Where to go

[aardogs]

Upcoming WTT and ripnpaws have got me thinking about things. I will now publicly admit that I am jealous of everyone going to tryouts, especially the people my age. I am excited for them and want them to do well, but yes I am jealous because Panic and I will never be able to go, regardless of our skill level which may or may not be up to par with some people going. I'm not even sure if I would WANT to go--but just the fact that I don't even have the option bothers me. We always want what we can't have, right?

It often leaves me wondering where I should go in this sport. WTT and WC are traditional things that people work towards when they decide that they want to be competitive and reach high levels in agility. It seems to be the pinnacle of dog agility, at least from my experience in the US. It just seems to be something ingrained in the culture of the sport: you are competitive, you want to do well, you aspire to WTT.

Well I am competitive and I want to aspire to higher levels in the sport. So where do I go? Obviously there are a multitude of options besides WTT, and the first step for anyone would be working towards success nationally. I know I am not out of luck when it comes to finding a competitive outlet and striving for success. I still just can't help but feel upset that I can't reach that particular level, especially when I have people that don't know Panic does not have a pedigree tell me that I should think about going to WTT with him. No, I should not think about going to WTT with him because I can't and it would just make me feel annoyed.

All of this is okay though. If that particular events was so ridiculously important to me I obviously would have gotten a dog with a pedigree. But its just agility, and I want to do agility with Panic. I am enjoying the journey with him and I honestly think we can be competitive in the sport regardless of our ability to go to a particular event.

I would love to go to World Team Tryouts one day. I am getting a puppy from a breeder. Those things are not related. I think it will take a special dog to take to tryouts, and having a pedigree does not equal the ability to compete at such a level (or any level for that matter). And I certainly wouldn't put that kind of pressure on a dog that hasn't even been conceived yet!

At this point I will get off my soapbox, because overall this entry doesn't seem to have much of a point. Good luck to everyone competing this weekend, Tori and Rev, Kelsey and Ace, Shelby and Swift, Sarah and Tess, and everyone else that is going that I can't think of. (By the way, is there a list anywhere of competitors? I know there was last year.)

Comments

[ripnpaws.livejournal.com]

email me or fb me and I will send you the list.

[gumbypuppy.livejournal.com]

Happily for me, I blundered into the WTT goal. It's not something I would have thought of, it just suddenly occurred to me that we COULD, so I set it as a goal. Which means we could finish dead last, and I'd still be so happy to have achieved this.

So many possible goals in agility. That's one thing I love about the sport.

[hycaliber.livejournal.com]

Is Panic your first agility dog?

[moodypdx.livejournal.com]

When I was in Germany I heard that FCI is going to drop the pedigree restriction, something to look into.

[rita-cockersbcs.livejournal.com]

Well, um, thanks for saving me the trouble of writing all this. Do I have permission to repost? :)

I've been struggling with some of the same feelings this week. I can't say I feel jealous of anyone (like you, I am soooo excited because there are so many people I want to do well there!!), but I did, finally, announce to my partner (and myself) this week, "I feel sad that I can't go to Tryouts."

I really want to attend WTT. Yes, it pains me that some dogs that my dogs regularly outperform are attending. I am not jealous of them; they are qualified too. I just really want to attend WTT with my dogs. There is nothing like the head-to-head competition there. I don't really dream of winning something like that (or Nationals) right now, but just to participate...

Since WTT is not an option for me and my dogs, I really want to make a go of it for IFCS, so that is my focus this year for Axl (the height cut-offs do not work for 13" Lucy). So, let's do the best we can with our giant rescue BCs!!! :)

And, in the meantime, since I can't bring myself to buy a dog, I suppose I'll place a want-ad for handlers who would like to "re-home" their papered dogs so someday I will be able to attend WTT. :)

[wickydoodle.livejournal.com]

I don't know the alphabet soup of international events, but can't you try out for the USDAA national team? Isn't that going to be in Texas next year? I think pedigrees are dumb personally and no agility should require them. :-)