Moving On

As we drove to class the butterflies in my stomach started fluttering. I practiced a few breathing exercises to get them under control. I did feel better by the time I got there. Also, to my great relief when I walked up I noticed that the only obstacle which required letting go of the leash was the tunnel. I had decided prior to class that, after the previous nights poor recall performance, I was not comfortable letting go of Bella’s leash. I didn’t want her to make a habit of taking off running around the yard during classes.

The set up last night worked pretty well. There were four stations, the first was a series of 7 different jumps, the second station was the weave poles, the third the Dog Walk (the new obstacle), the final station was a series which included the pause table, A frame and tunnel. Trainer guy broke the class up into small groups and sent each group to a different station.

Bella and I were sent over to the jumps with another man who had two Aussies there that he was working. Despite the fact the jump is what actually “attacked” Bella she doesn’t seem to mind the jumps. She went over them without any major problems. She did get a little frightened when she knocked a bar down and it made noise behind her but she recovered quickly and we moved on.

After about 10-15 minutes we rotated stations, the next one we got to do was the dog walk. Bella balked just a little at first but after a bit of coaxing and a few bits of steak (I decided to up the ante with the treats a bit and switched from the usual hot dog s to steak) she made it up and over with relative ease. It was funny because she would go over it just fine a couple of times and then all of the sudden she would stop and have a momentary panic like “wait what the heck am I doing!?” but each time I calmly but firmly coaxed her on and by the end you could tell her comfort level was increasing because she started walking a little taller (instead of creeping in a half crouched position) and a little faster.

The third station had the dreaded tunnel. I told Trainer Guy how I felt about letting her go but he said that he didn’t think she would run; instead he thought she would go into the tunnel and hide since that’s what she did the night of the “incident” the tunnel became her safe place for a few moments. He asked me to try it just once and he would help me catch her as she came out so she didn’t get loose. I took a few steps back and a deep breath and sent her through. Just as he predicted, half way in she froze and didn’t want to come out. It took a few minutes of calling and coaxing before she crawled out the way she went in. He laughed said “yep that’s what I thought” he told me not to worry about it, we would have to work on it and it will take some time but she will come around. The rest of that station went well though, she has the idea of the pause table and the A frame. She did both like a pro.

The last station we were sent to was the weave poles. I can definitely see some improvement on these with her. Her speed is slowly increasing and she needs less guidance from the leash as she maneuvers through them. It’s pretty cool to watch. Now and again she would get jumpy at the noises of the other dogs running the courses around us but again I calmly but firmly encouraged her on and each time she recovered fairly quickly. I think by the end of class her tail had un-tucked itself and I saw a hint of the “pittie smile” on her face again.

Before we left I got a few words of encouragement and tips from Trainer Guy, for this weekend. He said we should do just fine. I just need to not be nervous, take my time and do the signs. He asked that I call or email to let him know how it goes.

Overall I’m very pleased with how things went last night. We both gained back some of the confidence lost at the last class. I have hope again that we will be able to recover and move past it. Maybe next year we will even be ready for the Agility ring!