Trust Not a New Friend

Yesterday we went to the first agility class after the injury. It was raining quite a bit so we didn't stay very long but Xsara was soooo happy! She was on the A-frame the second I unleashed her and than she ran back and forward over the dogwalk while I was trying to memorize the course - she even did the contacts while running around like that, at least those that I was able to see were nice.

First we did a couple of very short combinations (some jumps and a tunnel) to see if she would be fine. Since she apparently felt great, we ran two courses (each of them twice), with breaks between the runs. It was so great to run with her again, she lightened up in a second and seeing her so carefree and happy is always just the best feeling ever.

The tricks-training-session after agility (also known as "the dinner") started without any shaking! She was a little more nervous for breakfast, but way more confident than last week. She is still a little uneasy around the dogs she doesn't know, but fine with those we meet at least occasionally. I'm happy with the improvement but I hope she will soon rediscover the joy in meeting new dogs.

I don't really care about forcing her to interact with other dogs if she doesn't like them. I don't socialize with strangers just because they're people, eather. That's up to her. But I do want her to feel confident around them and not be intimidated, scared or even aggressive. So I'll watch her behaviour really carefully for as long as this moody feeling lasts.