an adventure...

so. we left Lethbridge at 4:30 on Friday to go to Calgary. The wind was howling, but the road report assured us everything was a-ok. NOT. We got about 5 minutes outside of the city and realised that things were definitely NOT going to be okay. We drove about 40km/hour and made it to Fort Macleod- barely. We met up with Jolayne and her dog Tag, and after looking again at the road report (which now said to avoid travel at all costs) we decided to spend the night. In Fort Macleod. Which is normally half an hour from home. Uh Huh. It was that bad.

In case you were wondering- seven dogs, and three people crammed into one cheesie little motel room look kind of like this....

It actually wasn't half bad- we fit comfortably. We played cards, had some vodka coolers, ate some chips, and watched the weather channel. The dogs were a little antsy, but mostly well behaved. Pixel didn't pee on the floor, and Kaleb kept his tongue mostly to himself...there was one incident which resulted in Jo breaking out in a nasty, dark red rash...but well...that's what you get for putting your face too close to the flatcoat!

We got up early- and went back to bed when we looked outside. Wind. Lots and lots of heavy wind. Combined with big giant snow drifts make for big giant snow drifts on the highway.

We got up a little later and were optimistic. The wind had died down a bit, and the plows and sanders had been out. We made it to Calgary. A little late, but safe!

---------------------

Unfortunately we missed the whole Gamblers class. Which sucked. But what do you do. We'll get over it I am sure!

I did make it in time for Boone's first standard run. He was a little flakey. He had a good start line, and was mostly listening. But about half way through his brain fell out. He forgot how to do contacts, and had never seen weave poles before. We ended on a happy note though, and he was pretty pleased with himself...

Wicca's standard run was a little wild- she had two knocked bars.

The second standard was better for both of them. Boone still could not figure out his 2on2off. But he did a get his weave entry which made me really happy. We also were able to reconnect after he had kind of drifted away. There has been definite progress with him, but he still has a long way to go!

Wicca's second standard run was really good- she was listening, and was doing a pretty decent job with the bars. It was me who made her knock the bar. Stupid handler.

I only had Wicca entered in Jumpers. She is still in Advanced Jumpers. Not all that hard to believe when really her only issue is Jumping. Prior to January I only needed one more Q to move to Masters. Now with the new changes she needs two. So of course we had the best jumpers run we've ever had. Smokin' fast, clean, smooth, and my handling was good! Wooohooo! I was so excited. I had doubts about wether we could keep it together as it was challenging for me- but we did it and I was thrilled. Only one other team ran clean in all of the advanced class. It was a tough course with lots of tricky little things in it. It was even taped- so I will have it in a few days to post.

---------------------

Our friend Jolayne was super sick all night- she either had food poisening (from the egg salad at the concession) or some sort of virus. Hopefully not a virus as I don't want to be sick. We'll see I guess.

She didn't feel well enough to run her dog so Sarah ran him- we joked and asked her how it felt to run a "real" border collie :o) Tag is a phenomenal dog and is going to be pretty amazing when he and Jo get it together.

My dogs did well on Sunday too- I decided to not worry about Boone's contacts. He wasn't understanding the "fix" or "correction" so really I either needed to not run him, or not worry. I decided to not worry about it. Obviously they need LOTS of work, so regardless I have lots of training to do!

The morning started with a very fun Steeplechase. Which was VERY fast. Wicca did great. Except for two knocked bar. Even she is not fast enough to make up 10 seconds. It really was a nice run though.

Boone was entered in steeplechase for the first time and did pretty good! He made it through 12 poles, and didn't give up even when he was wrong. I was pretty happy with him.

His standard run was great! He had a refusal on the table, and a missed contact, but otherwise it was a really nice run. He made it through the poles on the second try, and was really trying very hard to listen. I was very pleased with him.

Wicca's standard run was really nice. Except for me it would have been one of those runs. For whatever reason I did this weird arm thing for my rear crosses and pulled her off the jump. You know it is only because I said that we are good at rear crosses the other day! It was a beautiful run otherwise and I was pretty impressed that I didn't get lost.

Gyp and Wicca were paired together for team and again we kicked ass. We had the fastest time, and Q'd. Wicca was smokin' fast, and had one bar (my fault- calling her name over a bar is NOT a good thing) but with the team rules we can have five faults and stil Qualify. Thank freakin' god. It was a fun course, and I was pretty happy with how I handled my half.

The last event of the day was Snooker. (insert scary song here) It was a really nice snooker course. I was pretty stoked about it. And then she knocked the first bar. And then proceeded to run up the teeter. TWEEEET! Nice. I was ticked. And she knew it.

We left early so I didn't get to run Boone- poor guy! All that way for four runs. But I was glad to be home at a decent time!

Overall it was a pretty good weekend- I have lots to work on with Boone- he won't be trialing now for a while- until I can figure out how to teach him to generalize his training a bit more. I am sure Kim will have some suggestions- and Terry too in a few weeks.

I was pretty happy with Wicca- just those stupid bars. She works hard though, and is all heart. She really is making an effort to listen and is much, much better than even a few months ago. She has come a long way- and I was very proud of her.

Pixel had a great time, and did lots of socialising, fetching, and training. She did lots of sit/down/stand training, and nose touches, and just learning how to listen in an exciting environment. We also had lots of time to work on crate games.

Mostly, it was a great weekend!!!