Post date: Mar 9, 2009 2:11:48 AM
Consider:
Fiasco
inFerno
Fresno
Coincidence?
After going to the Fresno trial last year, I vowed never to go back. But time softened the memories of the long drive, the dingy hotel right on the highway, the Fruit Loops in the hotel lobby being pawned off as "continental breakfast," the godforsaken racetrack that was the trial location, the spongy grass that made jump bars fall run after run.
Over time, the memories took on a comic tone. Hey, remember the potty area right next to Denny's where I could practically wave at customers while my dogs did their business, how fun was that?
So this year I went back. After all, Trevor had never been to Fresno as a competitor. It was going to be a small trial. I'd stay in Madera. How bad could it be?
It was not in fact as bad as last year, meaning that I didn't leave on the first day immediately after my second run. The dead grass had been replaced by new turf. The surface was actually nice. The weather was glorious. The company of my fellow "crazy enough to drive to Fresno" agility enthusiasts couldn't have been better.
Enough gushing.
Bottom line: the trial was a Fiasco that made me want to throw myself into an inFerno.
Saturday wasn't quite bad enough to make me hop into my car and drive straight home like I did last year. No, Saturday tormented me with hope. Trevor was one of only 3 24" dogs to Q in JWW (though he was lackluster--he stood up at the startline, I ran him anyway, and he was distracted for the whole run). He was one of only 2 dogs in all of Exc to Q in FAST, so that was exciting. God knows we need those FAST Q's. We came close on Standard, but my planned front cross turned into a badly executed rear cross, and I pulled Trevor off a jump.
Then there was Touki. Okay, she's refusing contacts now, poor girl, but surely we could still do jumpers. It started out promisingly enough. Three jumps, and then she spotted judge Sharon Kihara (dressed all in black) and came to a dead stop. She walked around the jump and stood there staring at Sharon the way she does when she sees an unidentifiable-yet-intriguing object in the distance. She was transfixed. To get her off the course, I had to loop my arms around her midsection and drag her to the leash stand. Not that she noticed. She was too busy staring at Sharon.
My powerful animal telepathy tells me that she might be done with agility. Yeah, ya think? The way she stared at Sharon like "what IS that?" reinforced my suspicion that the root cause is her eyesight. Sigh...
So back to the hotel I went with all 3 dogs, where we watched back-to-back episodes of "It's Me Or the Dog" and "Untamed and Uncut," which featured endless replays of some guy getting his arm chomped by a crocodile.
Sunday none of the 24" dogs Qed on Sharon's "designed for Papillons" Std course. We came heartbreakingly close, until I sent Trevor off-course onto the table. It was another badly planned front cross that probably should have been a rear cross.
On JWW, Trevor remembered the lesson from Saturday, when Mom didn't correct him for standing up at the startline. On Sunday he not only stood up, he started exploring the area around the startline. "The handler" ran him anyway. Was it any surprise then when Trevor stopped in the middle of the weaves to savor the fascinating grass smells? Like everyone else, Trevor wants to feel like he lives in a meaningful universe. And if Mom doesn't care what Trevor does, why should he? So I walked him off the course, put him in the car, loaded it up, and started the long drive home.
Kicking myself.
I missed the exit to 152.
Burger King in Los Banos was out of what I ordered.
It took me 4 hours to get home.
Moral of the story: don't ignore your dog when he stands up at the startline.
Second moral of the story: resist the urge to go back next year. For some things there is no redemption!
Next weekend we go to Dixon. My plan is to do a much shorter leadout on JWW and to keep the connection. If Trevor stands up, I'll go back to correct him and then run with him. Then let the chips fall where they may.