# Pimg's first trial! Sunday!



## wildo

I typed this up for my Facebook friends, but figured I'd post it here too. I think it is interesting. Just posting. If you happen to have any "first timer" advice, feel free to share. Otherwise- just enjoy the story. 


I'm nervous. Really nervous. Pimg's first trial is next weekend, and we will be working HARD to try to ensure we're prepared! The crazy thing, of course, is that Pimg doesn't know it's a trial. I am sure she could care less. It is so obvious that she loves the work and loves working with me- I am sure she will do stellar.

One of the many things all of you don't know about agility is that a mistake is never the dog's fault. My job as the handler is to give precise, quick, accurate, *clear* instructions on where the next obstacle is. I need to do this in time for my _racing fast_ dog to see the instructions before getting to that obstacle. When a dog doesn't perform an obstacle properly, it is always the fault of the handler! With a dog as green as Pimg (and a handler as green as me!) it's really difficult to gauge just the exact moment to queue the dog for the next obstacle without screwing up the current one. If she is about to take a jump that I have queued with my left arm, but in mid-air I turn my body and queue the next jump with my right arm- I might cause her to turn her head, drop her feet, and knock down the current bar. But if I wait until she lands, then it is too late to queue the next jump since she will likely rocket past it! There is a HUGE learning curve, and a huge awareness needed. You, the hander, have to be thinking a mile a min!

The reality is though, you get so incredibly focused on what YOU, the handler, need to do that sometimes you loose track of the dog entirely. I can think of a specific practice run from class where I had to navigate Pimg through three jumps- all in one plane, parallel to each other. You send the dog away from you across the first, then call them towards you for the second, then away from you for the third. So the dog is snaking through the jumps. This is called a serpentine. Well I tend to get a little cocky in class. I figure- "Hey- this is class time. It's SUPPOSED to be hard! It's supposed to push us!" So this particular time I decided I would attempt to run the course with the jumps at 24", which is 8" higher than usual. Consider the height of my dog (25") compared to 8" -that is a _significant_ increase! Well we were running through the course, doing pretty good, and came up to the serpentine. Now this is something I've put some time into practicing at home. Feeling pretty confident [this is *not* an easy task for a beginner dog!] I called Pimg over the first jump- no issue. I sent her back over the second, being sure she didn't cross between the two jumps as is all so common in beginner, "velcro," dogs. She successfully managed the second jump and I began turning away towards the next obstacle as I confidently called her over the last jump. Apparently- she went right _under_ the jump! My instructor was so impressed that I continued on as if it didn't happen (which is what you are supposed to do).

I was floored! "Really!? She went _under_ the third jump in the serpentine!?? Pfft! I didn't even notice!" There are about a hundred thousand things you have to think about to successfully navigate your dog through a course. And it _looks_ so easy! So fluid! Simple stuff... Well, it's not. This is the real deal. Real competition. And I am stoked. And _nervous_.

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*Trial Info:*
AGILITY TRIAL SANCTIONED BY
CANINE PERFORMANCE EVENTS, INC.
Sat/Sun, July 16-17, 2011

HOSTED BY:
Off the Wall Sports, 1423 Chase Court, Carmel, IN 46032

*Pimg's Runs:*
Pimg will only be running on Sunday. We will be running *Level 1* (first level beginner) for all five events held Sunday, July 17th. I will be volunteering on and off throughout the day. I have the run order, but that did not include exact times. Here is the schedule that I have:

*Sunday*
Snooker: Level 3, 4, 5, C ................47 dogs.. Willy volunteers here and will not be available
Snooker: Level 1, 2 ........................24 dogs.. Pimg runs here!	Position 23/24

Jumpers: Level 3, 4, 5, C ................54 dogs
Jumpers: Level 1, 2 .........................25 dogs.. Pimg runs here!	Position 24/25

Wildcard: Level 3, 4, 5, C ................47 dogs.. Willy volunteers here and will not be available.
Wildcard: Level 1, 2 ........................22 dogs.. Pimg runs here!	Position 21/22

Standard (Round 3): Level 4, 5, C ....37 dogs
Standard (Round 4): Level 4, 5, C ....33 dogs
Standard (Round 3): Level 2, 3 .........34 dogs
Standard (Round 4): Level 2, 3 .........30 dogs
Standard (Round 3): Level 1 .............10 dogs.. Pimg runs here!	Position 4/10
Standard (Round 4): Level 1 .............9 dogs.. Pimg runs here!	Position 4/9


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## JakodaCD OA

I know it's easy to say, but try not to be nervous..my first agility instructor gave me this 'mantra', the I always have adhered to....Tune out EVERYTHING but you and your dog, and view it as running a course in class..

With that,,I usually warm up my dog, get in line about 4 dogs prior to my run. If you start hanging out at the beginning of a class WITH the dog, it can get boring for the dog, just keep an eye on how the class is going..

When you walk your course, I always break it up into segments so I remember the course,,as in obstacles, 1,2, 3, 4...then 5,6, 7, 8 etc...Have a 'plan' on how you want to run the course, what will be the best /easiest path for your dog, and STICK TO IT..Don't overanalyze)

Level 1, will be alot of beginner, first timers, so don't necessarily 'watch' how they run the course..but you can also see what works and doesn't work for them..

Also, level 1, will be pretty straight forward and you may find it EASY...check out the level 2 courses, and you may find that next time, you can easily just go into Level 2. (which is allowed)..

You will LOVE the games!! Wildcard is Fun,,Snooker, well it's fun, but can be a tad confusing (for me anyhow!)..JUmpers FAST AND FUN!!..

Ok so those are my "tips",,you have to definately let us know how it goes ! GOOD LUCK!! and HAVE FUN!


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## ponyfarm

Good luck! I may have to come watch and cheer you on!


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## pyratemom

Good luck on your trial. Concentrate on your own little bubble with just you and your dog. Remember to breathe and if you are nervous eat a mint before going in the ring so your dog can't smell the nervousness as easily. Mostly, have a good time.


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## MaggieRoseLee

Good luck and remember it's not about Qing when you start (ever?). It should be about making sure your dog has fun so that they want to keep playing 'the game' for years to come while you both continue to train and learn and progress in the sport.

Try to bring a video camera to have someone tape your runs! It's amazing how much you miss when you are running with your dog, even though it seems you are RIGHT THERE!


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## Stosh

Good luck and have fun! That's all the advice I have


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## wildo

Eat a mint to mask nervousness?? That is hilarious! Well, bad breath is a serious pet peeve of mine anyhow, so I'll do just that! LOL!

Seriously- thanks everyone! I am sure it will be no big thing, but I'm trying to be level headed about it. I watched some videos of Level 1 CPE, and I agree- they look _easy_! But I realize that there are so many different things going on at a trial that might make that easy course actually really hard. Last Saturday, I took Pimg to the "agility club" at my old training facility. I hadn't been there since we started up at the new facility, what- 6 months ago? I figured it would be a good way to proof some of her new skills in a different environment. The class was both inside and outside, which Pimg had never done before. They had a fullsize teeter (which I don't think we will even see in Level 1 CPE) that she did great on. In fact, I was asked to stop doing it because the loud "bang" was scaring some of the little, neurotic, yippee dogs that were just starting up. 

I went outside to practice in that environment, and even though they didn't setup the standard sized weave poles (they had little DIY pvc things at about 18" centers) Pimg was still nailing her entries and not popping out. Overall, I was very pleased to be able to proof her in a different environment and to see the great results! Hopefully I can say the same for the trial.



MaggieRoseLee said:


> Good luck and remember it's not about Qing when you start (ever?). It should be about making sure your dog has fun so that they want to keep playing 'the game' for years to come while you both continue to train and learn and progress in the sport.


Haha! I was waiting for you to say this MRL. Admittedly, I am not quite there yet. For me- this is 100% competition. I want to Q. I want to be the fastest. I'd love to have 5 Qs at her first trial... I can accept failure, but that isn't the reason I'm there. I think I have some growing to do in this area- but for now- a trial is a competition with a goal. I'll get there eventually though. :hammer:

Actually- one reason I decided to do Level 1 rather than Level 2 is to set Pimg up for success. I think that we could probably do well at Level 2, especially with Pimg's current weave pole performances. But I wanted to ease into trialing. We'll take it slow for the first trial and go from there. 

Thanks again everyone! I'm feeling pumped this morning! I'm even taking a half day so that I can go do some extra training! Can you tell I'm excited!? :wild:


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## wildo

ponyfarm said:


> Good luck! I may have to come watch and cheer you on!


Feel free! That'd be cool, but I will not have any idea what you look like. :crazy: You'll have to introduce yourself if you do show up. I'll be the GSD winning all the runs! :rofl:


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## ponyfarm

You met me at the flowing well park in Carmel, I have the collie mix. Yea, I will see you in the winners circle! Too much fun!


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## wildo

Oh geez! Lol, I didn't realize that was YOU! Ha! Now that is funny! I'm sorry, I forgot your name though


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## JakodaCD OA

For anyone who has never trialed, I do think Level 1 is the place to start with your first trial. Everything is usually fast moving, and it can be confusing to take it all in and remain sane  

Willy, I do know it's not about the Q, but I gotta say, I am a competative person myself, when I go in the ring, I go in to Q, Have I Q'd everytime heck no, do I get frustrated or peeved when I don't? Again, heck no, it's never the dogs fault it's always the handler. So you aren't alone when you say you want to Q))


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## MaggieRoseLee

wildo said:


> Haha! I was waiting for you to say this MRL. Admittedly, I am not quite there yet. *For me- this is 100% competition. I want to Q.* I want to be the fastest. I'd love to have 5 Qs at her first trial... I can accept failure, but that isn't the reason I'm there. I think I have some growing to do in this area- but for now- a trial is a competition with a goal. I'll get there eventually though. :hammer:
> 
> :wild:


The problem for most of us when we show up with that attitude (not saying you  ) is that it puts alot more PRESSURE on ourselves and our dogs. When we are already a bit stressed and confused and disorganized (and I never slept well the night before a trial for YEARS).

So while I know I've seen people say they don't care about qualifying, I've also seen them come out of the ring after NQing and they appear visibly upset and angry. Usually it's at themselves (but the dog doesn't have a clue about that....) but I've also seen the leash popping, angry mumblings 'I told you to go 'out' or 'You know how to weave' or 'I can't believe you blew your start' or or or or or or......

So instead of being able to look at all the GREAT things that happened on the course. All the bars that DID stay up. All the contacts that WERE perfectly done. The perfect 5 second on the table. Or all the vast majority of GOOD things................. it's much easier just to remember and focus on the thing(s) that contributed to the failing to qualify. 

I still have a big problem when I mess it up not getting visibly angry as we leave cause I am so pissed off that I did 'whatever' again when I KNOW what will happen and now I blew the Double Q or whatever I was going for. I can really beat myself up because I tend to do the same things wrong if I get at all distracted on the course. Fact that I want to go bang MY head against the wall (I swear I'd wear an e-collar for my friends to zap me on course, I MEAN IT  ) as we exit is an attitude I can't have. Cause neither of my dogs have any idea about the WHY I'm upset/angry/acting weird. They just know it happens at a trial (I never get mad the same in class or in my yard) in the ring and when I am with them.....And that's ALL BAD!!

So just be careful so you don't join the 'I learned my lesson and will do better with my NEXT dog syndrome!' :wild: :wub: :wild: :wub: :wild:


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## Liesje

I'm with you Willy, I don't enter if I don't think we aren't capable of Q'ing! I put over a dozen titles/certs on my older dog and we never NQd/failed once. I do better with a little pressure.

CPE Level 1 is very easy and fun so you will not only Q but I can almost guarantee you will place and come back here with a pile of ribbons! My Nikon has Level one titles/Qs and he doesn't even know all the obstacles yet (I only do agility very casually for a few months because our place only does it outdoors and most of the people in the classes never see a trial).


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## TaraM1285

Good luck this weekend!


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## wildo

Thanks again everyone! Wow- I turned from nervous yesterday to absolutely PUMPED today! I actually took today, tomorrow, and Friday off work- and between making a crate cover for Pimg's crate, we have been working some one jump drills thanks to Susan Garrett's "Success with One Jump" DVD and "Martinis Ranch" Youtube channel- specifically this video. It's been wonderful, and I can't wait for Sunday!

[EDIT]- We have been specifically working on, as Susan states, "A change of arms means a change of direction." Pimg tends to veer off track on long strings of jumps, so we've been working on ME being more specific and clear. If I don't change my arms- you don't turn. Simple. And she gets it!! I freakin' love this dog!


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## MaggieRoseLee

Great video wildo!


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## wildo

Thanks MRL. Actually, I intended to post that video in another thread (which is why I didn't post it inline in this thread). It's a killer video and a great idea! Even SG says your most effective training session is one that is 5mins or less. I am working on drawing up a copy of her "cards" including a diagram of how to perform the movement. I'll create a new thread once I'm done.


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## lylol

Thats my instructor  Have a great trial Willy ... look forward to the report.


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## wildo

lylol said:


> Thats my instructor  Have a great trial Willy ... look forward to the report.


No way! I am incredibly jealous of you then. I REALLY enjoy her youtube clips; she seems like a phenomenal instructor. I've learned a ton just from watching on youtube.


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## wildo

Im gonna leave it at this for now; going out to eat with my family. I'll post more later. 5 Q's, 5 First Places.


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## Verivus

Wow amazing! Congratulations! You must be one proud dad. I'm sure you both had a blast.


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## elisabeth_00117

*CONGRATS!!!

*I have been keeping up with your training and am so excited for you guys!

Can't wait to hear all about it!
​


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## GSDElsa

Wohoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Awesome job!!!!!


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## ponyfarm

WOW!! CONGRATS!! See, Pimg is "excellent!"


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## JakodaCD OA

DId you have any doubts? LOL A BIG CONGRATS !!!!! But ya kinda got a nerve, leaving us all to wait to hear your story about your first trial !! LOL


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## Guardyan

That is so awesome!!! Huge congratulations!!! :groovy:


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## Whiteshepherds

:thumbup::thumbup::groovy::thumbup::thumbup: Wow, congrats!!!!! 
Hope you got some pictures or video to share!


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## MaggieRoseLee

Can't beat all blue! CONGRATS!

I bet it was the new crate cover, right?


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## Stosh

DUDE!!!....get out!!! I'm so happy for you and Pimg- great job!


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## Rerun

Congrats! Did you get anyone to take video??


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## elisabeth_00117

Okay, seriously... I need photo's and an update!!! Oh, and a video would be even better!


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## wildo

I didn't get any pictures, but I did get video of EVERY run! Yeah! It's coming... I have to process all of them into one, scan all the course maps, write up my experience. Wow- so much post-trial work to do! :rofl:

But I did want to say THANK YOU to all of you for your responses. I was so excited to get on here and tell you all how well she did! I'll have it all done and posted in a few hours...


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## wildo

Well the trial was a blast, in spite of having to get up before 6am. I wasn't really all that nervous, and Pimg seemed to be handling the new environment pretty well also. I was REALLY concerned about leaving her in the her crate while I volunteered for 3, 4, 5, C levels of both Snooker and Wildcard, but she did pretty good. A little whiny sometimes, straight up annoying other times. But overall, she did WAY better than I expected being in her crate. This was totally new for her- I've never left her in her crate and walked away from her ever.

The first run was Snooker. Can I just say- this is a difficult game! I really liked being able to play around with my lines, and to be honest- I was setting up a killer points run. But to get the high points, you had to snake through some easier numbered jumps- it was risky. In the end, I heard MRL speaking in my head saying- "Dude! First time! Just go have fun and Q..." So I cut it back to a more safe route. Even so, I messed it up on the second and third reds. I meant to take the ones to the right of the ones I took (video right). But we got through it. First trial run EVER and it was a CLEAN Q! So proud of Pimg and I think you can see it in the video. Oh yeah- great start line stay as well while I did a pretty decent lead out!

Next up was jumpers. I'm not too happy with our performance here. It was basically a figure 8 and it seemed very, very easy. When running it though Pimg went outside a jump way in the back (so unfortunately I can't see what I did wrong) and ended up back jumping the jump. I don't know if the judge didn't fault that or what, but I ended up with only one fault on the run. The tire performance is really bothering me. She was going _straight_ towards it and seemed committed, but at the very last second she deviated. I really have no idea why she deviated. I don't see any flinching or turning in my body at all, and I seem to be pointing the right direction. I could be "painting my line" better, but overall I really thought she had it. It might be that we usually practice the tire at 16" in class, but she was running at 20". I will be sure to enforce a 20" tire in class! Oh yeah- another great start line performance here as well.

Wildcard was next, and I was SO excited to show off our weave pole skills. Well, I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. What the heck happened to our start line performance!? Apparently Pimg decided she didn't need to actually sit when I told her to. Very weird. I tried to save it by pushing hard on her entry line to pull her back in (shame on me for not NQ'ing to fix the stay...) but that didn't work. I remembered there was a rule about crossing _back_ over the start line after crossing it the first time, so I was bummed about crossing back to resend to the jump. I tried hard not to back cross that line, but I had to a little to get her over. I asked the judge if that was a fault and she said that because I did not _touch_ the dog, it wasn't considered "training in the ring" and therefore I wasn't faulted. Close call... Or just a nice judge. Not sure which... Anyway, Pimg ended up taking the second wild card (a tunnel at the back) which screwed our chance to get the weaves. I think I might have been a bit too far ahead of her because when she takes that tunnel, you can see me go backwards to get back in line with her. My mistake- of course. But I think she finished out strong and did NOT have a tire issue this time around.

After that was our first run of Standard; we had two runs. This was all together a pretty great run! A little loose on the start line stay, but not _terrible._ I will definitely be working on this. She did nail her contacts, especially the a-frame which I was really nervous about. She had never been on a painted surface a-frame and I really thought it might throw her off. She handled it like a champ though and did just fine. You can't really see it in the video, but while doing that long post turn between the two tunnels- the third jump in- it didn't seem like she was pulling that well by my shoulders. I gave her a "HERE!!" and was really shocked that she turned back in and _actually looked for an obstacle!_ It's so fast, and so far back in the camera that you can't tell. But I actually saw her regroup, change direction, and look for an obstacle. I am glad I spotted that as I think it's a defining moment for her. I love that she is starting to be more obstacle focused! She got her dogwalk contact, which I had to babysit- which for now I am ok with- but that stinking tire bit us again! I don't know what the story is there, but I know I will be building a tire jump SOON!

Our last run was round two of Standard- running the opposite direction. I sat her fairly close to the tire since she was having issues. But I wisely realized I still had plenty of space and moved her even closer. I had to babysit that start line, but like I said- we will be practicing more of the tire. This was a really nice run omitting the off course. Obviously I gave the command late- oh well. I really like her focus on the last three jumps and just affirms my feelings that she is becoming more obstacle focused.

So- though not all runs were clean, they were all within the alloted fault limits which means we Q'ed every run. Also, even though there were other veteran 24" dogs running, they were running in Level 2. So we were the only ones in our class making us automatic first place. Eh... I'll take it! haha!

I had a great time! I think Pimg had a great time! I got so many compliments on her- that was really fantastic too. The video is uploaded to youtube, but apparently still processing. I'll post it once it shows up there.


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## JakodaCD OA

good job good job good job,,those videos will be invaluable to you, so you can really dissect your runs, can't wait to see them !


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## cshepherd9

That is awesome! Congratulations!!!


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## wildo

Don't know what's wrong with my uploader, but it didn't seem to work- twice. I just uploaded directly through youtube and that seemed to get it. Video here:


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## MaggieRoseLee

I can't wait to watch the videos later today but I will say that when I started trialing my Elsa....... and we NEVER had trouble with the tire............ I went home from that first trial with a tire jump in my vehicle that I purchased at the trial! 

After Elsa went UNDER the tire THREE times (cause I'm an idiot and should have gone on after time #2) clearly she was having an issue with other tires outside of class. So I now have a Tire Jump in my back yard too! (too funny, in my avatar that's Elsa going thru the red/white/blue tire... see she did learn!)


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## wildo

Oh! I forgot to mention-- Because Pimg Q'ed in two standard runs, she is now officially titled! "CL1-R" This is her first title!


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## Jason L

Congrats! Those were some fantastic runs!


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## FG167

Congratulations! Loved the vids in this thread - fun to watch and informative and your dog did fantastic! Really awesome


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## MaggieRoseLee

Hmmm.... not for nothing but I wonder if the tire being at the end, and having the timer uprights beside it was messing her up? It's weird how things look different to the dogs.

Otherwise...

YOU BOTH ROCKED! 

Loved those CPE courses cause they really allowed you both to run and have fun. Truthfully, the fact you ARE doing so well and have the 'fun' going is probably why she broke her startline. Normal normal normal for all the best handlers doing well in training and why everyone keeps saying 'Watch the startline stay'. 

Fact that you came back to the startline when she went around the jump rather than 'allowing' her to go on (which most of us do) was a GOOD thing. Meaning you did the right thing to take her back to the startline and then just go together.

Fantastic you have these videos of your first trial to always look back on. Both of your attitudes showed you were having fun. And you have all the stuff to work on, and now you can really see WHY, with the startline stays, front and rear crosses, and those darn contact behaviors we have to figure out and keep the criteria training and trialing.

HEY, no weaves! :wild:


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## wildo

Thanks a ton, MRL! I'm glad to hear your critique on that particular start line. I didn't really feel like I handled it right. I *should* have reset her. Honestly, I wanted to go for the quintuple Q. I really didn't expect CPE Level 1 to be hard, and I didn't find it hard at all (omitting Snooker). I mean, we weren't 100% clean on all runs- but it was pretty much what I expected difficultly wise. I like to think that the *reason* I found it easy though is due to our training! But anyway- I would have been smart to walk back, sit her (even if that meant touching her), and started again. 

As to weaves- man I wanted SO bad to run some weaves! I think I've built *GREAT* value in weaves, and I think they are currently Pimg's favorite obstacle. Had she not deviated in Wildcard, we could have shown off a bit. I really would have liked that...


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## JakodaCD OA

LOVE the videos,,I have to say, you would NEVER know that this was both of you first time trialing) 

I also liked that you didn't let her just get away with breaking her startline stay,,and I LIKE how you STAYED with her when you started the last standard run, to reinforce that tire, vs doing a lead out on that run..

I think you both did fabulous and am predicting a bright wonderful agility future

BTW, I HATE snooker LOL,,love wildcard,,hate snooker


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## wildo

JakodaCD OA said:


> BTW, I HATE snooker LOL,,love wildcard,,hate snooker


This is SO funny! Snooker was the very first run we did. The judge did 3,4,5,C jumpers in another ring, and gave us newbies the opportunity to walk the course for about 30 mins. I swear I came up with about 30 different ways to run it. And every time I thought I had the best line, I saw something new. I can't imagine only having 5 mins or so to figure out all that. That game is seriously crazy... And I wasn't really even going for points! I liked it a lot, but I did find it very mentally challenging!


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## JakodaCD OA

gosh you got lucky being able to walk it that long, I would have drove myself crazy tho LOL...I usually walk a couple times, stand back and break it down, walk one more time and that's it,,THEN I will get maybe 2 dogs away from running and two things go thru my mind,,I have to pee and I forgot the course LOL..Luckily I have never forgotten a course, but still usually had to pee LOL..

Love all the cpe games, except that darn snooker


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## Stosh

LOVED the videos- great job! Have you seen all the pimg stuff on urban dictionary? Tshirts, mugs, all kinds of Pimg items


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## wildo

Stosh said:


> LOVED the videos- great job! Have you seen all the pimg stuff on urban dictionary? Tshirts, mugs, all kinds of Pimg items


No way! Uh... totally heading there now to check it out LOL!

[EDIT]- HOLY CRAP!!!!


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## wildo

BTW Stosh, I believe you may have been looking for this:
Cisco Unity PBX IP Media Gateway [Cisco Unity] - Cisco Systems


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## Stosh

Oh no, I was looking for Pimg alright! I may be old but I'm cool


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## wildo

LOL- just saying, Pimg is named after Cisco's *P*BX to *I*P *M*edia *G*ateway


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## Stosh

Oh...how funny!! I thought she was a pimg! That cracks me up. But I'm still kind of cool


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