Class at Last!

For once class didn't get rained out! Jake got his usual squeaky ball time in the backyard and we happily headed to class. With only Gracie and Cosmo and Jake, we got a chance to do lots of obstacle sets. First on the menu was the teeter totter -- Jake raced across (with less padding under the other end) with no fear to get that chicken on the other end. (Insert drum roll please!) Our longest obstacle set yet was our next event -- jump/tunnel/A-frame/jump/jump/dogwalk. Gracie and Cosmo performed with flying colors. We broke it in half for Jake especially since the tunnel always seems to send him over the edge. Not this time! Jake made his momma proud! As we left the dogwalk the second time, our teacher said, "It's almost like he's a different dog!" Reversing the obstacle set (losing the dogwalk and adding the chute at the end) was another matter but I was still floating on cloud 9 from the first set.

And then there was the obstacle set with lots of jumps and lots of tunnels. Do you see where this is going? I'm sure everyone in class wishes they had a video camera for what happened next. My husband had shown up to watch the last few minutes of class and Jake was full of himself, shrieking at the top of his lungs as the other dogs went through their paces. It was his turn NOW! So when it was our turn to go, Jake took off over the first jump and into the tunnel. Jake often stops dead center in the tunnel and doesn't come out. So here I am trying to coax Jake out of the tunnel and I hear laughing behind me. My husband shouts, "Looking for your dog?" I turn around to see Jake buzzing Gracie and Cosmo. He was so fast that I never even saw him come out of the tunnel! It's all those spots -- they blur the vision at that speed. We kinda lost Jake's focus at that point. He wanted to chase me around the course and skip all the jumps. He'd take the tunnels and then run with me to the end. We were able to circle back and try a few more times (obviously not in the rule books but not the point at this time). The weave poles were a disaster this week with Jake laying down full-sprawl as he exited the last pole and putting his head down. He was done for the night. While class didn't go perfectly I think both Jake and I learned a few new things we need to work on.