Dog Handling

16th and 17th of March was the weekend of Taranaki Dog Club Flygility Tournament(Saturday) and Masters Games Agility(Sunday). When I saw it advertised in the NALA mag a couple of months ago, I thought it might be something that we could take a Club team to and find out how Masters Games work. As Dog Sports Rotorua is a non Kennel Club Dog Training group, we are not part of the swings and roundabouts of Ribbons Trial Agility and Agility or Jumpers Champs. However, some of our best Agiliteers and some of the learners are keen to compete and we have been to a number of Ribbon Shows over the past couple of years and participated. Chris Hutchings belongs to the Kennel Club now and has braved the Champs Events and done very well as a new chum. But at some stage in the growth of our club there is going to be the desire to run a show of our own.

I wondered whether Masters Games Agility might be something that we could hook into and run in Rotorua. So with this in mind I asked a couple of people if they might like to join me going down to Hawera to participate. Chris was keen so we set about prepaying our registrations and we asked if we could camp on the grounds. The reply came back as a yes so I spent some weeks patching up the farm trailer (putting a new floor in it) so that I could get a WOF and consequent Rego. The lights needed completely overhauling as well, as the darling ducks and the cheeky goats had kind of gnawed and pecked at the wiring . Every opportunity I got I drilled a couple more holes in the trailer and bolted on new floor boards and gradually pulled the wiring to bits and put it back together again. Still the lights wouldn't go so I had to call in my good friend Stephen White and he found the problem. Our farm trailer has a wire crate that fits on top and some years back when I went to Taupo to compete, I made a rap around piece of canvas and put a tarp over the top, all tied down with circles of old inner tube rubber. So I set about rebuilding the crate with the canvas and tarp. The crate has a gate at the back and it does great service as a carryall for the tents, water supply, gas bottles, fridge, chillybins and all the hardware that goes with camping. When it is empty at the camp ground, it makes a nice cool place for any dogs that need a bit more space. As there were two of us in my Nissan Navarra twin cab plus my two dogs and my bedding and odds and sods in the cab as well, and in the covered tray we had our clothes, bedding, stretchers, extra dog things and Chris' two dogs in crates, the trailer was really essential.

As I said when we finished packing Chris' stuff in at her house on Friday morning, 'it looks like we are going for a month'. But when you are 60+ and have 'body issues' there are essential extras such as comfy mattresses and extra warm clothing and lots of wet weather gear and vitamin pills - you know what I mean. Chris insisted on taking the Dog Sports resin table, which was quite long but worked out to be really sensible, we had chairs of course and an electric jug plus a gas stove. Emergency toileting equipment (for us not the dogs) are an unfortunate need when your body has been through what mine has. Anyway, all packed and on the road. Chris said as we pulled up the Mamakus heading for Putaruru, 'oh heck I forgot the water and you asked me about the water and I still didn't click'. Chris has a filter system on her home sink and had carefully filled and stowed a bunch of bottles of water for our trip. They got left behind. It was the only thing we forgot. I had 25litres of Hamurana water so I reckoned we would be alright. Why take our own water? well funnily enough I have known my dogs to get upset tummies on water in new places and I am kind of wedded to Hamurana water. We knew there was a drought on and we did not know where the water at Normanby was coming from or how far out in the country we might be.

We stopped in Otorohanga and had a cuppa and a snack at McDonalds. Good loos there too, so we were fortified for the rest of the journey. We stopped again past Awakino for the dogs who had also had a break at Otorohanga. It wasn't terribly hot in the car so it was a nice temperature for the dogs all the way down. It was also WOMAD (World of Music and Dance) festival in New Plymouth that weekend and there was a lot of traffic on the road. The trailer tows well and the rubber bands held it all together. It was a scenic and uneventful trip. When we turned off at Brixten onto State Highway 3A and covered the distance on the eastern side of Mount Taranaki, the mountain was under cloud, so no siting of the 'perfect cone' on that occasion. Through Stratford which is a very tidy and attractive country town, reminiscent of 1950s and then the last leg of the journey Eltham and Normanby.

The instructions from the crew in Hawera were, 'as you come into Normanby you go over the rail bridge, then on your right is Ketemarae Road, turn there. You will see the Normanby Hall in front on you, Go past it and in the gate. You can camp anywhere except on the athletic tracks. We will open the gate at 4p.m..' So all that happened and we were happy to find a corner on the Southern end of the huge recreational reserve, tucked in beside a shipping container, which felt a bit like our home Club. It had shelter from the East with the container and shelter from a shelter-belt on the south.

There were two campervans already parked on the grounds. They were in the middle of the athletic track and had obviously been here before as they had positioned themselves to have ringside seats to the two days of show. We happily unpacked our trailer and set about putting up the tents(one each) and setting up our table and cooker and fridge. We had arrived about 4.15 and by 5.15p.m. we were pretty much organised. A lovely fellow competitor by the name of Jean helped Chris with her tent. Chris had lashed out and bought herself a new tent and hadn't put it up before, even though she has put up similar tents, so Jean was an asset as I could go on setting up the camp while they studiously figured out the new tent. There was no wind and the promised rain had not yet arrived. We had a welcome from some of the Club members who turned up and we figured out the loos and shower facilities. Also on this domain was an old bowling club which patently was no longer used as a bowling club, and the Normanby District Memorial Hall. Some short time ago some local lads had burnt down the old hall. The Community had been consulted and the Council set about rebuilding the Hall in beautiful brick, a very modern design with facilities as requested by the local people. Fancy that there is a piece of NZ where the Council listen to the people and actually do as requested by the ratepayers and residents. Sorry about the sarcasm...

The Hall has a set of public toilets, ladies, mens and disabled and a separate area with sports showers and changing rooms one for men and one for women. These are open to the public and they were spotlessly clean, beautifully set out and the varnish was barely dry on the walls they were so brand new. It was a bit of a hike from the campsite to the loo but you kind of expect that when you are camping. So there we were all settled in for a weekend of doggy competition.

Saturday morning dawned greyish but it soon changed into a hot hot day, humid hot. After breakfast we wandered over to the Clubhouse and registered for the Flygility day. The dogs had had a good walk and seemed to be aware that they might be called upon to perform. First up for Flygility was Beginners. Both Chris' dogs Bootz and Boston, are in Beginners. Mine have both qualified out, so I asked if I could Judge for them. They were happy about that and I had a ball judging. We had some very novice dogs who obviously don't train for the event and they needed all the help they could get to complete. It was great. Both of Chris' dogs got points and ribbons, so off to a good start. Advanced up next. My Chan's course. Always a disaster having Advanced first in Chan's day, he is just so busy and excited and 'up' he will not concentrate on the weaving. If it is later in the day he will. So we were eliminated pretty fast even though it was done as a double draw because we only had five Advanced dogs. However he was happy and excited and that is always good, especially as he has been plagued over the last two months and has had hardly any valuable practice leading up to this weekend. He has been attacked by wasps and had multiple stings which took a few weeks to clear up. He got two infected toe nails and had to have an anaesthetic to sort it and has been on antibiotics for all things which upset his gut. So he was barely serviceable really and the weaves reinforcement work hadn't been done. After Advanced was Intermediate Individual. Becki-boo's course and she made it through to semifinalist which is great for her and a ribbon. Both Bootz and Boston got valuable Intermediate points. The Senior course was fairly straight forward and Chan made it to Runner-up with a ribbon and Becki-boo made it to semi-finalist and a ribbon. Then it was Intermediate prs which Becki-boo got a point in and Chris and Bootz made it all the way through and ended up Runners-up in team with a lovely border collie who enjoyed running on Bootzies mini height. Then another Seniors course, a pairs this time and Chan got a semi-finalist ribbon with his team mate. End of day. Hot tired but we had all had a bundle of fun. A nice hot shower in that lovely new shower room was the ultimate luxury. Good food to finish the day and a big sleep to get ready for the real event 'The Masters Games' tomorrow. The dogs were satisfied, quiet happy and replete. All smiley.

Over night Saturday the wind blew something fierce and odd showers passed by, but nothing too gross. Wind always sounds bad when you are living under canvas. At about 2am the dogs woke us. Chan was scratching at the inside of the truck window and I discovered Chris was already up as Bootz was unsettled and muttering. Considering how tired they all were it seemed a little odd but we let them all out to have a pee. My lot ran straight over to the shelterbelt with nose to ground, could have been some 'varmint' hanging around, but it didn't seem urgent for them. They peed and went back to bed. I slept again very well and woke at about 6.30. I missed my alarm clock. Goes to show how much one relies on such things. At home it goes off at 5a.m. and I get up between 5.30 and 6 on normal mornings. Some early times I get up at 5. Anyway the wind was still blowing and it was a warm bleak grey morning. Little rain showers and that wind. Chris said, 'Rain before 7 find by 11" and how about that she was right .

I don't like to feed the dogs much before Agility but they were looking a little hungry so I decided I would give them a handful of the biscuits we had won to go with the ribbons the day before. Chris told me she had put her packets of biscuits in the trailer. I went to get them and discovered that a rat had been nibbling one of the packs during the night. So there was our 2a.m. visitor, always listen to your dogs, they are always right. If they are unhappy then there is something going on.

We picked up our registration packs for the day. Very well stocked they were too. Wine gums, lip balm which is yummy, SP30 sunscreen, a six pack bag with Taranaki Masters games written on it, information about the Taranaki area which was worth reading, a lovely Masters Games keyring and other bits and pieces. The order of running with our running numbers were also supplied and the program for the day. Our judges were two delightful young women Jazmin Ellery and Kaylah Hill. It was quite astonishing having always been one of the 'olds' running stuff for the'kids' to have all the young people doing the work for us 'olds'. They were fantastic. The courses were very well thought out and nobody seemed to be doing the usual 'course hate' comments that I generally hear at Agility Shows. Those two judges worked all day from 8a.m. till 4p.m.. I hope someone gave them a nice lunch, but they didn't seem to be out of the ring for long. They smiled, they clapped and they made quick decisions with a great show of maturity.

First up was Starters for my Chan. He ran well. Nothing spectacular but clear and straightforward, no messy bits. Next up was Becki boo in Starters and she too ran well although I gave her enough time to do one pirouette she shouldn't have. Chris' Boston was a bit over enthusiastic and did a bit of barking as he does when she gets on his case and I think he missed something he shouldn't have. Bootz on Micro ran quite well he is very reliable. He wasn't as good at the weaves as he should have been and she got docked 5 with him. Anyway within a short time it became obvious that Chan had done enough for the Gold in Starters and Becki boo bless her socks got the silver. Well well.

I watched what was left of the Intermediate and Jumpers A and B picked up hurdles for a while to save the Judge some foot work. Then it was the Novice. It was a good course but that wind was a pain still. The rain had gone and we had a hot busy northerly. On the northern side of the course was a chute tunnel under the dog walk. The flapping end of the chute was flapping madly. I reckoned that Becki boo with her hatred of flapping things that crack in the wind would be a bit bothered and I probably talked her in to it. She actually jumped off the dog walk from the flat top, which is high for her little spindley legs. Buggar. Went back and reinforced it and she did it and missed the contact. Oh well rest of course okay good weaves no issues. Shame.

When it was Chan's turn I was careful to talk him over the dog walk problem, he got the contact and then ran out over the hurdle back through the flapping Chute tunnel, over a hurdle and a turn into the weaves. I blinked and he shot into the tunnel on the other side of the course. Oh buggar, my fault, I had concentrated so hard on the contact I lost the plot. Old and stupid real shame. He could have done well on that course. Chris found the challenges of the course a bit beyond her experience so far, especially as she has only competed for just on a year and only been to about 6 shows in that time. But it was a good experience for us both. Becki boo actually came 5th with 10 faults, so I guess everyone found it a bit challenging.

Jumpers C was a simply little course easy flow not much in the way of Challenge, almost an old fashioned Elementary. However by now Chan had sore feet. I had seen this coming. On Saturday he gave his all at Flygility, which he loves passionately and I had treated his feet on Saturday night and again on Sunday morning, but I knew that the hard droughty grass and ground was grazing his delicate Sharpei feet. His feet have big soft pads and the skin comes off them just so easily. Everyone uses the term. 'Oh he has Sharpei feet'. I used the iodine spray about three times during Sunday but he was having trouble walking properly. Bless him he did the C Jumpers nice and clean but slowly and I guess landing on his feet was a bother but he tried to put a smile on his face and have a 'show must go on' attitude. Normally he would have blitzed it and been well ahead of me by the end. But he was behind me. Becki-boo ran it as Becki-boo does, if I go fast she goes fast, so I went as fast as I could. Chris was hoping that this was her moment for a medal. She was disappointed she had not done better than she had at that point.

By now I had figured out who Chris'competition were in her age group. They were not that fast but their dogs were self propelled really. There was always the opportunity for mis-direction when the dogs run on ahead. So I said to Chris - when you go out with Bootz run as fast and as hard as you can. She looked at me. She said okay. So my last word to her before she went onto the course was. Just go... and she did. To me Chris ran as fast as she possibly could and little Bootz didn't miss a beat bless him. It looked like a pretty good clear run to me. 'So' I said when she came out of the ring 'did you run as fast as you could'. 'No' she said 'if I hadn't had to steer Bootz and myself around a course I could have run faster'... a typical Chris reply. Boston went well until he got to the tyre/hoop. It was a bit of a micro/min course and Boston has a maxi imagination and was upon the hoop before he realised and ran under it. So poor old Boston, who is the least experienced of all our team dogs, had a bit of a difficult day.

I went off to watch the Senior Course being run. It wasn't a really difficult course, it had seesaw and a couple of traps and there were times when the handler had to be in a certain place to get a certain result. The only word I can use to explain my feelings while watching this work is INSPIRATIONAL. Women and men in their late 70s and early 80s, with bodies that no longer behaved themselves. Limited ability to twist and turn, carrying a leg that no long functioned properly, stiff with arthritis, but their dogs thought their masters just as athletic as they were. The dogs did all the leg work, running on and completing sequences that were quite complex with just the odd arm wave or voice command from their boss. It brought tears to my eyes. I looked around to find Chris beside me crying her eyes out. 'Never mind' I said 'you tried your best'. 'I am not crying because I am sad' she said 'Bootz won Bronze in Jumpers C.' WOW.

 So what a thrill.  We had a full set between us.  In my age group Becki-boo was 5th in Jumpers C and Chan was 6th.  So clear round certs for those.

A great way to cap a great weekend. We spent some time talking to the team after the Events and prizegiving were over. They were very encouraging about our enquiries to run Master's Agility in Rotorua. They gave us all the help we could possibly need and left us with the key to their wonderful clubrooms which was the old bowling club complete with lovely flat green area and fully fenced, right on the boundary of the huge park facility we had been camping on for two days. We had decided to stay over till Monday morn as driving for five plus hours at night after such a busy two days, did not sound like my idea of a happy finish to the weekend. So we had a lovely 'last sleep' in Normanby and got up and packed the camp quietly and calmly and drove all the way home in bumper to bumper WOMAD traffic.

So thank you Chris for joining me for the weekend. It was a lovely break. We learnt a lot of stuff to take back to our Club with regards to the sorts of Agility we should be looking to run to build up an Agility culture at Dog Sports Rotorua. If anyone wants to go next year, I think Chris and I will be doing it again, so come and join our gypsy camp and have some 'fun for the elderly' at Taranaki Masters Games Dog Agility.