Thursday night was agility class. Normally on agility nights, Delilah and I head over to the training center, while Hubby takes Sampson somewhere special.
Hubby had something to do immediately after work so we decided that I would take Sampson with me and he could hang out with Sara’s dogs, Chuck and Orbit. When Hubby had finished what he was doing, he would swing by and take Sampson for a little walk around the neighborhood.
When we got to The Mellow Mutt, Brisco and his mom was there. She had let him off-leash so he could run around the training room but when she saw us approaching she made to leash him up.
Hey I’m Brisco, what’s your name?
I suggested that the dogs run around a bit before class started if she was okay with it. So she opened the gate and Sampson and Delilah ran inside.
Then I remembered that Sampson is not supposed to be running.
I grabbed him and put him out in the common room with Chuck and Orbit, while Delilah and Brisco played in the tunnel.
You hide in the tunnel Brisco, I’ll be the dog with the glowing eyes and I’ll chase you. Go!
Would you believe that no-one else came?
We had the agility course all to ourselves so we did three and four runs at a time!
Apparently Brisco’s mom and I run the agility course wrong. We run along the outside of the ring, which means we work extra hard. (Well if you’re a long time reader, you know this is the story of my life! My nick name should be Wrong-Way-Stone) LOL
Sara arranged the course so everything was along the outer edge of the ring, then she made us run it, with us on the inside.
Hubby had arrived by then and took a short video of Delilah and I.
As you can see, we need a lot of work, and having me run in the middle with Delilah on my left side threw us both off. You can also see how tired we both get after running the course twice.
Since we are only doing this for fun and I have no intention of ever running a real agility match, it doesn’t matter to me if we are perfect or fast.
The point is that we do something fun, we bond as a team and Delilah gets a mental stimulation as well as physical.
Does your dog need mental stimulation as well as physical exercise? What kinds of things do you do to provide that mental stimulation?
P.S. In a comment a few weeks back Misty said she’d love to see a video of us doing agility. This one’s for you Misty!
I wish I could find an agility place near my home. I’m like you, I don’t plan on showing Gracie I just want to take her someplace where we can work her mind.
Great video, looks like you and Delilah are having a great time! And you even wore me out running around like that! :))
I just got lucky with this one, you just have to keep looking. Sooner or later something’s bound to turn up!
We did have fun but dang, after the second run I needed a chair. LOL!
Very nice. I bet you will find it easier once you get the hang of running on the inside.
Running long marks seems to tire our dogs out. 🙂
Running long marks…..I was just talking to Hubby about this today. We don’t know of any places in our area where you can train hunting dogs, I bet she would love that!
We have been using a soccer field. 🙂 We have to push the kidlets off….lol. But it is tough to find a place long enough. Our trainer wants Freighter running 150 yard marks. Football field and a half…oh OK.
I think Delilah did awesome despite you trying to trick her by putting her on the wrong side. 🙂
And poor Sampson had to sit and listen from in another room. What kind of a night out was THAT?
Toby, Sampson didn’t mind in the least, he’s not very fond of agility. He just wants to be around his peeps. 🙂
I think mental stimulation is just as important as physical, especially for working breeds. There are some nutty herding dogs here that have been bored silly by their life in suburbia. That said, we don’t do anything much with Georgia other than talk to her a lot …I like dogs with a big vocabulary 😉 We also like exposing her to new situations and lots of (new) dogs to see how she copes and adapts.
I agree, sometimes it can be just as tiring as a good physical workout. 🙂 I bet Georgia has a good vocabulary! New situations are good too! Makes for a well rounded dog.
That really does look like so much fun.
We run around the university campus for physical stimulation and then we stop at the library to pick up a few books for mental stimulation, 🙂
LOL Jan, that sounds like the best of both worlds. How did you teach them to read? 😉
I think you and Delilah looked great! Very nice circle work too. 🙂 The inside track is definitely easier and is usually the goal. I’ve seen some handlers just stand in the middle and direct their dogs solely with their voice and hand signals. It’s pretty impressive.
So glad your husband got the video! It was fun seeing you two in action!
I too know what it’s like to work extra hard at everything, only to find out it could be easier!!!! How awesome that you only had to share the agility course with one person. LOVE the video!!!!
Aww, she looks like she’s having so much fun!
I don’t know what is up with dog training in this town. We are in a major metro, and I can’t find obedience classes past basic (except at the obedience club, where they’re way too serious) or any agility classes that aren’t for super-competitive dogs. I would love to do something low-key like you’re doing with Delilah.
I am so very interested in agility too! Fun!
Thanks for the shout out and I love, love, love the video! You guys are awesome, I think you should compete. What a great way to bond and Delilah looks like she is lovin it 🙂
I have to say I just about fell out of bed at your “Wrong-Way-Stone” comment 🙂
Wow! You two look awesome! Especially since you’re just now working on the inside.
So I guess going the extra distance from running outside is how you keep your svelte figure, huh?
That’s a great video.
What is that you use to “lure” Delilah?
That was fantastic Jodi, I could never get my girls to do that!
I havebedn thinking about trying agility with our Kori, she more than the others, would benefit from exercise and mental stimulation…