Utility Dog Title!!!!

I'm very pleased and proud to announce that Katie quietly earned her Utility Dog title today at the Oakridge Kennel Club Show in Harriman, TN. This was an outdoor trial, on dirt, under cover. No friends or family were there to witness, but a few fellow competitors would happily vouch for us. She showed very well both days. We were the first pair to compete at 8 AM both days. Yesterday, during scent articles the National Anthem began and we had to stand their waiting between scent discrimination exercises for it to finish. Luckily, she waited patiently and did not get creative and start offering new behaviors. I was a little bit concerned about our scent articles because normally I send her directly to the pile, but lately she has been occasionally stopping after we pivot. So I changed to sending her after sitting her which we have never done and its usually a bad idea to change what you do right before a show. However, it worked and her articles were excellent both days. The only error for the entire weekend was a missed down signal on Saturday. BUT today, we started after the National Anthem, she nailed the signals, and everything else. She earned a 187.5 out of 200 with a first place, beating the other qualifier (a border collie :-). This was also our 25th attempt at qualifying in Utility A and I have learned that succeeding in 25 attempts is quite good for any dog, so I'm especially happy that my little greyhound did it so quickly. She is the 14th Utility Dog Greyhound!