Westminster July 23 and 24

Saturday I ran Winston and we got our last Q needed for his NAJ! Whoo Hoo. We also managed to get a second Q in open STD. He's such a good boy. Our only "R" was at the weaves, baby dog lack of collecting stuff. His 2on2off dog walk was spot on!!! Click, treat.
Sunday was the Z-man's turn. We Q'd in STD!!! Hip hip hooray. He dropped a bar in JWW, but otherwise it was a great run!
Westminster has old, and very worn turf that for Zedd and Winston is very slippery.
My guess it was why Zedd dropped the bar and was very wide turning. I had used water to wet his pads, but that seemed to make things worse. I ordered some Firm Grip and the next time I'm entered at Westminster I'll try it and see if it helps. If it doesn't help then I'll need to make a decision if I want to continue to show at this site.
Well, on to the cheer leading. I started out every one's run quiet and thinking about being focused. Well, everyone started out slow. I began to panic. Then I thought, "Cheer lead, keep the connection." So I did and winston and Zedd both began to pick up speed. I especially need to remember to cheer lead Winston. He is just learning and needs to know when he is doing great, even when I'm training. I did realize that I need to do a better job at judging when to bring my dogs ringside. That is something I really need to pay attention to.
On Sunday I watched the T2B runs, and cheered all my friends on. What fun. It was an open flowing course. It was a balls-to-the-wall run with your dog kind of course. What a change from all the tight, her key jerky, call your dog off obstacles that seems to be the norm for AKC courses. My dogs , being that they compete in the 16" class may not "set the time to beat", but it still would be nice to just full out run and push myself and dogs for speed. What a confidence builder for both of us!
Some things that I would recommend for the T2B class; allow, and strongly encourage cheering from the crowd, have the "hot seat" outrageously decorated.
I would gladly volunteer to make the above suggestions happen.
Till next time, trust your handling and trust your dog!