Malibu’s agility class experience was problematic almost from the very beginning. In my article, Bad Dog, I detailed our first class and instructor. When I look back at that time, I always feel a sense of “if I knew then what I know now”.  As soon as I began to have doubts about Cindy (our instructor), I should have left that class. Instead, I allowed Cindy to bully Malibu for months.

About six months after Malibu began taking agility classes with Cindy, I registered Aspen for her first class at the same facility, but with a different instructor.  Ann was a kind and patient teacher. She did not favor certain dogs or grab dogs and alpha roll them in an attempt to dominate them. I instantly wished that she had been Malibu’s first instructor.

From a very young age Aspen was an ideal agility dog. Fast and fearless, she had no issues with any obstacles on an agility course. “She’s very athletic”, commented Ann as Aspen flew over the jumps with ease.

Unlike Malibu, Aspen was not reactive in class which kept my stress at bay. Although I did not have to micromanage Aspen as I did Malibu, I did have to deal with a different issue. Aspen seemed to enjoy running agility courses, but she also showed great interest in going off sniffing and exploring the building. At times, I became frustrated. Here I had a dog with huge potential, but she would sometimes prefer to sniff. I was familiar with displacement/avoidance behaviors that dogs may exhibit when they are stressed, but it truly appeared that Aspen took great pleasure in the joy of sniffing. Unless I was able to get Aspen to remain focused on agility we weren’t going to get very far.

During this time, Malibu was still taking classes with Cindy. Things had not yet come to a head. By now, Malibu and I had been taking classes for almost a year and thoughts of entering our first competition began to enter my mind. A CPE (Canine Performance Event) trial was coming up in a few months and I decided to enter. About a month before the trial, I severed ties with Cindy. She had finally gone too far and I was finished with her and her delusions of dominance.

The day of the CPE trial arrived and I was both excited and nervous. No longer taking classes with Cindy, I was a bit on edge when I spotted her at the trial. She was not competing, but present to support another student from my former class. We did not speak to one another which was probably for the best.

After the judge’s briefing, I walked the novice agility course with my fellow competitors. It was a simple beginner course that appeared easy since our practice courses were typically on the challenging side. Not wanting to miss my turn, I kept a close eye on the running order as I anxiously waited to run the course with Malibu. Watching the dogs before us run the course I was confident that Malibu could successfully complete the course. Then, something happened that changed my mind. The dog running one or two places ahead of us stopped and urinated on the course. I had a feeling that this would be trouble for us, and it was.

It was finally our turn to enter the ring. Malibu began the course and was doing a fantastic job until she got near the spot where the dog had urinated. (Ring crew had diluted the grassy area with water as is customary when a dog eliminates). Malibu became distracted, and like a magnet was drawn to the area. Ugh! I couldn’t believe it and was so disappointed. Since Malibu stopped running and went “off course” we had officially NQ’d (did not qualify).

Unfortunately, this was to be the first NQ in a long list of agility NQs for Team Malibu. Not a quitter, I knew we needed a fresh start and planned to enroll Malibu in one of Ann’s classes.  Her personality and teaching style would be a better fit for us.

Although our first competition was not a success, I enjoyed the trial atmosphere and looked forward to competing again. But which dog would be ready, Malibu? Aspen? Or, both?