Not pixels but language. in The odd entries from life …….

& not memory but listening.

Last week.

Each Thursday weather permitting is Agility day for Ziggy and Lola, this is a class just for our dogs, the activity split about seventy thirty with Ziggy having the lion’s share; some times sixty forty but Lola is the better going round the course. Each week Jo changes the layout of the course, this is so the dogs well follow instructions rather than doing the course by memory, Lola very much does the course to please Daughter, so she listens and navigates the jumps tunnels and dog-walks without mistakes.

Ziggy has a much better memory, and if the agility course remained the same he would charge round once or twice; then he would get bored and think ‘I’ve dun this’ Beardie’s were bread to work alone, to think for them selves when they were droving cattle, or to keep an eye on the heard over night; most likely why they never use a bed, and why they like to lie in a doorway; as we don’t have any gates in our houses.

As usually Jo had changed the course last week, one tweak was to have one tunnel snaking under a dog-walk, an elevated plank the dogs walk over, the start of the tunnel was near the ramp of the dog-walk. For the first ten minutes Ziggy would only take the ramp rather than go through the tunnel, each time once up on the plank he realized this wasn’t right; a part of this is that he likes the dog-walk more than the tunnel.

Daughter was talking Ziggy round the course, the trick as they approach the dog-walk – tunnel divide is for Daughter to get to the ramp before Ziggy, the gap from the jump to the tunnel-ramp was about five meters, a span he crossed in a half a second; leaving her watching Ziggy trotting up the ramp!! Even with the jump moved closer Ziggy was always faster, so then Jo stood in front of the ramp, and with a quick swerve he was up the ramp! When Jo put her heels on the start of the ramp, he stopped at that and looked puzzled, then went of for a drink of water a sure sine of Ziggy out of his Comfort Zone.

With memory not serving him well, he began listening and reluctantly starting going the way of the tunnel, at the end of the tunnel he found Daughter there with plenty of prises; he looked a much happier dog! One her first round Lola took to the ramp rather than the tunnel, something she only did twice; not memory but listening!

This week.

The tunnel is still in place twisting beneath the dog-walk, only once did Ziggy trotted up the ramp rather than going into the tunnel, in fact he seemed to enjoy the tunnels this week; the first thing he did on the agility circuit was to walk into a tunnel – and he came out when called.

At one point while Jo and Daughter were talking about what to do next, Ziggy came and sat with Lola and me, I didn’t call or wave I’m carful not to distract Ziggy; so we sat there a nice threesome at the edge of the course with puzzled looks coming from those on the agility course!

It’s nice to say – Ziggy is still on the up.