SWDC Dogsports - Schutzhund, Agility n ... Musical freestyling, anyone?

Held over 2 days n PetnYou Dog Squad was invited to partake in d agility trials on Sat evening. Angel, Pacco, Cami, Archer n I made d trip n v were geared up as it has bn awhile since our last Carnival trials in Sept. Location in Serdang Baru school was a little secluded but d grounds, weather n trophies were just great! As it was held in conjunction with Schutzhund trials, there were a fair number of large GSDs n Malinois present. Dey looked like a no nonsense lot, so I hd to b on my best behaviour … no clowning around. Also bumped into my old time buddies - TJ d GSD n Baron d Lab, long time no c.

Course layout for Jumpers n Novice classes were very basic n simple, which is fair enuf given dat dis is d 1st SWDC trials. Think dat Malaysian dogs hv progressed in d sport n cn handle more challenging courses going forward … even d Thai judge commented dat our dogs r ahead of Thai in d agility stakes. For dis trial, both runs will count n an average of d 2 runs is taken in determining team standings.

Was interesting to c d big working dogs having a go at agility n u just dun wanna get in deir way ven dey r steamrolling around d course. Thank god, I didn’t hv to run against dese giants but Angel n Pacco will b, so I did pray hard for my 2 lady frens. Don d huge black Alsatian brought down d tyre jump twice n Hannah d Malinois smashed thru d weave poles in record time. There was even a rare Poodle in d maxi class.

In Jumpers class, Angel n Cami breezed thru d course to capture d maxi n mini titles. Pacco did well in her 1st run but den decided to go on a walkabout in d 2nd, so she just missed out.
In Novice mini class, d organisers introduced a lower contact point for d contact obstacles n v only found out on d day itself, so there wasn’t much v cld do bout adjusting 2 d shorter contacts. I cld already foresee my ‘Faults meter’ hitting d upper limits as I wld barely just make d normal contacts … what more a shortened 1. So v decided to go with speed n my over enthusiasm also caused me to overshoot a couple of obstacles … ended up with 4 faults on 1st run n 3 faults on d 2nd. Time was swift but way too many faults meant dat I hd to settle for runners-up. Archer won d class with some nice clean runs, which goes to show dat slow n steady does win d race. Cami took 3rd spot to complete d Dog Squad’s dominance in d mini class, sweet!

Chester d Collie from MKA produced steady composed runs to take d Novice maxi title n prevent d Dog Squad from sweeping all d main prizes.
Schutzhund trials n prize ceremony was scheduled for Sunday n I was asked to perform a Musical Freestyle demo as part of d SWDC working dog demos for d closing. Wat a contrast in style n disciplines as my slot was immediately after d Schutzhund dogs hd completed deir feisty n precise demos on protection, bite work n apprehending criminals. D sound of cracking whip during dese exercises didn’t help to settle my already frazzled nerves. Mr Owner was worried dat I may not b in d mood to dance n I was a little apprehensive at d start. But den he brought out my tennis ball n all is forgotten n I was soon back into d old groove.

Dancing to d tune of Michael Buble’s ‘Save d Last Dance for Me’, v certainly added variety n colour to d proceedings. Wasn’t sure how d predominantly macho audience wld take to my prancing about to music but d kids, wives n gfs certainly enjoyed it. Guess dey must hv liked it as well as d Johor Working Dog club even invited me down south to partake in a future charity event. Well, will b prepared n put on my ear muffs d next time around at Schutzhund affairs.

Next up was Jacky d JRT demonstrating dat small dogs cn also do Schutzhund n wat an amazing fella he is! He hs d attitude, drive n bite to perform as well as d big guys n hs to b seen to b believed.

Notice dat there's hardly any agility pics of me ... yet again! Told d humans time n again dat dey hv to set deir cameras to a fast shutter speed to capture d action, but dey never listen n think dat I'm trying to b funny again, sigh. Ven d prizes were handed out, no one hd a bigger grin den team Archer n Susan as dey took home d biggest or perhaps d tallest trophy I’ve ever seen … it’s almost as tall as a large dog. D trophy I got for coming in 2nd also ranks as d biggest in my cabinet. In addition, SWDC presented me with a really neat momento for being part of the working dog demos. Hee hee, imagine a Musical Freestyle dog being part of the Protection Dog fraternity, strange but true …

Looking forward to more SWDC trials in future. Think dat d combination of Agility n Schutzhund trials is an exciting 1 n will do well in promoting dog sports in d country.