Discouraged and frustrated
- Thread starter Phebe*DD
- Start date
Before the disastrous class last Saturday, I had already decided I was going to consider a different training situation because the class we've been attending is more recreational than serious and I would like to work towards actually entering trials.
I visited another training center where Kim Terrill is the training director. Kim was on the world team several times. After talking with one of the trainers, I scheduled a private lesson for Wednesday so that they could assess where we are at as a team.
It quickly became clear to me that the trainer I've been going to didn't spend enough time making certain that we had a firm foundation before starting us on lots of equipment and sequencing. After 15 minutes with Donna, Phebe was following my hand and doing consistent turns and front crosses instead of just running wherever she wanted to. We even tried the dog walk for the first time ever. Phebe loved it and hit the contacts perfectly. At the end of the session, Donna said that she thought we would fit right in to the Agility II class, that was starting Thursday night. I would just need to work on Phebe following my hand and also targeting.
We went to our first class tonight and it was great! Phebe was so focused. All the sequences we ran were set to be front crosses. Most of the time that worked, but Phebe is so fast that I had to throw in a few rear crosses.
Donna said that we did great and she could tell that I had been working on the things we covered during the private lesson.
I am really happy to hear that you both had a wonderful night on Thursday!!! Glad that all you needed was a change and a new trainer!! Hope you and Phebe had a wonderful week.
No kidding. We had one Saturday session left, so I went this morning. Even running outside in 20 degree weather, I was so warm at the end I had to strip off my fleece jacket for the trip home. I'm going to be spending quite a bit of time with my little WiiFit workout buddy.That is "GREAT" news.Phebe sounds like a speed demon. You better lace up your running shoes.
She was like a different dog this morning. It was such a difference (in a positive way) that everyone was asking me what I had done to Phebe. I'm considering continuing with the Saturday class so that we get more running time every week, and it's also good for her to run in different situations so that she doesn't get too familiar with one and think she knows everything. She's way fast both physically and mentally.
We also had a 40 minute walk and a 30 minute fetch session before class. I'm whipped.