Two more runs, but they are pretty blurry.

My crappy camera can't really do well from way up in the stands. Not sure if she had zoomed in if that would have been any better. It was hard because the only other person I knew in my group was Laura, my teammate, and she and I often ran back to back. So, we would find someone to film us, but that wasn't easy for that person to do going from camera to camera immediately.

This was his PGP quarters and he placed 10 and they advanced 12. Very proud of that, even with his trotting into the weaves!! He was definitely over-whelmed, but he sure holds it together nicely for 10th place!!!!



This run looks pretty good, but definitely too slow. It might have been in the placements at home, but at Nationals it sure wasn't enough. We were 17th after this run and they took 10 to finals. I am still so very proud of him!!!! Such a good little buddy!!!! This was PGP semis and in this class were all the dogs with "byes", which means all the dogs who qualified at a regional event to automatically make it to this round, so the competition was much stiffer. Basically, all the REALLY fast and competitive dogs ran this class.



We made it to the beach yesterday and even Colby got to run. Her back seems much better and she seems OK for that run on the beach. Nice, flat footing for her there. It was a great way to shake off the cobwebs from the week.

That trip seemed to take a lot more out of me than I had thought. As I come out of the fog I realise how hard that was. Long trip, lots of personalities to deal with, noise and crowds, all things I am NOT used to. I work outside and alone most of the time, so that trip was definitely out of my comfort zone. I think I did pretty well and tried REALLY hard to stay positive and happy and not complain.

And honestly I DID have a really great time!!! I was SO thrilled to just BE there with little Spur. Just him and me, that was very special!!!

However, I did hear a lot of complaining from top competitors and that stinks. It's supposed to be a FUN hobby, but some make it such a serious thing. I know, some make a living out of it and have to take it that seriously, but when you are dealing with animals one must have patience and a sense of humor, I think. Otherwise, I see no point in it. Some really poor sportsmanship occured there and some not so nice behavior from very experienced people. At big things like this there will always been some stuff I am not so happy with, since it involves animals I can get pretty critical. I AM opinionated. Those who know me know how very true that is and holding my tongue isn't my strong point. You want my opinion, just ask. You will get it! And sometimes you'll get it without asking.

I also saw some really great sportsmanship and some really incredible agility from people who are very kind to their dogs, so it was a roller coaster ride at times. I guess in any big sport this is just how it goes. The good, the bad and the ugly. I SO very much enjoyed the good. Hard to block out the bad and the ugly, though.

Will I go again? Maybe if it comes a little closer. Next year, outside in CO. Nope, won't be doing that. WAY too far and outside could be nasty in October in CO. Maybe I can qualify Spur for AKC Nationals and maybe in 2013 it will be in the North East. Who knows............what I do know is that event made me a better handler and taught me a lot. If I can implement what I learned I will be even better!!!! :D LOL!!!