We competed in AKC agility in Castle Rock this weekend, and it felt good to be back after a six-week break. The training theme of the weekend for Jackson was "rear cross contacts." We had some lovely opportunities to rear cross the teeter and AFrame, and he performed beautifully. I think he did a head-check the first time, but after that it was Full Speed Ahead! Cozy's Magic Weave work paid off with three beautiful weave performances. Her speed and enthusiasm are still good!
Here's Jackson's standard run on Saturday:
Yeah, that's him barking all the way around.
The mental theme of the weekend was "If It Isn't Fun, Why Are You Here?" I've probably mentioned this before: I compete in agility because I enjoy the challenge of testing my dog training. A good agility weekend is one where my dogs and I do our best on course and find something to work on in our training sessions. If there are no Qs, but I laughed for entire time we were competing, it was a good weekend.
Many people have the mindset that the only good run is a qualifying run. When they ask "How did you do?" they are only wondering if you Qed or not. They are obsessed with the ribbons and titles. How many double-Qs do you need? How many points do you need? Sorry, unless I check my database, I don't know how many MACH points my dog has, nor do I care. My concern is walking into the ring with a dog who truly enjoys being there with me. Our success isn't measured in MACH points.
I'm not criticizing the people who go out to WIN. Their performances can encourage me to be a better trainer. But when the handler wants to WIN at all costs, but the dog is running out of the ring to get away..... that's just a shame.
With that in mind, I think from now on when someone askes "How did you do?" I will reply "We had fun!" Because it will most likely be true. When it isn't fun any longer, I'll find something else to bring joy to my dogs and me.
Today I am grateful to my Cairn Terriers, Walker (1993-2008) and Cozy, who are/were experts at The Important Things In Life. They showed me the path to enlighenment isn't paved with ribbons. In fact, the path to enlightenment isn't paved at all, it's a dirt path in the forest.
