January 17th 2010 7:03 pm
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Oh my, oh my, oh my.... I loved it!! Every single second of it, I loved it. Mom entered me in my first agility trial for a single run. It was a NADAC trial and a Novice Tunnelers run. It was definitely on par with Course-a-Lure. All that speeding around and running with mom on a perfectly cool morning was pure bliss. I'll be a good boy, when's the next run?

Mom's diary entry:
The best way I can describe the run and how I felt was absolute glee after Koda's Tunnelers run. I was scared that he would run off to greet a person or a dog or the judge, knowing full well that Koda is still puppy-minded at 19 months. He is not jumping or weaving on any repetitive basis because of his age and size, so I choose a run that was solely tunnels. They are laid out intentionally to be a race course for dogs and the handlers are left to navigate and communicate to the dog turns and direction.

I had it planned out. I asked people on each side of the ring to help me and watch for Koda, just in case. This trial used a one inch orange ribbon at about 2-3 foot high to mark the edges of the ring (no netting or fencing) and there was traffic within a 1/4 mile from the rings. Of course I fretted, wondering if it was too early, although I knew the first run jitters would need to be faced sometime.

Koda stood up to start before I even moved and I asked him to down and then we raced together through the course. Tunnels had 10-15 between exits and entraces for him to zip away and explore. He was fast and furiously fun. He stayed with me every moment and looked at me for direction. I didn't expect it. I had prepared for the worst. I off-coursed him with my forward motion to an outer tunnel. Koda responded to my redirection and we sped to the finish.

My friends laughed at the finish line, because I apparently blurted out "Holy Crap!"

That was the best non-qualifying agility run I've had. Thank you for trusting me my dear boy. I love you.