SUMMER!

Spring has been wet and cold. (Fortunately our Agility classes are indoors.) It looks like Old Man Weather has been checking the calendar however and tomorrow, the official first day of summer, we are supposed to it 80 F for the first time this year. Wednesday is predicted to be even hotter. My garden and my roses needs it. Bring on the heat!

Meg and I successfully completed Agility II and will be advancing to Agility III next week. Can't wait! Meg is really starting to get into agility. She has no issues with the teeter anymore and has gotten very good at finding the tipping point. Her contacts are great and at home her 'bottom' (stay on the contact zone and wait for me) is excellent. In class, its not as solid, but she's doing better than all her classmates.

I finally put together some weave poles for home and we've been practicing. As long as Meg focuses on the poles and doesn't 'check in' with me, she does great. If she looks over at me, she loses track and misses a pole. We're working on it. The good news is, she likes the weave poles and will work for a Frisbee toss.

We've also been working on handling skills. I have to say, Meg is much better than I am. She's getting to be very forgiving of my mistakes.

In our last blog, I mentioned we were taking a Loose Leash Walking class with Diamonds in the Ruff. It went very well. Two weeks ago we started the "Take it on the Road" class with Kathy Fox and Teri Beeman. This is a great class and a lot of fun too. It is basically loose leash walking with distractions. Kathy and Teri also give some great tips on how to handle various situations you are likely to encounter when out walking your dog. The first week we met at "the Ruff House". For week two, we met at Corbin Park in Spokane. Its a quiet park with just a few distractions. This week, we're stepping up the distraction level and heading to Manito Park, a very busy popular park. I'm a bit nervous, but looking forward to it.

Another great thing about this class is once you've taken it, you can just show up at any one of the future sessions for practice. Since classes are outside, there's plenty of room. The more the merrier. I highly recommend this class to anyone who wants to improve the leash walking and distraction skills.

On another note, Meg has shed her winter weight and is in peak condition. Bear has also lost a few pounds, which is better for his hips and joints. I too have lost some. Here's looking forward to a sunny skinny summer!