Agility fun

Earlier this week I lowered my teeter as much as it would go. Zane loves the wobble board, so I figured he'd have no issues with the teeter. I was right! He runs right down it, eating treats along the way.

Today we went to our agility lesson, and Zane got to participate. First he did stride work. This is not jump work. It is to teach him how to adjust his stride according to what's in front of him. As a puppy, our main goal is to find his stride and work that, not make him adjust yet. His stride was a little longer than we expected!



He also got to work the chute. Unfortunately, I forgot to grab the camera for it. The first time through (open chute), he did slow down on the new surface. But he made it through to play with a tug toy. The boy loves to tug! He did it 3 more times, getting faster every time. The last time he beat me to the end! The chute was held open, but on the last run, the middle was sagging a little. Doesn't phase him!

On the obedience front he's working on chair fronts and hand pushes for heeling.

For the chair fronts, I sit on the edge of a chair and extend my legs to form a chute. The first couple of times I will lure to get him between my legs and close. While he's there, I hold a hand out to each side and expect eye contact. After a couple of lures, I just hold my hands above my legs and expect him to come in, focused on the middle of my body away from my hands. How many times have you seen people who have dogs who can front when their hands are in front, but have no clue what to do when the hands are at their sides? I want the hands at the side to be his cue to focus up and middle. He's getting the idea!

One funny story from tonight. I cut the tip of my finger pretty bad yesterday. I have a bandaid on it, and before doing the chair fronts I washed dishes. The bandaid was wet, came loose, and started flapping. When Zane grabbed for the treat in that hand, he grabbed the bandaid and swallowed it right down. New training treat? I'm sure it will come out tomorrow.


For the hand push, I want him pushing into my hand with his nose. When his pushes get strong enough, I'll start letting that push "move" me. I'll step forward, and he'll step forward to continue his push. This will build drive for the heel. For now, I'm just standing still waiting for him to fully understand what I want.