Moose's Agility Career

LifeofRubie

Well-Known Member
You know what, A for Effort! This was the first time Moo has been in a trial environment and he was actually pretty great. I've been training him at 16" but he measured in to 22"; I entered him into select 20".


Moo missed more than half the jumps BUUUT.. he mostly followed my lead, said Hi to one bar setter but then left the rest alone, and didn't knock any bars! We also did a lot of work on ignoring ALL the other dogs on the way in an out of the ring. For a pooch who's been in formal classes for all of 6 months, I'm very pleased with this run!
 
That was so exuberant! No doubt at all that he's having the best time out there and I had a good laugh when he popped over to say hi to the bar setter. He made the jumps look super easy with his big bounce over them. With all that noise going on it was a good effort I reckon. Go Moose! :woot2:
 
I think I'll sign him up for a couple of runs in a couple of weeks, too, just to keep on working on the trial environment! I was really surprised the 20" jumps seemed like nothing for him :thumbsup: He's just happy to be out there AND didn't pee on anything so win win!
 
I just love Moose! What a happy guy and man was he having fun lol. We went and watched a trial yesterday I saw on lab, a yellow one, but still reminded me of Moo! Question about that, are there actual differences between the lab colors or is just that, a color?
 
I just love Moose! What a happy guy and man was he having fun lol. We went and watched a trial yesterday I saw on lab, a yellow one, but still reminded me of Moo! Question about that, are there actual differences between the lab colors or is just that, a color?

Oh, fun! Did you enjoy watching the runs and did everything make sense as far as how they go?

Yes, there are three colors: Yellow, Black, and Chocolate. Yellow can be anything from creamy white to fox red and chocolates can be anything from lightly milk chocolate to more like Moo who is very rich and dark chocolaty. Silver labs are the equivalent to Dobe albino's and reputable breeders will NOT intentionally breed for silvers. I am quite a fan of the fox reds!

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Yes it was all good, it definitely helped physically seeing how things went. I also had Rio measured for his jump card and the judge who did it was quite possibly one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Rio was unsure on the measuring table and it took some convincing to get him to stand up, she was very patient and he eventually stood up tall enough for a 24 1/2” measurement. But I bet he is actually more about 26”. I was surprised at how many people/dogs went off course or knocked down jumps, particularly the fastest ones. I suppose it is more difficult than it looks to get a clean run! Also a reminder I need some equipment!

I am also a fan of the fox red. So a lab is a lab despite the color? One is not more “attractive” for certain uses? For example “black labs are the best duck retrievers” or “yellow labs always win in conformation”
 
Yes it was all good, it definitely helped physically seeing how things went. I also had Rio measured for his jump card and the judge who did it was quite possibly one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Rio was unsure on the measuring table and it took some convincing to get him to stand up, she was very patient and he eventually stood up tall enough for a 24 1/2” measurement. But I bet he is actually more about 26”. I was surprised at how many people/dogs went off course or knocked down jumps, particularly the fastest ones. I suppose it is more difficult than it looks to get a clean run! Also a reminder I need some equipment!

I am also a fan of the fox red. So a lab is a lab despite the color? One is not more “attractive” for certain uses? For example “black labs are the best duck retrievers” or “yellow labs always win in conformation”

So long as the colors are one of the standards there is no difference between uses or conformation. Conformation wins run the three colors easily and you'll often see the gun dog packs run the three colors. It's almost just a pure preference thing.
 
Yes it was all good, it definitely helped physically seeing how things went. I also had Rio measured for his jump card and the judge who did it was quite possibly one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Rio was unsure on the measuring table and it took some convincing to get him to stand up, she was very patient and he eventually stood up tall enough for a 24 1/2” measurement. But I bet he is actually more about 26”. I was surprised at how many people/dogs went off course or knocked down jumps, particularly the fastest ones. I suppose it is more difficult than it looks to get a clean run! Also a reminder I need some equipment!

I am also a fan of the fox red. So a lab is a lab despite the color? One is not more “attractive” for certain uses? For example “black labs are the best duck retrievers” or “yellow labs always win in conformation”

Moo was pretty uncertain about the measuring, too! Since Rio measured over 24" on record, I wouldn't worry about his 'actual' measurement without trying to avoid the judge haha. He will probably not need measured again after he turns 2, either (which is a requirement for most venues for dogs under 24"). We saw very few Qs while we were watching across beginner, novice, senior, and champ so these people who go out there and sweep up every ribbon in every run are the unusual ones :D There are also people out there running every course every possible weekend so even if you have a 25% Q rate, you would get through title requirements a lot faster than people like me who run 2-3 courses once a month. That gets very expensive, though!

We were also running UKI this past weekend which is more difficult to Q in than AKC which is more difficult to Q in than CPE. Rubie would've NQed in her jumpers run because she missed the weave pole entrance. She may have squeaked a Q but gotten a fault in AKC but there would've been just 6 weave poles at our level and CPE gives you 3 chances to get them before you get a fault and they almost never have 12 weave poles in line, even in the highest levels.

as @crypticintent said, it's mostly personal preference. I think the chocolates have a reputation for being a little crazy, though. Not unlike Red Dobes :D English labs like Moo are what you see in conformation and typically American style labs are what you see in field work. There are definitely dogs out of Moo's breeder that do field work, agility, barn hunt, therapy work, etc., so they are capable of being rough and tumble or super gentle or both. I've been reading up on hunt tests (which are not competitive vs Field Trials which are) to determine if it's something I'd be at all interested in trying with Moo.
 
I opted to have this one measurement count for his permanent card so he will not need to be measured again, fortunately! I did ask him to go back into the table after he got off which he did willingly, what a goof.

Good information on labs, I wasn’t sure if they were like other breeds that have divided varieties by color. Cocker Spaniels are one, Poodles another. My first dog (from puppyhood) was a GSP Lab mix, she was all black except for a smattering of white on her chest and two paws. She killed everything. She was the type of independent dog that had her own life, my dad let her out in the am and she roamed the neighborhood (she had a number of houses where people would give her treats) and she’d often return with “gifts”. Opossums, large tortoises, even a few rabbits and squirrels. She would always be at the bus stop waiting for me in the afternoons.

I’d love to hear how Moose does at his test!
 
You'll see this picture on each pooches thread so... Sorry :) Moo's first agility ribbons!

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Moo and Rubie each earned a Q (and default first places!) in UKI Speedstakes this morning!

Moo did really well! He was responsive, not too distracted, didn't knock any bars! He still needs to work on obstacle commitment (he missed jump #10 on our second run but it was BEAUTIFUL otherwise) but I couldn't have been happier!

Run #1 - had a couple of missteps but made it through for a Q!
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Run #2 - E for missing a jump but fast and accurate otherwise!
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Tried a totally new place today for some AKC action. Moo can't quite get the weave poles so no Q but a LOT of dogs, even at the highest levels, really struggled with these weave poles. Perhaps the blue and yellow color are too difficult to see? Either way, he ran wonderfully for being in a new place, with a mulch/sand base, and he was so HAPPY!

 
Today was a good day! Moo's first full day of trialing and only his 3rd trial. Our first run was rough but I think that's because the dog before us got loose and caused a ruckus. Moo was JAZZED.

Fullhouse rules: one 5pt obstacle, two 3pt obstacles, three 1pt obstacles PLUS enough other obstacles to reach your points required (21 for level 3 enthusiast). We net 7 points :D
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Wildcard was better but we went over time. There are three parts where the course breaks off into A or B options. We needed one A and two B options. Moo can't do the dog walk yet so that decided our A option.
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Colors runs are two nested courses. You pick circles or squares. Again, the dog walk dictated we stick to squares. Moo's first CPE Q!!! We found our stride and he seemed more understanding of what we were doing in this strange place with new people!
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Our last run! Moo was toast but a champ! Only ran past one jump!
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Today's big wins:
- Moo complete 3 of 4 weave pole sets!
- Moo ignored judges, dogs, bar setters, and was generally a Very Good Boy
- Moo read rear and blind crosses wonderfully
- He didn't :poop: in the ring!
- We had FUN!

Things that will hopefully come from trialing experience:
- Moo didn't close his eyes once. We were there from from 7a-3p. As soon as we pulled out of the parking lot and headed home, he was out
- Moose ran past jumps. I'm not sure if I'm not cueing or if he's still working on jump commitment and independence
- Weaves are his favorite but it took 2-4 attempts for him to get them. They look different, sound different, feel different than what we practice on.

Several people complimented Moo on his very handsome looks, happy personality, and our (hopeful) ability to work together once we find our stride!

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We have another full trial day scheduled for September. I can't wait!!! It felt so good to be competing again!
 

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