I have been enjoying the weather or just lounging around, hey, its summer! And I just don't want to remember the whole experience at our first trial.

So here's a recap...

Trial: We learned several things. Chloe isn't over the dog attack because everytime we walked near light-coated big dogs, she would stress (tail would drop) and she wanted to bolt. If there were wild and barky dogs, she would cower. I guess the noise from the attack brought a flashback as well. For me, one judge rubbed me the wrong way and I held it in the entire weekend. It all started when he had to measure. I was trying to assist by keeping Chloe in a stand position by using a treat and he would snap at me - like I could read his mind! Then to make matters worse, he was start to get frustrated because Chloe wanted to get away from. Hmm, I wonder why? His deep voice and his heavy sighing or breathing (think beer gut from hell) was stressing her out. So she was cowering and going lower and lower. He gave up and he didn't seem to think he was the cause of her behavior. I trained her for to be measured but if the other person is pretty much intolerant what can you really do? Mind you, there was no one else waiting to get measured when we were there! I guess he was yearning for some beer! More on this awesome judge later.

Saturday...

First run FAST. I got Chloe all jacked up and we started to walk to the gate. She was all perky and smiling. Uh oh, light-coated big dogs were there. I saw her energy level go to the crapper and tried a game of chase but her focus was elsewhere. I tried a game of chase, heel work, eye contact, and touch games; nothing worked. Our turn. She held her sit-stay and then I called her, boom! Like a cannon ball shot from a cannon! It was nice to see her showing of her speed. Uh oh, she blasts by the first two jumps! Oh no! Zoomies! And then she was running for the truck as it was in her view. It seemed she was looking for Laurie. The female judge gave me something positive to go by and maybe she got it all out of her system. I hope!

Second run, Jumpers. This happened a couple of hours later. So I decided to give Chloe a break and walk Scout around. He was pretty much jacked up for a bit. He would bark if we were not moving and I would not move until he calmed down and he was in the heel position. So we're walking around and he is enjoying it. There was one or two dogs that he didn't like so he lunged at him. Oh man. But I got him under control and corrected. There we go making our rounds through the tents, around the rings and fairgrounds. He was did rather well. The key here was keeping him under his threshold.

It was getting for time jumpers so I decided to play with Chloe some. It worked. she is all worked up. So we're going to the ring and as we neared the gate, more light-coated big dogs and she was stressing bad. That golden retriever attack really traumatized her. So I brought my soft disc to play some tug with her and the success rate wasn't high at all. So I decided to walk away from the ring. Mind you, the beer belly judge just kept his eye on me. And I was far from the "parameter" line marked around the ring! I see other people running and playing with the dogs but stopped as they near this line! So there I am trying to get Chloe excited and it isn't working. It was now time to go to the gate and she was stressed and she wanted to get out of there! There were two Springers being whiney as if they were getting left behind in their crates and that amplified Chloe's stress level. Time to go. She held her sit-stay and did two jumps and boom! She went bee-lined to the other side of the course looking for Laurie and, and came back to me. She did a couple more jumps and then... ran to the opposite side of the ring and then she bolted out of it! No one was going to get her or slow her down. Luckily, Laurie popped out and stopped her. Now this royally ticked me off because of the AKC rules stated that no one could stop the dog because the team would be labeled with a "misconduct". I care for the safety of the dog and that's a BS ruling if I ever heard of one! Several people voiced their opinions to my favorite judge in which that the rules should be relaxed for the novice class!

I am starting to see a trend here with Chloe. All of this was unexpected because she was fine at the run thrus and in class. I thought we nip this in bud and the last time she had zoomies in class was last year! She isn't over the attack and its obvious. so I started thinking maybe I should delay my entry to the gate? I'll try that for the standard run.

Third run, Standard. This was going to happen some 4-5 hours later. So I decided to walk Chloe around the grounds and that is how I found her stressors. When we walked near dark coat dogs she was absolutely fine. Any big dog with a light coat she wanted to run away. So I tried some CC work but she was too worried. So I tried walking through the situation(s) which I should not have since I should have just turned around. So we went back to the canopy and I put her in her crate. I gave them their bones. I heard a squeaky toy and I thought one of the dogs managed to a toy and I looked but they had nothing. The noise was emitanting from another tent which there were some sheltie pups in there. Just to let you know, we are parked and our canopy is set up some 5' away from the line and this tent is right next to it.

Time to get going and walk the course and then get Chloe focused. I got her excited all over again. We reach near the gate and there is just one light coated dog, a Labrador, and it catches her eye and there she goes. So I try to redirect her focus to me and play with her. Not working. This is starting to take it toll on me and I am pretty much sure she can feel it now. I am not angry just got off guard as this entirely unexpected and I flashback of all the work I did to get her over it and more confidence. This was so unexpected and only, and only if that lady would've tied her freaking dog properly the attack would have never have happened. Oh well, "Woulda, coulda, shoulda", life goes on.

This time around, I wasn't going to lead out as far because she was stressed out and I tried keeping eye contact with her. One jump out and I call her, she does 2-3 jumps and runs right for the truck. So now its a recall game and to bluntly put it, I am getting tired and just want this day to be over with. She comes, does another obstacle and then bolts. She is looking for Laurie and she was in the truck and not sitting under the canopy. I call her she does her weaves, two attempts but she did them. Denise said I should've stopped there on a positive note but I didn't. She jumped and refused the dog walk and bolted. So I recalled and I really had enough and so she did she. I grabbed her by her scruff and walked out.

I was frustrated because of something so unexpected got me.

Sunday...

Would this day be different from yesterday? Would she stay in the ring longer or even stay focused at me? 

First run, Jumpers: Michele was running the gate and gave me some encouragement. Chloe was a tad more relaxed for awhile longer but then nemisis light colored big dogs started to show up. Here we go and time for me to break her focus on the dog. Laurie's tactic was to hide and people in the tents noticed what she was doing. There was a family talking about how their dog got attacked at a trial back in January and they gave the description on how the dog behaved in the ring which they were about to have a deja vu moment. Chloe was up and the last dog. She looked more focused at me. She did 2 jumps and broke off running to the otherside of the ring and I called her back. We continued to jumps, 3, 4, 5, 6, weaves, 7, 8, rear cross and boom! Another bolt! I wasn't going to continue anymore so I picked her up. The family told Laurie thats exactly what their dog was doing. Anyhoo...

Intermission. Our next run would not happen for some 4-5 hours. So I walked the dogs together on the grounds and then came back and gave them a bone while we watched the Ex STD class run. Scout would get excited everytime he saw the dogs running the AF or any obstacle that was closest to him while in his crate as yesterday it was the DW. This day he was fiesty and so was the weather. I would take Chloe out of her crate and play with her or she would just lie on the grass. My favorite judge eyeing at us as we played, the puppies next door playing with their toys. A couple besides us playing with the dogs and it just goes on during the Ex STD class.

As the Open class was ending, it started to rain. We got out the ponchos and we were the next standard class to run. The jumpers ring kept on going.

Second run, Standard. The rain had stopped and the ring was wet and I was ready to fall on my ass. I was prepping Chloe to run and then my favorite person came running out of the ring to stop playing with my dog. Hmm, excuse me? Did you not see other people playing with their dog too? Give me a freaking break! I was hot for being singled out. His eye-sight could be really bad, wait, this is judge that made that controversial call at the Nationals, now I remember him. On the list, his call created so much havoc and then people started spouting off how much they didn't like him as a judge. I laughed about it several months ago but now I understand where they are coming from.

So I decided to run with Chloe were all the RVs were parked and we inched slowly to the gate. She didn't hold her sit-stay and I didn't lead out far (why? Stressed out dog will stress out more that farther I am away). She did 2 jumps and tried doing the chute 2 times. She really wanted to do the obstacle I could see it on her face and it confused her on why it was so hard to open it and why was it wet. After the rain only 1-2 dogs managed to do a wet chute! Lesson here, when it rains, pretty much when you run standard, its going to be a training session. So she got stressed by not doing the obstacle (isn't that really messed up? her confidence was building but she was given a task that she has never seen before) and decided to run to the end of the ring and I, again, would call her back. She did a jump, refused the AF, two attempts at the tire and two attempts at the tunnel. First attempt, she almost went in the wrong way and then started go in the correct entrance but her attention was towards ring helper. She finally got in and it was time for the table. She got in the table and I put her in a sit while it was supposed to be a down. She just froze and wouldn't listen to me. You want to know why? Because my favorite judge moved behind up me (and like I would touch my dog you idiot!) and she locked onto him. He was staring her down. I had enough of that guy so I did pick her up and leave.

You know, I have read agility lists on how some judges can be difficult and I thought people were blowing smoke. I read that some judges make the course alot harder than they should be but that weekend's courses were just fine IMHO. One judge represented the AKC well and one, well not so well IMHO. Not everyone will like everyone and he just rubs me the wrong way.

It was a miserable experience because we had a major setback and I had a grudge with the judge. But we know what to work on and that's working around light coated big dogs and continue to do run thrus.

Over the weekend, Denise wanted to talk to me before the runs but I was too busy trying to work out a routine ritual for me at a trial. So I never got a chance to get advice. I figured she was too busy doing her trial duties and running her dogs.

We tried to get footage but with Chloe stressing, it wasn't worth the hassle. Laurie did get some pictures though.