Agility Updates and VIDEO!

I'm really quite mad at myself for not updating more than once last month, but I've had some big (like, gigantically big) life changes going on.  Namely I left my day job and found a new "big girl" job.  Currently I'm also still training for my former employer, but it's turning into extremely stressful LONG 12+hour days 3-4 days a week and I don't know how much longer I can keep that up.  But it's opened up a lot of options for me with my own person dogs - like i should be able to afford to compete in agility more, and I signed Eevee up for a beginner agility class.

Anyway, my instructor took video of our runs last Thursday.  First up is a compilation of all the work piecing together the course for Demo and our final full run at the end.  I'm really proud of everything i see in this video.  He's becoming really responsive and is (for the most part) reading my cues really well.  The tunnel to the jump not directly in front of the tunnel exit was really hard for him, but he's also only been in classes for 9ish months and this is a really advanced course.  His weaves are coming along, little bobbles.  I need to remember to make him lay down and SHUT UP before retrying weaves as once he starts barking he loses his brain and won't complete them (also my positioning for the front cross after the jump into the weaves was horrid, so it wasn't all him.

Tonight we are going to work on getting his speed back up over the dog walk if we have time as the last setup with the dog walk had him running into the dogs waiting their turn and the social pressure made him almost shut down to the point he would crawl down the end plank.  So no we have to get his speed and confidence back up.  I LOVE his contacts though, especially on the A-frame.

Excellent example of his distance work coming along in the full run when he took the 3 jumps in a row when i fell behind.







And just video of Trophy's full run.  Almost flawless, except again crappy positioning on the front cross into the weaves and rotating back into Trophy the second time into the tunnel which caused him to avert course.

I love this dog.  He really is such a good partner.



Trial on Sunday with Trophy!