Pasco Paws CPE, Day 1

Sparrow and I have CPE this weekend.  Lonya's staying home, I have to manage my entry costs and right now my focus with Lonya is AKC and the Invitational.

We did 4 runs today (and will do so each day).  First was Jackpot.  It was a traditional Jackpot, with a pretty decent path in the opening for Sparrow to get enough points...unfortunately, Sparrow had other plans!  She was feeling pretty happy, and decided to take the dogwalk instead of a tunnel, so I had to adjust my plan.  She didn't help by leaping over the down contact on it!  We struggled a bit, but managed to get just enough points in the opening (well, 1 over the minimum needed).  She got the send bonus without any really trouble, she actually has pretty decent distance work.  She Q'd for 4th place.

Standard was next.  The course was VERY tricky, with twisty parts and a tough weave entry.  Sparrow was slow (it had gotten hotter), but she ran it without any errors.  We were just under time, and she was the only 20" level 5 dog to qualify, so she got 1st place.

Jumpers was next.  It was a nice course (would have loved to run it with Kal, I think he would have liked it), but not Sparrow's type of course.  There were 2 serpentines, which aren't her favorite.  She knocked the triple, which made her a bit worried as she doesn't like to knock bars.  It took me a little bit to get her back running happy, but she did come back.  She did both serpentines well, and didn't make any other errors.  She Q'd with a 3rd place.

Full House was last, and I wasn't sure how we'd do.  The course layout was pretty good for us, but it was hot, esp for Spar!  Sparrow ran with decent speed considering the temperature, and we ran the entire course I planned with time to spare!  She Q'd with a 4th place.

I really tried to do a lot to make sure I could keep Sparrow cool enough between runs, since she really doesn't like the heat.  The temp today was in the mid 80s, not untolerable but warm for her.   I think it worked...  She had 2 cool mats in her crate, her cool coat, and a fan.  I had 2 more fans in the van that I didn't need to use.  I got to the site early so I could get a good spot to crate that would stay shaded all day.  And, last night, I shaved her belly and chest.  I think it worked, since she wouldn't pant for more than a few minutes after I put her away.