If you do the best you can,
nothing else matters worth a damn.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Agility Dog
At some point in the near future -- soon as a new class opens up -- we plan to start the dogs in agility training. Jude did it as a puppy and seemed to enjoy it.
Last night, after I turned off the light to go to sleep, both dogs were on the bed with us. A short while later, I heard a big clunk!
Seems that agility-boy Jude had rolled over and fallen off the bed. Twisted his foot, and he was gimping around this morning, though he seems to be okay now. At least it didn't seem to slow him down when he saw the squirrel out back ...
Dogs do fine walking, running, chasing squirrels, and finding the food bowl.
Save for the ones who forget they are on a bed and roll off in the middle of the night ...
Jumping through hoops, over bars, running through tunnels and weaving through poles is a bit more specialized. You have to show the dog what you want him to do, and then make sure he does it in the right order.
Some dogs -- epecially the herding kinds -- need a job, else they don't exercise their minds and bodies in ways that promote good health, mental and physical. They like to play, and bright dogs are smarter than a bunch of people I've known -- might as well help them reach their potential, if you have the time and inclination.
Someone once told me if I were a dog I'd be a border collie, and I didn't know how to take this until they explained that they like to have jobs to do, and to know what their work is. Yeah, okay. Very perspicacious of my friend.
My father's border collie, Echo, (who apparently is more beautiful, lovable, and smarter than I am, not that I'm in any way embittered about this, because I have Zen) does agility. When they took her to her first class the trainer took my dad and his wife aside and under his breath said, "See me after class. Your dog is too fat." We guess he didn't want to hurt her feelings... Echo can open the door to let herself out (although she doesn't close it behind her)and she knows which cows belong or her property and which ones don't. I guess maybe she is smarter than I am, because I don't care about cows minus they don't come in the house and trample the Internet. There's good eatin' on cows, I know that much. Echo is very interesting for a dog.
Since when do dogs need agility training? Isn't that like giving wide-stance training to republican senators?
ReplyDeleteDogs do fine walking, running, chasing squirrels, and finding the food bowl.
ReplyDeleteSave for the ones who forget they are on a bed and roll off in the middle of the night ...
Jumping through hoops, over bars, running through tunnels and weaving through poles is a bit more specialized. You have to show the dog what you want him to do, and then make sure he does it in the right order.
Some dogs -- epecially the herding kinds -- need a job, else they don't exercise their minds and bodies in ways that promote good health, mental and physical. They like to play, and bright dogs are smarter than a bunch of people I've known -- might as well help them reach their potential, if you have the time and inclination.
Someone once told me if I were a dog I'd be a border collie, and I didn't know how to take this until they explained that they like to have jobs to do, and to know what their work is. Yeah, okay. Very perspicacious of my friend.
ReplyDeleteMy father's border collie, Echo, (who apparently is more beautiful, lovable, and smarter than I am, not that I'm in any way embittered about this, because I have Zen) does agility. When they took her to her first class the trainer took my dad and his wife aside and under his breath said, "See me after class. Your dog is too fat." We guess he didn't want to hurt her feelings... Echo can open the door to let herself out (although she doesn't close it behind her)and she knows which cows belong or her property and which ones don't. I guess maybe she is smarter than I am, because I don't care about cows minus they don't come in the house and trample the Internet. There's good eatin' on cows, I know that much. Echo is very interesting for a dog.