A high strung owner makes a high strung dog

Last night during agility class our trainer told us that Kozmo is going to be awesome, the hard part is training ME! Kozmo knows what to do and has great instincts. I am a disaster. I am high strung by nature and it's obvious in the training ring. I get nervous and my dog responds to that. To further prove this point our trainer took Kozmo through all of the obstacles and he was perfect. She keeps telling us that he is a wonderful dog who is still a puppy and he has all the potential to be an agility super star. I love our trainer, she doesn't mince words. I need to relax, calm down, and trust my dog. If she only knew how I am simply just not hard wired to relax or calm down. I will try for Kozmo's sake.

The funny thing is that before class we took Kozmo to a big field to run and play fetch. We thought if we ran some energy out of him he would do better in class. Turns out I might be the one that needs to get rid of some excess energy before class.

It is so much fun to watch Kozmo go through the agility obstacles with the trainer. Every one in the room agrees that he clearly a happy dog and loves the challenges and being athletic. Last night he tried the A frame for the first time. He has no fear, he just climbed up one side and down the other side. While the trainer was working with me to stand properly, Kozmo just went up an down the A frame on his own. Of course, Kozmo really liked this because he got a big laugh out of the rest of the humans in the room. As much as I hate crowds and performing it is clear that Kozmo is a true people pleaser and will excel at agility.

The weave poles are still a challenge. In Kozmo's defense, it's more my challenge. I don't point my feet the right way, I hold the treats too high, I try to go too fast. We are going to build our own set of weave poles in the back yard and keep practicing.

I got to see Kozmo go through the tire swing. It was so much fun. He also did a variety of jumps. He is clearly getting the hang of agility. His weak spots, other than me, seem to be basic obedience, and the fact that he is 9 months old. The other dogs in his class are 3 and 4 years old. Luckily everyone remembers having puppies. Kozmo has shown great improvement in the two weeks since we started agility.

It's funny, I wanted so badly to do agility with my dog. On TV it looks like so much fun. What I never realized is that it is a tremendous amount of work and is every bit as demanding for the human as the dog. I was so naive to think I just pointed at stuff and it was up to Kozmo. I will keep working as hard as I can to be a good human for Kozmo. Dogs are sure a lot harder than cats. Trying to be a good human for Kozmo is one of the hardest things I've ever done.

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