Confidence
I’ve been thinking a little about confidence the last couple of weeks. . . ever since I entered Bender in his debut agility trial. . . which is just two short weeks from now.
Confidence. What a great word. What a great concept.
Confidence. What a frightening word. What a frightening concept.
Bender has gained so much confidence on the agility course in the last few weeks that he is a different dog and I haven’t quite had the time to figure him out. His confidence is manifesting itself in more speed and forward propulsion... when he's not running between me and the jump!
Rosie, Rumble, Bendy and I went to Eugene for a fun match at Naomi's place today. Here’s a short video of some of our best moments (get a load of that second dog walk!).
I entered Bender in agility league this year, and after the second week I’m a bit horrified at what an utter train wreck it’s been - one wrong course after another as Bender’s confidence is helping him choose the course, with little regard for where I am and where I’m going. Couple his confidence with my pathetic effort at connecting with and focusing on him, and it's no wonder it's been so bad.
As I left the first league course on Friday night after a fiasco of a run, one of the other women commented that I had “quite a problem” on my hands.
I told her, “I have a young dog who wants to do agility really, really fast. I don’t have a problem!”
I have had very difficult dogs: Forrest has never willingly chosen to see me in his world. Every bit of agility I ever got out of him was a result of my sheer will. Skeeter’s reactivity is a whole different level of difficulty.
The thing I have in Bender that I’ve never had in any of my previous agility dogs is the absolutely love of just doing it! He is pure joy and enthusiasm when he’s on the agility course. And…. HE SEES ME IN HIS WORLD AND HE WANTS TO BE WITH ME!!!
Joe Namath once said, "When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things."
Even though Bender and I are working on finding our groove together right now, I can see the future and it’s full of amazing things! Amazing dog walks, amazing a-frames, amazing wrong courses!
And for the love of god… look at that amazing tail! (photo by Heather)
If you see me at Bender’s debut in two weeks, please remind me to just go out there and enjoy my time with him. Lighten up. Don’t take it so seriously. We only get one debut, let’s make it a lot of fun… let’s make it amazing… no matter what happens on the course!!
Confidence. What a great word. What a great concept.
Confidence. What a frightening word. What a frightening concept.
Bender has gained so much confidence on the agility course in the last few weeks that he is a different dog and I haven’t quite had the time to figure him out. His confidence is manifesting itself in more speed and forward propulsion... when he's not running between me and the jump!
Rosie, Rumble, Bendy and I went to Eugene for a fun match at Naomi's place today. Here’s a short video of some of our best moments (get a load of that second dog walk!).
Click to viewI entered Bender in agility league this year, and after the second week I’m a bit horrified at what an utter train wreck it’s been - one wrong course after another as Bender’s confidence is helping him choose the course, with little regard for where I am and where I’m going. Couple his confidence with my pathetic effort at connecting with and focusing on him, and it's no wonder it's been so bad.
As I left the first league course on Friday night after a fiasco of a run, one of the other women commented that I had “quite a problem” on my hands.
I told her, “I have a young dog who wants to do agility really, really fast. I don’t have a problem!”
I have had very difficult dogs: Forrest has never willingly chosen to see me in his world. Every bit of agility I ever got out of him was a result of my sheer will. Skeeter’s reactivity is a whole different level of difficulty.
The thing I have in Bender that I’ve never had in any of my previous agility dogs is the absolutely love of just doing it! He is pure joy and enthusiasm when he’s on the agility course. And…. HE SEES ME IN HIS WORLD AND HE WANTS TO BE WITH ME!!!
Joe Namath once said, "When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things."
Even though Bender and I are working on finding our groove together right now, I can see the future and it’s full of amazing things! Amazing dog walks, amazing a-frames, amazing wrong courses!
And for the love of god… look at that amazing tail! (photo by Heather)
If you see me at Bender’s debut in two weeks, please remind me to just go out there and enjoy my time with him. Lighten up. Don’t take it so seriously. We only get one debut, let’s make it a lot of fun… let’s make it amazing… no matter what happens on the course!!