What's a Bit of Leg Humping between Friends ?

Oh the shame of it all ! I have just discovered that I am identifiable to other agility participants who don't train with me and don't know me all that well as 'the one with the kelpie that humps her leg sometimes.'

And as this remark was made at this month's Nationals (or so I am told by the person who actually made it - just checking with me that he did indeed have the right person) then that may very well become my agility claim to fame nationwide.

To be fair, Atilla does indeed hump my leg on occasion. At 3 years of age, I had a kelpie that was crazy about food but not interested in tugging with me in the slightest so I worked long and hard to try and do something about this - we're talking 18 months of chicken-neck-in-sock-stinking-in-the-sun-at-trials-gradually-progressing-to-sock-alone-and-then-to-furry-tug-with- annoying-squeak- kind of working and it paid off. Now I have a kelpie who enjoys tugging with me for the most part, but his toy enthusiasm came with the side effect of leg humping when I decide the game has finished and he decides he wants to keep going.

As this only ever happens when I bring out the tug toy and I only bring it out at agility trials or training, then I guess leg humping has become an agility related behaviour. In fact I use it as a 'yardstick' for what kind of run we are going to have. If I have put the toy away and I am waiting in line and he is hanging off my leg then we usually have a pretty good run. If I put the toy away and he is waiting nicely beside me then we usually have an 'off the normal pace' kind of run , so you can see why I don't really have a problem with the leg humping bit. I also have the added advantage of being able to take the leg in question into the ring with me - bonus ! So take that agility rules that ban toys from the ring and stupid state that doesn't have 'not for competition' runs. Thankfullly I haven't had to drag him in still hanging off my leg, not yet anyway.

So in a nutshell, the leg humping doesn't really bother me - or at least it didn't until I found out it is rapidly becoming something that other people talk about. Why are they even noticing what my dog does when they should be too busy focusing on their own dogs you may ask? And if leg humping has become the pre-cursor to having a good run then what's so bad about it anyway - apart from the socially unacceptable aspect of course. And I do make a token effort to pry him off each time - even though inside I might be thinking 'leg humping = faster run coming up - yay!'

So I guess my choices are :

1. not accept the leg humping any more and take the risk of losing the tug drive with it. (yeah, OK, guess I'm being slightly paranoid on this one but as someone who worships at the temple of 'don't fix what aint broken' quite a bit, don't know if I want to take the chance)

2. try to camouflage the leg humping outside the ring by throwing a coat or blanket over him and pretending I'm just doing some kind of weird warm up dance.

3. stuff what everyone else thinks and let him continue doing it.

Hmm... lock in number 3 Eddie.

The Innocent Leg Humper in Question looking beyond reproach on a recent day out at Anglesea.