MAD Dog

I just checked the USDAA official site for my results. I am one leg shy of Gusto's Tournament Masters Bronze title. Although I am sure others will have earned higher titles much faster than I have, I am still pretty happy with how G and I are doing so far. He was not an easy dog when I started to run him on sequences. He wasn't horrible, just very fast and quite reactive. If I twitched or said anything, he would react instantly which meant bars. In the beginning, he always dropped at least one bar per class (Not to mention the teeter fly offs, the dogwalk disasters and the flying frames)- that was at the 22 inch height (and 20 in AKC). It took both of us some time to work out the nuances. Then I moved him up to 26 - this is going much better than I anticipated! I was frustrated for awhile but he is starting to figure it out and wow - his muscle tone is amazing now!

If you consider that he is a minimum of one yard per second faster than Ivy was (at least comparing some of her better runs), I think I am adjusting to him pretty well. We have our moments of "what was I thinking/doing, what was he thinking/doing" but for the most part, we are starting to come together. I admit, this is happening a bit sooner than I expected. I parked Ivy so I could focus on him, I think that was a wise decision. Katie Leisey, a junior handler, is running Ivy when she can so at least she is getting to play and she really enjoys Katie.

He earned his MAD (Masters Agility Dog) Title in 1.5 years of showing. While that doesn't sound great, it was much quicker than Ivy - she took 2 full years. He has his TM (Tournament Masters) in about one year - I didn't start him in tournaments right away. I waited a little while before trying him on those courses. Ivy took 3 years for her TM - I didn't show her in tournaments right away either so it was probably more accurately 2 - 2.5 yrs. Comparing my results with both dogs and with Gusto being such a quick dog (speed and reflexes), I am moving in the right direction.

The question is - can I keep it together at the big events? Can I handle his excitement level which will definitely be amped up? These questions remain unanswered.

Ever hopeful and always in pursuit.....