While our friends were out running the big kid courses at the European Open in the Czech Republic, we spent a few hours on Sunday morning at the local CPE trial.
I admit it, I'm not totally enamored by CPE agility. I have a hard time feeling like I'm wearing my big girl pants at CPE. I'm sorry CPE, but I like USDAA better. I'm sorry CPE fans. I still love you. My dog club put the show on and it was near my house. I felt really bad it had low entries and I want to support CPE. I still like CPE, but I just want to be friends. And honestly, since CPE and I are having some alone time from each other, it's a good place to practice not freaking out about Q's or SuperQ's or Gambler's buzzers going off unexpectedly.
You know who loves CPE? And who is why I will still try to go to CPE? Ruby loves CPE. She can jump 8" in CPE. It's all stress free. She was SO EXCITED to get out and have a turn. There is a video of this, we will see it later this week. I don't do the a-frame with her, since she tends to slam straight into it at speed, and keep her out of the poles because she whacks her head on them, but she did one of those runs where you just make up whatever course you want to get lots of points. Lots of tunnels and jumps and she had a blast.
Ruby's used to spending whole trials sleeping now. When I brought her out and told her she was having a turn, made her day. Freakout of joyness. Made my day to run her. When Ruby is on, she is a complete blast to run. Everyone should run a Ruby sometimes.
What really made Gustavo's day was that I set up the dog pen right next to the ring and that he totally busted out and escaped during one of Otterpop's runs and ran out in the ring to run along with her.
This was just swell. Like horribly embarrassing. Otterpop was being a complete ass over when she had to run on that side of the ring, I suspect because, oh, Gustavo was screaming his head off and attempting escape. You just don't DO that to Otterpop. Otterpop runs a tight ship and xpen escape, not tight. She jumped off a teeter totter, stargazed on the a-frame. She wasn't lame, wasn't gimpy, just pissy and distracted by my ill behaved yet cute as a button, darling dog. Always something with Otterpop. And then when he came flying in the ring during her run, the icing on the cake. They did a couple obstacles of togetherness while I beat a hasty retreat to the exit.
You know where this doesn't happen? At the European Open. I am so training wheels.
Later, I ran her in the other ring, far away from Gustavo who was now triple clamped into his pen, and she ran great. Nice teeters and a-frames. Focus and determination and speed. Damn you sometimes, Otterpop.
Gustavo's runs were pretty awesome with just a couple weave pole entry misses, although I would say that escaping out of one's xpen, causing Sister Mary Ruby a near heart attack of the naughtyness, then running along with Otterpop, a horrible sin of such great naughtiness that he does not get his runs described. That is the price you pay for the badness, Gustavo.
4 comments:
I heard the European Open was held in a big mud puddle in the midst of ongoing downpour. Your CPE trial was probably more pleasant.
We don't do CPE because it sounds too Mama Bear, and we don't do USDAA because it sounds too Papa Bear. That leaves AKC as the Baby Bear in the middle.
I'm glad you found your big girl pants for Ruby Roo and your home club too :)
naughty monkey Gustavo though - did you want to melt away or were you dying laughing?
I'm lucky to find a cpe trial - running my rescue gang my choice here is aac or cpe - and i'll take what I can get :)
When Gustavo ran in the ring, I was very, very mad. Mostly at myself, for having established a foundation on a dog who, now, having just turned 4 years old on his birthday yesterday, thinks it's just fine to scream wildly when I run Otterpop and then bust out to get out in the ring with her.
Like zero impulse control.
He was bad, but I did a bad job in training if that's what he does. So I definitely wasn't laughing.
I find CPE to be sort of an agility relax-a-thon. No stress except whether Tika can beat Chaps this round and go all out and, ok, if we miss 1st place, no big deal. Or whether Boost can beat Tika's score without, say, knocking the critical jump at the critical last moment. And if we mess up, well, then, it's OK for story time but not for going home and having angst attacks about never being able to do agility properly like after a USDAA trial.
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