To follow up on the distractions part of Champs...
Here is a link to a video of our 4th Round at last year's Champs.
Right at the very beginning (about 10-11 seconds into the video), you can hear a VERY LOUD squeek... I think it was a dog that accidentally got stepped on, or something. But it happened right when we were setting up at the line. You can see that Tesla REALLY wanted to check it out. It's hard enough getting a leash over her ears as it is without messing with her brain, so her turning around to figure out what's going on DOES NOT HELP with her start lines! But I stayed calm, and managed to get her sorta back to me (you can see she still looked back). But once we started the run, Holy Moly!!! It was our best run of the weekend, we stayed connected, and placed 1st in that run! The distraction was unnerving at the time, but looking back on it now, it is what Champs is all about... staying connected with your dog and having fun, REGARDLESS of the outside circumstances. Practicing with distractions is important, but building your teamwork and connected-ness is much more essential, because you can get past loads of unexpected stuff if you are connected as a team.
Good luck at Champs, everyone! Wish we could be there this year, but hopefully if the stars align, we will see all of you in Wyoming!!!