Tonight was by the far the best practice session yet, both per dog and in total. Beau is pretty nearly there, especially since this is an optional behavior and I’ll never do Agility with him. Zachary is still playing “101 Things to do with a Contact Board”, although after the first dozen or so passes he settles down to something approximating the desired result.
I upped the criteria again and now expect all four paws on the board plus stillness and, not surprisingly, that final paw wasn’t nearly the challenge that lack of motion continues to be.
I brought the mat back out and once again put it at the end of the hall. Beau was a bit hesitant, as it is now a good fifteen feet or more from the Contact Board, but Zachary zoooooomed down the hall and threw himself on the rug, looking more like a Golden Border Collie than a Golden Retriever.
Sometimes I just held them for a few seconds, but on at least one occasion both dogs were held there at least 20 seconds and neither looked like they would break. I thought the change from running the board to lying still would be harder for them, particularly Zachary, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Once again, that which I think should be hard turns out to be easy, and that which should be easy is nigh impossible.
All in all, though, a good nights work from both boys and a nice start to the end of the week.
Editors Note: Well, I finally took the plunge and switched from the old-style Blogger template to one of the new ones. I’ve been considering it for quite some time, as the new styles support additional features, but it was a hard decision as I really loved the previous lighthouse image that seemed to so perfectly represent this Blog’s description: “A Journey Toward Canine Enlightenment.”
Anyway, until I find something that speaks to me equally well, don’t be surprised if the background and look don’t morph a few (dozen) more times.
hi kathleen-love the new look, but I loved the old one too!
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