We brought home this crazy little pit bull mix at eight weeks old. At nine weeks old, she was climbing the back of the couch. A week later, she was jumping across the furniture. This girl was made for agility.
Journey picked up puppy training pretty quickly. We got the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy designation right away. We’re still working on the AKC CGC. She LOVES people, attention, and love and wants to LOVE on you! Also known as, she jumps on everyone. Still not knowing what I was doing, but knowing what I thought I wanted, we did register her with the AKC Canine Partners program. Keeping with the theme, her AKC registered name is “Small Town Girl Goin’ Anywhere”, call name Journey!
AB Dog Training gave a beginner agility class, just the basics, but I wanted to see how much more Journey could do. We struggled a bit to find our next place. I started looking through the AKC website since that’s what I knew. All the clubs listed, that were also nearby, had requirements to become a member. You had to take so many classes before you could join, but all the classes had wait lists because the members all got the first choice. I also came across a few that required you to go to so many membership meetings before you could join. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. It seemed too much for a beginner, and this was so far outside my comfort zone. I am an overthinker who is not a fan of new things. I’m also severely overweight and diabetic. What the heck was I thinking?
Then I found Medina Swarm Dog Agility & Training.
They didn’t have all those requirements. They were open to all. Additionally, they were very nice and didn’t act elitist at all. So, we started training with them.
Along with obedience and agility training, Medina Swarm hosts a few trials a month, mostly for Canine Performance Events, hereafter known as CPE. I’d never heard of CPE and I bet you haven’t either or have just heard of them and have found your way here to learn more. They do Agility, Canine Scent Sport, and SpeedWay. I have spent so much time on their website (cpe.dog) and reading the rules, and I still don’t understand it all. But, we’ll get there!
SpeedWay was the first thing that I thought we’d try. Journey only had to be a year old to participate. The trainers at Medina Swarm all thought this would be Journey’s sport! It’s also really beginner-friendly. However, I still had no idea what I was doing. When you’re in training, you’re performing the obstacles in pieces. You are several weeks in before you start to string together more than a couple of obstacles at a time. So, I decided to go to a trial as an observer, which I highly recommend. There’s nothing like seeing it in person.
SpeedWay has several different types of courses, there’s Drag Race, Pitstop, Slingshot, Hairpin, and Pole Position. The obstacles are all open tunnels, hoops, and barrels. CPE doesn’t allow jumps or climbing or anything that could stress a growing puppy before they turn fifteen months old. Now, as of this writing, I still haven’t experienced Drag Race, Hairpin, or Pole Position. I’ll post about Pitstop and Slingshot soon.
And, that’s where we are. Journey and I have completed two trials so far and haven’t done very well. But, that’s all part of the journey and experience.
asjourneysgo.com 