Out of little acorns..

Diva is one whole year old today - no longer a puppy, a proper big girl now. Not so you'd notice, she bounds around like life is one big adventure - actually I kind of hope she never grows out of that :-)

 

Having her 1st birthday means she's now eligible to train at a KC registered club such as Severnside DAC, so we joined the class which Sue James is currently taking on a Thursday evening. Now Diva doesn't know very much about agility yet, but what she does she quite likes - opportunities for reward are always good things in her book :-)

Now Ella had done a fair bit of agility training by the time she was 12 months old, because at that point I had a wee bit more time on my hands. The boys have pretty much absorbed any of that, so Diva's had little patchy bits here and there. She knows how to wait in position until released, about going through rigid and flat tunnels, that going up and down on the see-saw is fun because you get fed a lot (always a good things for Diva!), doing something with a target on the end of a contact (mostly paws unfortunately, oops!) earns treats, and she's done some jumps in a straight line. Actually maybe that's rather a lot when you look at it like that, but I can assure you we're only talking about 3-4 hours training time overall.

So I was wondering to myself if joining this class was a good idea on the way there tonight. The other people in the class have been training for longer and their dogs are doing much more. But whilst I don't have a dog that really knows the names of equipment or many agility based cues, I put my faith in the fact that I have her focus and attention. I figured at least she wouldn't abandon me, even if she didn't manage to do much of what Sue set us.

Well, my dogs never cease to amaze me. Her startline was as impressive as her collie sister, perhaps more so because of her babyhood. When I figured out what I needed to do to explain what I wanted (starting again is hard!) she was a willing and accurate partner. Don't get me wrong, we have a lot of work to do, but she's just such a fun little dog to play agility with! Her attitude is full on and she concentrates with the intensity of a far older dog. The only difference is you can see her tire more quickly and that reminds you of her youth. 

What she has taught me in her young life is that attitude and focus counts for a lot. Technical knowledge and skills are straightforward to teach when you're working from a strong foundation. A good relationship can move you towards any goal - agility, obedience, trials etc. Out of little acorns...

Today I'm grateful for Diva :-)