Despite our disappointing first trial, I did not want to give up my hopes for competing in agility with Malibu. Our previous instructor had not instilled confidence in Team Malibu. On the contrary, she stole our confidence and left me feeling doubtful about our future in the sport that I had quickly grown to love.

After leaving Cindy’s agility class, I decided to register Malibu in a class taught by Ann, Aspen’s instructor. Aspen and Malibu would be in separate classes, not just because Malibu had more experience, but I did not want to deal with the stress of having both dogs in the same class. I also enjoyed the one-on-one time spent with each dog.

It was fantastic to have Malibu in a class with an instructor who was fun and positive. Her style was never intimidating or authoritative and I didn’t have to worry about Malibu being alpha rolled or verbally abused. Unfortunately, I could see that the emotional damage from Cindy’s treatment was already done. Malibu appeared less certain of her abilities and lacked the enthusiasm that she once had while running an agility course. I felt incredibly guilty that I allowed Cindy to use punishment-based methods on my dog.

Managing Malibu during Ann’s class was easier even though she was still dog reactive. I had learned what worked best for Malibu and that was space. Providing Malibu with distance between herself and other dogs allowed her to feel more relaxed and less threatened.

We soon began entering AKC (American Kennel Club) trials. It did not take long to realize that AKC trials were highly charged environments where I could feel the tension in the air.  At trials I could never let my guard down and remained focused on Malibu the entire time. Although the indoor trial locations usually had crating rooms, I crated Malibu in the car while we waited for our run to avoid adding to her stress.

We NQ’d (did not qualify) over and over at our trials despite doing a great job in class. Our Standard runs were mentally hard for Malibu. She would frequently avoid contact obstacles and the chute (AKC no longer uses this piece of equipment for safety reasons).  Our JWW (Jumps with Weaves) runs were not as bad, but Malibu was still not focused enough to show her potential.  I realized that even though Malibu was an agility rock star in our backyard and had solid runs in class, the trial atmosphere added additional layers of stress that may prove to be too much for Malibu.

In February 2011, almost two years after enrolling in our first agility class, Team Malibu earned its first Q (qualifying run) in JWW at Dream Park in South Jersey.  It was an amazing feeling.  This achievement, that at times seemed unattainable, filled me with incredible joy. I was extremely proud of Malibu for her commitment and dedication.

 

I left the trial that day with renewed confidence and excited that we were finally on our way. Team Malibu had jumped a hurdle, both literally and figuratively, and was ready to move forward in this fun and addictive sport.