ResqTails

We’re home, and we had a really nice weekend at the agility trial. Raven finished her Novice FAST title, and probably would have qualified in her Ex JWW class too, except for the fact that I forgot she was running in Excellent and nearly missed her turn. I realized my mistake in time for her to still be able to run, but it was rushed and I think my mistake made her nervous from the start. She had a refusal at the first jump and then she went on to finish the run nicely. I was really pleased that she was able to recover that well. I think the year off has helped her alot.

Zoe and I still didn’t get that last Excellent FAST leg that we needed for her title, but that’s ok. She’s still running well, and we’re having fun. I did alot of thinking over the weekend about whether or not I wanted to continue to compete with Zoe in AKC and try for a MACH II, and I think I’ve made my mind up that it’s just not worth it for us. Zoe’s going to be 9 in June, and it took us a good solid two years worth of trialing to get the first MACH, and I just don’t think I want to be pushing her that much as she approaches 10. Not that she’s ready to retire by any means! I just think we’re going to switch over to another venue for now. DOCNA is the most appealing to me because the courses tend to be a little more open and flowing, and it also offers alot of options in jump heights as the dogs age. I think it will be a nice change of pace for us.

Layla had a great weekend too. We went back to visit Barbara and Jim at Sheltie Rescue to finish her adoption paperwork on Thurs. night. While we were there she got to play with the two other 4 mo. old Sheltie puppies that are available for adoption as well as Abbey, Barbara and Jim’s own Sheltie girl. Then she got to go play with her friends Tatum and Muffit at Cynthia house. They ran and ran and barked and had a great time. Friday and Saturday Layla came with us to the agility trial and she got to do some attention work in the new place as well as socialize a little. She even did some targeting by our crating area. The biggest thing she learned was how to do stairs. Didn’t take her long to figure out the stairs at Cynthia’s house and at the trial site, and by the end of the weekend, she was prancing up and down them like she’d been doing it for years. LOL Once again, I forgot the camera, but fortunately Cynthia had hers, so when she has time, maybe we’ll post some pictures of the crating setup at the trial.