The Further Agility Adventures of the Blur

We have so many pictures of Jake with the background totally in focus and Jake's speckled body completely out of focus that we've nicknamed him The Blur. He's just so fast! We truly appreciate when we're able to capture him in focus. Here we are racing by my husband on the A-frame (yup, I'm blurry, too, desperately trying to keep up with Jake).

Recently Jake has been impressing us with a new found calmness and maturity. That doesn't mean he has stopped zooming or shrieking entirely -- it just means that Jake can be stopped in his zooming tracks and shrieking is normally reserved for yodeling sessions with his daddy. This last Tuesday at agility made me proud. The curved tunnel still sends Jake over the edge of excitement BUT after one full zoom around the yard I was able to get Jake back into the tunnel and over the jump. And, of course, putting my own body were it should be always helps clear up confusion for Jake. Being able to return him to working is a HUGE step in the right direction. My husband had to bring me my purse during class and Jake took a flying leap off the A-frame to get to him. Jake kept leaving the A-frame to go see my husband. Practicing with a distraction was a little difficult but not only did he stop racing to see his daddy and came back to me but he laid down at my feet. He got treats for that huge recall. We were introduced to the pinwheel jumps which Jake found to be totally boring and I obviously wasn't getting him jacked up enough. Maybe next time!