to fuss, he didn't join in.

This is the first time I've been camping since I took myself off to Tuolumne Meadows for a week in September 2002 or 2003. One thing that's changed is that my older bones no longer care for sleeping on an Ensolite foam pad. Before the next trip 2 weeks from now, I'm buying an air mattress!

Just one last quick note on Moxie -- he's been doing really well in class, and in his practice sessions between classes, so the plan at this moment is to take him to a fun match at WAG on Nov. 17.