For the last week of the session, we ran a 20 obstacle course..... or at least everyone else did. I tried to do 19 the first time (skipping the dogwalk at the end)...but Griffin apparently still can't weave properly (no surprise) and so we did half and then the second half. He did surprisingly well despite not having much experience running longer courses. His lines were nice and efficient and he was running. It was interesting to see that we made some different handling choices compared to the others in class. Most of them were similarly sized dogs. Two differences are that he's the only big dog with running contacts and that I just don't try to get in front crosses unless I know I can cue in time.
I also think that, in some ways, errors are less relevant to me than the others. I try to not just circle him back..we finish or run for a re-start location. He's attentive and responsive to cues and I want every single slow down cue to be relevant and to be followed by back-to-full-speed after the turn. I hear a lot about turns and stops that are "demotivating" and "punishing" and "my dog doesn't like it" in both obedience and agility. I want my dog to feel differently.
He's adorable.
We then had two hours of teaching agility later in the day...with a new daytime class. Three hours of agility is not enough!
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