An Early Spring Saturday

So maybe it's not officially Spring yet, but it sure felt like it on Saturday!

The Stump Kids and I celebrated by spending it outside as much as possible.

First we hit up a show 'n go at Goose Creek Dog Sports, which was exactly what we needed to get back into the swing of a trial. We haven't gone to an agility trial since November and we're hitting the Louisville Cluster next weekend. Not to mention AKC Nationals are just a few weeks away!

And boy were both girls pumped to do some agility! After a month of injuries (LaMesa's leg spring, Dally's ripped toenail), they've only been doing dog walks and not much else for quick recovery. LaMesa made her presence known by lots of barking, plus a nip on my butt when we were heading to the ring gate…oh, and her infamous face planting into the A-frame. (When she's really amped and she's not really working with me but just running, she tends to take off high onto the A-frame, which results, most of the time, in a face plant.) As always, she recovered and handled two difficult courses very well (minus some handler errors).

Dally didn't look too rusty, which is good…but boy was I! There were a few times where I didn't drop my shoulder enough to bring her in (I have to exaggerate some of the movements for more elaborate moves with Dally), and didn't handle a wrap correctly. This is what I've been worried about--how rusty would I be on full courses? Sure this winter I've done a lot of drills with a couple of jumps and the weave poles in the back yard, sprinkled in with a couple of run-thrus here and there at Goose Creek, but it's not the same as running like you do at a trial, no matter how long you've been doing agility.

After working Dally and LaMesa, plus my friend's two dogs (a Toy Poodle and Papillon) in a couple of Masters and international courses, I headed to meet some friends for a 6 mile run at the Legacy Trail. After I completed my run, I took the girls for a 2 mile walk on the trail while we waited for my friends. Since I have never walked them on this trail before, they enjoyed the sights and new smells a lot.

The Trail has a lot of cool paintings along the 10-mile length.

Happy Vallhund!

I'm going to try to do some drills in the backyard this week leading up to our trial. I'm already getting excited, trying to fight the urge to start packing now.

How was your weekend?