POTC trial and Wayne National Forest

We're back home from the Parkersburg Obedience training club's trial and Kittie now has her 1st double Q towards her MACH 2! She qualified in 3 out of 4 runs and did a great job. Would have been a perfect weekend for her except she off had an off course into a tunnel.....a really tricky spot on the course where there was a very fine balance, you either pushed out too far and they took the tunnel or you cut it too close they missed the weave pole entry. I thought Kittie would get it, she *used to* respond very well to my motion and the come command. Come always meant come, right now, switch off of all obstacle focus. She's getting more and more obstacle focus lately, which is a good thing, but I need to maintain handler focus when I need it!

Abby was definitely stressed. A lot of newer dogs were too, it is very loud in this barn, everything really echos. I asked a friend who I really respect what am I doing wrong when I came off the course and she said absolutely nothing....I'd rather it were me!

The worst part was after Abby ran around a couple of jumps in a row, the judge whistled her off course. I'm sorry, but that's just uncalled for. I paid money to be there, she's not out of control or a danger to herself or others I should be able to at least try to end on a positive note. When Kittie stressed in the ring years ago, she never got whistled off, even though she was obviously miserable...walking around the course, eyes glazed over. When dogs who are hyped up to the point that they're out of control, run frantically around the course taking anything and everything they don't get whistled off the course, even though in many cases that's stress too, some dogs stress high, some dogs stress low. Abby just gets very, very clingy. In my opinion she's worried about the environment itself, just too many dogs and too much noise for her. She does better at some locations than others, and she tends to run her best outside where the noise isn't magnified and there's more space. Abby's entered in a few trials next month and depending on how she seems I may sacrifice the runs for training, just go in and do a couple of jumps, maybe a tunnel and run right out. I may pull her the first day of the weekend and just spend time near the rings working to help her feel calm and secure. I now she'll come around, but it's so hard to know what to do to help her.

We did do some hiking at Wayne national forest.

You drive through a neat covered bridge coming into the park.
Kittie in the leaves

Kittie and Abby running up the hill in the leaves

We came across this oil.....thing, not sure what it is, but of course the pugs had to check it out

This picture cracked me up, Abby and Willy are making the exact same dopey face!

Everyone was pretty tired after a full day at the trial and a nice hike!