Liz living up to her honorary diploma--looking like a real agility girl!
perhaps Lizzie is trying to live up to her honorary diploma? Or she is just being a really super good girl, but Thursday was the second to last class that Alicia is going to be teaching in Acton. Deanna's classes are done until October, and it looks like Alicia really is not going to change her mind and do any more classes, so...figures Liz/I sort of get ourselves working well and we will have no more classes. So Liz was able to work the ENTIRE class, and I mean work it, paying attention, she was actually reading my body language and doing pretty well. I worked a lot of attention games walking into the field, she thought about looking for the gophers but opted for playing the attention games instead. I did not crate her but kept her out and kept working with her, so that seemed to work this week anyway. The most amazing part of the class was one of the first runs a classmate let his Jack Russell run after Liz on course. This dog acts like she wants to eat a lot of other dogs and when the dog was let loose the guy never got out of his chair to get her. Lizzie turned around and let the dog have it, she went after the dog and I was afraid there was going to be a serious fight. I think it surprised the dog that someone turned around and went after her because she has pulled that crap before in class and she chases the dogs, but someone always gets the dogs or catches her before any dogs can harass her. It is an irritating thing. ANYWAY, I thought we were going to loose Liz's focus for sure, but I took her out and did a few obstacles before I sat down just to make sure she was not too freaked out and amazingly enough, the dog that seems to go over the top about EVERYTHING, just shook it off and acted like nothing happened. The next time she ran and the little JRT was at the end of her leash right by a jump, lunging and barking and Liz did not even seem to hear. I never can totally predict what the little Lizard is going to do, guess that is how she keeps life interesting, but how she handled the dog chasing her really made me proud of her and amazed. I had not brought out my crate, and I always make sure to have a crate, so when I was walking sequences, I put Liz in a down and everyone was walking all around her and she was amazing laying out there relaxing on one hip and she stayed rock solid on her downs. I think it helped just keeping her connected and working, even if it was just a down stay instead of putting her in her crate like I normally do. Usually when Liz is in class we do bits and pieces, let her end early, things like that but she did the entire class, EVERYTHING. Believe it or not that durn JRT was let loose several more times in class, but at least it was not with Lizzie (and I say let loose because it sure seemed like it happened enough and the owner never even bothered getting up to get her and how many times in one class can a dog get away and it still be a surprise??).