After a hectic week of uni, we set off for South Durham. It was Jet’s last G2 show and I just wanted to run her and see what she could do. A stressful start to the morning as the directions on the schedule were completely useless and we got lost, so I was sooo stressed out.
First run was combined1-7, more challenging than she was used to in G1-2 but she did a nice clear! Not the fastest I’ve ever seen her run, and a couple of bits where she could have been tighter, but she finished in the top30 and wasn’t a million miles off some really good dogs – 3s off Di Talbot’s Casey and just 2s off Lisa Adamson’s Dare. So I was dead pleased!
The wind really started to pick up and there were things (including obstacles blowing everywhere!). She had a speedy run in G1-2 but was unfortunately E’d – tunnel too tempting!
In the car she was starting to get a bit stressed out with the wind – panting a lot, but didn’t want a drink and seemed a bit on edge. I got her out and had a play with her, and she was a bit better – Jet is usually pretty fearless but where we were parked it was really loud, can only imagine what it was like for her. I took her to run c1-4 agility which on any other day would have suited her very much. I tried to wind her up before she ran, but she was having none of it and was freaked out by things blowing around behind her. She ran (and got E’d!), so we held her contacts and told her she was a good girl. Neither of us were particularly focussed for the rest of it. We went a did pairs, where she was slower than usual, freaked out by knocking a pole(?!) and just a bit on edge.
I decided at this point, there was no point to keep running her like that, she wasn’t herself and she couldn’t wait to get away from the wind. I took her to play ball in the exercise area and try and cheer her up, but she still wasn’t having any of it. On any other day, I would probably have stayed to run c1-4 jumping and G1-2 agility, and see if she cheered up. However my heart wasn’t in it, and I’m sure she’d have picked up on that as well as being scared of the wind. Poor Jet.
In some ways I do regret not staying, the weather might have died down or something, but when I only come back for the weekend, I want her to think of agility and flyball as being super fun, not being forced to do something she doesn’t want to. Her next show is Hare N Hounds in October, her first G3 classes. It’s indoor so she should LOVE it. 