Cruz Finally Makes his Debut

Well it took us until the last trial for the year but Cruz is finally no longer a trial virgin.
My training had reached the point where I needed to put him in a trial situation to see how he coped with all the distractions so that's what I did.
I only entered him in 2 runs for his first time - which I will probably continue to do for the next few trials as well.


First up was Novice Agility - a course with some extreme angles for Novice level, I honestly think I may have struggled to get Atilla around it clear.
Cruz showed a few stress signs at the start line which I expected may happen for his first time - plus I was actually nervous too which didn't help him. I don't get nervous running Atilla any more so it felt really strange to be so on edge.
We got through with 2 bars down which wasn't too bad for a first time, considering some of the angles. Plus I realised afterwards that it was the first full course he has run at 600 - bad trainer!


Novice Jumping we were first in the ring - but he appeared a little more relaxed at the startline compared to the first run. This time we were clear and won the ring which I certainly wasn't expecting to happen. So I am one proud kelpie mum at the moment.

Cruz with his first place trophy, sash and of course the most important part of the win - food!



Although more focussed than on his first run, he definitely didn't give me as much speed as he usually does but he has such a long stride that he still ran a reasonable time. I saw the 2nd and 3rd placed runs (BC and BC cross, both jumping 500) and they looked pretty fast to me so I was very surprised to clock up a faster time - but very happy about it ! And although it wasn't his fastest run , when I looked back at my trial diary and compared his time to Atilla's times in Novice, it was almost identical.

Plus he held both his startline stays - I went out 2 obstacles on the jumping course- and hit all his contacts and weaves in agility.

The only thing that I was really disappointed in was that he wouldn't tug with me before he went into the ring, which is unusual for him. The presence of the judge and timer in the ring didn't appear to bother him at all, I felt that the stress was more related to waiting outside for our turn.
So a lot more proofing with distractions and unfamiliar locations for us over the next few months.
And I need to experiment with finding the best warm up procedure for him to build focus. This is going to be more of a challenge than with Atilla - because he jumps 600 it is very likely that he will often be first dog in the ring which can make warming up difficult on occasion.

But I am very proud of my long, lanky boy who has now equalled Atilla's effort of qualifying and winning the ring at his first trial.

A Fun Weekend at Warrnambool

After last year's disastrous weather at Warrnambool, eventually causing the cancellation of their trial, the 'agility gods' were definitely smiling on them this weekend.

The weather was perfect - even warm enough to run in short sleeves on Sunday but not warm enough to make the dogs uncomfortable. The predicted rain didn't eventuate apart from a few drops on Sunday around lunchtime.

The 'agility gods' were smiling on us too - we managed to come away with 4 qualifying scores and Cruz won the raffle on Sunday and scored a brand new dog bed.

There were some fast and challenging courses, especially in Masters, and I was very happy with the way we ran most of them. Atilla stayed focussed for most of the time, apart from an incidient with the cloth tunnel (which I'll describe in a later training related post) and was eager to work. I was especially pleased with his speed on many sections of the courses we ran.

Overall we earned a pass in Open Jumping (our first one as I don't run this event very often) and 2nd place behind another kelpie that is exceptionally fast, a pass in Masters Jumping (number 3) and 3rd place, a pass in Masters Agility and 4th place (number 6 - one more to go !) and a pass in Open Agility and 3rd place.

Although I have had 3 passes at the same trial a few times, I haven't had 4 since we were in Novice so I was very pleased with this result, plus I really enjoyed running most of the courses over the weekend, whether we qualified or not.

This is the trial ground in the foreground, with the neighbouring soccer ground behind. Pity I didn't think to take this with the agility equipment still set up as it would have made a much better shot.

All the dogs had an absolute blast at the beach. Atilla and Cruz got to have a good run along the sand on Friday after the long drive down. The beach was deserted as it was a bit cold by then, and they loved it ! They kept running way ahead of me, then waiting for me to catch up as if to say 'what's keeping you?', then taking off again.

They got to swim on Saturday and Sunday after the trial had finished each day - much to Bosnich's delight. He literally has to be dragged out of the water when there's swimming involved and if it were possible for a dog to sulk when we leave, then he most definitely would. As a 'non-kelpie', he sets the benchmark as far as swimming is concerned. Both the kelpies swim but not with the passion that Bozzie does - or should that be 'ACD mania' rather than passion ?
Even old man Yasser enjoyed his walk along the beach - at his own pace of course, which is way slower than the rest of them.

Warrnambool is one of my favourite places - located on the south-west coast of Victoria about 3 hours from Melbourne, and originally settled (I think) in the late 1840's as a maritime village - fishing, boating and related industries. I think I read something about sealing too but we won't talk about that ! There is a recreated maritime village set on the bay, but as they don't allow dogs I have never been in. Looks interesting though. The area is most famous for the legend of the mahogany ship- reputed to be buried deep beneath the sand dunes somewhere on the outskirts of Warrnambool. The following description comes from the Warrnambool Vic. Government tourist website:

'A Portuguese vessel fondly known by locals as the Mahogany Ship, reportedly ran aground off Warrnambool in the 1500's. This local legend is supported by the discovery of old Portuguese charts that depict Australia's southern coastline. It is believed these charts were drawn in the 1520's. '

There was a reported sighting of the ship's mast protuding from the sand dunes - although more than a hundred years ago I believe- but when a salvage party was organised the ship had disappeared and the coordinates of the sighting were not recorded by the person who believed they had found it. (You'd kick yourself wouldn't you?)

Anyway, it's a pretty cool legend whether true or not, and brings many tourists to the area in search of buried treasure, literally.

There are still a lot of old builings remaining in the town - I found this website which I really liked as it showed some of them as originals compared to how they look now.

http://www.warrnamboolcam.com/nownthen.htm

This is the view over Lake Pertobe, with the old breakwater in the distance, another reminder of the area's history. There is another good walking trail around parts of the lake that you can do with the dogs, accessed from the agility trial ground.

So overall a great weekend - can't wait for their next trial to roll around.