Agility class number three!

So last night we had our third agility class. I again took Maddie to the greenway and ran her all over the place before class so she would be worn out and desperate for treats during the actual event. This was also her first class without Daddy, since Gavin couldn't make it. It was good though, because he was able to spend some one-on-one time with Sugarbear. She is learning to retrieve the tennis ball - she's adorably clumsy, so it's so funny to watch her go bounding after the ball and try to catch it.

Last night Maddie learned the dog walk and the weave poles. The dog walk is this long, skinny, raised walkway thing that the dogs have to walk over - kind of like the balance beam in Gymnastics, but without the jumps and splits and "sticking the landing." The weave poles are these little poles that they have to weave through. Maddie is the smallest dog in the class, so she blew away the other dogs with the dog walk. It's tough for big dogs because it's kind of skinny and the fact that it is raised up in the air scares some dogs. Weave poles? Well Maddie struggled a little with that. We'll be working on that this weekend. Here is a picture of the doggy balance beam.



Anyway, while we were there, we also practiced the other tricks. She is such a great jumper now, and she ran through the tunnel and over the A-frame like a champ! The very best thing about all this is that Maddie is learning how to be normal around other dogs and people she doesn't know very well. People in the class keep commenting on how much she has improved and it makes me so proud! Go Maddie!!