Agility Class 3

Another week another opportunity to ask why am I doing this to myself? So far in class we have learned that Rocket doesn't have a favorite side, he is just as unruly on my right as on my left. I do not like him on my right at all, a hold over of years of walking a dog on my left.

I don' go to my right or left well at all but if he is on my right there is a better chance I will trip over him The dog will not wait for me to get in position for him to go, he wants to go NOW and there is nothing I can do to kepp up with him once he's on his way. He will go to the next obstacle but it better be in a straight line from the last one or he will skip it.

I have to stand there and shout at him Jump!Jump! Tunnel!Tunnel! Jump!Jump That Thing! That Thing! Wiggle! Wiggle Wiggle! The instructor says 1) I need to give That Thing a name for he dog to learn and 2) Rocket thinks so far ahead that I need to be giving him directions as well as I should be three or four obstacles a head of where he is or he finishes where he is and gets frustrated because he doesn't know where he is supposed to go next and then he wants to run back to me and be play with my hair, where ever I am,  which is always behind him because I don't move as fast as he does. To get ahead of him I would need a broom.

Also he needs to learn right from left. I don't do left and right very well myself, how can I teach my dog the difference between right and left?!

Tonight we learned he can easily jump 26 inches  ( top of the AKC  limit on  jumps) and he is also 26 and a half inches tall. Next we the other dog won't be there so  either we have a whole hour to ourselves or the instructor will drag the class before ours with many dogs even later so I will  end up with a really short class and a drive home in the even darker. Tonight I took a wrong turn and ended up on the highway. Sadness.