I'm still waiting for our run order for the trial this weekend, so in my impatience I visited the USDAA Calendar of Events page this morning. When I clicked on the "Cream City Canines" event that we are attending, I was a bit surprised to see that Lynn Sigman was no longer the only listed judge for the event. I *swear* this was not the case earlier, but Julia Lane is listed as the judge for the Starters/P1 classes now (under supervision). This was our Starters/P1 judge at the last trial we attended and she is a lovely person, but this sort of thing does not do any favors to those attempting to gain titles whilst trialing in the same locations....
This led to a brief moment of panic while I tried to dig up the rules for titling on the USDAA web site. And then, of course, I had to attempt to decipher said rules in a meaningful way. So far as I can tell, Secret's potential to get her Performance Dog title is still safe thanks to the lone Jumpers Q she earned at our first USDAA trial in February under judge Lisa Barrett. A total of three judges is necessary -- two in Standard and two in the Games with one of the Games Q's being under a different judge than the two in Standard. So phew, I do believe we have it covered.
Now I am doubly glad I did not enter Kaiser at this trial, for even if he were to Q in Standard, Gamblers and Snooker he would still be without his PD title for lack of judges! Frankly, that would stink. Now I get what people grumble about -- seems a giant waste of money to be stuck in a level simply because the trials in your area use the same judges!
I am a bundle of nerves about our approaching weekend! It has nothing to do with the trial or the potential titles on the line, but entirely to do with the drive over! lol Our grand adventure to the last trial at Think Pawsitive has scarred me for life. Now any time my car makes the slightest noise or drifts even a millimeter in one direction (due to wind, etc.) I am certain that the whole thing will fall apart. I know I'm going to be a basket case during our early morning drive.... One thing is for certain, if I have even the slightest urge to use the restroom I am going to stop this time. That's one thing I learned from the last trip. Ha!!
We enjoyed our down time since I last posted. Friday was pretty much one of Secret's "top 5 days" ever. She got to sleep in (Secret is sooooo lazy), she got her nails trimmed (yes, seriously, this is a treat for her), she got to play frisbee, she got to play with the hose and then she got to go swimming at the river! In the end I think the excitement was a bit much for her (or maybe she ingested too much water...) because she just seemed a bit off that evening. At first she was restless and then she just seemed kind of ditzy, for lack of a better work. Must monitor the water intake better next time... I think the dogs went out to potty every hour until we went to bed!
The rest of our weekend just consisted of frisbee, ball & playing with the hose since the shelter was having an adoptathon and I was pooped when I got home. We had a good turn out, so hopefully that results in lots of adoptions.
I called and got Secret in for a chiro appointment on Thursday. She didn't go in before her last trial and I believe she's overdue for an adjustment. She has not been running her fastest in practice at home lately and I would not be surprised to find out something is a bit out for her. I don't really need to be spending another $50 right now, but then again it's kind of a waste of our trial entries to run a dog who feels like crap! So off we go. Part of having a performance dog built like a Dachshund...
I had to get some extra legs on Zodiac for his novice preferred titles thanks to that judge rule. Somehow I managed to get all the legs under the same judge.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit silly and wasteful. After all, trialing under the same judge isn't even half as bad as NADAC where you run the *same courses* from one trial to the next.
DeleteI'm tempted to post about it. The folks who ran in Northern MN this weekend ran a set of courses that were run in WI in Jan and both IA/MN over New Years. Now THAT is ridiculous - but at least you can title. ;o)
I know AKC has some rule about using the same judges within say a 100 mile in the same year. If organizations are going to impose title restrictions based on judges, then they really should not be allowing the same judge in the same region until the next year.
ReplyDeleteHave a good time at the upcomming trial!