Molly and I did Jumpers:
....And then we did Snooker (with no weaves, Molly was loving that!) I got semi-lost before the three jumps at the end but I managed to get in place just in time to set Molly's line and not get mowed down.
Perri was next up in Colors. Colors is two separate mini courses and you need to choose which course you want to run. Both options had 180-jump challenges, which Perri is not so hot at. I chose the "easier" of the two and she still ran out the second part of the 180 segment and then stressed down a bit when I called her back to restart the sequence. You can't see it in the video because the A-frame is in the way, but she also slips on the turf and stumbles. So, the whole run, though a Q, had me on edge and feeling worried and stressy.
Standard was the last of the weekend. Perri started out nicely but comes out of the first tunnel in a trot. I watched my video and I feel that the bright patch of sunlight on the ground caused this. She did slow weaves and popped out at around pole 8. I coaxed her through the rest and then she picked up well enough for the rest of the course. A jump run out but after reviewing the video I feel that was because I pulled her too hard with my outside hand (there was a tempting off course jump after the Aframe that many dogs were taking.) She took that pull very literally and thought we were heading for the teeter again.
Anyway, not quite the triumphant feel that Friday night had! I am a ball of anxiety. I even had the thought that maybe I should quit agility altogether with Perri because when any little thing goes wrong I stop having fun, and start worrying. That is obviously nonsense, and to comfort myself I made an appointment with Perri's chiropractor this week. An adjustment after her first trial back will be a good thing, and I need that peace of mind.
Our focus moving forward will be on using channel weaves to work on confidence and commitment to 12 poles. Even before the injury, if I am honest, Perri lacked the confidence to complete 12 weaves at a trial. 6? Not a problem. 12 was always pushing it. I refuse to drill weaves with her so it will take some time but we will get there. The nice thing about the channel is that it is a low impact way to work on this skill. As always with Perri, "less is more" is the law of the land.
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