I am still on cloud nine. Eepie and Harpo are tired today - they're not all that excited about the ribbons and qualifying cards, but Eepie said she wants to spend her prize money on some new squeaky toys so we will go shopping later this week...
She worked beautifully earning 193 points in the morning trial and 194 points in the afternoon trial.
It was warmer than expected and sunny so i had to use her cool coat in the morning stays. Because she's black she heats up very quickly on clear, bright days. The last thing i want her to learn is that the stays make her uncomfortable. She needs to be happy and relaxed for this part of her work. In preparation for these trials we did a bit of practice with the cool coat but this was the first time i had used it in a trial - its good to know it keeps her cool enough to be comfortable working at 21C...
By the time we got to the afternoon stays the sun was setting and the ground was cold so i thought she'd be fine without the coat, and she was!!
I want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to those wonderful ladies who kept me giggling in the hide while we were doing the stays in both trials. It is nerve-wracking going into the hide and waiting, waiting, waiting - first for three minutes then for five minutes, then marching back out in a line hoping that nothing has happened to upset my dog's concentration. In the second trial on the five minute down stay, when i came back out of the hide and saw Eepie lying there relaxed and happy with her ears nicely forward checking out the people and looking for me in the lineup, i just wanted to do a happy dance. And when the judge said "Exercise Finished" those same wonderful ladies congratulated us on our new title and i sat down and gave Eepie a great big hug.
Not just two nice wins but a new title too - Nice work Miss Eep!!!
And here's a funny coincidence:
Last year in July Eepie earned her first CCD pass with a win at Queanbeyan and followed it up with two wins at Shoalhaven for her CCD. This year in July Eepie earned her first CDX pass with a win at Queanbeyan and followed it up with two wins at Shoalhaven for her CDX.
Now we're in with the 'big kids' heading for UD and beyond. I'm happy with her training so far and looking forward to learning more - i'll need to keep improving my handling to help her keep as many UD points as possible.
morning score sheet, minus the stays - Eepie was # 35
afternoon score sheet, minus the stays - Eepie was # 43
our "loot"
with our morning judge, Charlie Giles
