Wye Valley

Well the big day - Ruger's first KC show. Started with Grade 3 agility, missed out the last weave of 12 so E'd, but in all it was a good run, he stayed and got his contacts (except the see saw, where I don't ask for a wait and it was one of the light aluminium ones which took him by surprise) he did some nice distance work, so I was happy with the little Mali. Grade 3 jumping was next, it looked complicated when walking, but ran better than it looked. Ruger went for the wrong end of the tunnel so got his now seems like favourite E!! he then went clear including weaves for the rest of the course, again with some fantastic distance work. Combined 1-7 agility was our worst run of the day, from both of us, funny enough we didn't get e'd but managed 15 faults and 10 time faults, but no E :) Sunday was the wettest day of the weekend and I judged all day. Really enjoyed this, starting with the Juniors under 12 and over 12 jumping, there are some fantastic young handlers out there. I then judged Large Grade 1 jumping and Large Grade 3 jumping, it was lovely to see the standard of the new dogs and both dogs and humans enjoying the experience. I have noticed alot more motivational handlers lately, who are appreciating thier dogs efforts, praising the good bits and not dwelling on the mistakes. Monday we had 2 classes, Speed and Power was an E in the speed section as Ruger is not easy to turn at full speed lol but he got some of the more difficult bits. Last class was Large ABC Sprint, we were clear from 1 to 15 but Ruger took a little detour past no 16 to ask a scary scout to leave the ring, typical Mali, so easily spooked, so we got 5R then cleared the rest of the course. Overall I was happy with Ruger out of 5 runs we had 3 x E, a 5R and a 25F, when he grows up he'll be alright. Zara did not compete this weekend due to being on anti-inflammatories for lameness. Vet could not find anything so she is being rested and maybe x-rays next week to try to diagnose what's happening. Finger's crossed its nothing serious.