Training Update

These past few weeks of agility class have been interesting. I think Peyton has managed to find an extra gear or two when running - which is great, but I don't know that I'm quite prepared yet for the extra speed and intensity he's been giving me. :)

Last week was a really good week. On Tuesday night, for the first time in a long time, Peyton did not get the first run zoomies. He was awesome - great focus and lots of speed. Then on Thursday I had a private at another training club that he's never been too fond of - and other than a slightly rough start, he worked wonderfully with me and we had a really great lesson. This week has been a little more challenging. On Monday night he started off great, but after a few runs he was a wild spotty. And tonight he started off as a wild spotty, but was working nicely by the end of class.

Would a little more consistency be too much to ask for? :) It's really difficult to develop a plan for our training when I never know when the wild spotty will show up...

I definitely think we've reached a point where doing agility has become almost *as* rewarding as the treats and toys I use when training. This is a new challenge for me - Indy would never pass up a treat to keep running, but I'm starting to see that Peyton would rather go-go-go. The challenge is now how to get him to go-go-go where I want him to, and not just him self-rewarding on the obstacles of his choice. Last week he must have run through the same tunnel four times in a row - without any direction from me - he was just having a lot of fun doing it. :)

So while I think Peyton has made a ton of progress lately, we still have so much to work on. And while I'm happy to see him running with a lot of enthusiasm, we definitely need to work on some self-control. Peyton needs an off-switch when running big time - this is really apparent on our start line stays, as they have recently gone down the drain.

On a good note, his contacts are looking great and his weaves are smokin'. Actually skill-wise I have no complaints...it's just finding the focus and control needed to bring it all together that's the big challenge for the moment. :) I do feel like I'm starting to get the hang of handling him...for now at least.

So that's our training update - my apologies for the long winded post, but I'm finding it somewhat theraputic to put all my training thoughts in writing. :)