More agility....

We had our first "sequencing" class Monday night.  Now that we are all sort of familiar with obstacles we are putting them together and running short courses.

It is actually great fun!

I am still working with Toe on the A-frame 2on/2off... he gets going so fast he flies off of it and he needs to have 2 paws on the ground and 2 paws on the yellow contact zone or in a competition he'd be disqualified.   I practice it and he does it ... but I practice it slow.  He has to learn how to do his 2on/2off FAST...  the trainer showed me how to practice it fast...

He doesn't care for the teeter yet... the drop and the bang startles him.  We are going slow... treat at the pivot point... treat at his nose to keep him coming forward... the trainer holds the end and lowers it slow so the sound and drop isn't so fast/loud/dramatic and he gets a treat at the end for his 2on/2off at the contact zone of the teeter...

We haven't really even started weaves yet... those weave poles look friggin hard.  I eye them dubiously when I see them....

Toe is having a lot of fun - happy and stump waggin' and zooming along the course....

Keenan still has some reactions with the dogs in class... they are stopped faster and we are trying really hard to get her before they happen but dang... it can happen quick.   When she is off leash and running the course tho' she couldn't care less about the other dogs and people - she is having fun and focused on Furry Husband.  Think this agility training can only be good for her....

She'll be a year old in October and won't be competing or working hard and long in agility for awhile... the jumping and work she's doing in our classes isn't any more than what she does at home running around, jumping over things, playing and doing general puppy things... I don't think we are harming any growth plates or doing damage to her young frame.

I started teaching her to use the treadmill last night... doggie daycare is spendy and we didn't envision taking her for the rest of her life.  It was supposed to be a good social outlet and take off the puppy edge to wear her out a couple days.   Getting her good and tired is helpful to training and with her reactivity issues.  We take her for walks,  practice agility and it's pretty clear that some days she needs more of an energy outlet. 

Treadmill here we come.

I had her on it for a short time last night...she stepped on the motor part that doesn't move which sort of freaked her out, then she stopped and slid off the back of the treadmill which sort of freaked her out.  I got her back on it... for a short time, she wasn't happy and was looking for a way out... I stopped it... treated her big for staying on it and being on it.   Fed her on it this morning....

Tonight we'll try a couple minutes again....