I got a headache from this trial. I know yesterday's post made it sound so fun, but really it was a very tiresome and difficult weekend. Packed up five dogs and the three of us in Lisa's Rav-4. Lisa, me, her mom, the two shihtzu's, the two Pin Heads and Spur. It was PACKED!! Lisa has a whole duffle bag just for her make up. I bring a tiny over-night bag, but always my travel comforter. She brings her's, too. We both have dogs who sleep in bed with us, so we simply remove the hotel's bedding, sans sheets, and use our own. That way, no complaints from the hotels about dog hair on the bedding. I feel better that way, plus some of these hotels are icky and my own bedding feels better to me and I sleep better.
The trial was very full for a one-ring trial. It was the old Boston agility that was always SO much fun at the Boston Expo. They quit that venue when the Expo was going to be taken down and condos built. Bummer man, that was SUCH a great trial!! I did so much Christmas shopping there and always had a great time!! Not so much this weekend. It was in Manchester at All Dog's Gym. A place we do USDAA trials regularly, but this was the very first AKC trial at this site. Oh dear, AKC has so many rules and is so picky about things that part way into the first day we had a one hour delay to find a different chute. :O
OH. MY. GOD. I was about to explode!! It was quickly obvious that the AKC competitors were complaining about every little thing at this site. I mean, it was NUTS. Complain, complain, bitch, bitch, my dog doesn't like the Snoopy on the dog-house chute, my dog doesn't like the four foot jumps, I don't like the tire, the table is a box and looks like a panel jump to my dog.........it went on and on and ON!!! Come on, people!!!! This is supposed to be fun, an enjoyable time with our friends and our dogs. Not a tea party given by Gramma the day after a royal wedding, with tiny sugar cubes that must be lifted and plopped into your tea with ONLY the tiny sugar cube tongs, and the napkins folded just right that you would NEVER use except to gently dab the corners of your mouth as you smile politely at Gramma's best friend, who is watching your every move to make sure you rest the napkins back just right on the tiny napkin rests.
It is DOG AGILITY!!!!!
I could feel my blood pressure rise. We didn't run our Jumpers course until 7:30 and that still meant Open and Novice had to run. We packed up our dogs as fast as we could and made it to our hotel and collapsed with our wine and take out Olive Garden dinner. The poor dogs had been in their crates in the crate room all day. They were fried, we were fried.
It snowed that night to make matters a little more fun. Roscoe was NOT pleased. The poop buckets were full to over flowing at the trial site, the yellow snow was turning ORANGE, the trial wasn't going any faster, the complaints flowed even quicker, just maybe under everyone's breath with teeth gritted. I tried like heck not to join the complains, but my mouth got away from me. I started to get really catty and bitchy and actually listening for things to complain about. I bitched about the Weeble (top competitor I really, really dislike), who NQ'd in her first run because she thought the tire was too high and came back to the crate room and SLAMMED her wire crates shut as she packed up and left in a huff. The poor resting dogs in the room had to listen to THAT. How RUDE!!!!! I bitched about the competitor who was at the out gate and walked up to her "friend" and said........."Well, that went better than I thought it would!!" :O Is THAT a compliment??? I shot a glance to my friend sitting next to me and whispered..........."Did I just hear that?"..........she slowly nodded and bugged her eyes like mine in amazement. Whoa! This is DOG AGILITY people, not Gramma's tea party!
Remember the weeble? My friend next to me told me she heard the Weeble the day before coming out of the ring after a wicked nice clean run, not once praising her awesome dog, saying.........."I guess I can't get mad at him for that, can I?"......HUH???? She runs border collies. She choses only those border collies willing to work for her with NO PRAISE/SLAMMING WIRE CRATES/GRUMPY GROSS FACE/BOBBING WEEBLE/you get the picture, right? She choses those types of dogs and they put up with those types of things. YIKES!!!! Spur would surely melt into a shivering mass of beautiful papillon fur and be swept out her door with one sweep of her witche's broom and quick clap of her hands! As would many other dogs, man other border collies, too. Her dogs - they put up with it. I haven't a clue why, except that she choses only dogs who don't care that she weebles or slams crates or yells - you should hear her YELL. She's gross. I'm bitching - and being catty.
I am starting to wonder what happened to me? What happened to the person who trialed happily and with no worries or bitches? Who didn't notice the Weeble, or didn't hear those strange words said by dumb ass competitors to their "friends" as they left the ring. What happened to me? Am I looking for these things? Are my ears searching to hear this kind of stuff?
I don't know, but it made me weary. It made me sad that agility is like this and not the fun, happy go lucky, totally awesome have a great time no matter what and no obsessing about courses and worrying about equipment and full poop buckets and who is in charge and why is it running so slow and just because I spent hundreds of dollars training and entering and staying at hotels and buying the gear, does it all really matter???? I hope I can say no. I hope I can get back that person I once was. I hope I can shut out the Weeble and the "friends" at the outgate.
I learned so much at this trial. The courses were fun and challenging and presented things I hadn't dealt with before. It had some GREAT moments! Colby ran well, Roscoe ran well one day, Spur did AWESOME and made more fans! My friend Lisa and her Douce had a great time and placed fourth in their very first Ex. B class. It was FUN!!! Right???
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