Today I am grateful for training partners....

I am grateful for fun people to train with.

I met my training buddy Denise and her collie Kodi when she first started agility in Acton. She is taking lessons here with Deanna now so we get together at the yard and work when we can. The great thing about training with another person on an on going basis is they really get to know you and your dog and see things from the outside. Denise has been helping me figure out how to more accurately predict when Liz is going to stress and to figure out a strategy for working with that.

Last night that was put to the test when Denise ran Liz. There are very few people I would let run Liz because I am working so hard on not having her frustrated. Denise was AWESOME, she actually did better at doing small sequences of just a few obstacles and then catching and engaging Liz then I do-it was awesome and I learned a lot watching how she was able to work with Liz. I really thought I had been doing that but seeing Denise do it really brought home how I really am pushing past her threshold a little bit and then trying to get her back, I am better then I used to be, but Denise really did a great job of breaking things down. I asked how she had been able to do that when she had never really worked with Liz before and she said it was because she has watched Liz and I so much. Denise is a great dog trainer, she is newer to agility-but she has learned so quickly, I can not think of anyone else who knows Liz as well as she does and would have been able to do that so well.

Wow, what a good girl Liz was, she was happy to work with Denise and even came running when Denise called her. The cool thing was that Denise was stopping more frequently and getting Liz back to a thinking mode, almost no frustrated barking or Liz spinning around to yell, the second time running the same sequence Liz was getting the idea and settling in and able to do just a tad more, I am anxious to try doing more of that.

Who but someone who sits and watches lots of our practices and has a fresh perspective about what is going on, could have accurately seen exactly where Liz is about to go over threshold? Having people to train with is a TERRIFIC resource. THANKS SO MUCH DENISE FOR ALL YOUR HELP!






Cricket was awesome last night and while we were setting up a course she kept running through the dark green tunnel, in the shadows that was curved. I would never have asked her to go through there, it was dark, but little daredevil just kept running over and speeding on through the tunnel. We practiced the table and she will run for the table from a long way away when I tell her to GO TABLE, she is such a cutie!

A picture of Cricket with her beloved bed. This bed was in her crate on her flight here when I got her. She has long since outgrown it, but she will still curl up in it where ever she finds it, she piles her toys in it and just loves her little bed. I was taking pictures of her with her bed, and sort of playing with her bed with her in the morning, later in the day I took a picture of my daughter and Cricket got all excited, raced to the back room to find her bed and brought it back. Guess she liked playing with her bed and having pictures taken. Crazy puppy.