[k9rider]

We competed in our first ever agility trial yesterday and we triple Q'd and got 1st place in each event!!! I'm soooooooo proud of my little man <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/love.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="love"> He was the youngest pup to enter at 16mo old, but spectators said that it looked like we'd been competing for a long time <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngbiggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="orange big grin"> The most important thing was that we had FUN.<br><br>
Miles has always been a soft dog and I've worked really hard on getting his confidence up. He's typically done well in class once he knows the instructor and other dogs/handlers, but any time I took him to watch a trial he'd freak out. I've been working on taking him to some less hectic trials and giving him lots of good treats for sitting politely and also been tugging with him.<br><br>
Yesterday morning when we got to the trial site, he had to get measured for his jump height and they were having dogs get up on a table and then taking the measuring bar thingy over their shoulders. Well, Miles flipped out. He started scrambling around on the table trying to get off. It took me, dh, and the judge to get him still enough to measure him <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad"> I thought this whole thing was going to be a wash and I was prepared to leave if he got too stressed. After the measuring I walked him off of the trial site to a field and played fetch and tug for a while. Then we walked back over, but stayed a decent distance away and we worked on some obedience stuff. Within 30 minutes I was able to walk him over calmly to the side of the ring to watch the expert dogs run. From that moment on he was awesome!! What a long road it's been to get him here, but I'm so proud of both of us for sticking with it and doing well <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngbiggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="orange big grin"> Anyway, thanks for reading!

 

[daekini]

<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/banana.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="banana"><br><br>
WOW! That's great! Maybe we'll run into you someday at an event (I'll be posting pix of my ACD pup soon!) since we live in NC too. I'm so excited for you - it's great to hear about your success!<br><br>
It sounds like you did an amazing job keeping Miles' head together after his stress-out episode! I'd say that it would be expected - after all, it's such a new, unusual place to be. Good job!

 

[Crunchie]

YAY Miles!!! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="thumbsup"><br><br>
That is so awesome. Pics??

 

[rmzbm]

Cool! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/thumb.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="thumbs up">

 

[Zamber]

<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/clap.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="clap"> Good job!!!

 

[LittleRockstar]

WooHoo! Congratulations! I always get so excited to hear about dog competitions. It's makes me nostalgic.<br><br>
How did he do on the see-saw? What worked to get him over his troubles?

 

[Danemom]

Whoo hoo! Miles ROCKS!! I soooo wish I had time to get into agility with mine. It looks like so much fun!!

 

[k9rider]

Thanks all! We had SUCH a good time <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngbiggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="orange big grin"> Kinda took away my stress regarding "the other dog".<br><br>
Unfortunately, in our haste to get out of the house we didn't bring the camera <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad"> Next time I'll be more prepared.<br><br>
LittleRockstar - We competed at the novice level and there were no teeters required! We're still working on that whole thing. He's completely comfortable at home, but shuts down elsewhere. I even bought a competition style teeter base to replace my homemade PVC one in hopes that this would change his perspective. So far he hasn't skipped a beat on the one at home and I am waiting to introduce him to the one in class when my instructor thinks we're ready. I found a different trainer who is MUCH better than my previous one....I'm hoping she has a better approach to his issues!