Sardines....in the Microwave?

 Um, I've had BETTER ideas!!

Tonight at Puppy Class we will be doing puppy recalls.  I want GOOD food, so what's better than sardines?  I thought if maybe I microwaved them, that they would hold together a bit better.  THINK AGAIN!!  One the bright side, they sure are 'tender'!

 Here's what you get in a can of Sardines!

I thought I could go maybe 90 seconds, but came running back after 15!  They were popping away, Kruz was circling the kitchen, and I pushed the STOP button.   See below!

Big surprise, sardine smell, well....fishy!  

So 'in for a penny, in for a pound'.  

I gave them another 15 seconds! 

Kruz is really agitated now!

GIVE ME A FISH!!

So, after 15 more seconds they weren't quite as mushy.

I could get them into bite size pieces.

Um....small pieces, as I guess I should clarify.  

Kruz would NOT see any of those as bite sized!

I've now placed them in the freezer to harden.  

Not sure I'll actually try to use them tonight?

I guess if the kitchen smells like Sardines, 

the Fridge/Freezer might as well too. 

Pretty sure I'll have the BEST treats tonight!

Not Just Another MACH!

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS!!

MACH RYLEE and RILDA FISH!!

Thank You Michele Hartzler!!

(Substitute Handler for DQ #20)

Rilda Fish, MACH RYLEE,
Lisa Haidle Potts (Judge)
Michele Hartzler
(Handler for #20 DQ)



Michele showing off Rylee's ribbon,
and both their tails!
Look, she even has orange
poop bags!! 

A MACH
(Master Agility Champion)
It is a huge accomplishment!

For Rilda, it's so much more!

Rilda and Rylee have overcome so many obstacles throughout their career.  Obstacles that would have had many other dog trainers looking for other canine partner.  Not Rilda!!  She stuck with him, and was so close, so many times to #20.   In the Spring, Rilda started to having some health issues.  Problems that were impacting her vision, and her hearing.  She was recently diagnosed with cancer, and this weekend was unable to run her dog.  In stepped Michele to save the day!!

This might not be the 'fastest', the 'smoothest', the impressive MACH run.....but to me, it was the most exciting, the most emotional, and the most thrilling one ever!!!

Raffle For a Great Cause

Thank you MACI, ICDOC and SCKC 

for offering the following raffle! 

Thinking of you Rilda!!!

VIsta on Ducks - 4th of July Fun!

Agility class was held in the morning yesterday to 

'beat the heat', we somewhat accomplished that!

Paula brought Vista out to 'play' with the

ducks before class.  

I think she had fun!

Release Word - A Test of Understanding

The question is - Does you dog know his release word? Here's your assignment. Have your dog sit at your side, either side. You will be standing up, no cookies to toys on your person. Give your release word without any movement on your part. What does your do do?

I attended a Tracy Sklenar Seminar in April, and this was one of the topics on the Foundation Day.  I LOVE Foundation Day!  I learn so much, find so many potential holes in my training, and find some great ideas to do in my own classes.  

 Last week when it was too hot to run courses, we focused on other Important, yet often forgotten pieces of good dog training. This happened to be one of the things we tried. Interestingly enough, Only about 4 of the 20+ dogs would release without some movement on the handlers part. All 4 of those dogs had worked though at least the initial phrase of Crate Games. A coincidence? I don't think so.

The dogs that 'released' on their release word did not 'run off' a muck.  They simply jumped out of their sit, and either bounced in front of their handler to see 'what's up?', or stood up asking the same question. Where they ended up after they released, was likely determined by where they have been reinforced the most.

Why is this important?  This could be impacting your start lines, if you dog doesn't understand when it should release, you might well be getting movement on your start line.  If they self release on your 2o2o, they might not truly understand their release word.  There are some pretty easy solutions.

Crate Games, that's probably the clearest.  I know I mention this at class, probably more often that people would like to hear.  I see so many problems with holding position, driving ahead, impulse control, that could be resolved with a $35 DVD.  I'm not saying this is a 'cure all', but it sure helps define some pretty significant behaviors. 

The other thing you could do to work on your release word is to set them up at your side, give your release word, and used just the minimum amount of movement to get them to release. Reward, and work at weaning them off of the movement. 

Release word understanding is very important, it's just one of those things that get left out along the way.  HAVE FUN!!!

Meet Vista!!

Meet Paula's new puppy, Vista!

This was a first time 'meeting and greet' with Nettle and Nike.  

I don't generally let Net just hang in the building, 

but this was a special occasion!

Of course, always missed some of the fun stuff. 

You get this idea, and it will be fun to see how

big she is compared to Nike in another 6 months!