We finally got started in Agility! Dad always chuckles when I say I’m agile now, but I don’t get the joke. I think it’s a geeky thing.
This is a zoomed in photo taken when we were out on the town in Kansas City. I think it could be our team photo. Is that a thing? It should be a thing.
The school we found is called Northland Agility. It’s in one of those city-within-a-city places called Parkville (but it isn’t a park or a village and we still have to drive to park. In Parkville. It’s very confusing.)
I’m taking the agility fundamentals class, which means we’ve been working on various skills in small steps as we work toward doing bigger things.
We did one exercise I really liked where dad dropped some treats on the floor and then just as I started eating them, he took off running. Naturally I chased him, but before I caught up, he dropped another treat on the floor and took off back the way he came! So I ate that and took off after him again, and he did the same thing! We went back and forth a few times like that. I think the point was just to remind me that following dad wherever he goes will lead to treats, but I’m not sure. I’m totally on-board with throwing treats on the floor though.
I also have to learn to walk on all sorts of weird surfaces. They set up two 4′ long planks on the ground, end-to-end, separated by a big rubber peanut shaped thing, and ending with a wiggly rubber disk. (board -> peanut -> board -> rubber thing.) I had to walk along the board, across the rubber peanut and then to the other end where I stepped on the wiggly disk. As soon as I got two paws off the disk (but kept my back feet on it) I got a treat! I learned that pretty fast. We have a long plank like that in the back yard (minus the rubber peanut) and I get treats when I stop at the end there too. I think the end is always bright yellow, so it’s easy to spot. We’ve practiced the “two on – two off” paws thing using a lot of different things like boxes, pillows, boards, and even an old chair cushion.
The only bad part about agility class is that when I’m not out playing with dad, I have to wait in a kennel. I’d rather sit with dad, but it’s a small waiting area and when we aren’t in kennels there is always some other dog with a clueless handler, wandering around at the end of an 8′ leash that won’t get out of my face. So it’s better to have my own space… I know my turn is coming soon. 🙂
Dad and I also try to practice at home now and then throughout the day (benefits of dad being home all day). Like when it’s lunch time and dad is eating an apple, he’ll set up something in the yard and give me apple bits when I do it right. I really like apples!
At first he set up two cones in the yard and I had to learn to run a figure-8 between them with dad in the middle giving directions. Then he put a jump with each cone, and I did the same thing but also jumping. Jumps are fun because I like jumping on, over, or through pretty much everything and everyone.
Here’s a video of me practicing the jumps in the backyard…
At school we work on different things, like I said earlier. One of them is the “dog walk”, where instead of running straight across the floor, I have to take this overpass up in the air and across. When I get to the end I have to pause at the yellow section for a treat.
I think eventually it will be much higher. I’m not sure yet. Here’s me in class going across the dog walk for the first time. Sorry for the goofy vertical video format, I’m still training mom. 🙂
Lastly, just for those who don’t see my Facebook page… here’s a colorful photo I posted there. We took this at my friend Gracie’s house when walking around the neighborhood.
Thanks for reading! 
Leave a Reply