Not bad for only 5 agility classes, eh? Oh - don't mind my flailing arm and terrible voice (I neither sound like an 8 year old nor say "tunnel" so gruffly in real life) - just focus on Marge. :)
Class went well, I'd say. Marge only interacted with one dog - the JRT, Rusty. LOVES this dog. I have come to realize that Marge may or may not be dog selective based on gender. Almost all of the dogs she knows and likes (with few exceptions) are male. Some are intact as well, and that doesn't bother her. She, additionally, interacted with quite a few people and enjoyed it, too. My teacher keeps saying that agility brought her out of her shell. I don't think she was in a shell at the beginning of classes.. but I do think that agility is something she enjoys immensely.
Couple of things going on with her agility skills:
I don't know if it was because of the heat and soggy obstacles, but Marge refused a LOT of tunnels. She'd go through with some coaxing, but I could NOT send her into any of them for the life of me (except for the straight one above).
Very good work on the teeter yesterday! Jessica came and helped me out. Marge has no problem walking across to the middle of it completely alone. I didn't let her go farther than that, though, unless my sister was on the other end, easing the other side downward as Marge stood on it. I'd say that was our big success of the day.
Her recall STINKS. I have no idea what happened.. she used to come to me at the drop of a hat. She wandered off a bit offleash yesterday to try to steal some of Chase's treats. I also leashed her because she was eyeing some new dogs suspiciously towards the end of class. Don't know what this whole thing is all about.
We did the Dog Walk.. one time, she went over and jumped off, and the next time, she went over perfectly and I fell on my face. LOL! We need to work on our coordination. Wasn't too bad though considering we've only done the Dog Walk a select few times.
She looks great. Congrats! I think I'd rather face a tunnel refusal than Lilly's fear response of going in BUT not coming out.
I cannot tell you how many times I crawled inside a tunnel to get her before we had to give up group agility classes because she refused to work in front of the other dogs or would freak out and hide somehwere.
Woo hoo on all the progress! I'm glad to see Marge is doing so well on agility! Rufus loves tunnels. There was one in his puppy kindergarten class, and even when it wasn't his turn, he kept trying to go through. I really admire you for all this work you're doing with Marge. It's hard enough socializing a puppy, who is pretty much a clean slate, much less an actual dog who has had a bit of a rough time. Wow. Hats off to you!
MargeBlog started in early 2009 as a training journal for my newly adopted, skittish Lab mix, Marge. Marge's world was small back then; her fears really limited the things I could do with her. Aside from trips to the park and attending beginner training classes, Marge was mostly a stay at home gal - not because either of us wanted her to be, just because the demons from her unsuitable upbringing continued to haunt her.
Slowly, the fear diminished, her world grew. Now, Marge is a fun-loving, squirrel-chasing, winning Agility and Rally dog who accompanies me to a wide variety of places. Here, you will frequently find detailed training updates, snippets from Marge's every day life at home, and photo-filled posts detailing our many outdoor adventures.
This is more than just a dog blog - it is an actual look in to what one shelter dog's life ultimately became when she found her first and forever home and began to blossom.
About Marge
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A rescue from Georgia bounced around from shelter to shelter and state to state with her siblings, Marge did not have the luxury of living in a home - my home - until just past her first birthday. A life behind bars had taken its toll on Marge, whose obvious fear of people, noise, and city life in general left a lot for her to learn about how to get by in New York.
Marge is a different dog now than she was back then. It took years of new, positive life experiences, but her fears, which used to consume everything we did, are now only one theme in a great big book of adventures.
These days, Marge enjoys going to training classes, taking trips to agility trials, having play dates with friends, and eating anything that's even remotely edible - not bad for a dog who spent her puppy days in cages.
My time with Marge has been a learning experience for which I am ever grateful. As my first dog, she has taught me and continues to teach me so much more than I ever imagined about dogs, training, and behavioral/fear issues. She's a fun dog with a sense of humor who loves life and learning.
4 comments:
She looks great. Congrats! I think I'd rather face a tunnel refusal than Lilly's fear response of going in BUT not coming out.
I cannot tell you how many times I crawled inside a tunnel to get her before we had to give up group agility classes because she refused to work in front of the other dogs or would freak out and hide somehwere.
Woo hoo on all the progress! I'm glad to see Marge is doing so well on agility! Rufus loves tunnels. There was one in his puppy kindergarten class, and even when it wasn't his turn, he kept trying to go through. I really admire you for all this work you're doing with Marge. It's hard enough socializing a puppy, who is pretty much a clean slate, much less an actual dog who has had a bit of a rough time. Wow. Hats off to you!
WOW, not bad at all for five classes. I was thinking things were not going so well based on your recent posts, but am very happy with what I see here!
Marge is pro! The video is great, we always think that our voice is the worst in the all world! :)
Kisses
Rufus and Indie
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