Agility Bloopers

When one doesn't blog for a long time, there are so many things to write about, but for now, my favorite subject-- dogs. Luckily, I don't have many readers, so indulge me with my agility talk.

 

Canon and I have participated in our first two weekend agility trials this month.  The first was the beginning of the month, in Clovis.  Canon did well on the drive, but not so well in the hotel.  Being a "watch dog," he informed me of every sound in the motel, and he just couldn't seem to relax. He did, however, perform well.  We finally got our Open Jumpers title and moved to Excellent.  We also got
two Excellent Standard legs, as well as a qualifying score in Time to Beat.  Canon has matured quite a lot since our last trial.  Hopefully his handler will live up to his good example.

This weekend we competed again.  We earned our Novice FAST title and a leg in Excellent Jumpers with Weaves.  Other than mostly handler errors, we ran very well, time being our biggest enemy.

Today (Sunday) the handler stunk!  Our first run of the day came after studying the Standard Excellent map for several hours and watching countless dogs run.  Did I make a mistake where I thought I'd have a problem?  No!  I forgot the course on the third obstacle in.  Bad Barbara!  After I lost my way, I was a bit rattled, but Canon did just what I asked of him.

Our Jumpers run was one of our best, even faster than usual.  I was so excited that I forgot the final jump!  I started celebrating and started to hug Canon when I heard moans and calls from the crowd.  When I figured out I wasn't finished, I was able to take the boy over the last jump.  The kind judge did not call it a refusal, and we finished with our best time ever, even though it was one second over time.  Somehow we got first place out of that one.
Here's the link to YouTube.  http://youtu.be/6NRHFRox47A

I was reminded this weekend that agility should be about having fun and encouraging people to do their best.  Our judge certainly did that!  This sport is special to me not only because I get to spend time with one of my dogs, but because I also spend it with some wonderful, supportive people. This is an environment that lends itself to supporting and enjoying others.  What a great way to have a tiring, but happy weekend.