A Breakthrough and a Setback

Learned that I need a really strong Leave It command, so we've been practicing and it's working so far. I'm just pretending that when Shane runs off, there is a rattlesnake. Mine nice little "Leave it" has turned into monster "LEAVE IT." My trainer wanted me to use a different command, perhaps Leave it in another language, but I couldn't find one I liked. She used Leave it in our lesson and I think it stuck with Shane. I haven't had to use an interrupter at all so far. I think the one time the trainer did was enough for Shane.

Maggie had a setback in class. A giant dog got loose and jumped her. She squealed like a pig, but there was no maliciousness. She was just scared, so it was back to sniffing the ground and looking for a way out of the field. I think we'll stop classes for a while and work on things by ourselves. I've been doing this for 10 years, so I think I have a pretty good idea of what we need to do. She's still a puppy.

Got a wake-up call from this video. Shane may be really good at agility, but he may never be an agility dog. I'm learning to let go and just enjoy him. I've finished the stages of death, the death of my dream: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. We are going to have a blast at class, where Shane shines.