NADAC

We ventured up to Springfield, MO to try our hand at NADAC agility last weekend. Marley and I had previously attended a NADAC trial 2 years ago and I wasn't impressed. But we decided to give it another try and it would give KK's foster mom a chance to see her run.

KK did well. She earned several Q's (can't recall in what). She had some nice runs but the inability to tug really demotivated her. We are used to tugging into the ring and out of the ring. I didn't know until after our first run that tugging is prohibited in NADAC....have no idea why. She would run and we would come off the course and snap on her buckle collar and walk back to the crate. After a few runs, she didn't even jump up looking for her tug leash. I love that KK works for her tug and is so excited coming off a course and running to get her tug leash. For a 'positive' environment, it was a demotivating environment for my dog.

Marley only ran tunnelers both days. She was so happy not to see weave poles anywhere!! She Q'd her runs and earned her Novice Tunnelers Title.

I was surprised to see that there are no refusals in Open and Elite. I was amazed at the number of Elite dogs that ran around jumps and missed weave entries but could Q if they stayed on course and didn't knock a bar. I just expect at that level a dog should be able to run a course without multiple refusals. I'm not saying KK is flawless, but I think she only had 1 'refusal' the whole trial and she's only been competing 4 months.

I guess since I cut my teeth on USDAA agility, I'm used to a higher level of difficulty and stricter rules. I like structure. I like a real challenge. I like to come off a course learning something about my handling or my dog. That didn't happen this weekend. This was the first trial that I literally couldn't wait until it was over. Don't get me wrong, it was nicely run and there were some nice people there.

But NADAC isn't for us.