Donna and I had a tiny taste of dog agility at the PetExpo Saturday morning (that’s yesterday!)
I had some difficulty trying to get Donna to weave through the poles, but Mr P says it’s because half the time I’m standing too close and blocking her from weaving. OMG!
Donna navigating the weavepole with the agility instructor.
After 2-3 turns doing the jumping route, I was more comfortable with Donna being off-lead for this, and she did great!!
Donna jumping over the bars.
The ramp was the one thing that I had the most apprehension about, knowing that Donna does have some nervousness with new platforms that she sometimes perceives as unstable and “life-threatening”. :P She was a little hesitant at the start but she totally flew over it at the end.
Donna climbing the A-ramp.
Her tail was wagging throughout the session, probably due to the massive amount of sausage that Mr P accused me of over-feeding her. But hey, I needed to be more interesting than all the other dogs around in order to get her to focus on getting through the different equipment, right?
Come :) Follow weliveinaflat.com on
Instagram @weliveinaflat | Facebook donna.weliveinaflat | Youtube Mutt Vlog
Linda Arthur Tejera
Ladies and gents, we have a winner! :)
weliveinaflat
XD Thank you, Linda!
Hawk aka BrownDog
Hi Y’all!
My favorite is the tunnel! I can fly through there and make that thing rustle! The instructors assistant always yells “fire in the hole” when I head into it! I’m so big though, sometimes my collar hangs up so my Human has to crawl in and free me. When I was learning to weave my Human would dodge back and forth to keep the treat in front of my nose. She was close when I was going away, then dodged away as I headed back through toward her. That way she sort of weaved with me without going through the poles.
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
weliveinaflat
That dodging during weaving sounds like quite a workout and requires great timing from your human! The instructor didn’t have time for us to try the tunnel. Looks like we missed a good thing! Boo.
Susan C. Willett
One of my dogs was so skittish and nervous that our trainer recommend agility as a way to help her gain confidence. It worked wonders! You’d never know she once was a scaredy dog.
–Woofs (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats.
weliveinaflat
That’s one definitely one of the reasons why I wanted to try it out with Donna. Besides the fact that it is probably something exciting for her to do, rather than lying around at home day in and out. Haha. I have to say though, there were lots of beginngers at the trial session and it was quite hard to watch when a dog is obviously nervous/anxious and they are being pulled up the ramp anyway. Thankfully Donna was too fixated by the sausage to really be anxious about the fatality of the equipment she was going on. Haha!!
Emma
Great! Looks like a lot of fun and a small workout too!
weliveinaflat
It was yummy :) I was kind of confused at the weave pole, but I love the jumping and the ramp because it’s not difficult to know what to do there and I get lots of sausage! Haha. The in betweens when we were in the queue would be a lot cooler if the human would let me go check out the other dogs though. But she kept making me to nose and getting me away from the other dogs instead!!
gvannini
How fun! Agility did wonders for my anxious dog and she is able to focus at a trial now with no issues. Best dog sport there is if you ask me ;)
weliveinaflat
That’s awesome!! We could do with some focus around here. Haha!
SlimDoggy (@MySlimDoggy)
Great job Donna! Agility is a fun way to stay physically and mentally fit.
weliveinaflat
Thank you! ;)
manicivy
Donna is a natural! & the PetExpo is such a great idea! I wonder if there are any by me… (;
weliveinaflat
I hope you find a good solution that is nearby! At least you drive, I don’t and I always have to wait for when Mr P is free to ferry us around :P Donna is a natural but the human is not!! Hah!
manicivy
I did! The NYPetExpo is only about an hour’s drive away! I’m going to try to get the day off of work. (; Thanks for the idea!
weliveinaflat
Pawsome!! Donna had a great time playing with all the other dogs milling around the exhibit stands too after the agility. You guys have a great time!!
goldenwoofs
That’s PAWsome. Agility is all about FUN FUN FUN! Happy Black n White Sunday. Golden Woofs
weliveinaflat
Thank you :)
Kyla
I was thinking about this for Kali. She’s agile, quick and smart.
weliveinaflat
She’s going to love it! The sausage part is the greatest… and Kyla won’t be there to share/fight over it!! LOL
Cascadian Nomads
Yay Donna! Agility is a treat-o-rama and you simply cannot over feed- the dogs burn off so many calories doing all that fun stuff! Weave poles take even the best handlers several months to learn- looks like you did just great! Did you try the tunnel?
weliveinaflat
I’m glad to hear weave poles take a few months. The videos online make it loos so easy, haha!! The instructor didn’t have time to teach us about the tunnel. Looks like we missed a good thing, huh? You’re not the first to ask about it. Why is it more fun than the rest?
Roxy the Traveling Dog
Hey that’s awesome!! Looks like fun too.
weliveinaflat
It was!! We don’t have so many opportunities to go further out like you traveling dogs, so when we do the human likes to go to different places. ;)
M. K. Clinton
Congratulations! I think the teeter board would be scary too! What’s this about too many sausage treats? Impossible!
weliveinaflat
There wasn’t a teeterboard but I’m sure it will be scary for Donna too! And Donna agrees with you on the point of treats I’m sure. ;)
Kuruk
Woohoooooo Donna!
weliveinaflat
; D
pawedblog
Oh y’know this is what Millie’s training is all about, I think (well hoped) she would love to partake in agility if she could lose some of her nerves… your photo’s make it look like so much fun!
Hugs, Carrie (Myfie, Ellie and Millie) x
weliveinaflat
When we first got her, Donna was very nervous about new things and people. But as she adjusted to the new life and grew more confident of how we want her to react to most things, she got more confident. The positive training definitely helps :)
dorysbackyard
Go Donna!!! Of course…the sausage is the key!!!!
Smileys!
Dory, Jakey, Bilbo & Arty
weliveinaflat
sausage …. *licks lips* :P
Dogs N Pawz
Yay Donna! Great job!!!
weliveinaflat
Thank you :)
YourDesignerDog
Great job Donna! Looks like you all fun!
weliveinaflat
We did! Thanks! :)
Tenacious Little Terrier
Go Donna! Are you thinking of taking up agility?
weliveinaflat
yes, indeed. But it may take some time to find a trainer we are comfortable with. :)
Diane Silver (@ToDogWithLove)
Oh fun! We LOVE agility. Will you continue? Rocco loves the jumps and tunnels and teeters… basically he loves everything where he’s gotten LOTS of treats!
Diane and Rocco
Dakota/Caren/Cody
Found you on the 2 Brown Dawgs blog and we LOVE your blog! We are now your newest followers! Hope you will do the same! Barks and licks and love, Dakota
weliveinaflat
Hello there ;)
savedbydogs
The beginning of an agility legend in the making!!!
weliveinaflat
Hahaha, she’s kind of busy snoozing on the floor at the moment ;P
Nature by Dawn
Sounds like great fun! I wish Pierson had the opportunity to do a little more agility than just the generic setup we have in the back yard. He doesn’t do well with other dogs so the back yard is our only option. It is still fun, though. But we don’t have a ramp or teeter-totter
weliveinaflat
I think it’s great you have a generic set up in the yard that he has access to daily. We won’t have the space in our tiny apartment! And with training, its got to do more with consistency than anything else, right? So that’s something we have difficulty managing. :)
Jo Danehy @ The Sundog Drift
How fun. Good job!
weliveinaflat
Thank you! Have a great day!
Guilie Castillo
Thanks for sharing this experience. I’ve recently found an agility trainer here in Curaçao (everything is limited and hard to find on an island) and have been considering doing this with one of my dogs. She’s very nervous, very excitable, full of energy, and no amount of exercise–the normal kind, walking, beach, etc.–seems to do much for long, so I thought: Ah, Agility. But I’m only familiar, through friends, with more advanced versions, and had no idea what it would be like the first time. So–again–thanks for sharing :)
Guilie @ Life In Dogs
2browndawgs
Looks like fun. I have heard those weave poles are hard no matter. :)