A couple of weeks ago I was despairing of ever getting Ceilidh to pay attention to me in Agility Class, if you recall. Well, I don't know if it was a breakthrough night or just a very good one, but last night gave me real hope for our future in the sport! It was a relatively small class, which probably helped Ceilidh focus more. And last week I really yelled at the little squirt for "hoovering" - you've all experienced it, I'm sure - sniffing every spot on the floor in the hope of picking up a stray hot dog piece. (This is not outside the realm of possibility, because people have actually dropped hot dog pieces and not picked them up!) I only yelled after having told her to "leave it... leave it... leave it." Since then, the hoovering has tapered off somewhat and Ceilidh looks at me when I talk to her. This is greatly rewarded by a jackpot of many small pieces of beef (Zuke's Z-Filets - great stuff!) and plenty of praise!
Ceilidh's attention was still on me last night! To keep her busy while we waited for our turn I went off to an empty area and practiced some heeling and other basic obedience drills. Or, when they weren't being used, we worked on the weave poles. Then, when our turn came the little girl was raring to go! She actually listened to me during our runs and it really looked like she was having a good time! The courses weren't very long or complicated, but that didn't matter. Ceilidh's focus was on me!
I guess I'll sign up for the next session of classes after all.
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2 comments:
Good for both of you. Strange how breakthroughs just seem to happen when things get frustrating. you seem to be doing everything right.
Thanks for the encouragement!
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