Tuesday June 20th 2006 - Advanced 1, class #6 (last class in this level)

(Backfilled in October 2009 due to impending closure of Geocities)

Today was a really fun class. We didn't learn any new techniques per say, but instead everyone ran a standard course, then we all did an abbreviated version of gambler's. The standard course as I recall it was thus: 1st line: jump, dogwalk, tunnel curving right. 2nd line, diagonal across the field: tire, jump, a-frame, jump, table. 3rd line: see-saw, jump, weave-o-matics about midway up. 4th line: chute, jump, jump, jump. Note that the elements were not at full height (except maybe the dogwalk?) -- Jumps were on the 3rd setting, see-saw on low and a-frame on beginner's. I tried to get Walter a bit revved up before we started (he wasn't totally fresh since we had practiced for half an hour before class and then gone for a walk), just by using a perky voice and it seemed to work. He did really well (he even did the tire on the first try) until we came to the see-saw, when he immediately deeked around it to sniff the ground at the see-saw's landing for what must have been treat crumbs. I called and called him but had to resort to pulling him off the area, then he did the see-saw and the rest of the course fine except for at the last jumps where I think I pushed him over towards the jumps once or twice. A classmate commented that he looked like he was having a lot of fun! In the modified gamblers (we just did the 60-seconds part where you rack up as many points as you can), I can't remember the order of the things we did, but we focused on weave-o-matics, a-frame, dog-walk, the special jump worth 4 points, and tunnel. We racked up 36 points but lost 9 for taking 9 seconds to get to the table, for a net of 26 points, the highest in the class. Walter was such a good boy and I dare say he was the class star tonight! Our closest competitor should have been a speedy aussie, but she just happened to have an off night tonight, deeking around a lot of the obstacles. Another of the class stars, a little Jack Russell, wasn't there tonight so we missed out on that competition. Some of the dogs had some spin-out moments, especially in the standard course, but Walter kept his cool when they came by to say hello and was totally awesome. We're looking forward to the next level, which is supposed to start in a couple of weeks, and several of our classmates are also continuing, so it'll be nice to have some familar faces along with us.