Monday, February 4, 2013
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
And This Is Why You Listen To Your Dogs
We spent a long weekend up at the lake, enjoying the cool weather and quiet. We got home a bit late, so it was dark when we parked the car. I got the dogs out of the back, and Daniel went to throw the trash into the dumpster.
As soon as the dogs hit the ground, they got all excited and lunged towards the dumpsters. I told Daniel to stop, and tried to see what had the pups all excited.
I saw a furry black face.
"Is that a cat...? Nope, it's a skunk! Back off!"
Daniel got away clean, and the skunk went back to rummaging through the trash. I hauled in the dogs, and we skirted the far edge of the parking area.
And thus, the dogs saved Daniel from a skunking.
As soon as the dogs hit the ground, they got all excited and lunged towards the dumpsters. I told Daniel to stop, and tried to see what had the pups all excited.
I saw a furry black face.
"Is that a cat...? Nope, it's a skunk! Back off!"
Daniel got away clean, and the skunk went back to rummaging through the trash. I hauled in the dogs, and we skirted the far edge of the parking area.
And thus, the dogs saved Daniel from a skunking.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Ew
Maxwell finds an awesome sniffing spot.
Sadie joins Maxwell.
Maxwell decides he has to pee on the spot.
Sam gets to clean pee off Sadie's face.
Sadie joins Maxwell.
Maxwell decides he has to pee on the spot.
Sam gets to clean pee off Sadie's face.
Posted with BlogsyWednesday, August 29, 2012
Bellyaches And Rosettes
We went 4 for 5 on Saturday. There were only 3 event offered, and Maxwell wasn’t entered in T2B. Can you do the math…?
That’s right, Sadie triple-Q’ed! And… AND… Maxwell got his very first Q ever (in jumpers).
Sunday was great, too. Sadie got another T2B, and Maxwell got another jumpers Q!
End raving, begin long post.
Miss Sadie apparently got into something nasty between class on Friday and the trial, because she was a mess. She must have pooped 4 times on Saturday, plus a huge puke in her crate between runs. The poor girl was bloated and groaning to herself, but still wanted to play agility. I didn't realize it at first, though.
Before Jumpers, our first class of the day, I noticed that she wasn’t as interested in food as usual. She was happy to be with me, and ran the course clean but s…l…o…w. I decided something was actually wrong when I notices her grunting as she landed from each and every jump.
A kind fellow handler gave me a half dose of Metronidazole to help settle her stomach. I decided to run her in Standard, but pull her off the course if she seemed in undue discomfort. She was still grunting, but seemed a little more energetic and alert. Another slow-and-steady Q.
I would have scratched Sadie from T2B, but the bloating was somewhat reduced and she had perked up just a little bit more. Plus, she seemed to be happy on course regardless. I’d hate to drag her to a trial, let her play half the games, and then be a spoil-sport. Less grunting, more wagging, and yet another slow Q. At least she was clean!
I was worried that a tummy ache might cause Sadie to drop bars. In fact, I completely re-thought my usual handling to adapt to her reduced speed and to keep her jump approaches as straight as possible. That meant zero rear crosses and tons of early information for all the front crosses. And I didn’t charge the lines like I usually do. (Though I did resort to cheering her on in Standard, when she plodded her way through
the weaves.)
Maxwell was a bundle of nerves for his Standard run. I lost him over the very first jump. As he was in the air, I could see his posture shift – ears back, head low, carriage flat. He practically flew across the dogwalk, and the rest is a bit of a blur in my mind. Mostly me calling him, him racing around, then me thanking the judge and carrying him out. He still got half a jar of baby food as a reward for trying, of course.
Before Jumpers, I decided to try being super calm when I got Maxwell out. I realized that my own jitters probably got telegraphed to my little guy in his first run, making him more nervous. I asked for lots of high-value behaviors while we waited, kept my voice low, and kept him from interacting with other dogs. I was rewarded with a beautiful Jumpers run – one refusal, earning him a Q! Remembering how I’d scared him at the last trial when we ended a run together, I just quietly let him walk with me to his leash and gave
him a soft “good boy.” Poor thing definitely expected me to be scary again, because he flinched slightly when I called him over, but quickly realized I wasn’t going to grab him or make loud noises.
On Sunday, Sadie was feeling much better. Wiggly, grinning, and snatching treats from my hands with her shark teeth.
She should have had a nice Jumpers run, but I didn’t connect enough after a tunnel and she did an “ass pass,” or un-cued blind cross. Since that caused her to pick up a refusal and a wrong course (back-jumping to reset), I decided to just push her limits. I ran the lines hard, walked backwards for part of her weaves, and generally made her have to keep up with me. Another refusal and a knocked bar, but we couldn’t NQ more, and it was worth it to use the opportunity to proof her at a trial.
Standard ended up much the same as Jumpers, though I managed to catch her before she could back-jump, and we kept the bars up. I realized half way through, though, that Sadie was glued to my side. Now, she’s never been very good at lateral distance, but I could usually get five or six feet on a clear line of jumps. Nope. Two feet was enough to pull her off, no matter how much I supported the line. Again, since we’d NQ’ed, I proofed her weaves by walking backwards. This time she pulled out of the weaves, but we finally got it on attempt #3. And as we came around a bend for the last two jumps, I could feel her pulling in to me, so I used my body to pressure her into the correct line. She adjusted sharply, but got those jumps.
Now that I’d figured out her issues for the day, I was able to adjust my handling in T2B to baby-sit every jump. Not something I like doing, but we got our 6th Q and another 6 points towards her title.
Maxwell’s Standard run was nearly a repeat of Saturday, with a few important differences. I made sure to keep quiet and calm as we waited, despite the screaming border collie in the room. We got through nearly 5 obstacles before I lost him, and the first 4 were very thoughtfully performed. He gave me perfect contacts on the dogwalk and teeter, looking to me for the next cue. He first took off at the weave entrance, somehow finding the tunnel that was facing away from us before returning to me. His weaves were manic, but wow can he move. I barely got him over the next jump as he careened by, and then he almost fell off the table due to momentum. Puppy-brain was gone after that. He flew over two jumps simply because they were in his way, took a right turn to skip the tunnel in favor of the A-frame, flew past the chute, over the final jump, and right out the gate.
As one person said, “Well, he definitely has the speed.”
I took my quiet and calm demeanor to the next level before Jumpers. I only asked for his absolute favorite behaviors (like TOUCH and DOWN), and we played a ton of the ‘Look at That’ game. He got nearly a full stick of string cheese before the run just for looking at other dogs. I made sure his leash was super loose before we walked in the ring so that it would come off easily. After I set him up, I used slow movements to unleash him, toss it aside, and take one small step ahead. My OK release was hardly more than a soft-spoken word. It all paid off. I managed to call him back from the refusal plane of one jump, then we had a run-by on another. The weaves needed two attempts, as he stepped out to alert to something half way through the first try. They were hardly fast, but they were nice. I used all front crosses to keep us connected, and he honored my cues beautifully. The very best part? At the end of the run I walked to the leash, opened it wide, and let him come to me. He continued to be calm, and showed no hesitation at being leashed.
Our second Jumpers Q.
Part of me is thrilled that he's doing so well in Jumpers. But the trainer in me knows that he’s really not ready for Open yet, so it’s probably best that he's mostly entered in Standard and T2B for a while. He can continue to mature in the ring before we get that NAJ title.
I am so proud of my pups.
That’s right, Sadie triple-Q’ed! And… AND… Maxwell got his very first Q ever (in jumpers).
Sunday was great, too. Sadie got another T2B, and Maxwell got another jumpers Q!
End raving, begin long post.
Miss Sadie apparently got into something nasty between class on Friday and the trial, because she was a mess. She must have pooped 4 times on Saturday, plus a huge puke in her crate between runs. The poor girl was bloated and groaning to herself, but still wanted to play agility. I didn't realize it at first, though.
Before Jumpers, our first class of the day, I noticed that she wasn’t as interested in food as usual. She was happy to be with me, and ran the course clean but s…l…o…w. I decided something was actually wrong when I notices her grunting as she landed from each and every jump.
A kind fellow handler gave me a half dose of Metronidazole to help settle her stomach. I decided to run her in Standard, but pull her off the course if she seemed in undue discomfort. She was still grunting, but seemed a little more energetic and alert. Another slow-and-steady Q.
I would have scratched Sadie from T2B, but the bloating was somewhat reduced and she had perked up just a little bit more. Plus, she seemed to be happy on course regardless. I’d hate to drag her to a trial, let her play half the games, and then be a spoil-sport. Less grunting, more wagging, and yet another slow Q. At least she was clean!
I was worried that a tummy ache might cause Sadie to drop bars. In fact, I completely re-thought my usual handling to adapt to her reduced speed and to keep her jump approaches as straight as possible. That meant zero rear crosses and tons of early information for all the front crosses. And I didn’t charge the lines like I usually do. (Though I did resort to cheering her on in Standard, when she plodded her way through
the weaves.)
Maxwell was a bundle of nerves for his Standard run. I lost him over the very first jump. As he was in the air, I could see his posture shift – ears back, head low, carriage flat. He practically flew across the dogwalk, and the rest is a bit of a blur in my mind. Mostly me calling him, him racing around, then me thanking the judge and carrying him out. He still got half a jar of baby food as a reward for trying, of course.
Before Jumpers, I decided to try being super calm when I got Maxwell out. I realized that my own jitters probably got telegraphed to my little guy in his first run, making him more nervous. I asked for lots of high-value behaviors while we waited, kept my voice low, and kept him from interacting with other dogs. I was rewarded with a beautiful Jumpers run – one refusal, earning him a Q! Remembering how I’d scared him at the last trial when we ended a run together, I just quietly let him walk with me to his leash and gave
him a soft “good boy.” Poor thing definitely expected me to be scary again, because he flinched slightly when I called him over, but quickly realized I wasn’t going to grab him or make loud noises.
On Sunday, Sadie was feeling much better. Wiggly, grinning, and snatching treats from my hands with her shark teeth.
She should have had a nice Jumpers run, but I didn’t connect enough after a tunnel and she did an “ass pass,” or un-cued blind cross. Since that caused her to pick up a refusal and a wrong course (back-jumping to reset), I decided to just push her limits. I ran the lines hard, walked backwards for part of her weaves, and generally made her have to keep up with me. Another refusal and a knocked bar, but we couldn’t NQ more, and it was worth it to use the opportunity to proof her at a trial.
Standard ended up much the same as Jumpers, though I managed to catch her before she could back-jump, and we kept the bars up. I realized half way through, though, that Sadie was glued to my side. Now, she’s never been very good at lateral distance, but I could usually get five or six feet on a clear line of jumps. Nope. Two feet was enough to pull her off, no matter how much I supported the line. Again, since we’d NQ’ed, I proofed her weaves by walking backwards. This time she pulled out of the weaves, but we finally got it on attempt #3. And as we came around a bend for the last two jumps, I could feel her pulling in to me, so I used my body to pressure her into the correct line. She adjusted sharply, but got those jumps.
Now that I’d figured out her issues for the day, I was able to adjust my handling in T2B to baby-sit every jump. Not something I like doing, but we got our 6th Q and another 6 points towards her title.
Maxwell’s Standard run was nearly a repeat of Saturday, with a few important differences. I made sure to keep quiet and calm as we waited, despite the screaming border collie in the room. We got through nearly 5 obstacles before I lost him, and the first 4 were very thoughtfully performed. He gave me perfect contacts on the dogwalk and teeter, looking to me for the next cue. He first took off at the weave entrance, somehow finding the tunnel that was facing away from us before returning to me. His weaves were manic, but wow can he move. I barely got him over the next jump as he careened by, and then he almost fell off the table due to momentum. Puppy-brain was gone after that. He flew over two jumps simply because they were in his way, took a right turn to skip the tunnel in favor of the A-frame, flew past the chute, over the final jump, and right out the gate.
As one person said, “Well, he definitely has the speed.”
I took my quiet and calm demeanor to the next level before Jumpers. I only asked for his absolute favorite behaviors (like TOUCH and DOWN), and we played a ton of the ‘Look at That’ game. He got nearly a full stick of string cheese before the run just for looking at other dogs. I made sure his leash was super loose before we walked in the ring so that it would come off easily. After I set him up, I used slow movements to unleash him, toss it aside, and take one small step ahead. My OK release was hardly more than a soft-spoken word. It all paid off. I managed to call him back from the refusal plane of one jump, then we had a run-by on another. The weaves needed two attempts, as he stepped out to alert to something half way through the first try. They were hardly fast, but they were nice. I used all front crosses to keep us connected, and he honored my cues beautifully. The very best part? At the end of the run I walked to the leash, opened it wide, and let him come to me. He continued to be calm, and showed no hesitation at being leashed.
Our second Jumpers Q.
Part of me is thrilled that he's doing so well in Jumpers. But the trainer in me knows that he’s really not ready for Open yet, so it’s probably best that he's mostly entered in Standard and T2B for a while. He can continue to mature in the ring before we get that NAJ title.
I am so proud of my pups.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)