Agility Is Our Thing

Sage is crazy about agility.  We had our fourth class tonight and Sage was happy from the moment she jumped out of the car until the minute class ended. ...and then she didn’t want to leave.

We train with a group of six dogs.  While we wait in line for our turn on an obstacle, she watches the other dogs intently.  When the dog ahead of us goes, she loses her mind in anticipation.  She jumps and spins and pulls.  It is soooo hard to wait for her turn.

She waits for the command, eyes locked on me.

And then she explodes in an enthusiastic, focused, tail-wagging bundle of joy.

Third Agility Class

As we pulled in the long dirt driveway to the agility training center this evening, Sage began whining in excitement.  She jumped out of the car and pulled me toward the training arena.  Before class started, I took her across the small and then the large wobble boards.  During class, she raced across the teeter-totter and the trainer said, “I love her enthusiasm.”

Tonight she learned the wide jump — as wide as it is tall.  We also worked on the double jump which is two poles wide (the “wide” jump is three poles wide).

We’ve been working on sit-stay during class, and at home, and tonight we put it to use.  First we had our dog sit-stay in front of the tube.  Then we walked to the other side and called them through.  Last week, we put our dog in a sit but stayed by their side while the trainer called them through.  So, this was up a notch in focus.  Sage has great focus.  This was easy.

The weave poles are getting more difficult.  This week there were twice as many poles.  Sage went through fine, although I did have to encourage her a bit with my voice.

We ended with another sit-stay exercise.  This was a sit-stay-jump-target exercise to be more precise. Sage had to stay in her sit until I walked to the other side of the jump.  After I released her to jump, she had to touch a target in front of me — that was holding a treat.

Agility seems to be the perfect sport for Sage.  The harder it gets, the more she loves it.  The faster we go, the more enthusiastic she gets.  And, best of all, she sleeps all the way home.

The Wobble Board

Thursday, while I was at my Master Gardener class, Brett made a wobble board for Sage.  At class last Monday, she was still really apprehensive about both the board and the teeter totter.  The wobble board isn’t part of an agility course, but Sage needs to be comfortable with instability.  ...don’t we all...

I worked with her Thursday evening and yesterday.  Each day she got a wee bit braver.  Yesterday, she put two — TWO — paws on the board.  This morning, she went all the way across.

And then she posed for me, sitting on the ramp.  Silly Sagey-poo.  The ramp is her favorite thing.

Second Agility Class

Sage and I had our second agility class this evening.  We’ve been practicing at home and it really helped.  We missed last week’s class due to our trip to Arizona but we weren’t behind at all.

Sage did really well with most of the obstacles.  She does not like things that go wobble, wobble, smack so the teeter-totter is difficult for her and requires extra treats and praise.  But jumping through tires... piece of cake.

Tunnels are her favorite, I think.  Tunnels tend to be very popular with all the dogs.

One of the new obstacles tonight was circling a barrel.  The trainer gave us instructions and I’m thinking, “oh, like barrel racing.”  Sage nailed that one too.

The best part about agility is the fun factor.  Sage never stops wagging her tail and wants to do more, more, more.  It’s hard to wait in line for her turn.  Her vocabulary (and mine) is expanding quickly — “tire”, “jump”, “tunnel”, “feet” (pause with your back feet on the ramp), “table”, “weave,” “target,” and “go around.”  Our homework is to practice “target.”  When I say “target,” she is to run ahead of me and touch a target (plate or something similar).  We’ve got a lot to keep us busy; all this plus our regular obedience classes.

Practicing Agility: Week One

I bought a few pieces of agility equipment so Sage and I can practice at home in between our lessons.    I work with her for about 15 minutes in the afternoons and when she sees me walking towards the arena, she races ahead and does a few things on her own, just for the fun of it.

She nailed jumping quickly.  Kersey follows us around, but doesn’t participate other than looking for treats that Sage might have missed.

The ramp was a little scary for her at first but she loves it now.  She is good about pausing at the end — she has to finish with her paws on the green area so I give her a treat there to ensure that she slows down before leaving the ramp.

The tunnel was a piece of cake.  I bought the tunnel when we first brought her home, almost a year ago, so it isn’t new.  The weave poles are the most difficult.  I have them set up with the poles leaning out, forming a “V” so she can learn to go through.  Eventually, I will add more poles and straighten them up.

The only one not happy about agility training is Tex.  He runs laps when Sage runs through the tunnel.  Silly spooky horse.

First Agility Class

Sage and I had our first agility class last night.  After a lot of preparation, the day finally arrived.  In order to train and compete in agility, the dog must by at least a year old so no damage is done to growing and forming joints.  We are fortunate to have one of the top agility training facilities in California relatively close to us; a bit more than an hour away.  But, hey, when you live in the mountains, in the boonies, everything is about an hour away.  I got Sage on the waiting list about six months ago and was advised to get a solid base in obedience while we waited for Sage to turn one (December) and waited for our turn to come up.

Learning how to be a ranch dog

 We started with puppy kindergarten, then moved to level 1 obedience, and just started level 2.  She’s pretty solid and can already do more than is required for agility.  I also worked with her on doing things that help her understand and control where her back feet are — like walking through the rungs of a ladder laying on the ground, or walking along a railroad tie.  Sage loves all of it.  Aussies are smart, in addition to being high-energy, and I found that wearing out her mind with thinking work is as important as physical exercise.

Working with Brett at obedience training class a few months ago

Class last night started with all the dogs (about ten, I think, maybe 12) in a circle for introductions — dogs, owners, trainers, assistants — and ground rules.  It took 20 minutes, which was the hardest part of the class.  Sage wanted to play with the other dogs.  It was pure torture to sit next to me for all that time.  She whined, and talked, and tried to belly crawl towards the other dogs.

Finally, we were divided into two groups.  The first group worked in one half of the huge arena (looked like it was used for cattle roping in the past) and the other group in the other.  We started on the “obstacle” side.  First up was a wobble board; basically, a square flat board with a knob in the center underneath that makes the board very unstable.  Sage put her feet on it, it wobbled and thunked down, and she leapt backwards like her paws had been bitten by a snake.  And she wouldn’t go back.

Next was a teeter totter.  This was a long, low board that only “teetered” a few inches, and not in a sudden loud way.  There was fencing along either side so it was like a narrow bridge with no way to jump off at the midpoint, when it tottered down.  The first time across she didn’t like it one bit.  But on the second and third time, she was fine.

She did great on the low ramp.  She worries about new things, but once she’s done it and it isn’t new anymore, she loves it.

When we moved to the other side and worked on “handling” exercises, she was a pro.  She held her sit-stay; she marched through the ladder; raced through the tunnel; and confidently marched through the weave poles (which were set up with guides because weave poles are the hardest obstacle for dogs to learn).

She was exhausted when we got home.  But, she had fun — we both had fun — and that is what I wanted.

Training Sage

When we decided it was time to get another dog, I lobbied for an Australian Shepherd. I’ve loved the breed — their energy, their intelligence and their affectionate personality — for a long time.  Brett wasn’t sure but after reading a book about breeds that make good ranch dogs, he was convinced.  Aussies scored really high.

Also, I wanted needed an animal to train.  Riding has been problematic with my back issues, and training a dog would be a good alternative.  And what has interested me is the sport of agility — dogs running through a course of jumps and other obstacles— a blend of obedience, speed, and athleticism.  Aussies excel at agility.  

Once we had Sage, I contacted the dog agility club in Sacramento.  They told me that they had a waiting list but since Sage would need to be one year old before starting agility training, the timing would probably work.  In the meantime, I needed to get Sage solid in obedience — running the course is done off lead with hand signals.

We enrolled in puppy kindergarten as soon as Sage finished all her puppy shots.  She howled the whole 20 minute drive to class and whimpered all through class.  The first class she spent in my lap, with her paws on my shoulders and her head buried in my neck.  By the last class, she was enjoying herself and the star puppy.  We took her to the Farmers’ Market with us every Saturday, and while she hated the drive, she loved the market.  She’s never barfed in the car, but she sits with a glassy eyed stare and drools.  She rides in the back seat, with a seat belt, and the windows down — but she still cowers and hides when she sees me with the leash and her harness.

After puppy class, we signed up for regular obedience classes.  I worked with her on the weekends, but my work schedule didn’t allow for more than that.  We progressed, but at a snails pace.  Since I retired, I’ve been working with her every day.  Yesterday I put her in a down-stay and she held it for ten minutes.  She’s gold at home.

Today we had class.  There were six dogs and my shrinking violet puppy acted like she was at a reunion with her long lost sorority sisters.  She was dying to meet them all and play.  After practicing heel, we lined up the dogs and put them in a three minute down-stay.  The trainer tossed a tennis ball and Sage lunged for it.  The third time, she didn’t lunge but she belly crawled out of line, toward it.

We have more work to do; but at least she was brave today.  That’s huge.