We are back!

Well it has been a very long time since I have posted anything but I think I am ready to start at it again.

Before I left for Canada for a month my friend Danielle approached me about helping her with her pup, Vito. So we have agreed to get together once a week to train, this will be really great for both of us.
Vito is an energetic Yorkshire Terrier, honestly, energetic is too simple of a word for Vito! However, he has a ton of energy and drive, which of course create their own challenges. He is a good dog and teamed with Danielle who has the willingness to learn and massive amounts of determination, they will make a great team one day.

This week we are going to work crosses, front and rear. Danielle has not yet been exposed to crosses and both my girls need proofing. I think I will work on proofing crosses on the weaves and tunnels as these have proven to bite me in the rear in the past. I have learned in the past to never underestimate the tunnel, most dogs (not all) LOVE the tunnel so we often underestimate it's complexity.

The tunnel from a dogs point of view: long, dark, smelly, muffled, cave-like thing that is sometimes straight or curved, hard to tell until you are all the way in! My owner wants me to run through this thing (by the way I can't stop and sniff, she hates that) all while anticipating where she is going to be. I try and figure this out by where she is when I enter but sometimes she sends me mixed signals and I turn the wrong way when I exit. I really do hate the look on her face when I do that, but really it is all so confusing.
Ok so there are 3 morals here;

1 - never give your dog that look unless you are certain they did not do what you asked them, and in agility more often then not it is us the handlers who should be getting that look.

2 - be sure to practice rear and front crosses with tunnels to ensure your dog has a clear understanding of where you will be when they come out, so they can be sure to not see that look on your face!

3 - give your dog clear messages on where you are going to be when they exit the tunnel. If you suddenly change sides on the tunnel wfter they have entered do not expect them to know where you are. They can only see slight shadows and hear muffled sounds so they will have troubles figuring these things out.

Well wish us luck!