Beanie stopped going to Agility classes two or three weeks ago as she’d got a bit huffy about the way she was being taught and refused point-blank to cooperate. She had a great teacher and in many ways Beanie was the star of the class. But a Collie she ain’t and she made it quite clear she wasn’t about to learn any Collie-type techniques and tricks. So we decided that we’d just go back to doing things the way that Beanie both enjoyed and was good at.

We had a training session at Janie’s Agility Barn this morning. I always did the handling in the past, so in an attempt to break Beanie’s bad associations with Agility, Paul took over as handler. It went very well:

Here’s another little clip of Beanie showing off her new found skill with the weave poles. She’s now chaining on other bits of equipment and will happily tackle the poles without me beside her – which is great news for an out-of-shape old handler (me) trying to keep up with a super-fast little doggie!

And yes, once again that is the Biggley Boy in the background complaining about being left out of the fun. We do play with him too….although listening to the fuss he makes when it’s someone elses turn you wouldn’t think so!

As you know, Princess Beanie has taken a liking to agility and is proving to be quite good at it.

The most difficult bit of equipment for a dog to learn is the weave poles as it’s nothing like anything that a dog would do naturally. I’ve included weave poles in our practice sessions at the barn, but I’ve got Beanie through them by holding a lump of sausage in front of her nose. It’s not really much use, as although she negotiates the poles she’s oblivious to them. All she see’s is sausage. She needs to learn to tackle the weave poles on her own without my help. Our teacher, Carol, introduced us to the weave poles last Saturday, and Beanie’s Dad made us some out of pvc piping on Tuesday night so we could practice at home. Here’s a little clip of Beanie after just five days practice….

What a little star! I think that by the end of the week she’ll be flying through them on her own. Those Collies think they’re smart, but they won’t be a match for our little Beagle!

And yes, that’s the Biggley Boy you can hear in the background. He doesn’t like to be left out of anything!

p.s. Excuse the floor – we had a washing machine leak in November and the floor has been up since then. Still waiting for the insurance to get sorted out!