I have taken some heat about not having Hustle ready for the agility ring by age 2. After talking to a friend who has his half brother, I thought I would put a few of those random thoughts down in the blog.
I have taken my time with him, and probably dawdled a bit with him in training. He is so immature still, and I have the 2 girls doing so well, why rush him? It took me forever to bond with him when I first brought him home. When I trained him at first, it hurt, because I just thought this should be Luke. We kind of struggled through that. I had to make myself sit down and get a clicker and shape him and build a bond. I went to the bathroom and cried the first time I trialed him, and he was such a good boy. I dont know what I cried more about, the Luke factor, or the fact that I had shortchanged Hustle so terribly in training. After that, I decided he will be very well trained, and I was going to enjoy every moment of it.
And now I do... He's a blast, my big dumb boy ;) Hustle is my dessert now. Sally and Moxie are for SURE the main course right now, but Hustle is my secret indulgence. He just makes me laugh, and smile, and roll my eyes at his silliness. No pressure... His will be a late journey, but I am determined it will be a damn good one.
Easy Guide to Handling by the Number for Agility Success
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It is not a coincidence that people who have been in agility for a long
time have success dog after dog. They have figured out how to rehearse
success from...
4 years ago
Ha, Revel is one and what have we done together? Um, lots of swimming and hiking...some tug...the occasional recall to heel and turns on the flat. A few jumps, and some exposure to agility obstacles. That's IT! I'll be lucky if he's ready to trial by 2!
ReplyDeleteRevel, the next purse puppy! ;)
ReplyDeleteHey, I get the never ending question about WHEN is Cricket going to trial. WEll, we have taken our time and done a lot of foundation and just having fun, I did not want to do too much when she was young and even chance injuries figureing it is always good to mature. I want to feel good and I want to really have fun, which does not include pressureing myself ;-), so good for you doing what feels good and taking as much time as feels good-I admire that.
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