Our second trial and first title

[DiverDiva]

... and I am so proud of Oscar De La Hoya From Stanley, NAJ!

Our first run on Saturday was JWW, and since that is where we have two legs from our first trial, I was feeling a little self imposed pressure to get the qualifying run. I had brain freeze and got lost on the course, on the second obstacle, doh! (slap forehead) It was the weave poles, and I ran right past them, sent Oscar over a jump, felt something was wrong, finished the rest of the course, and at the exit Steve asked me if Oscar didn't have to do the weaves. I told Oscar he was a good doggy and I was a bad mommy. No time to cry over spilt milk, our standard course was the next class.

The start obstacle was the tire, which Oscar ran under at our first trial. No problem, we trained on it a lot, and he went through it, nailed the rest of the course, and scored 100. Wow, we got our first qualifying run (Q) on a Novice Standard course.

On Sunday, Novice Standard was first. We were having a nice run when he came out of a tunnel and I sent him up the A-frame. I didn't see that his approach was crooked, and he jumped on, insted of stepping on. He immediatly jumped off to the side, and the judge told me to go on. He also broke his stay and hopped off the pause table, which he has never done, but I'm sure he sensed that I was worried about him. No Q, but he ran so well overall that I was still very happy.

Now I was really feeling some pressure. The last class of the day, and I SO want the Q. Not to worry, Mom didn't get lost, Oscar nailed it, scored 100, and now he has his first title. He is my wonderful Oscar boy.

[Widges]

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PAIR OF YOU.

(I wanted to insert some smilies - but have forgotten how to)

[MypupShooter]

Congrats! I can't wait to one day to it with Stella.

Now if you can explain to be your abbreviations... NAJ? JWW?

[DiverDiva]

Sorry! It was not so long ago that I wask asking what those abbreviations meant. At last weekend's AKC trial, each day, Oscar and I ran two types of courses. One type is the Standard course, which includes jumps, tunnels, a tire that the dog jumps through, A-Frame, dog walk, and teeter. The other type is called Jumpers With Weaves, abbreviated JWW, and consists of jumps, a set of weave poles, and usually a couple of tunnels. Oscar and I ran courses at the Novice level, which is the beginning level.

To earn an AKC title, for each type of course, the dog must complete 3 qualifying runs (Q) under 2 different judges. If the dog completes 3 qualifying runs on a Novice Standard course, he/she earns the Novice Aglility, abbreviated NA. If the dog completes 3 qualifying runs on a Novice JWW course, he/she earns the Novice Aglility Jumper, abbreviated NAJ.

As for my other abbreviations in my signature, FFM stands for Flashy Fawn Male, FBF for Flashy Brindle Female. I copied those from another board member.

[MypupShooter]

Thanks for the info!

We just started obedience a few weeks ago, and I found out they also do agility there! I'm really happy because I love the trainers and it's not far, so I am glad I found somewhere we can go when Stella gets older.

That's great for you both! How long have you been doing agility for? And what's the next step from there?

Thanks again for all your info and guidance

[DiverDiva]

Originally Posted by MypupShooter

...We just started obedience a few weeks ago, and I found out they also do agility there! I'm really happy because I love the trainers and it's not far, so I am glad I found somewhere we can go when Stella gets older.

...How long have you been doing agility for? And what's the next step from there?

Thanks again for all your info and guidance

It is great that you have found a place to train that gives you some different options, both obedience and agility.

We have been training in agility for over 2 years. It was right at two years that we entered our first trial, last November. I held off on entering another one until I got the issue of Oscar's measurement finalized, so I could train him at the height he would need to jump in trials.

Our next step will be to attempt to get two more qualifying runs on Novice Standard courses, which will be enough to get Oscar his Novice Agility title, abbreviated NA. We will also be competing at the Open level in Jumpers With Weaves, which is the next level after Novice. This will be happening this coming weekend. Oscar and I are entered in a trail on both Saturday and Sunday. Any good luck vibes are greatly appreciated!

[MypupShooter]

Well I only read this today, but hope you both did great!!!

[DiverDiva]

The trial last weekend was a humbling expereience. It was held at a different venue than our other two trials. Oscar was stressed. He chewed through the mesh on the front of his soft crate when I went back to the car. Since I could not leave him, I had to keep him with me on leash.

Our first run on Saturday was Novice Standard. I had dreams of getting qualifying runs on both days, which would get Oscar the Novice Agility title. I could see he was distracted when I took him to the start line. I released him and called him to the first jump, and he got up and started sniffing the floor. The whole run was a huge effort just to get his attenion, he missed some obstacles, slid off the pause table, then refused to lie down on it, and we ran out of time and were excused.

Our Open Jumpers With Weaves course was next. I thought Oscar would like the course. It had a nice flow with wide turns, and I hoped that he would get going and enjoy the jumping, which he did until he caught sight of the judge, and went running up to him. After what seemed an eternity, I got his attention back, tried to get in the last jump so at least he would turn off the timer, but he ran out of the ring. If this had been a qualifying run, we would have lost it, because a new AKC rule requires the dog to be on leash when he/she leaves the ring. I tried so hard to tell Oscar what a good boy he was, and I hope he didn't sense any of my disappointment.

When we lined up at the start line on Sunday, I spent a little extra time time getting Oscar's attention before I relased him. We had a qualifying run, although I did need to restart the weaves, and he slid off the pause table again, my fault, I should have known to slow him down before he jumped up on it. With a sore of 92, we took third place, and there was actually a team in fourth place.

Jumpers With Weaves was another story. He ran off to the judge after the second jump, I managed to get him back, he was going nicely but not very fast, got the weaves right on the first try, and missed the next to last jump. We were so far over the time limit that we would not have qualified if he had done the jump perfectly, anyway.

I am goint to see if there are any open ring times or run-throughs at his faclity, because we are entered at another trial there in April. We need one more Q in Novice Standard to get Oscar his Novice Agility title. If he seems stressed again, I will need to rehink entering any more trials at that place. It is supposed to be fun for him, and if he does not have fun at this facility, I don't want to make him go back there. He sure was sailing at agility class yesterday, so that is a good sign.

I have a lot of respect for all those competitors whose dogs have lots of agility titles. It's not as easy as they make it look.

[DiverDiva]

Oscar and I returned to the same facility as our last trial. I tried to be very calm and upbeat, so Oscar would not get stressed. I spent some time getting him focused on me before the first run.

We had a nice run on Novice Standard, one refusal on a jump that we went back and did, and qualified with a score of 95. That got Oscar his Novice Agility title, NA. I was very surprised that he did not place with a 95, we were 5th, but we still got a very nice rosette for his new title.

On our Open JWW run, we got through the tough part with the tight turns and traps (enticing obstacles that are on the dog's straight path but the actual course requires a turn to a different obstacle), got the weaves, and the course turned to the right. Oscar turned to the left into a short hallway that led to the kitchen and would not come back , so we were excused for leaving the ring. I felt bad because the rest of the course had a series of jumps and tunnels with wide turns, just what Oscar loves best.

On Sunday, we moved up to Open Standard. We had a good run, one wrong course when he took a jump that was not the next one because I wasn't there quick enough to guide him on a turn, and lost 4 more points for being over time, but still qualified with a score of 91, and second place. My classmate and her Aussie took first, and no other team out of our 20" height class even qualified. I was so proud of Oscar. It took us a while to get his title for Novice Standard, but he had a qualifying run on his first run in Open Standard.

Open JWW was the final class of our day. The weave poles were near the hallway again, but there was a baby gate there this time. I still was very cautious with the weaves and I think I slowed him down too much so we had time faults, but he did beautifully, and we took third place with a score of 96. That was the first time we had two qualifying runs on one day.

So celebrate with us, give yourself a treat, give your dogs a treat in honor of Oscar De La Hoya From Stanley NA NAJ!

[MypupShooter]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Woohoo Oscar!

Was anyone there to take some pics for your guys? Would love to see!