Day 30 (10/10/17): agility class, car show downtown

I gambled that Terra could wait an extra ten minutes this morning while I showered, but I lost - she peed in her crate. Between that and frequently rolling around outside, she has gotten stinky and desperately needs a bath. Hopefully tomorrow.

I had skipped agility class last week because I overslept, but we made it today. I ran Cai twice, then put him in the car and got Terra out. At first we stayed far from the field and walked along the adjacent pasture fences. She saw a goat and a sheep about 100 feet away. She stopped and was unsure. We walked away. A horse came right up to another fence and put his head over. She spooked at the movement and gave a half whine, half growl when we didn't move away quickly enough. But as soon as the leash was loose at a distance she felt was safe, she sat and watched the horse. After a minute she ignored him and lay down facing away from him, toward the field.

As the handlers walked the final course and so there were no dogs on the field, I walked her across and to the opposite side. We hung out in the area where people crate their dogs. Terra was moderately nervous about walking past the people, but curious about the nearest dog and pulled toward him after we'd stopped. I moved her over, then we hung out and watched the class. She laid down. She rolled onto her side. She got gravel stuck to her lips and gums (ew). We wrestled. She got up and pulled toward the dog again. The teeter was on the far side of the course and she didn't react to the noise other than orienting to it. If I remember, I'll bring a pen for her next time and let her hang out through the entire class. She does so well with habituation.

This evening was the final classic car show for 2018 in downtown Winters. It takes place over two small blocks, with mostly classic muscle cars parked along the street for visitors to chat about. I put on her "in training" vest, parked in the park, and slowly headed over. She alternated between needing to stop and look around, and being okay with walking. We stayed on the quieter block, where maybe 20 people mingled at once.

We practiced passing people or getting out of the way of people. We practiced walking at my side. She's not really used to the leash restricting her movements, as usually I let her lead the way and sniff around. This time I needed to use the leash to stop her moving in this or that direction. She would often turn in a circle when she felt the tension, confused about the best way to remedy the situation. Oops, bad trainer - we haven't really practiced this at home, and that would be a big benefit to her. On the bright side, I gave her lots of freeze dried beef liver treats and she seemed to understand walking at my side and staying with me at turns. That comes naturally to her since she's so clingy!

I had to stop a few people from approaching us. A few others asked what she was in training for, which caught me off guard. I'm focusing on socialization and confidence building but at the same time I'm working on basic manners and it's all working toward a goal of being a confident sports dog as well as a pet dog I can take anywhere. I said "basic training."

We didn't get close to the clown.

The show wrapped up and most of the drivers left around sundown. Terra did not like the loud engine noises (I didn't either) but was less stressed by them toward the end. I give this trip a B-.

The current boarding dog has had a few barking fits in the yard. Terra now mostly ignores them. HOORAY!!!