I’m only 9 months old and I’ve already graduated from 2 different training classes and am on my way to graduating from a third in just two weeks!!! [Cheesy smile] Here I am graduating from Puppy 1…boy, was I a proud and excited puppy (I couldn’t even stand still for the photo)!
As I near the end of my latest class session, I have come to realize that…well…I’m one bored pup! I can’t help it! I try to pay attention and focus in class, even when there are eight other dogs all around me, I really do! But, I’m in a rut! Domeek put her thinking cap on and tried to come up with a solution for my lack of interest; we tried different treats (nah), we tried my Thundershirt to see if I was just anxious because of all the dogs (nope, I wasn’t anxious silly…I just wanted to go and say “HI”), and we tried to separate me from the rest of the group (but then I just wanted to see what all the others were doing, I’m determined that they were having a party without me!) So now we think that it’s because I’m just bored and need a different type of class. That’s cool with me!
Because of my CRAZY amount of energy, Domeek wanted to put me into Agility classes. I told her that I wasn’t a Collie or a Sheepdog, but she insisted that all types of dogs learn and compete in agility…especially Jack Russells….I’m not convinced though! Luckily for Domeek, my training school offers lots of agility courses, so she went to an open house a few weeks ago to see what all the fuss was about. She really liked the idea and the teacher, but there were two problems: first, I have to be over a year old to learn agility…something about jumping when your bones aren’t fully developed, and secondly, that I have to master down before taking the class. You don’t know…but I don’t do down…nope, never have and never will! :-p That’s that! So that kind of ruined Domeek’s idea, at least until the end of the year.
After a lot of googling and a lot more research, Domeek finally found another sport that I might like… Earthdog! It’s perfect for me!!!! I am a crazy digger in the couch, I love trying to find my squeaky ball when Domeek hides it, and I’m a Terrier!!! Yeah! Take a look at this photo of another Terrier…whoa! I’m a little nervous about a small and dark tunnel, but Domeek says that I will be fine and I just have to try!
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| Photo courtesy of Dog Infomat |
My school doesn’t offer Earthdog training or tests, so she jumped on the internet again and then…nothing! She couldn’t find any schools that offered Earthdog classes :-( It was so sad! Worse yet, we found out that only AKC and pure breed dogs could learn and compete. I’m sorry, what?! Only pure breeds…don’t they know how awesome I am?! I would kick Earthdog butt! But alas, those are the rules (however stupid they are!).
All hope was lost until this afternoon. Domeek told me that she just found a facility that not only offers a workshop on Earthdog training, but that is also open to mix breed puppies!!!! YEAH!!! The school is called Performance Dogs In Action and it’s two and a half hours away from where we live. But since they only offer this workshop once a month, I figured that the drive wouldn’t be too bad a trip! I’m really excited! They also offer a Small Dog meetup twice a year (the next is at the end of September) where we can try out all of the dog sports that they offer for just $5. The sports that they have include: agility, herding (now I know that this one is specifically for Collies and Sheepdogs), Earthdog, dock jumping, and Rally. I think that this would be sooooo much fun, Domeek does too. So this is now on our list of events!
If you are interested in adding Dog Sports to your list of “To Do’s”, make sure you check out this nifty list showing all the dog sports ever created! It’s a really long list!
Are any of you taking dog sports classes or competing? Better yet, are any of you Earthdog pups?????
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