Kozmo Kringle

Kozmo Kringle
our first day together - December 2011

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Fingers crossed for agility

Kozmo had his second Canine Good Citizen class Tuesday night. It was like a semi-private lesson, one dog was absent so there were only three dogs in the class. The only downside to a small class is that Kozmo really needs to know his stuff. He's so smart that at the old school he would watch the other dogs and quickly figure out what we wanted him to do, even if his irresponsible humans didn't spend enough time practicing outside of class. Now there is a good chance he can be called on first so he really needs to have done his homework.

We started the class with something totally new, the jumps used in agility. The jumps were only 8 inches tall, it was really to get the dogs and handlers used to the process and to build the dogs confidence. As with most of Kozmo's training, the humans have the most to learn. Kozmo had no problem with the jumps the problem is that I need training and I was giving him bad cues by stepping in between the jumps. Once I was properly trained Kozmo was awesome. He loved the jumps so much that he started to get really excited which lead to one of his famous spaz sessions and tugging and pulling on his leash. I was able to get him back under control and both humans successfully took him through the jumps. The hardest part was making him approach the jump and then sit and stay. Much like his human, Kozmo needs to work on his impulse control.

Next was the agility tunnel. Kozmo remembered the tunnel and was flying through it with no problems. Our trainer even said, "it looks like we have an agility dog"! I was beaming. I think we all know I am dying to try agility with Kozmo. Then Kozmo got so excited and focused on the reward that he wanted to follow me instead of going through the tunnel. I'm starting to figure out this training thing is ongoing.

The next part of class was working on skills needed to become a Canine Good Citizen. Kozmo had to sit and stay and let the trainer come up to me and hand me something. It was a little bag of human candy shaped like dog bones! Kozmo did really well on this exercise. Then he had to sit and stay and let the trainer come up to pet him without breaking his stay. It took a few tries but he got it. Again, the little dude has some impulse control issues.

I love our new trainer and new school. The last part of class is what our old trainer would have called useless tricks. The new trainer works with us to teach our dogs things that are cute, but explains that they are good for the dog and help build a good relationship between the dog and humans. We are working on "sit pretty" were the dog sits up on his back legs like he is begging. It's not a useful obedience command but by practicing this it strengthens the dogs core muscles. Kozmo struggles with this because we strongly discourage jumping and he really wants to jump up rather than sit pretty. Kozmo loves "spin" we make him go round and round in a tight little circle. This helps with his flexibility. Kozmo really likes this exercise and we do it a lot at home. The other human had Kozmo going really fast in circles and the trainer told us that dogs can get dizzy. Clearly she doesn't understand the dizzy dog is part of the reward for the humans.

Our new trick for the night was bow or courtesy. We are teaching him to keep his butt up but have his front paws and elbows on the ground. The trainer wants him to hold this position. It looks like he is taking a bow but it's a really good stretch. I think it's similar to the human yoga pose downward facing dog. Kozmo quickly caught on and we are practicing at home.

At the end of class I nervously approached our trainer. I saw an ad that a beginning agility class is forming in April. Normally they want dogs to finish their Good Citizen work and be one year old to start agility. Since both Kozmo and I have impulse control issues I don't want to wait. I am so anxious to start agility. So I asked the trainer if she thought we could start in this new class, before we are finished with our Good Citizen classes . She seems to think we could start him in the next class on two conditions. One we need the approval of the agility trainer. Second, we can't let him do any high jumps since he is still growing. Now I have to wait until class next week to find out if Kozmo can start agility. I am so excited, I hope Kozmo feels the same way. Keep your fingers crossed that the agility trainer will accept Kozmo into class. Otherwise it will be a long few months of waiting.

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