Roaming in the Gloaming

Beanie’s agility classes have stopped until after Christmas and the New Year, so we got a half-hour slot in a barn full of agility equipment to keep the momentum going with her training.

Looking at the videos below, you might be forgiven for thinking that they were filmed in the evening, but in fact it was just after 2pm. As for the horrible noise on each clip, well that’s just the sound of rain on the barn roof. Fortunately the poor lighting and rainfall didn’t distract Beanie one bit:

That was the very first run of the day, and Susan was just making up the sequence as she went along, but Beanie was really paying attention to her commands. I think that’s pretty good going for a Beagle who’s only had six full lessons! Admittedly she’s not too hot on the weave poles as yet, but she certainly has no fear of the apparatus – not even the shrouded tunnel..

The object Susan throws at the end of each round is just a container filled with sausage. It helps to keep Beanie focused, and of course makes her easy to catch afterwards – ‘cos she’s not going anywhere until she’s got her sausage.

Another thing that contributed to Beanie’s solid performance was the walk she’d had earlier in the day. Ever since Beanie and Biggles went on a little unscheduled walk of their own, we’ve been working extra hard on recall with the two of them, and try to spend most of our park time playing hide and seek and puppy ping-pong (rapid-fire recalls between the two of us). It’s not as physically demanding as the usual run-about with other dogs, but it is more mentally stimulating for them and does seem to make them more attentive towards us. And it still gives us a bit of peace in the afternoon!

Two tickets for the Land of Nod please…