Well, for the first time, my plans to travel to a trial were thwarted. The first snow storm of the season arrived just in time for the NADAC trial in LaCrosse and unfortunately, we were snowed in :( As a consolation, the dogs had a jolly time playing in the snow and embraced the wet stuff much better than the humans. Thus is life, though, and I am looking forward to the next NADAC trial at the end of December.
Luckily, we have a full trial schedule this month, so I didn't have to wait long to do agility again. We spent one day last weekend at the Agile Canines CPE trial and had a great time. No weave troubles this time and Zoe continued to perform as a seasoned dog. We earned three Qs - Full House, Jackpot, and Colors. Our Standard run was a tough course, but Zoe maneuvered it very well. Unfortunately, I made a handling error at the end and Zoe took an off course tunnel :( Other than that, the run was great and I was really glad to see that level 45C courses are not too challenging for us. Despite my error, my handling has really improved over the past few months, and I think it has helped Zoe become much more confident. Our next trial will be a 2-day event at the new On the Run Canine Center in Ham Lake. It is a new trial site, so I am not sure how Zoe will react. But she is used to running indoors at class, so hopefully that will be an advantage.
Breeze's training is also moving along quite well. We are working on sequencing and contacts and she continues to show no fear. Now that snow has arrived, our training at home will be limited, but I am finding new things to keep her busy. I bought a backpack for her to wear on walks, which will hopefully wear her out a little more. So far, she has tolerated it well. I've also been doing a lot of shaping with her to wear her little brain out. She's getting the hang of it, and is learning some new behaviors. I hope to get better at it myself as it requires breaking behaviors down so that they can be successful.
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