USDAA trial and stuff

Stephanie made  me this beautiful picture for Christmas. This is my favorite picture of Java.
Here it is again with the photo.

This weekend I went to an USDAA trial with Miley and Java.  We didnt do to well. 
Miley got the gamble in PIII gamblers but left the teeter to early so we didnt get the points. Lots of teeters called this weekend.


Java was in starters gamblers. She didnt take the tire, she went under it.  The jumped off the side of the teeter, that was weird.  The gamble was chute to a jump and she got tangled (not a bad tangle)  in the chute and when she got out, she came running to me, so she missed the jump.

Java had a nice starters jumpers run but I pushed her off a jump. I was worried about rear crossing but I decided no time like the present to try them out.




Miley had a beautiful jumpers PII run and we qed. Of course I didnt get that run on tape. Figures huh.
I think I finished running around 6pm. I went to the hotel. It was very quite at the hotel. I didnt hear any doors closing all night and my dogs didnt bark once the whole time we were there.  For some reason I really just wanted to go home. Im not sure why. I must have fallen asleep around 8:30 and woke up in the middle of the night with the TV on and the lights still on.  The next morning I wasnt feeling to good. Just my usual aching self. I didnt think to much about it. 
Sunday I ran Java first in gamblers. She didnt get her dogwalk either time but he gave her the first one.  I tried the weaves, she had only done 12 weaves for the first time on Thursday so I rewarded her anyway even though she didnt finish them. It was weird, I really thought she got them the first time, it wasnt until I watched the video and saw that she didnt finished the last pole. I dont think my brain was working to well on Sunday.  So Java got the gamble but we didnt have enough points to Q. But its ok, I just wanted to keep her happy and running.

Miley gamblers PIII run I really just wanted to work contacts. So thats what I did. We didnt get the gamble. I had walked it to take some steps back when she was in the tunnel so I could push into her to get her out to that jump.But for some reason didnt do that when I ran.   But I was able to fix a self released a-frame.




Grand Prix Miley was doing awesome. I was worried about the weave pole entry. I just took to many steps forward and it cued that jump instead of going to the weaves. Then she stressed because I stopped. Ugh! All I had to do was a front cross and she would have never known anything was wrong.  Oops.  In a side note. Java's litter mate won Grand prix . It started making me feel I shouldnt have bought a puppy from that same litter. I know you cant compare dogs or handlers but its hard not to feel bad about yourself when you can even run a jumpers course.

This was my last run of the day. I waited a long time for this run. When I was warming Java up, I took her outside to the under cover barn area. It had been raining all day and  it was dry under there. I passed these people with their dogs. The one dog came up to Java but wasnt running or lunging, I think it just wanted to play. But Java reacted badly. She barked and growled. She sounds like she wants to kill you when she does that. Most shelties have this high pitched bark but not Java. Her's is deep and growly. I got her back quickly and put her in a sit. We warmed up and went back in. Then someone standing above us in the seating and crating area was filming with an ipad and the person next to her was playing tug with her dog and they were on a wooden platform.  The wooden platform was making a thumping noise.Java went crazy barking. I got her back and walk further down practicing sits, downs and heeling.  Then a border collie passed us and again, Java barked and growled. Ugh. I dont think that dog did anything. The lady was nice and said her dog could have been staring because he does that. But I didnt notice it.  So now Im really freaked out. I think Java just didnt get out  and run enough at the trial because of the rain. I usually walk my dogs alot and let them play but with all the rain, that just didnt happen.(She ran the first run around 9am and then didnt run again until 5pm) I didnt tug with her before going in the ring. She was fine in the ring and when we left the ring.
Jumpers run: I front crossed after 4 but when I did this she wasnt committed to  # 3 and I pulled her off so I had to re-send her. Then I front crossed after 8. That #8 jump was over to the left  a little more than the course map shows. I felt like I had to front cross there because you needed a front cross after 12. Anyone who didnt  front cross after 12, there dog went by jump 13. That jump was just to far to the side for them to even see it. So I didnt support #10 enough and pulled her off. Then she back jumped it.   When I left the ring  I was already feeling bad. I didnt have anyone to tape my run because everyone I knew  either left or they were running. So I cant see what happened. I felt like I pulled her off those jumps. I asked someone who was working the ring and I know, she felt I should have not front crossed after 8, that I should have stayed on the other side and I set a bad line for my dog. This made a huge impact on me.  I felt terrible about myself all the way home. If I cant even walk a starters jumpers course correctly after all this time, I should just quit agility.In fact this post was going to say, "I quit" and nothing else. Im not doing agility anymore and Im not teaching any more classes for the club. Im just so tired of trying and looking like crap out there.  The drive home was long, dark and rainy.  By the time I got home I was so achy and miserable I just went to bed. But I couldnt sleep because my body hurt to much and I finally got up and took some medication. I woke up this moring feeling even more miserable. I dont know if it was some type of virus or what. I know there were sick people at the trial and a few people I know  when home early because they were sick.   Im feeling better tonight so hopefully its  going away.

There also was this lady sitting down in front of me at the trial. Im not sure why she had 3 chairs because she was the only person there with her stuff all weekend. She had her crates and two chairs on one level, the next level  up she had another reclining chair. Then the next level was me and my dogs. Well in her reclining chair she had two containers of treats,a bag of McDonalds food, with the bag open, and a McDonalds sandwich with the wrapper open sitting on the chair out of the bag. My dogs, I guess just arent trainned well enough because they just kept trying to get the food. I said something to her and she just said, "yea my dogs keep trying to get the food too". But she didnt move it. Ugh. So finally about 3/4 through the day, I couldnt take it anymore.  I picked it up and moved it down to her other chairs and table to get it away from my dogs.  When my friend above me left I moved my stuff up a level. Just to put more space between me and her. I was getting ready to leave and wanted to look at the photographer's pictures before I left. I can here my dogs barking and going crazy. I finally go over there. She is sitting in her reclining chair and has her dog on the level above her chair , so close to my dogs. What the heck was wrong with this lady. How much space does she need. So I got my dogs out to go put them in the car and her dog sniffs my shoes, extra shoes (bogs) for the rain, that were sitting out. Java went crazy again. Ugh!! It wasnt a good way to end things.