Sixteen Inches!

I had Azza out on the jump again this afternoon. I started her on 8 inches, then quickly moved to 12. That went well, so I decided to give 16 inches a try. This was her first ever experience with that jump height.

She was flying over it!

Azza can send over the jump (she and I start on the same side and she has to drive ahead of me over the jump), recall over the jump (she starts on one side and jumps towards me), she is learning front cross body language, she is jumping with collection (up close to the jump with a tight wrap) and with extension (we run towards the jump together from a long distance back), she can do everything from either my left or my right side, and she can even slice the jump at a very tight angle. In a 10-minute training session with dozens of attempts with constantly varying setups, she only had TWO refusals (where she went around the jump instead of over it).

In fact, I now have a new and quite unexpected training problem. She is breaking her stays on the recalls.

Ponder this for a moment. Azza, the dog who was terrified at the very sight of the jump just a few months ago, is now so excited to jump over it and get her reward that she can't even sit in place long enough for me to move into position.

Don't mistake me. In other contexts, she has an excellent stay (I return to her) and a wait (I release her) in either a standing or sitting position. She knows what "stay" means. And she is so enthused about this new jumping game that she simply can't wait to do it again.

The progress she has made in the past month is jaw-dropping.

Her enjoyment of the games of tug and retrieve have escalated noticeably. Anne made three braided tug toys for my birthday present. One of them is a medium sized ring. She left the extra fabric at the join to flop around in an enticing manner. Azza is obsessed with this toy! She can't bring it back to me fast enough so I can either tug with her or throw it again. It is hard for me to think back to those days when I patiently shaped her to first tug, really tug with me, growling and pulling, and then to chase the toy, then to pick up the toy, then to return the toy to me (and of course to drop it on command, a key component of the tug game). The terriers key off the phrase "let's play baby!" and now Azza is showing just as much excitement and anticipation when I say this.

Azza is also shoving her retrieved toys at me. Not just bringing the toy back, but SHOVING the thing at my hand or leg. Come on! Come on! I trained Harry to do this lo these many years ago and I like the behavior a lot. The dog's focus on the game and the handler is absolute at this point.

Azza's hand touch is a lot more vigorous now too. I don't get a hand touch so much as I get a french kiss, tongue and all. She is slamming her mouth into my hand. Messy, but I like this behavior too.

Can I hope to do some agility with her? Could I ever get her on an Aframe? A dogwalk? A teeter, for god's sake?

Baby steps. I have to keep reminding myself how far she has come.