As usual, all of the other humans and dogs were in their seats when we arrived just in the nick of time. This week we were trying a new treat, all beef hot dogs. As a vegetarian, I swore my dog would never have certain things and I certainly would never touch certain things. Never say never, Kozmo has changed my life. I started class by taking a handful of gross hotdogs and shoving them in my pocket. Kozmo has no idea how much I love him.
Kozmo was doing great, he was focused on us and patiently waiting for his turn. The first obstacle was the teeter-totter. The goal was to make sure none of the dogs weren't afraid of the motion or sound of the teeter. Sidney, the Doberman who usually is perfectly behaved would do the teeter but then acted like Kozmo and ran around the room like a crazy dog. It made me feel good that my dog isn't the only one who gets excited in class. Sidney is 3 years old. On the one hand it makes me feel good these things happen to other dogs. On the other hand, I've been thinking that at age 3 Kozmo would instantly calm down and not be such a wild man. I'm starting to realize we have many, many years of an active dog ahead of us. I'm cool with that as soon as he masters consistently coming to me when I call him.
Kozmo had no fear of the teeter. He went across perfectly and waited at the end. His trainer was very impressed. She told me she could see huge improvements in both Kozmo and myself since last week. Kozmo and I returned to our seat with a big smile. Kozmo also got praise from his trainer when it wasn't his turn. She could see a big improvement in him lying down and waiting his turn and not jumping and barking at the other dogs. It's nice to finally see improvement and know we are doing somethings right.
A new obstacle was set up for out next part of class. It is called hoops and is a long series of colored hula hoops in a pvc frame. The hoops are all alternated at angles to make a long tunnel. The opening is a straight shot but looking through it seemed like it might confuse the dogs because it is so open and the hoops are facing different directions. (See image below) Kozmo had no problems with the hoop tunnel. We started with the trainer holding him and me going to the other end to call him through. Kozmo's only difficulty is sitting and waiting until I call him. He wants to run instantly, before the command is given. We did this several times with the trainer first and then the other human holding Kozmo until he relaxed and then I gave the command and was waiting at the other end to reward (and capture). Eventually Kozmo will perfect his sit stay and impulse control and will wait until I give the command to go through any obstacles. Kozmo did so well in the hoop tunnel that our human classmates clapped at the end. Everyone was impressed that he came to me and didn't try to run around the room and act like the class clown.
The next obstacle was what our trainer calls a big jump. It is a jump similar to what he has been doing, only wider. It had two poles. The dogs can't "pop" over this, they have to "sail" over and clear both poles. In agility there are many kinds of jumps and our trainer is trying to get them used to each one. Kozmo lined up, went over the big jump, and came back to me every time! We were very proud and very relieved that he did so well. Kozmo doesn't want to line up straight. When we approach the jumps he sits to the side. We have to work really hard to get him to sit straight and line up properly as we continue agility. The athletic part is a piece of cake for him, he'll jump anything. We just need to work on obedience and technique, for both Koz and his humans.
All of the dogs in our class are really getting the hang of each obstacle. What we will learn in our next class is how to run a course and move through all of the obstacles in a pattern. To end class our trainer wanted each dog to do 3 things in a row. She wanted us to send our dogs through the hoop tunnel, jump through the tire, and end with tunnel. The first dog, Sonny, was amazing. He did so well that he was doing hoop, tire, tunnel, and back through tire and hoop. Sonny is fun to watch. Sidney only wanted to do 2 things and be done. Darcy, this cute little dog who is smaller than my cat is an agility superstar. She did everything perfectly and came back to her human.
Finally, we asked Kozmo to do hoop, tire, tunnel. We trusted him off leash. The other human stood between the tire and the tunnel to help capture Kozmo if he decided to act crazy. Kozmo would go through the hoops and run straight to his dad. We moved the other human and tried again. Our trainer said she thinks asking him to do a sequence might be asking a bit much from 9 month old puppy. I love our trainer, she let Kozmo end the class on a very positive note. We did the hoops and he came back for a treat. Then we did the tire and he came back for a treat. Finally he went right through the tunnel and ended class with a big slimy handful of chopped hotdogs and a big hug!!
We were so happy we didn't have to do the weave poles this week. We have one more week of beginning agility. Intermediate agility doesn't start for 6 weeks. We are going to squeeze in another 5 week Canine Good Citizen before agility starts again. I'm hoping with lots of work Kozmo just might be ready to take the Canine Good Citizen exam on June 12. No matter when he takes or passes the test he has come such a long way in four months and we are very proud of Kozmo. Our trainer declared him the most improved dog of the week!
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