Sorry I've not been around, I'm not very good in the Winter and this last one has been quite busy as well. Also, when you've got a solar-powered dog there's just not a huge amount to write about over the dark months - she's mostly been asleep!!
We started dog agility yesterday with the Harlequins. It was fantastic fun! The instructors were lovely - a couple of dogs were so excited that they just ran off around the field and the instructors just weren't bothered by it; I didn't get looked down on because Mollie's not clicker trained (she ignores treats too, so I had to use a squeaky ball) or because she's never been to obedience class. In fact I was quite proud of her as her recall wasn't too bad, considering how excited she was, and she did everything really well for a beginner, except maybe the weave but that's probably more down to me as a handler than her! The other dogs and owners were all lovely too, it was great to not have to worry that Mollie wanted to say hello to everyone before she started, there just weren't any big egos there at all.
Mollie's main problem is focus, it's just something she's never really had - I'm going to try and spend more time teaching her basic tricks for treats, and maybe even try that clicker again. The agility should help, too, although next week I need to get up early, feed her and take her for a reasonable walk before we go so she's not quite so excitable and so that she's eaten - she doesn't normally eat before going in the car as she gets sick, but it's not fair to expect her to do agility on an empty stomach.
Anyway, more soon - I promise!
