"Switch" and "Table"

We had agility last night. Hooray!!

We started class off working on the table. Internally, initially, I was a bit resistant! CPE does utilize the table, but they have no criteria for it. In CPE, a dog may do anything on the table - even touch it with a paw. Thinking about it, I am sure the reason I was initially resistant is because, haha, we might not succeed immediately. Goofball!! I can be so intolerant of the learning curve.

So, we did jump-tunnel-table. I had a tough time getting the word "table" out before Ike was there, so Katrin had me say "Go, Table" as we were headed into the tunnel. As she said, Ike was already committed to the tunnel. Ike is much less stressed by agility class than he used to be. In general he thinks it is great fun - the third time we did jump-tunnel-table, after I had FINALLY gotten my timing (heh-hum), I SENT Ike to the table and I could tell by the way he wiggled he was having a blast. Of course, I didn't trust him to do a down on it from the distance. Bad, Julie, trust your dog! and WHO cares if he doesn't do it the first time?!

Ike and I have actually been working on distance downs so I should have given it a go. I will practice this at home. I am going to use a variation on the technique Leslie McDevitt uses in Control Unleashed to teach Go to Mat to teach it; shaping it. My criteria will be a down-stay.....until released. We'll see how this goes, but it is more fun than working on "switch," although less useful, unless I break down and try USDAA.

Next we worked on actually using "switch." Two jumps leading into a 180 followed by a lead switch/jump and tunnel. Ike was awesome, even though my positioning was all off because I was gulping dramatically and thinking 'oh how nice a front-cross would be,' he committed to taking the jump! Yes, Ike! Who is this big, brave dog? We did this three times and I think my positioning got slightly better each time. I am SO impressed Ike was willing to commit to the jump each time even though I couldn't believe he was and stood there jaw agape! Good Ike. Julie, trust the damn dog!!

I was also very impressed by Ike's demeanor when cute little Callie decided she was going to try and play with James (Katrin' black FCR) who was tied nearby. James was not happy and was vocal about that. Ike didn't get involved! Or feel the need to bark his disapproval! It helped that we were practicing "spin" and giving/getting a massage intermittently. None-the-less....yay, Ike!!

So, lots to work on....buy a piece of board and work on downs on the table, practice "switch," and bring my weave poles back inside to keep working on them! Since the majority of our CPE classes will now be level 2, we'll be seeing at least six weave poles in our classes.