Great Job in California Addie and Carrie!!

Addie, Carrie and Mike have safely returned from
the AKC Agility Invitational!

THEY WERE AWESOME!

We are so proud of them!
Not only for running extremely well,
but for their POSITIVE ATTITUDE
under less than ideal circumstances!

Not only was it stressful getting out of Iowa.
We were having a snow storm
with Blizzard Conditions!
They faced another type
of precipitation once they arrived!
RAIN!!!

Carrie sent some pictures along with video!

ENJOY!

The Show Site!

BUILDING ENVY!

Addie was REALLY thinking when she suggested that Carrie and Mike
get a room in a hotel right across the street of the facility!
SMART GIRL ADDIE!

Let's face it!
At these events.....
It's all about THE FREE STUFF!

Addie displays the "Rescue Tags" that
were issued by Aunt Rilda!
Carrie is a tad bit FORGETFUL!

RIBBON ENVY!
Let's face it!
WE HAVE IT!

Apparently Addie and Carrie
Couldn't get ENOUGH of the water
AT THE TRIAL!!!

Sandbags EVERYWHERE!

Is there really a DOG in THERE!

Follow the 'yellow brick road'??

Makes me wonder if this was a Portuguese Water Dog trial vs. Agility?

Anyone have a Paper Towel
I could borrow?

And Finally......
What to do if you have TOO much
WATER and TIME on your HANDS!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS Video!!!!

Today Bill helped me put together a
Christmas Video!!

The dogs were THRILLED as there
were COOKIES involved!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Four Feet In a Box

(Seeker and his "Red Neck" Swimming Pool)

I've had a few questions regarding the
'box work game'
that we played during puppy class.

I put together a little flip video.

I took this video by myself..sorry!
One hand on the flip, one hand using the
clicker and tossing the treats
that were piled on the floor.
(Yes, easily accessible to Seeker,
if he felt the need to dive for them.)
(He doesn't and didn't)

My placement of reward wasn't always
where it should have been.
I needed a 3rd or 4th hand!

You'll also notice at one point
Seeker picks up the box.
That means he wasn't sure
what I wanted, (he offered other behaviors)
and my rewards weren't frequent enough
for the behavior I did want.
Simply put it back or hold it for a bit.

I began with a rather large box.
I couldn't find the one I started with,
so I used this large tote lid instead.

I also sit on the floor while playing this game.

As your dog approaches the lid, click and
drop your treat "on the lid".
You're placement should be where
you want the dog.
Click = treat and end of game!

So, you progress to one foot,
click and treat.
Maybe two feet, c&t.
Your results will vary and is
dependent upon how clicker
savvy your dog is, and how good
you are about clear criteria.

The 3rd and 4th (especially) can be
difficult. You'll want to watch for
any lift of the 3rd or 4th foot and click that.
If they dog passes through the box
and the 3rd or 4th foot go in, CLICK!
You might think it was just an
accident, but they GET IT!

Now you're asking yourself...
"Why don't I just pick up the dog
and put him in the box."
EXERCISED FINISHED - GAME OVER! G

That's not the point of this exercise.
The point is to get your dog to
interact with you and think!
Here's the problem puppy, you solve it!

Now, there are other positives that
come out of this game.
You're dog learns more about
his body and how to manipulate it.
He's also learning to keep trying!
Being WRONG IS OKAY!
You're also building a great
working relationship!

Once your dog understand the
"big" box, you can down size.
SLOWLY!!

Seeker doesn't have a command for this box
behavior yet. I don't necessarily
"Love" the performance all the time.
I'll name it when I LOVE IT!
He's still a little frantic at
times and does a lot of foot shuffling.
Part of that is due to the cookies
(yes, I use Mini Marshmallows!)
that are flying all over the place.

Once I have a reliable '4 in the box',
I'll put a name to it.
If anyone has a great name,
Please let me know!

What I need to do is go back up a
couple sizes and get him to
hold all four feet in.
(Saying 'stay' or 'wait' is CHEATING!!!)
It MUST be His idea!

After he's solid there, then
I'll down size once more.

It's a great game to play when you're stuck inside
and your both suffering from
CABIN FEVER!

Seeker says, "IT'S NOT MINE!!"

(Suede and Puppy)

I heard from Dena, (Seeker's Breeder) today that she had
'puppies' last night.
Well, she didn't....Suede did!
It wasn't a planned breeding, well,
not this year anyway.
These things 'can' happen.
Suede is a fantastic agility and flyball dog.
Scorch is Seeker's litter brother.

There were only two puppies, both boys.
Unfortunately, only one survived.

Below is a picture of Seeker at 2 days of age.

Below is the new puppy.
Rather uncanny huh!

Luckily Seeker turned out cute enough.
I'm sure this puppy will too.
I do wonder if his ears will be up or down?

Good Luck in California Carrie and Addie!!!!

Carrie and Addie will be competing in the 4th Annual
AKC Agility Invitational December 12th and 13th
in Long Beach, CA!

The top 5 dogs of each breed are invited to participate in this Event.
This is based on the Top MACH Dog formula (Double Q's x 10)
+ MACH (Master Agility Championship) points
that dog earned during the qualifying period.

Carrie and Addie will be running in the 12" class
and I'm hopeful she'll keep us updated on her status.

The forecast in Long Beach for this weekend is in mid 60's and rain.
Sure beats the teens and SNOW here!!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!
Have FUN!!!
Don't forget anything!!!

ICDOC Trials

Home trials are always nice!!
You get to STAY HOME!!!

Not only that, we always seem to do well when we stay at home.
I'm not sure if it's because we all get to sleep in our
own beds or if it's that you're staying busy at the
trials, so you don't really have time to worry about
your runs.

The down side is that you miss watching
everyone else run as you're busy working!

I always enjoy watching those that I
don't get to see run very often.
It gives me an idea of where they are
in their training and what things we need
to work on for next spring.

Speaking of Spring...is it here yet?
We missed the snow this year!!
YIPPEE!!
Just by a few hours however.

Congratulations to all those Qs!!!
I know there were a LOT of them!
GREAT JOB YOU!

Here's a little video that
Carrie and Meme helped me
shoot over the weekend!

Puppy Class - The Final Chapter! TRICKS

Here's our puppy class picture!!
(I know, it looks like a boxer specialty!)
We took it the last night of class, just so all
of the puppies would be well trained!!
Isn't it AMAZING!!!

(Yes, that's Carol hiding behind her puppy!)

I truly believe one of the most important things
that make a great companion as well as
performance dog is your RELATIONSHIP!
If you remember nothing else, remember that!

The tricks you taught are a great way to
build that relationship and give your
puppy an opportunity to learn fun things!
It also helps them teach them "how to learn".

I feel you've all come such a long
way on building a strong relationship
with your puppies!
Keep it up!

One thing that I thought was
so impressive is the amount of
attention your puppies were giving you.
Even in a room with 7 other puppies!
RELATIONSHIP!!

You were SMASHING!!

As promised, here's the
spectacular puppy trick video!!






If we had 4 more weeks we would
have been doing THIS!!!
Who wants to join the circus with me!!
There is nothing more fun!
Than TRICKS!
Always train, like it's a TRICK!