I realize that it's been nearly a week since my last post... Oops! I'll just give you a few doggy highlights:
Sadie's new Tuesday night class is going well. We had a substitute instructor last week, who I had actually had once before with less than stellar results. However, I think that the combination of Sadie being much more skilled and less reactive, plus my greatly increased dog training confidence, lead to a good class. The instructor gave me a lot of good handling / course-planning information to absorb, though I think some of it is still too advanced for Sadie.
Thursday night at the shelter was a teaching night. I had about 6 new volunteers, all of whom were very interested in the dogs. One guy annoyed me greatly by texting during the class (even the lecture portion), but ended up being the best of the group when out with a dog. We even got to practice problem-solving! Our chosen dog managed to squeeze past one of the trainees, but just wriggled in a happy flurry of joy right back to me. Then he escaped again, this time by slipping his collar! I found him a better-fitting collar before we went outside.
We went to the Adirondacks for the weekend. It was nice and cool, though a bit rainy on Saturday. Maxwell practiced off-leash recalls. Boy, baby food is a great reinforcer when outdoors! Both dogs did a fair bit of running and romping through puddles. And when they got hot, both dogs ended up swimming! That's right, Maxwell went in the lake, beyond where he could stand, all on his own. No life jacket!
Sadie has a bunch more trials coming up. I also need to find some matches and/or run-throughs for Maxwell. A friend just had an extremely successful first trial with her young dog, and I have to admit to a little jealousy. I am very happy for her, but wish that I thought Maxwell was ready. I've considered it, but he's just too drivey and distracible: a bad combination for a loose dog in a new place! I just keep reminding myself that the things that make him such a challenge NOW are the same things that will make him an incredible agility dog LATER.
Lastly, I know I left a cryptic post and a rather info-less link a little while ago. Rest assured, more teasers to come!
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