Bailey just finished up the last class in his latest round of agility training. So today’s post is all about Bailey and his agility. (Photo taken for today was taken out in our yard with Bailey’s own tunnel, not at class)
Bailey has been doing agility for about a year now. Although it started when he was a puppy, and we made him his first jump out of some pvc pipe. From that moment, I knew it would be something that he would enjoy doing and looked forward to getting into it with him in the future.
It took a while to find the right training club to do it with, but eventually we found a local club, and we signed up for “Small Dog Agility for Fun.” It was perfect for us. Not only did we start learning the basics of agility and handling and the equipment, but the class was also focused on ways that we can implement and practice agility at home.
I also loved that it was focused on fun, rather than competing. Bailey absolutely loves agility. It is fun for him, and he is fearless when it comes to trying new obstacles, so he learns rather quickly. He is also a speed demon when it comes to running the courses. However, if dogs could officially be diagnosed with ADD, Bailey would have it. Bailey’s attention span comes and goes. I am also convinced that Bailey does agility for himself, not for me. The reason he does the agility isn’t to obey me or to please me. He does it because he has fun doing it. What does this mean? Well it means that sometimes he gets really excited and will just run the entire course and do the obstacles before I say it’s okay to go. It means that he sometimes finishes a course, and his reward for himself is to turn around and run the course backwards. When he gets tired and is done, he checks out. It doesn’t matter what I ask him to do. He doesn’t do agility for me. He does it for himself. So when he is done, he’s done, and there is no fighting him about it. Then there are some days that his nose takes over his brain and all he wants to do during class is sniff the floor at the training club for treats that other people dropped. Most days, he does listen and obey really well, but some days he just can’t focus that little brain of his.
Here is an example of Bailey’s ADD and excitement getting the best of him when practicing his agility. (This video was taken last Summer)
So for all those reasons, he probably wouldn’t be the best at competing, however it is a wonderful thing for us to do together for fun. So many people don’t understand how important it is for dogs to not only get physical stimulation but also mental stimulation. Dogs LIKE to think. They LIKE, no they NEED, to have their mind challenged. Agility is great for that, and it is something that we get to do together, so it builds our relationship and communication for every day life as well.
Daily Bailey 