Rally Class

BRAG recently started offering an informal Rally class (that's rally obedience, if you prefer), and yesterday, Roofus went to his first one. It was a bit disorganized at first - the first half hour we pretty much just stood around and watched the instructors' dogs do the signs. After that, though, they gained momentum as they fell into a stride, and we practiced several signs. The last hour was spent doing a run-through, which was a new experience for me.

Roofus did a Rally Workshop at Anything Goes for Dogs, and we loved it, but the facility was a little far away. She's now moved quite a bit closer, so we are looking into classes there for the new year. It's been a while since I've done a dog class with Roo (shame on me!), and I'd forgotten what it was like to work with a giant breed dog. While Popper may be able to spin on a dime in agility, Roofus needs quite a bit more room to turn around. Popper is at my side leaping into the air as we run, Roofus pokes my shoulder with his chin!

So it was good to get out there again and get Roofus involved. He had a really fun time (but honestly, he has an awesome time doing ANYTHING - he's an Old English Sheepdog, after all!), and I even began to hope that maybe we could compete early next year, just to see how he does. One problem we have to really work on is moving downs. He just doesn't get it. Another OES issue. Once he figures out what I want, though, he'll never forget it. Another OES thing, and thank goodness, a positive trait! :D