Drive

The one thing that truly makes Travis a great agility dog is the amount of "drive" he has. I would define drive as a combination between speed, enthusiasm, and motivation. Drive is what makes a dog want to complete an agility course as fast as he or she can. They slam down on the teeter, burst through tunnels, fly through weave poles, and jump as fast as they can. It doesn't matter what is in the way. They strive to get it done as fast as they can. Jump sequences that include pinwheels or 270 degree turns can really slow down a dog without much drive. Some dogs don't see the point in running an agility course as fast as they can especially if they are afraid they may do the wrong obstacle. Others may get distracted by sights or smells. Before Travis entered the scene, Katie certainly raised the bar with greyhounds when she ran agility. She was quite a bit faster than any of the other past agility greyhounds and easily toppled past records. She was smooth, accurate, and consistent. She was a lot more driven than a lot of sighthounds, but she didn't see the point in running the course as fast as she could. There were times when I could outrun her if I needed to get in front. She ran agility fast, but only so fast. Travis on the other hand would never allow me to outrun him. In fact, I have to be careful not to give him the impression that we are racing because he will most certainly beat me. I sometimes try to do my rushing when he is in a tunnel and cannot see me. Travis could do tight 270 degree turns as fast as he can all day long. I want to always remember how great it feels to have this Ferrari of a greyhound as my teammate. That all I have to do is point out a finger and run and he is right there no matter what. I am so thankful that at 9 years old he still feels like a youngster and I hope that he keeps on amazing me over the next few years with just how young he looks and feels.

I got forced to buy this T-shirt recently. Thank goodness, Travis is a pretty dog :-). One of the photographers had photographed him for some breed prints and she used him as an example to make this T-shirt..... and of course it was just my size. A bit pricey for a T-shirt, but it will be nice to wear at the agility invitational in CA.


Since the photographer used Travis for some stuff she will sell, she offered me an 8 X 10 of my choice. So I had this photograph done of Katie and Travis together. I love it. Its so much fun to be able to pose dogs, ask them to stay, and take off their collars. So train those dogs including the greyhounds!