Abby has been doing amazingly well in class. She is no longer the cowering dog that refuses to do anything when someone else is watching her. For the most part, she is happy and fast - like she is on Sundays when it it just us. This really surprises me for two reasons 1) there are a lot more people in class now 2) its dark the entire class.
When we first started the class, there were two other people - a dalmatian and a Brittany (and the trainer with her BC). Abby was a wreck for most of those first classes. Not only was she in a different yard, there were now people and strange excitable dogs to have to worry about. But now, we not only have those three dogs, we also have a golden, a bedlington, and a viszla. And with those dogs also come (duh duh dun) people.
The other concern when training abby is that the yard is now lighted by flood lights. Sure they emit a ton of light, but they also give huge shadows around the equipment. Tunnel entrances are darker. Jumps now look bigger and longer. Only the up side of the A-frame is now lit and the down side is almost entirely shadow. These shadows are scary for most dogs, not just wiggy iggys.
Despite all these obstacles Abby is doing well. She spends most of her time focused on me and not the entrance/exit door to the yard. She no longer has that worried face when the other dogs get the zoomies. She can do multiple obstacles in a row without veering off course. It's almost like she has forgotten that everyone else exists and that it is just the two of us on a Sunday morning having fun. Well, that was until Laura talked to her. . .
Laura is a very nice lady who trains DJ, the golden in our class. Laura is always very positive with her dog. She never raises her voice, never gets frustrated. She rewards frequently. She is really the only one I admire in the class. Basically, Laura is a nice person who is good to her dogs. We chat frequently in class - partly because she is so nice, and partly because her dog is well behaved and doesn't futz too much with Abby. Abby has seen Laura probably 10+ times by now and never seems worried or afraid of her. That is, until Laura talked to her.
Abby and I spend a lot of time doing relationship building/focus exercises in class. She is rewarded frequently - mainly for just watching me. Most of these exercises are mindless for me and I can easily watch the other students, learn from the instructor, or chat. Abby and I were doing some of these exercises, I was chatting with Laura; Laura said something to Abby. . .Abby looked at her, this strange look came over her face as if to say "are you talking to me?" Then Abby stood up, turned away, and refused to turn back. She wouldn't even look at me! Laura and I both started cracking up laughing. It was so funny to see Abby change like that. And it was also really funny to see Abby looking away like that - almost like the ostrich who sticks it's head in the sand. Or maybe, if I don't look at her, or acknowledge her, maybe she will go away and leave us alone.
Even after that, Abby finished the class well. But I don't think she will ever look at Laura again.
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