First things first, I finally uploaded one of the videos of the fireworks from the 4th. It's a large file (22MB), and zipped, and you can download it here.
So last night was agility night. This time we actually got to do something new! It's an obstacle called the A-frame, which is basically a long ramp up, and a long ramp down, making the shape of an "A." The dog has to run up and over it.
None the dogs in the class had any problems with it, except for, you guessed it, Bandit. The second we walked up to it, he balked. So the trainer had me put my hand in his collar and gently but firmly guide him up. We had to coax him up by putting treats every few inches up the ramp. It took quite a few minutes before we finally reached the top, and then coming down was easy. The next time was very different - he didn't hesitate at all, and we had no problems going up and over after that. He just needed to realize that it wasn't going to try to eat him or something.
He let the little kid pet him again too. This time the kid was just walking by us and gave Bandit a quick pat on the head. It was funny though, right afterwards, Bandit turned around and looked at me as if to say, "okay Mom, I let him pet me, now where's my treat?" since I've basically been giving him treats anytime he acts nicely around a stranger.
So that was pretty much that for the evening!
Congratulations, Bandit!