Monday, December 29, 2014

Top Spot Agility Fundraiser

What to say when there isn't much you want to actually put out there for the world to read?

Contrary to what the blog looks like, we've actually been doing things the past few months. It hasn't even been so crazy that I couldn't blog.

But I'll leave that for the next post.

This weekend was the first trial for a new agility group in our area as well as a fundraiser for one of our local competitors going to the WAO.

I was totally excited to enter this trial since both dogs were in a position to get new title ribbons from a new club if the stars had aligned for us.

It was a great weekend (Sunday?) for us, and an awesome way to end the holiday week. Both boys did wonderful. I think it has really helped that we've been working some drills and skills at an arena rental on the weekend as well as our usual running the course and working the rough stuff in class.

Spencer has lots of moments of brilliance and gave me some enthusiasm after nearly shutting down several times, so progress. He did have a moment in his almost clean and lovely standard run where the dog walk was too scary, but I'm attributing that to teeter issues.

We didn't get a refusal on the jump wrapping back to the A-Frame and the K-Turn over the wing into the weaves wasn't terrible (it's better in training than in competition) AND I still had a dog left after we conquered the scary DW. I'm also proud of how I handled him missing that last jump (not caring.) We're going for confidence and enthusiasm! I do need to stop flapping my hand to "throw" him over the jumps though. Out and forward, no flapping!



He managed 4 runs, 2 standard and 2 jumpers. In his first jumpers I didn't have a lot of enthusiastic Spencer to work with, and we were a little over time. However he pulled it back together for the last jumpers run of the day and not only ran with some enthusiasm, he also qualified!

Baxter was a furry little rock star this weekend going 3/4 and placing first in his runs. He jumped a DW contact in his second standard, reminding me that if I'm going to get his contacts by managing them (since he just is not understanding when he is wrong during retraining) I'd better actually MANAGE them, not just flake out!



Baxter managed one more title in 2014, finishing his Expert Jumpers Silver (25 Master Jumpers Q's) this trial. Sadly, we didn't get a title ribbon from a new club yet, Fionavar K9 sponsored the ribbons for this trial, but it was still awesome! Love my little Fluff! Love both of my agility boys really, they're very different dogs but good little dogs!

 It's amazing how together we can look when I actually practice handling drills with my dogs!


Wednesday, November 26, 2014

All about that "Baby" Black Dog! Spencer earns his ATChC!!


After all the work with fear issues, then training and trialing and more fear and confidence issues, Spencer earned his ATChC (Agility Trial Champion of Canada) and MGDC (Master Gambler Dog of Canada) titles at the November Calgary Agility Association Trial under Judge Darcy Bennett on 9-Nov. Such a good little black dog!



I had decided this year to focus on getting some "life things" sorted out and dealt with, so trialing was to take a back seat this year, priority wise. Then I decided that I'd enter the outdoor Flashing Canines trial in September just to give it one last shot at finishing up some of the boys' titles this year and then give it a rest for the remainder of this year.

Spencer could have finished his ATChC that weekend if he Q'd his Gamblers and Snooker runs, but some bone-head handler messed up his Gamble and shot that down. It would have let us finish his ATChC at the trial and with the club he first started trialing with in Sept 2012, but that was not to be.

I wasn't sure I wanted to enter this trial. I hummed and hawwed and waited until about a week before the closing date to actually bite the bullet and send in the entry form. The huge deciding factor was that there were 2 gambles, one Sat and one Sun. But because I waited so long, we were wait listed with probably 15 dogs ahead of us which was okay with me, since I figured I would just leave it to fate if we got in.

A week before the trail, I get an email, did I want to play still? Holy cow, they got through the wait list! I guess fate said yes!

On Saturday the dogs and I were having a rough day, just a little out of sync and not connected. Out of my 6 runs (2 dogs, 3 events each) we didn't manage to qualify in anything. Baxter forgot how to weave, Spencer took random backsides, I lost all sense of timing on course. It was a gong show, a happy one, but a gong show none the less! The gamble on Saturday was geared to wider turning, larger striding  dogs, my guys didn't even see the distance obstacle. Strike 1.



On Sunday, I manged to pull it together a bit, just in time to panic about being able to get enough points in the Gamble run to qualify. The mini wasn't bad, but arguing with a confused dog to take the mini is demotivating, so unless it's something pretty easy I don't often try them. I try to get my 28 points in 11 or 12 obstacles, well, that wasn't happening this time. I'd need to finish 15 obstacles on my planned path for those points - or try to get that mini and maybe shut my dog down for the final gamble.



I opted to run it. The yardage wasn't bad, I figured I'd be in a good spot when the buzzer went and this gamble was geared to smaller striding dogs (although it did have a mostly independent AFrame in it.)

Baxter was up first and Spencer was the 3rd dog in the event. I thought about switching their order, but decided against it. Baxter did well and got his only Q of the entire weekend. The buzzer didn't go when I thought it would, we did 3 more obstacles after it so hopefully Spencer would be good time wise. Spencer also will send out to a tunnel better than Baxter has in the past, so the gamble is totally do-able. But man, running the second dog when on the adrenaline high for the first one is rough!



Spencer rocked it even after some silly (unclear) handling on my part right before the buzzer went.



Thrilled with my little guy. Who would have thought that the 8 week old puddle of terrified trying to melt into the floor would be able to get a championship performance title?

Sunday was all about Spencer. With his new (and lucky!) neon green agility leash from our friend Christina at Silvarado Dog Gear. He qualified in all 3 of his Sunday runs as well!

Love my bad little black dog!

Out Takes - Pictures are hard stuff, and so is posing with the pole!



Monday, October 6, 2014

"I'm surprised they aren't fat"

It's a shame that dog "training" shows on TV send the same, erroneous message. Or at least they did - I'm not sure if they still do, I've stopped watching them.

Using treats as a reward to train a dog does not automatically make the dog fat. Humans are supposed to have the higher functioning brain, use it! If you're using treats to teach your dog and your dog is gaining weight there are many options when it first starts happening.

1) Exercise your dog(s) more. A 10 min walk a day really isn't enough exercise for your hamster, let alone your rescue Shep X. No. I'm serious. Do you know how many miles hamsters put on those wheels at night?!

1b) Putting the dog outside in the yard is not considered exercise. You need to be out there with them DOING something. Just think you and the dog are both more active, it`s like killing 2 birds with 1 stone!

2) Cut down on the food to compensate for feeding more treats. Remember to give more than a passing nod to nutrition though - treats are just that, you want to balance the "junk" with more nutritionally complete foods - or feed better treats.

2b) The recommended amount to feed as stated on the bag of dog food is just that. Some dogs burn more calories than others. If your dog is getting fat on the amount you feed it - regardless what the bag says, modify (<- that means reduce!) the amount you feed. A border collie and a basset hound might weigh roughly the same, but you can bet that the border collie working sheep all day is going to burn more calories than the basset holding down the kitchen mat for 8 hours while you're at work.

3) Train with their meal. No where is it set out that you need to feed your dog it's dinner from a bowl! Make them work for it!

Not fat, and working for it!


After you can't find your dogs ribs anymore even when digging around in that layer of fat so that Fluffy is eyeing you with annoyance and is seriously contemplating snapping your finger off is not a good time to start addressing weight gain.

I'm assuming most of us pet our dogs on a regular basis - you know, like every 10 min or so. Okay, maybe your dogs are less insistent about attention than mine are.

But there is always that nice cuddle on the couch before bed ... or the Thank doG I lasted the day at work, I'm so happy to be home to see you pet and play session. When you're petting your dog, check them out. No strange lumps and bumps? No mats in that pesky ear fur or eye goobies that need wiping?

Can you still find their ribs? Little more padding over their ribs, having to dig a little to find a bone is a good indicator to cut back on the food now rather than in 6 months when you visit the vet for your annual wellness check and get to have that awkward conversation with the vet about Fluffy's weight. No one likes to be told their dog is fat - but that isn't all just fur all the time!

If your dog doesn't have a waist and looks like a rectangle on little sticks, you've got a problem.

Good pet weight!
You really don't even need to weigh them. Seriously. Just pet them, more ribs = maybe up the food intake, or it's a sign you're reaching your target weight. Fewer ribs = reduce the food. I'm honestly not sure what my dogs weigh, but I can feel their ribs easily!

I was working one of my dogs, for about 5 minutes at a family function this weekend. Just simple stuff. Send to mat despite distractions and then speedy recalls. A family member was obliging enough to provide the post title. This wasn't even Baxter who someone could think might be chubby because of his coat and build. This was Spencer, who you'd be able to count some ribs on if his coloring didn't hide them!

Very not fat!

Speedy, and not fat!

































Treats don't make dogs fat - their owners do. Do your best friend a favor and make sure you aren't. Reality TV really isn't - you should know that from shows about people, apply that logic to animal/dog shows too! Instead of watching those shows on TV go take your dog for a walk or maybe attend an actual dog training class with a positive reinforcement dog trainer who helps you learn and implement humane dog training theories grounded in science!

Monday, September 29, 2014

Josaphine Falls & Lilly Lake

Down river
Josaphine Falls


From our hike to Josaphine Falls and then Lilly Lake near Elkford BC. A gentleman ended up at the trail head the same time we did, he had been down to the information center first and they warned of bear activity in the area. He wasn't going to hike because of it. As we were a large group (5 adults and 4 dogs) we did the hike anyway. Didn't see any bears, but we were a little worried walking through all the berry patches!

The dogs were a little sad that they had to stay on leash for this hike, but I wasn't chancing them taking off after a bear, or dragging one back to the group.

 Lilly Lake

 Elkford lookout point

Fireweed. We did this hike late Aug/early Sept - I want to do it earlier next year when this is really in bloom. It's amazing. Apparently Fireweed only grows where there has been a fire. Sure makes the clear cut areas look WAY better.

Lilly Lake

Mooch

From the blooper reel. Poor Penny, just not the most photogenic dog. It's usually her that is an issue in my group photos. From eyes shut, to looking in the wrong place, to odd placement of the dogs. Ahh Peeper!


Hey. You! Over here dog.
I didn't quite mean sit like that ...

Thursday, September 25, 2014

What we've been up to?

This has been the year of changes and challenges, with dog training and agility moving to the back burner a bit (but we have worked on some things like beginning Nosework.) Moving forward with life instead of just treading water and running in that proverbial hamster wheel.

Camping for a week down at Farragut State Park in Idaho for the usual summer vacation. Hit some hikes and explored some stuff we never have before this year. Saw the Roosavelt Forest of Ancient Cedars - just gorgeous!

Spending time camping, and hitting the "cabin" (my parents 40ft 5th wheel on a leased lot out in the Crows Nest Pass.) Hiking and other fun things with the dogs. Taking a break from training etc.

Conditioning, conditioning, conditioning! Happy, fit, and tired dogs. Off leash runs out in by the canal and swimming in the lake several times a week.

Hit some tourist traps, and common hikes out in the Pass. Miners Path in Coleman. Josephine Falls & Lilly/Lost Lakes out in Elkford. Chinook Lake just outside Coleman. It's been fun!

We did a summer indoor trial out in Millarville and poor Spencer shut down. Completely. At the end of day one, when he was entered on Sunday too. He's been running so well, and doing so well with Trial Applications class that it really threw me how badly clapping would affect him. So back to the drawing board a little on that one.

Revisited some old hobbies. Picked up some new ones, like a better camera lens and photo editing programs - now to get better with both of them!








Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Last Outdoor Trial of the Season

This weekend was gorgeous! We hit the Flashing Canines trial down in Redcliff for the last outdoor trial of the season.

There was a local trial this weekend as well, but it was an indoor venue and the last time we trialed at that particular location Spencer sensitized to some noises (clapping and crinkling/snapping of cheap plastic water bottles) and ended up shutting down - so I wanted our next trial to be a little bit less stressful for him and he likes outside better.

Instead of hoteling it, I was able to borrow the parent's truck and trailer and camp at the trial site, which was awesome! So nice to not have to plan/pack lunch or snacks etc, if you're hungry, just wander back to the trailer and make something!

The boys both did very well, each coming home with a new title and I'm very happy with them!

Baxter and I had a couple of bobbles all centering around the dogwalk and tunnels under it. He got sucked into a tunnel vortex 3 times on a gamble he would have gotten - having some pretty fantastic issues with that discrimination! Then in team he pulled off the tunnel he looked like he was committed to (bad handler?) to try to take the dogwalk instead. And finally on Sunday morning when my brain apparently couldn't engage  and I tried to rear cross a tunnel under the dogwalk (instead of the front cross that I walked) he pulled out of it instead of continuing through. So apparently we need to practice a little bit more!

He did however, get his last Steeplechase Q for his MSCDC title that has been over 3 years in the making! So proud of my Fluff, and very happy we were able to finish this title as Specials instead of after moving to Vets where qualifying is easier due to the added time they get.




He ended up qualifying 4/8 runs. 2x Jumpers, Steeplechase and a Snooker, but none of the faults in the other runs were due to weaves or DW contacts, so that's good!

Spencer did very well this weekend as well. Not as driven as he can be, but still happy enough to play despite the heat. I also got some tugging by where we were benched - which is huge for us.

As we've focused on in Trial Applications, I'm trying to handle with more intensity and connect with him and make sure I'm cueing early so he knows where he is going next. We had a little bobble in Jumpers where I didn't support quite enough and he pulled off, as well as a jumped DW contact in Gamblers where I was too far ahead of him.

Spencer ended up finishing his Master Snooker Dog of Canada (MSDC) title leaving us with just one more title to finish for his ATChC! It would have been really cool to finish it with the club that he started trialing with, but that just wasn't meant to be it seems.




He qualified in 4/6 runs (he doesn't do full trials because of his patella issues, 3 runs a day only) Getting Q's in; Jumpers, Steeplechase, Standard and the Snooker. His times are pretty consistent with Baxter's, even though he could be much faster. We didn't have too many stressed out moments at this trial, but I made a point of having him in his kennel near the ring gate until the last minute.

All in all a fantastic weekend! And 2 new ribbons to add to my title ribbon from different clubs collection! (Baxter's is the old style/colors and Spencer's is their new style/colors)



Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Opps! Better late than never ... Regionals Review

Alright. Well. Missed a couple of things in the past 4(ish) months? Heck, lets call it since the beginning of the year since I've posted anything decent to remember! So, because I've thought of it now; Regionals Review!

Hosted in Lethbridge this year. We went. Camped with family instead of hoteling it. It rained. A LOT. I discovered I hate the rain. I hate running in the rain and I hate trialing in the rain. The dogs don't like it either.

The rain and the cold were pretty hard on Spencer and his knee. The chiro appointment for him wasn't much easier than running in the rain. That poor chiro vet is never going to forget him.

We did okay. I dropped Spencer into 6" Specials for this year and still kept Baxter as a 6" Special as well. I'll move Baxter to 6" Vets this Jan after his birthday I think.

Both boys qualified to go to Nationals, but since I didn't miraculously win the lottery in the interim between Regionals and Nationals that didn't end up happening. Nationals was also the week we went on Vacation down to Farragut State Park again.

Regionals/Nationals Stats

Baxter 
2013 Regionals - 6" Specials - 448.50 points & 3 clean runs (no gambles)
2013 Nationals - 6" Specials - 439.44 points & 2 clean runs (no gambles)
2014 Regionals - 6" Specials - 405.79 points & 3 clean runs (no gambles)

Spencer
2013 Regionals - 10" Regular - 398.46 points & 2 clean runs (no gambles)
2013 Nationals - 10" Regular - 419.25 points & 3 clean runs (no gambles)
2014 Regionals - 6" Specials - 434.79 points & 3 clean runs (no gambles)

Spencer ended up placing second this year, while Baxter came in third due to some silly handler errors.

Don't get me wrong. I am happy to have played with the boys. I'm just a little sad that Baxter would NOT send out to a single thing and got scores of 24 & 26 points in the gamble openings.  Those wouldn't even get us a Q at a regular trial, even if he got the final. It's a little disappointing. Practiced, did really well at the warm up trial before Regionals and then to struggle like that at Regionals. Ahh well, maybe the shit weather threw him off?

A little disappointed in myself for messing up his first standard run as well. It was down the dogwalk and then flip away into the tunnel under the dog walk, and we did it great. Until I called him and he came back out of the tunnel and stepped on the dog walk on the way over. For 20 faults. Turning what would have been a 130 point run into a 80 point one.

Baxter was doing so well, then not to sure what has happened. Some issues with a constant allergy battle this season. He's just getting a little older and a little slower since he isn't really built for the game.

Spencer was a good little dog and tried for me. Weather doesn't help his leg. Walking on 3 legs doesn't help us trial. Maybe I'll just carry him everywhere, like what someone else does with that poodle with the crappy patellas.


Baxter's Photos! (by Paws on the Run)

Spencer's Photos! (by Paws on the Run)

Monday, June 9, 2014

Worth 1000 Words: VI

Also known as Happy Chi's. I love that these 2 play together. Spencer is a little rougher with Penny, but they both obviously like playing!







Monday, June 2, 2014

Let the Count Down Begin

This weekend was an outdoor trial geared to Regionals Warm Up. We had a great time, and I feel much more ready for Regionals - which is in 2 weeks! OMG.

The venue out in Millarville was very nice, weather was nearly perfect - a little hot if anything. I've got the most spectacular farmers tan/sunburn going on.

Spencer was amazing all weekend. I entered him in a full trial for the first time since he's started trialing and I wasn't sure how fast he'd fade over the weekend/8 runs. Saturday he was fast and confident and fun. Almost the closing Gamble, Rocked it on 2 Standard courses to finish off his Master Agility Dog of Canada (MADC) title. He did very well on the Jumpers as well, coming under SCT, however I didn't support a jump enough and we missed that (my fault, not his.)

On Sunday he was maybe a little worried or a little sore. He was a little off for the first 3 runs, getting progressively slower. I was going to pull him from Jumpers, the last run of the day because he just didn't seem very happy to be playing and there really isn't much point to drag him around the ring. I decided to keep him in, but if he didn't want to run, I'd take a line of jumps and a tunnel to make it easy and fun and just leave and have a party.

Took him for a walk on his flexi before and then played with him a bunch at the warm up jumps to help warm him up for Jumpers. The wind came up pretty good before our run and between that and the extra dogs milling around the gate he was not a happy dog waiting for the Judge to be ready for us. I tried to remember all the seminar advice I've been given on him and make sure I was focusing on improving my communication and connection with him.

We pulled it off and Q'd it coming in second of three, and finishing his Master Jumpers Dog of Canada (MJDC) title too! So proud of my bad little black dog this weekend. We're really starting to come together.

Good little baby dog!

Baxter was a very good dog all weekend. Going 3/4 on Saturday - and getting the Gamble (a mini and the main!) Missed the Standard popping on the 10th pole in the weaves, but I can work on weaves at home!

He faulted his weaves only once this weekend and jumped a DW contact once on the gamble on Sun (we went right back over it and he hit it that time) so I'm pretty happy with what we've been working on.

Sunday with Steeplechase (2x weaves) we were back to being a second and a little overtime. His weaves have slowed down again and I am wondering if that is due to the surface (grass has more grip) his conditioning or if something is sore.

He would have gotten the Gamble on Sunday as well (did do a mini to a blind tunnel entrance) however, I hadn't looked at the gate list before walking and didn't notice that Baxter and Spencer were back to back. Spencer was ready, but I thought I had 4 dogs to grab Baxter. Since I didn't, I just grabbed him, didn't potty him and threw him into the ring crate and then had to run Spencer. I've built the pre-run potty break into our warm up routine and I didn't even think about missing it with Baxter. Poor guy stopped on the main gamble and peed.

At Regionals since the boys only have one dog in between their runs I will have to remember to walk them during the last 10 min of break to potty them before walk thru on the day that we are first on the line.

All in all it was a great weekend with great weather to spend with my favorite little dogs. Next up is regionals!


Saturday, May 10, 2014

And We're Back

Life, 2 jobs and 3 dogs can get a little crazy and stressful, so blogging falls a little by the wayside.

But, we're back.

It's been some interesting times.

Our awesome trainer Kim & HyperHounds moved to Kelowna in April. So we're working on finding a new agility alternative.

Baxter's been in to the emergency vet twice in 2 months. In March we went in after he was vomiting for a little over 24 hours after stealing a lick of salsa off the coffee table. Not sure if the salsa was the culprit or what the deal was, but it ended up not being the obstruction that I was afraid it might have been.

Then 2 weeks ago it was for the eyes. They were watery and sore looking for the Olds Trial, little bit of green discharge but super sore looking where the whites were all red and bothering him a lot. Again, nothing really conclusive as the culprit. His eyes were good, no scratches etc. but ears were hot irritated as well. Maybe seasonal allergies or just allergies period, so some eye drops to help with the irritation and some benadryl for 5 days.

Baxter also came up lame on Saturday at the Olds trial, April 19 & 20. Knocked the first bar in the first run (Jumpers) and then when we were walking after the run I noticed him limping a little on his front left. So that was it for him for the day. Seems to be a shoulder/muscle thing, not a foot thing. So we're going in to physio to get that looked at. (Same/similar issue that I took him to a chiro vet to have looked at last May and was told his front end was fine, uh huh.) Sunday he seemed fine, so I let him run and he still looked fine at the end of the day.

Spencer's first day at Olds was great, he was happy and a little more confident. Fun times - which is what I am working on with him. Confidence.

On Sunday however they turned Steeplechase into a fund raiser for an agility friend who was doing Shave for the Brave. Which is totally awesome. However, the runs were to music and while setting up the PA system for it there was a lot of really loud popping noises. I didn't notice quick enough that it was upsetting Spencer since he was in his kennel. He wouldn't come out of the kennel, so I had to pull him out and carry him out and bench him in the car. He wouldn't even walk once we were in the parking lot, just was a puddle of terrified on the ground. Completely shut down.

I pulled Spencer from Steeplechase (Baxter ran fine and he's the one who has some mild noise issues at home with fireworks and thunder) but for his remaining 2 runs Spencer was distracted, stressed and not into playing the game at all. Couldn't get him to do his bounce or bark tricks that help improve his attitude. Nothing. He looked bad enough in the final Jumpers run that the Judge actually came over after the run to talk to me about his skipping/knee issue.

This sums up how life feels right now.
Mostly right, some extra junk cluttering stuff up and something always going wrong.

So lately agility has been all about the stress and not so much about the fun. Or at least I'm struggling with focusing on the fun stuff.

Baxter forgot how to weave in Olds. After working on his contacts all winter he LAUNCHED his DW contact from about 1/2 way down the plank on Sunday (yep, that'll definitely help those front end issues ...) Wet Creek flooded for 2 months, so no practice there. Snow JUST quit falling (it's May and there was snow on the ground last week) to open up Wet Noses for practice. No agility classes until I find another trainer/group I want to work with. Worried about Spencer's knee more now after the last trial. Spencer's behavioral issues have been problematic lately, so worried about him and his fearfulness - which doesn't help his stress and fear either I'm sure.

Yep. Just a little stressed about the dogs and dog sports in general lately.

Not really a play bow - captured mid "bark" trick. This is my little dog!
My happy, sassy, bad little black dog, not all cringing and terrified =(

Positive first post back after a hiatus right?!? But on the bright side, it can only get better from here.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Justine Davenport & Jessica Patterson Seminar

This past weekend was the Justine & Jessica Agility Seminar put on by Kim/HyperHounds

When it was first announced I dithered, to do or not to do. I just wasn't sure. First I was like, No, thanks. Then maybe. Then I registered but had a few misgivings initially. Lots of thoughts ran through my head "It's all about "international" handling. I don't know that my dogs will work with that kind of handling/that hard of a course, what do I need all of that for?! I don't think it is right for my dogs"

Shake off those preconceived notions and lets get to work!

Let me just say that never have I ever been so glad and grateful  that I did something before! I had a working spot in the morning session and then on Saturday I audited the afternoon advanced session. Having the foundation building blocks and then seeing them put into practice in the afternoon session was a absolute light bulb moment. I think it helped that the afternoon advanced session was a little less advanced than the morning advanced session. But it was absolutely perfect for me.

The explanations from both Jessica and Justine made a whole lot of things in agility make sense, bits and pieces I've picked up from here and there and heard/tried to follow without knowing the whys. It's like a puzzle missing half the pieces and all of a sudden now I can see the final picture. OH, that's what you meant about turn my shoulders!! This handling WILL work with my dogs. It will actually HELP my dogs. I can teach the skills with nearly no equipment in my living room!

I'm so excited for the possibilities and I ended up bouncing out of there after Sunday super excited for the things I need to train instead of plodding out of the seminar with a list of things I need to work on. So awesome!

I worked Spencer (mostly) with Baxter there for backup in the Foundations/Beginner seminar. I've done work with the dogs on some of the skills they teach. We know backsides, we do multiwraps, we're working on tighter turns etc. Other things like how they train threadles and handle threadles are new.

Spencer worked for me. A little hesitant and stressed (the demo dog, Jessica's BC was eyeing him up pretty good from about 10 ft away from where we worked our little drills) but he worked through it. He was awesome! Baxter was awesome as well. I pulled him out for blind cross drills on Sunday and he did amazing. People commented that I must do a lot with him - HAHA - I don't blind cross anything but a tunnel with Baxter! Or rather, I didn't. Makes me rethink some things now, he does actually read them really nicely in the drills. Probably past time to actually put the foundation training in and see how well they might work somewhere else.

Some of the things we were shown, like how to use a blind cross correctly was just amazing. There were 2 jumps set in a 180 about 2 feet apart, we had to pull our dogs through that gap in the middle and every single dog, even the most novice dog who'd never seen agility equipment in his life understood the handling and came through the gap, not even looking at that second jump.

Both Justine and Jessica were SUPER nice and handled/tailored advice to people/dog teams individually and equally. Toy or food, doesn't matter. BC or a slower less motivated dog, doesn't matter. Everyone got advice to help them and no one got brushed off. 

I also loved how a lot of the stuff we were shown in the foundations class has a "Susan Garret/Say Yes Dog Training" feel to it. I've done a bunch of her stuff as well and really like it. Since the group of them worked together and trained together to come up with this handling system, there are parallels to other things I've worked on, which makes me feel a whole lot more comfortable with the whole thing.

It's also super awesome that these talented ladies live about a 3 hour drive from here and not across the country. Now to practice and teach these skills so that when they come back we can play on the hard stuff!

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Happy Birthday Fluff

Six! Already! (Okay, well 3 days ago.)






Love, love, love my fluffy, handsome boy.












Speedy Baxter at Nationals (from his Steeplechase run, the only event he managed to get photographed in!)


LOVE this one!



















2013 was a huge year for Baxter. We really came together as a team, agility wise and partnership wise.

Happy Birthday to the very best little Fluff in the world. Love you Snack!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

2013 Year in Review

Wow, I can't believe its been a year already!

Looking back at what I said I'd like to accomplish, I don't think I did too badly. Not that it really was a challenging list to accomplish.

We did train some tricks. Baxter can sit pretty now - go go gadget core strength! Spencer has a few more naughty tricks in his repertoire, like bouncing (which means he is bouncing off people at thigh height when he gets excited at home ...) Penny is good at going to her kennel (I'mma call that a trick!) Body awareness is a work in progress - I need to work on it more so we can progress! Did manage to get Spencer going backwards up the stairs, so it's a start.

Distance skills are kind of hit and miss, but hey, I did work on them! Baxter has the confidence to go out and take obstacles now, so he's trying and that's the direction I want to go in. I'd rather him try and be wrong than not have the confidence to try. Spencer has awesome distance when we train by ourselves. In a trial situation with environmental factors and strange dogs he has a whole lot less distance, so working on confidence there. I also wanted to work on a verbal "Switch" (turn away from handler/rear cross at a distance) without having to rely on body motion - we've got it on the flat, now to bring that back on the equipment.

Speaking of equipment - fixed Spencer's chute and I think I have a good handle on his weaves (both of which broke in competition.) Now it's the frame and the teeter, which are going to be a little more challenging to fix.















I don't do cute or funny in the snow. I do death glare in the snow ...



AAC Regionals and Nationals were awesome! So happy about that, and happy that I went as well. With the Nationals in the Maritimes this year I think that is out, but I'm planning on Regionals in Lethbridge for sure.

This year points for Baxter were: 448.50 at Regionals and 439.44 at Nationals while Spencer got 398.46 at Regionals and 419.25 at Nationals.

Title wise this year Baxter not only obtained his ATChC at the very first HyperHounds trial he also got his Bronze Award of Merit (with HyperHounds as well!), won Regionals at 6" Specials and came in 2nd at Nationals in 6" Specials. He also got his first legit Steeplechase Q in 2 years of trialing! Titles and ribbons aren't everything, but they do show that you're getting somewhere in your training and how you stack up to other dogs in your class.



Spencer got his ADC, AADC and finished his AGDC at 10" Regular putting him in Masters everything. He also came in 4th at Regionals and then 12th at Nationals. As of November 2013 I dropped him from 10" Regular into 6" Specials - I think he'll be happier to trial at that height.


I did actually manage to attend an agility seminar in person in May with Terry Simons on course visualization and analysis. It was a good experience and really helpful. (getting into this was a fluke - but I'm going to count it anyway!)

Last, but very definitely not least I had a lot of fun with my dogs this year. We took most of the summer off of sports aside from Regionals and Nationals and just had fun doing stuff and taking pictures of the dogs doing stuff. Camping at Farragut for a week, plus various weekends out at the Pass. Hiking, swimming, fishing (Baxter LOVES fish) it was a fantastic summer for the dogs and I! Relationship building at its finest!

Here's to another awesome year of dogs and fun!

Family Portrait Jan 1, 2014 "Sunshine spot!"