Owen, agility and why I don't have kids
As I was driving home laughing to myself as I talked to Owen, telling him all the things that he needed to work on. I was so used to him racing around the house and flying over obstacles, his performance this evening seemed soooo slow compared to the live wire I'm usually dealing with at home. I wanted him to go in there and nail that stuff with the same confidence and speed that he had at home and I found I was really disappointed when he didn't! In my rational mind, I know very well that he needs time to build confidence in himself and the obstacles and I can't expect him to flying in there like he's been doing it for years... but I wanted him to. I tried to psych him out by telling him that Finley (the hound in our group) was wiping the floor with him. You know, some friendly doggy mind games, but he didn't seem to be affected-- unless you could getting more interested in Finley's butt. I just kept thinking, wow, if I had a kid, I would TOTALLY be one of those pushy moms, stressing the kid out and pressuring them to get it right and faster and better. I'm making a public promise that I will not get too impatient when I want to go faster but Owen doesn't. I must not rush! All joking aside, it was fun and I'm excited to go again. There's even another OES in the class next to us that won't stop giving Owen the flirty look. |
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| Aww.. Jill that's GREAT!!!! I am, once again, starting a foundation agility class in a couple of weeks. I can't wait. I will be very interested in hearing your and Owen progress through class!! Way to go OWEN!!!!!!!!! Good BOY!!!!!!!!  |
| Are you guys looking at this for fun and exercise or for real competition agility?? If just for fun - you're ok. If for real agility, you may be in trouble. If you did all this stuff the 1st night, it's not really a good thing.  Foundation agility has much more ground work. More boring, but worth it. Just ask some here who are redoing training now because they went to classes that were more instant gratification than learning solid skills.  |
| The first night was just an introduction to the equipment and to let the dogs check stuff out. The majority of what we did was getting the dog to focus on a target, which, yes, was super boring but they brought the target into every exercise. I didn't report that though because it was the least interesting to me, lol. Our groups are very small, too. One instructor for three dogs so there was a lot of individual attention. I don't have long term plans yet. It would be fun to compete at some point but we'll see how he likes it and I'll decide from there. I really like it because of the activity level. It's fun to actually break a sweat and get moving. |
Oh good. Because I can see you getting sucked into it and your competitve nature coming out.  Love the comments to Owen and the rationale for no human kids...  It's a real pain to retrain just because you took a wrong start in the beginning. Just trying to keep you from wasting your time and money right off the bat! |
No, I appreciate that. I realize I probably made it sound more like a free for all because, like a kid, I just talk about the fun parts.  |
| Good boy Owen! Don't be fooled Jill by his holding back at the first time. Someone, I won't mention any names ..... Harry, once started out more low key at his first lesson but has gone on to be something of a wild man since then. Be careful what you wish for as there is nothing like being embarrassed in the ring by an out-of-control Sheepdog.  BTW, agility is a very big vacuum for us competitive folks. It sucks you right in. See you in the ring soon!  |
I recall a normally ultra self-confident dog owner going into the conformation ring for the first time a couple years ago in Detroit. Acted very much the same way with her puppy dog.  ....oops, same dog! |
Tiggy starts everything (except sheep herding) a little tentatively but by the second or third attempt she's totally gung ho  and I'm wishing for a little holding back to reappear.  |
| Don't want to sound like a wet blanket Jill, but PLEASE make sure you warm him up properly before doing any of these obstacles in agility. Limber him up by making him do push-ups & spins (left & right). The A-frame is the obstacle most of the dogs love the most. Unfortunatley it is also the one they can really hurt themselves on by tearing an ACL. That's why you'll hear from all of us that do agility about the ground work & warming them up. For what it's worth, José's least favorite obstacle is the tunnel. I think mainly because his head is higher than the tunnel & he has to crouch down to get thru. If you remember, he's the one who wouldn't go thru the doggie doors at Cathy's unless I held the door open for him! And one of his favorites is the channel weaves. Good luck & have fun! |
| Owen is never not warmed up since he never sits down! No, it's a good idea though to put him through a few stretches, too, thanks for suggesting it. We got there really early for class and walked around for almost half an hour so he wasn't going in cold. And Nita, you can shut up, lol. I'm not even remotely nervous doing agility-- I think the ring experience did us both good! |
ButtersStotch wrote: ...And Nita, you can shut up, lol. I'm not even remotely nervous doing agility-- I think the ring experience did us both good! |
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