In the heat of the moment

So with all the excitement of qualifying, and then deciding to go to Nationals I completely forgot about "the bite."

Yup. The Bite. Wicca bit me. Hard enough to make this pretty bruise (keep in mind this is 6 days after the actual incident!)

How you ask? Well. After her wonderful second Gamble on Saturday I bent down to tell her how great she is, and she grabbed my arm as if it were a toy. It hurt. Quite a lot actually. But did I give her trouble. Of course not. Not in front of the judge and the spectators who were watching. And really it is my own fault.

This is not the first time she has bit me. I have actually at one time encouraged her to growl and "play" bite. Smart eh? Not really. I have been really careful about making sure to put something in her mouth right away- a tug, a ball, a cookie. Something other than skin. At a trial this is difficult. I can't very well pull a tug out of my pocket and say "sorry judge, I know there are no toys allowed but she bites." I don't think that the judge would appreciate that!

So, I usually keep my arms close, and tell her verbally how good she did. Ask her to sit while we put the leash on (so she doesn't tug in the ring) and then get her tugging as soon as we leave. It works. Usually. Sometimes I forget the system. And then she reminds me.