Agility Ate My Life

Or maybe just my blog...???

It seems that my dog blog has been taken over by agility dogs - MY agility dogS -yes, that is plural.

Along time ago, in a land far, far away. . .who I am kidding, this isn't a fairy tale! This is the tale of how my three tails sucked all my money and time away. Yes, THREE!

Last night, while training my TWO, my friend had the bright idea of bringing out sweet, adorable, previously innocent pocket and trying her on some jumps. The little bitch(!) had more energy and fun then mole - and probably more fun then even topper! She loved it and was willing to do it again and again and again. She didn't tire of the repetition like mole, and she seemed to get it faster than Abby. She was almost perfect.

So, tonight when I went to try mole out at a facility I decided to bring pocket along and try her too. She was scared of the barking dogs (who can really blame her) and she didn't like the teeter - too much noise. But she wasn't afraid of the wobble board (I swear on my great-grandmother's grave) and she wasn't afraid of the standard size dog walk. It was almost embarrassing that she could walk the "walk" and I could barely walk without tripping on solid ground right next to her.

Somehow the training of one dog in agility, became the training of two. Somewhere along the line the training of two became the training of three. I'm still not always sure how I even ended up with three dogs to begin with, let alone training all three in agility! Nothing but good things have come out of it, though

Abby had a new found confidence and is interested in meeting new people earlier on.

Pocket seems to be having fun for the first time since her attack.

Mole. . .well, Mole gets food . . .and mom. . .so he is just happy.

And mom gets three tired dogs and can finally read HP4 in peace!

I am Humbled

Mole and I went to a training facility this evening for an agility evaluation. There were a few parts to this evaluation: the first part was "obedience" the second part was "team work" and the third part was "equipment introduction". Mole and I have been together for 5 years now, I figured that we would have all this down pat. And, to be honest without sounding like a brag, we did. We had no issues with the evaluation whatsoever.

But I was still completely humbled. And not by another dog/handler team. . .by mole himself.

I have been super busy and don't always have a lot of time to think, but I found myself thinking about how amazing my dogs were - and not in the trite -mushy-i love my dog sense. My dogs have always been "just dogs" nothing more, nothing less. They are my companions, friends, hiking partners, cuddle buddies, plate cleaners, etc. But recently they have become something entirely different. I don't want to use the term "working" because my dogs are not "working dogs" but they have begun to do things that I ask of them without a second thought and while putting their own fears/confusions aside.

Today I asked mole to walk into a room that he had never been in, be in a ring with (annoying) dogs that he didn't know, perform behaviors that I ask, and take obstacles that he has never seen. And you know what? He did it all - and wagged his little tail through it. And he did it all because I asked him to - and because he is a little brown-nosing mama's boy! I felt honored and humbled, both at the same time. It reminded me of this quote:

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion" - Unknown

I'm not entirely sure that I will ever be worthy of a dog like mole. . .but I have Abby to balance it out, so it's ok. But even there, Abby has come so far and continues to make huge improvements. Why? Because I ask her to. It's a very humbling experience to have that kind of devotion.

My Dog is Weird

We had our first training class today. As to be expected, Abby was a wreck for about half of it. We got there early - about 15 minutes early. I was hoping that we could do some training in the environment before everyone else got there; thinking that if she was already semi-comfortable that she would have an easier time when the class was full. I should have known better. Nothing is ever easier with Abby.

But through all the pacing and whining and trying to escape, Abby did ok. She did sit, down, find it, name recognition, watch. She did most of these when the instructor/other participants weren't actively moving. The strangest thing was that Abby did the best when the teacher was trying to be weird. Because this is wallflower class, part of the lesson is socialization. Abby was perfect when the instructor came by on crutches and in a wheel chair. My idea of Abby's internal thought process

"See, I knew that lady was weird! I have been waiting for her to do something crazy! I was right! Ha!"

Somehow I have a dog that can go over (baby) A-frames, go through tunnels, over jumps, and on a (non-teetering) teeter yet she can't handle something as simple as a person she doesn't know walking anywhere near her. . .

My dog is weird!

A New Language

I've been learning a new language recently. And no, it's not French!

It's Agility.

I had been to many dog shows before as well as a few other events where agility was run. I thought I knew the basics. . .Boy did I ever get an awakening!

AKC
CPE
NADAC
USDAA
TDAA

And these are just a few of the North American groups who hold agility trials.

From there, you learn

Standard
Jumpers
Tunnelers
Gamblers
Snooker

These are just a few of the courses your dog can run.

And what are they doing on these runs?

Walk -it
Scram
Weave
Contact

Its truly amazing what you can teach your dog to do! And how much fun that the two of you can have together in 90 degree heat!

The dogs and I had a great time. Ok, I had a great time. . .the dogs had a crate time. . .

The dogs did spend the majority of the day in their crate. They did get lots of potty walks - and a lot of water, though. It was good for them to be around the trial atmosphere. . .not that I will ever trial one of them. . .We'll see. For now I enjoyed supporting my friends and learning a lot about a sport I enjoy. I think that it will take some sweet talking to get my three interested in doing any of what we saw yesterday. But then again, I do carry a lot of chicken in my pocket (wait, MY pocket, not pocket-pocket!)

Good Luck Topper

I'm happy and sad to report that Topper has been adopted.

And I'm a little embarrassed to report that I cried.

What can I say? That little guy has been with me for almost 3 months! Day in and day out, that little guy went everywhere the rest of the pack did. He fit into my house and my life style better then some of my "real" dogs. He was so easy going, so middle of the road. Always up for a snuggle or a walk. He was never any "problem" like some of my past fosters. He was literally the easiest dog that I brought into the house.

But, he wasn't destined to be my dog. He had an amazing family out there that was just waiting to find him. And the family who adopted him today were amazing. They had a "little old man" of a chihuahua too - so topper should feel right at home. The meeting went great and he seemed to like the couple - more then he liked a few other people the he met. He was happy to sit in their lap...then happy to trot back to me...then off he'd trot back to one of them...then off to try to play with the grumpy old man! It was cute really - and he seemed to fit in nicely. And when they all walked out the front door later, he didn't even look back. Both a happy and a sad moment.

I'm sure going to miss him, but the kids don't seem to notice his absence too much. When we got home mole gave me a strange look - I think he wondered where the other dog went. I tried to explain it to him, and he seemed to understand. Mole always seems to understand. Pocket could care less. I think that Abby thinks he is under the covers. . .who knows what goes on in that dog's mind!

We are done fostering for a LONG time. It's always worth it, but it's still hard.