My Christmas Wish

For 2008, I hope that Shelby stops eating things!
Every time I think she's stopped, and I relax my standards, she eats something she shouldn't, or tears something up.

A couple of weeks ago, she ate some plastic fasteners off my jacket when I left it hanging on the back of a chair.
Then I was cleaning up and getting rid of some books that had been on the bottom shelf of the coffee table for a year (totally accessible to pups) and she tore up one of those when I moved them to the top of the table.
She got onto the dining room table and unraveled a bolt of ribbon.
Yesterday was the kicker. I came home from dinner and she had managed to find some chocolates hidden deep in a bag of other random things and ate about 15 pieces of chocolate.
Don't worry, she's fine.
You would think she has nothing else to do!

Spot's private lesson

I took Spot to 4 Paws for a private lesson, mainly to work on weave poles. Spot really should be in the beginner class, so he needs to catch up a bit. He picked up the channel poles pretty quickly. He did a little better in class this week, but he needs more practice in staying by my side and waiting for direction instead of being so busy and looking for his own stuff to do. I'm still not sure I'm going to continue at 4 Paws, just because I don't really like the class format.

ARFF Christmas Party

Last weekend was the ARFF agility club Christmas party. I mainly went because it was held at the same place the seminar was, and we're signed up for a trial there in Jan and I wanted to make sure Shelby didn't have any bad associations. It was a pot-luck lunch, and we set up a course just for fun. I don't really know many people yet, so it was a little weird, but I did talk to some people. Shelby was good with all the other dogs, who were mostly very excited and riled up. There was one sheltie who didn't like Shelby sniffing her butt, so there was a little growling, but it gave me a chance to correct the behavior.
They also had a raffle with prizes for the dogs and the people and Shelby and I both won!
We ran the course one time and I was very pleased that we did very well. Shelby was attentive and even did 12 poles!

Happy Howlidays!

I had Spot and Shelby's pictures taken a couple of weeks ago and there were some good ones in the bunch. I tried to get Spot and Shelby in the picture together, but we only got a couple frames. So then I decided to get some individual shots. Shelby's were ok, but she looked a little nervous to me. Spot was a big ham.

Here's Spot's official Christmas pic!

Spot and Shelby Support the Writers Strike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npqx8CsBEyk

Check out this video!

Spot's first agility class at 4Paws Academy

Last night was Spot's first class in agility at 4Paws. It was a little crazy. Spot was very excited to be in class and it was hard to keep his attention. He was barking a lot when the other dogs were running around and I couldn't get him to keep still for stretching.

I think there were 9 dogs there? We broke into 2 groups and worked on various obstacles. I'm hoping that was just to see how the dogs handle each obstacle. The other dogs seemed more experienced than beginner, so I'm not sure what the deal is with that. They were doing 12 weave poles and sequences!

So I'm going to rent some ring time at Gemini to work on contact training and the table, etc.

Thanksgiving!

Well, it's Sunday night and I do not feel like going to work tomorrow! I got used to sleeping in.

Since I had so much time, and I really didn't want to join the throngs at the mall, we went to Willards Woods 3 times in 4 days. The pups really needed the exercise.

I was happy to see they have made some improvements since the last time we went. There's an area near the stream, leading up to the bridge, where it is usually muddy. Some people tried to put down some branches to walk on, but it wasn't really working. So what they did was make a raised ramp on both sides leading up to the bridge. It almost looks like gravel loosely mixed with concrete. Hopefully it will work long term.

Spot and Shelby were very good. They didn't run off where they weren't supposed to at all. Shelby is getting much better at coming back when I call and can be off lead the whole time, except the parking lot. Probably because I bring cookies and reward her when she comes back to me, or walks near me. Spot's been a lot better about coming when I call also.

Two weeks ago Shelby suddenly started going after dogs her size or smaller, so I've been keeping my eyes open whenever we encounter one, and make sure to have my leash handy. Sat there was a Shiba Inu puppy that I think she would have growled at, but I had her on leash, so I didn't let her meet the puppy. Today Shelby was very good. We met a Corgi with no problem, she just wanted to play. Same thing with a small beagle-they ran and ran together. Then as we were heading out we met up with a Shiz Tzu, which is the same breed that Shelby went after at the seminar. I was tense, but there was no problem. Shelby was very interested, but friendly the whole time and came when I called her.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the agressive behavior was just a fluke, but I'll be on my toes for a while.

Jen Pinder Seminar

On Friday and Saturday I took Shelby to Riverside Canine in Nashua for a 2 day seminar with Jen Pinder. There is a CPE trial coming up there in Jan, so it was good to get Shelby used to the facility, if nothing else.

I was on the fence for a while because I wasn't sure if this was too advanced for us, even though it was an intermediate session. Just because we're competing at the novice level and are pretty inexperienced, in relation to a lot of people. I got an e-mail saying a couple of spots had opened and asked if we would be ok and they said yes, so I signed up, and it wasn't cheap. Most of the people there were very experienced and had been doing agility for a while. Plus, it seemed most of them had taken a private lesson with Jen on Thurs, which I don't think is really fair because then they're ahead of the other people who just take the seminar.

Well, I think I wasted most of my money. Don't get me wrong, I got some good handling advice, but Shelby was only really interested in participating half the time. She did what she hasn't done in a while, which is work for 2-3 obstacles and then disengage and check out other stuff. So I got the usual "you have to be more exciting" advice. Then that stopped working and I got advice to be more forceful, which worked a little. Then Shelby stopped even wanting treats, so I got criticized for not working hard enough to find a toy that motivates her. Shelby has never been one for tugging or other treat toys, but of course she was all for it when the instructor tried it, so I looked like an idiot who doesn't know anything about her own dog. Plus, since she was so detached, I wasn't really able to send the way I know she can, etc. and it made me feel like I haven't accomplished anything with Shelby. Oh-Shelby also decided to go after another dog in the seminar. This is a new thing since last weekend. Now she goes after small light-colored dogs and attacks them. Just what I need!

I do think Jen is a good instructor because she tailored her advice to each participant and was able to break down problems to see exactly which part needed working on, and things to practice.

So, maybe in a year from now, we'll try again and have a better experience. I think this was a long seminar for me and for Shelby, since we've only ever done 4 hour seminars before and this was 2 eight hour days. I just don't think Shelby loves agility enough to be "up" the whole time.

The hunters

Spot and Shelby love to hunt chipmunks when we go for a walk in the woods. At Willards Woods, there are a few stone walls, which is where chipmunks love to hide!
Here's a video of some hunting action. Don't worry, they never actually catch anything. When I pan left at the end, look closely and you may see the chipmunk escape.

A Day at the Beach

Wow, it's been a while since I posted-but then again, no one's reading, so what does it matter?

Anyway, we've had unseasonably warm weather recently, so last Sunday Holly and I decided to take the dogs to the beach. Most beaches allow dogs after Labor Day, or Sept 30th.
We went to Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester. It's well known as a great dog beach. There were a lot of dogs there, as well as people trying to surf in the non-existent waves. It was about 75 degrees, so a perfect day for the beach.
Shelby had never been to the beach before, so I was curious about how she would react to the waves. She didn't really go in the water, but ran around in the waves a bit. She had a good time chasing Spot and meeting new dogs and people. One couple mentioned how sweet she was compared to other Parson Russells they had known.

Shelby's first agility trial

Last weekend Shelby and I entered our first agility trial. It was a CPE trial held at Gemini Dogs in Littleton, MA. I thought this was a good choice because we train there every week, a lot of people we know would be there and CPE is known to be friendly for beginners, offering a variety of classes.

On Saturday, the classes offered were fullhouse, standard, wildcard, and snooker. We entered all except wildcard. Fullhouse is an unnumbered course. The requirements are that you complete 3 single jumps, 2 circles (either tunnels, chute or tire) and 1 contact obstacle (A frame, teeter or dogwalk). You have 30 seconds to run the course, and you get points for each obstacle. The jumps are 1 point, the circles are 3 points and the contacts are 5 points. Then you have 5 seconds to reach the table and stop the clock. At our level, we needed to get 19 points to qualify. We earned 23 points, but then we were 1 second over time, so we lost a point. But we qualified! Shelby was into it-she didn't exactly follow my cues, but with fullhouse, that's ok. We also came in second by 1 point, beaten by our classmate Mary and her papillon Matrix.

The next class was standard. Shelby was a little harder to handle in this class. I really had to work to keep her with me. We completed the course, but we were way over course time and had 17 faults, so we didn't qualify. We did come in second place though.

Then we had to wait through wildcard, which was a big class. I did volunteer to work, so I at least had something to do, helping set the bars. Wildcard is a fun class where the course is numbered, but there are 3 times where you have a choice between 2 obstacles, marked a or b. At my level, I would need to take 1 a and 2 bs.

Finally it was time for snooker. Snooker is a game where the obstacles are both numbered and colored. You need to take one "red" obstacle and then one "color" and then you repeat another red and a color and a red and a color-but you can't repeat the same ones. If you do that successfully, then you have to do "the closing" which is obstacles numbered 2 through 7. The reds are always single jumps. The colors are all the other obstacles, like the tunnel or A frame, etc. Plus you get points for each obstacle you take, based on what number it is. So for example, the course I was planning was red jump (1 pt), tunnel (6) red jump (1) single jump (7) red jump (1) tire (2). That would have been my opening. Then the closing. However, what actually happened was red jump (1) single jump (7) red jump (1) tire (2) extended sniffing and avoidance, and then we were over time. Very disappointing, but everyone was super nice. I wasn't the only one who had an uncooperative dog.
It was really really hot and humid. The heat index was about 101. I was sweating buckets just standing around.

One Sunday Holly, Cara and Spot joined us for another long day. The classes offered on Sunday we jackpot, standard, colors and jumpers. We weren't entered in jackpot, so we were able to get there a little later. Jackpot is a funky game. You get 30 seconds to take as many obstacles as you can and accumulate points. 30 seconds can be a long time! Then the whistle blows and you have to do the "gamble" which is a set of obstacles that have to be completed a specific distance away. The handler has to stay behind a line on the ground and send the dog to the obstacles independently. I didn't think we were quite ready for this, so we didn't enter.


Our first run was standard, and it was really disappointing. Shelby was not into it at all. She barely looked at me-I only got her over one jump before she checked out.

I was really debating just cancelling the rest of the day, but I decided to let her rest, and then work with her on attention, using treats. That seemed to work. Our colors run went pretty well. Colors is a game where there are actually 2 courses that overlap at least 3 times. You have to tell them which class you are going to run. We didn't qualify because we were over time, but we only had 3 faults and came in first place!

Finally we had the jumpers course. Jumpers does not include any contact obstacles. It's all jumps and tunnels and chutes and the tire. Generally, this is a very fast class since the dogs don't need to slow down and be careful on the contacts. Shelby loves to run, so I was feeling hopeful about this course. Shelby was really great-she followed by cues perfectly, and my timing was right on, if I do say so myself! We had a "clean run" with no faults so we qualified! I thought we might take first place as well, but another dog was 6 seconds faster. Holly took a movie of this run with her camera-it was taking like 20 hours to upload here, so here is the Youtube link instead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKUDOC-SnoQ

Junior Earthdog!

It's official-Spot is now Nutting Lake Sweet Spot JE. He earned his second qualifying leg on Saturday and earned his JE title. Very exciting. Plus, he was the fastest dog to reach the rats on Sat and Sun, taking 8 seconds and then 7 seconds. Unfortunately, the AKC doesn't give awards for that. The judges gave him a new nickname-The Weezer-for his disinctive bark while working.

Shelby had a nice time as well, doing some swimming and frog hunting.

Private Lessons

Well finally Spot got some agility time.
I had to bite the bullet and sign up for a private session with Denielle.
We had the place to ourselves for a whole hour. I could get used to that.
This was the first time Denielle had met Spot, so we did all the obstacles so she could get an idea of what he knew, what he liked, or was afraid of, etc. Mostly, I would stand near an obstacle and see what behaviors he offered, and then click and treat the good ones.
Spot had a great time! We did some targeting, and we worked on the plank a little bit. Then we tried the tunnel, which he loved. We also worked on weave poles and the teeter. We also did some jumping.
The only thing that he didn't like was stretching. So I'll have to work on that a bit.
All in all, it went well and Denielle thought Spot was so smart and so cute. I agree!

Sweet toys-no cavities!

These are so cute!
I wonder if the dogs would tear these apart?

Take your Spot and Shelby to Work Week

Last week I took Shelby and Spot to work, since a lot of people were out and it was pretty quiet. They both did really well and were a big hit. There were no accidents and they were fine with hanging out in my cube most of the day. I took Shelby on Tuesday and Spot on Friday. No way would I take them both at the same time!

Take your Shelby to work day

My company is dog friendly, which is great, but few dogs actually come to the office. There is one ancient golden retriever in Engineering who sleeps all day, and once in a while someone brings their dog in, but rarely for a full day. I decided Shelby should come in just to see how she would do. I chose Tuesday because the office is half empty and I didn't have any meetings or anything.
I was pleasantly surprised by the reaction Shelby got from everyone. People heard she was here and stopped by to say hello. I got a lot of requests to bring her in more often. One person encouraged me to let her have free rein in the office, but I couldn't quite go that far. I had hoped my baby gate would keep her in my cube, but it wasn't quite long enough, so instead I looped her leash around the arm of my chair. It worked pretty well. Shelby was able to peek out at people as they walked by. She actually curled up under my desk and had a nap for a while, which was great. It's a relief to know I can bring her in if I need to and everyone is OK with it. Well, my boss wasn't here this week, so I don't know how she would feel about it. ;-)

Our first outdoor class

Well, last night was our first class in the outdoor practice area. Shelby was really distracted at first, so I had to keep her on the leash during warm up. Once we got down to business we did fine. I was a little disappointed in myself because during the walk through, I thought I should handle a sequence on one side, but everyone else was doing it on the other side, so I changed my mind. Turns out, I was right, so I should have confidence in my judgement. Denielle said Shelby is definitely ready to start trialing and ecnouraged me to enter the CPE trial at Gemini in August. So some good news!

The first advanced class

Well, I am very excited to say that Shelby and I did very well in our first advanced handling class. Actually we were the best ones there!
Basically, you get 10 minutes or so at the beginning of class to practice whatever you want and then you run the course. You don't talk about the course first, you just walk it and do it, the way you would at a trial. Then you get to run it a second time after you talk about how it went the first time.
I'm excited that the class is usually outside. We haven't had much practice outside, and we'll need to get used to that if we want to compete outside.

OMG! Advanced Handling

This is it people-it's official. We are moving up to the advanced handling class on Fridays!!! I don't have to tell you, I'm sure, that this is huge-this is the big show. I've been in intermediate for like 6 months probably, so it was quite a nice surprise to be asked if I wanted to join the advanced class. I was a bit nervous, but then I remembered some of my former intermediate classmates who have moved up, and if they can do it, we'll have no problem. I'm excited because it will mean more course analysis and practicing of sequences.

Lure coursing with Irish Wolfhounds

Today Shelby and I went with Holly and Cara to the Irish Wolfhound Association of New England match. They had conformation, canine good citizen and lure coursing for fun. A few of the irish wolfhounds were good at the lure coursing, but not many. A lot of them would chase the lure for a few seconds, then lose interest. So I had Shelby show them how it's done. She took off like a rocket. She was so excited. Just hearing the noise of it got her revved up. So she ran once by herself, and then we tried her and Cara together to see if Cara would chase Shelby. She did chase her a little more, but still wasn't into it. Shelby was so focussed, she actually went around twice. I'll have to look into lure coursing more, since it seems to be her favorite thing in the world!

6 inline poles!

Woo hoo! Shelby did the standard set of 6 inline poles at class last night. It took her a few tries, but once I slowed it down for her a little, she was able to do it 2-3 times in a row. I'm really excited. I guess I have no excuse for not entering competitions now. ;-)

Nursing homes for Pets?

Interesting-but why can't the owners care for them?



Japan plans nursing home for dogs
June 13, 2007

TOKYO --Japan will get its first nursing home for dogs with round-the-clock monitoring by doctors and a team of puppies to help aging pooches feel younger, a pet products company said Wednesday.

Owners pay 98,000 yen ($800) a month to keep their dogs at the Soladi Care Home for pets, which opens Friday, according to a joint release by Soladi Co. and the Endo Veterinary clinic in Tochigi, eastern Japan.

Veterinarians at the home will offer round-the-clock monitoring and residents will be fed specially fortified food, the release said.

The home, which can accept 20 dogs at one time, will also employ puppies to play with the aging dogs to help them keep fit and feel younger, the release said.

Analysts say that a boom in pet ownership in Japan, coupled with better health care and a more balanced diet, has led to a surge in elderly pets in Japan.

That has spurred doting owners to turn to vitamins, aromatherapy and even acupuncture to help their companions through their old age.

4 inline poles!

So I missed class last week because I was away in Vancouver.
This week, I was in a bad mood, due to work issues, but I went to class anyway, hoping it would cheer me up. It did a little bit.
So this week, the weave pole station had 4 poles, all inline, the way they are in competition. We haven't tried poles inline yet, we've been doing offset poles, where the poles are opened up more to make it easier. I thought about opening the poles, but I figured we could give it a try. To my surprise, Shelby took the inline poles like she had been doing it all her life! She repeated it a few times, so I was pretty excited.
The course at the end of the class was challenging. The opening was a serpentine, so we did a lead out pivot. Then there was the tunnel, a jump and then the poles, set at a difficult angle. I was so focussed on the idea that the poles were a difficult approach, that it totally messed me up. Shelby did the poles correctly, but I didn't think she did, so I didn't reward her. So Denielle had me re-do that section and it was fine.
Then we had 4 jumps with a little bit of a weird angle. So we did it once, and then Denielle wanted me to do it again. While she was telling me how to make adjustments, Shelby decided to go visit Sadie the great dane. Well, they got into a little bit, so there was some drama. But everyone was fine and we finished.

Overall, not a bad class!

6 weave poles!

Wow, Shelby is up to doing 6 weave poles now. This is the number required in the Novice classes of competition. So I am really excited! Weave poles are the last piece of the puzzle. As soon as Shebly is doing those well, we can enter competitions.

Shelby loves a lead out

Boy does she ever! She loves to get ready......and then .....GO! She is so fast off the start when I do a lead out. And she is so good at going where I ask her to. At last night's class we had an interesting set up with a pretty acute angle between the first and second jumps. I was a little worried, but Shelby handled it like a champ. Then there was another jump and the dog walk. No problem! Then another jump, the tunnel, the A frame, weaves and the table. After the exit from the tunnel, we "layered a jump" on the way to the A frame. That means that you are not next to the dog, there is a jump in between you that you have to ignore on the way to the next obstacle. Shelby did the sequence well the first time, but Denielle wanted me to try it again with a little bit of a difference in the timing of my cues. Shelby started running in and out of the tunnel, turning around inside, totally goofing off. The tunnel is one of her favorites. Finally I was able to get her back on track and we finished without any problems.

A true terrier

Tiny terrier saves five New Zealand kids - Pet Health - MSNBC.com

Lure coursing video clips

Here are a couple clips from the lure coursing. The first one is Shelby. It's only the second half-I think she was so fast the woman recording missed the first part!

The second one is another dog-you can see more of the course.

Spring Fling Terrier Fun Day

Last Sunday I took Spot and Shelby to a terrier fun day at Canine Mastery in Seekonk. It was hosted by 3 Jack Russell Terrier breeders. They had fun activities including Go to Ground, which is like Earthdog, a faux Barn Hunt, and lure coursing with and without obstacles.

Shelby did lure coursing and loved it right away. Lure coursing is when they have a white cloth tied onto a string. The string is on a loop and run by a motor and the dogs chase it. Sometimes they add agility obstacles like tunnels and jumps. She was the first dog to run the course and do the tunnel and the tire. She ended up getting a 4th place ribbon! Spot tried it too, but couldn't quite understand what to do. Spot loved the Go to Ground. They had a few different courses laid out. They had one really long one that was probably about 50 feet or so. Spot powered right through it. I was really pleased. I knew he could do the 30 ft Junior tunnel, but it was good to see he had no problems with a much longer tunnel.

Here's a picture of the set up for the Go to Ground. The tunnel on the right is the long one.

Here is Spot in the tunnel working the rats. These tunnels have plexiglass in the end, so you can see the dog working, which is cool.

Look Ma, no hands!

At last Tuesday's class we did something a little different. We did a sequence of all front crosses, but we ran it without any hand signals. We used only "foot signals" and body language. I wasn't sure how it would work, but I was surprised to see all the dogs did just fine. At first Shelby was making some wide turns, so I did a few repetitions and she came in tighter. I guess I always thought I was pre-cueing with my hand signals, and maybe I was, but only a little bit.
Next week, we do rear crosses with no hand signals. Not sure how that will go!

AKC Agility Nationals

AKC held its national agility championship last week. Carolyn Barney, one of my instructors, was a competitor. You can only attend the championships if you have accumulated enough points throughout the previous year by competing and having qualifying scores. CBS' Eye on America series did a nice little piece last Friday.

Unfortunately I can't embed it, but here is the link. It might take a while to load.

Intermediate again

Ok, I know I said the last session was going to be the last intermediate, but I talked to Denielle and decided that it would be good to stay in intermediate to build up Shelby's confidence some more. Plus she agreed to give me some more advanced things to work on, and I figured since I would be the only one in class working on the more advanced techniques, I would get more attention than in the advanced class.

On Tues we did a run through at the end of class. We're working on serpentines and threadles. Serpentines are when you send the dog over a jump away from you, then pull them back over another jump towards you, then send away again. A threadle is when you send the dog away, then pull them back towards you in the space between the jumps, the send away over the next jump, etc. This first graphic is a serpentine. The red line is the dog and the blue line is the handler.

This second graphic is the threadle. A false turn means that you turn your shoulders to draw the dog to you.

Shelby was a little distracted, looking around the floor for food. But other than that, she's doing great. She is really getting good at being able to send her to an obstacle away from me, and she loves the see saw too. It took a while for her to get back on the see saw after she had that bad experience.

crufts blooper

This is so funny-not so much what happens on course, but what happens after they finish.

does the universe hate me?

Someone out there must hate me.
Today at Willards Woods I was walking and a dog came over and was hanging out with us. There was no owner in sight. I took a look at the tags and realized it wasn't a local dog, so I figured it must be lost. I put a leash on it and was able to find the owner, who was very appreciative. He was almost in tears. I was happy to help him-I hope someone would do the same for me.

Not 15 minutes later, Spot and Shelby took off, headed for the road. They actually ran out into the road. Spot was good, and came to me so I could get the leash on, but Shelby was a little bitch and would not come near me. I had to chase her through 2 yards. I was so angry with them both. They know better. So then we went home right away.

Why today of all days?


Ugh.

Shelby rocks

I have to say, I'm very impressed with Shelby's progress in agility. The hardest obstacle by far is the weave poles. I haven't really been sure if Shelby understands them yet. Then on Tues, we did a little exercise and included weave poles in a sequence. I was told to direct Shelby to the poles, but not walk with her or assist her in any way. If she performed all 4 poles, it meant that she understood the group of poles as a single obstacle, which is very good. And she did! I just pointed and said "weave" and then I stood still. Shelby took all 4 poles without looking to me for help. I was so excited! Now I need to work on giving her more confidence in the poles so that she can do them a little more aggressively.

It looks a little like this-although this person is luring the dog through the poles with her hand. That's not the best way to do it, because if you want to compete, it's better to have a dog who can do the poles independently, so you can use that time to get set up for the next obstacle.

Show and Go

So Shelby and I headed up to Riverside Canine Center in Nashua, NH on Saturday to check out a Show and Go. A Show and Go means it's not a trial or anything, but they set up courses and you can just show up and run the course, usually for $10. I didn't know what to expect, but it was very low key. There were maybe 8 people there. I probably could have run Shelby, but I was more interested in exposing her to a new place and new dogs running around. She did very well. She was friendly, but I was able to keep her attention most of the time. She was excited by the other dogs running the course, which is good. They have run-thrus at Gemini Dog every Sunday night, so I might try that soon. I also just got word of a trial in May that will have a pre-novice class, so we might sign up for that too.

Earthdawg

Shelby had her first Earthdog training session on Saturday. I was pleased with her progress. She was fine about entering the tunnel after a short re-introduction.
When she got a chance to meet the rats, she was much more interested than she was last summer. She didn't bark or anything, but she did chase the cage, and jump up and try to bite the cage, which was good. She did ok with the rats inside the tunnel too-she went right up to the end and was trying to bite them and scratch at them with her paw. We ended up taking out one of the bars so she could get a little closer, to see if it would rev her up a bit more. Her interest level stayed high even when it was the other dogs' turns with the rats.
One thing I hope to train her to do is to bark at the rats. They don't have to bark to qualify, but it's the best signal of work. She doesn't bark much in general, only when she is out in the yard and hears other dogs barking or sees a squirrel. So we'll have to work on that.

One of the other dogs in class was a mini-daschund name Gunner. He's almost a year old. He was so cute! I was helping his owner teach him to go in the tunnel.

Intermediate starts again!

Well, Tuesday was the first class in another series of 6 for Intermediate Agility. I think it will probably be our last before moving on to Advanced. I was a little puzzled by the fact that a couple people from intermediate moved on to advanced, when I definitely thought that Shelby and I were doing better than they were. But Denielle, the instructor, spoke with me this week and said she thought Shelby might benefit from a little bit more attention at the level of obstacle training, because at advanced, they basically run courses the whole class. She thought it might be a little too much pressure for Shelby to take everything in, doing more advanced work and having new dogs around etc. I forgot to tell her that we've done two seminars already with no problems, but that's ok. This class we have 6 dogs, so it's much better than the craziness of the last session. We are definitely the more advanced in the class, but that's ok, I just work on getting more distance away when sending to obstacles and also doing rear crosses and stuff.

This Saturday Shelby starts her earthdog class. I'm interested to see if she will be into it or not. She was having a great time with a dead frozen mouse this weekend. (yuck) So maybe she'll be more interested in the rats than she was last summer. Spot's not doing this session, since I feel like his skill level is at the point where he can get his junior title this summer. Plus we'll have a couple of outdoor practice days before the actual trials, so he'll be fine.

A nice comment

Last night was the final meeting of our current intermediate agility session. We did some quick equipment drills, then worked on our lead outs for the final run thrus. We set the dogs up two jumps away from us, using a lead out pivot, then had two more jumps to guide them over. A lead out pivot is when you are partway though a front cross when you call the dog, so your hand is in the same position it would be for the front cross, but your feet are already turning the opposite way. For example using the picture on the left, the dog is on your right side, you go a couple jumps ahead with your back to the dog, and keeping your right arm out horizontally, you turn your body to the right so that your front is now to the dog, and your right arm is horizonal across your chest. Then you are able to drop the right arm and switch to the left as the dog approaches you, just as you would in a normal front cross. So using the illustration on the left, I would put Shelby in a stay in front of jump 1, then walk out to past jump 3 with my back to her and my right arm out. Then I would turn to my right, so that I am facing her, keeping my right arm out, with my feet pointing toward jump 4. As Shelby is commiting to jump 3, I drop my right arm and switch to my left arm to direct her over jump 4. In class, we then had to execute another front cross to change the dog's direction again to take them over another jump more in the area of the unnumbered obstacle in this picture.


One thing I learned from this is the you need to approach every exercise confidently. If I am wishy washy about what I am doing, Shelby will break the stay and start on her own. When I calmly and distinctly tell her to stay and then go take my position, everything is good. The second time we tried to exercise, I went into it with that mentality, and it was really smooth. I could tell Shelby was very focussed on me, and she was a lot faster than she had been, which was great. All the other students oohed and aaahed, which was cool. The instructor told me that Shelby and I really have a nice bond and that I understand Shelby a lot better than some of her advanced students, which was nice to hear.

Also, our new indoor weave poles came in, so we will be able to practice at home. Up to this point I only have weave poles that stick in the ground for outdoor use. I'm sure I don't have to tell you I haven't been doing much outdoor practicing lately!

Agility run thru video

I was able to paste together the three individual parts of the agility run thru that Holly recorded for me a while ago. The transition is a little funky, because there are gaps in the 3 videos. I added funny music just for Harriet!!! Enjoy.

A compliment!

Last night we had agility class, and things went pretty well. We got to work on the chute, which I was hoping to do since we hadn't used it in a while. Shelby was pretty attentive most of the night.


For our run through at the end of class, we had a 16 obstacle course, including stuff like the tunnel, A frame and pause table with a couple of rear crosses, which I love, but I think most people don't like so much. I was the first to run the course. We did pretty well, with a couple stumbles and some motivation issues at a few points, like the table, but we got through it pretty smoothly as far as my handling and cues go. I wasn't totally happy because of the motivation issues.
Some of the other advanced teams ran the course after I did, and experienced some handling problems at a couple areas, but nothing major.
When class was over, I was getting my stuff together, and some of the students were talking to the instructor, and I heard her say "I don't think Liz heard that." So she repeated that Patricia had said it was hard making mistakes when the person who goes first does the course perfectly, like Liz and Shelby. I was astonished, because to me, we had a few glaring problems and it wasn't perfect at all! It just reminded me that each dog and handler has their own things to work on and their own standards of success, so you shouldn't try to live up to someone else's performance.
Later, when we were getting in the car, the instructor told me that we're doing really well, and Shelby's distraction issues will get better with time and experience and that I'm doing a good job staying positive and trying to keep it fun for Shelby. So overall, a good night.

Agility is for all species!

This is too funny. It's not a dog doing agility-it's a lamb!

A breakthrough-I think

Well, for a long time, when I let Spot out, he will come to the door and bark once to let me know that he wants to come in.
Shelby started scratching at the door to be let in, but I realized that's probably bad because eventually the door will get all scratched up. So over the weekend I decided to stop responding to the scratching to see what would happen. Well, Shelby barked once! I was so excited. I praised the heck out of her. I hoped it wouldn't be a one-time thing. Over the weekend Shelby has pretty much stopped the scratching and started barking to come in the house. This morning she had to bark twice because I guess she thought I didn't hear her the first time!
So now Shelby rings the bell to go out and barks to come in. She really has me trained well!

Cute Photos

I realized there has been a lack of cute photos of Spot and Shelby on this site.
I therefore submit these for your consideration:



Not sure if you can tell, but the window screen has been torn asunder, probably trying to get at a cat in the yard or something-I'm not sure. Every day when I come home from work, I have to do a damage assessment...



Spot on the other hand, I know exactly what he does all day. Here is the evidence to prove it.

WooHoo-A 15 obstacle course

Last night's agility class was ca-razy! There are 9 dogs, so it is a little crowded. Shelby was in a mood, and at one point she grabbed another dog's toy and ran around getting everyone else revved up, including the great dane. Do you know how hard it is to separate a jack russel and a great dane? Especially when the great dane hip-checks you every time you try and grab your dog? Then the great dane went on a tear around again later. The instructor was hanging on by a thread-as were most of the students. It was not the most productive session. The class is supposed to be 60 minutes, but ended up being 90 minutes just because it was so crowded, and a lot of people needed help/corrections during their run.
But we did make some progress. Shelby was able to do the seesaw with a little bit of trepidation. We even were able to do the seesaw as part of the course at the end of the night. I had to help her out with some cheese for motivation. It was a good course, with the dog walk in a higher position than usual, plus it had a tunnel going underneath, which sometimes freaks the dogs out a bit. We also had a tricky transition from the A frame to a tunnel which we had a little trouble with, just because I wasn't sure of the cues, but everything else was good.

A Busy Doggie Weekend

On Saturday, we went for a quick walk at Willard's Woods with Holly and Cara. The wind chill was bad...but the dogs didn't seem to mind.
Later that afternoon, Spot and I had earthdog class, which went very well. We made the tunnels longer, with more turns, and he wasn't bothered at all. He just motored through to the rats and worked like a champ!
On Sunday, Shelby and I visited my brother Jim in Fall River. Shelby met Hugo, my brother's dog. It went ok, but Hugo is very big and excitable, and wasn't really paying attention to Shelby's signals that she wasn't interested in playing, so she actually growled and snapped at him a couple times, when he was head butting her to get her to play with him.
After that excitment, we were off to an agility seminar at Canine Mastery in Seekonk, MA. On the way there, I realized we were only a few miles away from Shelby's breeder. Too bad-I would have liked to take her back and see her reaction.
The agility seminar was good. It was mostly on handling and cueing for the owners, not really any obstacle techniques for the dogs. I did pretty well. I didn't really get too many corrections. Some people have a hard time giving the cues fast enough for the dog to be able to respond. I guess since Shelby is slower, I have plenty of time!
It was definitely a good experience to see if Shelby would perform in a new place and for me to experience some butterflies, so I can know how to handle it when I'm at a trial.

I'm a bad agility mom

Last night was the first class in a new session of intermediate agility, and it was a BIG class in a lot of ways. There were 9 dogs, I think, and the smallest one was a retriever. So Shelby was by far the smallest.

We were working on the teeter, and it was a little higher than last week. Shelby got on ok and rode it down to the floor, but then she didn't walk off the end quick enough, and it started to come back up. Of course, she decides the best thing to do is go back the way she came, only that side isn't on the floor anymore either, so she panics and jumps off. I didn't make a big deal, we just tried again. She was willing to get back on, but not so sure about making it move so much. But that's ok. We'll start out lower next week.

One thing that was bugging me the whole class was that Shelby wasn't paying attention to me very much. She would do a couple things, then be sniffing around like crazy. I just couldn't keep her with me. She didn't even want to look in my direction. I figured she wanted to check out all the other dogs. On the way home, I remembered that sniffing is a stress-relieving behavior. So she was trying to tell me she was stressed, and I kept trying to get her to work, which made her sniff more, etc. I felt so bad that I totally ignored her signals! Poor baby.

Earthdog class for Spot

This Saturday we started Earthdog class for Spot at Gemini Dog training. It's only a 4 week class, but it is good to get an opportunity to practice, since I'm too lazy to go to Home Depot and get some lumber to build my own tunnels.

Spot was the only dog there who had ever done any Earthdog before, so he was kind of the example of what people might expect.

Spot's problem that has held him back from getting his Junior Earthdog title is that he wastes too much time exploring above ground. They only have 30 seconds to get through the tunnel and start working the rats. In the non-title Intro class, they have 2 minutes. He's passed that test twice, but failed Junior twice. So we practiced rewarding him only when he entered the tunnel as soon as I released him. He was zooming into the tunnel after few minutes of that!

Then the dogs got to actually see the rats.
There are 2 rats in a small cage, and the dogs were allowed to sniff and were encouraged to bark as the instructor moved the cage around.

Since Spot already is well aware that rats are prey, he showed everyone how the dog actually works the rats inside the tunnel. I couldn't tell if people were excited or horrified! Spot gets really worked up. Not all dogs do, but I think some of the other people were wondering "What have I gotten myself into?"

Happy New Year!

On New Year's Day I hosted a brunch for some friends. I think about 10 people made it. It was really nice to see everyone. Holly brought Cara and Tanya brought Halle. The dogs love having company. After everyone went home, this is what Spot and Shelby did for the remainder of the day:

First real snow of the winter

Well, on Dec 29th, we got our first substantial snow of the winter.
December 2006 has been the warmest ever recorded in Boston history.

It was rough going to get down the street without wiping out, since the plows and sanders never made it by, but we were able to make it to Willards Woods without incident thanks to my finely-honed New England driving skills and the Passat's all wheel drive and anti-lock braking system.














Can you find Spot and Shelby in this picture?