Frustration

We went to agility last night. I was actually really happy with how things were going. His focus on me was really strong and he was doing really well with his recall and toy drive. I was nervous, and constantly on guard. The only way I wanted to do the class was if I could make sure that Trigger wasn't out with any other dogs, as I knew he wasn't at a stage where he could be trusted.

Unfortunately, I cannot control the actions of others. I was very careful with Trigger, ensuring that he only did the drills after everyone had gone. The last drill that we were doing was a speed circle of four tunnels. The first time through, Trigger was a little slow - he stopped outside of tunnel #2 and had a giant pee, and then continued on his way. It was starting to get dark, and he's always a little more apprehensive when it's dark. We were going to do the speed circle a second time, and Jen said to start with Trigger, so I brought him out. It had been said several times that dogs needed to be in their crates when Trigger went. I was under the impression this directive was being followed.

It wasn't. A woman decided to skulk in the shadows behind my back where I couldn't see. I started Trigger in the first tunnel, which he went through. When he came out the other side, he went back through the same tunnel and spotted the other dog. He went for it. I wouldn't really describe it as an attack. It was more than he jumped on the dog and pinned it to the ground. No noise, nothing of that sort. Once I figured out what was going on I ran over. It took me a second to grab hold of him because the other woman was in the way and not doing anything particularly useful. With a stern enough and a tug at his collar, he was actually quite easy to remove this time. The dog was fine - I think Trigger is the only one who took damage in the form of a cut on his nose.

So this was the last of the agility classes for us. Sadly, it is probably for the best, as with Trigger being the way he currently is, it's really not worth the constant apprehension. Not to mention the need to rely on others in what has become a large class (Foundations 2 had 4-6; Foundations 3 has at least 8). is evidently not a plausible expectation. As I said before, I don't want our presence to negatively impact the experience of others, and I don't begrudge Jen for making a decision that protects her business. I'm just very frustrated that it had to end this way. He really didn't have a chance in that circumstance. It sucks that in trying not to impact the class for others, the actions of someone else resulted in a significant impact on our ability to participate.

I will continue to do some agility work at home with him. We obviously don't have the makings of a full course, but he can still do some hurdles and learn to weave and whatnot. And fortunately, there are lots of other things to do with him. He loves his Frisbee. There are walks, rollerblading, and running. There are lots of things out there for him.

Trigger's mom excels in Schutzhund; there's a lot of issues we need to get through before that would be a viable option (considering they need to be able to be on the course with another dog) but Phil (Trigger's breeder) really wanted me to go that route when I got Trigger.

For now, we will continue to work on what we can work on. Friday is the first session with Ivan and we'll see what that will bring.