Autumn Agility Show

A few weeks ago we went to the IADSA Autumn Agility show, which unfortunately (apart from maybe one funday in December) is the last show of the season for us. 

I'm really pleased with how our runs went, apart from some issues with start-lines, contacts and weaves (which caused us to get E'd in all 3 runs) I thought Wilson ran really nicely, and I think I'm getting starting to get the hang of handling him without voice cues (anyone who is wondering why I don't use voice cues for Wilson please read this Instagram Post) so still have lots to work on, but I feel like we're getting there! 

I'm so proud of Holly who placed 2nd in Grade 1-2 Agility with a time of 47.353 seconds and a Clear round (7.023 seconds off winning the class and going up a grade) and 4th in Grade 1-3 Jumping with another Clear round and a time of 38.297 seconds (just 3.929 seconds slower than the winning dog)!

Preparing for our next Show!

It wasn't until I took Holly to the IKC show in March that I really realized that our disastrous run at the show in Cloghran 2 years ago was actually the last time I ran Wilson at an IKC show! So I think we're finally ready to go back and show everyone what my super spaniel can do!

I've entered him and Holly in the show on Sunday, where they will each have 2 runs. I've also decided to have a go at Pre-Beginners Obedience as that is something I've been meaning to do for a long time. I've been working a lot on our weaves lately as I'd really like to at least avoid elimination, as if we do we should be able to find out our time when they post the show results, and I'd really love to see how their speed compares to the dogs they compete against!

Agility Progress & Competitions so far in 2017!

The 2017 agility season kicked off for us on the 18th of February at the Fingal Fun Day where I did a couple of runs with Holly and, despite getting lost on the course a few times (I really must stop missing course walking!), we managed a 3rd place (our first ever agility placing!) in G1-7 Tunnels. After much thought I decided to just go for it, and entered Wilson in a training round, I'm so glad I did as he did such a nice run and his focus was brilliant! I honestly wasn't expecting anything from that run, but that really boosted my confidence in running him.

Nervous about how Wilson would perform in a more crowded environment and with the lack of tasty treats in my hands I chose to just bring Holly to the IKC show in March, despite missing our last run, we had a great day and she did 2 lovely runs.

Next was the Fingal Fun Day in April, whilst Wilson only completed 1 of 3 runs, he didn't make any attempt to run off and did a really nice running start, agility run and realized that long curved tunnels aren't that bad!

Then we went to our first Agility Workshop in Fingal, I was pretty nervous as I've never had anyone give me any advice/feedback about my training, handling or dogs (except online) but I was also very excited. We had a nice time, and Holly ran really well (I'd have loved to take Wilson too - but we could only run one dog) and I got some good advice on blind crosses, start line waits etc..

On the 3rd of June we headed to Athy for the first time to compete at an IASDA show! Whilst Holly and I didn't manage a Clear round, we did get away with only 15f in G1-2 Jumping, but got an unfortunate E in 1-3. Wilson amazed me and did what is probably his best run yet (unfortunately it wasn't filmed) in 1-2 Jumping - it would have been a fab Clear round had he not missed a weave pole - Super proud!! A few silly mistakes and an E in 1-3 Agility, but he ran really nicely and got all his contacts.

Only a week later we went back up to Fingal for another workshop, this time with both dogs! Although I could only run Holly on the real course, I could do some work on wraps with cones with Wilson. Both dogs ran really well.

Our most recent show was the Midwest Dog Training Club agility competition at the Clonmel Agricultural show, really enjoyed this show - despite having to leave early due to the heat! Our entry got lost in the post but we were still allowed to do a training round, so I decided to forget about the weaves (currently a work-in-progress) and just focus on getting nice fast rounds. Both dogs had a great time and Holly's round would have been clear if we'd not skipped the weaves!

Our next show is an IKC one on the 6th August, I have 6 agility runs and also entered Pre-Beginners Obedience with Wilson so we'll see how that goes!

Beth, Wilson & Holly Xxx