It's big time agility season, and more stuff!

This weekend, we have a three day agility trial in Cincinnati! Can't wait, since we've been off for a few weekends. This time of year is one of the peak times for trials around Indiana. It's cooler outside, and so many choices of where to go within just a couple of hours.

We're gonna have a lot of traveling and trialing. Here's what our upcoming agility schedule looks like:

September 27-28 - AKC - Terre Haute
October 4-5 - AKC - Lebanon
October 11-12 - USDAA - Lebanon
October 18-19 - USDAA - Lebanon
October 24-26 - AKC - Dayton
Then we may take a few weekends off.

Mum may have to look into some digital signage to earn some extra bucks! But, we sure are gonna have fun!

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Yesterday Gracie and I had practice. We joined a class since we didn't want to do our private lesson this morning, the day before a three day trial.

I worked on my DW contact some, didn't do too bad, but I still am not associating the 'mouse pad' on the dog walk. I do really well when it's on the flat, or put on the ground with a jump, tunnel, or other obstacle. So Mum went to Lowe's and got me a board. She's gonna paint it like a DW contact, and then work with that on the flat, then add in some height to one side and work me with that at home.

I am checking in when Mum says my 'mouse pad' word - Get it, get it! So that's helping me with my contact. But if Mum runs full out ahead of me on the DW or veers to the side when we're running, I'm still bailing it. If she shortens her stride when I approach the contact, I am shortening my stride too - no matter where Mum is (unless she is way behind me). So that's helping me a little. But Mum still wants me to run full out on the DW, no matter what she's doing, so we'll continue our work.

Yesterday at practice I was super speedy, running full out most of the entire hour. My weave speed was good, not the best I've done, but speedier than most times.

Gracie did good during her hour. I don't think she ran off once. And Mum has been working on her DW 'get it' too. Gracie is really associating the get it, with getting her paws in the yellow. She even did the DW with Mum way at the start of the DW, and hit her yellow. Good girl!

Her speed wasn't the best, but she was accurate and paying attention to Mum. Mum needs to work on getting her commands out earlier, because Gracie was looking back and starting to spin, because Mum was late.

Otherwise it was a great training, and we're really looking forward to the trial this weekend.

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Just before Ike rolled through here on last Sunday, all the birds that I like to herd were swirling around in the sky, there were hundreds of them. When the birds do that it just drives me crazy! I run around barking and trying to herd them. They, and I, were at the top of our game that day. (You may have to click on the pic to enlarge it and see the birds).

Ike didn't bring us but about three inches on Sunday, a sharp contrast to what others got. But we were on the outer edge of the tropical depression (which it was called at the time it hit us). It rained all day though, and packed some pretty nasty winds - 40-60 MPH - that lasted for hours it seemed. Mum, Gracie and I even had to go out in that stuff to take a quick relief. Well, Gracie and I did anyway. But Mum watched for any flying debris, stayed really close to us, and then made us go right back in.

After the rain the sun came out and we got to enjoy a little of the day. Gracie found a lot of yucky stuff to roll in, and I enjoyed the rainwater from the pool. By the end of the day I was super tired.

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We've got a lot of stuff to do to get ready for the trial this weekend. Laundry, clean out and pack up the car, run to the store for some of that really great white cheddar cheese that Mum thinks I may need by the third day of the weekend. And there' s money making work as well. So I better get at it!

Hope you all have a great weekend too!