The Zoom Room!

For the last few years every time I've fostered a new dog I fantastized about taking the dog to agolity. I'm not sure why exactly, I guess it just looks like a lot of fun. And the two dogs I had prior to 2010 [Duval- our pit bull who has no interest in anything that requires activity, and Alex, who was just old and cantankerous ] just weren't good candidates.

Roo and I have visited the Zoom Room Hollywood a couple of times in the last year and have always enjoyed ourselves. So, when she started acting territorial while on our x-country trek, I decided she needed to enroll in a class that would challenge her both mentally and physically, as well as expose her to working around other dogs. Agility was the perfect fit. So I signed us up for an agility 1 class. Yay!

Day 1 of class was Sunday. We arrived early, and there was another class wrapping up in the training area. So, Roo had to hang out in the store, while the other class attendants arrived. This was good practice for her, though I started to worry I was going to use all of my treats keeping her focused on me before class even began! There was a litte Jack Russell terrier who barked at her as soon as she walked in. We managed to stay away from him long enough to remain calm. However, I noticed a couple with some huskies waiting outside the door, and had a feeling there was going to be a little trouble.

I love huskies- always wanted one in fact. And I bet they are awesome at agility. But I also know that huskies have a certain energy that a lot of dogs find difficult to handle. Sure enough when class started, those two dogs had a tough time handling all of the other dogs around. Which meant Roo had trouble, as did another mixed breed dog. And the Jack Russell was just being a typical Jack Russell. :) So out of 6 dogs on class, 5 of them were on and off losing it. Fun!

It was the class from hell and I truly felt for the poor trainer, who had lost her voice earlier in the day. Fortunately for Roo and I, they offered to move us into Monday's class which was much smaller. We attempted to sit through Sunday's class, but after 20 minutes, it was clear that having one less dog might make it easier. The gals at the Zoom Room said they have never had a class like that- usually it works out that they have one or two reactive dogs in a class, but not a class full of them!

So, we came back Monday night and joined Bonnie, a black and tan standard Dachshund, and Mouse, a Papillon/Terrier mix. We all admitted our dogs could be a bit reactive, but the 3 gals did very well together.

Roo loves the attention she gets in Agility Class! Actually she is a bit of an attention hog and would prefer to spend more time kissing up to the instructor than me. But when I ask she does what she is told. She is learning to sit and focus on her table. She LOVES the A frame and even tried to jump ahead and do the dog walk following the A frame even though we don't learn that til next week (show off!) She is OK at the poles- it will take time. And she was fine with the short tunnel and the tiny jump that we did.

The A Frame did get her all wound up when the other dogs went over- something about their scrambling feet and excited-ness got her barking, but we worked through it just fine.

When class was over, she did not want to leave..for real. Her noise anxiety surfaced and she did not want to go outside where she knew the traffic was noisy. And we had to push past a couple of people waiting for the next class.

Great news though- so far today (the day after class) she has not been afraid to go out for walks. She has come to the door 3 times already today- no shaking in her crate at the sight of the leash. We'll see what happens tonight....

And we look forward to class # 2 next Monday!