Fill In Unique Title Meaning "Another CPE Weekend"

SUMMARY: Ups and downs, no C-ATCHs.

I went off to Turlock this weekend with high hopes of being a great new handler with my new dog. Of course the challenge is that I have the same old body and mind.

One thing that did occur to me, after about the millionth time in the last couple of years when I've gone into the ring and discovered that my legs or knees weren't working well, was to do more to warm *myself* up. Doh! Before getting the dogs out each time today, I jogged back and forth along the width of the two rings and then did a little sprint. Not much, but I swear it made a difference in the functioning of my lower extremities. I mean, really, doh!

Our successes were lesser and greater than last weekend:

• Last weekend, Tika Qed 10 for 10; this weekend, only 7 for 10.
• Last weekend, Boost Qed 7 for 10; this weekend, only 4 for 10.
• Last weekend, Tika won only 2 classes, the ones where Chaps wasn't running. This weekend, no Chaps, but yes Brenn (another long-time partner and genial rival (as in, "Oooooh, Brenn beat us by a dang twentieth of a second!"); I didn't make a note in every class, but I *think* Brenn won 6 out of the 10 classes; Tika won Jumpers and today's Jackpot; Boost won today's Full House.
• Last weekend, I don't think that we had the highest scores (or even close to it) on any of the point-accumulation games; this weekend, in the nontraditional Jackpot, Tika had the highest points (67) of everyone else entered in the trial except for 2 small fast dogs who had 5 more seconds than we did in the double-your-points period (they had 70 and 84 pts); in the Full House, Boost had more points (44) than anyone entered in the trial except one small fast dog who had 5 seconds more time (46). So that was a good way to end the weekend's last two classes.

This weekend, for Tika:

• No bars down that I remember.
• No particularly slow tunnels.
• Pulled off a couple of tunnels again--this is also new in the last very few months, and keeps happening.
• Didn't hit her teeter contact when I veered off to get ahead laterally--she used to be rock solid on going into the yellow on the ground before leaving. 
• Had a particularly nice Jumpers run; she's so good on course at adjusting for my mistakes. But still a long way slower than Back In The Day when she used to have close to the fastest course times in Jumpers.

This weekend, for Boost:

• Ran entirely past sets of 6 weaves twice, but got a lot of others nicely. Popped out of one set of 6 when I held back and sent her.
• Is doing "two on two off" SOOOOO off the side of the teeter, not even trying to go forward. Must must must work on this a lot.
• Left a couple of contacts w/out a release in those exciting point-accumulation games.
• Bars, runouts, refusals (someone not familiar with her asked me after one of her runs, "What's with her not taking that jump right in front of her?"  Yeah, that's what I've been asking for years!) galore.
• Did well on a couple of lateral lead-outs, didn't veer around the jumps to get to me.
• Had a really nice Full House run.

I can't even remember the last time I've had to pull either dog because they didn't stay at their start line while I led out, and I did some really long lead-outs this weekend. At least a year, maybe longer.  Pleased about that. Tika still often stands up and takes a step or two forward, but hasn't taken off.

SOOOO next weekend we'll be in Santa Rosa for our last CPE of the crazed CPE consecutive weekends, with TWO chances for that last Colors Q for Boost's C-ATCH, and I sure hope we can polish that off. Would just be nice to get that done.

And now, as always after a busy and tiring agility weekend, looks like bed time. Happy Daylight Savings Time, everyone!