Dirt Nite returns.

We had no Dirt Nite for an extended time through the holidays. We sure missed Dirt Nite, and now it's back! I couldn't run my dogs last night, no running allowed with fresh mouth stitches, but I did get to see all my agility students again. Of course they didn't practice very much over the break, but how could I be mad?

My students range from a 4lb chihuahuaesque wire haired teensy in a pink argyle sweater who garners applause when she sends to a tunnel, to a senior citizen English Sheepdog who had to learn what was balance so she wouldn't fall off the dogwalk. There is an uber sensitive, shy dog who is super fast and whose handler has learned the highest degree of patience possible to help him not freak out at things like teeters or dropped bars. A high drive, young sheltie with a low drive older person. A bar knocking, bounding, mayhem aussie with the most solid nose touch contacts ever seen in a beginner class, and a border collie with a teenage owner that didn't really understand til now why Stay is a useful concept. A mini aussie who was mortified of tunnels and now shoots around a sequence with ease. An incredibly cute cattle dog joined last night, and a schutzhund malinois starts next week.

There are other dogs and people who rotate in and out, as their schedules permit. The one thing they all have in common? Very dedicated, kind handlers. Even handlers that started on the first day hoping to yank their dogs by the prong collar up to the startline have all learned how to teach their dogs things by rewarding what they like and not rewarding the rest. Every dog in class, even though they may still be working out the weave pole bugs or the consistency of their contacts, is motivated and happy and excited each time they step up to the line. Every handler plays with their their dog and has a great time in class.

I'm not the agility teacher people serious competitors seek out. As agility teachers go, I'm a bit of a hack. There are a lot of amazing and far more qualified agility instructors in our area, for this we are very lucky. My class has many students who may never, ever set foot in the show ring, although I teach everyone assuming that they will. I know that when I started taking a beginning agility class with Ruby, I never thought it was going to become an all consuming lifestyle. And look how I ended up.

My class does have a lot of dogs who started out a bit mopey, and a bit nervous about doing things wrong. So while we work on great pole entrances and fast driving down the dogwalk to a stellar nosetouch, we also work on excited, fast running dogs. And I've noticed the happier the dogs, the happier the people. Even when a bar goes down or a front cross goes amuck.

Most of my students aren't on a fast track to their ADCh. Most of them don't even have weave poles to practice on at home. Not all of their dogs tug or bring back the ball. Recalls and stays are a big part of class. But I am very proud of every single one of them, for working so hard at being a better trainer for their dog, and for recognizing how they can teach their dogs by having fun. Hopefully, agility class is just as fun for them as it is for me.