Stormy agility brag

[kimbersmom]

Before everything went off the rails due to Nut Eating 2020, I was going to brag on my puppy's agility breakthrough!

At home, I've been using our back porch steps to mimic the downward walk of an A frame. I put her at the top, tell her "walk it", and then when she nears the bottom I say, "bottom" so she'll keep her back paws on the steps and just her front paws on the ground. 2-on 2-off was the hardest thing for my former lab, Kimber, to master, as she wanted to fly and leap her way down the frame, so I've been intentionally starting Stormy early on this. She is making progress (although she too just wants to jump down to the ground in the usual labrador fashion.)

But of course, stairs aren't exactly like an A-frame, and at agility class two weeks ago, she completely ignored my "bottom" command and showed no signs of connecting it to earlier exercises. But this past class, after just one correction, she did it! Jumped up the mini-A frame, then walked more slowly down it, ending in the desired back paws on the frame, front paws off it!

These are the moments that I love about agility, when I feel like my dog and I are working together and communicating well.