Run Thru

Abby and I had a run thru this past Friday. We almost didn't go because the weather man was calling for S.N.O.W. Really? At sea level in CA?? Yep, they were calling for snow. That wasn't what almost kept us from going, it was the possibility of ice. This CA girl doesn't drive in ice. But the weather wasn't supposed to get bad until midnight and I was hoping to be back home and snug in my bed by then. I'm really glad we went because we had a great time and really learned a lot.

This run thru was run level 3, 2, 1. We ran level 2 and level 1. I was interested to see if she would do better in level two then she did in level 1 since the last time (which I didn't blog about, but was run Level 1,2,3), we did better in level 2. Here were the courses:

Level 2 map


Level 1 map



Both courses seemed surprisingly easy. And we did a pretty good job on both courses. However, Abby did NQ on the level 2 course. She broke a stay! I think that her broken stay was due to her excitement. She anticipated the recall on sign 5 and came running at me full speed and slid to a sitting halt. It was hysterical! Everyone in the place laughed and laughed! I laughed until the food bowl exercise where she got distracted and we had to take a moment and regroup. Other than that, she had a blast and we did pretty well.

Level 1 was amazing for us. This was the first time that she wasn't walking wide. And we only got 2 tight leashes!!!! I was SOOOO proud of us! We did get dinged because I had to give a double command on the first sit! It was crazy because I had spent the entire warm-up doing jack-pots for sits! (well, not a full jack-pot, but a super cool, Abby jack-pot!) We did super awesome on sign 8, and I was very happy as that is something we have been working on a LOT.

Even though we technically NQ'd on level 2, I think that this whole run thru was the best experience we've had so far. We were really working as a team. Plus, her energy put me in a great mood from the beginning and we were both able to have a great time. My nerves were non-existent and I think that she knew that.

I am learning a lot about my dog in these run thrus - and it's not just about competition. I'm learning a lot about team work and that is the kind of relationship that I want with my dog. I want to be part of a team. And after almost 3 years, I think that we are getting there!