Mish Mash Monday

Which cross is better?

I set this course up last week.  Everyone ran the opening kinda different. I ran it with a front cross.

Most people posted turned. But one young girl that  has been coming to class, I think she is around 12 years old,  blind crossed it ( on her last run through) Her lateral sends to #4 werent working. She would stop to send and the dog would stop. I told her to keep moving no matter what happens. So that last time she blind cross, Im not sure if that was her plan, but it worked beautiful!   I kept thinking about it and wanted to set the course up again and try all the options and see which one cued the dog the best, and was the fastest.
One thing that kept  happening to me with Java during class, I front crossed between #5 and 6, was sometimes she would cut behind me and take #2, instead of driving to #6. If I video taped it she didnt, if I didnt tape she did. But that only happened at class. She didnt do it when I set it up again a few days later.


So I finally got back to the field on Saturday after that fair. I had to return some equipment we borrowed for the fair , so I was there anyway.




So the blind  looked slightly  faster than the front cross.  It was definitely easier on me.



Here the post turn looked slightly faster but then you are behind because you have to rear cross #7.  I really thought the front cross was the fastest when I was doing it but now it looks like it might have been the slowest.

I have to start looking at courses differently. I make a plan and usually think Im right and stick with it.  I think that kinda comes with my nursing. A lot of times you are making decisions quick and you have to be confidant that you are right. Especially when you are the only medical professional around.  I have to think different , well with agility that is. LOL

The Fair

They have this fair here every year called the Sprakleberry Fair. I really never paid that much attention to it. Its on the other side of town and  I was probably at an agility trial or something. I was suppose to be working at a race for my school but it was canceled. But I didnt find out in time to in the trial that was close by  so I decided to go help with the agility demonstrations for the club.  It started out raining. Well not a down pour  but sprinkling.  I kept thinking, hmm not going to run my dogs on wet grass. But it stopped at 9am and it didnt start again until on my way home.

I had never been to this area before. Its called the Clemson University extension. (Its in Columbia) I took my dogs for a walk, away from the fair area.  I didnt even know this was here. I was just walking down one of the car paths and it turned into this.  There were more paths into the woods but I didnt have time to explore all this but I hope to go back. (I used the panoramic view on my phone to take this)

I wish I had made my son come with me to the fair . It was very cool.

They had someone demonstrating herder. I really like the duck herding. (sorry that tractor thing is in the way)

The dog is behind them, you just cant see it.

This guy was demonstrating plowing. Your kids could walk behind the plow with him and learn to plow. They had a large part of the field plowed before I left.

Lots and lots of tractors!!

Trains, this was a steam train. My grandfather would have loved this.

They must have had civil war reenactment stuff. I wish I had walked over there to see some of it.

Cops everywhere. Some on horses others on bikes and some on gators.


Lots of animals for kids to pet and some to ride. This guy was interested in my dogs. (or worried). We werent even close to them.

There was sheep shearing demonstrations and lots of other stuff. This was just on our side. I never got very far away.  I put the dogs in their crates and clipped the zippers together.  But as I walked away, I felt something touch my leg. I looked down and it was Java.  I went back to the crates, she had busted out the zipper. I couldnt fix it. So I didnt go anywhere after that.  I just stayed where we were doing agility demonstration.

Someone used my camera so I could get pictures of my dog too.

I got some cool pictures of other peoples dogs. But I probably shouldnt put them on here since I didnt ask them.

Trial pictures

I went a little crazy buying some trial pictures from our trial a few weeks ago. But they were pretty cheap so I did it.  ( I bought one picture of Java a while ago from this lady.  It was 20.00 for a digital email picture. Crazy!) 

Then this one is Miley when she crashed the triple jump.  I was amazed at the effort that she put in trying to clear the jump. Look how far forward her back leg is.

Young owl

I took the dogs to the park yesterday. I guess everyone thought it was a good day to go to the park.  Dont these people have jobs?  LOL   I saw a baby, or young, owl. He was very cute.

He was pretty far away. I was trying to hold the dogs and take pictures. So a lot of the pictures are one handed with a long lens. So they are kinda blurry.

He kept trying to walk up the tree. He seemed unsteady walking up the tree. At first I was worried he couldnt fly.

Then he moved up the tree more and was hiding behind this branch.

I was moving and trying to get a better shot. He moved up the tree again and I thought that shot I can get. But all these people started coming. Bikes and dogs. So I had to pay attention to my dogs. I wanted to make sure they didnt bark and scare the owl away. No one barked but when I turned back to take the picture, the owl was gone. I guess he could fly.

I walked down the rest of the path and came back to look again for the owl. Still gone but now this guy was there.

Mish Mash Monday

Graduation

This weekend my son graduated from college.  There were a few times I didnt think this would happen.  He went to summer school 3 times ( I think,  maybe 2) .   Lou and I both looked in the program to make sure his name was listed in there. LOL 

My parents came up for his graduation.  My dad doesn't really go anywhere anymore so this was a big deal.

 I did a  bad job taking pictures. I should have had everyone stand in the shade.

My sister and her daughter came up to. 

Dont I look like a munchkin?  LOL

Someone who graduated had a service dog.

Look this professor was knitting. (sorry its blurry) .  I guess she has that obsession too.

This is my son, I guess he is looking for us. He has the dark tinted glasses on. They were standing outside before he came in, so his glasses tinted.

Im not going to show you any pictures of him crossing the stage or getting is diploma. He looks like he is on a death march.  No sure why. LOL

Wordless Wednesday

Pictures by Matt Drobnik

Finally!!!!

Woke up a 4am and  went to a small one day USDAA trial.  We had a great time. A couple of people from our club were there. I usually dont get to talk to them much but we sat together and had a good time. The people in Charleston are so supportive of everyone, its great!! 

First up was Miley PIII gamblers. ( I made sure I was really early so I didnt miss the walk thur in case they started early. LOL)

 

The gamble doesnt look tough on the paper but being on the field I thought, "no way will get that". LOL

 

 

Here is a picture of the gamble with my phone.

Well she freaking got it!!!  Except we dropped the bar on #2.  Oh well, such is life.






 Next up was Java PI Gamblers.

Java was kinda crazy in this run. Im not sure why.  Flying off the teeter , the second time really bad so I had to fix that.  She got the gamble, but it was easy at this level.


Next up was Starters/PI standard. Miley is still in PI standard because of the table issues. I really wasnt entering her in standard anymore in USDAA trails because what was the point.   But since she is doing better with her tables, I thought I would try. Next month Miley will be 6 years old. She got her first PI standard Q at 18 months.  Well  she finally did it, and did it well!!  LOL

Yay Miley!!!

Then it was Java's turn. The turn off the dogwalk to the jump, with looking straight into the tunnel, I thought might be a problem. But it wasnt , she got it.  But other things were a problem.  She downed on the table but then went into a sit. I finally had to take her off and put her on again to get her to down.   Coming out of the tunnel my cue was WAY to late, ugh, sorry Java. Then the tunnel after the aframe was a straight shot but I guess I was to far behind and she read my deceleration as a turning cue and took the wrong tunnel entrance.  (Ill have to work on that, its the second time this has happened to me).




Next up Grand Prix. Miley

 

So I walked the course with sending her to the #14 jump and crossing behind her  to get the tunnel entrance because that is what I did in standard. (We didnt have this set up in standard, I had no idea why I thought that. LOL  ) I thought about front crossing after the dogwalk and thats what I should have done. Instead, Miley is locked on to the tunnel at the bottom of the dogwalk and doesnt even see me moving laterally. LOL, funny dog.

 

 

 

 

Next is Starters Pairs with Java. 

 

We didnt have a partner so someone agreed to run with  us.  She asked me to please make sure her leash is at the last jump so she could leash him before she handed me the baton.  So I did. I also made sure he was leashed before I took Java's leash off and lead out. ( remember the first time I ran pairs with Miley and other dog I was paired with her chased her through the course until she jumped off the teeter because he was with her). This time I was more educated. LOL

 

Java was freaking awesome. We ran the black numbers and I was worried that she would go straight into the tunnel but she read my rear cross after the weaves beautifully . I didnt get this run on tape, of course. LOL

 

Last up was Speedjumping with Miley

 

 

 Gota love when you can still Q with a dropped bar and missed contact. LOL  I didnt think we had Qed until I went to the computer. That was a nice surprise. Fun run!

 

 

 

 

We had a very fun day. Great weather, a little warm for the dogs around the middle of the day .  But then started to cool off again for Speedjumping.