CPE Trial

Belle, Dusty and I went to the Davenport yesterday for the QCDC's first CPE trial.  It was a very small trial, but those of us who were there had a great time.  Our judge was Mary Beam, and she set some interesting courses.  Plus, she was very congenial, and very helpful to those who were playing the CPE games for the very first time.

Belle and I are at Level 4, and we Q'd on all five runs yesterday.  I was particularly proud of myself in Snooker.  I handled well and didn't commit snookercide.  We garned two 7s and a 5.  I had a fleeting desire to go for three 7s, but since we hadn't Q'd in snooker the last four times we tried, I decided it was time to start plotting snooker courses with a little more flow.

Dusty was a mama's boy for his first two runs with David.  Then he got into the flow and earned a Q in Standard and a Q in Full House.  He almost earned a Q on his first Standard run, but did a spectacular fly-off on the teeter (still managing to have one foot on it when it touched the ground) and David walked him off the course.

Here are Belle's Jumpers, Snooker and Full House runs.  

Anatomy of a Snooker Run

Belle and I do one or two CPE trials a year, although we may be doing  more of them in the future.  Last weekend, I traveled to the Fundog CPE trial in Round Lake, Illinois.  I had hoped to have video of all our runs, but alas, we only have video of one standard run and a very, very short snooker run.

The standard run was uneventful, but the snooker run was a learning experience.  Although my Q rate in snooker is pathetically low, I really enjoy the game since it is a test of the handler's ability to think--both in the planning stage and during the actual execution of the run.  I try to go for 7's and 6's.  I try to keep some degree of fluidity in the run.  I don't succeed often, but it sure is fun to try. 

This was my opening plan.  The tunnel was not bi-directional. 

As you will see in the video, Belle back-jumped the second red.  I wanted her to change to her left lead going over the jump and wrap left.  However, she is clearly turning right upon landing.   If I had reacted faster or planned our run differently, we could have gone around the backside of the tunnel to the #7, which is what many teams did.  But I planned for her to turn left and was too attached to that idea to go right.  I think the run still could have been saved at this point, but I came to a stop on the take-off side of the jump.  When Belle  realizes I want her to turn left, she does so.  Unfortunately, since I have not moved any further to my left, she nicely comes over the jump again.  Good dog; handler not so much.

Here's the video of our standard run.

Chances Sequence -- Snooker Skill

I originally designed this Chances sequence with the handler's line at an Elite distance.  However, once Belle started running it, we ran into a major snag, namely the send from #5 to #6.

When I tried sending Belle to #6 from the H1 position, she ended up taking the wrong end of the tunnel.  When I stood at the H2 position, Belle either took the wrong end or took the off-course red jump on her way to #6.  It was an interesting challenge.

I taught Belle to take obstacles that present themselves as a straight line in our foundation work.  This is a skill that is extremely useful in straightforward closings, but sometimes, I find other spots where I can use it as well.  If I can just run my fastest, trusting Belle to take the obstacles that are in front of her as she hurries to catch up with me, it allows us to get a nice burst of speed in some of our runs.

I looked carefully at the path from #5 to #6, and from my point of view, the off-course jump is definitely not in line with them.  If I wanted Belle to take that jump on her way to the tunnel, I would put pressure on her line and give her a specific verbal cue to take that jump.  I think Belle took the off-course jump because the distance from #5 to the tunnel was about 30 feet--a rather big spacing between obstacles.

Although, this is not a particularly NADAC-like challenge, it is one that we will re-visit since by-passing obstacles not in line with each other is a useful skill in Snooker. Belle has grabbed obstacles on her way to my lead out position at the back of a Snooker course in the past, so we always practice this skill before a USDAA or CPE trial.  This exercise ups the ante by requiring Belle to "bypass" an obstacle on a send; something I've never tried in trial.