A-Frame, Tire, and Weaves

Yesterday in Bug’s Foundation class we worked on the a-frame, tire, and the weaves. Jumps and tunnels of course, too.

Prior to class it was corgi-toe day at Katrin’s house and I witnessed poor Mr. Bug getting all hung up in his leash. So if he was aligned – forget it! Thank goodness we are seeing Anne tonight. I could tell he did not feel great at class. He was still acting a bit off about jumps and I had them at 6”. Poor pumpkin. He was doing them for me but I don’t think he felt good.

We did the a-frame first and to my surprise - regardless of how soft he is – Bug did not have an issue with it. He did surprisingly well! And no issues doing the entire thing. Terrific! The way that Katrin introduces the a-frame is to have the dog walk half-way up, turn around and then ‘wait’ in the contact. Preferably in a sit at this stage of the game. Building rear-end awareness – or attempting to. Buggie was quite low-key about it and actually appeared to be seeking out the a-frame later in class. Silly goose!

While our classmates were having their turn we practiced down on cue. Bug is doing so well with this. I am very proud of him. Now to start minimizing my hand signal, and changing his location. Currently he is in the classic in front of the handler location. For herding I want to make sure he is comfortable at my side. I need to start adding in a “wait” as well.

Bug had some reservations about the tire – perhaps because he was being asked to jump again? We lowered it all the way down and he hopped through confidently. Slowly raised it up to 8” and he continued working. He does have a “what’s the easiest way” mentality at times.

Further proof that Bug is not a Schnauzer – he had NO hesitation about entering the weaves with the cages on!! Hurrah! I found it hysterical to watch him do the weaves – he was so precise. I half expected to see his wee tongue sticking out in an expression of concentration!

It was a good class. Bug is showing real growth in his confidence level with new things. My only concern is his pelvis. I think I need to talk to Anne about putting him on a regular chiropractic schedule and committing to it. It might be worth making an appointment with Mel (canine massage therapist) and having a lesson/treatment plan for him, too. I worry about that long back of his.

This week we need to:

- Continue working on down;
- Work on jumping;
- Contacts!