Collapsed tunnel (dum dum dum!)

We added the final obstacle of beginner's agility yesterday--the collapsed tunnel. As you'll see in the video, it's a 3ish foot long tube with about 10 feet of fabric running off the end of it. The dog goes in the tube and has to push through the fabric to come out on the other side. We thought the doods would panic, but they love it! Here are some videos from this morning's practice. Chris won't let me post videos of him, so I'm driving in all of these.

Cat and Buster


Cat and Buster really awesome run


Cat and Abby...Abby's much more excited about agility these days. We were training with tuna, so that might have helped.

Camping!

Well, it's spring break, and on Monday the high was near 70, and near 80 on Tuesday, so we hopped in the car and went camping with our friends Matt and Katie for a couple of nights. The other couple we run around with, Andy and Elin, were in DC for the week, and were very much missed.

The doods were awesome, esp considering that it was Abby's second time camping, probably Buster's first, and one of very few times they've been tethered. There was very little barking at nearby critters, and even then it was mostly at other dogs barking in the distance. They got tangled up a lot and didn't seem to be getting the hang of it by the time we left, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Also--they were ALL ABOUT sleeping in the tent. We're big believers in the pack mentality philosophy of doggie behavior/psychology, which includes their denning instinct. They both settled right in. The first night, though, Buster slowly inched his way up the side of the tent so his big ol' head was right next to mine on the pillow. There was a little growling the first night, with Buster full on barking when we heard some rustling in the campsite (raccoons, likely). Second night--a light rain and doodle quiet.

I didn't get nearly enough pictures of them, but here are a few.









After a fruitless day of fishing, Chris and Matt take some time off to read/nap in the hammocks.

Agility videos

The pause table requires them to jump up, do a down, and hold it for 5-10 seconds. They're still new to the tire jump, so they're both a little weary of it.

In this first one, Buster runs through a short course, then says hello to Abby. He does weave poles, teeter-totter, wall jump, tire jump, A frame, then pause table.



In this one, Abby shows off what a lazy butt she can be, but it also shows part of the learning process when she balks at the tire jump the second time through.



And, finally, I take Buster through the course a couple of times. He's really, really, enjoying agility!