Rally Run Thru

Abby and I went to our first rally run thru last night. I was a bit nervous, but figured that it would be a really good learning experience for both of us.

The run thrus are set up like a rally trial, so I decided that we would pretend it was an actual trial. I got there early, set up her crate and left her in there for a bit. I checked in, walked the course (level 3 - not what we were actually running). I sat for a bit and watched some people. About 6 people in, I pulled Abby out, pottied her and did some warm up exercises. Abby knew that something was going on, but couldn't quite figure it out. We still had a ways to go before our turn, so I put her back in the crate and let her rest.

Before I knew it, it was time for me to walk our course. It was actually quite an easy course, and one that we would have done well off-leash on if we were in our level 2 class. We were the second ones up, so I only did one quick walk through and pulled Abby back out to potty and warm up. I was a bundle of nerves when it came time to actually do the course. Even though it didn't "count" for anything, this was our chance to see how we were doing, and what we needed to work on. It's one thing when you are in class, but this was almost like a graded exam!

Silly me, I had nothing to worry about. Abby has this shit down. We ran the course twice and got a 201 and a 196 (out of a possible 200 w/ a 10 pt bonus). We needed to work on tight leashes (my fault) and doing a sit from a down (I got dinged for having to give a second command). Abby did well and seemed quite happy the entire time. I am especially surprised that she did so well after having a long day at work - our first run wasn't until 8:40pm and our second was at 9pm. That is quite late for a doggie who has an early bed time.

Confession time: when I added up Abby's first score, I cried a little. I was so proud of her. I felt like we really accomplished something. We have worked so hard at so much and I think that this is something that we can actually excel in. My silly little iggy not only likes this stuff, but is actually getting good at it.