This past Thursday was a bitter sweet day for Kai and I. We attended our last agility class with our instructor of two years, Michele. Because of the increasingly small class size due to participants dropping out for various reasons the class has dwindled down to two. Such a small class is not economically feasible to maintain so the decision was made to scrap the class and place Kai and I in another class with another instructor.
I am not saying I have a personal grudge or dislike of the new instructor but I have been with Michele for a while now. She has a great understanding of what I need and what my dog Kai needs in our quest to someday obtain agility titles. She has spent extra time with us dealing with my difficulties navigating the course first in a scooter and now in a wheelchair. She realizes the great strain this places on Kai and the special exceptions that must be made so that we are both successful. Many times she has worked with Kai as my extra hand helping him to understand what it is I am trying to tell him to do. Michele is very knowledgeable about the sport, the rules and how to be successful. Although I am fairly certain I am her first student using a wheelchair she has never made me feel unwelcome or a nuisance.
Kai also likes and trusts Michele and he shows great enthusiasm and willingness to please her whenever she takes his leash. I do not handle change well the older I get so switching gears to a new instructor’s method has me flustered and worried. The class I am joining is not as far along as the class I was in with Michele. Will this cause Kai to backslide and begin to see agility as a chore where now he finds it a joy? My over active imagination has kicked into overtime and all sorts of good and bad things are churning around in my head. Despite the knowledge that my new instructor will do her best just like Michele to instruct us with knowledge, humor and knowing Kai’s tendency for shenanigans a great deal of perseverance I am sad to see my classes with Michele come to an end.
Thank you and goodbye Michele. I hope to see you in the future at trials and maybe someday I will be lucky enough to take classes with you again. Wishing you all the best in the future. Wish us luck, between my handling and Kai's love of the zoomies we just may need it.
Showing posts with label handicapped trainer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label handicapped trainer. Show all posts
Monday, April 18, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Training Blues
Kai and I attended agility class again this past Thursday. I look forward to going to class because I have so much fun working with my dog. Watching him learn is truly exciting and you always learn something new when training dogs. It is never the same for every dog, they are truly individuals no matter how much they may look alike.
Kai is doing well in agility class, I think that most of the problems are mine. I am new to agility having trained in obedience for over twenty years the world of agility is something I am still getting used to. Also the fact that I must use a wheelchair to get around severely limits my ability to keep up with Kai and also to perform many of the maneuvers that the other handlers can do almost without thinking. So with quite a few things Kai and I are struggling. The other owners and their dogs are doing so much better than we are at several things, the most obvious one is Kai's arch nemesis the weave poles.
Kai started out doing very well with weave poles but as the guides disappeared he started having more and more trouble. Last summer and fall I did not have a wheelchair ramp so getting out of the house to practice was extremely difficult so I was not able to work with Kai on the weave poles much at all. This winter of course outdoor practice is out of the question and indoors I have absolutely no room to put up a set of weave poles and run Kai through his paces.
Now the lack of practice time is showing. While the other dogs in his class seem to be very proficient at the weave poles Kai is struggling to get the concept. This week we had to go through the weave poles twice during the course and Kai did not complete them totally on his own even once. We were able to get time to concentrate on the weaves at the end of the class and we were successful going through the poles when he is on my left side several times. Every time we had a major party and the rewards were many. Doing the weave poles when he is on my right however are another kettle of fish. He seems to not even notice the obstacle is there!
I need to troubleshoot and figure out what the exact problem is and work to overcome it. It could be that he has difficulty being on my right because of previous obedience training and working as my service dog he is oriented to being on my left. It could also be one of a million other things. I am looking forward to spring when Kai and I can use my new wheelchair ramp to get outside at anytime and practice weave poles or do anything else we may want to do. A walk in the spring sunshine sounds wonderful to me now. Wish us luck.
Kai is doing well in agility class, I think that most of the problems are mine. I am new to agility having trained in obedience for over twenty years the world of agility is something I am still getting used to. Also the fact that I must use a wheelchair to get around severely limits my ability to keep up with Kai and also to perform many of the maneuvers that the other handlers can do almost without thinking. So with quite a few things Kai and I are struggling. The other owners and their dogs are doing so much better than we are at several things, the most obvious one is Kai's arch nemesis the weave poles.
Kai started out doing very well with weave poles but as the guides disappeared he started having more and more trouble. Last summer and fall I did not have a wheelchair ramp so getting out of the house to practice was extremely difficult so I was not able to work with Kai on the weave poles much at all. This winter of course outdoor practice is out of the question and indoors I have absolutely no room to put up a set of weave poles and run Kai through his paces.
Now the lack of practice time is showing. While the other dogs in his class seem to be very proficient at the weave poles Kai is struggling to get the concept. This week we had to go through the weave poles twice during the course and Kai did not complete them totally on his own even once. We were able to get time to concentrate on the weaves at the end of the class and we were successful going through the poles when he is on my left side several times. Every time we had a major party and the rewards were many. Doing the weave poles when he is on my right however are another kettle of fish. He seems to not even notice the obstacle is there!
I need to troubleshoot and figure out what the exact problem is and work to overcome it. It could be that he has difficulty being on my right because of previous obedience training and working as my service dog he is oriented to being on my left. It could also be one of a million other things. I am looking forward to spring when Kai and I can use my new wheelchair ramp to get outside at anytime and practice weave poles or do anything else we may want to do. A walk in the spring sunshine sounds wonderful to me now. Wish us luck.
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