Tonight was agility. I was looking forward to it sooo much! But, I was also really nervous because I was going to attempt to handle two dogs in the same class. Eric came with us, this our first night, to help me out, just in case I needed helping…which I sooo did!

The class started off with some basic information and clicker training. Midas has the clicker part down pat because of Rally so I worked mainly with Mason. Whose alligator jaws on my tender fingers made me regret bringing him (the dog can NOT grasp the meaning of “gentle” or “soft mouth”). But, he was so enthusiastic I couldn’t help but smile.

(note giant wrinkle on his forehead )

Until he peed.

Not once, but twice. And not in a puddle but in a wildly winding trail as he leapt in excitement for doing what I asked.

All over the brand-new matting she put down. So, Mason has been yanked from the class until that point in time (will this day come??) that he can handle the excitement. Instead we are going to be taking him to an Intermediate Obedience class at the same place his other class was. He was crushed:

I feel really, really bad for the little guy. But, he also proved that he’s extremely clumsy while we were there so maybe we’ll stick to non-graceful things for this pup.

Midas on the other hand did fantastically! I had a blast working with him too! He wasn’t very enthused when he stepped on one end of the raised board and it dropped to the ground.

But, I guess he figured I must have a reason for asking because once he caught on to what I was asking him to do, he did it.

(his tail is a blur)

Here’s the rest of the class:

He did well with the tunnel too (once he figured out I was pointing for him to go in, not pointing at something I dropped on the ground lol).

We practiced walking between ladder rungs. I missed the explanation as to why, but I think it’s about having the dog learn where his rear is.

We did some weave pole practice which he did terrific at because it just involved chasing a piece of treat through the proper side. Finally, we finished up with some jump practice. Midas caught right on. We had to move a target out for him to aim at after coming over because he was twisting to check on me the split second before landing, instead of looking ahead.

(I know, not the greatest photo )

The best part? Not only did Midas and I have a blast (poor Eric and Mason ), but Midas’s attention was totally focused on me. He didn’t pay attention to the dogs around us while we were working/practicing. It is great to see that focus on his face!

This entry was posted on Friday, February 1st, 2008 at 8:27 pm and is filed under Agility, Training Story. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.