One of our Shelties, Lily (a.k.a. Sunebank Summer Piccalily. affectionately nicknamed Hammerhead by yours truly) loves to romp and play in our yard on the agility equipment we've assembled. With the help of my infinitely patient bride, Lily was taught how to navigating through weave poles, sail over jumps, run through tunnels, walk the dog walk and  hop onto a pause table. After proving her proficiency on these items, we decided to enroll our dog in a class so she could learn more about the sport itself as well as gain confidence in herself.

Things were progressing along very nicely in her class until her trainer did the unspeakable...she touched Lily! Here are the sordid details of the absolutely horrible ordeal (!) she was exposed to...

It was a nice spring day in April, in fact it was last week, when Lily and her Mom (a.k.a. my bride) went to their weekly agility training class. As members of the Jersey Agility Group (JAG), we receive a discount rate for classes we attend as well as have the oppprtunity to socialize with other "dog people." There's even an annual banquet where awards and prizes are distributed to deserving winners and a fun-filled atmosphere is availalble to all attendees. Of course there's no penalty incurred if you show up at a meeting or other sponsored event with dog hair on your clothing...it's considered an occupational hazard and accepted by all.

So, Lily and Mom go to the fenced in JAG training site available for use by registered members only. Lily's so anxious to get started with her training that she runs up to several obstacles and tries to jump over them as if to say, "Come on, already! Let's get going!" In no time the trainer, Lily and Mom are all going through their paces, having a blast. But when it came to running through a tunnel, Lily suddenly balked at such a preposterous idea. This was strange since she had shown no fear to date at coursing through this obstacle. Could it merely be herding dog weirdness? In any event, it was time for some specialized, one-on-one training.

Mom was directed to go to one end of the tunnel while Lily was told to stay where she was at the other end. When she attempted to follow Mom, the trainer reached out and held her back, talking to her in a calm, soothing manner while gently restaining her from running to her Mom.

(Before going any further, it's appropriate to note that our personal experience with Shelties has shown that they truly love their families. They're devoted to them, love them and appreciate their company. But when presented with a stranger a slightly different personality is elicited. To say they're reticent toward people they don't know is being quite kind. In their minds, the world's a better place if no strangers were around. That said, let's retrun to our sage with Lily...)

After Mom was positioned at the end of the tunnel, the trainer let Lily go. But by this time Lily had other ideas. You wouldda thought that a serial killer had entered the orphanage! She made a wide circle, avoiding any proximity to the tunnel, passed Mom and went to an area far away near some other dogs who were also present for lessons. This in and of itself was strange as Lily always tries to avoid other dogs, but added to the fact that she didn't make a b-line for her Mom indicated that she was done for the day. No amount of coaxing or enticements of cookies or treats could get her to return to an agility-training mode. She effectively said that since a stranger had dared to touch her she would in no way participate in any more "fun" on this particular day.

So, she and Mom went back to the van where Lily was sequestered in her crate until she arrived back at home. By that time all was forgotten and she was herself once again. It remains to be seen what her reaction will be when she returns to class for her agility lesson this week.

As always, our dogs are works in progress.