I love this dog.

I sure do love this dog. We've just spent another long weekend doing AKC agility. We had FAST runs all three days (first time we've run FAST in months). Maggie Qd in 7 or her 9 runs... we had a dropped bar in Sat std, and we failed the send bonus in Sunday FAST (it was a very bizarre FAST course, but we'll cover that later). The trial was at the new Purina Event Center in Gray Summit. Everyone has been talking about the floor for months, so obviously we were a little (okay a lot) apprehensive. Friday Maggie ran pretty tentative, putting in a few extra steps here and there. However, she was able to complete the send bonus in FAST, so she wasn't just tip-toeing around. In jumpers I got a little freaked out when I could hear Maggie's toenails scrambling on the flooring, but she seemed to be running only a little slower than normal. By Sunday, she seemed to have her own method of dealing and she was moving out at near her normal speed.
But this weekend taught me a lot...
#1 Some people hate change so much that they are unwilling to be open-minded.
#2 Some people gave up on their dogs too soon, and didn't give them a chance to learn and adjust.
#3 Some people will use any available excuse for their dog to avoid admitting it is a training issue. ("the color of the floor made him break his stay")
#4 Some people were afraid that their dog would not accomodate and get hurt. Some of these people left and I applaud them. Some stayed, and I can't understand that- if I thought Maggie was going to get hurt, we would have been gone in a heartbeat.
#5 And, some people (like me) learned that their dog is way more flexible, more forgiving, more able to adjust, and better trained than we'd ever thought.
Which brings me back to the beginning. I sure do love this dog.

(and thanks, Liz, for the great picture)