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So... the time has come. Sophie's Agility class is winding down to a close and testing is coming up for those who wish to try to move on to the next level. For us, this would be Advanced Beginners. Our trainer has suggested that those of us who are in Beginners for the first time not test out because we haven't done the dogwalk since it is an outdoor obstacle that cannot be brought inside. The dogwalk would be available in the next class since it would be outside for the spring/summer sessions.

Sophie is relatively confident with all obstacles, has no issues with the a frame, teeter, tire, tunnels, or jumps. The Chute is iffy sometimes. Pause table is fine. Weaves are slow but not impossible.

Do you guys think that I should try to test out anyway or should I stay for another session? Do you think that she would be bored if I re-did the class?

Just need a bit of input.
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Lesya & Sophie

Author unknown
Thanks to Pattie Lawler
http://www.behaviour-problems.freeserve.co.uk/2/Poems/dogownerpray.htm

>>So... the time has come. Sophie's Agility class is winding down to a close and testing is coming up for those who wish to try to move on to the next level. For us, this would be Advanced Beginners. Our trainer has suggested that those of us who are in Beginners for the first time not test out because we haven't done the dogwalk since it is an outdoor obstacle that cannot be brought inside. The dogwalk would be available in the next class since it would be outside for the spring/summer sessions.
>>
>>Sophie is relatively confident with all obstacles, has no issues with the a frame, teeter, tire, tunnels, or jumps. The Chute is iffy sometimes. Pause table is fine. Weaves are slow but not impossible.
>>
>>Do you guys think that I should try to test out anyway or should I stay for another session? Do you think that she would be bored if I re-did the class?
>>
>>Just need a bit of input.
>>-----
>> Lesya & Sophie
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I've just finished reading Bud Houston's book "Go the Distance--Training Your Dog to Workk Away," in preparation for the author's month of June on the DogRead list. I'm not involved in agility due to my own physical limitations and the other work I want my dogs to be able to do for me, but the book comes highly recommended by agility competitors. I would suggest you get this book, read it, and do take the class again and use it to work on these skills. It always works best in dog training to be ahead of the class rather than struggling to keep up, and this would put you ahead.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

>>So... the time has come. Sophie's Agility class is winding down to a close and testing is coming up for those who wish to try to move on to the next level. For us, this would be Advanced Beginners. Our trainer has suggested that those of us who are in Beginners for the first time not test out because we haven't done the dogwalk since it is an outdoor obstacle that cannot be brought inside. The dogwalk would be available in the next class since it would be outside for the spring/summer sessions.
>>
>>Sophie is relatively confident with all obstacles, has no issues with the a frame, teeter, tire, tunnels, or jumps. The Chute is iffy sometimes. Pause table is fine. Weaves are slow but not impossible.
>>
>>Do you guys think that I should try to test out anyway or should I stay for another session? Do you think that she would be bored if I re-did the class?
>>
>>Just need a bit of input.
>>-----
>> Lesya & Sophie
>>
>>
>>A Dog Owner's Prayer
>>
>>Oh Lord, don't let me once forget how I love my trusty pet.
>>Help me learn to disregard canine craters in my yard.
>>Show me how to be a buddy even when my sofa's muddy.
>>Don't allow my pooch to munch postal carriers for lunch.
>>Shield my neighbor's cat from view--guide my steps around the doo.
>>Train me not to curse and scowl when it's puppy's night to howl.
>>Grant I shan't awake in fear with a cold nose in my ear.
>>Give me patience without end--help me be my dog's "best friend".
>>
>>Author unknown
>>Thanks to Pattie Lawler
>>http://www.behaviour-problems.freeserve.co.uk/2/Poems/dogownerpray.htm

Good for you and Sophie! Has she ever been on the dog walk? This and the teeter is usually the nost scary obsticle for dogs. Talk to the trainer and get their opinion on whether Sophie can take and pass the test or go though another class.

When our club teaches classes, we try to design them to beginner dogs and more advanced dogs.
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Charlene

My Email

Adopt the pace of Nature
Her secret is patience

-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

Sophie is fearless about those things and loves to be up on an elevated surface. (knock on wood!) She's been walking planks since she was 9 weeks old without hesitation. If I tell her to "walk it" she will hop up onto a plank and walk it without as much as a blink. The a-frame and tunnel are her favorites.... the a-frame being #1. What's more fun that running full force up an a-frame and barreling down it? Why, nothing of course! LOL.

The teeter is no problem at all, she's great with it. I would imagine that the teeter is more difficult for dogs than the dogwalk... so I'll just talk to my instructor next week and see what she thinks.
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Lesya & Sophie

Author unknown
Thanks to Pattie Lawler
http://www.behaviour-problems.freeserve.co.uk/2/Poems/dogownerpray.htm