Incredipaws: Day 3

Masters Gamblers

 

Bentley:  I thought that there might be a tiny chance that Bentley could do this, as long as I could get him in the tunnel.  Well, apparently I couldn't get him in the tunnel so I'll never know!  I even practiced sending to the tunnel in the opening (which he did perfectly) and then he didn't even look at it in the closing.

Lexi:  This was tougher for Lexi.  I knew she'd send to the tunnel, but we've been working really hard on her looking for us as she comes out rather than just blasting out to the nearest obstacle of her choosing.  I also didn't push on her line (though I'm not sure she would have seen me in time if I had).  Check out how at 17 seconds I take one BABY step forward, and Lexi shoots off to the jump rather than the teeter.  This is exactly what I mean by the fact that I need to learn to be TOTALLY AWARE of any and all forward motion when I handle her...it doesn't take much.

Masters Standard

 

Bentley:  The last words out of mouth before Jonathan ran this course were "be careful, several dogs have missed jump 15.  It's a tough angle" and then he missed it.  Did I jinx him? Ha!  Other than that, a  nice run.

Advanced Standard

Lexi Q:  Possibly the world's ugliest Q?  But I'll take it!  Lovely table, again.  Something we worked on a little, so I'm happy that we're seeing good results.  She didn't lift her elbows once!  I knew that the weave entry would be an issue.  I was really struggling with running down the line of jumps fast enough that she wouldn't get ahead of me and turn off of one, but yet decelerating soon enough to cue the turn to the weaves.  Clearly I didn't decel fast enough to show the weaves, but that timing is something I'll just have to work on.  And then, my new invention...the "dog cuts behind you send to the dogwalk".  I was really worried that she'd get a refusal getting onto the dogwalk, so I pulled her out farther than necessary, then I didn't cue a turn and she cut behind me.  Trying to salvage the run (and avoid a refusal) I just threw her onto the dogwalk-ha!



Masters Snooker

M 

Lexi:  She had a very nice weave entry in this one (the second time around) but then she almost took an off course and Jonathan didn't collect her well enough to get the correct side of jump 3.  It was a pretty tough angle and I saw a lot of dogs take it the wrong way or miss it altogether.

Bentley Super Q: Again, since Bentley doesn't really need Snooker Qs, Jonathan wanted to try all 7s (show off!)  It took him so long to get Bentley back around to 7 for the final attempt that he didn't get through the closing.  Felt like Bentley was getting a bit pokey at this point, not to mention it was quite the distance!

Masters Jumpers

Bentley:  Jonathan's goal for this run was to help Bentley pick up speed and feel confident.  That's why he started at a run rather than a stay, and why he missed jump 3 (couldn't get enough of a push).  But, Bentley had no idea and continued on to have a very nice run.


Lexi:  I did a VBT (very bad thing).  I have to preface this by saying I spent 32 hours at the tiral over the course of the weekend.  Lexi went really wide and barely escaped taking an off course (as I yelled her name) but it was my fault--to much forward motion (again).  However, I was frazzled.  Then she DID take an off course, and I think it was her fault (I looked at her, squared my shoulders and was moving forward) and I was so flustered.  The judge said "your dog needs a new handler!" (he was joking around) and it just totally shut me down.  I often feel bad about my handling skills because Lexi works so hard for me, and I just stopped running and picked Lexi up and left.  I wasn't mad at her, just frustrated with myself.  As soon as I got off the course I gave her cookies and talked nicely to her, but she is so sensitive.  I should have kept running but I wasn't in a good place anymore.  I feel terrible about it.  I didn't even want to post the video to youtube, but I am going to, and I'm going to post it here to remind myself how NOT to act when I get upset.  It will hold me accountable and I won't do it again.