Limit is making me SO HAPPY! Agility classes have done...astounding, amazing, wonderful things for him in terms of confidence. I would NEVER in 100 million years have believed the change that I've seen in him.
Our first couple of weeks of classes, he slunk up the hill to the field next to me, tail tucked, avoided eye contact, ducked and hid from anyone that paid attention to him. Was scared of the equipment, growled and barked at the instructor's husband, bared his teeth at other dogs in class etc etc etc
Now??? It's been a year...and he pulls me up the hill, tail wagging. He very gently hugs people that have been in our same set of classes this whole time. He actually pulls and barks to get to one man (even when he's wearing a "scary" big vest and a hat). Other dogs have run up to him, sniffed him, shoved their noses under his coat, and he just ignores or hops around. He barks at me, smacks at me, demands his turn, loads up, does everything I ask. He is a dream to handle (the class always makes fun of me because it's "first dog" and he is making up for my errors. They all say that after first dog, I'll have to make up for the next dog's errors with better handling hahaha). He will work for a food or a toy. He'll even go with other people to sit on the sidelines while I walk a course (he would have shut down and freaked out if I'd done that last year).
Of course, we've dabbled in a couple of matches and trials, and the same dog isn't making an appearance there yet, but he is trying!
Yesterday we brought the entire pack to IPO training because the weather is gorgeous (they get cut loose and get to run while we're setting up the field, another good thing for Limit as he can approach people or not as he feels like it). Limit actually bit a half sleeve on a different person, and held it, and then brought it back! Twice! He has never, ever played with another person he didn't know (he did not know this man at all, he's relatively new to the club), let alone with a more contact driven sport like biting a sleeve.
It's taken us almost 3 years to get here, but he is so funny and such a joy. I hope we continue moving in this direction!