Last Thursday Delilah and I did a drop-in agility class.
I was a little disappointed with our performance. Truthfully it has been a while since we did agility on a regular basis, which may be why Delilah seemed like she was too intent on the treats instead of on me. She would dart off course and snarf around to see if the dog before her had left anything.
I’ve been thinking I’d like to try different activities with Delilah to find something that really motivates her and that might help us get more in sync.
I heard of this new dog sport called Treibball, it is sort of like soccer for dogs. I was checking their website out to see if there was a facility near us and as luck would have it, there is one about 20 minutes away. I called last Friday and left a message requesting a phone call to get a few questions answered.
This morning I had a phone call from the person in charge of Pet Education and Therapy, we spoke for over half an hour. I started off with asking if they accepted titres and they do!!
I then went on to explain the issues I’ve been having with Delilah and the training we have already completed and how I am looking for a new sport to help us develop a deep bond.
We talked about Treibball but after hearing that Delilah doesn’t really care much for fetching a ball, Audrey thought that Nosework might be a better fit for her. Unfortunately there are no Nosework classes currently scheduled but Audrey suggested I sign up for the newsletter which will notify me when the class is scheduled.
I told Audrey how food motivated Delilah is and she recommended we start with an Intermediate Training class which is a positive reinforcement class designed to help wean the dogs off the treats.
Audrey says she loves working with labs because most owners are amazed when she can get their dog to run down the center of the room and not eat the treats. I laughed at that because it will be certainly a day to be circled on the calendar when Delilah passes up a treat!
The kicker is that since I don’t vaccinate for Kennel Cough she doesn’t recommend we take the class offered at the Doggie Daycare, so we need to wait for the next Intermediate Class offered at the other facility, which isn’t until July 10th.
I’m really OK with waiting because Delilah’s annual check up is scheduled for June 6th, which gives me plenty of time to get the titre results and vaccinate if needed.
Positive things are happening at Casa de Stone, I’m quite excited for Delilah to learn Nosework and hope we can get good enough to bring Nosework to the Mellow Mutt.
How was your Monday? Anything exciting to share?
These classes sound like they are going to be great for Delilah and you. I can’t wait to hear all about them. Going forward I think you are going to find more places that will accept the 3 year vaccine protocol. Even my vet has gone to three years for DHPP, (Lepto is still yearly). You might have more choice of where you can take classes.
Wow, that sounds like quite an interesting training facility near you. You’ll get to try all kinds of things together.
I thought treibball was interesting but wonder if Delilah will be motivated by the herding chores. Can’t wait to find out along with you.
And I suspect she’ll love nosework. Most dogs do. Will there be video in your future?
That’s so exciting! 😀
I wish I had places like this near me. Living out more towards the sticks really has it’s disadvantages when it comes to classes. I have been wanting to get Luna into rally but can’t find a place nearby that I like. We will be doing nosework too once I finish her hunt training (no point chancing confusing her). Sounds like you have a great facility near you, and you have a lot to look forward to! Keep us posted.
Nothing new and exciting monday for us, rather boring day actually. 🙂
Anna
http://www.akginspiration.com
This sounds very fun.
Did you know that WordPress is now sending EMAILS out when we leave you a comment? It just started to do that a few days ago.
I hate it Frankie and Ernie, there is a little box below the comment box, make sure it is unchecked. I’ve made the mistake a couple of times and my e-mails get flooded. 🙁
I wish I could do fun stuff like this with Our Best Friend. I barely have time to train him at home, never mind agility, nosework, therapy dog training… Maybe my next dog, after retirement… (Wow, I don’t want to think about my next dog– I only want OBF!)
You are very fortunate to have so many choices for doggie play…er, work close to your home. I wish we had so many facilities to get a good fit for each dog.
I would love to do treibball with Malarky. Her favorite thing to do when she was younger was to push one of those hard plastic balls around the yard. I had to take it away because she was getting too obsessive about it (imagine that, an obsessive Jack Russel.) Unfortunately I can’t find anyone close enough to me. I may have to go at it on my own.
I’m waiting for a nosework class to start in June for Ricochet. He lost his sight last summer so some activities are out, but I think he would love this. It’s fun all the activities that are becoming available for us to do with our dogs.
I’ve read a bit about treibball and watched a view videos but to be honest? It seems a little dull for me, let alone for my high energy dog. I just don’t think herding techniques are enough to keep her interested.
That sounds insulting. I don’t mean “dull” dull, more that treibball requires more brain work than activity work, kind of like competitive obedience. We don’t really have the attention span required for that sort of thing.
However, nosework does sound like a lot of fun! No one offers classes like that here so I am jealous you’ll be getting to participate in something so new. I find that Shiva’s food obsession plays well into nosework. She loves searching for her food almost as much as she loves eating it.
Yay for new things!
It’s great that they accept the titers, and I hope they schedule a nosework class for you soon. Nose Work is so much fun, you will love it and so will Delilah.
I am very happy to hear that positive things are happening at Casa de Stone! 🙂