Spur's big debut!!!

Went smashingly well!!! Or I should say...screamingly well!!! Goodness that boy can scream..........like a circus freak........like a raccoon in heat............like a piglet stuck in the fence..........like a child whose dog just ate her ice cream cone............like a posse (pap/aussie mix) who wants his mamma and wants her NOW!!!! YIKES!!!! Spur will never be able to hang ringside in an x-pen. Nope, no way, ain't gonna happen, ain't no friend I have that should have to put up with that, ain't no body mean enough ..........well maybe there are people mean enough to have to put up with Crazy Monkey Pants Screaming Circus Freak in an x-pen ring side. I don't know anyone that mean, but maybe they would have to deal with it. Everyone else, no way. It's cruel and unusual punishment and I send my apologies to the other attendees yesterday. Luckily, I could work out of the truck and he only had to be screaming in there while I ran the other dogs and luckily Cindy was there to shove cookies in his mouth - I think that's the only way she kept him quiet. YIKES!!! Screaming Circus Freak Crazy Monkey Pants made sounds yesterday that I hadn't even heard, yet. Usually, I run one of the Pin Heads first to get him jealous and really wanting to run. It's really helped us get over the teeter concerns and worries he has. Yesterday, I looked at Cindy and said "maybe I should just run him first?", she nodded slowly and deliberately. So he ran first.

It was a show-n-go, but I tried to make it like a show. They had a running order and timer, we had 90 seconds to do whatever we wanted. You will see in this video clip that I stop to reward the table a bunch. That's the time spent at the table - lots of cookies there.

In this his jumpers run, I just keep going. He's having so much fun, I can't bear to stop him!

Another jumpers run with TWO back crosses!!! We don't do back crosses well!!! He looked like a champ!! Nice, tight wrap around the wing jump! Good little Monkey Pants!! -

In this standard I stop and reward his poles. These poles had different bases then he has ever seen and his first run he missed the entry. Poles are not his weak point and he does them well and nicely and missing an entry here (a very rare event, he has nice weaves) didn't concern me, but I wanted to reward a good go since he is a worry wart and these were a new look to him.

I was very proud of the little buggar and I think I feel like he really is ready for the BARK trial Columbus Day weekend. I really do! The only thing I felt a little bummed about was his trotting on the dog walk. He worries about his job on the dog walk and I have got to make that more fun. We had some great, fast running dog walks for a while there, then when I started to really get on him for making sure he was getting his contact, he started slowing down. I am going to work on that, but that is a real project for me. I can't seem to figure out a consistent and clear and easy and definite way to get him running his dogwalk. He totally understands his hit-it board. I can totally know when he has hit it. But, he worries about it and is starting to slow down some. Ugh. I am going to start running it with him really close and being RIGHT there to reward the contact and be sure he gets it. He is much more likely to launch if I pull far away or off to the side. I may have to pick my battles and stay RIGHT with him on it for a while. No independent dog walks until we get a ton of good reps of being right. I don't know what else to do.