Day 4

25th September – Vet Check, Measuring and Training day

The hotel is great. It is only some 15 mins walk to the venue or 5 mins on the tram. It is opposite a park and lake and close to shops for buying those extra bits and pieces. I will include some pictures when I have a lead to transfer them from the camera.

So after all the anticipation and travelling we are finally on the registration and training day. The venue, like last year, is an ice rink. The ice is covered with boarding and Astro turf. However, before we can make our training, we have to go through the vet check, oh and ‘random measuring’.

Measuring

We were informed (and here is a surprise) that the GB team has been randomly selected for measuring (for the second year running). To be honest, as we consist of a team of BC’s this came as no surprise. But after going through the ‘process’ last year one thing was obvious, unlike the UK KC, they don’t really have a process! You got the feeling last year that the organisers found one or two people who might have a bit of time on their hands, set up a ‘decorating pasting table’ in reception (with everyone else passing watching, car crash TV sprung to mind) and got on with it.

This year I am pleased to say was a bit better organised (after Steve raised it at a post WC meeting) and they tried to implement some of the suggestions, primarily a quiet room. Although this had people passing through (and as I later found out an external ‘interested party’ from another country), but it was acceptable.

Well those people in the UK who like to put pen to paper and write about and give their expert opinion on processes they never saw and have not been part of, sorry no exciting news. All 3 mediums measured in. Now there are 2 things which come out of this (1) how many measures can a dog have? (2) what did our interested party think?

Let me cover both points individually:

If a dog is measured in twice (or 4 times if you include UK based measures), would a negative measure in 2010 make the dog medium or large? What I am saying is that do you keep measuring until you measure it in or measure it out? It is a philosophical argument, but relative, especially to the team who has to go through it.

Well I am glad to say that the FCI have adapted the UK approach and that a dog measured in, has it record book stamped and it will compete in that height forever. Even they commented that it is not right to keep measuring the same dog over and over again.

What about our other interested party? I won’t reveal which country they represented, but clearly they sneaked in to view the measuring. Obviously this person should not have been present, but all they could go away with was the fact that all the UK dogs were measured officially in as FCI Medium.


Training

So with the measuring and the vet checks all completed, on to the training. A few of us decided to go through ‘Team GB’ pre-warm up. We found this helps to take the mind off the run and have a little laugh before competition.

With 9 dogs this year we had 12 mins to train, starting at 11.58 local time. The ring was divided into 3 sections and the small, medium and large each adopted 1 segment for 4 mins before moving to the next one. Everyone I think was pleased with the training, surface and equipment (apart from the wall). I will take some pictures of the wall tomorrow so you can see the unorthodox round top bricks.

For myself, training was OK. Jude likes running at inside venues so we just concentrate on letting her feel the surface and contacts. She didn’t right hand weave (RHW) well, so even though I probably wasn’t going to anyway, I will avoid doing this unless it is absolutely critical. At this stage its best not to ask me why, for me RHW is what it is and I can (usually) compensate by running out with Jude (famous last words).

So now everyone is waiting for the opening ceremony which takes place at 08.00 local time tomorrow (06.00 UK time). When I write this tomorrow, perhaps I will have great news about our performances. Fingers crossed. Wish the team well (if you read this post any good lucks that you put on the forum I will pass on).