Dog Squad goes to Penang II

8 - 10 June 2007, PAAPP trials, Penang

'Are v there yet? Are v there yet?...'

It’s our 2nd visit to breezy Penang Isle and 6 mutts from d KL Dog Squad will b making d road trip to partake in d PAAPP agility trials. In d back seat of d jeep, Archer & Russell seemed really excited, particularly Russell d Rascal, who attempted an escape act by squeezing over d car seats n between d crates in d booth. Must hv bn watching way too many ‘Spiderman’ movies of late.

Took a detour to Taiping lake nestled in a very pretty n scenic park. But a heavy downpour put a stop to our plans to paint d park red. Once in Penang, our humans overslept n v only made it to d beach close to dusk, just in time to take in d sunset. Several resident mutts made a fuss bout us city dogs taking over deir turf. Dey were bigger den us, so v let them bark all dey want n dey soon ignored us after awhile.
'Skinny dipping at nite isnt such a big deal after all ... v do it all d time, anytime'

Junior enjoyed d swimming lessons whilst Russell seemed less happy learning d doggy paddle. I played with my frisbee which got Angel n Russell into herding mode. Dey kept pacing in circles around me and I got a little dizzy from deir merry-go-round antics. Can understand Angel d Border Collie doing it, but Russell d JRT? Again, he must hv bn watching too many ‘Babe’ movies. Got into a minor scuffle with him ven trying to convince him dat JRTs don’t do d herding stuff, v just cut straight to d chase … he just dun listen.

Next morning, Junior n I sneaked into a Bak Kut Teh stall for breakie with our humans.

Me n d gang, me n Ms Owner, me n Mr Owner, me n speed demon Jr n finally me n myself'

Was at Gurney Drive n d pleasant sea breeze kept things nice n cool ... my kind of vacation. D BKT stall owner was very friendly with every1 including dogs. D way he was rubbing shoulders with d customers, u wld think dat he was running a pub instead of a BKT stall. He also let us hv a sniff of his pampered Shih Tzu which was hiding behind d counter. Very clean n posh mutt, I must say … n a little shy.

'Dog Squad n handlers'

'Angel, putting on her boosters'

Time for d trials n d Dog Squad made up half of d competitors on d day. Since d last trial in Jan where v dominated proceedings, there was an air of anticipation bout d KL dogs as to whether v cn repeat d same performance … d pressure was on. Basic n Elementary classes hd 15 obstacles laid out on a really widespread field. No problems for us, more so for our rather unfit owners who were huffing n puffing towards d finish line.

Still, not to worry … Archer, Russell n I put in good clean runs n Angel, Cami n Junior did enuf to ensure dat d Dog Squad kept up deir winning ways. All 6 of us hd a top 3 finish in different classes n took home kibbles n trophies, sweet. D Penang Labradors hd decent runs to finish 2nd n 3rd after Angel in d maxi class. Mini class was ours for d taking n v didn’t disappoint.

'Russell's trademark kangaroo hop'

Special mention goes to Russell for his 1st successful off-leash clean run which gv him d Basic Agility title. He had a ‘pro-handler’ - my owner, n a slice of roast pork to thank for his fine run. Tried to advice him to ease up on his kangaroo leaps n adopt a more aerodynamic leg-stretch jump to gain more speed n ground, but he just dun listen ... n kept going 'boing', 'boing' 'boing' around d course. U cn always count on a JRT to b d clown in any event.

I too was eager to go n every time d judge whistled to signal an elimination, I thot it was d start of a Recall race n got into sprinting mode, twice pulling along d chair I was leashed to … us JRTs r an impatient lot.

'Cami on d broad jump n Archer thru d tyre jump'

'Kofi d Bear cum Curly Coated Retriever'

Dey also hd a novelty Gamblers course in which teams hd 30-35 secs to score points on any obstacle n 15 secs to complete d gamble sequence comprising 3 jumps n a table, in order to double d points. Pretty exciting event as d gamble sequence required distance control whereby handler hs to remain behind a line bout 7-12 feet away n K9s hv to complete d obstacles on our own.

Event provided some comic relief as d humans turned red n den blue in d face, trying to give out impromptu commands n exaggerated hand signals, to get deir dogs to move away to perform d gamble. But dogs do enjoy sticking to deir owners … n v also enjoy making our owners look foolish, even more so. D more dey tried to command us away, d closer v stuck to dem. It was a little different for me as I particularly enjoy running away from my owners. Was left to me to show how it was done n every1 was cheering me onto d final gamble obstacle, d table … so I cldnt miss, n I didn’t. GAMBLE completed, points doubled n 1st Gambler’s title won, groovy!

With all of us winning something, our cars were filled with dog food n prizes n pleased owners.

Yet another assured performance by d PetnYou Dog Squad. Next Penang trials in Nov will include d more demanding Novice Agility class n d Malaysian Agility Champion (MACH) title is at stake, provided teams cn complete 2 clean runs in d class. MACH title will sound rather cool on any K9 speedster.

Notice dat there's hardly a decent photo of me running at d trials. My owners say dat I move too fast for d camera lens, I say dat dey r too slow as wannabe shutterbugs. Junior, d fast n furious also faces d same predicament, so mayb v shld go hire some pros. Got a couple of shots from d organisers, but v look like v r about to vanish into thin air, freaky eh.
Here's 1 decent shot on d pause table ... well better den nothing, I guess.