Trial Updates throughout the Weekend!

We're in San Marcos for the K9 Xpress trial this weekend. We've had one run so far (regular) and I totally messed B up. My right shoulder is sore and I didn't take into account that I'll need to be closer than usual to anything on my right. I'll know better on the next run. We very rarely Q on our first run anyway. Jitters!! We have 5 more today and 6 tomorrow. I will update throughout the weekend.

Well, our second run was better, but we were sloppy in a few spots and we went 4 seconds over on time. We have a lttile bit of rest time before our next run, which will be touch n go. Maybe by then, our jitters will be out and we'll do a little better.

Our touch n go run was perfect! We finished in 2nd place, three seconds behind Rocket Man! Jumpers is coming up next...

I could kick myself! Brad ran perfectly but I wasn't clear in a tricky area and he took a wrong jump. Luckily we will have jumpers again tomorrow: a chance for redemption and a really cool title ribbon!

One year after getting our first ever title, we now have our final Novice title: hoopers!!! It was a perfect run. In fact, it was so easy I was afraid I had missed something!

We got our Open Tunnelers Title! It was another very smooth run. That is our very first open title. That's it for today!

---------
Sunday

We're off to a good start today! We were running late because Brad was a little under the weather this morning, but he perked right up when we got here. I barely had time to walk the course, which was pretty tricky as far as tunnelers courses go. We somehow managed to get first place, though!

Our weavers course went well. We did novice today, but we'll start in open laster this month.

This has not been my weekend for juumpers. I got COMPLETELY lost on the course! That's never happened to me before. Brad did awesome, though! He waited on me while I tried to figure out where wwe were suppasoed to be.

Chances is still chances! If its not one thing, its another. There is a reason it took us 18 tries to get our title! Brad did the distance test, but then crossed the line with all 4 paws on the last jump along the line. Only two more runs left this weekend--both regular courses.

Regular has become the new chances...another NQ. Brad is very tired and it is way too HOT in here. He went off course with me yelling at the top of my lungs. He just gave me the "whatever" look. Maybe we'll do better in the next one.

We ended a good note with a Q in our second regular run!

A Closer Look: Jumpers

Brad loves Jumpers! It is a course made up of mostly jumps, with an occasional tunnel thrown in. The open courses have around 20 jumps. Novice had only 17 or so. Boy can we feel the difference! If there's a course that I'm sure to be out of breath on, it's jumpers!

He has Q'd on nearly every jumpers course he's ever done. I don't want to jinx him, but he does have 20 pts, and it only takes 30 to get a title....they sure do have nice title ribbons at the K9 Xpress trials in San Marcos....

Flashback: Brad Meets the Tunnelers Course

March, 2008

San Marcos, TX

When we first started out, we only were doing regular courses, but a friend of ours convinced me to try out tunnelers. I wasn't sure I could remember the course! Brad wasn't good at letting me do rear crosses (he runs in the tunnel, and then I cross the entry behind him) back then, either. Well, luckily my friend helped me walk the courses a few different ways, because it didn't take Braddock long to learn to be OK with a rear cross! He obviously loved the tunnels, and on our third run, we earned our Novice title. You can see the video by clicking the title of the post. We don't have videos of the other runs leading up to the title, because Phil had to hide for a few trials before Brad could handle having him in sight. Even at this trial, we didn't Q on another run because Brad stopped to "wave" at Daddy for too long! Sometimes, in that regard, we haven't come very far! Our tunnelers runs usually are a little cleaner than this one, for sure!