Under Pressure

This was supposed to go up yesterday, so let's just pretend, shall we?

Yesterday was Sadie's second ever agility trial. She and I both had a blast at the first one, so I was really looking forward to another fun day.

Up at 4:30am to take the dogs out. On the road at 5, leaving Maxwell whining in the bedroom. I wish I could have taken him, but I'm not comfortable enough at trials yet to handle two pups alone. I got to the trial site at 7, to find that it's an ENOURMOUS sports complex in a pressurized dome. There were two soccer games already in progress, a third field set up for two agility courses, two volleyball courts awaiting the morning practice, the crating area next to that, and a track around the whole shebang. Can you say madhouse?

I have to say I was very impressed with the mix of dog and non-dog people. Several kids wanted to pet Sadie, and each of them asked permission first. While there were incidents of bystanders staring into crates, craning over the visual barriers into the competition rings, etc, overall it went much smoother than I would have expected in that environment. Though one poor dog ran to the weaves, only to find a kid's head stuck between the tarps to watch! The little dog (Boston terrier?) froze, then started barking his head off at the intruder.

Sadie was a bit overwhelmed. She's certainly not yet comfortable in a competition environment at the best of times. After all, this is only her second trial. And I still don't know what I'm doing either. I took her out too early for the first run, so she stressed and began snarking at passing dogs. Though the run was less than stellar (flying off the dog walk was exciting), I was still pleased. We not only finished the course without her 'visiting' anyone, but she only got 3 faults. That's several less than last time! Plus she stuck the table, which was my goal for the run.

Jumpers was another story...

I had this course NAILED in my head. I knew exactly where I was doing what crosses and what my alternate plans were where Sadie might go astray. I had this course memorized to the point that I could stand in a clear space and 'walk' the course in about a 2-foot square. Sadie took the first jump, then beelined for the far side of the ring. No problem, I know she still wanders on courses but will come back. Sure enough, she comes sprinting at me at full speed with her crazy Lab face on. You Lab owners know the expression I mean. I turn into the course and encourage her to take jump #2. She nearly flattens me on her way past (in the wrong direction) and makes a spectacular jump... and lands outside the ring, in the crating area. I guess she was done!

While I am disappointed we didn't finish the second run, it wouldn't have been worth it anyway with her too stressed to enjoy it. I learned a lot about how to handle her at a trial, and she did a fantastic job considering the environment. Plus, Sadie handled the revolving-door pressure locks like they were old hat.

Now she can relax for a few weeks until the next trial!

Thing One and Thing Two

It's extremely helpful to know a bit about the history of any dog you interact with. That's part of what makes it so hard for rescue groups to place animals. After all, what if Fido over there was beat as a pup and is now a vicious attack waiting to happen? Of course, past results are not a guarantee of future performance.

Sadie was a stray, taken in by the dog pound in the middle of nowhere, IL. She had clearly been someone's pet once, as she would sit and shake on cue, and was perfectly housetrained. But she was skinny (62 lbs), scared, and clearly didn't know what to do with other canines. In fact, we ended up putting her in a prong collar simply to keep her from racing across roads to pin other dogs to the sidewalk with a snarl. Yes, that happened once. Perfect dog for a guy who never even had a pet before, and a girl who knew animals in general, but never had a dog. Right?

She has turned out to be the best first dog I could ask for. Yes, she took a lot of work. But I've probably learned more from her than the other way around. Let's just say that the agility instructor (now a good friend as well) recently told me that we were this close to being kicked out of class due to her behavior. Now she remains calm around other dogs when asked and is my budding champion. But more on that in later posts.

 A muddy dog is a good dog, right?

Maxwell is a totally different story. He is a breeder (I use the term quite loosely) dog, though his "ugly" coloring meant the WV farmer couldn't sell him. Thus the Aussie rescue was called to take him and two siblings away. Probably saving their lives. I was lucky enough to be contacted by the woman who picked them up. It seems the pups had never been handled by humans until the day she drove up.

Since the poor guy didn't get to experience much during his critical period, I find it wonderful how well he integrated into our home. While he consistently amazes me with his outgoing personality ("I just met you and I love you!"), he is also quite skittish. He will now hang out while we watch TV, but action movies send him scurrying to the safety of the bedroom. Petting is great, but restricted movement (hugging, cuddling, etc) are still suspect. So he's really quite soft. That said, show him a sheep and he'll show you what an honest-to-goodness working Aussie looks like, even if he is untrained. It's like meth, coke, and opium for dogs, all rolled in to one. He'll work the stock in beautiful circles until he can barely keep running. Just don't try to ask for a stop!

 Look mom, I found a goat!

So these are my wonderful doggies. We have come a long way already, but I know there's still much to learn. And it really is an adventure, trying to keep up with the little beasts!

It Begins

I was just cleaning up after some at-home training tonight, and decided that I should start a blog about my canine adventures.  It seems like a good way to share my thoughts and experiences, keep a record of my training progress, and maybe even get some reader insight. So here goes...

I work full time, 1.5 hours from home by train/walk/train. While that's not exactly ideal for a dog owner, I make do. My boyfriend and I have a 5-year-old yellow Lab and a 15-month-old Aussie.  Both are rescues. Sadie (the Lab) was about a year old when I got her for my BF back in December 2006.  Maxwell (the Aussie) was roughly 7 months when I got him from the ARPH last July. I'll try to post pictures of them soon.

I started agility training in the fall of 2009, when I decided that Sadie needed to work better with me (daddy's little girl that she is) and besides, why have a dog just to sit around? I was lucky enough to find myself walking distance from the PCOTC dog training club, and my adventures began.