I was down at the training barn with three dogs today. That was different!

I left Rush loose and worked with Dancer and Elly one at a time. I did contacts with Dancer (surprise, surprise) and Rush ran after me while I ran. I did heeling with Elly and Rush trotted after Elly… with a bit of extra distance. Elly’s growled at him a few times. She does not approve of him getting too close to her food. Rush has figured out pretty quick that Dancer thinks he’s okay and Elly’s a grouch.

I didn’t want to train too much; I was mainly there to take advantage of the safe and different environment. After I’d done a few more contacts, I threw the ball for Dancer a few times. Rush thought that was great and started running after Dancer. Dancer thought it would be even more fun to play keep-away with Rush, and the two of them did laps around the barn for a bit. I got a second ball and threw it for Rush, and he chased it, picked it up and brought it back to me. I threw it again, and he brought it back again.

I’ve never had a retriever before. I’m worried I may not be able to keep up with this dog!

I’d forgotten how exhausting puppies are!

(I figured out yesterday that Rush is half-Russian and his name is half-Russian too. It was unintentional but I’m glad it’s there! One more thing that makes his name right for him.)

Rush had his first day of agility training yesterday 😉 I took him to Debbie’s for my regular lesson with her.

Last weekend I took Dancer to the WAG Newport trial. It was a great trial but Dancer had a little difficulty with her contacts–specifically, I think she got one a-frame contact the whole weekend! She only got two Qs, one in Tunnelers (6th place) and one in Chances (and her Elite Chances title). So in yesterday’s lesson, Dancer worked on her contacts–of course she’s flawless in practice!–and, as usual these days, I worked with Elly on heeling and stays, with an occasional tunnel thrown in.

For Rush’s first lesson at the barn, Debbie, Rush, and I worked on playing with toys, restrained recalls, and Rush ignoring the noise while Dancer banged on the teeter.

Debbie thinks he’s brilliant, of course (and she’s right). She held Rush while I ran ahead and called his name; she released him, and I threw a toy slightly ahead of me. As soon as he grabbed it, I backed up a little, and he immediately came toward me with the toy so we could play. We did that three or four times and he thought that was the best fun.

For the teeter noise, Debbie just sat with Rush on her lap while Dancer did the teeter, and gave him lots of treats. We don’t want him to be noise sensitive!

I have also been working with Rush on the ItsYourChoice game. He’s already learned to sit politely in front of an open hand with his kibble in it and wait for me to hand him a piece at a time. What a smart dog! Debbie played ItsYourChoice with him too.