sums things up for the week

Cheating my journal, but it fits. Wrote this to a friend: sums things up for the week.

Yesterday, as usual, we took Sonic on a long walk through the woods on
local forest trails. Did a 'leave it' and then played frisbee--hard. A perfect re-direct.

Afterwards, I was ambitious, and set up my impromptu agility practice
which consists of two folding lawnchairs set up with front and back
sections upright to make low broadjumps for the dog. Sonic is great
at sticking by my side like glue, but unless I can run really really
fast and turn on a dime, this is not ideal for agility...so I am
practicing at home at my leisure with whatever equipment I can find.
The purpose of the two jumps is to teach him that moving away from me
and taking the equipment (jumping, in this case) is as or more
lucrative than sticking to my side. I have a throw toy to reward him
at a distance, but first I have to convince him to keep moving forward
even if I don't, and b) skirting around the obstacle produces no
goodies. The class, even though it is an hour long, is too short, to
train all things, and sometimes too distracting. Sonic does like it,
as do the husband and I. Santa may put some real jumps under the tree this
year (the husband can make them from pvc pipes). We had a set of diy pvc
equipment, but gave them away, thinking we would never again have an
'agility dog'. When Sonic runs through the woods, leaping, dodging,
climbing, flying across the jumbled landscape, it is clear that
agility (the dog sport) is not so much about canine athletic ability,
but about the dog and human's ability to communicate and work
together. There is nothing, physically, about the sport that Sonic
can't do (effortlessly) right now--teaching him to do what is asked
and not do what is not asked, and to do everything as fast as chasing
squirrels and have as much fun doing it--well, that is the task and
the challenge.