Great practice tonight!

Gracie and I got to go to another agility practice tonight. Dang was it fun!

We did a standard course, complete with all the new AKC rules; lowered tire, four paw table count, no judging on the up contact (no worries for me) and other stuff.

The interesting thing is there was an off course tunnel coming right off the dogwalk that Mum thought would be a challenge since we've been working our running dogwalk during our own Monday sessions with a tunnel as the reward and focus point. Mum decided to direct Gracie right into the tunnel since she's still working her dogwalk, but for me she decided to go with the plan and direct me to the jump right instead of into the tunnel. Good test right?

Well I passed!

We had worked on my running dogwalk with a higher table and plank to the tunnel on Monday, and I was at 100%, so Mum moved me up to the full dogwalk and I was at only about 85%. So she decided to test me tonight and I did the dogwalk seven times tonight and was at 100%, even with turns after. We'll see it if it holds for the trial next weekend. If not, I'm sure you'll hear a driveway alarm going off, BOL!.

Mum has decided that both of us will do a down on the table since we love USDAA, and we both come off the table faster that way anyway. One question Mum asked tonight is what if our paws during the down are hanging over the edge of the table, does it still count as four paws on for AKC? Yep, it does according to our instructor tonight who is an AKC judge.

Mum remembered something with me tonight that she had forgotten in our year off of agility and me recovering from my iliopsoas pull. If I'm doing a lot of work far from her laterally, like the five jumps in an arc during tonights run, she has to keep her arm out. If her arm is down closer to her side, I'll come in toward her. Duh, Mum!!!

All my runs were good except the one where she had her arm down, sheesh! My teeter is better, it's been kind of wonky since the one where we practice is really slick, and that time I flew off the top. It even freaked Gracie out on Monday, She was barreling up the teeter and when she lowered her body for the drop she went sliding down to the end. But now Gracie is loving the slide, oh no, watch out! BOL!

Speaking of Gracie, she was great again tonight at practice, completely focused, didn't run off at all. Since she's been having a little weirdness with the teeter she ran by it the first time, but took it like a pro the second. Gracie even has her running frame back, still needs work on her running dogwalk though.

Mum was super impressed with Gracie on Monday. After she ran a sequence Mum would throw a treat after the last obstacle for her reward. Gracie scrambled to get it, and then you could see in her eyes she wanted to get her zoomies on and run around the building. But instead, Gracie did a few crazy in place turns and then settled down and focused again. Mum and I both saw that she was trying to keep control and not zoom off, even though she wanted to, oh so badly! What a crazy, good girl!

We have one more practice next Wednesday with a drop in class before the three day trial the following weekend. We can hardly wait! Oh and did I tell ya, it's packed dirt...my absolutely, positively favorite flooring for running agility. Watch out Mum, you better be ready for me!