Panic's weekend and Dexter's training

Panic had her first trial back after her broken toe (which occurred in early September!) this past weekend. It was the January BRAG trial at the Buckeye Ranch in Grove City.

She did AWESOME! I could not have been more thrilled with her performance. She Q'd in 5/10 runs - Steeplechase, M Jumpers, M Snooker, A Relay, and A Standard. That A Standard leg actually finished our AAD!!!!! WOOHOO! I was not sure if she'd gotten called on her A-frame or dogwalk contacts, so when I checked the scribe sheet and saw she did not, we had a major party :)

She also ran really well in some non-Q classes, including what I thought would be a very difficult M Jumpers on Sunday morning. I felt really connected with her and we didn't have any off-courses this weekend, which is fantastic. Our next trial is Pawsitive Partners in Indianapolis, Feb 7/8. It will be our first crack at M Standard, Relay, and Gamblers. She needs 3 stds, and one in each Relay and Gamblers for her MAD. I hope my Standard nerves will subside some now that we are in the same level forever.

I got a chance to work Dexter at the building last night some before and after the class I was teaching. He seems to generalize his behaviors VERY well, and doesn't take a lot of relearning in a new location. We even tried something new w/the weave poles last night - we used the competition poles instead of the channel ones! He is now weaving three in a straight line on the competition poles. I had to return the poles I was borrowing, but am hoping to get another set soon so we can work up to 6 and then 12. He also did the tunnel for the first time running next to me and not as a recall. Me going out of sight was tough for him to be comfortable with, but boy does he LOVE the tunnel now :)

Two Mondays ago, I took him down to the building with me for Panic's class (this is the class which petrified him before, with all the barking dogs!). He is 100% fine with it now! It is so fun to see what a confident, self-assured little dog he has become. We were standing around and watching, and he jumped up on a table, so I thought I might as well work on table-down! I lured him only ONE time into a down, and after that he started offering a jump onto the table into a very fast automatic down. A week later w/out practicing in between, and he still remembers. What an awesome little dog he is. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us as a team!