Pet Momma

With our first agility trial about two weeks out, it hit me: I should be keeping a journal of our training journey. Probably should’ve started this back at day one, but hey, the next best time is now! I’ve mentioned agility here and there before, but from here on out, this is officially our agility journal.

We had a great class tonight. Only two dogs showed up instead of the usual six, which felt very strange, but it meant extra time in the outdoor ring and some one-on-one coaching.

Stan was fantastic tonight. Not perfect, no, but he was listening, and honestly, that’s all I can ask for. My biggest challenge with Stanley right now is his (non-existent) start line stay. We’ve been working on it in class and at home, setting up one or two jumps and practicing wait, jump, wait, jump. We’re also practicing “wait” without any jumps or obstacles at all. The trouble is, the second we’re in the ring with other dogs and people around, he gets so excited that all he wants to do is run. He forgets to listen and tears around the ring with the zoomies! Fun for him, not so fun for me when I’m trying to direct him through a course.

The thing is, he doesn’t have to have a Start Line Stay to be a good agility dog. Tonight we tried something new: I carried him into the ring, slipped off his collar, and set him down right in front of the first obstacle instead of letting him build up steam beforehand. For the most part, it worked! He took off and followed my direction through the second obstacle and beyond.

We also worked on treats. In training, Stanley gets rewarded constantly, first after every obstacle, then gradually less often. But in competition, no treats are allowed in the ring at all. Tonight, I gave him a treat outside the ring when I picked him up, and then we ran our whole course treat-free until he was done! The one exception: he got distracted and wandered off at one point, so when he came back to me, that earned a treat too, and then we finished the course.

I did some work of my own tonight, too, on handling skills. The big one is being intentional about where I’m pointing and guiding him: leaning down to his level and being crystal clear about where I want him to go, using my body to direct him instead of just my words.

Speaking of words, there are two things I need to work on there. First, being quicker to call out the next obstacle. The moment he commits to one, I need to give him a heads-up on what’s next, because the faster he knows where he’s headed, the faster he can run the course.

Second, my trainer suggested I trim down my commands. I’ve been saying “Go jump” or “Go tunnel,” but really, all Stan needs is “jump” or “tunnel.” Dropping the “go” gets the command to him that much faster. I gave it a try tonight, and it’s going to be a hard habit to break, but I could already tell how much it’ll help, especially once the obstacles get closer together.

We have another class tomorrow night, so our sessions are overlapping for two weeks straight. I’m looking forward to trying all of this again and seeing how it goes.

On Saturday, some of my agility friends are competing in Maine, and I’m planning to go watch. The weather looks great, so Stanley’s coming along too — he’ll get some car-crate practice, a chance to walk around amid all the excitement, and a fun car ride to boot. I can’t wait to watch a trial before we compete ourselves, especially since two of my trainers (and some other friends) will be out there running. Nine days until our first competition, yikes!