Smooth Sailin' Agility

Kruz Continues to Improve.....

2012-02-01T16:32:00.000-06:00

and is giving me heart failure in the process!!

Yesterday, he decided he could jump up on the window ledge!!

I took this picture, then carted his arse back to the floor! UGH!!

Note the x-pen in the background, those are protecting my summer gold fish from Nettle.

Agility Trial Homework

2012-01-30T18:07:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you, but I always come home with agility homework.

This weekend we were presented with fun courses,

by Lisa Potts and Terry Smorch.

Seeker's struggle last weekend was with bars.

'Seeker - One Jump', rides again!!

3 bars in 3 days is totally unheard of for Seek.

Bars were an issue 24 months ago,

but after some 'core' work he was much better.

I changed my training on dropped bars, going from

asking him to 'down' while I re-set the bar, to rewarding him

for keeping them up. The combination seemed to work wonders.

His bar dropping disappeared!

Unfortunately, this weekend, it was back with a vengeance!

So, I know this is the homework I'll be focusing on

for the next couple weeks.

It also leaves me scratching my head and wondering....why?

I'm not handling him any differently than I do any other time.

I'm responsible for showing Seeker the jump,

then it's his responsibly to clear it.

I do not have to spectate and 'hand hold' while

he's jumping, if I do that, I'm not able to provide him with

the information he needs, later in the course.

Causes?

Could it be that I ran him at 22" in USDAA a

few weeks ago? Seriously, could one trial cause this?

Doubtful....

Could he really be that out of shape?

Probably not.....

Could it be the turf/footing?

I don't know??

The interesting link is that all 3 jumps were

at the same end of the ring, where the turf is laying flat.

Could he be slipping on the take off?

Would tacky paw help?

Bars dropped.....

Friday = Jump #5

Saturday = #11

Sunday = #15

I have a couple USDAA trials coming up soon,

and we'll be running on dirt.

Then I'm back to this site again the end of next month.

I'll see how it goes.

I hate to not go to a trial where I can come home at night.

Plus I get to see all my friend run....but, it's not worth it if

we're going to drop bars due to surface.

I'd drive the same amount of miles heading to other trials,

that I know have much better surfaces.

I guess, time.....will tell.

What to do with GREAT Pictures....

2012-01-25T16:44:00.001-06:00

that are just slightly out of focus......

Simply pop them into PSE, and pick an art option!

It's Fun Too!

Vestibular Syndrome - WTH!!

2012-01-23T10:17:00.002-06:00

(Kruz - Taken 1/10/2012)

Wednesday, December 28th wasn't any different than any other work day, but it turned out to be a day I'll never forget. Maybe not the date exactly, but the event, ABSOLUTELY!!

I always arrive home from work first, and let the dogs out. The 3 of them do their 'business', and then rip around the yard for a bit. I let them back in, and they were of course happy to have someone home. This generally results in some celebratory toy collecting, and running back and forth from the living room to the kitchen. Occasionally, Kruz will get bumped into hard enough to cause him to slip on the kitchen flooring, and I thought that might be what happened. Seeker, the usual suspect in such events, was with me in the living room however, and Kruz was on a rug. He was also NOT getting up!

So, I rushed to the kitchen and his head was moving side to side at a rather fast speed. Even more scary were his eyes, they were also rapidly moving side to side. Rapidly, is probably an understatement, it was frightening. Of course, I'm thinking stroke!

I sat down on the floor with him and held his front end in my lap, covering his head and eyes with my arm. Within 20 minutes or so, the behavior subsided a great deal. While wobbly, he was able to get around, ate his supper and relaxed on the bed. That evening he had two more episodes, each about 4 hours after the other, the last involved some vomiting.

We were able to get him into the vet's office first thing Thursday morning, and learned about Vestibular Syndrome. Thankfully, not a stroke. As Dr. W told Bill, it's like being on a Roller Coaster that you just can't get off of and you develop motion sickness. Since I happen to love Roller Coasters, I prefer to use the Silly Silo as an example. I found out about 8 years ago, I can no longer tolerate that. Either way, the feeling is miserable! For many dogs, it's not something that just disappears, so imagine feeling like that for several days.

The treatment was some motion sickness medication for a couple days and a quite dark place. Kruz was not very mobile, and we had to carry him outside and back in as he couldn't climb the stairs. You start second guessing the causes, diet, exercise, etc....but in truth the cause/trigger isn't really known.

Of course I had an agility trial that weekend, so we discussed Bill staying home with Kruz. The weather was going to be nice, so we knew he could stay in the van in a larger crate that was covered. We opted to do that, and I'm glad we did. I found a couple people that had been through it with their older dogs. Both 13-14 years old. Kruz will be 14 in March. Both thought it was a stroke, and their dogs recovered after several weeks. That gave us a lot of home.

After 2 weeks he'll tug gently with Nettle,

and pick up some toys.
1/10/2012

(It was gently! HONEST)

Almost 4 weeks later, Kruz is doing better. He's walking better, although still can't master the stairs. We support him with a harness to be sure he doesn't fall. His head still tilts, and I think he's having some low back issues. He has a chiro appointment in a couple days that I hope will help.

I also got some great exercise ideas from Dr Laura on Saturday to strengthen his rear end, so we've started doing those. He's very happy to be doing some 'trick' training of sorts, right along with Seeker and Nettle.

Unfortunately, for right now he's not able to sleep on the bed. I feel really bad about that. My fear is that he will get up during the night and fall off. Not that he's ever done that in the past, gotten up in the middle of the night that is, but it's just not worth the risk. Hopefully in another few weeks or months, we'll get it figured out.

If not, that's okay too, we'll just be sure to have a lot of cuddle time in the evening.

This weekend on Saturday and Sunday at the Quad Cities, we'll let him watch a little agility. It will be limited however, as we don't want him to have a 'relapse', although those sound rare I guess.

This was a good reminder for us, don't take health and life for granted. Of course, everyone does! G You can't live worrying about every little thing, but be sure to remember to enjoy the moment as well.

Hug your dogs!!

Dr Laurie is....well....TOPS!!

2012-01-22T07:44:00.000-06:00

Seeker and I attended a seminar on Saturday offered by the Canine Activity Center of Muscatine (CACM), it's located in Muscatine, Iowa. It is a beautiful facility. Bill Fridrych invited Dr. Laurie McCauley, and her assistant, Kim. The topic - How to prevent/minimize injuries through exercise and conditioning.

The Agenda:

* Importance of warm up and cool down - Prevent injuries

* Stretching (when and how often)

* Simple strengthening exercises

* Gait analysis/looking for problems

* Common injuries

* Hands on Massage

To say this was 8 hours of an amazing amount of information, is an understatement. There was so much information provided on the above list, that I'm thankful for the power point handouts provided. This allowed people to focus on the 'hands on' presentation, vs. frantically writing notes.

It was good to hear that some of the things I've already been doing for conditioning are good. It was also good for me to hear that I've been slacking off on my 'BALL' work, and need to get back to it. That's such an easy thing to do, and it does really help keeping his bars up.

There was a nice blend of 'lecture/instruction' time and then working with your own dog while Dr. Laurie and Kim came around to assist you with the exercise.

At first I think Seeker was a bit disappointed when we walked in and.....um...'Where's the EQUIPMENT!', and "Why is it OUTSIDE THE RING!".....but he soon found he could actually relaxed and enjoyed being stretched and massaged.

Seeker was extremely lucky to be the 'demo' dog for many of the massage presentations. As we left for the evening, I'm pretty sure he was looking for her vehicle in the parking lot. He would have happily went home with her!

For more information - Check out TOPS at:

www.tops-vet-rehab.com

Happy 80th Birthday Meg!!

2012-01-19T05:58:00.000-06:00

We Celebrated Meg's 80th Birthday at

the Spam-O-Lious Party last Friday.

The Cake Reads -

Meg is older than Spam

But Much better!!!

Happy Birthday Meg!!

Snoopy Just CAN'T be WRONG!!

2012-01-17T19:04:00.005-06:00

(Click on it to make it bigger)

Thanks Marsha!! (':

Snow-Fun

2012-01-16T07:38:00.002-06:00

Nettle had her first experience with snow on Thursday.

To say she 'LIKED IT' is an understatement!

SHE LOVES IT!!

Unfortunately, it clings to her like burrs,

so she needs to hit the tub when we come in.

Yesterday we took the dogs for a run in the fields,

and she had an unbelievable amount of snow attached to her.

It was a mess!!

She had a lot of fun anyway.

I don't think she understood why Seeker was

running just as fast as ever, when she wasn't.

Of course, she was probably carrying an extra

10 lbs of weight by the time we got home.

Although we only got a few inches of snow,

we had high winds which conveniently blew it

into our normal walking area.

Our walk consisted of just a dusting of snow,

to drifts upwards of 6'. It was fun watching Nettle

try to run up those drifts, only to find out she was stuck.

They were nice and tired by the time we got home.

Spam-O-Lious Party!

2012-01-14T09:30:00.000-06:00

Yes, we had a Spam-O-Lious Party!

I debated on putting this on the agility blog, but since the party did actually result from a conversation at an agility trial, I thought it fit the necessary requirements. It's amazing the things you talk about while you're waiting for your class to begin. There are times you have several hours of down time, and with our group, NOTHING is off limits.

At the DMOTC Trial in October, the discussion somehow turned to SPAM. No, not the e-mail variety...but the 'food' variety. (If you can call SPAM food that is) I believe Marsha's parents, Linda and Harry, started it. Then Liz jumped in and pretty soon we were talking about having a SPAM party.

I can honestly say I'd never eaten SPAM before last night, nor do I ever plan on eating it again. The joke last night was that we were eating a product we would NEVER consider feeding to our dogs.

But I digress!

It's amazing how many SPAM Recipes are available, and the group did not disappoint.

I tried to get pictures of most of the items.....some Non-SPAM foods as well, before the vultures (that would be us humans) swooped in for the 'kill'.

Missing is Rilda's SPAM dip, which didn't sound like it had much SPAM in it,

but was still able to have that classic pink SPAM color.!

Also, Meg's beans and SPAM!!

Very YUMMY!!

(SPAM Pizza! Totally eatable!)

(SPAM Quiche - not bad! Ham next time!)

SPAM-chiladas!

(Impostor Cheese-chiladas in foil)

Sauce was a GOOD thing for SPAM!

(SPAM bacon wraps)

Tasted like BACON!

(AKA - SPAM on a stick!)

Liz's favorite - Fried SPAM!!

SPAM Puffs

The recipe claimed they won her

first place in a SPAM cook off.

Very Scary!!

The 'non SPAM' table

The Fruit Kabobs were AWESOME!

(Non-SPAM)

A loaded PLATE!!

It all looks good enough to eat!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spam-puffs/detail.aspx

If you're every in a SPAM bake off,

I've listed the recipe above.......

Here are the ingredients needed.

SPAM shreds very easily!!

Add cheese and baking mix.

Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350.

They look ALMOST the same going in the oven,

as coming out. I found that a little disturbing!

More SPAM-O-Lious Fun coming on 1/19/2012!!

STAY TUNED!!

Who Wants to Make a Movie!!

2012-01-13T06:02:00.000-06:00

Just Plain FUN!!!

On Line Courses - Are They Right for You?

2012-01-09T17:14:00.000-06:00

As technology evolves, so does the way in which we can

take classes, seminars, or even private lessons.

On line courses are becoming more common place,

yes, even in the area of dog training.

Who would have thought?

As with everything else, it started slowly,

but now it seems like almost everyone is offering them.

Are They Right for You?

There are of course, pros to taking classes on line.

* Save travel time.

* Save money on gas.

* A wide variety of instructor choices.

* A wide variety of subjects.

* Some are 'study' at your own time.

On the flip side, there are cons to on line classes.

* Getting lost in the crowd.

* Getting the personal feedback as you need.

* Not understanding the concepts of the exercise.

* Poor technological equipment (on either side of the computer)

* The need to video tape your training sessions.

* Social aspect, visiting with your friends.

* The ability to communicate in written form, expressing

not only your needs, but understanding what is being written.

I'm sure there are MANY more pros/cons.

I have taken on-line courses, a seminar, and

some private lessons on line.

Most I've thoroughly enjoyed.

How about you? Pros/Cons??

9 Month Old Nettle

2012-01-08T13:52:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we finally got around to taking

our 'X-mas' picture.

Okay, so it's January and I'm

a little behind! G

You might not realize how difficult

it is to take a picture of a 'white' dog,

and a black dog, together.

Trust me, it's a challenge!

Luckily PhotoShop E allowed

me to lighten up Nettle a bit.

I'm going to guess that she's done

growing now?

I haven't measured her in quite awhile,

but guessing she's about 19.5".

She can keep growing, as long

as she stays under 21" for USDAA.

At this point, I'd say we're safe.

We're continuing to work on recalls,

they are better, but might be something

we struggle with for awhile.

We've work a few obstacles (agility),

but not a lot. She knows what to

do with the 'running dogwalk', which

is still carpet. I'll have to get her

on a plank soon I suppose.

Continuing our trick training.

Our newest challenge is for her to

jump on the bottom of my shoes,

while I'm laying on my back with

feet in the air. Not sure this is

wise?? But we're having fun playing

with the idea anyway.

She's the opposite of Seeker when

it comes to moving obstacles.

She could care less.

Our retrieves are coming along.

Just started working our float line.

Alas, I won't be able to trial her in

water this year, as I've water judging

assignments the weekends of MN/IL

water trials. Poor planning on my

part I guess, next year will be fine.

It's all about the TOKENS!!

2012-01-03T17:39:00.002-06:00

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE TOKENS given at trails.

Ribbons are nice, but let’s face it,

what do you do with them after awhile.

Last weekend Seeker got a Super Q in Snooker.

That alone is great…but then we got this cool BOOK MARKER!!!

It was totally awesome!

Okay..so now I have to get a book,

I've been reading on my nook for almost a year now.

I'm on the library 'book' waiting list

for 11/22/63....(1963), it might be

11/22/2063 before I get it!

My strategy for Saturday’s snooker was to complete 4 reds

you have a choice of 3 or 4 reds) reds are worth one point.

So, the plan was, red to 5 combo, red to 7 (aframe), red to 6 combo,

red to 6 combo, then the closing (2-7).

(If I can find the course I'll post it...UGH!!)

We made it through successfully under time for a total of 55 pts,

second place and a SQ!

YIPPEE!!!

No Resolutions - DAM Team - Qualifier-12/30/2011

2012-01-02T10:12:00.002-06:00

After a few last minute changes,

which resulted in moving Seeker to 22"

for the weekend our team ended up being:

No Resolutions

16" Kai - Border Staff & Laura Slusher

22" Bomber - Australian Cattle Dog & Angie Fink

22" Seeker - Border Collie & Tammy Etscheidt

(Qualified in 6th place)

DAM TEAM = Dog Agility Masters =

three-dog teams that compete in five classes of competition -

Standard Agility, Snooker Agility, Jumpers, Gamblers Choice

and Three-dog Team Relay.

Just to make it interesting, the rules are

a bit different than the 'regular' gamblers

and snookers rules. Jumpers also

includes weave poles on DAM Team day.

A qualifying score shall be awarded to competitors

who compete in all five classes and whose team scores are 850 points or more,

or within 25% of the average of the total points earned by the

top three teams after the fifth and final class, whichever is greater.

(I obviously just wait for the results to be posted!)

Here are the Friday's Courses!
(Double Click on them to make them larger)

(Gamblers - with 2 closing options)

(Snooker)

(Seeker and I completed 2 - 7's and a 5 to the

closing, he was perfect!!)

Standard

Jumpers

(Seeker won the class)

Team Relay

(Bomber, Kai, and Seeker as anchor)

What a great time!

Looking forward to another

Team Event in February!!

Back On Track - Coat!!

2011-12-27T17:34:00.001-06:00

I finally got one!

After a long time....pondering...do I really need to spend

'that kind of money' on a coat for Seeker,

I did it.

I purchased a "BOT" coat.

MERRY CHRISTMAS SEEKER!

I figured as much money as we spend on entry fees, and traveling,

the coat was a steal! Especially if it will help prevent injuries!

(Below is Kruz modeling!)

The coat is suppose to reflect heat, help to ease inflammation,

reduce muscle pain, and increase blood circulation.

Although it's really 'Seeker's' coat, I'll try it on Kruz too,

as he tends to have a sore spot on his back.

For Seeker, I'll use it to warm him up and cool him down. I'm always sure to do a nice warm

up and cool down, but if this helps just a little bit more, it will be well worth it!

It sports some reflective patches, notice the glare!

Very pretty!!

There's a zipper for the dog's tail to come through, or for dog's without tails, there are elastic rear leg straps.

The only thing I don't like about the design is the quick snap lock over the back. It seems to me that this might put pressure on the spine if the dog was laying down in it. I'll probably end up making my own adjustment and switching that to Velcro.

I found the sizing a bit challenging as well. Thank you Nancy for the size advice!! I would have gotten a size larger and I sure didn't need it! If you know someone with the coat, you might want to ask for advice prior to ordering.

Kruz isn't 'sold' on it yet. He can't seem to lay down in it,
but at least he's moving.

When I first put it one, he didn't think he could move! G

Fun things for Christmas

2011-12-23T15:21:00.003-06:00

Rilda found me this fun coaster for Xmas!!

THANKS RILDA!!

(A perfect picture of McNugget!!)

I'll have to find a way to hang
it in the mud room.

It's just too fun to hide under a glass!

This of course is to remind me...
how much my chickens ...
APPRECIATE (NOT!!)
being used as distractions!

Like most of us, they are in it for the food!

Back in the days of the 18" weave poles!
I guess I'll need to have these
made into some 2 X 2s??

Happy 80th Birthday Don!!

2011-12-16T05:53:00.000-06:00

Today is Don's 80th Birthday!!

Don and his "Happy Birthday Bar"

Don and Tina are still smokin' the courses!

They had a fabulous weekend at ICDOC

last weekend, finishing with a DQ on Sunday!

Don is always fun to watch and talk to.

He's known for his 'Abbreviated' Front Cross,

and it sure works well for him.

Of course you can't have a birthday

without cake!!

Fall Trick Class 2011

2011-12-14T06:21:00.000-06:00

We had our First Trick Class this Fall.

I had a lot of fun, and I think the participants did as well.

Tricks are a great way for .....

Your dog to learn to learn.

The handler to learn how the dog learns.

To build a Relationship with your dog.

To learn balance skills/body awareness.

Warming up for performance events.

FUN ENTERTAINMENT!

One interesting observation during class was that people tended to migrate to the same 'work station', or location in the room each night. On 'Graduation' night, they had to come up on front to 'show off'. Just moving the dog from the 'safety' of their normal work area, along with the handler's nerves of being in front of a group, was enough to impact some dogs performance. Lesson Learned! Next time we'll be rotating work stations every class! This might be something you want to think about in your own training.

Do you have a 'favorite' spot?

Get out of your 'comfort zone'.

Even at home...do you train in the same room?

Try moving around the house!

Below is a movie of just

'some' of the tricks we touched on!

WELL DONE Class!!!

Nettle - 8 month picture

2011-12-09T08:13:00.000-06:00

I haven't had the camera out as much lately.

So, the sun was out, I had a few minutes,

so headed out to the front yard for a couple pictures.

She'd just had a bath and I

wanted to catch her CLEAN!!

Trust me, it doesn't last!

We have a couple squirrels hanging around!

Never had squirrels before!

Good news...they are cute!

Bad news...they leave corn cobs around.

Nothing more dangerous for a dog

to eat than a corn cob!

I always check the yard for them,

when I let the dogs our front to play.

I found this one, but didn't quite throw

it far enough to get it over the fence.

Nettle of course was going to retrieve it,

so, good news...it got her away from me.

I promptly tossed it over the fence

after taking a couple pictures.

Nettle's 8 Months Old Today!

2011-12-07T16:03:00.000-06:00

Time is just a flying! Nettle looks like a grown up dog in size, so I need to keep reminding myself that she’s just a puppy. She’s about 19 ½ inches tall now and 40 lbs. At this point, she might as well get up to 20 ¾ to help her over those 22” USDAA jump heights. Although, I might be running at 26” if she keeps clearing those 3’ ring gates. Lesson learned! If you’re playing with Seeker, Nettle needs to go in a ‘box’, or over the gate will come!

Related to both Mad and Nina, she shows some very similar behaviors! She has more “Mad-is-um’s” than “Nina-is-ums”, and unfortunately…the Nina-is-um is the BAD ONE! Namely Digging! Of course, with Nina, we always blamed this behavior on Jamie…….but, maybe it wasn’t him after all?

Nettle is a very willing learner, but easily distracted. That’s okay, so am I!

Just like with most puppies, if it’s quite and she’s not in sight….you’d best go look for her! Thus the reason for the 2 new baby gates.

BTW – The Munchkin Easy Close Metal Baby Gates are awesome!! Even ‘if’ Nettle jumps over them. She jumps over our “Rover Gate” too, that’s made of PVC….so, it makes not difference to her! She’s an equal opportunity jumper!

Mad loved to come under the covers and cuddle while I read a book in bed. One evening, Nettle wanted under, so I thought “Oh…isn’t this cute”…..so, I let her under. BAD IDEA! She didn’t want to cuddle at all! She wanted to rut under the blankets like a pig…ended up pulling all the bedding up. She stayed under, running in circles, having a grand ole time. I finally got her out, and remade the bed. She tried it again the next evening….’Um…I DON’T THINK SO!”

She’s very attracted to my cats. We have 4 ‘farm’ cats, that are ‘freeloaders’…aka – food comes from a bag, why eat a mouse from the barn?? Nettle goes to visit them any chance she gets. Our 12 year old cat, Chemi, will roll around on the ground, while Nettle sniffs her. The 9 year old cat, Cher, gives Nettle the ‘eye’, so Nettle doesn’t even try. The two 4 year old boys, Cougar and Chatter, draw her in, and then swat her on the nose. Nettle’s caught on to those two, so approaches with caution.

Likes –

CATS, Seeker, Kruz, Momma, Poppa (in that order)

Orbees!!

Chew toys

Stuffed Kongs

ROCKS!!!

Going for a run in the open fields

Clicker Training – trick training

Jump Bumps

Running ‘dog walk’…aka Carpet

Tunnels and Chute!

Retrieving her bumper

Playing Tug

Sleeping on the bed

Dislikes –

Blow dries

Peanut butter

Potatoes – unless they have sour cream in them.

Waiting her turn for ‘training’.

Naughties!

Jumps the new 3’ ‘baby gates’, from a stand still.

Chews up EVERYTHING!

Digging Holes in the Yard

Sometimes won’t come inside when called.

Jumping up on us

Some Evidence!!

Seeker's favorite Squeaky Ball!

Squeaky Ball meets Nettle

Nettle demonstrates "Global Warming"
on her Orbee Ball....
There used be islands
on the Planet Earth!

The Rock she brought inside
with her this morning.
(Almost a daily occurrence)
"Trust me...it's a rock!!"

One of her new favorite
Kongs!

Orbee bone ends....
I know the rest of it is around here...
somewhere! Honest!

Cute little baby toy.
I'm afraid to give it to her anymore!!
Do you blame me??

Kruz's One Million Mile Check up!

2011-12-06T14:18:00.001-06:00

Kruz had his routine check up yesterday.

Everything seems to be in 'working' order....

or as much order as it can be when you're

a March of 1998 Model.

The only 'concern' was with his BUN and Cre levels,

so, we'll be looking to make some slight adjustments

to his diet. I'll continue with 'raw', as we've

fed this since 2000, but do a little research

in order to find one that might be a bit more

heart and kidney friendly for our guy.

Overall, he appears to be in

tip top shape!

YOU GO KRUZ!!!

Fall Feast - N - Kong Fillers!!

2011-12-04T13:46:00.000-06:00

Strangely enough, I have a domestic side.

I have more 'hobbies' than most people.

In fact, I can't imagine not having them!

So, yesterday after I did my chores,

I brought in a couple pumpkins & went to work.

Doing what?

Making Pumpkin Puree of course!

This is great not only for pies,

breads, muffins and such....

but as kong fillers!

Simply fill a kong and

place it in the freezer!

The dogs LOVE THEM!

One large pumpkin makes 3 pies,

and fills 6 kongs!

One Large pumpkin

from my garden.

The birds eat the seeds and skins!

Very little waste and the

"Windy Hill Fowl Farm and Puppy Ranch"!

Yes, the Turkeys survived TG!!

Bake at 350 degrees

for about an hour.

A fork should easily pierce the flesh

Remove the outside skin.

Slice into chunks.

A food processor works great.

We don't have one, but

potato masher and hand

mixer work great too!

Alas....we are out of evaporated milk.

So....no pie today.

Best One Yet - Agiilty Dog Potty Dance!

2011-12-03T17:32:00.001-06:00

OMG!

Have a tissue ready!

TOO FUNNY!!

Dog Food - Grain Free

2011-11-29T05:46:00.000-06:00

Did you know that all Grain Free Dog Foods are NOT created equal??

I suppose that would just make sense, but do you know why?

Chery Morris posted an excellent article on her blog.

While I feed a raw diet, I do use some kibble for training treats.

I'll sure look closer at the next bag I happen to purchase!

Enjoy!!

http://evolveanimalnutrition.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-grain-free-may-be-splitting.html

I can't believe I just did that!! UGH!!

2011-11-28T16:31:00.000-06:00

It's okay I'll regroup,

it'll be fine!

I've just started working Nettle on her running contacts. Okay, maybe I should clarify here, she's running across a carpet on the ground, not a real contact. So, the first time out, she was awesome! Ran after her toy, brought it back, played some tug. Totally BRILLIANT!!!!

So, day two, Bill, Seeker, Nettle and I all go out to the building to practice. I work Seeker for a couple minutes while Nettle is going nuts watching. Bill is holding Nettle on her harness. I'm done with Seeker, and go to play with Nettle. We repeat what we did the day before. She runs down her carpet, grabs her toy and does VICTORY LAPS!!! UGH!!! So, game over we go inside.

Day three, same group goes out. I repeat from the day before and guess what! Nettle RUNS AGAIN! Like, seriously....why did I NOT think that was going to happen again? She adores Seeker, they love to play, and guess what she's doing during her laps? Running by Seeker with a toy flaunting it!! Some days I'm such an idiot! But that's okay! I can learn from my mistakes!! LOL

Day four - I take Nettle out alone! See, I'm getting smarter!!

We do a couple sets of 'digging' around an upright.

Awesome!

Okay, now let's go run on the carpet!

Great job! Doesn't come back with it directly,

but comes back and we play some tug.

So, I repeat it again.

Better!!

One more time!

Much better!!

Here's the sad part......

Do you stop there!

Seriously ask yourself this!

When things are going well......

do you stop!

If you're honest, most of you would not.

Well...me either!!!

Guess what I got on the fourth run!

VICTORY LAPS!!!!

I wanted to fall down in the dirt and cry!

Why did I not stop!

Because it was fun, and I wanted just

ONE MORE!

Tomorrow...I'll stop after the first one and build from there.

Hopefully, someone will learn from my mistake!

Go have fun!

But stop your training while it's still going well!!

Baby Nettle - Almost named Vanna!!

2011-11-26T10:32:00.000-06:00

This is the 'minute' I got home from

picking up little Nettle last June.

Makes me laugh every time I watch it!

As Bill would say,

"Did you not see this as BAD SIGN"!!

Yes, thanks to Michele's BRILLIANT

suggestion, we got some SLEEP!

Nettle almost became named,

"Vanna".

She still gets called that on occasion.

This puppy has more nicknames

than any dog we've ever had!

Border Collie Cartoon

2011-11-24T06:29:00.001-06:00

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!

This has NOTHING to do with turkeys.....
but cracks me up!!

Ol' Red - A dog song.....

2011-11-18T16:02:00.002-06:00

I'll admit, I don't listen to a lot of Country Music,

however, happened upon this song while I was

scanning through the radio channels.

Apparently it's pretty popular, I thought it was cute.

ENJOY!

ICDOC Agility Trials - AKC - A Special Event!

2011-11-17T06:02:00.001-06:00

Saturday is PINK Day at the

ICDOC's AKC Agility Trial!

We hope you can join us!

12/10/2011

Kirkwood Community College

Equestrian Center

Cedar Rapids, IA

There will be a raffle with all the money going to the:

Susan G.Komen Foundation

There are some fabulous items!

Agility Equipment - by Jeff Hartzler

Garden Stone Paw Print - Me

Sugar Cookies - Meg Sailor

and other donations from
(Organized by Marsha Kingsley)

Clean Run

Honest Kitchen

J & J Dog Supplies

Murphy's Trading Post

Max 200

Fit Paws

Dog Gone Good

and MORE!!!!

Even if you're not running a dog, please come out Saturday,

enjoy watching some K-9 Agility and

donate to our raffle!!!

Weekend Colors are:

Friday = Orange,

Saturday = Pink

Sunday = Red.

Entries Close:

Closes November 23rd

Hope to see you there!!

Kitty Agility Anyone!

2011-11-10T05:44:00.001-06:00

This is just too ADORABLE!!

Cougar loves the tunnels, jumping out at the dogs as they go over the jump,

he's not real found of the teeter however......but maybe a lower one?

He even does the suitcase trick!

Enjoy!

Does Your Dog "Lip Service" Tug??

2011-11-08T16:28:00.000-06:00

(Seeker and Mad - Fall 2007)

Does your dog ever ‘pretend’ his tugging with you?

He might have the tug in his mouth, but you are doing most of the work?

Or you’re dragging the tug on the ground, and he gives the illusion of biting it.

If so, then you are experiencing what I call, “Lip Service Tugging”.

The dog is not fully engaged in the task of tugging.

For some dogs, tugging seems to be innate and pure heaven!

For others, they just don’t see the point.

If you are lucky, the breeder of your dog nurtured the ‘tugging’

while the puppies were developing.

If not, you might have a little more work cut out for you,

depending on the age of the puppy.

Seeker was a born tugger.

He LOVES IT!

Dena nurtured his tug, so this probably helped.

He’s always been ‘toy driven’,

and had to learn that he could work for food as well.

We had to play games where I had food in my hand,

stopped tugging, and he ‘had’ to eat the food.

It took a little time, but he got it!!

Nettle is the opposite.

She came to me 3 weeks older than Seeker, and her tug wasn’t nurtured.

Now, in a breeder’s defense, they may not want to nurture tugging,

depending on the home the puppy goes too.

Not everyone family is going to want a ‘Seeker’.

Nettle loves her food!!

So, tugging with food in my hand took a little more time.

I’ll be honest; a lot of her tugging when I had

food in my hand was “lip service’ tugging.

She knew in order to get the food she had to tug,

but she tried to put in the least amount of effort to earn it.

We are working on this, and she’s getting better.

She has come a LONG way,

since she began just a few months ago.

I’ll share with you want worked for ‘her’,

this might not work for everyone, but might work for you.

There were a couple things I had to do first,

before we could tug with her food present.

Nettle needed to learn to ignore her food,

or treats when then were on the floor.

This is really unbelievably easy;

it’s Susan Garrett’s ‘It Yer Choice’ game.

While I was working on the, “IYC Game”,

I began my search for something she’d tug on consistently.

We used the paper towel roll.

Admittedly, they are not very durable.

I used them to build the ‘want to’ to tug,

then transition over to something more durable.

I combined the two, very quickly.

I'd sit on the floor with her bowl of food off next to me,

and ‘attempt’ to get her to tug with the paper towel roll (PTR).

I’d ‘bang’ it on the floor, dance it along the floor,

maybe ‘hit’ her on the side with it a couple times,

and in general act like an idiot.

Hey, it worked, she’d give me a little tug,

I’d feed her some food.

We’d then do our ‘shaping behaviors’

for that meal, and then tug again.

Lesson done!

At first our sessions were longer,

as it took her awhile to ‘engage’ with the PTR.

It was much more difficult to get her to engage,

prior to the meal, than after.

I would often come out of the bathroom,

bedroom, or porch, to Bill’s question,

“What the heck were you doing in there?”.

My response, “Getting Nettle to tug of course”,

- insert eye roll here,

like doesn’t everyone do this???

I would love to tell you it only took a couple sessions,

and she was tugging quickly, it didn’t.

Morning and night we would work our tug,

before the meal, and after.

She did learn that if she wanted to ‘get on with the lesson’

– and more importantly ‘the food’,

she would need to tug.

That was a major breakthrough.

I’m guessing that took a several weeks.

During that time,

I switched from using the PTR for a variety of other toys.

At first I used the toys I knew she liked,

Tony the tiger, Otto, the possum,

and then switched to the toys I wanted to use.

The transition was fairly easy,

there were a few ‘battles of the wills’

where she just wanted the FOOD!

But I just kept at it.

Bouncing the toy on the floor,

and acting a fool.

She’d give in,

realizing she wasn’t going to eat until she played.

I can’t tell you how much this has paid off!!

She can now tug while I have any kind of food in my hand.

She’s learning that she needs to ‘tug like she means it’.

In other words, I’m not accepting ‘Lip Service Tugging’.

It can be exhausting for me at times,

but if I give in now, it will be even harder to get it back.

‘Who’s training Who’??

You might be wondering why I care if she tugs.

Tug builds passion, food sedates

(unless you’re a Lab!!! – Just kidding Michele).

I want to be sure Nettle is ‘working’ and ‘performing’ at her best.

For me and many others…that means having a great tug!

So, get out there and develop that TUG!!

Don’t accept ‘Lip Service Tugging’!!

Nettle's Second Retrieve Lesson

2011-10-31T16:02:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this is a few months ago!

Sometimes things just get pushed to the side!

I'm just glad I still have the video!

Nettle had her first retrieve lesson shortly after I got her, in the middle of June. We’d just starting our ‘shaping/clicker’ learning, and it wasn’t stellar, so I just put the retrieve aside for awhile and worked on some other behaviors. Hindsight, I sure wish I would have taped that session!

In a nutshell, the session went something like this: She would look at it, and I’d click and place my reward on, or near the object. She would push it with her foot, and I would click that. I was clicking almost any interaction with the article, then she'd walk away. Finally I just put it away, what is the big hurry! We'll come back to it once she's learned more about learning, and I've learned more about how she learns. I think we need to do this a little more often. Why is there a time line when things need to be learned?

Two weeks later, I pulled that article back out, and what a difference. We’d learned more shaping behaviors by then, and she’s learned that if an object was present, then chances were I’d want her to interact with it. Latent learning at it’s best! She acted like she’d been doing this for awhile. I even decided to see if she’d take it from my hand, which is something that’s required at Apprentice level of water work, and she did.

I added a metal spoon, and there wasn’t any problem there either.

I taped my whole session; it’s 5 minutes in length, and longer than I’d normally work one behavior. It’s rather a boring clip, but if you’re struggling with your dog’s willingness to retrieve, it might be helpful?

Most importantly, don't be in a hurry!

Get Out Of Novice??

2011-10-25T16:16:00.000-05:00

(Bill and Kruz - June 1999 - Nov A)

I heard several people discussing the Novice this weekend, and it got me thinking....

Should you really get out of Novice as fast as you can?

Maybe; Possibly; Could be???

My answer would be: ‘It depends on the dog.”

Novice tends to be pretty wide open, encouraging full extension running.

It seems like the obstacles are all 20-25’ apart,

and you really don’t have many options for handling.

The courses are pretty much, RLH!! (Run Like Heck)

Novice courses can be ‘deadly’ for dogs that would prefer not to collect,

lacks a good balance of handler vs. obstacle focus,

and that tend to flatten out over a straight line of jumps.

If you have a dog like this,

it might be good advice to ‘get the heck out of Novice’.

For others, it might be smarter to stay in Novice.

For those dogs that lack confidence, lack motivation,

or haven’t found the joy in the game, it might pay off to stay.

I realize some would argue that these dogs

shouldn’t be competing if they have any of the above,

but let’s face it, it happens.

Sometimes you don’t even know there’s a problem until you enter.

Some dogs stress ‘high’, some stress ‘low’,

so your first trial is somewhat of a ‘crap shoot’.

It an assessment of where you are,

and what homework you have ahead.

Nina was a dog that lacked confidence in the agility ring.

I would not have thought they would be a problem.

She was fine at home (who isn’t), and at the training building.

Her first Novice weekend was horrible!

It was a 3 day AKC weekend, and I’d stupidly

entered her in both JWW and Stnd all 3 days.

What was I thinking!!

She qualified 5/6 runs, and I suppose

some people would be thrilled with that.

They were slow, unconfident,

and to be honest, not fun.

So, we had some homework to do when we got home.

I entered Nina in 3 more weekends of Novice agility throughout that summer,

(one or two days vs. two or three), just to build confidence and joy.

Our focus was attitude, not matter the Q, and she has well the number

needed to move into Open.

Seemed rather silly to move her up, w

hen we were struggling with confidence on the ‘simple’ courses.

Nina went on to become a really nice agility dog.

For those thinking about entering Novice,

you might want to break up your days at a 3 day trial (Friday/Sunday),

or only enter one class each day.

That way, if you end up with a glaring ‘training hole’,

you won’t have the opportunity, or feel the need, to keep your turn.

You can go home and work on it.

So, I guess when you are asking yourself,

do I move up to Open, evaluate your dog.

If it’s right for both of you…DO IT!!

If it’s not, don’t move up just to avoid having to stay until the end of the day.

Now…if you ask me if you should move out of Open…….YES!!!

GET OUT!!

Seems to me that often the open courses are more difficult than the excellent!

Enjoy the Journey…..

It never lasts long enough!!

Uncle Seeker

2011-10-17T16:02:00.000-05:00

Seeker is an Uncle!!

Is he excited?

No, he doesn't even know what it means.....

I'm excited!

Aren't they cute!

I rather fancy the weird white one!

Go figure!

3 boys and 1 girl

Maybe in a few years we can get another one?

A New PWD Water Exercise?

2011-10-13T05:36:00.004-05:00

We took the dogs swimming out to Sandy Beach last Sunday. It’s quite possibly the last swim outing of the year. What a beautiful day, and although the water was a bit chilly, once you were in, it was fine. The dogs didn’t seem to mind one bit.

It’s quite apparent that next year I’ll need to take Nettle swimming without Seeker. She can’t seem to focus when there’s a Border Collie tail around. She ‘thought’ about grabbing Kruz’s once, but didn’t follow through with it, funny how that is. I do wish Seeker would tell her to stop and really mean it, as I can tell he’s not happy about the ‘tow line’ either.

I think I might have to suggest a new water exercise to the PWDCA (Portuguese Water Dog Club of America). The exercise would involve the ability to latch onto a Border Collie’s tail and then proceed to be ‘towed’ out, and/or ‘towed’ in. This of course would require that PWD owners have a Border Collie willing to have it’s tail pulled. Not a high likelihood of that, I suppose.

I was happy with Nettle’s swimming style, she’s nice and level in the water. She lacks some confidence going out very far after she got a bit winded. Swimming is hard work, so we’ll work on that slowly next year. Kruz stays in the shallows now, but seemed to enjoy himself. Seeker, well, he’s a water bum…what can I say. We had to ‘make’ him stop, he would have happily played out in the water all day.

(sorry about the color, it was brown vs. red, HONEST!)

Afterward, everyone got a bath. Would have been a good time to take a ‘family picture’, but alas, opportunity missed!

6 Months Old - Nettle

2011-10-08T07:34:00.002-05:00

How did this happen?

LOVES:

Kruz – She likes to lay close to him on the bed, or in the yard.

Seeker’s Tail – Okay, she loves to play with Seeker too.

Chewing on things! She likes the hard solid toys, that no one else does.

Eating!

Being outside.

Sleeping on the bed.

Splashing in the baby pool, or fish ‘tank’, whichever is available.

Chase games.

Dig in the dirt.

All people and dogs, even if they don’t like her.

(Kruz 13 1/2 Yrs - Nettle 6 Months)

(Short Retrieve with Distraction = Seeker)

Hates-

Being left in her crate during class nights. She can bark for 2+ hours straight, NOT PRETTY!
Not being the center of attention.

Tolerates-

Bath
Nail grinding
Bee-Bops – banding her bangs.
Jumping up on grooming table – from chair.
The Vet.

Likes-

Tugging (would like this to be in the love category)
Going for car rides.

Naughtiness –

Jumps on counters and now twice on the kitchen table.
Jumps up on people.
Mouthing hands.

Experiences –

She’s been to a couple agility trials, (visiting), and while there, worked on ‘holding position’, and tugging. Not running agility of course! Played some retrieve games outside.
Spent a few nights in a hotel.

Behaviors – at various levels of ‘proficiency'

Puppy Grid Jumps
2o2o – on board
Pivot on board
Hug a pole
“It’s Yer Choice”
Bang teeter board.
Skateboard
Crate Games – all levels
Give a Kiss.
Spin in a circle
“Dig’ around a jump upright – turning tight
Swim – going again today, it’s so nice.
Short retrieves to hand.
Come when called – still a work in progress.
Walk nicely with head halter on.
Great strangers appropriately (instead of jumping up on them)
Attention to me, with various levels of distraction.

So much more to learn!

Tsunami in Iowa???

2011-10-06T05:50:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's true!

Sunday evening, there was a Tsunami in Iowa!!

Just ask my Goldfish!

(The Face of Innocence??)

A little Background.....

I moved my fish into the house a couple weeks ago. They are inexpensive feeder goldfish, which I’d used in my ‘barrel pond’. It was a peacefully quite existence. The most frightening part of the day was when one of the cats used it as a water bowl.

As the cooler weather hit, I thought it might be fun to keep them over the winter, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a tank, filter, however. Goldfish like cooler water, so unlike our dogs, they are perfect low maintenance pets. A large tote filled with water was the PERFECT solution. Another plus, they are able to spend most of the winter out on our small enclosed porch.

It was all good….until the Tsunami struck!!

No matter what you’ve heard……

Tsunami’s are black, 17” tall, 30 lb, little curly monsters.

Our Tsunami’s name is Nettle!

I was sitting at the computer Sunday, playing my favorite ‘mindless’ computer game – Penguin Pirates, when I ‘heard’ the ‘noise’. A whooshing noise, that only comes from PWD feet paddling in water! Water?? MY FISH!!! #%#$&#&%

Yes, Nettle decided to have ‘a party of one’ and plunge her feet into the 20 gallon tote and DIG!

I pulled Nettle from the ‘pond’, and I’m trying to hold her still as water is running off her face, and front legs. Her tail wagging happily as I’m hollering for HELP!!! Bill of course, was in his ‘man cave’, watching football. He must have waited for a commercial, as it seemed like forever before he came with a towel.

The Border Collies are both hiding,

“It wasn’t us!!! We tried to STOP HER. It wasn’t us!!”

I’m now frantically counting fish in the debris of shredded water plants, and stirred up goldfish dung….eeewww!!! One, two, three, and four!! All still "happily??" in the water!! That was close!!

I look around the small enclosed porch and notice more water plant carnage. Apparently it’s fun to grab a water plant, carry them dripping wet to the bench 17’ away, jump up, and shred the life out of them.

This of course was prior to giving the fish a cardiac workout!

Poor little fish!!

(A dump and cleaning is now in order)

To the goldfish, a large Oscar must be looking like a good alternative to a PWD.

It’s really hard to be upset with her when she’s so proud of herself.

I guess I’d better go fill up the baby pool outside for a

couple more days of fun warm weather!

Maybe that will keep her out of the fish tote for awhile?

Or….maybe I should just close that door?

No, that would make too much sense!

I shoulda got a Border Collie!!!

Dirty Rotten Border Collies

2011-10-05T06:15:00.000-05:00

Renee had this shirt on this weekend.

LOVED IT!! G

Black with White Letters.

PERFECT!!!

She owns an Aussie.

You've just got to love a Border Collie!!

A couple fun clips I came across in You Tube.....

Such nice biddable dogs.

Always ready for a fun game of.......

Please do NOT talk about Agility.....

2011-10-03T16:57:00.000-05:00

It's almost impossible NOT to!!

Between the Legs - A new Move!

2011-09-26T19:09:00.000-05:00

There are times on the agility course that things don't go as planned.

When those things happen, you go to Plan "B".

This was NOT Plan "B"!

In fact, I can't imagine it's in anyone's

alphabet of game plans!

Poor Seeker,

See the 'finger' on my left hand?

That's where you are

suppose to be!

Alas, we survived that collision,

but went on to mess up the relatively

simple 'tunnel/dog walk' discrimination.

Luckily, I have great balance,

Seeker has a hard head,

and the only injury was a small bruise.

Ego's NOT included!!

What Does The Future Hold?

2011-09-20T17:45:00.000-05:00

Do you ever think back to the ‘good ole days’ of agility?

Remember when:

Most trials were outside, so your agility season ran from April to October.
AKC allowed both an 8’ or 12’ teeter.
We had to roll out mats at the armory, and unload the trailer before practicing.
Reloading the trailer and rolling mats back up after practice!
2 on/off contacts were the ‘in thing’.
Weaving on the right was AMAZING!
There was ‘no such thing’ as a Blind Cross.
No one owned their own contact pieces.
You had to travel at least 4 hours to the nearest AKC Agility Event.
Classes were once a week.
Seminars once a year, maybe!
WOW! You have a computer! You were SOMETHING!

Now:

The majority of trials are indoors, on soccer turf.
The 8’ dog walk is obsolete.
Few people would think of running, or training on mats.
Unload a Trailer once a week? NO WAY!
True Running (Full Extension) Contacts are in!
Weave poles are 'just another obstacle'.
Blinds aren’t ‘totally’ in, but they will be. (Prediction here)
Most people own at least one piece of contact equipment.
Trials are getting closer.
Classes can be found on multiple nights.
On line classes are now available.
Seminars are offered all over.
Internet is on your phone.

It’s just amazing how things have evolved, and continue to do so.

Do you ever wonder if you might be able to ‘trial’ in your ‘own back yard’.

Literally!

Maybe someone sends you a course to set (depending on your yard size),

You simply send in a clip of your dog running it, and someone ‘judges’ you.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see…………it’s a crazy changing world we live it.

Who would have thought you’d ever be able to type a message into a phone?

Even more unbelievable, Molly,
our Bichon would be 20 years old this week!

WHAT!!!

Time sure flies!

(My first Agility Dog)

I guess this is all HER fault!

Kids and Agility

2011-09-17T08:24:00.000-05:00

Kids are the future of Agility!

How many times have your heard that?

It's actually true.

If a kid shows some interest,

I'm going to take advantage of it!

Agility is not an inexpensive 'sport'.

Parents that are willing to invest in

classes, and entry fees should be commended!

What a great way to teach a child responsibility,

patience and sportsmanship.

They also get exposed to some

pretty incredibly adults!

Dick and Nancy's great niece was visiting

this summer from Colorado.

They asked if I'd be willing to

let her work on the agility equipment a bit.

Maryn had been practicing with Finney

a few times a day.

ABSOLUTELY!!

Maryn is 6 years old.

What a great age to get started!

We had a great time!

First playing with Finney, then

with Seeker.

One of the funniest events was the

'Seeker Set Up'.

He sets up between my legs.

My legs are a bit longer than

a 6 year olds.

Seeker is about 20" tall, and

well, Maryn might as well have been

riding a pony.

It made me laugh.

Maryn wanted to RUN!

It was so cute!

It was all about the speed!

Hum, maybe 'us' adults could

learn something from her?

Look out CO!

You might have a budding

agility handler in your area.

Confessions of a Dog Owner.......

2011-09-06T10:01:00.000-05:00

It's true....

Our dogs like to lick the beaters,

the bowls,

and yes, even the spoons.

They use to get the spatula,

but after a couple broke in half,

those are not off limits.

I just got done baking a several dozen cookies

for this weekends Tracy Skelnar Agility Seminar.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter, Oatmeal Crispies,

Melinda's Sugar Cookies....and maybe I'll

get some 'Fish Fudge' made up for the dogs?

I'm sure some people would be

offended by the 'dog cleaning services'.

I know my Grandmother would have stroked!

Reminds me of a story......many years ago,

I made a cake for my Grandmother's birthday.

Rocky, my first Portuguese Water Dog

thought he's help himself to some of the batter.

It was sitting on the kitchen table,

and I had turned my back to get the pan.

LICK!!

(Not a Border Collie!!)

Our BCs would NEVER do that!

I did hesitate, just a second.....

should I bake it?

Or toss it?

Oh, she'll NEVER KNOW!

Yep, I baked it!

The way I look at it,

it's no different that letting your

human kids lick the beaters!

You never know where their

hands or mouth have been either!

Happy Baking!

If you're free this weekend,

come out to Western Iowa for an

AWESOME Seminar!

The Seminar is great,

the food to DIE FOR!!

Note to self - Pack expandable pants!

I think there might be a few spots open!

Where Your Dogs Come From……

2011-08-30T16:46:00.000-05:00

Have you ever stopped and wondered why most ‘performance’ people don’t get their next dog from the ‘breeder next door’. It’s ‘almost’ like, the local dogs aren’t ‘good enough’. If you didn’t go out East, West, North, South, or even out of the country, you didn’t find a quality dog.

This is not meant to be a post about ‘finding a local dog’,

just an interesting observation.

Take a look at your own dogs, where did they come from?

Don’t you wonder if anyone out west, east,

or in other countries come to Iowa for their next dog?

Or 'local' for your location?

If not, why?

It’s just interesting.

Our dogs, growing up, came from within my hometown.

There wasn’t any thought of going anywhere else to get a dog.

I can’t imagine my parents would have traveled across state lines,

to get the ‘perfect’ dog, let alone out of the country.

Molly, our Bichon was the first dog we actually ‘traveled to pick up’. Yes, a whole 2 hours away! She was still in Iowa, and she is our only Iowa dog thus far. She came from a back yard breeder, without any performance background. (That’s a topic for another blog!) She had a lovely temperament, and was fantastic with kids, maybe because she was raised with them? Or, it could be that I had so many young nieces at the time, and she had a lot of exposure.

Regardless, she was a great little dog.

Molly was our first ‘performance dog’. When you begin participating in dog sports, you soon learn that the majority of dogs ‘come from somewhere else’. I would guess that most people’s ‘first dogs’ come locally. It just makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

All the rest of our dogs came from other states,

outside of IA; IL, WA, and MN.

With the expectation of one, all were within 5 hours of our home.

Not an extreme trip at all.

Our first Border Collie, Kruz, came from IL.

His breeder was recommended by a friend,

she also picked out a puppy from this litter.

Kruz has a great work ethic,

a wonderful temperament, and is just an all around good boy.

Our second Portuguese Water Dog came from MN. The breeders were people we’d met at agility trials up in that area. Nina was a puppy from their first "A" litter. Mad also came to us from them as a 2 year old.

Seeker is from MN as well, starting to see a pattern here! Seeker is actually Kruz’s nephew. His breeder is the friend that picked out a litter mate of Kruz. If you find something you like, stay within the line. That was the plan. Seeker is a great dog too, but in a different way than Kruz. The plan down the road, in 4-5 years, is to get a Seeker 'nephew/niece'. From a photography standpoint, another white faced one would be great!

Nettle is also from MN, the same breeder that Nina and Mad came from. Again, if you find something that works for you, stay with it. I love their temperaments, and willingness to work. Nettle is a combination of both Nina and Mad, I guess I love that part too. I love my BLACK DOGS!! Hate the ‘black blob syndrome’ in the pictures, it makes photography challenging. I guess I’ll just have to become a better photographer because of it.

The nice thing about having dogs from breeders near-by is that you get to see them more often. With the internet, it doesn’t really matter anymore. You can send pictures, videos, talk on your cell phone, it’s almost like ‘being there’. Isn’t technology wonderful!!

Will I ever get another dog from Iowa?

It’s hard to say what the future might bring.

Now you can sit back and think about where your own

dogs came from, and why.

It’s kind of fun!

**Can you tell we've been playing

in the water a lot this summer?? **

I Failed As A Responsible Dog Owner......

2011-08-20T10:11:00.000-05:00

....If all I taught our dogs, was how to run an agility course.

(Blast from the past!)

(Sept 1998 with the "FLYBALL" puppies)

Double click on it to make it larger

(Shira/Fraiser/Kruz/Hope/Breezy/Ollie)

Have you ever thought about how much time you really spend running an agility course at a trial? It’s literally seconds, or combined, minutes.

If you travel to 12 – (two day) trials a year, with 3 runs a day, you’ve spent under 60 minutes in the ring.

One hour!

If you and your dog are fortunate enough to run 10 years, that’s only 10 hrs! Even if you trial more than 12 weekends a year, and run more than 3 times a day, the amount of time you actually spend on an agility course is very small in comparison to home life.

What are you doing the rest of the time?

Sure, you might also compete in obedience, tracking, water work, hunt tests, flyball, herding, etc…..but your actual training, and trialing time is not going to take up the majority of your dogs time. The majority of your dog’s time is spent being a companion, at least I hope so.

My goal is to have a good companion, as well as a great ambassador of the breed.

I want people to say, “I wish I had a dog just like……”.

That makes me feel like ‘I’m doing my part in being a responsible dog owner.’

Of course, participating in performance events exposes your dog to a lot of different places.

The dog must ride in a car, stay in a crate, get use to new trial sites, and sometimes stay in a hotel. Ignoring strange people, and strange dogs. What a wonderful learning experience.

When at home, the dogs hang out wherever we are. They might be taking a nap while we’re on the computer, or reading a book. They might be outside ‘helping’ us with chores, or just having a good romp. They are a large part of our everyday life.

We’re similar to a lot of ‘dog people’. Our dogs are our “kids”, and we spend more time with them than most people do with their human children. Hum, maybe that’s what’s wrong with our society today?

Keep doing what you’re doing!

Showing people what great companions dogs are!

"My Puppy is OVERWHELMING ME!!!"

2011-08-16T16:39:00.001-05:00

This was Rilda’s statement to me in May. She had just she brought home her little schnauzer puppy, Nike. How can one little puppy cause so much stress? Actually, it’s pretty easy……

First there's the crate games, then the recalls, the puppy tricks, and not to mention socialization!! Oh, what about the house breaking, getting the other dog use to this new little MONSTER, and the constant ‘helpful’ feed back of…’you should do this, and have you tried this and this’…..!!! Dog owners don't even need a 'mother in law' telling them how to raise their kids!

That's what dog friends are for!!!

Calgon -TAKE ME AWAY!!!

(Do they even make Calgon anymore?)

Now, I understand what she meant. You can’t do it all! Not all at once anyway. So, you pick and choose what’s important to you. That’s all that really matters.

Nettle knows an amazing number of ‘beginning’ behaviors. I say beginning, because I tend to get bored doing the same thing over and over again. So, one morning we might work on one behavior, the afternoon a different one. We might not come back to the first ‘behavior’ we worked on, for several days or weeks. Guess what, she still remembers it!

To me, the absolute number one thing to work on is a good recall. If you’re dog won’t come when called, you are putting them at risk. Not to mention, if they won’t come to you when called, what’s the likely hood they will stay with you if there’s something more appealing? NOT LIKELY!! So, along with a good recall, a nice working relationship is formed.

Our recall games involve restrained recalls, whether they are restrained by another person, a long line around a post, or off a distraction. We mix them up; sometimes I run, sometimes I stop and let them catch me. It’s all positive, as I want them to be successful and associate coming with good things. There has never been a time when I’ve asked her to come and she hasn’t. NEVER!!!

She’s 4 months old, and I’m not stupid enough to compete with a Border Collie’s tail, a duck, chicken or turkey. I’m not even more interesting than a cat. So, guess what….I don’t call her! It’s really pretty simple. If I need her to come in, I can call the Border Collie! Guess who follows along, sometimes still attached. The birds are not as attractive as they use to be, but if she was chasing one, it would be pointless to call her. The cats, they don’t run and she knows which end is NOT safe! So, it’s easy enough to just pick her up. Okay, not as easy as it use to be! Someone needs to STOP GROWING!!!

So, you might be asking, “What do you do if she chases something and you can’t call her.” Well, I go get her, then bang my head on the sidewalk for being so stupid. I had to do this a couple times (OUCH!!!), with the birds. Especially the ducks, who knows what made them so attractive. It’s probably their lack of speed, when compared to the chickens, and they are not as big as the turkeys. Over the last month, they’ve thankfully lost their appeal.

Crate Games – or impulse control is right up there on my list of important things. Duck chasing would be an impulse control issue. Your start line stays….impulse control, right along with contacts (if you do 2o2o), retrieves, walking on a loose leash, not bouncing off the windows when another dog is outside training, and numerous other things that happen in every day life.

No Barking, is another very important rule at our house. Sorry, I don’t like it, and we have several vehicles a day coming down our lane. Not appropriate behavior, and for our household, not acceptable. Yes, we’ll probably be murdered in our beds, as our dogs didn’t alert us! G Barking will earn you a little “crate time out”. It only takes once or maybe twice, and they figure it out. Nettle sometimes forgets, and will bark at Kruz while he’s taking a nap. Sorry Muskrat, into the box you go!

One continued struggle is when she’s in a crate and we’re outside, she continues to bark. I’m hopeful it will stop….but so far, not! It would be ideal to go in a praise, but as soon as she has the slightest inkling that you are near, she’s quite. Mowers on, she’s quite….it shuts off, she barks. Honestly, this girl has stamina!!

Not pulling on a leash is another ‘right up there’ in my book. Not that we have much opportunity out in the county to ‘go walking on a leash’, but it’s important. I don’t know how people do it. When your dogs are pulling hard enough to win you the Iditarod, how can that be fun, or pleasant? Nettle wears a head halter when we are in situations that I can’t control her reinforcement. I do not use it to yank, or pull on it, as this should not happen if I’m attentive. The idea is to get ‘rid’ of this as soon as possible, in the mean time, reinforcement comes from the handler, not the environment. The “Red Light/Green Light” game worked wonders for Seeker, but Nettle is NOT a Border Collie. (that’s material for another post!!)

Socializing is not a biggie on my list either. WHAT!!! Okay, I do not want our dogs to be afraid of people, or other dogs. I don’t necessarily want them ‘running up and pouncing’ on every John, Dick, and Spot either! I love Michael Ellis’s approach to puppies in a new environment, and people. It’s about YOU (the handler), not about that scary shape in the corner of the dark building, or the large man in the hat. Bring the puppy into a new environment, play some games, and leave. Do that several times, so they know when they get to a new place, it’s about YOU, not about ‘what new fun friend’ or ‘what scary object(s)’ they might find.

How often do you go to class, and your dog immediately wants to go visit with your friends, or their dogs. I’ll admit, that’s very cute, but is it the behavior you want to nurture. Do you then get angry or frustrated when it’s time to ‘work’ and your dog still wants to visit? Who’s fault is that?

The majority of the time, Nettle works for her meals. Not necessarily a lot of work, but something. Why? Building value for working with me, is one very important factor. I’m also learning how she learns, and she’s learning to learn. How cool is that! I think so many people miss out on this amazing training opportunity. What a waste of perfect good food!

I had a friend tell me once; when I said, “Nettle could visit when we were done training.”, that “I was mean, poor Nettle”. Mean? Maybe? Structured, YES! I do not want Nettle to think its okay to just go off and visit whenever the opportunity presents itself. I’ve seen too many PWDs running up and down the beach during their water test. I don’t want her, to be one of them. Will this guarantee that won’t happen? No, but it will sure increase the odds that it won’t.

Not to worry, Nettle found a couple laps to sit on, and a couple puppies to play with over the weekend. Those opportunities were on my terms however, not on hers. She spends class time in an xpen, and is perfectly quite and gets attention from people and dogs alike. She's great at the vet's, yes, even though she is shaped, she can be touched! Shaping doesn't mean you never touch your dog. I'm not sure how that rumor got started?

She has plenty of free run time in the yard at home, with the two Border Collies, and an occasional cat or two. She loves to jump, bite, play in the pool, get dirty and just be a puppy.

She doesn't even think Seeker is a "Freak",

even when the rest of us do.

Bottom line, you need to do what’s best for your puppy. You also need to keep in mind what ‘freedoms’ you’re giving him now, could ‘bite’ you down the road. You can’t have the puppy doing whatever it wants for the first 9 months of its life, and then expect it to change its behavior overnight. That’s not only unrealistic, it’s unfair.

Mold your puppy into the dog you want it to be.

The confident, well adjust, dog you want!

The best time to do that is from day one!

Now….where’s the pliers, so I can pull the rest of those teeth!!! VBG

Shaping To Help

2011-08-10T14:04:00.002-05:00

Shaping is really a great way to mold desired behavior. Some times it might even be for the animals own welfare. Granted, we can all physically touch, or restrain our dogs.

But....what if you couldn't??

I know there are strong views on zoos, this post isn't about that.

It's about how shaping is used to help care for these animals.

Pretty interesting stuff.

Thanks Marsha for sharing!
I know you are going to want a new target stick!!!

Did someone say MEATBALLS!!

Nettle - 4 Months....

2011-08-09T17:08:00.000-05:00

These are a few of her favorite things!

(We couldn't get Seeker's tail on the table)

Challenges -

Coming when called.

Keeping 4 feet on the ground when greeting.

Walking on a loose leash.

Being quite in her crate.

Leaving Seeker's tail alone!

Down Position.

Free Dog.....Needs Room to Run.....

2011-08-08T09:29:00.001-05:00

REALLY?????

I just love those newspaper ads!

So, this morning, I put the 'dogs' outside

to RUN, while I did some 'purging' upstairs.

Looked out the window to

'watch them run!'

SERIOUSLY!!

Could just ONE of you

show a little effort????

I think they are just waiting

for me to put a sofa out there

for them to lay on.

My dog is a thinker……….

2011-08-04T16:18:00.001-05:00

and he doesn't like to be wrong.

If I had a dollar, okay - $100, for every time I heard this,

I would NEVER have to work again!

On the flip side, how many people will say, “My dog’s as dumber than a box of rocks.”

I would bet, not often. Hopefully, never from you.

So, dogs are thinkers. That’s great news!

Here’s another thought. If your dog is a thinker, and doesn’t like to be wrong……

how do you suppose he knows he’s wrong? Who defines ‘wrong’?

How does the dog learn that he is wrong, and that wrong is bad?

Wrong, is defined by the trainer - that would be you.

Whether wrong is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is also defined by you.

So, something else to think about…... What if being wrong was okay?

What if being ‘wrong’ just meant ‘try again’. Wouldn’t that be AWESOME!!

That’s really what I love about clicker training tricks, or shaping behaviors.

The dog keeps trying different things (even if he is ‘wrong’) to get the reward.

He tries the ‘wrong’ things, with just as much enthusiasm as the ‘right’ things.

Remember – right or wrong is defined by the trainer.

After awhile, the ‘right’ things just happen more often,

because that’s what's being reinforced.

When he's ‘wrong’, he don’t stop trying!

It’s AMAZING!!

Positive reinforcement, withholding the reward, or even

denying access to a reinforcer, is so easy!

This actually takes less time, and the behaviors are more reliable

than when trained with compulsion or ‘force’.

Compulsion methods often result in a dog that develops

‘learned helplessness’ (or shutting down).

The dog ends up saying, “Unless you do it for me, I just can’t.”

With positive reinforcement, you don’t get the stress licking, the pinned ears, and the low tail wag.

I’m not saying that the dog has zero stress, they do.

Just like any other animal that’s trying to figure out the answer, it is stressful.

They just react differently because they don’t fear the outcome if they get it ‘wrong’.

You also get better 'generalized' behaviors with shaping.

Some of the behaviors you can get from shaping are truly amazing.

A few of my favorites are Cougar sitting on the edge of a suitcase; Mad’s back up shuffle;

Seeker’s backing up onto a wall, into a hand stand.

If you can get these, why not others?

"I’m just saying…………"

Thanks to those brilliant trainers (Susan Garrett and Silvia Trkman)

for helping me ‘think outside, (or inside) the box’!!

You ladies ROCK!!

I Solemnly Swear That I’m Up To No Good

2011-08-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

Chasing Ducks, Chickens or Turkeys.

(Guess who's NO longer OFF leash!)

This is SO Naughty!!

I took a bucket of toys out to play with.

She dumped the toys out and took off with the bucket!

Got the bucket back, so she took off with a toy!

Filled the bucket with water to drink.

She promptly EMPTIED IT!

No, she's NOT drinking!

Took everyone out to swim at a local beach.

It's close enough to a road that I left Nettle on a flexi.

See picture number ONE with the ducks?

I might be dumb, but I'm NOT STUPID!

Nettle also loves EVERYONE,

so, I'm sure some of the sun bathers would NOT

appreciate a PWD puppy covered in sand on their abdomen!

YIKES!

Nettle's favorite pass time is pulling Seeker's tail.
Someday, maybe?, he'll tell her to stop it!
Right now, she doesn't believe he will.

Mad Dog 3/18/2000 - 7/16/2011

2011-07-25T19:13:00.000-05:00

(Photo by Marsha Kingsley)

It's so hard to say good-bye to one of your kids.

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to save them,

you just can't, and you need to let them go.

That's how it was with our Madeline,

AKA: Mad Dog.

We can only guess what caused her illness,

autoimmune disease we believe.

Mad had been involved in the Georgie Project,

http://www.georgieproject.com her whole life.

Her body was shipped to Utah for the necropsy,

(an autopsy on dogs).

This might give us some answers,

or maybe just more questions.

Mad was 11, not young to some people I suppose,

not not 'old' by our definition either.

I suppose Mad was lucky,

she never lost her sight, or hearing.

She never acted stiff, or sore.

She had a happy, healthy life.

Mad came to 'train' with us for some water work

when she was 2 years old.

Bill and I decided if she didn't get along with our

other PWD, Nina, she would need to go back.

They bonded immediately,

and were best friends.

Mad's first exposure to water wasn't a good one.

Mad in fact, was a very poor swimmer at first.

We took Nina and Mad out to the local pond.

This pond has a pretty steep drop off.

I tossed a bumper for Nina while Bill held Mad.

Mad was barking and honking (she had the funniest honk).

She was so excited and wanted to play!!

I had Bill hold Nina, and tossed the dummy

about 10' out. Mad leaped into the water with

reckless abandon, which became her trademark.

Unfortunately, both Mad and the bumper were now under

the water and all I could see was her white eyeball below

the surface. YIKES!!!

She was nothing if not resilient.

Hind site being 20/20, we would have

introduced her to water differently.

It didn't dampen her love for the water at all.

She LOVED water training & never failed a water test.

(Photo by Marsha Kingsley)

Mad taught us many things.

She showed us that it doesn't matter the age

of the dog, they can bond with a new family.

She would always let us know when it was supper

time, as she'd grab a toy and drop to the floor and

roll on her back. If you didn't take notice, she'd do it again.

She let us know that there's always time for a quick game of ball,

and that life was too short not to have your own cup of ice cream.

She loved to sit on your lap, and thought that

was where she should be. There were times

Bill never made it down to the sofa, before she was

already launching herself into his lap.

Mad didn't see any point to wading pools.

While the BCs would play, she was asking 'WHY'??

Mad was the official face washer of Seeker.

He would put his face in front of her to wash,

she was always willing to help out.

Mad was the most easy going around other dogs.

She was never confrontational, and got along with everyone.

We will miss you Mad.

We still can't believe you're gone.

If there is a Rainbow Bridge, I hope you are

there now, with your best friend Nina.

Hugs to you both.

"Don't Fire Until You See The Whites Of Their Eyes"

2011-07-19T14:00:00.000-05:00

We don't live on Bunker Hill!

We do tend to see a LOT of the white part of Nettle's eyes!

If you think it's scary here.....you should try living with it!

(Bonding with TONY!!)

She's the Queen of covering up the air condition registers with her body!!

What Is A Tug Toy???

2011-07-18T06:13:00.000-05:00

Nettle's Favorite Tug Toy

Have you ever thought about what a tug toy,

(or training toy) should be?

Does it have to be purchased from a store?

Does it need to be fuzzy and soft?

Does it need to have a handle?

Does it need to be a certain length?

Does it need to come in bright colors?

(Preferably Orange????)

The answer to all of the above it NO!

Nettle didn't 'come with' a tug.

In fact, she almost 'failed' that segment of her 'puppy test'.

(I'll say it again, I don't put much weight on puppy tests)

Tugging for her was/is a challenge.

"I don't feel like it"

"I'd rather have......"

These are just a few of the responses I got.

I had two choices.

I could give up and just use food,

or I could get creative and put some 'work' in to building a tug.

I strongly feel that tugging is very important in training.

So, the obvious choice was to put some effort into building it.

My first task was to decide what she found reinforcing.

She likes her stuffed toys, but those are for a "party of one".

She likes toilet paper, but, not very tuggable.

She loves paper, again, not very strong.

Plastic bags are a blast!

She loves to grab the poop bag at the end of the leash.

(Note to self - Check for holes before using!)

My plan at first was to weave a plastic grocery sack into

a long tug toy. This would give her something to tug on she likes,

and give the plastic bag a little more durability.

In the meantime, I happened to use the last paper towel.

Hum........

So, guess what I did with the empty roll?

I 'beat' the puppy, and she liked it!

A tug toy is born!

(Yes, I had to label it so Bill wouldn't throw it away!)

Otherwise I'd have to unroll a whole roll of

paper towels to get another one.

We kept the tug sessions very short.

We stopped when she was tugging vigorously.

We stopped when I said so, not her, and

I made a big deal of putting it away.

She'll now tug with it before she eats,

with her fresh chicken meat sitting right in front of her,

and she'll tug again after she's done eating.

Don't think the didn't take work, but it DID work!

So, if you have a puppy, or dog that won't tug,

maybe you haven't looked hard enough for what interests them?

This week we'll work on avoiding 'toy biasis'.

Then we'll work on 'tug any time, any place'.

Both of these are so important.

In the meantime, save yourself a little money and find a

tug toy your DOG likes....not necessarily what YOU like.

HAVE FUN!!

(Think how much fun a Christmas

Wrapping Paper tube would be!!)

Thank You Dawn for running Seeker today!

2011-07-16T17:31:00.000-05:00

Dawn agreed to run Seeker today.

She's never run Seeker, but she was willing to give it a try.

Seeker has ran with someone else a year ago,

so I knew THAT wouldn't be a problem!

I e-mailed her 'directions', the Do's and Don't's of Seeker.

As I looked at the 'incomplete' list, I decided

that I sure do have a LOT of rules!

For me, consistency is important!

Dawn did a FANTASTIC JOB!

They smoked Jumpers!

YIPPEE!!!

Standard, well....Seeker didn't follow the 'plan'.

I think, he might have testing Dawn a bit.

First he ran through the A-Frame, then topped it

off with a run through teeter!

Seeker was saying,
"You're NOT the boss of ME!"

Um, I guess he was wrong,

as Dawn carted his little black and white butt

back to his crate.

Good thing he's NOT a Great Dane!

GAME OVER!!

Hopefully she'll be willing to run him tomorrow!

Hey Dawn, see if he'll do his 'hike it' trick for you.

Sprinkler FUN!!!

2011-07-10T20:03:00.000-05:00

Got home from MN about 7PM.

Nettle was in an X-Pen all day....

TIME TO PLAY!!

Nettle and Seeker having FUN in the Sprinkler!

Seeker's NEW favorite GAME!!

I do wonder if Seeker didn't

"LOVE IT"

If Nettle would?

Hum....how much of behavior is

learned from mimicking other dogs?

Meet Nettle!

2011-07-04T18:07:00.002-05:00

A 12 weeks old black curly Portuguese water dog.

We've had her two weeks now and we've had a

heck of a time finding a name.

I really like the name Geilie, and

I still find myself calling her that.....

but, I'm sure I can be taught!

Presently we are working on –

Pivot or Perch work

Wrapping around a pole

Crate Games

Pottying on a leash – especially important for those of us that travel!

Basic Good Puppy manners

Tugging

Chase Games

Meeting new people, canines, cats and birds.

And “Being Quiet” in her kennel.

This ones seems to be her biggest challenge!!

Thankfully she’s quite in the van while it’s moving.

Seeker LOVES her!

Mad and Kruz think she could go back now!

She's able to find EVERY stick in the yard!

Seeker's Tail is taking a BEATING!!!

Our hoses are now all SOAKERS!

Thanks to the holes she's put in them!

Trust me, she is NOT bringing this toy to ME!

Party of ONE!

She's such a little FREAK!!

See Below!

You have NO IDEA!!!

We now need help with a Registered Name!!

It's from the "Q" litter!
YUCK!

I personally feel Q should be SKIPPED!!
Kind of like the 13th floor of the hotel!!

So HELP!
A couple ideas thus far....

Kalista's Quick Get A Net

Kalista's Quite The Catch

Give me a little SKIN!!!!

2011-06-26T12:47:00.001-05:00

Our contact pieces now have rubber skins over the aluminum sheeting!

Thanks to Jeff for helping us ALL DAY Saturday!!!

Master Designer and Einstein Extraordinaire!

Thanks you Marsha for coming over to help with

the A-FRAME!!!

You think they are happy workers?

It's the FUMES!

Actually they are celebrating the LAST

piece of skin being applied.

Jeff flipping and re-attaching the aluminum skin.

The old sanded/painted side is now underneath.

Bill is busy sanding down the old rivets.

Cougar is in charge of 'Inventory'.

The first contact applied to the teeter.

We started with the smallest piece first in order to 'perfect' our technique!

Some of the supplies.

The Teeter Seam!

The top plank of the dogwalk.

Sure is Purdy!

Jeff securing the dogwalk contact seam.

The slats were preformed in the rubber.

This morning, the seams all looked GREAT!

Here's the A-Frame with just the Yellow Contact Zone attached.

Jeff perfected the 'wax and freezer paper' application technique!

I'm confident we could do our next set in less than 1/2 the time!

World Masters Event - 1989

2011-06-23T15:39:00.000-05:00

Well, if you think you had a 'bad' weekend lately,

check out the agility's 'beginnings'!!

I'm pretty sure most of us could compete 'well' against these folks.

As Becky said to me, "We've come a LONG way baby!"

Kruz and Bill Earn their PAX!!!

2011-06-20T17:27:00.001-05:00

Kruz and his best friend, Bill finished his PAX

on Saturday at the ICDOC trial in the Quad Cities.

He'll be 'Grandfathered' in for his PACH

on July 1st, just a couple weeks.

Thank you Marsha for the DQs you earned last Fall,

and the CAKE - it was delicious!!!!!

Kruz turned 13 in March, and has been so fortunate

to have had an injury free career.

He'll continue to run in the JWW class for awhile,

and help the judges with their Judging!

His absolute FAVORITE think to do!

Confucius Says.......

2011-06-15T09:48:00.000-05:00

"I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand"

I wonder if Confucius was a Dog Trainer?

I often find that I 'hear' an idea and think to myself "What a great idea", only to forget to do it later on. If I 'see' someone actually doing it, I'm more likely to try it. If I actually 'do' it, then I understand it and will follow through. Well, most of the time.

"When anger rises, think of the consequences."

Maybe it's time to quit the training session?

Make a better plan so both of you can be successful.

"Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star."

Just because you've ALWAYS done it that way, doesn't mean there might not be another way.

Maybe it will result in a better outcome, maybe it won't.

Think outside the box and don't be afraid to explore others ideas.

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do."

Try and try again!

Always reach for those goals, whatever they might be.

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."

Okay, so maybe Confucius wasn't an Agility Competitor. VBG

Play Dead - A Trick

2011-05-06T08:31:00.000-05:00

Trick #18!!!

Play Dead!!

This is a very easy trick!

You can either lure, or clicker train it.

Since it's not very complicated, I mostly lured.

I did C/T for duration.

First, put your down in a down position.

If they will "Hip", it makes this trick even easier!

Seeker, doesn't 'Hip', but it was still easy.

Next, take a treat and push it toward their chest.

Here you'll need to watch for a weight shift,

reward ANY shift at first.

You are looking for them to lay on their side.

When you get a 'side', JACKPOT!!!

Once they are doing this consistently, you can name it.

I use "Bang", probably not terribly PC,

so pick any name you like!

Here's the video!

Finally, I can use some music I LIKE!

I figured you could live through 50 seconds of it!

Enjoy!!

Bobaflex

Bury Me With My Guns On

Walking on Your Feet - A Trick

2011-04-29T18:38:00.001-05:00

Vinnie and Marsha make another Guest Trickster appearance!

*Before you teach this trick, it would be really helpful if you have already taught your dog a couple of the previous tricks: start up position and foot targeting.

*Start out by teaching your dog to target one of your feet. It doesn’t matter if they put one or both feet on your foot. Click for any foot movement by them and jackpot and physical contact with your foot.

*Once your dog is reliably targeting your foot, put them in their start up position and click and treat for any foot movement – jackpot for physical contact.

*Your dog will probably start targeting one foot consistently. Once they are doing this, start C/T for any foot movement from the other foot. If you have a smaller dog, you may want to angle your feet inward a bit to make it easier for them to get up on your feet.

*Once your dog will reliably get into position on your feet, start moving your toes in your shoes (don’t move your feet yet). Make sure you are giving a LOT of rewards for this – it’s weird for them to have things move under their feet!

*If your dog is comfortable with you moving your feet inside your shoes, start shifting your weight a little from side to side. Once they are comfortable with this, you can start taking small, shuffling steps (reward often!!).

*Start increasing the size of your steps as your dog gets comfortable with the movement. Make sure the size of your steps is appropriate for the size of your dog.

*This is a great trick for getting your dog used to things moving under his feet!!

*HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!

Fun Filled Weekend!

2011-04-25T17:22:00.005-05:00

(Tracy and Export are in the tunnel)

Got back from Christy’s about 9 PM on Sunday evening

after a 4 days seminar with Tracy Sklenar, it was a lot of fun!!

The first 3 days I audited, watch, listened and took notes.

Boy, are those of you in class going to have FUN!

There are a lot of fun ideas that I just can’t wait to test you with!

New agility moves, the Sookie, Disney, LaLaLaLa, and firing your CANNONS!

Yes, there was a LOT of laughing!

Euro Day very enlightening!

What the heck was I thinking going to World Team Tryouts in a couple weeks!

I’ll definitely be more prepared after this seminar.

Some serious work on treadles, wraps and serpentine,

which is exactly what I needed!

Christy, husband Bruce, and daughter Brittany were fantastic!

Their property is breathtaking and the new baby lambs totally adorable!

Seeker had a blast running the trails on part of their 50 acres

with some of the other dogs.

He loves Tracy ’s dog Export,

and thinks he needs a border border jack jack of his very own.

The weather seemed to know which days we wanted to be inside,

and which we needed to be out.

I even came home with a slight sunburn!

If you ever have a chance to attend,

you won’t be disappointed!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from “Master’s Day”.

Our EXTREMELY serious Instructor!

(Tracy and Export)

Jill - Up and over the A-Frame!!

(Score and Nancy working the yearlings)

(Export having a little fun!)

(Hot Shot in the Weaves)

Wire Fox Terrier!

Just for Michele!!

and finally.....

(Mary had a little lamb)....

Um, I mean Christy!!

I'll get the rest of the pictures posted, but with classes, chores and such,

it will probably be this weekend before I get to them.

It doesn't help that they are spread over

2 different computers, and 3 different cards!

Part Two – Grab/Hold the Toy

2011-04-22T20:20:00.000-05:00

Seeker's Secret!!

You’ll need your dog, clicker, treats, the bar you used, and a toy. Begin your session with the bar, c/t a couple times for grabbing the bar. Now, switch to the toy, holding it in front of the dog and slightly off the ground. C/T if the dog puts a paw on it, you may end up starting ‘over’ a bit, similar to what you did with the ‘bar’.

You may need to ‘play’ a bit on what size and shape of toy works best for your dog. It’s going to depend on how your dog grabs and holds the toy. Seeker seems to do best with longer toys that have a bit of bulk to them. The stuffed toys with legs are a challenge, as the legs get in the way. With practice, I’m sure he can get there. So, dump out that tote of agility toys and experiment!! You might find some toys you totally forgot about!

If your dog is really struggling with holding the toy,

go ahead and switch back and forth between the bar and the toy.

It’s not a RACE!!! Have fun with it!

Seeker and are!!

Part 3 is Pending…..

so this will give you PLENTY of time to perfect “holding the toy”.

Grab the Pole - Part One

2011-04-15T20:51:00.000-05:00

This week’s Trick has multiple parts.

In reality, all the ‘Tricks’ have multiple parts;

or multiple behaviors that need to be learned before the

‘whole trick’ comes together. Sometimes, we forget this.

Back to this week’s Trick.
Remember the “That was EASY” button?

Hopefully, you either taught that trick, or your dog knows how to

target an object with his paw.
If not, you’ll to shape him to that first.

There’s a short segment on the video showing that.

The goal for this week is to get the dog to grab, and

securely hold a bar with a front leg close to his body.

Now we’re going to ‘generalize’
this paw/lid behavior to a bar or pole.

I’ve used both jump bars and in the video a weave pole,
so it doesn’t really matter.

So, you’ll need a dog, treats, clicker and a bar/pole of some kind.

The dog can be in any position, hold the pole in one hand with one end on the ground near the dog. C/T any movement toward the bar, even just looking at it counts at first. C/T with cookie near, or on the bar. Remember, placement of reward!!

You’re shaping the dog touching the bar, just like you did the lid.

Move the bar around to different locations so he has to reach for it, or move to get to it.

Once he has a good understanding of what you’re asking for, C/T for duration. In other words, we want his foot on it for a bit before we C/T.

Then raise the bar up off the ground a bit. Again, we’re looking for him to confidently put his paw on the bar. Be careful you or your dog doesn’t get hit with the bar! Seeker pushes and pulls pretty hard.

At this point you’re going to want to ask the dog to sit. You are going to place one end of the pole on the ground a bit more vertically than before, in front of the dog. You’d like to make it secure enough that the dog can’t easily move it. Again C/T any touches of the bar with his paw. For me it’s easiest to hold the bar in my left hand and the clicker and multiple treats in my right hand. Today we’re using our infamous mini marshmallows!!

When they are confidently putting their foot on the bar, be sure you are using your placement of reward to reinforce the desired behavior. At some point they will twist their foot in order to grab at the bar. JACK POT!!!

Remember Susan Garrett’s awesome “It’s Yer Choice” video!!

I dump my treats on the ground!

Yep….right there!!

As the get to gripping the pole harder, let him pull it into his body.

JACK POT!!

Once he’s really hanging on, give it a little pull.

Watch how Seeker pulls it back to him.

This is exactly what you’re looking for.

JACKPOT!!

That’s it for this week.

Part 2 – Will be next weeks Trick

Part 3 – That might take awhile.

Seeker doesn’t have that part down yet.

HAVE FUN!!!!!!

Sit up -N- Beg - Another Trick

2011-04-08T17:00:00.000-05:00

I know, you're probably thinking to yourself -

"What a Lame Trick"

Everyone's dogs can do this one.

Correct, but can they do it well?

Our little Bichon could 'sit up' forever!

It just came naturally.

Our other dogs, hum, 'not so much'.

I'm not sure if they just never saw the need,

or that I just never 'taught' it.

So, with Seeker I decided I was going to teach it.

Actually, I needed it for another trick,

and didn't think it would be a big deal.

I was WRONG!!

In order to 'sit up', your dog must have good balance.

A strong core is probably helpful as well.

There are several ways to teach this.

Some dogs, like Molly, just do it.

For Seeker I've been just asking for a sit,

then luring him up into a 'sit up' position.

He's MUCH better than he was,

but still has a long way to go.

Interestingly enough, his litter sister,

Shiver, can 'sit up' forever!

NO PROBLEM!

Maybe it's a 'girl' thing??

Michele showed me an interesting twist

with Cougar. She actually stands behind

him and lures him up. She can gently hold

his collar and let's him gain confidence by leaning

back against her legs if necessary.

Once he's comfortable with this, she'll

move her hand from his collar to his chest

in order to support him.

I tried this with Seeker, but

he apparently didn't trust me not

to pull him over backwards!!

SMART DOG!!

Either way, this is a good trick!

It's fun!

It's 'suppose' to be easy.

It helps with balance and core strength!

HAVE FUN!!!

Start Line Set Up - A Trick!!

2011-04-01T18:08:00.003-05:00

I really love this “Start – Set Up”. Why? I know where the dog is while the other dog is finishing the course. I can lead out from either direction and don’t need to ask the dog to change sides. If there is a delay after I have my leash off, I can simply drape it in front of the dog to hold him in position if he’d break. If I’m outside having a conversation with someone and can’t keep an eye on the dog, I have him “feet” (my word for the set up) and I know where he’s at.

This is the set up I’ve always used with Seeker. It means to him, “Wanna Play - GAME ON” – thus the song picked for this clip.

You’ll need a dog, and some treats. Clicker is optional; since I love my clicker I use it.

Begin with a treat in each hand, and your dog at your side, either is fine. I’m going to use left during this description. Your dog does not need to be sitting to begin. Using your left hand, stick the treat on the dog’s nose and lure him behind your left leg. As the dog is moving behind you, you’ll have your right hand between your legs to pick up the dog and guide him through. Reward.

It’s up to you as to whether you want the dog to start sitting right away or not. If you do, often just drawing the treat upward will result in a sit. Reward. Please be sure to verbally release your dog ‘before’ he makes the decision to ‘release’ himself.

You can work this from both sides if you’d like to. Once they are proficient at this you can name it. I use ‘Feet’, Michele uses “Start Line”, name it whatever you’d like.

You can then turn this into a game, at first staying close and rewarding the dog for coming into the “Start up” position. Then you can add some distance and speed.

Have fun!

This is ONLY A TRICK, but it is VERY Useful One!

'That Was Easy Button' - A Trick!!

2011-03-25T17:50:00.000-05:00

(Another 'Guest Trickster" -

If you'd like to be one, please contact me!)

Rudy was my first attempt at clicker or trick training and he was the perfect choice. However my methods were pretty much hit and miss.

I taught Rudy as a puppy to foot touch a mouse pad. Any time he touched it, I clicked and treated. Rudy figured out what the clicker meant and I figured out that silence on my part is sometimes good. He soon started stepping on anything lying on the floor (still does offer that behavior).

I named the behavior “hit it”.

I next started asking Rudy to “hit” different objects starting with my hand. It took a couple sessions to differentiate between a nose “touch” or a foot “hit.” But, I persisted and he figured it out. So now I could point out anything, say “hit it” and Rudy would hit the object with his foot………pylons and ring gates.

( It is his utility go out marker now. If I don’t say anything he hits the center stanchion and runs back to me. If I command a sit, he doesn’t get to “hit”, has to sit.)

Anyway………………… at school we taught him to hit the little bell to get the kids quiet. I put it on the floor, pointed to it and said, “hit it”. That was easy as it took a very light touch to make the bell ring, but the kids thought it was great.

Finally the easy button. The easy button was a bit harder as he had to hit, hold and release. It was just a matter of him trying and trying until he understood what he had to do to get the button to “talk”. As you saw on the video, he’ll stand there forever hitting that button.

I’ve attached a picture we took at school of Rudy with one of my students from a couple of years ago………special ed. Rudy and he got along famously.

That Amazing Kid and Her "Big" White Dog Too!!!

2011-03-22T17:57:00.000-05:00

Natalie finished Peach, her Samoyed's, AXJ on Sunday.

They also earned their first MACH points in Standard!

What's truly Amazing about this is, Natalie is 7 and Peach is 4.

Natalie has trained Peach all on her own.

She started coming out to class when she was 3 years old.

She is one remarkable KID!

Us Orange People, "kind" of like her!

We also realize it's just not physically 'safe' to be anywhere

NEAR her Me maw, Liz, while Nat's running.

You are likely to be squeezed, pinched, punched,

and then have your ear drums ruptured!

Yep, distance is best!

I'm pretty sure if all kids were as cool as Nat,

we'd all have one!

Here's some of the collection of pictures I have.

Those toddler legs just crack me up.

It's amazing how much she's changed in just a few years.

Peach is without a doubt Natalie's Biggest Fan!

GOOD JOB YOU NATALIE!!

As Natalie said after her Jumpers Q,

"Now I can start earning those MACH Q's!"

Without a doubt Nat. Without a doubt!

Seeker and I will be staying OUT of the 20" class for awhile.

Good Luck to the rest of you!

Catch a Cup - A Trick

2011-03-18T19:05:00.001-05:00

Sometimes “Tricks Happen”!!

What I mean is, you’re not even thinking about a trick, but then somehow, it happens.

That’s exactly what happened with this trick, it was just “MAGIC”!

This actually started in a hotel last fall. Bill was focusing on the TV, his Football games were on, and Seeker was focusing on his Poppa! “PLAY WITH ME!!!” Seeker had one of his new green Zanie moons, and wanted someone to throw it for him. Since I ignored him until he went away, Bill was his next logical choice.

Bill threw it a couple times, tossed it in the air a couple times, and then for some very strange reason started balancing it on Seeker’s nose. Crazy thing, Seeker just let him do it! Next think I knew, Bill was no longer watching the TV, he was playing with Seeker. That is one smart puppy!!!

Several months later finds us in another hotel room. Seeker is bored, but we’re both too lazy to go get him a toy out of the van. Next thing I know, Seeker finds my empty plastic cup and runs to Bill with it. I grab the flip, Bill balances the cup, and a movie is made! In one shot! AMAZING!!! He even caught the cup without crushing it.

To begin get a toy that has some ‘staying power’, meaning it will easily sit across your dog’s nose. You’ll need to play with this part, as every dog is different. Bill never said a word, and still doesn’t. Seeker just waits for it to be set, and he also decides when to catch it.

I would assume this would be fairly easy to switch to a ‘treat’ on the nose. We haven’t tried that yet. For a very food motivated dog, the toy would be much easier. At least that’s what I think.

Just play with it and see what happens.

If nothing else, you’ll get a few laughs!

Isn’t that what training is all about?

Having FUN!!!

Speaking of Magic!!

Happy Birthday Mad and Kruz.

Hugs to Mad Dog who turned 11 on the 18th and Kruz who turns 13 on the 19th!!

Happy Birthday Kids!!!