She Got the Broad Jump

Where to begin....

Saturday morning I got up, had breakfast, loaded the car and took off on the 2 hour drive to Woodbridge.  I arrived at the show site only to find that this was an organized, well-run trial and I had missed my JWW class - by probably 40 minutes.  Arghhhhh!  Fortunately, Taryn, Wilson and Jimmy from A Tail of Two Cardis were there so we had someone to hang with.  Our STD class was ok - still some refusals but she did take and clear the broad jump.  Apparently the pit on the other side of it was covered at this trial :)

Also there was Aggie DeLaGarza.  Aggie is a Cardi person but she is also JMB (Joint Master of Bassetts) for Ashland Bassetts.  In VA, hunting with hounds is the norm.  Most folks know of fox hunting and, in some parts of the country, beagling is popular.  In VA there is also Bassetting.  Bassetts hunt rabbit and the field is on foot.  For a great on-line article go here.  No, they don't look anything like the Bassetts you see in the show ring.  Anyway, I talked with Aggie about the possibility of "capping in" next fall when they start hunting again.  What that means is that for a small fee, a non-member of Ashland Bassetts can attend a hunt.  I'm so excited!  She also invited me to walk-out hounds this summer.  That's the summer exercise program for hounds - early in the day, before the heat, you walk the pack as a whole.  It's not about hunting, it's about exercise and teaching the pack to move together.  It's also the first step for puppies to enter the pack - they have to be walked out.  So it's possible I will have a busy summer learning about another dog sport.

Sunday I was up and on the road at 0' dark thirty so I wouldn't miss my JWW class again.  We got there in plenty of time and had a decent run - 2 refusals but way over course time so no Q.  We lost a lot of time at the weaves so I know that's something that still needs work.  The excellent news is that she is jumping clean at 12".  Taryn even commented on how nice her jumping form is.  STD was a disaster.  Ra doesn't like noise and the horse barn was incredibly noisy.  I thought she was handling it ok but, when we got into the ring her eyes went wild and I lost my dog.  She blew by the first obstacle (tire), I pulled her back and sent her through it.  The 2nd obstacle was the dog walk, she blew by that, I called her back and sent her to it again and she wandered off, head in the air, sniffing and just generally not seeing or hearing anything.  So I thanked the judge and called her off.  Oh well.  Given her noise issues, she may never be a good indoor trial dog and that's ok.  I like outdoor trials better anyway.

It's rainy and foggy this morning but by the end of the week we are supposed to be in the low 80s for temps.  Yay!  Thursday is our first outside agility class of the season.  It will be nice to have a full-sized ring and all the equipment again.