Another 1st Class Night
Last night was a fun class night. It was the first time we've ever had both dogs in class on the same night, and thankfully, having the van made it a lot easier. Ebony has Novice Obedience at 6:30 and Indie has Rally Obedience at 8:50. The plan is that Diane and I both go, she can come in or hang out in the van as she chooses, and we grab subs or something during the hour break.
That was pretty close to how it actually played out. Except that what happened is both of the dogs apparently caught wind that something interesting was happening and got super nutsy before we even left the house. Then Indie didn't want to get in the van since he was afraid Ben would be in there (we did two sessions over the weekend where we drove them around together -- we discovered the the dogs are surprisingly calm together while they're in crates). When we got to the training center, we got them both out for a short walk, and then Indie needed to go back in the crate while Ebony and I went to class. However, instead, both of them went cuckoo-dog; Indie pitched a fit about going back in the crate and Ebony pitched a fit about not being *allowed* to go back in the van/crate. I'm sure it would have been amusing to watch while I tried to sort out two wacko dogs leaping around and over my head in the tight quarters of the van. I ended up getting into class 10 minutes late. Oops. Once inside class, Ebby was a complete goofball, but fortunately "completely goofball" these days is still a sane and controllable dog, even if not very well focused. She has a Rally trial this weekend in Frederick, MD so I'm crossing my fingers for the adage of "bad dress rehearsal, great performance."
Indie did really well in his class. We ditched the idea of repeating sub-Novice/CGC again because his dog-dog reactivity and fear of me leaving him with someone else were, if anything, getting worse by trying to force the issue every week. Rally class takes the pressure off by keeping him occupied in what is usually an individual task. (Rally is obedience done with signs that tell you want to do next, like in Rally racing. Same obedience moves as formal obedience but layed out as a course with signs such as: Start, Halt/Sit, Left Turn, heel right in a 360, Fast, Normal, etc.) Last night, we spent so much time on introductory information that we didn't have a chance to run through a course individually, and they just layed out the signs for random practice and familiarization. This mean that all ten so handlers and dogs were going every which direction around the ring in mild chaos. Indie surprised me by doing fantastically. The only incident we had was at the very end of class where two Bearded Collies got into a tussle about 10 feet away. It's pretty usunsual to have fights in class, and this one certainly wasn't serious, but Indie took great exception to it. Hey, why not end the night with some adrenaline? He settled down afterward, which is as much as I'll ask from him right now.
Next week should be a little easier with then once Ebby and Indie get the hang of the fact that they're both going to class and have to take turns. It's just a new version of the same ol', same ol'.
Shout out to Indie's sister Saphira, also in his Rally class, who passed her CGC test at the end of last session! Go Saphira!
That was pretty close to how it actually played out. Except that what happened is both of the dogs apparently caught wind that something interesting was happening and got super nutsy before we even left the house. Then Indie didn't want to get in the van since he was afraid Ben would be in there (we did two sessions over the weekend where we drove them around together -- we discovered the the dogs are surprisingly calm together while they're in crates). When we got to the training center, we got them both out for a short walk, and then Indie needed to go back in the crate while Ebony and I went to class. However, instead, both of them went cuckoo-dog; Indie pitched a fit about going back in the crate and Ebony pitched a fit about not being *allowed* to go back in the van/crate. I'm sure it would have been amusing to watch while I tried to sort out two wacko dogs leaping around and over my head in the tight quarters of the van. I ended up getting into class 10 minutes late. Oops. Once inside class, Ebby was a complete goofball, but fortunately "completely goofball" these days is still a sane and controllable dog, even if not very well focused. She has a Rally trial this weekend in Frederick, MD so I'm crossing my fingers for the adage of "bad dress rehearsal, great performance."
Indie did really well in his class. We ditched the idea of repeating sub-Novice/CGC again because his dog-dog reactivity and fear of me leaving him with someone else were, if anything, getting worse by trying to force the issue every week. Rally class takes the pressure off by keeping him occupied in what is usually an individual task. (Rally is obedience done with signs that tell you want to do next, like in Rally racing. Same obedience moves as formal obedience but layed out as a course with signs such as: Start, Halt/Sit, Left Turn, heel right in a 360, Fast, Normal, etc.) Last night, we spent so much time on introductory information that we didn't have a chance to run through a course individually, and they just layed out the signs for random practice and familiarization. This mean that all ten so handlers and dogs were going every which direction around the ring in mild chaos. Indie surprised me by doing fantastically. The only incident we had was at the very end of class where two Bearded Collies got into a tussle about 10 feet away. It's pretty usunsual to have fights in class, and this one certainly wasn't serious, but Indie took great exception to it. Hey, why not end the night with some adrenaline? He settled down afterward, which is as much as I'll ask from him right now.
Next week should be a little easier with then once Ebby and Indie get the hang of the fact that they're both going to class and have to take turns. It's just a new version of the same ol', same ol'.
Shout out to Indie's sister Saphira, also in his Rally class, who passed her CGC test at the end of last session! Go Saphira!
posted by Erica at
4:56 PM
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