Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Agility III - Week Four

Well we are more than halfway through Agility III (for the third time) and Chopper is making some wonderful progress. Half the battle with him is always getting him to not bark at the dog he has decided he hates in every class for the entire class. This time he knew all but two of the dogs - one doesn't pay any attention to him, which is what he prefers, and the other is a giant puppy that wants to be his friend. Chopper does not want to be that poor dog's friend.

After Week 2 was spent with that dog running over and Chopper barking at it and then all the dogs barking - I decided to take Chopper for a nice walk before class. Sure he would be tired and maybe not run as fast (but speed isn't' really his thing to start with) but maybe he wouldn't be the problem child in class. The other dog went for a walk first too - so everyone was a bit calmer.

Last night was even better (we went for a walk and the dog food store). Chopper went through all his runs almost perfectly (but with some lazy jumps) and waited for his turn very nicely (albeit while eating a treat every three seconds). The other dog appeared exhausted so she stayed in her own area. All in all we had a good class.

I think Chopper is ready to go back to Agility League - he could be a contender if he would just go a bit faster. The stopping and scratching or running to the water bowl doesn't seem to happen anymore (now that I said that he will inevitably do both next week) so his time may improve just by not taking breaks. Either way he enjoyed it but I get a little competitive and wanted him to be a little faster. Chopper is whatever the opposite of competitive is and some of his medicines that help him be calm also make him slower. So looks like we are going to be slower.

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