Azza and the Jump

Anne loaned me a PVC jump and six stick-in-the-ground weave poles. There's plenty of room in the backyard for them. I raked and mowed earlier today so the yard is at its best (not saying much, it's lumpy and weedy and the grass is patchy but it's still looks halfway okay after being tidied up).

I had introduced Azza to a jump months ago in my hovel in Dhahran but there was never any room to do much with her there. She displayed a lot of fear of the jump then, particularly if the bar was set to any height.

So I worked her on sends and recalls and front crosses with the bar on the ground to get her used to the idea of interacting with me and this scary thing. She was off lead and while her attention did wander a tiny bit, she stuck with me and gave it all a try. I've also been asking her for more nose touches in other contexts, a behavior she eschewed a few months ago, and she is getting the idea that coming to my hand is highly rewarded.

Then I brought Mimi out to work on weave entries. I left Azza out to see what she would do. Turns out she was very interested in the idea of Mimi getting treats for doing things with that jump. She watched us closely and whenever I lined Mimi up, Azza kept trying to get into the act by getting into her heel position too. I didn't exactly reward this nor did I ignore it or inhibit it. I let Azza do what she felt comfortable doing, and if that involved lining up beside me to face that scary jump, well, that was just a fine thing.

The bar was set at 12 inches, a height that Azza would have never attempted previously (she looks at the bar, drops her head and shoulders, and slinks around the jump). When I finished with Mimi, I had a few treats left so I asked Azza to approach and jump. Mimi of course followed my motion and jumped...and Azza followed her! They even jumped it side by side going back the other way.

I've never had the luxury of doing this experiment with Azza, letting the green, anxious dog observe and even mimic the more experienced one. I've not had a training space where I could let Azza choose to go over or go around. This was a very positive experience for her. It was hard to make myself stop but it was best to end on that happy note.

I managed to get her enrolled in a beginning obedience class that starts in a couple of weeks. She already has most of the behaviors--what she lacks is any focus or calmness when other people and dogs are around. If the only thing she does by the end of six weeks is manage to take a treat in class and sit quietly with me, I'll consider it a success.

Being able to reward her for doing more playful things at home, such as running and jumping, should also help build her confidence.