Every three years, we try an AKC trial! Here’s Gooey trying out Fast. He’s in starters. I wasn’t exactly sure the rules , but I didn’t remember the important one, PUT YOUR DOG’S LEASH ON BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE RING. The other time I tried AKC, I forgot, we ran outta there, and I got yelled at by the judge. We remembered this time. No judge yelling.

Grifter got to come too. He’s done AKC a few times and ran in open. He does a lie down for me at the end and lets me put on his leash, no problem. But he hit a bar. I mostly wanted him to hold his contacts, so we stayed there having some long boring contacts. Me and Grifter have a long way to go!

We hope to visit AKC again in a few years! Maybe Banksy will try some someday. Mostly I just want her not to stare at the floor, agility seems like a very far away, distant future…When I emailed her breeder about her staring, she said nope, no particle staring in the family. Banksy is the only starer. She thought maybe her sleeping in the bedroom with us would help, like she wasn’t bonded to us enough! Banksy has been with us, everywhere, all the time since I brought her home on the plane! She’s been tucked into her little spot next to our bed every single night. Yikes.

Working on her independent streak to go and lay somewhere to stare at the ground is hard. She is lately on a leash with me every second of the day, unless she’s in a crate with a big meaty bone, so I can interrupt staring instantly. It’s frustrating when she wants to lay down and stare just walking through the house. Our house is VERY small, about 10 steps across and she’s wanting to do this more and more. If she isn’t actively playing or eating a bone, her next idea is to stare at the floor specks. Stop staring at the specks, Banksy! I am hoping this is a passing phase that she’ll grow out of, if I can keep her from turning her hobby into a full time job.