Teamwork!

Team J-Dawg had a successful trial this weekend- the first in quite a long time.  First off, for those who measure their success by Q’s alone, we earned our first ever Advanced Q in Gamblers and a respectable 2^nd place to boot!  He was running really fast and I had to abort my plan after the first tunnel pass, but I got him back on track to earn his points and get the gamble:  teeter – jump – jump.  Yay!  Here’s the video that shows his great running A-frame:

Although we earned a Q in Advanced Gamblers, I was more proud of our NQ runs than ever before.  I ran him in Grand Prix for the first time (tournament with Master’s Rules) and he did great at staying with me.  I had a handler miscue before/after the chute but I got him back in the game and we finished up the course.  What a good boy!  I had another handler error at the end (do not know why I rear crossed so awkwardly before the double/teeter!?) but the beauty of this is that he could have checked out when he took an off-course after the chute, but I elected to get him back running with me.  This would not have been possible a mere month ago!

Another run was our Standard runs from both days.  Saturday’s Standard resulted in an E, but he ran with me and a beautifully fast running dogwalk to a fast weave pole entry.  Jefferson even went to a down on the table…such a good boy.  But, after the A-frame – jump combo into a pinwheel, he read my shoulders facing front (in such a brief second before I was able to make a complete rotation to complete the pinwheel) and ran to the chute.  This run was over but I was so happy that he and I had worked so hard together as a team for almost all the course. 

Finally, on Sunday we had to run for the first time in the rain (all day long…yuck!) Luckily, I wore a new rain suit coupled with a pair of great Gore-Tex trail runners by Brooks that kept my toes warm and dry.  It seemed like every time our class had to run, the rain came down harder…Our first run was Starters Jumpers, and it was a mud pit out there!  We started out together with Jefferson running faster than I expected.  We did well until I rear-crossed him on the flat, cueing him to make a turn into the wrong end of the tunnel and bypassing the double jump.  We ended up Eliminated from the run, but rather than let it deteriorate from there, I managed to handle him to finish off with a tunnel – jump – jump.  This was a big accomplishment for me to not “give up” and handle him to the very end.  I want him to trust my handling so this is the proper choice for me to always  make.  No corrections.

Our next run was Advanced Gamblers and we had a nice run on this one.  Even though we earned a 3^rd and NQ, I handled Jefferson from his meltdown point and got him back in the game to run with me.  Another milestone for Team J-Dawg!  It seemed as if he was going to get off track when he did not take the jump I wanted, rather than fret over this, I took Stuart Mah’s advice and handled the way I needed to at this moment.  I went to him and got him back on track so we finished the course together and took the gamble.  He bi-passed the first jump in the gamble, but got the A-frame – jump – jump.  Heck, we almost Q’d…but almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades…

The last run of the day was our best one of the entire weekend.  Again, NQ, but I felt like we ran together as a strong team for the very first time.  It was our standard run.  I knew there were a few tricky spots – tunnel to teeter; running dogwalk to table (when the starting jump was positioned for an off-course) and weave poles to tunnel.  Luckily for me, I was able to use a blind cross after the tunnel to teeter; a version of a RFP and verbal command on the running dogwalk; and a front cross after the weave poles.  We started off together and in synch.  I almost lost him after the running dogwalk, but he read my turn into him and came my way to get his table!  YAY!  He was going so fast that this was a major handling accomplishment.  I even heard a friend in the crowd gasp in disbelief!  Unfortunately, after he got on the table, he would not go “down” on the table.  I tried a couple of times and he just looked at me like he was NOT going to go “down.”  So, rather than fight for a Q, I chose to keep my pup in the fun game of agility and commanded him to “go tunnel” and we finished the course.  Together.  Fast.  Clean.  (I even front crossed after the weave poles to direct him into the tunnel.)  This was a great day for Team J-Dawg (too bad my friend failed to capture our run on video).

I am so proud of Jefferson for running with me all weekend, but I am more proud of myself for not giving up on our running together as a team.  Agility is a sport and like any sport, it is primarily a mind game.  It has been difficult for me to run Jefferson when the dogs in front of us Q.  It has been difficult for me to run in a trial without comparing our success to everyone else’s success and number of Q’s earned.  For the very first time during a trial, I did not even pay attention to other competitor’s and how they and their doggies performed.  My only concern was how my dog and I were going to tackle the challenges of the courses.  

My goal was simple:  start together, finish together and have fun. We accomplished our trial goals and I could not be more proud of Team J-Dawg!

Coming together is a beginning.  Keeping together is progress.  Working together is success.  ~Henry Ford