Back on line!
We're back on line!
So... The EO didn't go just as well as last year when all 4 dogs finished on a podium... This year, we set another record - of bizarre problems... - and only Le finished on a podium twice, for team runs. I'm especially happy with her winning jumping team run, a second faster from the rest! She also had for more than a second best time in agility team run, but unfortunately one bar down. In individual runs, we didn't have much luck, she missed the weave entry in jumpers (very unusual for Le) in otherwise great run and in agility, we had a fly-off and a rather chaotic run, but I really liked her other 4 runs, so I'm actually very pleased with our performance.
I'm also actually very happy with Bi who knocked way less bars as expected and actually had some great runs, BUT, from some weird reason, she didn't recognize the tire and was eliminated in all 3 courses that had a tire because she wouldn't jump it!?! The only course that didn't have a tire, she knocked a wall, but had the best time, so there is certainly a potential in the wild child 🙂 - but we do need to find out the tire mystery - that's her first and only time she didn't jump a tire, so it must have been something about the shape or colour that she didn't understand... - From all the problems we have had with Bi, this was certainly the weirdest one ever!
La's runs were a surprise too as she had been VERY consistent for last years and I certainly expected clean runs only - but we had two bizarre off courses and TWO missed weave entries that make me think she maybe didn't see white poles on white sand background well - she doesn't seem to have problems with vision otherwise despite her age, but I think it must have been a visual problem because again, this was not like La at all. But she was definitely the fastest and happiest 12-year old out there 🙂 That's the greatest thing at that age - whatever happens on a course, you are just so happy and proud that the dog at that age can still run at that level, that results really don't matter at all!!!
And well, it was certainly not Bu's weekend. She is at her best on artificial turf and can handle slippery footing brilliantly. But soft dirt slows her down a lot as she has no power and can't compensate on soft dirt as she can on turf. That meant not so good times, but still, she qualified in team finals and ran clean there and in individual finals, we were clean until I got stuck in too deep sand on a turn after DW (Bu's turn off the DW was brilliant - mine wasn't 🙂 ), fell and caused a refusal on the next obstacle...
The flooring certainly wasn't on our side, I had problems running on that sand and ended behind my dogs a lot. We should probably trial more often on dirt to practice, we do maybe two days per year and on completely different dirt, so I'm sure that added to the weirdness of our problems and in gathering more mistakes in one weekend as in last 3 years together!
So all in all - not much luck, but well, Le and Bi had best times every time they got through the course, La was really fast for a 12-year-old too and I knew in advance that this won't be a good footing for Bu.
After EO, we went hiking in French Alps (pictures coming soon) and then directly to Border Collie Classics to Italy (videos coming soon 🙂 ) - despite not being allowed to run with my best and fastest dog definitely made a decision to go very hard... So only Bu and Bi got to run and again, the dirt surface wasn't so good for Bu, but she did qualify for team finals thanks to her consistency and was clean in finals as well. Bi had some bars and one "my brain is fried" run (my dogs are not used to run that many courses per day + it was terribly HOT HOT HOT), but did win one run and qualified for individual finals where she had a really brilliant run until the very last jump - that she bypassed, thinking the run is over as me and the audience though we made it already 🙂 - But it was a really great run even without the last jump! 🙂
Last call for 
I saw your runs in the EO, would love to see that Bi’s run in the BCC finals, would she have taken first place if she actually jumped?
Great runs anyways, results dont matter that much 😉
I have it on video and will post it soon 🙂 Hard to say what would her time be, but she would certainly be on podium.
I love your positive outlook Silvia. And yes, at 12 years old, La can do as she pleases :-). Enjoy every run, as I know you do. Well done!
Welcome back! I really enjoyed watching your great runs 🙂 Hogan & I were rooting for you!
Wow, what a busy couple of weeks!!! Did you get to rest any? Loved watching your runs!!!!
Climbing mountains was exactly the rest I needed after all the work I do behind the computer 🙂
That tyre problem is indeed very weird, hope you can find what was wrong 🙂
The refusal on the tunnel in the finals was such a shame, you were both doing great!
But after all having a good time is what matters most and I’m sure the dogs loved it <3
Definitely -- I was not sad at all about our results, just surprised 🙂 I was sure the problem with the tire was that we never see tires without 4 connecting chains going diagonally from one corner to another, holding it. But then, the next weekend on BCC, we had a tire with vertical and not diagonal chains as well (but it was thin and black, not wide and white) and she had absolutely no problem, hm…
Bi’s problem is sure weird! Do you know if she has some kind of sight problem? It totally looked like as she really had no idea there was a tyre in front of her! It reminds me of what can happen if you want your dog to jump over a wire: they often don’t see it and therefore don’t jump, looking pretty puzzled.
No, she never showed any problems with vision. I think that from some reason, that tire looked so much different from other tires she saw by now that she had no idea what to do with that thing… Seems like she sees a tire as something else (diagonal chains?) as my other dogs do (Le saw even less different tires as Bi and had absolutely no problem) and that tire didn’t have what is her definition of a tire… It definitely shows that dogs are sometimes learning/seeing something else as we think they’re learning/seeing!
Yes, dogs can surprise sometimes! 🙂 well hope Bi will realize tyres with no diagonal chains are always tyres afterall 🙂
Wow, still great runs, Le looks like she is really growing up! It just too bad about Bi being weird about the tire. I remember thinking when I watched the video before I read your comments that the tire looked smaller than I’m used to--do you think that could have had something to do with it? Maybe the inside diameter of the tire isn’t smaller but the shape of it made it seem smaller so Bi did think he could make it? That’s the only thing I can think of.
Of course, sometimes dogs just do random things, and you’ll never know why. Keeps things interesting!
I doubt it, Bi is not a kind of a dog who would ever worry about making it and doesn’t mind crashing into thins at all -- I think she actually loves it 🙂 And this tire is actually bigger as we are used to… Ours are usually smaller&thinner and actually less visible (often black or grey). But I think she didn’t even look at the tire and it was something about its frame that looked different as our tires…