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.

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.

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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.

Vacation! The Road Less Traveled

We had one absolutely gorgeous day of warm sunshine and zero rain. We drove the pups about a mile down the main road to a trail. It was an easy three-mile hike to Little Woodhull Lake, not too hot and not too buggy. Both dogs wore their collars, just in case we ran across other people on the trail, and Maxwell dragged his long-line. He didn't really need it, though. They were incredibly well-behaved. They chased each other through the forest, sniffed stuff, raced circles around us, and only went out of sight a handful of times.

The pups were happy to see the lake. I unclipped Maxwell so he could roam more freely, and Sadie ended up chasing him through the tall grass. It was over her head, so we caught her jumping up every few seconds to peer around for her target.

They came racing back covered in mud and grinning like maniacs.

My fiance convinced Sadie to do a few tricks in the water. It helped clean her off, and was mighty entertaining!

The rest of the trip was just as much fun. The dogs got to have their adventures, we got to play with them and relax. There were more short walks along the lake, generally ending with the dogs beating each other up along the shore. Sadie even made a new friend!

Ah, we will miss those lazy days. Sleep, eat, play. The hardest decisions were what to eat and where to play.

We were sad to leave, but look forward to the next trip north.

Vacation! Making A Splash

We drove up to my parents’ cabin in the Adirondack Park the day after the trial. I swear it takes the dogs about 5 seconds, from the time we release them from the car, to end up play-fighting in the lake. They were happy and full of the wiggles to see my parents. They investigated every room in the house. And, finally, they settled down with us on the deck for a late lunch.

We probably spent several hours every day playing by the lake. With the water level waaaay down, there was plenty of rocky shore for them to race along. It also meant an easy entry to the lake, all the better for fetching sticks and tennis balls.

Maxwell seems to have remembered his swimming skills from Maine, and was happy to plunge through the water in pursuit of a ball. And when he dropped it back at my feet, he’d dash back in to chest height in anticipation of the next throw. He ignored a loon in the middle of the lake, he ignored Sadie’s sticks, and he wasn’t bothered by the occasional boat passing by.
Sadie split her lake time between fetching sticks (then trying to eat them on shore) and stalking Maxwell.

Stick-wise, she seemed to especially love one that was as long as her own body. She snatched it from the water by one end, then swam ashore with it held forward like a cigar. Predictably, it caught on the ground when she reached the shallows and she was forced to adjust.

When she decided that chasing Maxwell was more fun, Sadie practically turned into a cat. She would adopt a hard stare, ears forward, tail out stiff, body slightly crouched. If Maxwell noticed her attention, she would crouch even more, and sometimes begin to creep forwards. As soon as Maxwell made a sudden move, it was on. They would fly along the waterline at top speed, leaping over boulders, ducking under the dock, sliding through the shallows to make 180-degree turns. Sometimes Maxwell would lead her up into the woods, and we’d hear them crashing through the underbrush. We could tell when Maxwell was done being chased by the snarls. Not bad snarls. Just the horrible-sounding noises of two dogs chest-bumping, tooth-clashing, and face-bopping in a sibling tussle.

If we were already up by the house when a chase started, they usually ended up doing laps around the place. We would either go up on the deck where it was safe, or watch out for our own legs as they whipped past. On each lap, we could first hear a rumble, then panting, then the actual footfalls as they blasted by. The heavy breathing would fade until they came around again. It made me dizzy just to watch!

They only raced off too far a few times. They would end up a few docks down the shore, or at a neighbor’s driveway down the road. Generally, we could just call them to COME. Sadie would come crashing back first with a sloppy grin. Maxwell would follow a minute or two later and ask for a tennis ball. Overall, we were very pleased with their attention to where they were and whether they had gone too far from us.

With all this running and swimming, the dogs slept very well.

Sorry for the poor quality.

It was dark, and Maxwell was under a couch.

Vacation! An “Excellent” Trial

Saturday, August 11, 2012 was the date of the best trial I’ve ever run with my dogs.

Sadie just finished her Open Agility title on the 5th with a very messy run. Wrong course? Check! Refusal? Check! Agility gods in your favor? Double-check! She missed her Open Agility Jumpers title that day due to being a complete goof, and missed Time 2 Beat because she dropped a bar.

But on the 11th, she was a machine.

We started the day with our first ever Excellent run on a very nice standard course. We were the first dog on the line, so I didn’t get to see anyone else run. It was beautiful. She moved like she was an extension of me, taking tight turns, crossing smoothly, and nailing her weave-pole entry at high speed. She actually carried on past pole 2 and into pole 3, but she clearly intended to stick the weaves. I called her out to fix it, and we completed the course to a round of applause. If you’re going to NQ, that is the way to do it.

See the fabulous Excellent A NQ here!

Next up was a nice T2B course for Sadie. Once again she had her head in the game, and we sailed through it for a 6-point finish. No hesitations, no disconnects, just a fast and smooth run.

Maxwell was up next for his re-introduction to trialing with a Novice Standard course. He has been an amazing little trooper at all the trials recently, giving me attention and not pestering all the potential four-legged friends. He didn’t disappoint me in the ring, either. I chose not to lead out, and asked him to hold all his contacts for a few seconds – both as a means of keeping connection. He was still certainly distracted by everything, and definitely a bit stressed, but he came back to me every time I called him. And if the A-frame was between us? Bonus! (He loves contact obstacles) I was busy keeping his attention, so I definitely lost track of the course a few times, but he ran nicely anyway. If it weren’t for the extra time on his little ‘detours’ it would have been a Q!

I feel a bad, though, about our ending. I’m so used to Sadie’s bouncy-happy-wound-up enthusiasm that I tried to celebrate the course with Maxwell a bit too much. I threw my hands up and said “Yay!” or some such, and asked him to jump up on me to be leashed. He flattened himself to the ground in response. Oops...

My little boy is growing up!

Sadie’s final run for the day was a very nice jumpers course. It had a tight section with several turns quickly followed by an open section for speed, but the whole course flowed. Apparently Sadie really liked it, too, because she finished clean in 28.8 seconds! For first place! For her Open Agility Jumpers title! There were two teeny tiny spots that I thought could have been better, but both were handling issues, not dog issues. Too much of a pull-up for a tight turn and a slightly late rear-cross cue.

Maxwell’s second and final run was a jumpers course. Remembering to temper my enthusiasm, and how well he responded to recalls in Standard, I tried to handle him firmly but quietly. He still went off on his own a few times. I’m pretty sure it was a sign of stress, not simply distraction. I could see him lower his carriage a bit and hold his ears back. But he was still willing, and he kept himself in the game. I was absolutely ready to end the run if and when he seemed too uncomfortable, but he was a trooper. We finished the course clean enough, with about 13 seconds of time faults. Not a Q, but a hell of a good run for my little guy!

To review:

• Sadie had a fabulous first run in Excellent
• Sadie flew through another T2B Q
• Sadie earned her OAJ title
• Maxwell was willing to play the agility game for a whole standard course for a near-Q
• Maxwell was able to stay focused through a whole jumpers course for a near-Q

I can’t help grinning every time I think about the trial. And I’m pretty sure my fiancé is sick of hearing how proud I am of both my dogs!

Vacation!

We just got back from a week off-leash, and are trying to adjust back to 'civilized' life. The dogs are still exhausted. They flop around the apartment, stretch every time they move, and don't really want to play.

Until I have time to write a real series of posts, let these fun photos hold you over!

Goin' after the ball

Hm... There seem to be treats up there...

An (Almost) Adoption

I took the pups on one of our usual morning routs today, armed with treats and poop bags. It's a nice loop. There are a few big grassy areas to sniff and 'go' on, some residential sections with lots of pee-mail, and commercial areas where they can pay better attention to me.

One stretch along a grassy spot has a plastic split-rail fence on one side, some flat grass beyond it for maybe 10 feet, then a hedge. Today, Maxwell suddenly dove under the fence and wouldn't budge. I stepped back a bit to give him slack, thinking he was pooping. He wasn't.

Maxwell had found a nearly-new tennis ball, bright green and electric orange, and he was damned if he wasn't going to have it. I let him grab it, and he happily carried it back under the fence to continue our walk. And he hung on to it. And he peed while carrying it it. And he looked around while carrying it. And he panted while carrying it. He was beyond cute.

The rare times he dropped it were for a vertical marking on a wall or to watch another dog. I just had to tell him to "go get your ball" and he'd snatch it right back up.

I think I've secretly wanted one of those dogs who happily brings a toy along on walks.

After a half mile or so he began to drop it more frequently. Then I had to encourage him to go get it again. After a few blocks of that, it was at the point where I had to kick the ball along for him to chase, grab, trot a few yards, and drop the ball. Finally, I decided it wasn't worth my effort, and I let the ball roll off next to the sidewalk.

Maybe some other dog will adopt it.

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Agility At The Olympics

My company has given its employees the ability to watch a live news feed of the Olympics on our computers. I’ve been enjoying watching the water polo, swimming, and other such sports of personal interest while I work.

I’ve also learned about some of the lesser-known sports. Did you know that pairs white-water canoeing is a sport? Neither did I. But it was incredible to watch. Fast-paced motion down the rapids, following a numbered course, threading themselves between posts, struggling to complete obstacles (“gates”) in both up- and down-stream directions… Wait a minute, this sounds like agility!

Source

 Source

As I watched the teams power through the course, I felt more and more strongly that I was watching some long-lost step-sister of agility. Imagine how in-tune the two paddlers must be? How instinctively they need to be able to read each others’ cues, mostly non-verbal?

The people in the canoe must be attuned to the movements of each other. The person in back has to read the slightest cues from their partner, like a head-turn, much like a dog read their handler (and visa versa!). While the two humans don’t actually make all the same motions, they need to work together towards a common goal. An agility dog and handler also need that strong working relationship and drive through the course. What happens if something goes wrong? Well, in both cases the team must adjust on the fly without losing connection, momentum, or drive.

Who knew the Olympics had agility?!

Silly Doggy

He dozed off with his paw on my toe...

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ClickerExpo 2013

Registration for next year's expo is coming up, and I heard a rumor about locations yesterday. Too good to be true, so I checked out the website myself.

In March, the expo is in Stamford, CT.

Yes, that's the Stamford, CT that is a mere 30-minute drive from home. No need to drive for two days each way to attend. No need to pay for a hotel (unless I want to). The potential to switch dogs from day to day.

I'm PSYCHED.

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Maine

The dogs and I are in Maine for a quick vacation. A whole bunch of my family are here, including an elderly (twelve-year-old) golden named Max. Unfortunately, my fiancé wasn't able to take Monday off. He's home alone, enjoying not having. To take dogs out to pee.

It turns out that Maxwell is actually a water dog. After watching big Max fetch in the lake for a while, he was more than happy to run in after a tennis ball. I had to un-clip him from his long line, because we was swimming out so far! He is now so enamored of this new game that he fetched for an hour and a half this morning, only stopping because I wouldn't throw the ball again.

Sadie has been a bit of a wuss. Just a handful of fetches, and she'd decide she was done. Mostly she would just go for quick swims to cool off. She also, however, started going down the road to see what people were having for lunch. So, she got tied up as well.

Big Max is a nice dog all around. Incredibly friendly, fine with the young whipper-snappers, and in surprisingly good shape. Sure, his hind end isn't what is used to be, but he was out there fetching in the lake for just as long, or longer, than Maxwell. Today I wasn't paying close enough attention, and he went off across the lake. After my uncle in a kayak. I had to swim out and coax him back to shore. Incredible for an old pup!

The highlight of the day? Sadie going for a ride in the kayak my dad made umpteen years ago. Which my uncle resealed with duct tape. She was happy enough to get in, but not entirely sure about being swept away from shore.

Sadie and my uncle, out for a boat ride. Old Max is swimming along side.
Photo taken by my cousin.

 

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Hot Diggity

It's been in the 90's every day for a while now. The poor dogs melt when we go outside, and they aren't getting the amount of exercise they're used to. Maxwell especially has been getting stir-crazy.

Today, I happened to be driving up to Stamford, so it was a quick hop from there to the Norwalk dog park. Despite the mid-morning heat, the dogs raced around like idiots. They ran through the pond to cool off, played with some other dogs, and got lots of sniffing done. 1.5 hours and a gallon of water later, they were ready to head home.

It's been hours since we came home, and they still look like this:

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Channeling Ken (Ramirez)

One of the things that has really stuck with me from the Clicker Expo was such a small thing. A very basic idea, but it sounded so simple and effective. It was the way Ken Ramirez, head trainer at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, moves through a training session.

He keeps sessions fast and streamlined. There was video of him with one of the sea lions. In it, he asked for behaviors every few seconds. On a success, the animal got a click, a reward, and a new cue. On a failure, he would pause for just a moment, really just a few seconds at most, then carry on with the session as before. No 'No Reward Marker' (NRM), no disengagement from the animal, just an instant of stillness.

Ken described it as giving the learner a chance to realize that there was going to be no reward, consider the events, and then move on without undue stress. An NRM can cause an animal to worry, or even shut down, if used inappropriately. And disengaging from the the session is pretty self-defeating, not to mention it leaves the poor animal wondering what it did that was SO BAD that the trainer doesn't want to play any more.

I had not consciously integrated this style into my training sessions before. Partly because I was afraid I would confuse the dogs, and partly because I wasn't sure I could be consistent with a new style. Tonight, though, it just happened organically. And you know what? It felt really good.

Sadie has a habit of throwing behaviors (and herself) at me when she gets excited during training. The little pauses seemed to give her a chance to re-collect and to re-focus. Somewhat less mauling and lots of successful behaviors resulted. Plus, she seems to like the fast-paced requests.

Maxwell is ridiculously alert and intense during sessions, but is also a very soft dog. I once accidentally shut him down with a gentle NRM (not even used intentionally). Using the slight pauses, though, seemed to really give him a chance to recognize a mistake without obsessing over it. We would simply move on to a few different behaviors and try again later. Often getting it right on the second try!

A successful training night, with happy dogs.

Warm And Fuzzy

I've got two heartwarming articles for you today.

The first is an excellent example of dogs' benefits to science. Who knew a Lab could smell whale poop from a mile away?!?! Even better, it sure sounds like the pooch was trained with positive reinforcement.

The second article made just a little bleary-eyed, thinking of all the animals this guy has helped rescue. Imagine modifying your personal airplane just so you can fly homeless pets around the country! Give this guy, and others like him, a medal. (Here's a link to the organization he flies for)

Trials Are Rough

Mmmmm... Strawberry!

Breeding And Animal Welfare

I can across a truly amazing BBC documentary, “Pedigree Dogs Exposed”, via the Whole Dog Journal. The entire documentary is available online here or via YouTube (in 6 pieces, starting here). I found the film eye-opening, to say the least.

The breed standards, and therefore the dogs being produced to show, have often seemed odd to me. Many breeds (Labradors, for one) are becoming stumpy, bulky versions of their ancestors. Consider the dog shown below at Westminster (2010):

Source: http://www.goldenmoonlabs.com/

For comparison, the dog below looks an awful lot like Sadie... and like I expect a Lab in general to look:

Source: http://www.savedbydogs.com/2011/12/labradors-english-bench-and-american.html

I find it difficult to imagine her bounding effortlessly through a field of tall grasses to fetch a downed bird. She seems to me, admittedly not an expert, to be too heavy for a full days’ work. And those short legs must get tired.

Different breeds obviously have different physical exaggerations, and therefore different health issues. And based on the documentary, it sure sounds like breeders in the UK truly believe that these mutations are in the best interest of the breeds. At the very least, they turn a blind eye to the long term view, focusing instead on winning in the show ring. Excess wrinkling, tightly curled tails, and droopy eyes win the blue.

What I hadn’t considered, though, were some of the more egregious problems. Basic health issues like the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel not having enough room in it’s skull to hold it’s brain. (Ouch!) Or the ridge on a beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback being due to a mild form of scoliosis. And imagine that this spinal deformity is the defining characteristic of the breed! The documentary touches on many other health concerns, but those two really stuck with me.

Another fascinating thing about the film was that it showed pictures and paintings of several breeds from 50, 75, 100+ years ago. Imagine my surprise to see daschunds with legs, bull terriers with normal snouts, and pugs with actual dog-shaped faces. The vintage images were absolutely recognizable as the same breed, but looked much more functional.

I recommend you also check out the associated blog. The prose can be over-dramatic at times, but it stops short of being alarmist. A critical reader will find much of interest and value in the information provided. I know I did!

 *  *  *  *  *

I wrote this post mid-day. By the time I got around to finalizing it in blogger and posting, this news came in from a friend via Facebook. The Kennel Club (European sibling of the AKC) has effectively banned merle-merle breeding in several breeds! This is wonderful news, and I hope to hear that the breed list will be expanded. To me, the most notable absence from the list is the Aussie.

PCOTC Trial: Final Thoughts

I’ve talked a lot so far about how I did, and how great my dogs were. But there are certainly other people who deserve mention.

Firstly, both clubs did a great job organizing and running a fabulous trial. I thought the judges were nice (and set good courses), the days went pretty smoothly, and volunteers were appreciated. And as a bonus, there were hand-wash stations outside the porta-potties all four days!

Next I have to thank the judges. Despite some grumblings I overheard during walk-throughs, I felt the courses were fair. Not necessarily easy, mind you, but fair. Both judges were patient with the new handlers. The gentleman in particular was very classy, congratulating people on Q’s and offering encouraging words those who didn’t quite make it. He also had a sense of humor, played upbeat music during walk-throughs, and was just pleasant to run for.

Last but certainly not least, I’d like to send some huge congrats out to all my agility friends who competed with me! From the veterans running for double-Q’s in Excellent to the woman trialing for the first time ever, everyone did a fantastic job. I saw a lot of smiles coming off courses regardless of a Q, which makes me happy. Even when the runs didn’t go as planned, I saw lots of great work in the ring. People were able to reconnect with sniffing dogs, complete obstacles that had been giving them trouble in class, and just have fun with their canine partners.

I was especially thrilled for a classmate who had entered just to expose her dog to the trial environment. She went in with a great attitude, realistic expectations, and a plan. She came out with a FAST Q!

Other runs of note include, but are not limited to:

• My classmate who kept her high-energy Beardie focused on the task at hand, barely knocking any bars (a big accomplishment for him) and not mugging her.
• A friend who got a slow-and-steady Jumpers Q with her young dog, getting him more energized than we usually see on course.
• Another friend with a BC who showed quiet leadership for his dog, resulting in a quiet, smooth run.
• My tent-mate taking on the challenge of her extremely scent-oriented dog, and getting him to take the teeter like it was no big deal (he had been refusing it for a while in class).

As Mr. Trainer constantly reminds me: the goal of agility is to have fun with your dog! Everything else is just a bonus.

PCOTC Trail: Days 3 and 4

Really the title should read PCNUT Trial, because Sunday was hosted by a Portuguese Water Dog club, but Mr. and Mrs. Trainer still did an awful lot of the work. Mrs. Trainer was the volunteer coordinator for the first three days. Mr. Trainer was the trial chair, and he was in charge of the equipment for all four days. Whew! Makes me tired just thinking about it! They did a truly wonderful job, though. Thank you, on behalf of all the weekend’s competitors.

The weekend turned out to be beautiful. Sunshine was welcome after a wet beginning to the trial, and the wind calmed considerably. I was able to go from long pants and two layers of sweaters to shorts and a T-shirt.

The dogs perked up as the trial grounds dried out. Neither likes wet paws, and Sadie and I both found the muddy footing a bit slippery. A light breeze and some big solar canopies helped keep the tent comfortable as the temperature hit the mid 80’s. I made sure they had plenty of opportunities to drink, and alternated which dog got to wear the cooling coat.

Open Jumpers was Sadie’s Saturday warm-up run. She still needed multiple attempts to complete the weaves, but we got through them… only for me to give her a bad front-cross. My motion and body language must have cued forwards rather than turn, because she happily leaped the double out ahead of the weaves, ignoring my shouts of Sadie. Sadie! SADIE! We completed the run otherwise clean and with a wagging tail.

My fiancé showed up to watch that afternoon, just in time for Novice Standard. I made him hide among some tents off the course’s visual path. In the past, Sadie has charged the edge of the ring to find him and/or spent entire runs worrying that he might disappear. I was determined that she wouldn’t even know he was there until after the run. And no pressure (hah), since I had already blown her title on Thursday! She ran beautifully, with just a pause after the very first weave pole. I’d have given her a refusal at one of the jumps, but her scorecard came up clean. First place and her title, with her human watching!

She was ecstatic to see him after the run, nearly ripping the leash out of my hand to charge up to him.

Novice FAST was the last course of the day, and the pup was hot. I kept her in the shade as much as possible, and my fiancé hung out with us. She kept her focus on me (and the hotdog bits, cheese, and buffalo jerky). I could certainly have taken more points, but I didn’t want to push her too much physically. A rock-solid Q and second place was enough for me! And to Sadie’s immense credit, she ran like her other human wasn’t even there. Not a single off-course glance, and all she wanted was her treats as we ran out.

Sunday brought us a lovely, flowing T2B course. It felt incredibly long when I walked it, though it was only about 18 obstacles, but ran beautifully. Sadie gave me all 12 weaves, clean jumping, and her heart in the game. We ran like a real team, and were rewarded with a Q. Our first ever in T2B! 14 more Q’s and 93 points to go…

We moved up to Open Standard that morning. The course was fun, and highly reminiscent of the previous day’s Excellent course. In fact, Mr. Trainer was convinced that the wrong course had been set up while we were walking it! My girl ran well, but didn’t feel like weaving and back-jump a bar. To be fair to her, that was her 11th run in four days and it was hot. She was moving noticeably slower that on day 1, but still responsive. In fact, she near ran by one jump, screeched to a halt when I shouted to her, and took it cleanly from mere inches away. I heard a spectator say ‘Nice save!’

With Open Jumpers last, Sadie was pretty much done; mentally, physically, and emotionally. She was still taking cues from me, but her reaction time was down and distractibility was up. She was starting to lunge at other dogs, though with no apparent malice, probably out of tired habit. I was happy with the run overall even without a Q. Plus, I got to entertain everyone at the weaves. Yet again, she did not feel like weaving. This time she found a smelly spot right by pole #3. It looked like she was going to eat some blades of grass, so I told her ‘No grass!’ just as she dove into a shoulder-roll!

After four days, I was very happy with Sadie’s performance. She had 11 great runs (sorry girl, Standard on Friday stank) and four Q’s. She completed her NA title, and is one more leg away from NF. The 7 good runs that didn’t Q still made me happy. I feel strongly that the issues we had were honest mistakes on both our parts (mis-cues and ticked bars) and a training issue (better, independent weaves). Those we don’t always run perfectly, I think she has truly earned her place in Open. I’m proud of my girl:


Sadie NA, NAJ, NAP, NJP, CGC
Poor Maxwell didn’t get nearly as much attention as I’d hoped. I kept getting pulled in for more volunteer work, like gating and setting bars. Especially by the end of the day, people stop offering to help. I had planned to not work at all on Sunday, and spend all the down-time with my boy. Instead, he just got one decent outing and a few quick potty walks. Despite being cooped up so much he remained very well-behaved. He didn’t pester competing dogs as we walked around. He didn’t jump up on anyone that wasn’t inviting him up. He gave me good focus in exchange for string cheese.

I’m still glad I’ve stopped trialing him for a while, but his excellent behavior gives me hope. When indoor trials start again in the fall, I may consider entering him in Standard again. We’ll see. In the meantime, he gets to be just my good little man!

PCOTC Trial: Intermezzo

Knowing that I was going to be outside for four days, and the pups would need some shade, I did the only reasonable thing. I bought a tent!

It's technically a screen-house. It doesn't have a floor, but is wonderful shade and lets a breeze through. It only weighs about 14 lbs, and is the size of a very small duffel bag. So easy to take along!

I had help putting it up, but I think I'd be able to do it alone. Especially now that I've had practice once. It's nice and roomy. In fact, I shared it with a friend and her dog for three of the days.

 
I had to put some sun blankets on it to keep it cool enough for furry bodies, but it was great. Nice place to relax in the shade. And when I had some extra time, I could zip it up and let the pups loose to relax with me. They preferred to sleep on exposed dirt when available, though I had a mat covering most of the ground.

Love it!

PCOTC Trial: Days 1 And 2

Author's note: My video uploads are taking forever, so please check back soon for links to the rest of Friday's videos!
All videos now available. Enjoy!

Sadie has come incredibly far since we started agility. It's hard to believe that we are now running fast and (mostly) clean courses so often... and we can do it outdoors! PCOTC puts on a wonderful trial, and Sadie is having a blast.

Yesterday we started off with an extremely respectable Open Jumpers run. She ran around one jump, finding something interesting to sniff. Of course she had to back-jump it to come back to me and take the bars down with her. But really, everything else was exactly what I asked for, so I can't complain.

She then had an impeccable Novice Standard course. Well, except that I thought she had cleared the final jump and threw my hands in the air in celebration. She went "What?", her hind end dropped, and the final bar went with it. 1,000% my fault. To make me feel even worse, she would have placed first for her Novice title if I hadn't messed her up! I know better than to celebrate early, but I guess this was a practical learning experience.

The final course of the day was Novice FAST. She had a solid if not especially flashy run. She happily took the send (woo hoo!) and bagged plenty of points. A refusal on the weaves, but I decided that the wasted time wasn't worth it, and we ran out for first place.

Today's first class was T2B. Like yesterday's Jumpers run, it was nearly perfect. We almost got the weaves on our first attempt, reaching about pole 11 before she popped out. And she ran with enthusiasm. So much so that she managed to run around my front cross before the last tunnel, charge behind my legs (nearly knocking me down) and race into the correct end of the tunnel anyway. She couldn't collect enough on her exit, though, so she took down the next bar. Very pleased with the run anyway.

Novice Standard was a bit of a mess today. She took down a jump (not a bar, a whole jump) so I decided to challenge her. I charged the dog-walk entrance to see if she would take it. Nope. I rear crossed the weaves. Fail. Hardly mattered though, since we'd already NQ'ed. But now I have some things to work on in class.

Open Jumpers (part 1 and part 2) today was a nice little course. I liked the flow, and thought it a good challenge. Sadie needed her two tries on the weaves, and then didn't/wouldn't/couldn't follow my front cross into the next jump. With me screaming her name, she instead took the double out ahead. Argh! Otherwise a gorgeous run.

Maxwell has been extremely good at the trial. I try to get him out and about with me between runs. He has been polite to other dogs and people, offering lots of eye contact, and generally being a very pleasant little guy. I know he wants to go out and run with the other dogs, but I just don't trust him to be aroused, off-leash, and outdoors. Yesterday he got to play a bit with a friend's BC puppy, and I put him on a long line to play fetch. Today we went for a walk along the back side of the trial area, and played fetch off-leash after most people had left for the day. So I think he's happy!

PCOTC Trial Sneak Preview

Today started the annual agility trial held by my club. Sadie is running everything, so I'm super excited!

I have lots to say about day 1, but I'm too tired to write much. Instead, here's a great cell-phone pic of my girl courtesy of Morgaana Photography. Here you see Sadie winning Novice FAST.

Not A Garbage Brain...

We've been happily using the new lock on the cabinet the garbage is in. So when my fiancé went to throw something out this evening, this is what he found:

Yep, that's chew marks and slobber

He blames me for teaching her how to think and problem-solve. I just think it's awesome that she so quickly figured out exactly what was keeping her from tasty trash!

And we hope she doesn't, you know, chew it off.

Trash Talk

So...

Sadie got into the trash again Friday night. We went to a movie, and came back to a full bag-worth of garbage strewn about the kitchen and living room floor. Meat packaging, spinach leaves, coffee grounds, and more. Ick.

Figuring we must have left the cupboard ajar, or she got it by dumb luck, we cleaned up and went about our business. Saturday we went out in the afternoon. And returned to more garbage on the floor. Yay! At least there wasn't too much this time, since there was only about 12 hours' worth.

My fiancé did errands today, and got these:

Both are on the cupboards doors where we stash the garbage and recycling. Think they'll hold?

 

Not Gettin' Up Today...

Too comfy in bed!

 

Boarding Blues

We went to Wisconsin for the weekend, hanging it with my fiancé's family for a first birthday party. I wanted to take the dogs to class on Friday night, so we had to take a super early flight Saturday morning. That meant our regular short-term boarding facility was closed.

An agility friend was kind enough to provide doggie taxi services. He lives near us, and had class Saturday morning anyway, so he was to pick the pups up after his class and drop them off at the kennel. Poor guy ended up not feeling well, but drove over for the dogs anyway. Thank you, DL!

So the dogs are spending Saturday through Monday at Best Friends Pet Care. They are kenneled together and get a few hours of group play each day. What drove me crazy when I set up the boarding, is that I had to pay extra for the dogs to go outside to potty! Are you kidding me? I have zero desire for them to learn (or re-learn, in Maxwell's case) that going to the bathroom indoors is acceptable.

Sadie isn't the biggest fan of group play, but does okay. I'm guessing Maxwell is having more fun. Hopefully he found a few really well-matched friends to run and rough-house with. I any case, the dogs seem to be doing well enough. The kennel sent us a picture of them during play time.

It looks like Sadie is saying Please take me home? You can see Maxwell in the background, tail high, looking happily alert.

I pick the pups up tomorrow after work. They should be bathed, nails trimmed, ears cleaned. And Maxwell is getting his feet trimmed. Bye-bye furry toes! Neither dog loves being groomed, but Sadie was getting a bit smelly. And they both needed some serious fur removal. Hooray for shedding season, right?

I miss the doggies, and it'll be quiet in the apartment tonight.

Weeeeee Are The Chaaaaaampions My Frieeeeeeeend!

I can't believe it's been nearly a MONTH since my last post! Actually, I guess I can. But I've got so much to say, and just been ridiculously busy. I guess I'll start with current events, and work my way backwards (ish) in future posts.

We had a lovely trial Saturday and Sunday in Goshen, NY. The site is a huge (and beautiful) horse farm, with the ring set up in their indoor riding ring. Sadie had run their once before, way back, but it was a cold and rainy day. This weekend turned out sunny and warm, but not too sunny or too warm for the most part. Just perfect agility weather. I had no voice, due to being rather ill, but enjoyed things nonetheless.

Maxwell was just in Standard both days. My goal for him was to work well near the ring, take two or three obstacles once on course, and leave the ring together. With that in mind, he was brilliant. On Saturday he took the tire jump, a bar jump, said a quick hello to the table, then ran the teeter for a perfect stopped contact. I thanked the judge and carried him to his leash, running out for a huge reward. Yay chicken!

On Sunday I had plan A (tire, teeter) and a plan B (tire, teeter, bar jump, A-frame). I would choose on-course based on his focus, and either way we ended on a contact, making him an easy catch. He decided to run plan C... the first seven obstacles. I only let him past the A-frame because he was dead-on following my cues and had relatively relaxed posture. It was only once we zipped through the chute that puppy-brain kicked in again, and he careened past jumps to eye the table. I asked him to TOUCH, and he did an about-face, ran to me, and let me carry him to his leash. Good boy!

Sadie had a beautiful Standard run on Saturday, flowing through the course and following my cues perfectly. Oh, except that bar she ticked down. The first one of the course. Drat! Sunday was worse, with her going all goofy on course. Wrong end of the tunnel! Back-jump the broad jump! Take it the right way, but diagonally! And knock over the standard! Wheeeee! So, no NA title for her this weekend.

Sadie's jumpers was quite another story. The Novice course on Saturday was nice and flowing, and she nailed it. No faults, well under time. She has a nice shiny blue ribbon and a NAJ title! That meant she moved up to Open for Sunday's run. It was a beautiful course, with many lead changes and a weaving rhythm to it. She ran like a dream. We used all rear crosses (must have been six of them) including the weave entrance. She got a single refusal at the weaves, having stuck the entrance but then seeming to get confused by the rear cross. And she was 0.1 seconds over time. That still got her first place, and her first Open leg!

 Ok, technically two shiny blue ribbons, but one is for her new title

A quick pat on the back for myself: I think that was the first time I've walked a course and not just considered front vs rear crosses, but verbal vs non-verbal rear crosses. I'm finally getting skilled enough to effectively use Sadie's different responses to verbal and non-verbal cues.

I'm extremely pleased with both pups. They ran beautifully, despite me not feeling great. It can't have been easy for them to get used to my raspy, harsh voice so suddenly. And it meant I couldn't use volume to communicate urgently with them. They just kept with me, and followed my physical cues. I LOVE those dogs!

A Bitter-Sweet Reminder

I was trying to find something in my email archives the other day, and came across a picture of Maxwell's namesake.

Max the cat was the absolute best animal you could every hope to be loved by. Adopted as a kitten when I was about 9, he had to be put to sleep the fall before I got my Aussie. He'd been living with my parents, since he was too old and frail to move with me (and my man is WAY too allergic).

Here's the original Max in his final years, as photographed by my mom.

Little Maxwell, you have big paw prints to follow. But you carry the name well.

A Quick Update, Post Vet

I mentioned in my Winter Wonderland posts that Sadie had a large bump between two front toes. Her other human took her to the vet two days after getting home (the soonest we could get) to be inspected.

The vet took a blood sample, and had the same reaction as me: odd that there's no pus. She ran several tests, for infections and other evils, and put her on broad-spectrum antibiotics in the meantime.

The lump shrank noticeably within a few days. In less than a week, it was down to perhaps 30% of it's former size.

The tests came back clean for systemic problems (you better believe I was worried about cancer) but positive for bacteria. She had a staph infection.

The good news was she was already on the right meds. By the end of the two week course, the bump was completely gone. She is still clear, and there are zero signs of any lingering infection.

Yay for veterinary science!

Winter Wonderland: Part 2

We had a break in the good weather on Thursday. It warmed up considerably, hitting the mid to high 30's. The snow was slowly melting, but we could go outside with just hoodies for warmth. We decided to take another hike down the trail and see if we could go even farther.

I didn't want my camera to get wet from snow-melt off the trees, so I left it in the cabin. And good thing, too. Perhaps a half mile from the house a light drizzle started. Before we hit a mile, it was actual rain. We decided to cut through the trees to the lake and hike back on the open flat. The dogs perked up when we turned back to the house, running farther ahead and rough-housing with each other.

It shortly began to hail and thunder.

Maxwell looked like a drowned rat. Sadie didn't seem much affected. We were trying not to get stung in the face by the rain and hail mix. Needless to say, we were all quite happy to be back in front of the fire again!

The next day it got a little colder again, hovering around freezing. The crunchy re-freeze on the ground was tough on the dogs' feet, so they both were kept booted outside. It did mean easier walking for the humans, though. We didn't sink as far down.

That night it snowed. A lot.

We woke up Saturday morning to the most perfect cover of fresh powder that you could ever hope for. It was bright but cloudy, and warm enough to be fun without melting the new snow. The dogs dove into it. They bounded through the trees, leaped between boulders, and generally acted goofy.

Two of our neighbors passed by while we were outside. They were skiing on the lake, and we chatted for a bit. Their spaniel made friends with our pups. She was adorable.

It began to snow again in the afternoon. Not just a flurry, but a white-out fall of fat snowflakes. It was absolutely wonderful.

 The view across the lake

We ran around on the lake with the dogs, playing with a squeaky ball. We played chase. We even got them to jump the giant snake we had made out of snow! Sadie didn't care, as long as she got the ball. Maxwell was a little more cautious about the mound of white.

It was the best afternoon ever. Ever. But the rest of that tale is for another post.

The heavy snow was fun, but it balled up terribly in Maxwell's fur. He would have to stop playing every once in a while to bite it off. I tried to help as much as he would let me, but it must have hurt when I pulled. I was able to clean out his feet, and a little off the insides of his hind legs. Mostly he wanted to do it himself, though.

We had one last night, with a partial view of the stars. It's really amazing how many you can see without all the light pollution we're used to at home. While we were admiring the constellations, the pups (leashed) were wondering what was in the forest at this hour that might be fun to hunt.

The dogs were definitely sorry to leave, as were we. But the week of hard play definitely too a toll. They were extremely good in the car home, and quiet for several days as they regained their energy. Maxwell bounced back first, of course.

Now we can plan winter 2013...