Would you like some stuffing with that helping of reality?

Somebody was a wee bit wound this morning out at the practice field.

I like a spot of agility, I do.

Somebody started moaning in the car a good mile or so before he got to the practice field then barked his fool head off because he got left in the car while I walked the course and other dogs were having their turn.

It's my turn.  Always.  I'll repeat this as loud as I can to anyone who'll listen for as long as it takes.

There was a full course set up at the practice field for the first time in ages so I thought I'd give it a whirl since we have a trial next weekend and I haven't done a full course probably since our last trial 5 weeks ago.  'A great opportunity to see how our training will hold up in the ring' is what I was thinking.  I was also thinking it would go well given all the training we've been putting in.  It was a masters level course but not all that hard.  Our regular training partner was at the field with her 2 dogs as well as someone with a fast sheltie who Strummer didn't know.  Three dogs people, two of whom he knows well, that's all it took to send his brain to crazyland and back several times over.  We had a missed dogwalk contact, missed weave pole entry, knocked bar and OMG the teeter!  Scary launch off the teeter, he didn't even try to wait for it to tip.  Not all that stuff was in the same run, I redid a few places to try different handling options or to correct an error but still.  What was going on with his teeter??!!

Yeah, well, I'd like to see you up on that teeter.  Especially when you're so excited you could pee your pants.

Guess we'll be working on teeters this week.  And oh yeah, dogwalks.  $##$@@#$$ing dogwalks.  If you want to become manic depressive I suggest you take up running dogwalk training.  Actually it wasn't that bad, again probably 70-80% success rate and I even got a front cross in with the tunnel looming on the other side of the dogwalk exit.  But those few misses, ugh, feels like this should be more than trained by now.  I was working on it at the start of the week and thought for sure he'd finally had a 100% success session but darn it when I checked the video he'd had one slight miss.  It was so close, he just missed his striding a bit and hit his front paws just off the bottom of the plank, so so close.  Those are the hardest misses to train for because they're so hard to see.  I had to put the video in slow motion to be sure.  And if I continue to reward them we'll never get that perfect session.  More plank in the backyard work this week as a refresher.  And the teeter.  Sheesh, it's never ending.

On the plus side he was able to hold his start line stay while the sheltie was flying through a tunnel right next to him.  He also left me once while we were working on a short sequence to go chase the same sheltie through the tunnel but he made his own decision to come back and play with me before he got close enough to interfere.  At least he's finally to the point of preferring to play agility with me rather than go off chasing another dog.  He even left the enticing sight of a BC herding sheep in the field right next to us to goad me into more agility.  Such a funny boy.