Raff's First Agility Class

I’ve been taking an Agility class with Sheila this summer--it's a Starter/Novice class for people and dogs who are pretty much competition-ready. Unfortunately, Sheila (who has arthritis) has been through a really bad patch these last few weeks, and as I mentioned in my earlier post, I'm afraid I'm finally facing her complete and total retirement from all dog sports. That's a sad thing to face, in and of itself, but that also meant that I'd have to stop attending that class because none of my other dogs are even close to competition-ready. And taking a different, lower level class is problematic because: 1) the timeslot for this class works perfectly for me; 2) the location for this class is also perfect for me; and 3) the people in the class as nice and friendly and I like them, and I like the instructor a lot...and that combination is a rare thing for me!

Enter Raffy, the pinch hitter! He's only had a few private Agility lessons, and lots of time with me in the backyard. But my instructor said it was fine for me to bring Raff in place of Sheila, even though he's not nearly as far along in his training. So last night we went, and we both had a great time. He still can't do some of the obstacles, so we just stuck to the jumps and tunnels...but I was really pleased to see that my backyard foundation training has paid off. He stuck with me the whole class and kept his focus remarkably well. He didn't resort to spinning in front of me (something we've worked very hard on fixing!), and he didn't knock any jump bars.

I'm so pleased with my little man. This is the second time he's had to sub for his big sister, Sheila. The first time was almost 3 years ago. We were in a beginning Flyball class, when Sheila suffered a soft-tissue injury in one of her front paws, and she needed 6 weeks of recovery time. (The trials and tribulations caused by poor structure in dogs is a topic I'll have to save for another post.) We had just started the class, so with 4 weeks to go, I started bringing Raffy instead. At that time, Raff was very young, very hyper, and had undergone almost no socialization. He'd lived with us for less than 6 months. It was pretty much a disaster. Everytime I let go of his leash, he'd go flying across the arena to visit the nearest dog. He went completely berserk everytime he came within 75 feet of another dog--that's no exaggeration.

Fast forward 3 years, with age and a lot of reactive dog work (took a class, practiced our lessons...never stopped practicing our lessons), he's a changed dog. He's a joy to play with--a pleasure to have in class, as they say.