Maggie, SADC

Maggie did it!!!  She got her Starters Title in agility this weekend.  It was not an easy weekend for us.  The weather was very hot (30 degrees) and Maggie did not want to be out there.  It took a lot of cheering  to keep her on course this weekend.   In our Gamblers run, she decided she had enough - she left the course and ran back to our shade tent (see video below).  She was better in our first standard run - no hesitation on the table or the teeter but she was slow.  In our second standard run, she was still slow but a very bad error on my part (I missed an obstacle) messed up what would have been a clean run.  On Sunday we started with our third Standard run of the weekend.  The morning was cool and Maggie had some of her usual pep back.  She ran her standard clean and 6 seconds under time for a 1st place finish and a Q to finish off her Specials Agility Dog of Canada title.  The rest of the day was hot and Maggie was less than thrilled about having to exert herself.  Needless to say, no more Qs for us.  She did however have enough energy after we were finished our Snooker run to sprint off the course, jump over the ring barrier (which is well over her normal jump height) and run back to the tent to get in the shade.  

The positives for the weekend were that Maggie did not knock one pole the entire weekend - this was good considering her lack of energy and enthusiasm.  I really need to look hard at the positives from this weekend.  I know that Maggie is capable of so much more than she gave this weekend and it is hard not to be disappointed.  I am not disappointed that she did not get more qualifying runs (that is a bonus to a good run), it is just that I see her tearing up the course in practice and I know what she is capable of.  I don't blame her for not liking the hot weather - she is a Mountain Dog after all, but I sure miss it when she is not her usual spunky self.