Dragging butt...

Just got in from this weekend's agility trials in Carthage, MO. I had no idea that you could drive for 5 hours and still be in Missouri. But we're home, the car is unpacked, the doggy stuff washed (including the dog and handler) and I'm about to drift off. But first an update...
We took first place in Jumpers on Friday wracking up 22 MACH points (I'll explain those in some future blog), but that was Maggie and my big finale as well. We never Q'd again. Mostly crazy mistakes, like our last run when I forgot where we were going....
Our friend Addie took first place today in her Jumpers run and earned her AXJ title, so now she'll be earning MACH points also. Ben had several great runs this weekend (he's getting faster every time we see him) and brought home a third place in a very competitive course.
Speaking of Ben, his mom ignored our pleas to end all gift giving and brought the CUTEST dog cookies decorated for St. Pat's and Lexi's mom (who we have not seen for way too long) brought the dogs peanut butter cookies. Ben's mom also gave us a bag of Nathan's Hot Dog Treats. She called them "Doggy Crack" and I see why... the dogs LOVE them.
Depsite the challange to stay even in gift-giving (I'm failing) it is so nice to have good friends to run with. We all really benefit from the advice we get from each other because we are so caught up in the moment during our runs; it is hard to know what we are doing well, and what we are doing wrong. For instance, Ben's mom ALWAYS makes a point to give her dog feedback during the run. I saw her today smiling and talking to Ben while he was on the table. I know that I should really be doing that also, but I'm so freaked out trying to remember the course that I sort of forget about Maggie (shame on me, but it is the truth). Thank goodness for our friends that say "hey, did you know that you did such and such?" or "yikes! that off-course was totally your fault!" To a lot of people, it may sound harsh, but there is just too much going on for us to critique our own runs- we need those objective eyes. And, we all really want each other to do better. As competitive as we are, we want the very best runs from our friends, because seeing them get a ribbon, or a new title is almost as good as getting one ourselves.
Thanks Carol and Erin for a great weekend. I'm glad you got to take ribbons home and I cherish your friendship!