NW Regionals
Wow, it was so much fun to finally be trialing again! I've really missed everyone and it was great to do something that made me feel normal again. :-) :-) :-)
Unfortunately Friday got off to a bad start when my neighbor lit off an M80 at 5:30am. I had let the dogs out and was getting ready to go when...BOOM!!!! I immediately went to bring Swift in the house, but he had figured out how to open the gate and was gone in the neighborhood. I put Quake and Tempie in the truck and went looking for him. 45 scary minutes later we finally found him and boy was he glad to see us. And I was pretty darn glad to see him as well. I put him in the truck and we drove to Argus. From there things looked up, I had a great Friday with both Quake and Swift, with both boys getting a Team qualifier. Quake's team took 7th place and Swift's team came in around 15th. Quake was on fire on Friday and we had some really nice runs, never finishing out of the placements. Swift even got a placement in Team Standard. The meds really seem to be working for Swift, he was a different dog this weekend, not stressed out at all. In fact, he was rolling in the grass at the gate while waiting to run! LOL. Not the same dog at all. It was really nice to see him be relaxed. But once he was in the ring, boy he was ready to go! Friday was hot but I kept the dogs hydrated and cool, and they seemed to be doing well.
Saturday was another hot day. We started out with Standard for both Swift and Quake. Swift had another nice run, winning the class. He now needs one more standard Q for his AAD. In Masters Standard, I fell...something I haven't done in a very long time. I recovered and went on, but forgot the course, hesitated for a moment and Quake went off course. Hehe. Staying upright is good. Both boys ran Masters Snooker, where again I forgot the course with Swift, also something that doesn't happen very often...haha. Falling down and forgetting courses, I must be getting old. But I was back on track with Quake again, and we got a Super Q. He doesn't need Super Qs, but they are fun to get, especially at a regionals where the competition is pretty stiff. However, about this point, Quake started being a bit off. I couldn't put my finger on it exactly, but he just didn't seem to be himself. I ran him in Steeplechase and he popped out of the weaves, which is unusual for him. We already had an off course, so I downed him and told him we were done. Usually at this point we walk out of the ring and he is bouncing around trying to figure out what obstacle to take next. But not this time...much to my surprise he beelined it to the exit. I had to down him again so he wouldn't keep going. Very unusual behavior for him, in fact, he's never done that before. I took him to the pool and cooled him off, put him in his crate with water and a fan until Gamblers. Ran Gamblers and again he was off. Nothing to pin point, just a bit off. So I put him away until Grand Prix. In GP he had a nice run, but we got called on the teeter. After that I left so I could take Quake home. He got home, went into the backyard under a tree and slept for about 2 1/2 hours. Again, a little strange. I figured it was the heat.
On Sunday morning Quake seemed fine. I ran him in standard again to just to see where he was. Again, didn't seem himself and then he fell off the dogwalk. I had Bob take a look at him. Bob couldn't find anything physically wrong with him, but I decided to scratch him anyway for the rest of the day. Swift ran in Advanced Jumpers, had a beautiful run and won the class. He also ran in Masters pairs for qualifier with Blynn/Kitt and was an accommodating dog for Quake, since he was scratched. Both runs were good, his qualifying run was clean and he got a teeter up contact call as an accommodating dog, but it was a qualifying run for our partner. I then ran him in Masters Snooker where we were well on our way to a Super Q when AGAIN...I fell. When that happened Swift knocked a bar. Bizarre. I can't remember the last time I fell during a run and now I did it two times in one weekend. Hahaha. Maybe its time for new shoes. His last run of the day was Advanced Standard, very nice run, however he knocked the last bar so no title this time. No biggie. Overall I was really thrilled with how Swift performed this weekend. He was like a different dog. No anxiety, was happy and relaxed at the gate, focused in the ring. So nice to see. He was always a nice dog in practice and fun to handle, but would lose it mentally at trials. I'm glad we found a way for him to relax and have a good time!
On Monday I took Quake for bloodwork, which came back normal. So it doesn't appear that anything is wrong with him. And he's acting fine now, nothing unusual at all. So at this point I can only surmise that it was the heat on Friday that did him in. It does not normally bother him, but we haven't been to a trial since April and it was the first real hot day of the year. Also, he turned 7, and is not getting any younger. And he gave 150% all day on Friday. I'm just glad that he seems to be ok. I'm not sure when our next trial is. I'd like to go to Brownsville, but it is looking doubtful.
Unfortunately Friday got off to a bad start when my neighbor lit off an M80 at 5:30am. I had let the dogs out and was getting ready to go when...BOOM!!!! I immediately went to bring Swift in the house, but he had figured out how to open the gate and was gone in the neighborhood. I put Quake and Tempie in the truck and went looking for him. 45 scary minutes later we finally found him and boy was he glad to see us. And I was pretty darn glad to see him as well. I put him in the truck and we drove to Argus. From there things looked up, I had a great Friday with both Quake and Swift, with both boys getting a Team qualifier. Quake's team took 7th place and Swift's team came in around 15th. Quake was on fire on Friday and we had some really nice runs, never finishing out of the placements. Swift even got a placement in Team Standard. The meds really seem to be working for Swift, he was a different dog this weekend, not stressed out at all. In fact, he was rolling in the grass at the gate while waiting to run! LOL. Not the same dog at all. It was really nice to see him be relaxed. But once he was in the ring, boy he was ready to go! Friday was hot but I kept the dogs hydrated and cool, and they seemed to be doing well.
Saturday was another hot day. We started out with Standard for both Swift and Quake. Swift had another nice run, winning the class. He now needs one more standard Q for his AAD. In Masters Standard, I fell...something I haven't done in a very long time. I recovered and went on, but forgot the course, hesitated for a moment and Quake went off course. Hehe. Staying upright is good. Both boys ran Masters Snooker, where again I forgot the course with Swift, also something that doesn't happen very often...haha. Falling down and forgetting courses, I must be getting old. But I was back on track with Quake again, and we got a Super Q. He doesn't need Super Qs, but they are fun to get, especially at a regionals where the competition is pretty stiff. However, about this point, Quake started being a bit off. I couldn't put my finger on it exactly, but he just didn't seem to be himself. I ran him in Steeplechase and he popped out of the weaves, which is unusual for him. We already had an off course, so I downed him and told him we were done. Usually at this point we walk out of the ring and he is bouncing around trying to figure out what obstacle to take next. But not this time...much to my surprise he beelined it to the exit. I had to down him again so he wouldn't keep going. Very unusual behavior for him, in fact, he's never done that before. I took him to the pool and cooled him off, put him in his crate with water and a fan until Gamblers. Ran Gamblers and again he was off. Nothing to pin point, just a bit off. So I put him away until Grand Prix. In GP he had a nice run, but we got called on the teeter. After that I left so I could take Quake home. He got home, went into the backyard under a tree and slept for about 2 1/2 hours. Again, a little strange. I figured it was the heat.
On Sunday morning Quake seemed fine. I ran him in standard again to just to see where he was. Again, didn't seem himself and then he fell off the dogwalk. I had Bob take a look at him. Bob couldn't find anything physically wrong with him, but I decided to scratch him anyway for the rest of the day. Swift ran in Advanced Jumpers, had a beautiful run and won the class. He also ran in Masters pairs for qualifier with Blynn/Kitt and was an accommodating dog for Quake, since he was scratched. Both runs were good, his qualifying run was clean and he got a teeter up contact call as an accommodating dog, but it was a qualifying run for our partner. I then ran him in Masters Snooker where we were well on our way to a Super Q when AGAIN...I fell. When that happened Swift knocked a bar. Bizarre. I can't remember the last time I fell during a run and now I did it two times in one weekend. Hahaha. Maybe its time for new shoes. His last run of the day was Advanced Standard, very nice run, however he knocked the last bar so no title this time. No biggie. Overall I was really thrilled with how Swift performed this weekend. He was like a different dog. No anxiety, was happy and relaxed at the gate, focused in the ring. So nice to see. He was always a nice dog in practice and fun to handle, but would lose it mentally at trials. I'm glad we found a way for him to relax and have a good time!
On Monday I took Quake for bloodwork, which came back normal. So it doesn't appear that anything is wrong with him. And he's acting fine now, nothing unusual at all. So at this point I can only surmise that it was the heat on Friday that did him in. It does not normally bother him, but we haven't been to a trial since April and it was the first real hot day of the year. Also, he turned 7, and is not getting any younger. And he gave 150% all day on Friday. I'm just glad that he seems to be ok. I'm not sure when our next trial is. I'd like to go to Brownsville, but it is looking doubtful.