Dog-gone Long Weekend

Am I ever late in posting this, but better late than never! Without further adue ...

If I would have planned it right, I would have sent the paperwork in for Baxter's CKC PEN a long time ago and entered the AKC (Alberta Kennel Club) show that was at Spruce Meadows this weekend. As it was, I still went and visited/watched but the dogs weren't entered in anything. I wish I would have been though. Nothing like watching agility to make you want to do it more - or to comment in your head how your dog could absolutely do that course! Plus it was a gorgeous venue.

CKC agility starts off a lot easier than AAC agility not having weave poles in novice standard. It makes me a little jealous. Jump heights are a little different though, so Baxter is likely going to have to be jumping 8" instead of the 6" he jumps in AAC. It was interesting seeing some of the people who are regular fixtures at AAC trials in a different environment as well as all the different people and breeds.

Saturday evening I took Spencer out solo for some urban training on the boardwalk by the lake. He did fantastic. Even when a small dog was growling and barking at him from about 10 ft away as its people dragged it along he just sat beside me and alternated eye contact/watching the dog. We also practiced some impulse control games that we do with yellow ball on the off leash portion of the path.

The part I was happiest about though was when a crowd of people walked by. I had put Spencer into a sit off to the side of the path through the off leash area because sometimes he is weird with strangers, especially if the strangers aren't dog people. He had his leash on and I was standing on the end of it just in case he reacted badly. But he didn't move, just glanced at them and then back to me. The people commented on how well my little guy was trained. Woo hoo! I'm not just imagining progress!

To top it off, since it was late and the boat launch was deserted, I took him over to see if he would swim. I didn't have to encourage him at all, just waded out with his ball and he was right there paddling away. You could have knocked me over with a feather - and not just because of the super slippery algae covered cement ramp I was standing on! Good dog!! Out of my immediate family's 8 small dogs, I have the only 2 that will swim without being put in the water.

As I commented to one of the vendors at the AKC show, I have chihuahua's but they're not the Paris-Hilton type dress-me-up-and-put-me-in-a-handbag-landsharks. They're real dogs, just shrunk!

With that in mind, Penny came out to agility practice at Wet Noses on Monday. Sometimes I feel a little guilty that I spend a lot of time and effort training the boys while she gets less attention. I make a effort to do one on one things with her and have little Penny-adventures, but she doesn't play like they do or come to agility things like they do. For having never seen full size contact equipment or a 12 foot chute - she did really well. She was sniffy, which is her norm, but she actually ran with me and had a good time getting cookies.

All in all it was a dog-tastic dog-gone long weekend! Way too hot, but still a lovely 3 days off.