Level 3, Another Go

I’m a little behind with this posting – between having houseguests, taking a 2 ½ day side trip to Lake Sai (Saiko) and the excitement of the USDAA nationals in Kentucky, I haven’t taken the time to write about our trial on October 10th.

The day started out quite rainy, a continuation of the same the day before the trial. I had been warned that the field doesn’t drain well, so I was expecting the worst. Indeed, the parking area was a mess and we waited in line for 45 minutes before we could park. The attendants had to steer each car around huge puddles and mud pits.

Fortunately the rain quit shortly after the trial started. Two of the three agility fields were basically fine (there was one soggy spot in one of the two), but one field was a muddy mess. That field was devoted all day to Level 1. The other two fields were set up for Level 2 standard and jumpers, followed by Level 3.

The nice thing about not running until later was that I could watch my friends in Levels 1 and 2 without distraction. I felt bad for the teams in Level 1, as the ground was very slippery and the course was very fast. Dogs were slipping on the dog walk and handlers were sliding in the mud. It was difficult to watch. I was afraid that the other two rings would deteriorate before they started running the Level 3 courses, but fortunately they remained relatively dry.

Finally at midday the Level 3 courses were set up – the Large class was running Jumpers first. The courses were closer to AKC style than we often see, with more 180s than threadles . The Jumpers course started off with a 180 and then threadle between the 180 through to a straight tunnel. I managed to keep Cody out of the tunnel, which is a bit of a feat without a start line stay. After the second jump, he unexpectedly headed to the far side of the jump rather than through the middle, which was fine, but he was confused as I tried to guide him to the tunnel and back jumped the second jump. So, out we went, after 2 obstacles and 5 hours of waiting!!

Shortly after, we had our standard run. I was determined that we would at least make it through this course without being eliminated, although many dogs had trouble with two C-shaped tunnels side by side nestled under the dog walk. Following the A-frame, the dogs saw 4 entrances to tunnels, the correct entrance was the black tunnel on the left, right side. Cody slowed down at the bottom of the A-frame, but didn’t stop and somehow ended up in the correct tunnel. We finished the course clean, although slower than I would have liked, earning a 4th place rosette.

Level 3 Standard, 4th Place

We leave on Friday for our next trial in Sendai, 5 hours away and for two days. The first day doesn’t offer Level 3, so we’ll compete at Level 2 again, but only for that one day. After that trial, there will be no competitions until the end of November, when we will be traveling 6 hours or so to our first indoor trial, also 2 days long, with Level 3 offered both days. I am looking forward to visiting a new area of Japan, even though it will require spending many hours in the car.