We were at Pachesham for the final time this winter for the grade 1-5 show. We took Doople at grade 5 and Zazu at grade 3. We were very fortunate with the weather considering the flooding in other parts of the country. No rain, clear sky and a lot of wind!
Wax on, wax off
Zazu was up first in the jumping. I had to cross behind the tunnel and he came out looking the wrong way, which is something we need to train. He ran well still, even though I was slow on the turns. He was happy in the run and we ended up in 5th place. Next up was the agility. He drove into the tunnels nicely and I could layer a jump with him still going. He stopped to look at the judge on the A-frame but came down well. The only downside was the weave entry which was at an angle. He went round the first pole well but went in the second weave. This again is something to practice. Next was the steeplechase. I started a long way to the side of the first jump, sent him into the tunnel and picked him up for a blind cross between the next two jumps. He was running quite nicely all the way round, still enjoying it. We ended up in 8th place. Finally we had the second agility. round. He started by running at +Susi Cooper but carried on. He had a really good A-frame, driving down to the end. A good drive again, especially for his fourth run. We ended up in 4th place.
Doople only had two runs. Her first run was the jumping. She was really running well until Susi got in her way on a turn. This stopped her and she had the next pole down. A good run though and finished in 6th place. Her final run was the first agility round. She slowed up a little during the run, perhaps because of the lighting. She managed the tricky weave entry, stopped to look at Susi, then carried on, and finished in 3rd place.
It was another fun day. We have a few things to train with Zazu but we were really pleased with how he's coming along. Not many more winter shows left now and then we're back outside camping again.
Continuing our winter training we were back at Pachesham again this weekend. he weather ended up being a bit miserable, not great when the show was outdoors! We took Zazu and Shadow this time. It is the first agility Shadow has done in a month so it could be fun!
Zazu doing tricks instead of getting ready
Zazu was up first in the jumping round. There were some tight pull throughs where I was on top of him. I got in his way a bit and he slowed down but carried on. He was running well though, albeit with wide turns, mainly due to my being slow. We ended up in 7th place. Next up was agility 1. He decided to stop on the top of the A-frame, but came down and stopped nicely. It was a little bit messy as he was unsure what I was asking, but he still managed everything, including 12 weaves. we were pleased enough with him, and he finished in 4th place. His next round was the steeplechase. By this point Zazu had pretty much given up. He wasn't really paying attention or running. He was clear, but we decided not to run him in the final agility run.
Shadow also started with the jumping round. She was running well and enjoying it. She listened well and I got into better positions with her than I did with Zazu. We ended up 2nd which was a great start. Next up was agility 1. There was no dog walk, which is one less contact for Shadow to ping! Her A-frame contact was good. She was a little slow on some turn, managed 12 weaves well and had a good see-saw. We finished that round in 4th. Next was the steeplechase run. This was a fast course and Shadow was lagging a bit. I think she's a little unfit as she was looking tired. She still ran and finished in 4th again. Finally was agility 2. I decided to try something different to see if it would work, but Shadow didn't run away quite well enough. Second time she did and I managed to get into a good place for a nice tight turn round into the see-saw. She was very good though.
It was a fun day, Shadow was lagging a bit and Zazu just generally seemed fatigued. We're going to give Zazu a week or two off from agility completely so that he can enjoy it again.
We were back at Pachesham again this weekend for the Winter League grade 1-5 show. We ran Doople and Zazu. The day started off nice and frosty but got better later on. It ended up being a very efficient show as we managed to get through everything in a few hours. I think the cold hurries people up!
Always ready on a frosty morning
We started with Zazu in the jumping. He was really going for it all the way. We had a few wide turns as he caught me out with his speed. We were really pleased with how he worked away form me. I messed up a turn so he missed a jump, but we were still pleased. The agility was next. He was very distracted here as Susi went to film from the other side of the ring. He still managed his A-frame contacts so all was not lost.
We had another agility round after. He came out the tunnel entrance, possibly because I turned too soon. I took the opportunity to try a fancy new turn to see if we could get it tighter. It's jump 7 in the video, just before the second tunnel. I have been very skeptical about these turns in the past as most times I've seen them used have either been in the wrong place or poorly executed. We had training with Den Keeler the day before and he was explain the proper places to use these turns, and to be honest they do work when used correctly. Zazu at vaguely understood me and he was tight.
His final run was in the steeplechase. I ran this very far away from him and I didn't have to move very far from the centre of the ring. He worked away well. We had a few wide turns as I was focussing more on getting him to drive forward. We ended up the round in 8th place.
Doople only had two runs here as she tends to get tired and give up towards the end of the day. Her first was the jumping. I ran her in this and she seemed to be very distracted and not really paying attention. She still ran but not at her best. +Susi Cooper ran her in the agility round and she did run better. Turning well and pushing forward a bit. They ended up with 3rd place.
It was a fun day and we learnt a lot with Zazu. He is really coming along and is quite happy to work at a distance. We still need to build his drive but that will come with time and confidence
We started the year off as we left the last, with an agility show! We were at Pachesham this weekend for their Beginners show. We only took Zazu to this to give him some experience on his own. He can be a bit timid when he's away from his pack.
Greg ready, Zazu waiting
The weather had started to play havoc by flooding the indoor school. This meant running the show only using the outdoor school! This could have ended in tears with the weather. Fortunately, the weather held all day and only started raining as we got the van to go home. It couldn't have been timed better.
On to the show. Zazu had four classes, the most he has done at a show before. Being a beginners show, the courses were fairly straight forward. In the agility rounds, we wanted to put our contact training to the test. We were aiming for a 2-on-2-off position, basically his back two feet on the equipment and front two feet on the floor. It took a couple of attempts but he did get there. He was wide on some, OK most, of his turns as he was getting distracted by everything that was going on. This is why we are going to these shows so that he can get over it.
The jumping rounds were better. I started by trying to layer a jump into a pull through. This worked well and Zazu was running forwards nicely. He got distracted coming out of the tunnel towards people again but continued on. When he was driving he was jumping quite flat, which is hat we are aiming for. In the steeplechase round he was running well again. A little distracted around the crowds of people but he didn't deviate. On the straight bits he opened up again. This was a good round an we ended up 3rd, his first placing! It was very close with the times, the first 6 dogs were within 0.8 seconds of each other.
We were both really pleased with Zazu. He wasn't worried about being on his own and was listening most of the time. We still need to work on more drive, especially when turning, and also with distractions. Both of which will come with time and experience.
We were down near Leatherhead this weekend at the Pachesham Grade 1-5 show. This is the first time we have been to this show. It was very well run and a nice relaxed atmosphere. It was a very small show with only four classes. They do a few different types of show throughout the winter, this one was only for grades 1-5. In good (read not too bad) weather they have two rings going, one inside and one outside, meaning we were home by 14:30! We took Zazu at grade 3 and Doople at grade 5.
Zazu wondering why mum has gone over there
First up was Zazu. He was the main reason we came to this show as we were looking for some more practice. He still gets a little distracted in the ring so we want to keep working him. He started off in the jumping class. We were pleased that there were only 6 weaves as we haven't quite cracked 12 without straps. He was a very good boy. He listened on the turns even though I was very slow. He drove into the tunnels which gave me some breathing space. He got distracted coming back down the line and missed a jump but he was still running well. His only other round was the steeplechase. He was really raring to go in this. I managed to send him into the tunnel and layer a jump into the slalom which I was really pleased with. The turn was wide as I wasn't sure if he would go out, so I made sure that we did the jump first. We were very pleased with him as it was more complicated than the things we have trained. He works away nicely which makes running him so much easier.
Doople seemed very happy at this show. Perhaps it was because we only had two dogs or that we were more relaxed not worrying about so many runs. Either way she enjoyed herself. We started with the jumping class. She was running well and driving at the tunnels. The weaves were a bit slow but she picked them up well. We ended up with a 4th place. Next was the first agility class. This had a couple of tricky bits, Doople picked up the weaves well and wasn't too slow. A good turn off the A-frame round the back of a jump and we ended up 5th. This was followed by the steeplechase. Doople seemed really up for this and got some wheel spin off the line. Unfortunately I got a turn in the slalom wrong and didn't push her far enough so she came inside. We ended up 6th. Finally Doople had her second agility round. Doople was tiring slightly but still running. That is until the weaves where she walked through as slow as she could. Never mind, still a good day.
We both really enjoyed the day and will be going back for some of their other shows. Hopefully Zazu will be running a bit better by then to get a place or two.
