Tues Classes

Since I've been blessed with a healthy happy dog these last few weeks (no more seizures to my knowledge), we've been keeping busy with classes instead. Phew! Right now, we're still in our regular agility class on Tues nights and also in a reactive agility class on Wed. Some notes about what we've been doing on Tuesdays:

A few weeks ago, we had our introduction to Gamblers. It was a lot of fun! In gamblers, you basically have a set amount of time to make up your own course, picking up points for each obstacle the dog does correctly. When time is up, a whistle blows and the dog has to do the gamble (a set sequence of obstacles? We didn't do that part in class). I think with a little more practice (I need more confidence!) I would really enjoy it. Iris, however, was pretty much melting down. Why? Because of the whistle. She flat out refused to take treats while she was in her crate. When I had her out, she was very distracted anticipating the whistle and trying to figure out where it was coming from. Looks like I have to buy a whistle to desensitize her. Because she was so stressed, I mostly just made it a point to send her over the dogwalk a few times because it's her favorite. The best way to get some enthusiasm out of Iris? Point her at the dogwalk. Silly girl.

This Tuesday, we worked on distance, mostly focusing on "out." Iris was awesome! She seemed VERY happy to be at class. There was a few instances where the dogs had to discriminate between a tunnel and the a-frame or between two tunnels. Iris was awesome. I admit, I had visions of her running back a forth over the a-frame, completely ignoring the tunnels. Nope! It seems as though she has a better understanding of "out" than I thought. My smart red dog! Now I just need to remember that. I tend to not use much for commands and instead I probably use her name too much if I'm using anything at all. Bad habit.

I was able to have her out and relaxed for most of class on Tues. Now that the weather is nice enough to have the doors open at the indoor, I can have Iris watch the other dogs from outside. Last class, I was even able to bring her inside (out of her crate) at the end of class. She did great. It was partly because the course was small so it was only at the back of the arena. We had more space between us and moving dogs, and the small dogs were last, which is easier for Iris to handle. She was awesome about giving me attention and doing little tricks while we waiting. Maybe the Wed night classes are helping? I'll have to give an update on that class later.

I'd say overall it was one of the best classes we've had in a while.