Val and I are taking classes through a dog
club at Boeing.
August 15, 2001 update: We completed the Novice
Obedience course. She did OK, but we really have to work those
stays! We came in 2nd place, but will repeat the class. Funniest
moment: during recall practice, Deb, the teacher, holds each dog back one at a
time. The handler walks away, turns, then calls the dog. Val was so
eager to get away from Deb and to me, she ran full speed and couldn't stop in
time. She crashed into my legs. I was laughing so hard, I couldn't
get her into the position she was supposed to be in!
November 8, 2001 update: We finished Novice
Obedience for the second
time. She got a much higher score than the first time (she came in 3rd
place.) She did really well on her Sit/Stay and Down/Stay. I was so
proud of her! Now we have to work on staying while I'm further away!
March 2002 update: We completed the Advanced Obedience
course. She did sooo good. She heeled just fine, followed the hand
signals fine, did the five minute down stay great. But I think she got
confused or concerned because we were so quiet during the sit stay. She
got up and walked slowly across the room to me! She's not supposed to
that! And she loves the tunnel and chute. So, anyway, we
passed! We came in 3rd.
May 2002: Maybe Val will be well enough to attend the
last two obedience classes. We'll have to see about the agility. We
were thinking about taking agility classes this summer, but maybe not.
We'll see.
She made it to the next to the last obedience class. She did really
good. I thought our "heel" looked better than most in the
class. Her "watch" was great. While other dogs were still
watching the treat, Val was watching me. Her "get it in" on our
left turns was looking pretty good, too.
But she stopped eating right after that. She would only eat a few bites of
people food at a time. Then she would upchuck it hours later. She
was pretty weak and not interested in anything by the next class, so we didn't
get to finish. She would have done good, though.