Agility class last night was hysterical. Dudley is in Beginning Sequencing and in the class progression we're in, this is the first class with full size contacts. Beginning Contacts has half size equipment. Dudley did very well in Beginning Contacts and loves the baby equipment, but every time we've presented him with the full size equipment he's baulked so we didn't press him. But now the time has come to try to get up and over the big boy equipment. First up, the A frame.

He watches the other two dogs in class go up and over so and I'm thinking maybe he'll go up. Uh, no! We run up, he tries to go around. We run up, he tries to go around. So this time the instructor is on his right, I'm on his left, I've got the leash in my hand and I pull and the instructor pushes his butt! Now I have to admit, I'm not a fan of forcing a dog on equipment, but keep reading. We get Dudley up to the apex of the A fram and he's up and over. Yippee! At the bottom we have a HUGE party! I tell him how brave he is, how smart he is and shower him with his high value treats. Woo hoo! Now it's our turn again for our second try. Again we're flanking him, but this time it's not needed. He's a little slinky, but he goes right up to the top and over, crouching almost all the way. Another big party at the bottom. Woo hoo! It's time for our third go and he's actually straining at the leash! "Let me go! Let me go! I want to do the A frame!!!" I loosely hold on to the leash and he's up and over in a trice. The fourth time I put a tab on him instead of the leash and he's running it like he's been doing it for years! Unreal.

Next up, the dog walk. Dudley has only tried the dog walk once. He started to follow our experienced Pem up but only went half way up the ramp, got scared, stopped, started shaking, and pawed me to pick him up. I did pick him up, put him on the ground and he's never tried the walk again. But in class I'm thinking that after he found the A frame fun, maybe he'll do the walk. Uh, no. He gets half way up the ramp, freezes and wants down. I'm on his right, I've got his leash right up by his collar in my right hand, I've got my left arm around his butt, Amanda is on the other side holding him and telling him "we're not going to bail buddy, we've got you, you're fine" and all the while he's leaning against me so hard I'm about to fall down! He's digging in and we're trying to inch him up the ramp and across the walk. It takes forever, but we finally get to the end and have a whopping huge party! But I'm thinking to myself "he's never going to do the dog walk. Taffy was afraid of the A frame and it took us a year to get her up and over it consistently". Now it's time for our second turn. Once again he's slinky dog. He's crouching down, but he goes right up the ramp and across the walk with me right next to him holding his leash up next to his collar. Woo hoo! Party down at the end! Time for our third try. He's straining at the leash to get to the walk! He's up and over before I know what's happening!!! Amanda and I are amazed! In three tries he's gone from "oh my heavens I'm going to die!" to "Thanks Mom, I've got this. Not a problem."

Do you believe that? While I've never been a fan of forcing, I guess it's the learning method for my boy! Just force him to do it once and he'll take over after than. Too funny!