My little baby dog Springaling ran her way to the podium at her first ever Regionals! She came in 5th with 520-something points :)
She went 5 for 6 this weekend, with just one missed contact in Standard 1 … otherwise she was clean, well under time and she got both the gambles! I am oh so impressed with my baby girl, as she has barely trialed at all, so to podium at Regionals is a really big deal for us both. Especially when facing competition from all those damn speedy shelties. And of course her arch nemesis Rogue, who took first place (again – greedy!!). I am however pleased with Rogue’s win because she is a TDBCR dog, and we are always happy when our rescues kick some ass.
On Friday Spring pooped in the ring in Steeplechase and got eliminated, so I figured that was an ill omen. But for the rest of the weekend I made sure she pooped before *each and every run* (poor dog has never pooped so much in her whole life!) and she did great. Her confidence is growing and she was speeding up with each run. I LUFF her so very much!!
And in a rather amazing turn of events, Dexter “Douchebag” Morgan managed to drag his insane ass out of the fire and squeaked by with a qualifying final tally of 358 points – you need 350 to qualify for Nationals. Saturday was a full on disaster of refusals, spinning, barking and off coursing. Today he managed one clean Jumpers, and then he racked up an assload of gamble opening points, but spent so much time spinning around the first jump in the closing that the buzzer went while he was mid air over the final jump. ARGH! However, it was just enough to squeeze him into the qualifying category. A summer miracle!
I got no photos of Dexter with ribbons because I was sure he hadn’t qualified so I had already put him in the truck before the closing ceremonies. But I am proud of him nonetheless, despite how crazy-making he is.
My Springles though – man alive, am I ever chuffed with her!!
We didn’t get much video as most of my friends were in other groups so we didn’t have anyone to video us, but Auntie Fiona managed to get a couple of our runs, so I’ll post them on the Wootube Facebook some time this week.
Yay Spring! Such a happy time in the Food Lady Household tonight :) :) :) We owe the Satanist (we upgraded him from The Sadist) a big debt of gratitude for all his hard work at being extra mean and thus making us all scared not to qualify. We love you, Gerhard :)
Rich says
Congrats to Spring for fifth place! Sounds like she can compete with the big kids after all. I didn’t get there until about noon on Saturday, but I got some photos of the last run (including some of Dexter doing gamblers). It was awesome out at the park – sunny weather, friendly people and a bunch of dogs that I wanted to run off with. Waiting for Ness to get a little older and mentally stable to participate in Agility – hoping to start beginner training this winter. Photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaffneue/sets/72157634025204623/
Liza says
Yay Spring! And a smaller yay for crazy-making Dexter, too!
Please put the vids in the blog, too, pretty please?
minabey says
Wooooooooooooohoooooooooooooooo!
Congratulations, you guys!
minabey says
@Rich – those are amazing photos.
Maria Shanley says
Three cheers for Spring! And one for Dexter! May their agility careers be long and enjoyable.
Fay says
Yeah for Spring and for Mr. D. Douchebag Morgan! Great photos! I’ve followed your trials (pun intended :) and tribulations, and happy times, since Tweed’s “I see dead people” post, which I recall, was hilarious!
Adrienne says
Woo hoo Spring! Little dogs are the BESTEST!
Yay for not killing off Dexter! Of course the big question… are you actually going to run him at Nationals?? lol
Carol says
Spring!
Riosmom says
No fair! We loyal fans of your blog who are not yet slaves to FaceBook deserve to see Spring’s runs.
Congratulations on Spring’s great showing – her handler probably also deserves some praise! And Dexter is proving that he isn’t hopeless, just a slow starter – who is probably making you a better handler whether you enjoy it or not.
Congratulations all around! And PLEASE PLEASE don’t abandon your loyal blog readers – we want to see those videos too!