MACH THREE FANCY!

Fancy earned her final 11 points today for her third Agility Championship. I knew she could do it, but she was making me work for it, refusing to run, running slowly or going off course. Today she pulled it all together for a good paced run with no mistakes. We didn't make a big deal of it, skipping the victory lap and not telling too many people a head of time. She got a pretty ribbon which will go up on the wall with the other special ribbons.

Fancy is an interesting agility dog. It isn't really that challenging to run her, so when she does well, it isn't that exciting. Kind of ho hum, Fancy qualified again. The challenge is to keep her happy and moving quickly, which is itself challenging, but that isn't supposed to be the challenge of agility. The real challenge is supposed to be staying on the correct course, keeping the bars up, turning tightly, and having the fastest times. Fancy isn't a border collie. A BC will run an agility course, dirt and grass clods flying, skimming over the jumps and turning on a dime. Why? Because if you are a BC, anything worth doing is worth doing FAST! (As always, there are exceptions, and some border collies are not as fast as others...) But Fancy doesn't feel the need for speed, especially when it is hot. Yes, sometimes we have nice speedy runs. Those are usually when it is cool outside and she is only entered in one run for the entire weekend.

The point is slow dogs are easier to run than fast dogs, and while I am proud of Fancy's Mach 3, it isn't a huge deal because Fancy listens to what I say, and tries hard (unless she is melting in the heat and refusing to run altogether) so it wasn't a huge challenge. This is the dog that went from her first novice show to her MX and MXJ in 6 and 7 months, after being in training for only 6 months. She got her MX exactly one year to the day after I adopted her. She is easy. Most dogs are still in training after a year, yet Fancy had her master level titles.



If she wanted to run agility as much as I do, she could be one of those dogs that earns a Mach 10 or more. As it is, I might drop her down to preferred, the 16 inch jump height. That level has the Preferred Agility Excellent title, which is 20 double qs, so it won't matter how fast or slow she runs, and I can concentrate on enjoying our time together, instead of worrying about how fast she is going.


Fast, medium, or slow, Fancy is still my special girl, even if she is pouting about the puppy. Hot dogs were her snacks at the show today, and we have El Pollo Loco for tomorrow, but I will probably buy her a cheeseburger for a reward for her Mach 3. It seems only fair since I have one friend who buys her dog a cheeseburger every time the dog qualifies, and she has bought only two this entire year. See what I mean about Fancy being easy???

One more item of note is Fancy earned a third place for her Mach run. Not bad in the 20 inch division, a class full of BCs and aussies. Go Fancy Go!

Even though it was Fancy's special day, Pie also gets a mention because she got a double Q today. 9 out of 20 and counting! Pie got two second places and a third so far this weekend.

The puppy gets a mention for staying in the x pen and not jumping out. Pie was babysitting her and showing her how good dogs stay where they were put. Good pup, but then she nibbled on the ribbons I had hanging on the pen and got the pretty white one all dirty. Such a puppy.