Back in the U.S.A
Whew, they let us back in! Tristan and I did a quick road trip to B.C. I decided Friday afternoon on the spur of the moment to go to the WCGSSC trial held today in Surrey, B.C. I rushed home, got Tristan, threw some stuff in the car and headed out. I was about one third way there when I realized I had forgotten my birth certificate. Having struggled with northbound traffic and hearing how bad traffic was southbound, I decided not to go back for it hoping Canadian customs would let me in. Apparently I look respectable and safe enough so they did let me through.
The trial was exciting to watch. I went to the club's work week training seminar in February (yes, I know I still owe a posting about it) so I knew most of the participants. It was fun seeing everyone again and especially fun to see them with their dogs in competition. I missed the tracking portion but saw all of the obedience and protection. Everyone did really well. The obedience routines were consistently well executed and protection looked great too. The judge did a great job of explaining his critiques. It's so helpful to watch a routine then immediately learn how it's judged.
Watching obedience is my favorite probably because I know how difficult it is. To me tracking and protection are more about the dog's natural instincts although obedience is a big part of it too because the dog must be under control at all times. This might just be my personal take on it because of Tristan. He's always done well on tracking and protection but obedience has been more difficult for us. Obedience requires the dog to totally submit to the handler and to perform in a very stylized way. For example, the dog must not only heel at the handler's side but look up and stay focused on the handler.
It's great to see the handlers work with their dogs. They look so confident and in control. But then it's also reassuring to know that they also get nervous and are still able to do a great job.
Here we are waiting in line at the U.S. border. I'm ever so glad they let us back in. I didn't realize until we were home that I also forgot Tristan's rabies certificate. All in all we weren't very organized this trip so I'm glad we were able to cross over and back without incident. Tristan would have been very mad at me if he ended up quarantined.
We made a detour to see the tulip fields when we hit Mt. Vernon. It was nice timing as it was still light but most of the tulip viewing crowds were gone. Tristan missed his photo op as my camera battery died just as he posed in front of the tulips. The fields really are beautiful.
The trial was exciting to watch. I went to the club's work week training seminar in February (yes, I know I still owe a posting about it) so I knew most of the participants. It was fun seeing everyone again and especially fun to see them with their dogs in competition. I missed the tracking portion but saw all of the obedience and protection. Everyone did really well. The obedience routines were consistently well executed and protection looked great too. The judge did a great job of explaining his critiques. It's so helpful to watch a routine then immediately learn how it's judged.
Watching obedience is my favorite probably because I know how difficult it is. To me tracking and protection are more about the dog's natural instincts although obedience is a big part of it too because the dog must be under control at all times. This might just be my personal take on it because of Tristan. He's always done well on tracking and protection but obedience has been more difficult for us. Obedience requires the dog to totally submit to the handler and to perform in a very stylized way. For example, the dog must not only heel at the handler's side but look up and stay focused on the handler.
It's great to see the handlers work with their dogs. They look so confident and in control. But then it's also reassuring to know that they also get nervous and are still able to do a great job.
Here we are waiting in line at the U.S. border. I'm ever so glad they let us back in. I didn't realize until we were home that I also forgot Tristan's rabies certificate. All in all we weren't very organized this trip so I'm glad we were able to cross over and back without incident. Tristan would have been very mad at me if he ended up quarantined.
We made a detour to see the tulip fields when we hit Mt. Vernon. It was nice timing as it was still light but most of the tulip viewing crowds were gone. Tristan missed his photo op as my camera battery died just as he posed in front of the tulips. The fields really are beautiful.
posted by fpa at 11:44 PM
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