Took the dogs for a nice walk on the beach yesterday. Cleared the fog some.
Played ball with Spur. One of his favorite things to do. He loves his ball. I am always losing his ball. The other day I don't know where it went? Usually when we lose it I find it outside the fence. Nope, couldn't find it. Gave up and grabbed another. We have a good selection. It's necessary to always have a ball. He will get a stocking full of balls for Christmas.
My windows are in bad need of washing. I just never seem to have time lately. But, yesterday I spotted his ball out the window!!! Can you spot it? It's about four feet above the bird house stuck in a branch -
Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amy have you thought about working Spur in herding as a complementary sport to agility? It might help to build his confidence a little and give him something else to focus on. Not to mention watching your dog move stock is pretty darn cool. Gimli was a nervous nellie when he was young, and I believe that his ability to 'work' helped him. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteHi Teri!
ReplyDeleteWell, sure, he already does some of that helping me get the horses in from the pasture. He "helps" (he is on leash for most of it) and we work on a distance drop on recall and it makes him very brave! But, he could only work ducks because he is far too little to work stock. I would never do that with him. Ducks, yes, but there is this little thing about time. If only I had time!!
What I really need to do is get him out without my other dogs more. We should meet for a beach walk some day. He needs to learn to handle life just him and me more. Again, there is this thing about time, LOL!!
I think really, though, my biggest challenge is knowing what to do once we enter funkdom. All my instructors get stumped on that and basically just suggest we keep going, but that is never the right choice and usually gets us deeper into the funk. I need a plan for when we get into the funk!!! Even if that plan is to just stop. Continuing once he has entered funkdom is not productive. We both slip into a bad zone. Yes, I can use something like working Ripp in front of him or Roscoe, but that's just a crutch.
Would love to meet for a walk and introduce Spur to Gim and Brees! Gim only liked to do agility as long as I didnt have him do the teeter (He is a worrier like your Spur) and he hates loud metal banging of any kind (even an x-pen clanking worries him).But given that he is a badly built corgi, it was an easy decision for me to just stop doing agility with him. I understand your frustration, and I think you answered your own question of what to do when in a funk. You know your dog better than anyone...trust your instincts. If you ever want to carpool with me up to Appleton or Searsport (winter practice area) to introduce him to ducks, let me know. Brees is only working ducks now and its a hoot. Chasing ducks (and praising them for it) is a good way to empower a little dog. :)
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