General Agility Update

Weeeeell.... I took Merlin to my parents' house. Absolutely no problem doing agility there. I'm stumped. Something must have scared him in the backyard one day so that he won't do agility at my house. The only thing I can really think of is the woman next door's grandkids.. Merlin is scared of kids (we're working on it), and her grandkids HANG on our privacy fence and bark at, howl at, and make monster noises at my dogs. I chase them off of there when I see it, but I'm relatively certain the last instance is probably what did it.

If that's truly what it is, it boils my blood. Here I am trying to get this timid little corgi a little more secure and outgoing, and little asshats like that go and blow months of work in a few moments. These are people that do not interact with their dogs at all - no walks, no doggie sports, no trips to the park - they shove them outside each morning regardless of the weather, and let them back in at night and shove them into crates. They are little 20# dogs too.

So for now, we're going to work at my parents' house when possible. One of the guys at BRAG said Merlin and I could come over to work in the building one day in July before our trial, so Merlin could run a course before he has to do it for real. A FABULOUS offer, and idea! So I'm pretty happy about that.

Popper is doing really well in our fun class (and so am I!). I think I understand now what he expects out of me, and I'm trying really hard to provide it. It's just a lot to remember! He wants me to constantly keep moving, I have to let him know at least one obstacle ahead what's coming up next (and position myself appropriately), and keep in mind the little stuff, like if it's too hot for him, and rear crosses into tunnels is still a huge challenge... but we're getting there. The problem with teamwork is we each have our own mind LOL! The hardest part yet for me, though, is where my body position is. I am just not an "aware" person, so it takes a lot of effort for me to try to make it happen. I think that's why I got so frustrated in the handling classes. It's really quite foreign to me to be aware of what every single part of my body is doing at any given point. But I HAVE to get this down, Merlin is far worse than Popper about what a stray hand may be doing, or if I am leaning too far one way... :D