Our 1st Agility Trial

I know you're probably dying to know what happened this weekend at Marley's first trial.  Well, I have to begin by saying we survived the heat (temperatures between 100-106 degrees the whole weekend) and Marley had a great time.  We did Perf Jumpers on both Saturday and Sunday.  We are still having issues with Marley's height, I had her measured both days and the measurements are very different.

Saturday:  I found a quiet cool spot under a tree by the car to crate Marley.  I picked up my map and worked on my strategy. When it was our turn I lined Marley up at the start and took off her collar.  I released her and she took off...to make new friends with the pole setters and the Judge.  I managed to call her back and she kept finding new stuff to sniff.  Needless to say it was quite an experience.  I'm really glad I didn't have very many expectations.  Overall, I met my goals by staying on course and Marley met her goal by having a great time.

Sunday:  The quiet cool spot under the tree started to cause Marley some stress and I ended up moving her closer to the ring.   She kept an eye on me the entire time she was in her crate. It was a bit unnerving.  I spent time working on nose touches and heeling to help her overcome the distractions.  I also spent more time at the practice jump.  When it was our turn I set her up and slowly walked away keeping my eye on her the entire time.  I released her and she jumped over the jump and took off towards the Judge.  I used my no-nonsense voice and called her back. Once she was next too me it was fantastic.  She took all the jumps in front of her and didn't hesitate going into the tunnels.  It was marvelous until we headed towards the finish.  With one jump left she veered away and started running towards the scribe and timer.  I managed to call her back and jump over the last jump. It was awesome!


Our instructor met us at the exit of the ring and told me we did a great job and gave me some advice on cool down.  Our instructor is the best!

Overall, we had a great time and everybody was simply so nice and welcoming. I can't wait to do it all over again.