Trial Weekend!

Secret tagged along to another NADAC trial in La Crosse this weekend. As much as we enjoy traveling, it's always nice to have a hometown trial to be able to return to our own bed at night. We haven't had a trial in La Crosse since July!

I had absolutely no idea how I was going to fit four dogs and all of the necessary supplies into my car. I've gotten it down to an art form for fitting in the stuff for the three dogs, but I was at a loss as to how I would arrange for four. As it ended up, they dogs had to ride on top of one of the big crates. I covered it with blankets & pillows best I could to make it a more comfortable ride for them, but I figured nobody could complain too loudly about a 30 minute drive.

Secret was a very good girl at the trial this weekend. She seems to get less cranky & more friendly with each trial that passes. There were a couple of dogs that came on Sunday (big, fluffy, black dogs -- something we don't like...) that caused her to pretty much sit and rumble in her crate all day, but otherwise she really wasn't too much of a pest for a change. I think having Max next to her made her feel less persnickety when I took the boys outside without her. She may have also appreciated having room to stretch her legs, as this weekend she got Luke's BIG green soft-sided crate (since I figured Max would be better off in the wire crate...).

Secret met Pearl this weekend, our friend Karen's new rescue, and had a fun time playing! They have very similar play styles. Secret did very well with new dogs this weekend, only really having issue with the big black ones (I'll never understand this, she LIVES with a big black dog!). She was also Max's security blanket when he was out & about, helping him to be more comfortable around all of the strange dogs. Max's friendliness with people also seemed to rub off some on Secret!

The trial got done very early on Sunday and nobody made a move to dismantle the Touch-n-Go course that ended our day. Practically everyone was gone by the time I had the majority of my stuff loaded into the car, so I grabbed Secret and decided to run her through the course. She has never been on contacts other than mine at home, so I figured it would be a good experience for her.

Oh my goodness, she totally nailed it! And not only that, but she went over them with confidence and speed! I was using what was left of my cheese for her reward -- No toy -- but she did very well and was having fun. I was excited to see how well she performed in a new environment.

Max may have found a home this weekend. There was a couple who stopped by the trial to watch on Saturday and overheard me talking to some friends about Max. They spent some time with him and then came back on Sunday to see him again. I believe the husband is smitten with Max, but the wife is still on the fence because she's not sure if he'll live up to her agility aspirations or some such thing. The poor guy just needs some work! At any rate, they are my best lead to date, so we'll see where that goes.

Meanwhile, Secret is in LOVE with him. She will miss Max a great deal when he finds a new home.