Our second trial, this was our Standard run which was not the prettiest but it is my favorite so far. I am still trying to learn the best way to get to the ring. This time I had to be there a littler earlier and Cricket fixated on the dogs in the ring. SHE WAS OVER THE TOP wild!!! She could not take food, she could not respond to me, everyone around the ring was laughing saying boy she just wants to go. I HAD TO have a start line stay because of the jump/tunnel to make sure if I got too far lateral and ahead that she did not just come to me--I know her. On top of that it was standard and Cricket gets pretty excited doing agility, and she was starting out over the top, I knew this run had the potential to make an agility bloopers video.
SOOOOOO PROUD of my little girl, she held her start line, she was SOLID!!! She has learned the price of agility is staying when you need to ;-) and guess she feels it is a fair price to play. Funny because I tried all new things and never taught it in the traditional sense like I have taught all my other dogs but guess what, she has the strongest stay.
Going to the aframe my plan A was a front cross...plan B was a blind cross, that is what I really wanted to do and figured would happen,....plan C was a rear cross. Not sure with the aframe in competition how a rear cross would work.
When CrickSTAR BLASTED off the start line she was WAY faster then she has been before in a trial so we were at plan C the rear cross. I LOVE THAT AFRAME, met all expectations and I thought at first she did not read the rear cross and that is why she went to the chute, but when I looked at the tape she did check in and see me but then I think I flung out my arm and looked like I might be going to the chute, we do a lot of sending from around the world on tunnels so I think she just was trying to do what I said.
It is funny when Cricket gets a bad signal and I try to fix it it ticks her off, so we had a little discussion and had to get it together before we could go on. Luckily that was just one refussal.
The rest of the run I was sooooo excited how she held her table, how she did the teeter and stopped at the end and waited for a release even though I was not right there, and how the dog walk looked.
IT WAS A FUN, FUN, FUN RUN! It felt so good to see Cricket with a little more confidence and looking so happy, it might take us awhile to gel, but boy she is a cool little girl and that run just showed me what it is going to be like, when we iron out my handling it is going to be fun.
This was our first run of the weekend, a clean run and a Q, we got third, but boy I sort of froze a couple of times and forgot what I was doing,damn those nerves, when I was telling Cricket where to go she did great, but yea I gotta do what ever to try to get moving better myself.... Luckily we were there the next day and I got my ring nerves more under control the second day. I figured I should post it all because I don't like when people starting out get the feeling from watching others that it is always really pretty from the very start. ;-).