Pico and I headed down to Hamburg this weekend. Pico’s agenda was to jump as much as possible, and mine was to figure out what on earth I was doing wrong with my throws. Pico gave me a big confidence boost with her jump in the first wave of 23′9″. I became cautiously optimistic. Perhaps my throws were improving??? When Pico jumps big off the bat it usually bodes well for the entire event.

My throws were a bit erratic at times, but when they were good Pico gave me her all! When they were bad, someone came up to me and asked if I was trying to kill birds out of the sky! I guess it’s a good thing there were no low flying aircraft around…

In any case, Pico tied her personal best of 25′2″ on Sunday and we went into finals in the lead! But winning was not going to be easy against the likes of Reggie, who can pull out a 26 foot jump at any time, and Nutmeg, who had her mind on jumping from the getgo. There was also an incredible mix that jumped 24′04″ in finals, and Bella who beat Pico’s best distance of the weekend before her 25′2″er!  

In the end, Pico prevailed! What a battle! I was exhausted but during the medal presentation Pico had her eye locked on the Extreme Vertical bumper that was hanging over the pool and could not be bothered to pose for pictures with her winnings. She was ready to try a new discipline right then and there! The night before she got to try her paw at EV and seemed to like it.  She did one catch and looked adorable, like a little reindeer flying thru the air.

We are actually going to make EV a winter project. I think she will like it, particularly when she realizes that unlike agility and tracking, she will not have to contend with my erratic handling and (in the case of Big Air) my laughable throwing skills.

In two days we leave for Dock Dogs National Championships in Kansas City, KS. This event will conclude the 2006 season but the break will be short. I am thinking of going to the event in Rochester a few weeks later.