Expectations and dog agility

I competed in a USDAA agility trial with Jam this past weekend. It was our first weekend in Advanced. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect. We breezed through Starters rather quickly, so I knew she could "do" agility, but once you get to Advanced, it gets a little harder. The courses are less forgiving and the rules are somewhat stricter. So, Jam and I drove the 7 hours to Moorpark, CA (thank goodness for audio books!!) and had a whole lot of fun!!

Going into this trial, I basically had no expectations other than having fun with Jam and perfecting our on-course skills. The first class was Steeplechase. I had hoped to qualify, but instead we crashed and burned. BUT, her tail and ears were up, she was happy and so was I. The next course was Advanced Standard. We had flashes of brilliance, followed by flashes of silliness...in other words, another non-Q. Again, since I had no expectations, I wasn't disappointed, rather I came away realizing that we have some things to work on and she is a completely different dog than any other dog I've ever run before! Not to mention that she's still considered a baby dog...she's only 19 months after all!

Next came Jumpers. Jam was fast, happy and we were even accurate! :) She pulled the 3rd to last bar so we didn't Q, but her time was fast enough so had she not pulled that bar, we would've won the class. A HUGE positive in my opinion!!

The next class was Pairs. We had a draw partner who turned out to be a very nice Sheltie. We each had a nice run and came away with a Q...Woohoo!!! Our first Q in Advanced. A great way to end the day!

Sunday dawned chilly and misty. I had goosebumps on my goosebumps!! The first class of the day was Gamblers. Jam and I had a fabulous opening, earning more than enough points. The gamble was a jump to the teeter to a jump...you had to push the dog out for the last jump. We did great until the push out...I didn't give her a clear signal so instead, she came into me and barked as if to say..."mom...what do you want? why are you waving your arms??"...oh well!!

Next was Standard. The course was a nice course, very "doable." We ran it, and were clean and 20 seconds under time!! Another Q! :) In fact, we were the only team to Q in Championship on that course. How cool is that?! :)

The final course of the day was Snooker. By then the air had thickened with humidity and the temps were in the low 80's. I had a headache and my tummy was queasy...probably from the trail mix I couldn't keep myself from eating! I plotted a course, then found out I could do 4 reds instead of 3, so I re-plotted the course! Then I watched a few others go before me and changed my mind mid-stream. This can be dangerous, but I look at it as a challenge! When it was our turn, we went in, ran fast and came away with 58 (out of a possible 59) points and another Q!! What a rush! :) We even had 12 seconds to spare!

All in all, we ended up with 3 Q's in Advanced!! How cool is that?! BUT, the most important part is that we had fun in the process. I am competitive, but have learned over the years that if you get tense and put unrealistic expecatations on you and your dog, you will come away disappointed...and so will your dog. Why put that much pressure on when this is supposed to be fun?

I firmly believe that in agility, attitude is everything!