1st Agility Class

So I feel like today is two post worthy because I'm so pleased with our class this morning.

I sort of had an idea of what to expect because I had been going to my friends agility class and I was sent the homework sheet about 3 weeks ago and have been working on it diligently. When we arrived for the first time I was not the first person there, so I took in Kobi's bed and supplies so I could grab a quiet spot for him then went back to the car to get him once everyone was inside and at their beds. We got in without issue, got him settled in and just worked on getting him calm. Which mind you is not easy for a year old puppy who is thrown in with a bunch of new dogs  but he stayed calmly on his bed!

He had two barking fits the entire time! I mean I would rather no barking at all but this was not easy for him, it was an intense and exciting class, the trainer was moving and excited and the other dogs where whining or yipping and moving and he stayed calm.

I loved that the skills we worked on gotten broken down into minute chunks, then we would get the dogs back on their beds and settle them down again. This is fantastic for Kobi to prevent him for getting over aroused, but also awesome to work on having him settle down after being so excited.

His passive attention when standing needs more work, but is nose touches and toy drives and gives were epic.

I really think agility is going to be great for us. Kobi may never be a Therapy Dog at least until he's older, but in the meantime agility will give him a job and something to work towards. And it's fun! I found I was much less stressed. It was about me and Kobi and that was it. I want us to have fun, yes I want him to learn to be calm, but I'm coming to understand him more. He's young, he's excited and he wants to talk. Any amount of silence from him when things are going on is huge progress!

I'm incredibly excited for next week!