We're going to own this!

I think I mentioned it before that I am taking agility classes with the TabTab. I'm pretty sure I was all cocky and ready to wipe the floor with our "competition". Well, it ends up that to start with we really didn't have any competition. Mostly because we were doing less competing and more melting down because Tabitha is one of the most sensitive and reactive dogs on the fucking planet. Class goes a little something like this:

Dilated pupils? Check.

Rapid shallow breathing? Check

Fearful trembling? Check

Inability to focus? Check

Refusal to take treats? Check

She's afraid of certain noises, which means no clicker. Tabitha is scared of clickers. Loud booming not okay. There is a shooting range not a mile from the place. Tabitha is afraid of gun shots. (To be fair, this is kind of my fault. 4th of July fiasco where I got to be "that owner" from there on out.) Oh, and thunder so heaven forbid it's thundering out. And it sometimes is.

She isn't food motivated. This is click and treat training. The click marks the correct behavior and the treat reinforces it. Uh, yeah...

She growls and barks at the other dogs and then will start this weird squealing when she's not allowed to go meet them. I know she's fine with other dogs, minus a ball (or frisbee ha!) being involved but the other owners are scared shitless of her. I can't really blame them since we're talking TB the Tank up against their gentle setters and Australian Shepherds. I'm working on it. I really am. It's bizarre because she often runs off leash with other dogs and is present for both the dog daycare I run and the one my mother runs. No issues. Good times at agility! Yeah!

Anyway, when you add all those things up and make them a huge part of agility class you basically end up with me walking around (with my basketcase of a dog skulking about behind me) hoping we can at least give the impressionthat we know what we are doing. It's not like she won't do what I ask her to do. She just does it all in this mopey, why is life so scary and unfair way.

You wouldn't mind, but we practice all the time and she is good. She is perfect. Until we get to agility class. Then she becomes this pitiful puddle of persecution. And of course while everyone is looking on in a confused manner, I am laughing because she's being ridiculous and I was totally convinced she'll snap out of it at some point. Sometimes I want to be embarrassed but honestly, who gives a shit? I'm at agility class and my dog is failing. I can think of far worse things to get upset about. The fact that other people are bothered in the slightest by my train wreck of a dog just doesn't compute. Whatever! I hope your dog wins! Winning is an awesome feeling! Go get em tiger!

It had been about 8 weeks with no real change and I was starting to think we should just quit. I asked the trainer to just tell me when she started questioning what the hell I was there for. Cause I was going for it man. We're going to do this shit and we're going to be awesome at some point. You know me, I would just keep going to class and thinking we are doing awesome until someone out and out tell us to please just stop it and go home, if not for us, do it for your dog. I'm optimistic x infinity about some things.

I don't know what happened, but during this last class and the one before it everything started changing. The teacher suddenly caught on and realized Tab really does enjoy training with a toy rather than treats. She also started enthusiastically greeting Tab when we first come in and cheering her on when she does something right. All of a sudden what I was saying was really true and kapow Tab is doing awesome. She's jumping jumps, running through tunnels and shoots and getting all kinds of reinforcement that she's happy about.

I just hope we can keep it up. If I can somehow get her good enough to go to a competition, I'm doing it. And you know I'll have someone videotape that shit so you can see it happen.