# We tried it and we like it!



## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Had our first agility class tonight and Stosh loved it! I never thought he would go in the tunnel and he did- it seemed to suck him right in. Same with the chute, he couldn't get enough of it and came out bouncing and wagging. I was shocked! I haven't seen him have this much fun without sheep involved. 

This killed me- a woman with a black standard poodle came to class and the poodle had on a bright pink collar with studs all over it and the woman was wearing black slacks and a pink top and gold sandals with studs on them. And she was carrying a big silver purse. Finally the instructor said "M'am you're going to have to put down your purse". I doubt she'll be back.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

WHOOHOOO!!!! Another Agility Addict in the making! 

Would have loved to see video of the first class! It's so cool if you can get some cause they learn so fast. Crazy to see how different they are in a short amount of time. BTW, the power of the Sucking Tunnel has been shown to you! Once they learn to love them they can really really really LOVE THEM!!!


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Hey, there's nothing wrong with pink, studded collars! Shasta wants one!

It's good to hear Stosh had fun. We are making progress on Shasta's issue so hopefully we'll be able to give agility a try soon.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

It wasn't the collar on the dog so much as the owner's matching outfit- to run agility in a dirt floored arena. With no a/c. Stosh loved the tunnel and chute- he was out before I could even get to the end to catch him. And this is from the big lug that only moves when he sees a frisbee or a sheep. I underestimated him, as usual!


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Oh, man...I can hardly wait to try it!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Stosh said:


> Finally the instructor said "M'am you're going to have to put down your purse". I doubt she'll be back.


:spittingcoffee: You know, if she'd only worn sensible shoes.....


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

BTW, is it wrong that Halo has a pink and black flyball harness and I got her a custom flyball tug in the same colors?  










At least *I* don't match when we go to class!


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I say take Shasta and let her rip. Stosh is deep into the terrible twos and the activity and new fun was good for him. He's not aggressive but he doesn't take any crap off of any dogs and that includes getting too close to his left side of his head because of the gunshot incident. He soon forgot all about putting everyone in line and had a blast. He's crashed out which was my goal.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

I'd be embarrassed to take her. She's so reactive when she's on leash and we're still working on her recall. It doesn't help that my husband and I have very different ideas on what constitutes well-behaved. But we're working on it and seeing progress. I think by January she'll be ready....that gives us time to get a routine going with it before her little brother comes home in the spring.

P.S. When I say reactive, it's not in a fearful or aggressive way, it's in a, "Oh, look, there's a dog! Hey, Dog! Look at me! Look at me! I need to get over there right now!" sort of way.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Awesome Stosh! I agree with MRL- another agility addict in the making. Keep going- it only gets _more_ fun as you go! Just wait until you get to do some basic sequences, talk about fun! But don't forget, foundations, foundations, foundations...


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Yay, it sounds like he had a blast!


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Pimg would have been proud! And Halo looks adorable but I'm glad your outfits don't match- for class anyway.


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## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

Agility is a lot of fun. I miss it.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Stosh said:


> Pimg would have been proud!


:rofl: I just asked her... She concurred. :thumbup:


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## Josie/Zeus (Nov 6, 2000)

Go Stosh!!


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

It still amazes me that Stosh is willing to tackle anything after what he's been through with the whole gun shot to the face thing. He's one tough pup!


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Stosh said:


> It still amazes me that Stosh is willing to tackle anything after what he's been through with the whole gun shot to the face thing. He's one tough pup!


He is a trooper!


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## Riley3696 (Aug 24, 2011)

Way to go Stosh!! I can't wait to meet ya'll!!


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

So we had our 3rd class tonight and Stosh is jumping through the tire, doing multiple jumps, instant downs on the table, loves the chute and tunnel- I mean he LOVES this stuff! For some reason it's just not my thing but what can I do? He looks up at me like 'was I good, aren't you having fun?' I only started this business because it was too hot to go herding and now our trainer had knee surgery. Oh, and he herds the other dogs into their spot in line and lets them know when they're messing up. So now I've got an agility herder on my hands. Maybe he could be the ref and wear a black and white striped shirt.


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## CarrieJ (Feb 22, 2011)

That's so cool! An agility herder.

I actually feel sorry for the standard poodle. I bet she (by the pink collar) would have had fun if her owner had used her head.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

The lady with the poodle never came back. She complained to the trainer about having to run on dirt and not being indoors. Poor poodle won't be having any fun


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## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

That's awesome! Good job Stosh!!


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## Josie/Zeus (Nov 6, 2000)

Good job Stosh! Is he still herding?


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

We had to take a break from herding because of the extreme heat this summer and then our trainer had knee surgery so we'll get back to it in a few weeks. I can't wait!!


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## CarrieJ (Feb 22, 2011)

Stosh said:


> The lady with the poodle never came back. She complained to the trainer about having to run on dirt and not being indoors. Poor poodle won't be having any fun


Too bad; take a highly intelligent, highly trainable dog....and treat it like a freakn' barbie dress up doll.
Ah well, more fun for the agility herder! I wish I could do stuff like that with Alice but she just doesn't have the mobility for the turns and I don't want her hurting herself when she falls. I hardly use the chuck it anymore. No stamina either because of the drugs. Just an ampy fruitbat, that we are trying to find alternative outlets for her.

I thought about those gold sandals as I walked Alice in flip flops last night.
I'm usually very big on proper footwear.....at least we weren't matching outfits...(we are too young for that right now)


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Ok so I'm starting to like it. I don't know why I was prepared to hate it. Stosh is doing incredibly well and he absolutely loves it! We just had the 5th time in beginner's class and he's trotting over the dog walk, took the teeter totter like a pro, he's ready to do it all. The trainer set up a mini-course: jump, tunnel, dog walk, jump, table. Then another one: tire, two jumps, tunnel, dog walk, jump, table. We did quite a bit of weave pole practice first and she's really happy with the progress we've made. It's s bit unusual that the class is all big male dogs- Stosh loves showing off and is ready to go first every time. My friend is in the class with a deaf dog and he's keeping up with the rest. We just have 3 more classes and I may have to continue to intermediate. Who knew we'd end up liking it?


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Stosh said:


> Who knew we'd end up liking it?


Well all the smartest dogs/handlers love it.... so I'm not surprised! :wild:


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

We started on leash which made it kind of difficult to maneuver but the dogs are all good enough that we're doing a lot more off leash- much more fun!!


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## Dooney's Mom (May 10, 2011)

Stosh said:


> We started on leash which made it kind of difficult to maneuver but the dogs are all good enough that we're doing a lot more off leash- much more fun!!


I can't wait to get started!! Glad you guys are having fun !


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

Poor poodle! 

I took my first agility class from a guy who had Standard Poodles. He's now an agility judge.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Stosh said:


> We started on leash which made it kind of difficult to maneuver but the dogs are all good enough that we're doing a lot more off leash- much more fun!!


On-lead agility sucks- fact. It's not agility. Welcome to the super fun world of off-lead, aka: real, agility!


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Our class is all big male working dogs- the smallest is an Aussie- so we're all the same speeds and jump heights. We did the two mini-courses 3x each at the end of class and Stosh was pretty worn out last night. It started to be fun when I could point and tell him where to go next and he was doing it without slowing down! I couldn't believe he was trotting along the dog walk at regular height. He looks so enormous up there. Next week we're starting the A-frame. The trainer is enjoying moving us right along, she said we're really more into the intermediate class stuff. Yay for us big dogs! Stosh is pretty popular around the club and there were two indoor obedience classes going on and I noticed he was attracting a crowd watching through the window. I couldn't have been more wrong about his ability and desire to do this. I'm still going back to herding but this is a great addition


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