Trial Time for Gracie!

Gracie competed in her third CPE trial this past weekend.  I was very proud of her progress.  She willingly sat at the start line (though she didn't necessarily stay sitting), she stayed calm-ish and focused while waiting on her mat at a somewhat crowded ring entrance, and she happily did mat and heel work with me all around the crating area.  The only not so good thing outside of the ring was that she wouldn't potty outside again.  I blame Gidget for that one, she had to go and get sick and not come with us (she's doing much better now, likely has a food allergy so we need to switch her food ASAP before she has another bad episode).  I also forgot Gracie's Thundershirt, which could have played a part in her not wanting to potty outside.  She was still a very good girl even with a couple pieces out of place.

Jumpers was up first.  Gracie was a little too excited for her first run.  She took one jump and the zoomies took over.  One end of the ring to the other in a flash!  Thankfully she didn't try to leave the ring and I was able to collect her fairly quickly.  I decided to leave the ring at that point as she was really not in control, having fun, but not in control.  I left with a smile on my face, calling her a goofball, and we ran off to her beloved kennel and a good treat.  I hope this didn't do any harm to her excitement of being out around agility equipment.  Sorry, no video of her zipping around, my mom couldn't get the camera to work in time.

Standard was next for us.  It went about as perfectly as I could hope for right now!  She did seem a little slower than normal (hence the concern about removing her from the ring earlier), but she stayed right with me and completed the course!  I was even able to send her to a tunnel and run off to the landing side of the next jump to be in position for a front cross!  At one of the jumps towards the end she did hesitate and think about going elsewhere, but she came right back for a strong finish!  Q number 2 for Gracie!

I am behind on class course posts.  Not sure when I'll have a chance to catch up on that since I recently started a second job and Gidget has a trial this weekend.  Busy busy, but mostly fun!  Happy agility!