Also. AAC Regional Championships are a week away. Holy cow, just 1 week. This will be our first Regionals and since I don't get to go away for a weekend without the 3 dogs coming with me, I entered Spencer as well as Baxter. I'll be there, he'll be there. Why not, right? Except for the flock of giant butterflies that have taken up residence in my stomach now that the date is fast approaching.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Fun in the Sun - Part 2
I meant to post this in a more timely fashion, but was interrupted with Baxter's ATChC and then life in general. Dog training stuff, yard stuff, selling the house stuff. There is just too much stuff and not quite enough time for it all.
Also. AAC Regional Championships are a week away. Holy cow, just 1 week. This will be our first Regionals and since I don't get to go away for a weekend without the 3 dogs coming with me, I entered Spencer as well as Baxter. I'll be there, he'll be there. Why not, right? Except for the flock of giant butterflies that have taken up residence in my stomach now that the date is fast approaching.
Also. AAC Regional Championships are a week away. Holy cow, just 1 week. This will be our first Regionals and since I don't get to go away for a weekend without the 3 dogs coming with me, I entered Spencer as well as Baxter. I'll be there, he'll be there. Why not, right? Except for the flock of giant butterflies that have taken up residence in my stomach now that the date is fast approaching.
Monday, May 20, 2013
We Did It! Baxter Earns his ATChC!!
So, so proud of my fluffy boy this weekend. And myself I guess, I did have to do the training with my dog to get this far. It just feels more like it's his accomplishment than mine!
Baxter earned his Agility Trial Champion of Canada Title (ATChC) with his 4th Master Gamble on Sunday under Yvonne Babij, at the first ever HyperHounds trial held out at WetNoses this weekend. He also got his Masters Gamblers Dog of Canada Title (MGDC), but that's a little like a after thought when you get the ATChC!
He's my first agility dog and this is my first ATChC. I just about cried when he successfully completed the gamble.
Play by play of the Gamble:
(you may want to just skip this orange part if you're not an agility person)
The gamble itself wasn't bad, as long as your dog with a running dogwalk would call off that jump at the end of it and come into the tunnel under the dog walk. The opening though didn't have any sections with a lot of points, I was a little stressed. It was get the mini, or we wouldn't get the points to qualify. The mini was similar to the final gamble, contact with a tunnel beside it. In the mini you flip into the tunnel which was a little further away than in the final, and in the final you call around after the contact and send them into the mouth of the tunnel under the contact.
First time over the mini Baxter didn't see the tunnel so I had to step in after wasting a little time trying to get him to send. Second time over the mini he still didn't flip into the tunnel (I think I was too far back on the AFrame for him to read the switch, he needs the body motion as well as the verbal and it's hard for him to see that coming down the Frame unless I'm really ahead.) BUT he did send to the tunnel!
Buzzer went, not bad positioning. Up the dogwalk, he hit his contact (they were a little sketchy this weekend, he jumped it in the Gamble on Saturday ...) around and into the tunnel. I remembered to stay back from the gamble line a bit so I'd have the room to step in and support with motion, but I didn't need it. Straight out over the jump ahead of him and then back over the next one. Good, good dog. He got it! I didn't almost explode with happiness. It just felt awesome. Was a good run, we worked as a team, I handled my dog well, and everything just clicked.
Kim, our instructor at HyperHounds who got us into doing agility in the first place and started me on positive dog training in the first place was videoing this run. She knew it we needed it but mostly I tried to keep it quiet how close we were to getting his ATChC. A few people we've trained with knew, some others had guessed that we should be close but didn't know what we were waiting on. Gambles are mentally a little hard for me, because we struggled with them for so long, and I didn't want to put any inadvertent pressure on me/us to get this!
After we got the final gamble she yell out "Is that your ATChC?" and that's when I teared up, happy, excited, too much emotion kind of teared up. Talking to her after she said she teared up too! Hugs all around. I love the people who play this sport. So supportive.
Such an awesome feeling.
I really wanted to get that last gamble this weekend. We'd started out with agility because I thought it looked fun when I saw the SuperDogs at the Stampede, but I was never sure if Baxter was doing good in class or not. Or when we should move up to the next level. I'd always ask if we should move on and Kim always assured me he was doing great. We finally made it into the 4th level of class where we'd run actual masters courses - which is hard when you're just starting out and have no idea what you're doing! Kim who kept pushing me (after we'd been training for 2 years) to actual go out and get a AAC number and start competing. Kim who kept telling me that we were doing great and that my "slow" little dog wasn't that slow, that he liked playing the game and we'd be able to earn our ATChC.
Getting his ATChC is special, but getting it at the first ever HyperHounds trial was even more special. Thanks Kim! We wouldn't have made it without you! =D
As a side note: If he was registered with the AAC as a Tibetan Spaniel (he's registered as a All Canadian, since he didn't have a CKC number and I didn't know any better at the time) he would be the FIRST Tibetan Spaniel to earn his ATChC in Canada)
Baxter earned his Agility Trial Champion of Canada Title (ATChC) with his 4th Master Gamble on Sunday under Yvonne Babij, at the first ever HyperHounds trial held out at WetNoses this weekend. He also got his Masters Gamblers Dog of Canada Title (MGDC), but that's a little like a after thought when you get the ATChC!
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| Judge Yvonne, Baxter and I |
He's my first agility dog and this is my first ATChC. I just about cried when he successfully completed the gamble.
Play by play of the Gamble:
(you may want to just skip this orange part if you're not an agility person)
The gamble itself wasn't bad, as long as your dog with a running dogwalk would call off that jump at the end of it and come into the tunnel under the dog walk. The opening though didn't have any sections with a lot of points, I was a little stressed. It was get the mini, or we wouldn't get the points to qualify. The mini was similar to the final gamble, contact with a tunnel beside it. In the mini you flip into the tunnel which was a little further away than in the final, and in the final you call around after the contact and send them into the mouth of the tunnel under the contact.
First time over the mini Baxter didn't see the tunnel so I had to step in after wasting a little time trying to get him to send. Second time over the mini he still didn't flip into the tunnel (I think I was too far back on the AFrame for him to read the switch, he needs the body motion as well as the verbal and it's hard for him to see that coming down the Frame unless I'm really ahead.) BUT he did send to the tunnel!
Buzzer went, not bad positioning. Up the dogwalk, he hit his contact (they were a little sketchy this weekend, he jumped it in the Gamble on Saturday ...) around and into the tunnel. I remembered to stay back from the gamble line a bit so I'd have the room to step in and support with motion, but I didn't need it. Straight out over the jump ahead of him and then back over the next one. Good, good dog. He got it! I didn't almost explode with happiness. It just felt awesome. Was a good run, we worked as a team, I handled my dog well, and everything just clicked.
Kim, our instructor at HyperHounds who got us into doing agility in the first place and started me on positive dog training in the first place was videoing this run. She knew it we needed it but mostly I tried to keep it quiet how close we were to getting his ATChC. A few people we've trained with knew, some others had guessed that we should be close but didn't know what we were waiting on. Gambles are mentally a little hard for me, because we struggled with them for so long, and I didn't want to put any inadvertent pressure on me/us to get this!
After we got the final gamble she yell out "Is that your ATChC?" and that's when I teared up, happy, excited, too much emotion kind of teared up. Talking to her after she said she teared up too! Hugs all around. I love the people who play this sport. So supportive.
Such an awesome feeling.
I really wanted to get that last gamble this weekend. We'd started out with agility because I thought it looked fun when I saw the SuperDogs at the Stampede, but I was never sure if Baxter was doing good in class or not. Or when we should move up to the next level. I'd always ask if we should move on and Kim always assured me he was doing great. We finally made it into the 4th level of class where we'd run actual masters courses - which is hard when you're just starting out and have no idea what you're doing! Kim who kept pushing me (after we'd been training for 2 years) to actual go out and get a AAC number and start competing. Kim who kept telling me that we were doing great and that my "slow" little dog wasn't that slow, that he liked playing the game and we'd be able to earn our ATChC.
Getting his ATChC is special, but getting it at the first ever HyperHounds trial was even more special. Thanks Kim! We wouldn't have made it without you! =D
Friday, May 17, 2013
Fun in the Sun- Part 1
It was a fantastic weekend last week out in the Crowsnest Pass. We spent the weekend doing dog things that didn't look anything like training for a dog sport and we loved it! The dogs were wiped. Hiking and then the going to the lake on Saturday and then more walking in the heat on Sunday. They were still in recovery mode on Monday, it was awesome!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Worth 1000 Words: III
Yep. I'm lazy and haven't had any inspiration for an actual blog post, so have some pictures.
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| Chi's on patrol |
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| Peek! |
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| Tongue action |
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| Earz! |
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| So happy for the decent weather! |
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Smoked it!
Today was the first day of the Fionavar K9 - Cowboy Up and Cowgirls Don't Cry trial in Olds.
Despite, or maybe in spite of the horrid weather (it's April, stop with the snow already) and disgusting soggy, muddy parking/potty area - Baxter had a smokin' day. We only did 1 day of this trial but he Q'd in 3/4 events. Missing only Steeplechase by just 1 second due to a weave bobble with a wrong entry. His jumpers run he ran a phenomenal 4.47yps (yards per second) his fastest yps yet! That was faster than some Shelties - and he weighs quite a bit more with stubby little legs.
Even Masters Challenge was awesome with a very respectable 3.46 yps, a clean run and the judge cheering for us when we finished it. I love this dog! (and am now quite fond of that judge too!)
This has to have been one of the best trials we've had since hitting Masters level courses. 2 weekends ago the P'N'E Trial in Turner Valley was good and he was running really well (2/4Q's but one of those NQ's was really my fault) but this weekend brought it to a whole new level. Good, tight lines. Super responsive to cues. I had good course strategy. We just clicked.
More trial review later, with pics and video. Mostly - I just wanted to post this title on 4/20 for the play on words, but it worked so well =D
Despite, or maybe in spite of the horrid weather (it's April, stop with the snow already) and disgusting soggy, muddy parking/potty area - Baxter had a smokin' day. We only did 1 day of this trial but he Q'd in 3/4 events. Missing only Steeplechase by just 1 second due to a weave bobble with a wrong entry. His jumpers run he ran a phenomenal 4.47yps (yards per second) his fastest yps yet! That was faster than some Shelties - and he weighs quite a bit more with stubby little legs.
Even Masters Challenge was awesome with a very respectable 3.46 yps, a clean run and the judge cheering for us when we finished it. I love this dog! (and am now quite fond of that judge too!)
This has to have been one of the best trials we've had since hitting Masters level courses. 2 weekends ago the P'N'E Trial in Turner Valley was good and he was running really well (2/4Q's but one of those NQ's was really my fault) but this weekend brought it to a whole new level. Good, tight lines. Super responsive to cues. I had good course strategy. We just clicked.
More trial review later, with pics and video. Mostly - I just wanted to post this title on 4/20 for the play on words, but it worked so well =D
Friday, April 5, 2013
The Joys of Training a Fearful Dog
Oh baby dog. What am I going to do with you?!
I love pictures of Spencer. In photos I can capture the intensity and show some of the drive that this little dog has. He can be fun, so much fun. The key word there being CAN.
I want other people to be able to see that as well. I want for him to be able to reach his potential and be a crazy, fun little dog everywhere and not have to worry like he does. However, I also don't want to over face him with something that he just cannot handle just because I want him to do something. It's such a fine line.
Sometimes it's hard to tell what is shutting him down. We struggled at Flyball practice on Sunday. Spencer didn't want to play with a ball. Not Yellow Ball (his best, favorite toy) not one of the little tennis balls he's supposed to be getting from the box. Nothing. Not quite sure why, or what the issue might have been, but it gets frustrating sometimes. Then he'd tug with his hollee/tennis bungee toy, but again, wouldn't retrieve a toy. He's always retrieved but will often not tug in public, why the reversal?!
I'm good at identifying his triggers, and at breaking things down and working through steps with him. It's not his fault at all, I just wish sometimes that it wasn't 1 step forward and then 2 steps back.
Agility class on Monday night was a success though. He was happy and rotten and had good distance on obstacles, letting me layer a sequence.
I'm glad that even if we are struggling with one sport that we can be successful in other areas, be it dog sports or just in life in general.
He is doing better in agility. He's happy at practice in the barn. He was cute and excited at the March Fundraiser trial - one of the highlights of our Standard round was a woman saying what a fun little dog he is. Other competitors have commented on how far he has come. I have to try and focus on that a little bit more. He has come a long way. He is doing very well. Some things just take time, and with a worried, soft dog they take a little longer than they might otherwise. With the longer days and spring hopefully here we'll take the show on the road and practice playing/tugging and focusing in new places.
Patience, it is a virtue.
Sometimes it's just hard to remember that we don't always get the dog we want, but we do get the dog we need!
I love pictures of Spencer. In photos I can capture the intensity and show some of the drive that this little dog has. He can be fun, so much fun. The key word there being CAN.
I want other people to be able to see that as well. I want for him to be able to reach his potential and be a crazy, fun little dog everywhere and not have to worry like he does. However, I also don't want to over face him with something that he just cannot handle just because I want him to do something. It's such a fine line.
Sometimes it's hard to tell what is shutting him down. We struggled at Flyball practice on Sunday. Spencer didn't want to play with a ball. Not Yellow Ball (his best, favorite toy) not one of the little tennis balls he's supposed to be getting from the box. Nothing. Not quite sure why, or what the issue might have been, but it gets frustrating sometimes. Then he'd tug with his hollee/tennis bungee toy, but again, wouldn't retrieve a toy. He's always retrieved but will often not tug in public, why the reversal?!
I'm good at identifying his triggers, and at breaking things down and working through steps with him. It's not his fault at all, I just wish sometimes that it wasn't 1 step forward and then 2 steps back.
Agility class on Monday night was a success though. He was happy and rotten and had good distance on obstacles, letting me layer a sequence.
I'm glad that even if we are struggling with one sport that we can be successful in other areas, be it dog sports or just in life in general.
He is doing better in agility. He's happy at practice in the barn. He was cute and excited at the March Fundraiser trial - one of the highlights of our Standard round was a woman saying what a fun little dog he is. Other competitors have commented on how far he has come. I have to try and focus on that a little bit more. He has come a long way. He is doing very well. Some things just take time, and with a worried, soft dog they take a little longer than they might otherwise. With the longer days and spring hopefully here we'll take the show on the road and practice playing/tugging and focusing in new places.
Patience, it is a virtue.
Sometimes it's just hard to remember that we don't always get the dog we want, but we do get the dog we need!
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Bring on the Spring
I hate winter. The dogs hate winter. It's cold, and dark and depressing.
Bring on the Spring! - at least it is brighter and warmer.
I'm not sure that I like spring a whole lot better than winter- it's awesome that the days are longer, warmer and brighter, however it is a whole lot more work.
We go out and play, and I let them be dogs, not little stuffed robots who only walk on dry sidewalks - so then they are disgusting.
THEN they get baths or at least washed off in the sink - which they are pretty sure is dog abuse and should not be allowed. Poor puppies.
Easter long weekend was beautiful weather! Saturday was fantastic and the dogs and I had a blast, which went a long way to off setting Sunday which was a whole lot less fantastic and a story for another post ...
Bring on the Spring! - at least it is brighter and warmer.
I'm not sure that I like spring a whole lot better than winter- it's awesome that the days are longer, warmer and brighter, however it is a whole lot more work.
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| Slime water mustache |
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| Me and my shadow |
We go out and play, and I let them be dogs, not little stuffed robots who only walk on dry sidewalks - so then they are disgusting.
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| Me and my shadow too! |
THEN they get baths or at least washed off in the sink - which they are pretty sure is dog abuse and should not be allowed. Poor puppies.
Easter long weekend was beautiful weather! Saturday was fantastic and the dogs and I had a blast, which went a long way to off setting Sunday which was a whole lot less fantastic and a story for another post ...
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