The maturation of Gem...

Gem has been a bit of a puzzle to me. Very soft, very sensitive, very immature, very worried about life even though I thought I had thoroughly socialized her and gave her tons of great experiences. Our journey has been strife with issues, including trust of me on Gem's part She was chased down by a dog at one time during an agility session and that is when I started seeing her become anxious and worried. It then spilled over to other parts of our life. Although not injured by this incident, Gem stopped trusting my ability to protect her. She became reactive and concerned over things that she was once comfortable. I feel as though I have let her down too.

Her worries escalated last Fall when she ran out of an agility ring and tried to get out of the building. She loves training, mostly anything, but her sensitivities keep her from being able to trial. I have all but given up on the dream of doing agility competitively with her. Instead, we have played at other things, like freestyle, barn hunt, nosework and lure coursing. Gem's worries have been detrimental to her herding, her insecurity keeping her from moving beyond diving in and grabbing sheep.

Gem turned 3 in February 2014. It wasn't a magic age where she matured overnight. She is still silly, immature, sensitive and soft. But what I am starting to see is a new courage and bravery. Something as simple as her jumping on the grooming table to be brushed out only very recently happened. She could be a very late bloomer and a glimmer of hope that she may eventually be comfortable in an agility ring or any competition for that matter still exists for me.

The photo below is a confident, focused Gem doing a lure coursing ability test. Chasing a lure over 600 yards requires focus, stamina, speed and a level of maturity that I am thrilled that she is beginning to show. She earned two Qs and needs one more to finish her AKC CAT. I think this is only the beginning for us as a team.

 

Listening and reading Gem are THE most important things for me. Taking things at her pace and letting her know that I do have her back and that she can trust me to do what is right for her. The smile and happiness on her face in the photo says it all to me. I am looking forward to the journey more and more every day.