Wilson's Agility News

Wilson has been training in agility since he was about 18 months old. We started trialing about 10 months after we started classes. Wilson was never speedy but he was always very accurate. He has great running contacts and we have never been NQ’d for missing a contact. We made it through Novice pretty quickly, with only a few knocked bars to slow us down. Open was even better, and Wilson even earned a Front and Finish Agility Gold award (FFX-AG) for completing his OJP in just 3 tries. When we got to Excellent, Wilson’s weaving started to deteriorate. He would either blow past the entry or pop out before finishing all 12 poles. He’d often sass me. Usually, on a second attempt, he would do the poles just fine, but of course by then it’s too late. Occasionally, we had success and Wilson earned his AJP, and 2 legs for his AXP. Then a huge Q drought hit! Two years went by trying to get that last leg. We took weaving classes, went to see the chiro vet, Wilson got super high value treats for weaving in class and at home. He would zip through just fine, but at a trial it was like he had never seen poles before. I guess the trial stress was just too much for him to push past. He did agility for me, not because it was his thing. Well, this past weekend, on July 5th, at the Blue Ridge Dog Training Club Agility Trial in Winchester, VA, he did his weaves! They were slow as a snail, but they were completed on the first try! And, as is usually the case, the rest of the run was clean! He did it! He did it! He did it! Wilson finally earned his AXP! It might as well be a MACH because I am that happy! And this is where he gets to stop. I am not going to keep pushing him. He can proudly rest on his laurels! I am so proud of him! He is officially Caduceus Castaway Wilson AXP AJP NF CGC (with an FFX-AG thrown in there for good measure!) If he seems bored, or a bit jealous that Jimmy gets to keep training, maybe I’ll try some Rally. But for now, he gets to go swimming, and fetching, and hiking….all the things that make a shy Cardi happy. Thanks for playing my game Wilson!