The Grass is Greener ...

Like the title says, Grass isn't always greener on the other side; it's greener where you water it. (thank you Justin Bieber)

But seriously. Things just don't fix themselves. If you want what someone else has, you've got to work at it! And isn't the journey just as important as your destination?!

Working at it, we have been. I recently discovered drop in outdoor training at Wet Noses. It's fairly close and convenient to get to with nice equipment, 2 agility rings and a great online reservation system. It is CKC heights (4, 8, 12") not AAC (6, 10, 16") so the dogs are jumping some funny heights and equipment is a little different but it's close enough. We've been heading out a couple times a week to play.

Spencer's running contacts are a work in progress, but at least he isn't afraid of the equipment. Teeter games are also progressing. So far I have just been using toys with him, but I think next time out I'm going to start using food in tossable containers  to see if that changes his focus and enthusiasm at all. Right now he's still a little spooky with it being a strange place. He will offer play, but it isn't with the same insane enthusiasm as he displays at home so transferring value to agility is not a quick process.

Baxter's weaves are getting better and faster. Hopefully this will carry over into trials. We work on various gambles as well. His running contacts are solid, I just hope to speed up the performance a little.

Yay weaves! (picture by Jay Collins from spring Fionavar K9 trial in Olds)

Penny is surprising the heck out of me. She's doing really well playing on the agility courses! Working on manners during walks has had some positive carry over in other areas. Being rewarded for giving me attention and not sniffing the ground for food or alarm barking is finally paying off. It's quite cute to see. She'll even play ball in the backyard with her tiny little hollee roller ball - the only ball I've found that is small enough to fit in her mouth.

We went to the Go Dog Go games trial last weekend. I'm a little sad that I couldn't do the camp, but the trial was fun. Baxter ran well despite the heat. We got another Jumpers Q, last run of the day, so that was lovely! I managed not to get lost on course and handle like I walked it, so I was happy with that.

Starting over with a puppy might give you a different starting point and make things "easier" in the beginning, but in the long run you will likely end up right back where you are if you don't change what you're doing to cause the issues.

I'll just keep thinking of that as I read Hyper Hounds updates on Spryte's first litter of puppies! I might be a little jealous of how good of a start those puppies are getting, but now was really not the time for a puppy. Everything that Kim plans to do with those puppies to give them a great start as stellar little dogs may cement Shelties as the next breed I get - specifically one of her puppies. It would be nice to start a puppy without a socialization/confidence deficit for once!