I ran Dusty first and we had several rough spots. I turned toward the teeter before he was committed to the tunnel and pulled him on to the dogwalk. Next, he overshot the weave pole entrance because he failed to collect. Lastly, he self-released from the A-frame. Ugh! Then I ran Belle. I thought it was an almost perfect run except that I almost pulled her to the dogwalk. However, then I watched the video. Much to my surprise, both dogs by-passed the #3 jump. That I pulled them past it I can understand, but that I didn't even notice I did it. . . . Yikes!
I changed the camera angle and took all three Aussies outside to work on my handling of the opening. Despite the fact I knew it was a problem, I missed it the first two times I tried it with Libby. Since I now knew it was a problem, I made sure to bid my time with Belle and Dusty until they committed to the jump.
I watched the Agility Nerd run Meeker after I ran this course, and it made me realize that leading out to (27, 68) to face and call the dogs was probably not the handling best choice. A more modest lead out, keeping my back to the table, and releasing them to run on my left side to the tunnel still allowed me plenty of time to get into position for what followed. Facing my dog indicates I want handler focus and collection. Getting to the correct tunnel entrance doesn't call for handler focus or collection IF you run with the dog on your left as Steve did.
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