If anyone had popped their head into the Mellow Mutt during Thursday night’s drop-in obedience class they would have seen dogs wandering and running freely, two and three people working with one dog and moms in tunnels.

It was the best class and the most fun I have ever had at obedience class.

We started out with our typical ‘Downs,’ and ‘Stays.’  After the potty break Sara decided to take out some agility equipment.  The tire,  tunnel and a short tube were brought out.

Some of the pups were old pros at the equipment and were running through the tunnel and having a blast.

There were a couple of dogs who were a bit shy of the equipment  or had never seen it before; those were the dogs who made the night fun.

I’m not sure if Paxton is pure lab or not, but I’m fairly certain he has some lab in him.  He is a very sweet boy who was initially very shy around other dogs, but has grown tremendously since his mom started working with him.

Paxton had never seen agility equipment before and so was understandably a bit hesitant.  At first they were trying to force Paxton thru the equipment and I kept my distance.  Instead I focused on Delilah and running her through the tunnel to get rid of some of that lab energy. 🙂

Then I noticed Sara and mom were trying to lure him with treats, that’s when I dropped Delilah’s leash and jumped right in. 🙂

We tried coaxing Paxton into the tunnel by throwing some treats just inside it.  Paxton’s mom was inside the tunnel at the far end with treats in hand trying to encourage him through.  He wasn’t having any of that.

I decided I would go through the tunnel and with treats in hand, work my way backwards bringing Paxton with me.  When I was about two-thirds of the way through I heard Hubby shout, “Keep going Honey, there’s a dog behind you.”

What I learned is I cannot crawl faster through an agility tunnel than a dog.  I burst out of the end of the tunnel and said, “Which of you a*holes sent their dog through the f*cking tunnel while I was in there?”

Laughter all around and apologies from Brockway’s mom as the Malamute came out behind me. 🙂

 

Finally we decided to straighten the tunnel and shorten it and by using treats to lure Paxton in, we got him through the tunnel!   Yeah, it was so rewarding and everyone was excited that he had done it!

Next up was Miss Maggie, a shy Golden Retriever; and she wanted nothing to do with the tunnel.  Class was probably over by this time but we were so excited with Paxton’s success; we had to try Maggie.

We shortened the tunnel up until it was just a bit longer than Maggie herself; I sat at the entrance to the tunnel with Maggie and her mom and I fed her some liver treats.  Then we put some just barely inside the tunnel, then a little bit further and a little bit further.

After a minute or two of this, I moved to the other end of the tunnel and reached through with my hand full of treats and offered them up to Maggie. Tentatively she put her head in the tunnel and I moved my hand back and ever so slowly, following my hand Maggie went through the tunnel!!

When she reached the end and her head was clear I gave her the treats. We gave her lots and lots of praise and love; while she stood with her butt still inside the tunnel.

After class I heard many comments about what a fun class it had been.

I would have to agree.

This is the Saturday morning blog hop hosted by Two Little Cavaliers, go on hop along.

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