Me, My Dog and My new hobby

I have always loved animals. Growing up my family raised Guide Dogs for the Blind and Canine Companions for Independence. I always loved working with and training my dog. Many of you fellow bloggers probably know this but what you probably don't know is one of my latest hobbies--agility. For the last year and half or so I have been training my rescue red and white border collie Cayman on agility.

We rescued Cayman over 2 years ago from a back yard breeder. I decided I wanted a red and white border collie when I saw one in a show at Sea World. I thought they were pretty and was intrigued by all you can teach them. Of course, to start we took Cayman to basic puppy classes. We loved going to them and when they were all over I began to find myself wanting to continue to do something with him. We turned to try agility. One of Cayman's rescuers taught agility so I contacted her to help me get started.

According to the American Kennel club "Agility is a sport that appeals to young people and to senior citizens. It has great spectator appeal. Agility is designed to demonstrate a dog's willingness to work with its handler in a variety of situations. It is an athletic event that requires conditioning, concentration, training and teamwork. Dog and handlers negotiate an obstacle course racing against the clock." If you have ever watched animal planet it is the sport where the dogs run around all sorts of obstacles---jumps, poles, walks, etc. Ok so I may be the only one who watches animal planet but agility is one of the fastest growing dog sports in the United States.

To start agility, we started by teaching Cayman many basic things like to be aware of his hind legs. Then when he was two years old we started him on the obstacles. We have been working with a new trainer and at home to teach him the many skills he will need to hopefully compete someday.

He has come a long way, and I must say so have I. Going into it, I had no idea how much training and work goes into this sport. It truely is a working relationship with your dog. You have to read your dog constantly and help guide them through the course. We are still a ways out from ever competing professionally but we are getting there. And most importantly we are having fun.

Cayman is now starting to take his jumps at angles and do them in varying patterns. He is getting faster at his weave poles and more consistent at his contacts. He is also starting to rely less on me and take the many obstacles on command. This means I don't have to keep up with him which is a good thing. If you could see him run this course in full drive you would understand how hard it is to keep up.

Here are the two of us running through the course. Don't we look like we are having fun! This picture was on the 24th of July. Ben and Logan came down to watch Cayman practice--and take some pictures for me too. One of the things I like most about the sport of agility is that the dogs look like they are just having so much fun. Many of them bark the whole way through the course because they are so excited. It almost seems like a playground to them.

I am always amazed at how quickly Cayman learns this stuff. He really does think through different situations. For both being new to the sport we have come a long way. We owe a lot of thanks to our teachers who help us out each week. Cayman and I hope to keep getting better and hopefully enter a competition next year.