Jump!

Dreamer was a really good girl at her lesson this week. I finally found all the things I needed for us to move forward with a few little Open pieces, and I hauled them to class. Karen had asked me to find some extra-long, extra-wide rubber bands and some jumps. I had PractiJumps from the Legan days but really didn't know if they were still okay or if they had been warped in the heat. They had been in a storage shed in my back yard for years. I figured they had melted by now, but they were in excellent condition. They were in such excellent condition that Karen made fun of how "new" they looked. Yeah, I didn't make it very far in Open with Legan. She just wasn't fun to train, and I have to say I probably wouldn't have loved her as much if we had continued our training in obedience and agility!

But anyway, Karen used the rubber bands to attach the hula hoop to the high jump. You might remember that we've been using the hula hoop to teach Dreamer how to jump correctly. I was wary of the hula hoop on the jump at first, but teaching Dreamer to jump through it was pretty easy.

One of Karen's more advanced students was on the grounds training her dog during our lesson, and we got to watch her proofing the dog on the high jump. Karen said, "Notice she is at 9 steps out." The trainer had taken her dog to either side of the jump, 9 steps out, to send it over the jump. I guess it's supposed to help proof for a bad dumbbell throw, but 9 steps out is pretty far -- and a pretty bad throw!

I'm often skeptical of the many things we do with Karen, but they usually serve a really intelligent purpose. One thing's for sure: Dreamer loves all of the "motion" work, and it is a nice break from heeling and other boring Novice exercises. So when Karen tells me to jump, I will ask how high -- and then I will do it.

Baby Food to the Rescue!

Debbie offered to have me meet her at 5:00 yesterday and today to work with Seeker and then her dogs in agility. We worked Seeker on a very modified teeter using baby food and squeeze cheese to "up the ante". Lo and behold, it worked! Yesterday Seeker was panting and was quite tense. Today she was relaxed and ready for that baby food! Amazing: guess what? We used the same rewards for Remy for his teeter anxiety. So, if you ever do agility with Dreamer, turn to baby food for your baby girl.