Last summer when I took Solei’s Bronze Good Citizen award I thought about doing it with Elton as well, but decided not to as there was no hurry and I had enough to think about at the time. I’ve been waiting for the obedience club I’m a member of to hold a test (to my knowledge the last one was January 2010) intending for Elton to do it then, and they haven’t! So Elton still hadn’t taken it.

Last week I was sorting out some schedules, and suddenly had an “oh sh!t” moment! – entries for the first heat of the Pre-Beginner Stakes I want to enter close on 23rd March…by which time Elton needs to have passed his Bronze. There was no test coming up at club, and the earliest he could take it was at UK Toy – 26th March. Uh oh!

Thinking if they were holding tests it was more likely to be at the end or beginning of a month, I frantically started emailing round all the clubs within a 35ish mile radius! Twelve in all. I had some helpful replies, and one said they were holding a test on 1st March and I would be welcome to come along…yes, result!

I was so nervous, although everything he had to do should have been well within his capabilities I can count the number of times he’s been to an obedience class on one hand (the last time not good at all) and we were going to a venue neither of us had ever been to before, with dogs neither of us had never met before – having not specifically practiced either!

So last night off we went. Arrived nice and early, because I wanted to give us both plenty of time to settle – just as well, we needed it! On the whole he was a very good boy, though a long way off what he is capable of which is entirely my fault…I haven’t done enough practice with the chair (partly because I was holding out, expecting my new chair to have been ready ages ago and thus avoiding having to retrain him to another chair yet again!) and I haven’t done enough practice away from home.

Never the less, although not good looking at him from a competitive point of view, as a pet he was fine 😉 and we passed! So Elton now holds his Bronze Good Citizen Award, and panic is over 🙂 I’m so relieved to have to that out of the way. Yay Elton!

In other news, Solei is going back to agility 🙂 I’m so excited, I just hope he enjoys it as much! We started two years ago and then it fizzled out, I’ve been desperate to get back to it ever since. I oked it with the chiropractor, so we’ll have to see how he goes. Fingers crossed.

It seems as if it was meant to be – last week I was looking for something totally unrelated to agility, that I knew I’d seen on a website somewhere but couldn’t remember where. I thought it might have been on an agility website I’d been looking at a couple of days previously, so I went back to see. I didn’t find what I was looking for, but upon looking for that I discovered a notice posted two weeks previously advertising spaces at the club I’d intended to go and have a look at – starting the next week!

So I rang up the number, and after we’d chatted briefly we discovered we actually knew each other….and not only did we know each other, but she’d even given me a lesson once. So that was rather fun! Also awesome because A) I know I like her methods so I feel ok going along next week without having been to look at the club beforehand (no opportunity to go and look before next week), and B) the wheelchair is ok 🙂

First lesson is tomorrow! He’s going as if he’d never done it before, which means it won’t be any more strenuous than a walk, so he’s ok to do that – because I think he’s put his back out a bit again – he’s going back to the chiro on Friday, which’ll be 6 weeks since his last treatment.

What a week!