After Christmas Stuff

What did I get for Christmas?

The flu.

Thanks a lot Santa!

And it's no joke trying to run your dog through an agility course when you'd much rather be sleeping underneath the electric blanket in your snug, warm bed, oblivious to everything and heavily medicated.

But Santa Paws brought Popper and Merlin a new 18' agility tunnel, so of course I HAVE to try it out. I put together a mini course that goes tire jump, two side by side bar jumps (for working on handling), then the tunnel in a half circle, then back over one of the bar jumps and back through the tire. I have the weave poles set up too, but I'm rather unconcerned about them at this point because Popper won't encounter them in the upcoming trial. He was being a bit antsy about tunnels, but he has shown absolutely no anxiety over his new one. Zooms right in, around, and out, no problem.

Of course, they say how they run at home and at class can often be quite different from how they run at a trial.

I'm pretty amazed at how well Popper listens to me. I've gotten a lot better at handling, and if he's paying attention (which is hard, one of my instructors told me he has the attention span of a gnat) he's unstoppable. I'm a bit worried he's going to be mightily ticked off at me for sticking him in a crate all day at the trial, though, and when he's sulky, well, let's just say he may plop his butt down and ignore me instead of running through the course.