I wouldn't start with just pushing him. Get him really amped up with a game of tug, throw that toy out there while you are holding his chest, amp him up more "Are you reeeaaady?!?" and then just let him go while racing him to the toy. Then just time your letting go when he is pushing into your hands more and more.
That's a good idea. I'm worried he will be like "No way lady, that's a trick" because we've worked a lot on impulse control and NOT getting all tightly wound just because a toy is thrown or dancing around... but it probably won't take TOO much encouraging to get him to burst forward. =P
Worked more on rear crosses in class tonight. I love this baby dog. He is a straight up joy to work with. Everything he does, he is having fun. He makes it easy to have fun WITH him. I almost enjoy working with him as much as I enjoy working with Auggie. Our teamwork together is shaping up quite nicely.
I also took Pepper and, uh, well she is not a joy to work with LOL. I love her but oh my God. She is very... frenetic, and I don't mean that in a good way. I feel bad because I think the expectation is that I SHOULD be training her... but... well, I don't think she particularly enjoys it either honestly. She would rather just run around and derp derp derp than to actually do something. She (might) do it if I ask but isn't doing it because she really wants to.
I really had high hopes for her at one point but as time goes by I'm no longer finding those hopes very realistic - nor am I really that upset by putting them away. I'm really not sure what to do with her. I could possibly get novice titles on her with relative ease, probably open titles too, as long as I was very selective about which judge I showed under (only short women!) but I don't think she will ever be very competitive, nor do I think she will ever particularly love agility... I don't want to force her to be something she's not.
I almost took Auggie with me and Payton instead of Pepper. I love my little guy and I really wanted to take him and play with him. I really miss running with him. I've been thinking of maybe entering him here and there once Payton is competing... what's a JWW run going to hurt? If I pick the right trials it won't even cost me $20 to enter and play with him...
When we move into my house he will get to play in my backyard, but there's not enough room at my parent's house to really cut loose and just play together like I want. If I have time this weekend I might take just him to the training building and play, just the two of us, just for fun.
I don't regret retiring him but I sure do miss running with him.