Our agility season ends with a pfft

DJ will never be a sheltie. He'll never have that sweet, wanting to do a job, ready to rock attitude at all times. I just have to accept that. He will always have a place in his brain just waiting to go monkey-pants crazy at the slightest provocation when I least expect it.

Always when I least expect it, like trying to carry a bunch of stuff and walk him to the car and he'll decide that the person walking by is Up To No Good And Must Be Barked At when he hasn't batted an eye at any person, dog or thing all week.

Or, for instance, at an agility trial upon spying a wiggly golden retriever puppy just outside the ring barrier. Thank my freaking lucky stars it was the kind of plastic lattice barrier not just a strip of tape because puppies make DJ either want to kill or just go bonkers. I need some kind of dog expert to tell me why upon seeing puppies DJ wants to knock them down and nip at them. Go out of his way to do so actually…leaving an agility course we had already NQ'd on to examine the puppy through the barrier.

He was trying to find a way through the barrier and I'm sure going over was next on his agenda when I grabbed him but he has this strong objection to being picked up during agility trials. Similar to wrestling a greased pig, he wiggled out of my grasp and tried to launch him self over my head in a straight upward trajectory, much to the horror of the crowd. Luckily I caught him before he hit the ground and managed to wrestle him out the ring.

I fought the strong inclination to pack up and leave right then but dusted myself off, washed out the lacerations from his evil little claws on the inside of my arm and ran our jumpers course. It went well, we could have easily Qd but I was fried and made some dumb mistakes.

Still fried from the experience actually, between the heat and the sudden burst of craziness, just not feeling like going to our last trial this weekend.

We were signed up for a USDAA trial in Tampa but I've never been there and its 4 hours away and there are chickens and sheep at the venue. Most likely it would be fine. We'd do well, etc. But its also going to be near 90 degrees so I'm officially not going and instead will spend my birthday weekend laying out by the pool, drinking beer maybe and indulging in some candy and cookies.

By the time our next trial comes up I should be recovered.