Don't blink.

I think I'm getting better at running Hobbes. He belongs to my agility instructor. He is a big, fast border collie that has bundles of Lifetime Achievement Gold Points, always winning the Grand Prix, and is like driving a monster truck that has cruise control and ferrari speed. I've been running him for a few months, trying to learn to be a better handler. Last night I actually completed a few runs without errors, which is saying a lot for me. I usually mange to sneak as many errors as possible into a run. Maybe not always enough to knock a bar or go off course but always enough that I know it was an error, and not how I planned it. There aren't any do-overs in agility, but when I'm running his dog, my instructor lets me repeat the thing I managed to screw up til I get it right. I go by third times a charm usually. That may be why I am not a super champion of agility in dog shows. Because at the dog trial, there are definitely no do-overs. Unless the timer messes up and you have done a perfect clean and fast run. And then they ask you to do a do-over. Which has happened to me on more than one occassion due to my weird force field around me that messes up timers.

My dogs have to share when I run the other dog. I get 2 turns each for 3 dogs. So they get a little ripped off. They sit like a set of gargoyles at agility, in the dirt, tied to a fence, with Otterpop's slouching posture and Ruby's sitting up, and all you see sometimes are their big bat ear outlines. They just don't look like the other agility dogs. They sure enjoy sitting with border collies though. Some border collies obsess on them like they are little glowing hypno mutants for their staring enjoyment. Dogs that don't blink are a little weird. I am pretty sure I do not need a border collie, but they are fun to borrow.