... maybe even Flyball Dog Excellent. I forgot to do a final tally before they took down the sheet.
Duncan only ran Sunday, but what a day!
I got to the site (after a 50 minute drive) at about 6:40 am. Measuring was scheduled for 6:45. Since Duncan is a height dog, he needs to be measured, but last tournament I pulled him because he was freaking out. I've been practicing at home with a ruler on his withers, but it's not the same as the metal arm they use. So I lined him up and just fed him in the correct position, shaping the stance I wanted. They didn't start measuring until about 7:10. The judge was really nice, pet Duncan a bit, and was patient while I got Duncan relaxed. He was up on his toes (nervous) but still measured way under 13"!!!!!! So he sets the jump at the lowest it can go. It's not that I want him to be undersized, but he is - so I want a correct measurement.
We had 6 races of 3/3 heats. 3/3 means that you run 3 heats every race - even if one team wins the first two and the other team definitely can't win the race. In that case, the last heat becomes practice. I like 3/5 better, but this was an interesting change from the norm.
In the first race, Duncan didn't run. We were in his weak lane (where he turns toward the middle and sees the other dogs) and we just used the 2 minutes before the race to fully warm him up. The second however, was our best of the day. Duncan ran cleanly and fast. We had 2 races under 24 seconds, too, so we got at least 50 pts. I think the other was just over, so that's 5 more. Duncan was looking the whole way down, bobbled the ball every time, but caught it and got in the jumps. Honestly, I'll take it for right now and work on it in the 6 weeks we have before the next tourney.
We didn't run him the third so that the other height dog got a chance to run. Then we just ran two height dogs from then on. In the fourth, Duncan didn't get the full lane warm up because our box loader was a little late getting to the ring and another dog needed it, so he chased - the only time in the whole day. We pulled him and he didn't like it. Then the fifth time we ran, he got chased during warm-up by a green BC! It didn't mess him up, but he didn't chase the rest of the day. That time, some other members on his team were messing up - early passes, dropped balls - Duncan was consistent and had some beautiful passes, but still "cul de sac"ing at the end, adding a ton of time. His best was about 6.1ish, so he's going to be blazing when he stops looking. The last race was the same.
We had so much fun. I early passed once and had a ton of loooooong passes, but I'm getting it. Duncan is really coming along. It took 18 months and 2 days to get him racing. As of Sunday, I can honestly say that it was worth every minute, every frustration, every bit of patience. My super sweet boy is a ball-crazy Flyball Dog with a ribbon to prove it!
Duncan only ran Sunday, but what a day!
I got to the site (after a 50 minute drive) at about 6:40 am. Measuring was scheduled for 6:45. Since Duncan is a height dog, he needs to be measured, but last tournament I pulled him because he was freaking out. I've been practicing at home with a ruler on his withers, but it's not the same as the metal arm they use. So I lined him up and just fed him in the correct position, shaping the stance I wanted. They didn't start measuring until about 7:10. The judge was really nice, pet Duncan a bit, and was patient while I got Duncan relaxed. He was up on his toes (nervous) but still measured way under 13"!!!!!! So he sets the jump at the lowest it can go. It's not that I want him to be undersized, but he is - so I want a correct measurement.
We had 6 races of 3/3 heats. 3/3 means that you run 3 heats every race - even if one team wins the first two and the other team definitely can't win the race. In that case, the last heat becomes practice. I like 3/5 better, but this was an interesting change from the norm.
In the first race, Duncan didn't run. We were in his weak lane (where he turns toward the middle and sees the other dogs) and we just used the 2 minutes before the race to fully warm him up. The second however, was our best of the day. Duncan ran cleanly and fast. We had 2 races under 24 seconds, too, so we got at least 50 pts. I think the other was just over, so that's 5 more. Duncan was looking the whole way down, bobbled the ball every time, but caught it and got in the jumps. Honestly, I'll take it for right now and work on it in the 6 weeks we have before the next tourney.
We didn't run him the third so that the other height dog got a chance to run. Then we just ran two height dogs from then on. In the fourth, Duncan didn't get the full lane warm up because our box loader was a little late getting to the ring and another dog needed it, so he chased - the only time in the whole day. We pulled him and he didn't like it. Then the fifth time we ran, he got chased during warm-up by a green BC! It didn't mess him up, but he didn't chase the rest of the day. That time, some other members on his team were messing up - early passes, dropped balls - Duncan was consistent and had some beautiful passes, but still "cul de sac"ing at the end, adding a ton of time. His best was about 6.1ish, so he's going to be blazing when he stops looking. The last race was the same.
We had so much fun. I early passed once and had a ton of loooooong passes, but I'm getting it. Duncan is really coming along. It took 18 months and 2 days to get him racing. As of Sunday, I can honestly say that it was worth every minute, every frustration, every bit of patience. My super sweet boy is a ball-crazy Flyball Dog with a ribbon to prove it!
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Add a Border Sheltie and a Duncan-clone and we just need one more. Takers?
I like that Duncan did a 6.1 though as that means the goal for Spitfire is high 5's (sounds like Duncan is faster)