Apparently Spike likes agility

I went to an AAC trial this weekend, held in Saskatoon. I wasn't going to go; I wasn't feeling great on Saturday morning and the weather was truly atrocious!  It poured down rain off and on all day Saturday but we went and everyone there made the best of it. That's what you do if you want to run some agility outside in Canada after all!

So, Spike and I were second dog on the line, at about 730AM, Saturday AM. I wasn't sure I was awake enough to run yet, but I thought, let's just try. End result? Our first ever Q, in Starters Gamblers of all things, with a first place finish to boot. We ran standard next and I have to admit, it was a hot mess. Starters Jumpers with a Q and a first place finish next (and a smokin' fast 24.56 sec time, standard course time of 38 seconds, phew!).  Last run of the day, I decelerated where I shouldn't, taking for granted Spike had enough speed over a final jump to head to the correct end of the tunnel. Hmph, MY mistake pulled him off. Ah well, 2 for 4.

Day 2 was MUCH nicer; sunny, warm to the point of t-shirts and shorts and I even got a bit of a sunburn. We started again with Starters Gamblers, 1st place finish and a Q. Standard was next and I learned a lesson from this run. It was the nicest Standard Spike and I have EVER run- truly lovely, I think! BUT, I didn't decelerate and call Spike out of a tunnel to the teeter and he blew off the end. So, 10 faults for bailing on it. But, lovely, fast run otherwise. Last two runs were both Snooker and we nailed both with 1st place finishes and Q's. Yes, the 22" class was very small and sometimes Spike was the only dog running in that class, but I am still proud of him and his 1st place finishes- especially when there were 3 or 4 other dogs entered. And, all those Q's.... WOW!!  Really, it's not about the placements, it's about the team work we had this weekend, the fun I had with my dog and seeing the joy on his face as he flew around the course. He truly loves agility.

He looks tired here, but trust me, he's not. He came home from a full trial (our first ever full 2 day trial), ran to the yard and grabbed his soccer ball. He wasn't tired a bit. And, people at the trial were surprised to hear he's nearly 6 years old. He just loves, loves, LOVES to jump!!

Spike and his ribbons... the red and white ones are the Qualification scores. Underneath each are first place ribbons too. It's quite a haul. And, I am shocked in the span of one weekend, we ended up 1 leg short of his Starters Game title with AAC. What a dog!!