Maisy has a long history of being afraid of objects. She especially hates stepping on objects that move, even if it's only a very slight movement.
Which is why, despite the fact that these two videos are probably pretty lame to those of you who are real agility super stars, I'm super excited about them.
The second one is my favorite, if only because it combines scary objects with children (also scary, although not this one). Oh, and also because when we showed this to my trainer, her jaw literally dropped.
22 comments:
And yes, I know that the Kidlet has better agility handling skills than I do. *sigh*
Smart Maisy! Cute videos!
Yay Maisy! She looks super cute! Are you still considering doing agility with her?
I haven't decided, Laura. I really WANT to do agility, and even just doing two obstacles together was really fun. However, I'm not sure Maisy will EVER have the mental stability to watch other dogs running without going over the top, and even if she develops that, I have some reservations about her structure. She has pretty straight shoulders and is incredibly short-strided in the rear. I know that with proper conditioning and light training/trialing she would probably be okay, but I'm still not sure it's in her best interests. I am also aware that I'm pretty competitive, and that I would have a hard time holding back. So... I don't know. I guess I'll just wait and see what happens, but Robin says that if we're going to do agility, I need to stop letting Maisy do tunnels- she's pretty well getting sucked into them every time she sees them now.
Well if you do get to the point where Maisy can function in an agility environment, you can always choose to jump her lower then she measures. My guess is she would measure to jump 8 but you could jump at 4 in any venue and even put the bars on the floor in practice if you really wanted to! But yes tunnel sucking is a serious illness :)
Yay Maisy! I love to see a brave little dog! I think it's so funny different things we all get proud of with our pups. Like my post about Magnus sleeping in his crate at the arena. I mean, not that big of a thing but I was thrilled.LOL If I was you I would be proud of your girl too!
Laura, Maisy could probably do some simple classes if she could jump 4", but I do worry about the impact of some of the full height obstacles, and I know she'll never do a teeter. (Even if I could train her to do it, I know she wouldn't LIKE it, so I'm not going to make her.)
Katie- Yes, it is kind of funny that I'm so excited about such "easy" things... but it wasn't so easy for Maisy!
This is amazing!! Good job, Maisy :)
Crystal, I hope it didn't seem like I was minimizing Maisy or your accomplishment! I think it's wonderful to be excited about "easy" things with our pups. As you say it wasn't easy for her, and the journey you have ben on together to help her get to this point hasn't been easy for either of you. You have both done an incredible job!
I just think that sometimes people take the "easy" things for granted. But when you have a pup that has some challenges it makes you appreciate things so much more. At least that is the case with me. That's how I was at the arena when all around me were these stellar dogs doing super hard things and I was giddy 'cause Magnus was relaxed enough to take a nap.:) My Maizey would never be able to take a nap in such a dog charged environment. So to others it may not have seemed a big deal that he was relaxed but to me it was wonderful!:)
Anyways, now I have gone on and on. But I do hope I didn't seem disparaging!
Oh, Katie, not at all! I knew exactly what you meant- that, in the scheme of things, what Maisy did was a "simple" task that most dogs can do without blinking. However, it's a big deal for us, so even though these videos won't impress the people that do agility, I'm super proud of her anyway. :)
I'm glad it didn't come across in a negative way. I am proud of you guys too, you are a constant inspiration to me!:)
Good for you! You have overcome so much with Maisy and fun videos like this just show how well she is doing with her fears and anxieties. That is no small thing at all. For me, I am just thrilled that my dog has actually returned to ME at the end of a sequence instead of running off. That is our biggest hurdle, something that is so easy for everyone else in our class. We all have our own big obstacles to face and it looks like Maisy has conquered this one. I'd say that is pretty freaking impressive.
So NOT Lame !! Fabulous work :)
Do like I'm planning on doing with Thea and go for the level 1 CPE points title - no teeters in that ever if you don't want ... and lots of chances to add fun stuff to runs as the dog (and handler ;)) improve!!
No teeters in NADAC :) And NADAC, CPE, and Teacup all have pretty low contact obstacles. Plus there are a ton of classes in both, and especially in NADAC, where there are no contacts! The dogwalk shouldn't be any impact if you do a running dogwalk or 4 on the floor; aframe is a little more iffy but my guess is she could do a running one just fine.
Yes, I'm trying to nudge you over to the agility side :)
Ha. Well, I haven't ruled it out, but I also haven't ruled it... in. Let's wait and see if Maisy becomes sane enough first, shall we?
I'd say you've got something going there. :) We all have to start somewhere - I'd be excited about this, too. In fact, I was, way back when Marge and I first started..
I, personally, will always tell people to "go for it" when it comes to agility, as long as their dog likes it. But, personally, I'd like to see Maisy get her ARCH first! Do you think she'll ever return to APDT Rally? She's doing so well lately, I hope that you'll trial her again sometime.
YAY, Maisy! I think me and mom are gonna take some agility stuff soon and I'm a little nervous cuz of all those skeery looking objects. But I know mom won't make me do anything I don't want to do. Watching your movies made me feel lots braver. Thanks!
Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie
Sam, I'd love to see Maisy get her ARCH, too, but I'm not sure if that's in our future either... in the past, Maisy has been able to hold it together for two hours before getting crazy, which makes it hard to get the QQs we need. So... We'll see.
I AM tentatively planning on entering her in my club's April trial (I have a TON of free entries from stewarding), although I plan on making it a cookie run, not an attempt to Q. Actually, what I really need to do is put together a training plan for re-entering trials. I know we need to hit up some run throughs or other busy places for short amounts of time and gradually increase the amount of time she can relax.
Mayzie- I'm glad you're feeling braver now! :)
Aww! She looks like she's having a blast, whatever you decide about her agility future.
Agility is just such a great way to build confidence! She looks happy.
Crystal, I'm so impressed! Hooray!!
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