Flash Point Agility Trial Sept 6th

Both my little boys participated in Flash Point Agility's CPE trial yesterday. They both did the last one, as well, which was last month, but it was at their facility. This one was held at the Morrow County Fairgrounds in Mount Gilead.

I'm pleased to say that Merlin obtained his first ever Qs this weekend! He Q'd easily in both Jackpot and Fullhouse, and unfortunately a bit of trouble with the tire in standard caused us to be over time, so we did not Q in that one. His first run out, he was absolutely amazing, incredibly responsive and FAST. We probably could have gotten first place if I hadn't been more worried about getting the jackpot and getting to the table immediately. We had plenty of time I could have used to get more points, the whistle hadn't even sounded for the "get to the table" warning. The second run was also very, very good. The third run (standard) he kind of lost it. I think me making him do the tire correctly (took quite a bit of time) really took a lot of the fun out of it for Merlin, and his focus just got all out of whack from it. That tire is really becoming a PITA to me. I'm not sure why my dogs hate it so much.

Popper, on the other hand, was completely out of it. A lot of it, I think, has to do with being outside, and also that we were at a fair, with a LOT of livestock close by, and manure everywhere. The beagle part just takes complete control. I was so happy because it was a nontraditional jackpot, I thought Popper would finally get his elusive Q in that game. Instead, he spent his time staring out of the fence, and bounding happily wherever he felt like it. I will give him the positive that his "GO TABLE" is awesome, I can tell him that from the other side of the ring, and he will zoom full blast to it, wherever it may be.

His second run, after I couldn't get his focus back, I said, Okay, goodbye! and started walking away (not out of the ring - I can't bring myself to do that *yet*) - and guess who comes running onto the dog walk? He stopped, looked at me, wagged his tail, so I ran over and we did the dog walk. I had his focus for two more obstacles after that, and then we had to go to table. I think this is what I'm going to have to do at outdoor trials from now on, until he gets the idea that in the agility ring, he has to focus on me and the obstacles. We don't have this issue at indoor trials or in class, so it's something I have to work on entirely at a trial. I'm not made of money by any means, so whenever Merlin has an outdoor trial, I'll just enter Popper in either fullhouse or jackpot and use that time to get my point across. That way, it's not a huge financial burden to me to at least attempt to get his outdoor attention loss under control.