From Cracker Boxes to Real Jumps

Who would have guessed that our chubby little spotted piglet would have turned into a lean agility machine? We should have known when he scaled those Cheese-It(NFI) and cereal boxes we got from Sam's Club(NFI) when he was only ten weeks old. We had already read every cattle dog book we could get our hands on so we had a pretty good idea that we wanted to do something with Jake to keep him exercised because "A Good Cattle Dog is a Tired Cattle Dog". Through many an agility class I have held my breath (literally) and prayed that Jake would find it deep inside himself to help me out a little so we could make a honest go of this dog sport. Tonight he gave it to me. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of him. He may not have nailed every obstacle with 100% accuracy but he was brave on the banging teeter totter and shaking dog walk, he slithered through the weave poles, and he raced for that tunnel and left it without zooming (we did have one incident of the most incredible zooming INSIDE the tunnel). We instituted throwing the bait bag for Jake to head off any thoughts of zooming and only had him steal it once. He headed straight for the tunnel with that bright red bag and hunkered down with his new treasure. We humans had to think a little smarter for next time so we attached a leash to the bait bag just in case we needed to stomp on to prevent future hoarding. Jake was not alone in this wonderful display of canine enthusiasm tonight. His classmates -- Gracie the Golden Retriever and Buttons the Boxer -- were also doing their parents proud. It's so amazing to see these dogs who wouldn't even go near the obstacles during our first classes now whimpering and pulling to get on those same obstacles. Their body language shows just how much they enjoy being there. I can't help but be proud for Gracie and Buttons, too, knowing what I've gone through with Jake to get to tonight's class. Jake rode home in my lap tonight with his whole body pressed against me as hard as he could. I know he sensed how proud I was. I even stopped and got him some TCBY frozen vanilla yogurt to celebrate. He only got a big spoonful since he had so many treats in class and the rest went in the freezer. I feel like I can breath a little easier. Next week we have a little break while our instructors attend an agility seminar and then it's back to practicing!