Then There Were Turns

Here’s where we are right now with running contacts, not training as often as we should, but still making progress. We started doing some 90 degree turns. I decided to put props at the end of the mat to make it very clear what is good vs bad execution. She can still do a “bad” turn by jumping over them, so I’m hoping that will work in my favor and they will be easier to fade. Plus, they stack 🙂

Aaaaand we finally took the show outside which means we have more room to practice from different starting spots! There was some confusion with 2o2o in the beginning, but turns are helping with that 😉 Then for a while she was quite prone to jumping over the mat, probably from the added excitement of training outside. Now she seems to be back to hitting almost 100% of the time so I can be picky about which hits I like best. That would be:

1. two front feet
2. a combination of front and rear feet
3. just one front foot, but in the middle of the target

I don’t like to see just rear feet or one front foot on the edge of the target.

She is running toward a food bowl for now, but at some point I will have to replace it with static toy I think.

No Boston Terriers Were Harmed

Trini: “Java, do you like Boston Terriers?”
Java: “Yes, but I don’t think I could eat a whole one”

The wonderful photos are by Stisnprtisn!

Heart Dogs

I don’t know if I should be sad or if I should count myself lucky. You see, I don’t know what a “heart dog” is. People talk about it, how they got that one in a million dog, that pup with whom they formed a truly special connection.

I have a very special connection with two very special dogs. I don’t know if this means I haven’t got my “heart dog” yet or maybe I have two? All I know is that whenever someone praises one of my dogs I instantly feel the urge to praise the other one. I don’t feel like one is better than the other. They have different characters and different strengths, but I wouldn’t change one for the other. They are both very special to me in their own unique way.

Ruby has a lot of heart. He might not be a good jumper, but he LOVES agility nevertheless and puts his whole heart into playing. During a recent seminar instructor commented that Ruby was “willing to please”. I just smiled. He is not “willing to please”, but he loves agility so much that he would do anything to keep the game going 🙂 The toy he gets is just a symbol of winning. The ultimate reward is to play some more.

Java is my shadow, loves hanging out with me and I never have to worry about her chasing wildlife on walks. She is just the easiest dog to live with and gives the best morning hugs, her long tail wagging wildly. She also loves agility, but there is a different vibe to it – like she’s excited, but not 100% sure what she’s so excited about 🙂 Which might be because of her limited exposure to agility. It’s definitely too early to expect that she would love the game for itself like Ruby.

Java is awesome because she cares about what I think and tries to please me. Ruby is awesome because he doesn’t care what I think so if I’m having a bad day this won’t get to him and he will still have a blast training. Yin and Yang. Both very close to my heart. ❤