Day 13 - Agility Run-Throughs (Canine Sports Zone)

Today Jedi went on his first road trip since the long drive home from Indianapolis. We are going to an agility trial next weekend, so I figured this would be good practice for that! Canine Sports Zone in Middleton was hosting run-throughs as a fundraiser for a person going to the European Open. They were also having a raffle and other fun stuff, so I figured it would be a great opportunity to get in some socialization for Jedi and train my own dogs in the process.

After some complaining at the start of the trip that he was bored (this doesn't typically include vocalizations, just a lot of moving around in the crate and assuming odd positions until he settles in), Jedi traveled very well for the two-hour drive. When we got there I let him out right away to potty and then took him in with me to drop off my training bag and check things out. It was plenty cool outside, so I just planned on working the dogs out of the van. Jedi took everything in and walked around the building like he owned it.

It was a super experience for Jedi! He got to meet lots of nice new people and interacted with a few friendly dogs, too. In between my turns with the other dogs I was able to bring him inside for some play time. Jedi got to play tug on the turf in the area where all of the dogs were waiting to run. There was a lot going on in that small area and he didn't notice any of it. Honestly, I think the world kind of shuts out for him when toys are concerned. On another trip inside we spent time chasing frisbees and doing recalls in the matted area, so that Jedi would get experience running on that surface as well.

Once the run-throughs were done everyone gathered in the raffle area. Jedi got to hang out with us where he got to say hi to more people and got some one-on-one playtime with a super nice dog named Finch. Before we knew it we were heading home. Then Jedi got to learn about pig ears -- these are something I typically reserve for trips home from events as a reward for a job well done. Jedi thought that was pretty cool. The rest of the trip home was pretty uneventful. We got home around 9:30 and then still had to feed everyone dinner, so our schedule was a bit thrown off. Thank goodness it's Friday and we have the weekend to recover.