Thursday, January 10, 2008

Not your everyday obedience group

Yesterday evening at training it struck me how wonderfully diverse our group is. When we were doing the "Long Down" exercise (leave your dog in a down position and stand across, or out of, the room for five minutes) I took a look at the line-up.
  • Miniature Poodle
  • Black Lab
  • Shiba Inu
  • Yellow Lab
  • Sheltie
  • French Bulldog (Dax!)
  • Scottish Terrier
  • Doberman Pinscher
  • Papillon
  • Sheltie
  • Cocker Spaniel
  • Dachshund
  • Australian Shepherd
  • Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier
  • Saluki

Not exactly the group you'd think of when you're thinking "obedience," is it? I guess that's why I enjoy it so thoroughly. My dog may not be the fastest to learn the exercises, but we're having fun. I particularly love Dax's "Recall." That's when I leave her in a sit, go to the other end of the room, and call her to me. When I leave her, it looks like she's not paying much attention to me; looking around, staring off into space. Then, when I call, she zooms as fast as she can down the length of the room and sits perfectly in front of me. A friend of ours does a running commentary of Dax's Recall: "Clear the runway. Flaps (ears) down. Take off!"

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