We haven't done any agility since Wednesday's lesson. That's pretty weird for us. Jonah just hasn't seemed so enthusiastic about it lately, though. If you had asked me how I would prepare for nationals, I probably wouldn't have said I would take time off. But if that's what he needs, that's what he needs.
Today was the Gemini trial that accepts day-of entries, but it's pouring out. I really only wanted to go to get good, confident and fast runs in, and rain doesn't help with that. A standard Q would have been nice, but it's better to make every trial a good one than push through and take a step back with confidence. So, our next trial is nationals.
I have been taking Jonah for more walks around the neighborhood. We're spoiled having a huge yard, and going for walks really doesn't get him much exercise, so we usually don't do it. It's good for him in other ways, though. We've been working on not getting excited by cars. Then I tried tugging with him at the elementary school down the street. He tugged quite quickly, actually. I was impressed. What wasn't so impressive was how he didn't hold his attention on me--when a bunny hopped out of the bushes he switched his focus entirely over to it. Oops.
Today instead of the trial we went to watch my dad's triathlon, and we took Jonah. I was super pleased. There was loud music. There were crowds. There was rain and wind. There were children. There were other dogs. There were runners. There were bikers. There were cars. There were emergency vehicles. There was the beach. It was, to say the least, a stimulating environment. We had a few 'oops' moments. I was tugging with him and accidentally stepped on his toe. He yelped and then another dog nearby reacted to his yelp and he barked at the dog. He barked at one child who ran towards him. He was a little over-interested in some cars. Still, I'd give him an A-. He was nice and friendly to my whole extended family (my uncle and aunt were there), and was polite meeting new friends. We did tricks, tugged, and then spent some time just hanging out. It was great. I need to do more things like this with him.
Tomorrow is a big day. We're going to meet the litter of puppies! They aren't ready to come home yet, but if we're happy with the sire, dam, and choose a puppy we like, we'll go ahead and put in a deposit. Very, very exciting!!
Today was the Gemini trial that accepts day-of entries, but it's pouring out. I really only wanted to go to get good, confident and fast runs in, and rain doesn't help with that. A standard Q would have been nice, but it's better to make every trial a good one than push through and take a step back with confidence. So, our next trial is nationals.
I have been taking Jonah for more walks around the neighborhood. We're spoiled having a huge yard, and going for walks really doesn't get him much exercise, so we usually don't do it. It's good for him in other ways, though. We've been working on not getting excited by cars. Then I tried tugging with him at the elementary school down the street. He tugged quite quickly, actually. I was impressed. What wasn't so impressive was how he didn't hold his attention on me--when a bunny hopped out of the bushes he switched his focus entirely over to it. Oops.
Today instead of the trial we went to watch my dad's triathlon, and we took Jonah. I was super pleased. There was loud music. There were crowds. There was rain and wind. There were children. There were other dogs. There were runners. There were bikers. There were cars. There were emergency vehicles. There was the beach. It was, to say the least, a stimulating environment. We had a few 'oops' moments. I was tugging with him and accidentally stepped on his toe. He yelped and then another dog nearby reacted to his yelp and he barked at the dog. He barked at one child who ran towards him. He was a little over-interested in some cars. Still, I'd give him an A-. He was nice and friendly to my whole extended family (my uncle and aunt were there), and was polite meeting new friends. We did tricks, tugged, and then spent some time just hanging out. It was great. I need to do more things like this with him.
Tomorrow is a big day. We're going to meet the litter of puppies! They aren't ready to come home yet, but if we're happy with the sire, dam, and choose a puppy we like, we'll go ahead and put in a deposit. Very, very exciting!!
No comments:
Post a Comment