For all the cat lovers out there

Normally this is a cat-free zone, as Spot and Shelby are not too fond of the feline friends, unless it's as a squeaky toy. But I found this video and I laughed so hard I had to share. Turn on the sound, that's really what makes it funny.

A wet day at Willard's Woods

It was pretty warm today and the dogs really needed some exercise so we went to WW. I expected some mud because of all the snow melt. But there was also a lot of standing water. There were also some ice patches. I have Yak Trax but I left them in the car!

Shelby was so good for most of the walk. She stayed right near me and didn't run off at all. She kept checking in, even making sure it was ok to go meet some kids and dogs. I think she's growing up! We did have one incident. I saw there was a schnauzer coming up behind us so I put Shelby on lead. When the dog reached us, he and Shelby said hello, and I was trying to pay attention, but the owner was blathering about Jack Russells and while I was distracted Shelby snarked at the other dog. Nothing major, but I really want to keep on top of those reactions. The other woman was all like "oh, she doesn't like my dog getting to close to you, she's being protective." She totally wasn't listening when I tried to explain that Shelby is tring to be dominant. Oh well.

It was nice to get out of the house, but I was disappointed at all the dog poop I saw. I picked up a few piles on my way out. Whenever it snows, people seem to think they don't need to scoop the poop.

Merry Christmas video

Wow, this video is really cool. The behaviors are pretty easy to train, but teaching that many dogs and doing all the filming and editing must have been a lot of work.

Enjoy!

Snow days

Well, our usual schedule has been interrupted by weather lately. Last Friday, the 12th, we had the ice storm, so no class. This Friday, the 19th, a snowstorm, so no class. Next week I have guests, so I'm not sure if I'll be going to class. The dogs are going a little stir crazy. I've been home since Friday, since I got to work from home due to the storm. We've been playing a lot in the house. Spot doesn't really like the cold or the snow. Shelby loves though. She's been out in the yard all day. Unfortunately she doesn't like getting cleaned up when she comes in, which is bad because her fur collects snowballs. It's little hard to see with the white on white...














Spot and Shelby did spend some time out in the yard today tracking some mice or something. They love to dig in the snow and stick their faces in the snow to track their quarry.

An update on the Blind Cross Body Line

Our class on the 5th was very good.

We had a Jumpers-style course and practiced our Blind Cross Body Line handling. Shelby was so focused and fast. I almost couldn't believe it. Then again she does lover Jumpers. We seem to get a good rhythm going when we do Jumpers.

The course was set up so we repeated the middle but with one change. The first time we did a serpentine and the second time a threadle. Shelby handled them both beautifully. My timing was a little slow-mainly because I wasn't sure she would do it!

I also had to work on the timing of the threadle because after the threadle I needed to get ahead of Shelby for a front cross. We repeated that a couple times and eventually I got it. All the handlers who had some difficulty the week before did much better this week. I guess it just needed to marinate for a while.

Overall a very fun class. We also had a couple of new people join us. Patricia and Marco, who had been out for a couple months and Nancy and Colby who we hadn't taken class with before.

Class cancelled due to ice

Wow-what a winter storm we've had and it's not over for a lot of people.
Our usual Friday night agility is cancelled tonight because of it. The instructor lives in Worcester and that area was hit hard.

We've had rain for the past 3 days and last night it turned into ice. So my pine trees got coated with ice. Each and every needle was covered. We also had some high wind gusts. Which combined with the heavy ice-covered branched to result in branches snapping off and falling at high velocity.

Spot was running around the house all night long barking at every noise. Eventually I had to put him in the bathroom, which calmed him down a bit.

Thankfully I only have only minor damage to my fence that I should be able to repair myself. Times like these make me want to cut down those 2 gigantic pine trees once and for all.

Dogs have sense of fairness, study finds - The Boston Globe

Dogs have sense of fairness, study finds - The Boston Globe

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Well duh-I could have told them this without doing a University study. Spot and Shelby definitely know when one of them gets something and the other doesn't. They give me a look like, "What gives" and "Where's mine?"

A long-awaited trip to Willard's Woods

Today Tanya called me up and asked if I wanted to join her at Willard's Woods. I had been thinking about going, but it was so gray I was still in my pjs when she called!

But I decided we should go, since we haven't been in months. The dogs were so excited to be there, especially since they hadn't seen Hallie in a couple of months. Tanya also brought Coraline in a sling, and she slept the whole time. I was a little surprised since the weather was so chilly-it was only about 32 degrees. But Tanya said she's been taking her every day.

It was a nice walk. The dogs all behaved and stayed pretty close. I did have cookies, so that helped. :-) Cara had a good time too. We met some nice dogs and had a nice chat.

Blind Cross Body Line

This week we started working on the "blind cross body line" technique. My instructor feels now that it's the best way to handle serpentines and threadles. This theory is credited to Greg Derrett. I know his is the system she feels is better, as opposed to Linda Mecklenberg's system.

Basically, before we were cueing the serpentine by using the inside hand and turning our shoulders toward the dog, while keeping our feet moving forward, like a false turn. With the body line method you use the inside hand but actually turn your entire body, continuing your forward motion by backing up. It's kind of like doing half a front cross. The whole premise is that the dog should drive to your reinforcement zone, which is always in front of you. In Linda's method the dog drives to the heel position, as I understand it.

I see the benefits to both methods. I think really just having a method puts you ahead of the game. But it's really hard to run forward, then switch and back up for a few steps and then run forward again! Plus, Shelby understood the other way just fine. I don't know-my instructor thinks this new method will help with 180s or something down the line. I'm keeping an open mind.

Mending Fences

Well, I hate to push my luck, but I think I've finally secured the yard. I've been letting Shelby out untethered for the past few days. I supervised closely the first couple of times, but I've been letting her stay out there alone and just checking in. When she comes to my call I give her treats, so she's been very willing to come in when I ask.

A fun Friday night

Last night Spot and Shelby both had class and for the first time in a while I was able to leave work at 5 and wasn't totally stressed out before I even got there.

Spot's class was good. It was only Spot and Molly. We worked on the various obstacles and then did a sequence. Spot is really motivated, which is nice, but he's so eager he just takes obstacles on his own. I guess I don't have to worry about independent obstacle performance! We are working a bit on proofing his contacts. Last night I noticed that he tended to break his stay when I would lean away from him, so I'll have to work on that.

When we did the sequence he had a hard time going from jump 1 to jump 2 because it was a 90 degree turn. So we worked on that. He's doing well on front and rear crosses.

In Shelby's class we had Ben, Lilly and Skippy. Shelby loves Ben and he loves her. So we have to keep an eye on them or they will start playing. Shelby was also trying to get Lilly to play.

The course was pretty easy, with one tricky section at the opening. Our first time, Shelby wasn't really paying attention and I was trying to go fast, so I wasn't supporting her at certain points and it was just not pretty. The second time through Shelby was more settled and paid attention more and we did well.

Progress turns into frustration

Well, today it was a really nice day and I had planned ahead and purchased more chicken wire and wooden stakes so I could finally make the fence more secure. Shelby had been jumping one section of the fence, and I had put up chicken wire there, but I realized there were 2 other sections that needed help too.

I had pretty much finished up on the fence, so I decided to let Shelby off the long lead. Things were going well until my neighbor came over and said hello, and asked if both the dogs were out. I said yes, why? It was a weird question. So then he says, "oh, then I guess this is one of yours right here." IN HIS YARD!!!! Somehow Shelby had found a different spot and got out. It was a rotted spot near the ground that she was able to queeze through.

I go running in the house, grab a leash and some treats and go out to the street. Thankfully my neighbor saw where she was, just down the street. She was digging in something and I was able to walk up and offer her some treats and get her on leash.

I was feeling really good, then BAM! brought right back down. I have some pieces of fence that need to get replaced, but I really don't have the money right now, so I have to make due with chicken wire and strategically placed rocks. Ugh.

One positive note: I found Shelby's collar that I thought was lost forever. Now I don't need to go get a new rabies tag.

Dogs 101 on Animal Planet

I've been watching the new series Dogs 101 on Animal Planet. It's been exciting because I actually know some of the people in it.

The show with the dachshunds showed Bailey and Reese, and some other people I know and was shot at a trial in Brimfield MA, and then the episode with the westies featured Nancy Gauthier and her granddaughter, who I see all the time at earthdog. They actually shot some footage at my club's trial earlier this year. Very cool!

Here is a link to a video of Bailey and Reese-at about 4:00 in.

Skipping School

Oops-I'm a bad mommy. I skipped class on Friday with Spot and Shelby. I was just not in the mood after driving home in the rain, through traffic, after a long week. It was much more attractive to stay in and be cozy. The dogs didn't seem to mind...

A good class this week

Spot and Shelby both have class on Friday now, which is kind of good because it saves on gas, but it definitely makes for a long night. Spot has class from 6:30-7:30 and Shelby from 7:30-9 or 9:30 depending on when we finish.

Spot is doing well in class. Usually there are only 2 other dogs there, sometimes just 1 other. We're working on obstacle performance, targeting, working the clock and front and rear crosses. We haven't been doing weaves at all, which I need to bring up. I feel like we've taken a step back and are taking things really slowly. Spot doesn't care-he just loves going to class! He is happiest when he has a job. He was being really independent, taking the teeter without my cue-same thing with the A frame. We did work on the A frame release and throwing the toy.

Shelby is doing well in class. No hint of her disinterest from the trial 2 weeks ago. She's very excited in class, but focused. Last month I was having a so-so night and Shelby picked up on that and was having trouble with weaves. Denielle said she didn't think Shelby had independed weave performance, and I protested that she did, we were just having an off night. Plus I saw pictures from the trial and Shelby had great form. Well, last night the course had weave poles twice, 10 poles each time and Shelby did great. I rear-crossed the poles the first time and it didn't bother her, she drove to the entrance and kept her head down and did them perfectly. I was really proud of her, especially since the poles were near the gate and the other dogs were sitting right behind it. The second time we did the weaves she got all the way to the end but missed the last one, so we tried again. She got to the same spot and just stopped and looked at me, so I stood there and looked back! Finally I gave her a hand signal to take the final pole and she did it. I like to let her think about what to do before I step in. One surprise was some diffuculty Shelby had with the tire. She kept jumping through the side. I had to really step into the pocket and support the tire.

On Sunday I went to see Carolyn's new place in Hudson. It wasn't quite what I expected. It's a little small. Kind of long and narrow. Not sure how it would look with a full agility course set up. Supposedly there is space for an outdoor agility ring in the summer, but I didn't see it. She had demos of agility, carting and rally.

NETC Earthdog Fun Day

Today I took Spot to Glencoe Farm in Plainville, MA for the New England Terrier Club Earthdog fun day. I was excited because they were offering a non-sanctioned test including Masters level. Spot finished his Senior title in August. We had never tried Master and I thought this would be a good opportunity to try him out.

The rules for Master are that the dogs are tested in a brace, which means 2 dogs at a time. The first part of the test is the "walk up." The two owners walk with the judge and the two dogs off leash through the woods on a pre-determined path that has been scented in a few areas and has one false den. Your dog must show that they are hunting by ranging in front, behind and along side the trail, sniffing and investigating. You must also be able to call the dog back to have them check areas you indicate. The dog must investigate the false den.

When you reach the tunnel, the dog needs to find the entrance and mark. The rats are placed behind bars at the entrance of the tunnel. Once both dogs have marked the entrance, the first dog is allowed to enter the tunnel while the second dog is tethered and required to "honor" the working dog. After the first dog finishes, they switch places.

The Master tunnel has a couple extra obstacles. It has a constriction which makes the tunnel narrower for a short section and it has a roller, which the dog has to crawl over. The dog has 90 seconds to reach the rats and then has to work the rats for 90 seconds. Then you have 15 seconds to remove the dog from the tunnel.

Spot did really well at the fun day. He stayed with the group, while investigating the area and hunting with the other dog. He came when I called and investigated the false den when I pointed it out. The only weird thing was that when we exited the woods into the field where the tunnel was Spot stayed really close and I had to tell him to go look for rats. He was second to mark the tunnel so he had to honor first. That was tough for him. He was barking and I had to give him treats, which wouldn't be allowed in a real test. Once he entered the tunnel he had no problem finding the rats in time. He worked the full 90 seconds. The only hitch was removing him from the tunnel. He backed up when the cover was removed and it took me 19 seconds to remove him. Overall not too bad for the first time and he had a lot of fun. Hopefully we will be able to practice a bit in the Spring.

Worst...Weekend...Ever

It's been a while since I posted. September is a really busy month and I had to take time off from agility.

This weekend I entered Shelby in the Bo Gee CPE trail in Deerfield NH. On Sat we were entered in Jumpers, Snooker, Jackpot, and 2 rounds of Standard.

The temperature when I arrived Saturday morning was 31! Brrr. I had my Winter hat, gloves and scarf on for the first walk.

Jumpers started out ok. Shelby went wide at a turn and I had to call her back. We got going again and were going pretty fast and she got ahead of me and ran around a jump. When I called her back she backjumped it. So we had one off course, but we got a Q and 4th place.

I was excited for Snooker. It was an interesting course. We got 1 red, the tunnel, second red and the Shelby took a pee on the course. That was a first for me.

Jackpot was next. Shelby wasn't really feeling it. I had to cheerlead her through the course. I just tried to keep in front hoping it would motivate her to keep up. It worked pretty well. When it came to the gamble it was jump, tunnel, jump, table. She did the jump but blew past the tunnel. I called her back and she got it and got the table, but we were over maximum time by 5 seconds. That really sucked because it was a short opening of only 30 seconds, rather than the possible 35. So we could have Q'd if we had just a little more time. We did get 3rd place.

Then came Standard Round 1. Again Shelby was slow and I was the head cheerleader. I really had to work hard to get her around the course. The A frame was super slow, the teeter was super slow. Our time was almost 90 seconds, so no Q. Round 2 was the same thing. We were a little quicker with a course time of 78 seconds, but still too slow so no Q.

I was disappointed with the day overall, but Shelby worked with me and paid attention. She just wasn't very motivated.

On Sunday we were entered in Standard, Jackpot, Fullhouse and Snooker. Our Standard run was crazy. Shelby missed contacts, ran around jumps, etc. I knew she wouldn't like the opening because it was a jump to the dogwalk, which was slatless. She tends not to like that I think because it looks like a teeter when you approach head on. Yesterday she hesitated, but I encouraged her and she continued. On Sunday she started, then bailed. We kept going and I had her for a while over a few jumps and a tunnel. Then we tried the weaves 3 times and she just wasn't even really trying, so we went on. At the end she ran around the last jump and left the ring. I called her back and she backjumped it and before I could get her over the right way the whislte blew, so we had an NT.

Next was Jackpot. I had a nice course planned with 2 jumps to the A frame, which Shelby usually likes. She took the 2 jumps and then went around the A frame to see the judge, which she never does. Then I tried to get her back and she went around 2 more jumps and then into the tunnel. But then she went off again, so I called her over and picked her up and we left the ring. I was really disappointed because Shelby was mentally checked out. I felt like I was putting in 90% of the effort and she was only doing 10%.

After that I decided that since Shelby wasn't feeling like doing agility, we were going to go home. I knew it would be a lot more fun for me! I was really frustrated to the point of tears. It's so frustrating when you know you are capable of so much more than what came out on the field. And it's not because of stress or nerves, it's simply a lack of desire. I know some people will say that I just have to find a better way to motivate her, but I'm doing all I can and I don't see what else I can do. So if Shelby needs more to compete then I'm obviously not the handler for her. We entered the All Dogs trial in Nov. Not sure if we got in. If we did, I'll be interested to see how she performs there. I really hope this was just an off day.

MIT students take on some furry roommates - The Boston Globe

MIT students take on some furry roommates - The Boston Globe

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I guess there is a benefit to the whole leash tug-thing

This is really funny video. Watch it all the way to the end. Although that lead out is pretty darn big!

I don't think I would be comfortable competing in a non-secure (fenced) ring. Luckily all our local outdoor trials at least have snow fencing and some have chain link. It looks like this one just had poles with tape, like crime scene tape. :-) I think that's the way they do it in the UK too.
I surprised stuff like this doesn't happen more often.

A weavepole breakthrough for Spot

Spot is very handler-focused, which is somewhat different than Shelby who is more obstacle-focused. So I'm used to Shelby giving me more leeway as far as following my hand signals and verbal cues and knowing that she should take the next obstacle, not caring so much about exactly where I am, or my path.

Spot is super tuned-in to me, so if I don't run the right line and have to take a step out, it can pull him right off a jump. He's also very into treats, so he watches my hands closely.

I had been having a problem with the weave poles because it was like he didn't even see them. I would try to cue them with my hand, and he would run right by them, around them, etc. So then I tried putting the jackpot toy on the ground just beyond the poles and seeing if that would draw him through. That worked a little better. This is using the 2x2 method, BTW.

Last night I asked Carolyn what else I could try. She suggested not cuing at all. Just having him at my side and walking close to the poles. It worked really well! He wanted to be next to me, and he saw that the poles were there, so he did them. It only took a couple tries before he understood that he needs to go between the poles to get me to throw the jackpot toy. I practiced on the right and the left and he did pretty well.

Eau No!

I reached a milestone as a dog owner last night. My first dog/skunk encounter!

Around 10:45pm, Shelby asked to go out, so I opened the door and as she ran down the steps, she suddenly zoomed across the lawn and started growling. Usually that means there's a cat outside or something.

But this time she was right next to the porch, so I peered over the railing and saw the black with the white stripe and I knew immediately it was a skunk. I tried to call Shelby off, but she wasn't having it. I didn't want her to get sprayed. I didn't want to get sprayed either. Unfortunately almost immediately I smelled a nasty odor. I was just hoping it hadn't been a direct hit.

I ran inside to get my shoes and my flashlight so I could keep an eye on the skunk. Shelby had it cornered under the front stairs. When I took a look I could see it was a small skunk, not quite a baby, but not full grown either. I tried to grab Shelby, but she kept evading me, running under the stairs from side to side, barking her head off the whole time. I'm sure the neighbors were loving this.

This went on for about 15 minutes, until Shelby started getting tired. Finally I was able to grab her by the tail (thank goodness for the Parson tail handle!) and pick her up. She was definitely stinky, but not too overwhelming. Her eyes were watery, so I washed off her face. She was panting really heavily, for about 15 minutes afterwards. I was a little concerned, but she eventually calmed down.

The little skunk was very valiant. It was stomping its feet and charging at Shelby if she got close. This morning when I let the dogs out, Shelby headed directly under the porch, but thankfully the skunk was long gone. I'll be checking the yard before I let them out tonight!

That's what I call a sticky situation!

So, here's an example of what you expect from Parson Russell Terriers.

We were out at Holly's barn for a BBQ, and I had the dogs off leash. They were doing fine, keeping themselves occupied. They had cornered a chipmunk under the port-a-pottie and were trying to figure out where it went. Everyone was entertained by their hunting behavior.

I'm hanging out and talking, and turn around to see this:






















They were covered with these little round briar-type things. All over their faces, their bodies, feet, tails, you name it. Spot wasn't too bad. We had a horse comb and they came off pretty easily. Shelby decided to rub her face on the ground and they got all tangled in her hair. I just finished getting them all out yesterday. :-)

Big dogs up to task of helping disabled - The Boston Globe

Big dogs up to task of helping disabled - The Boston Globe

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Working the ARFF Trial

Well, I really didn't feel like getting up this morning, but I had an obligation to my club, so I did. I got there about 8:30 and checked in. I was a little bummed to see they had me working the 9am class, then a 1:25 class and then a 4pm class. I guess they didn't know I wasn't running a dog. Plus-of course with my luck Howard is in charge of my ring, so he's organizing all the volunteers and ring crew, etc. However he was nice and wasn't an ass, so that was good.

So I ended up working the first class, then volunteering for the second as well, as ring crew and leash runner. Then I took a break and worked one more class-being the gate steward. They had me scheduled for the last class of the day as assistant scribe, but I told Howard I had to leave before 4, so it wasn't a big deal. Being gate steward worked out ok. All my people checked in and only one change in the order. Still, not my favorite job. I didn't know a lot of the people, which made it harder. I guess I could probably do it for CPE since I've seen a lot of the dogs and people around before.

I did get to see a few friends from Gemini there. Mary and Ben were there and Leslie and Bethoven. I thought Leslie left Gemini, but I guess she just switched to Thurs night with Carolyn instead of Denielle. I think Denielle rubs some people the wrong way. I had a hard time at first, but now I like her.

Friday night's class was only me and Mary, which was fun. We had a challenging course. The opening was jump, tire, jump, jump, weaves. I ended up doing a lead out pivot to jump 3, which actually worked! I was so pumped I totally forgot my post turn at 4 and did the weaves on the wrong side. Shelby missed the entry, so we re-did them on the left no problem. Then we had the tunnel under the A frame, then a jump and the dog walk. We got to layer the tunnel next to the dog walk, which Shelby handled no problem. Then it was a double jump, which we also layered to another jump and the table. Then it was jump, tunnel, jump, A frame, teeter, jump, jump. The ending was tough because of the angle of the teeter and the last 2 jumps. I totally didn't know what I was doing the second time.

Then after class, we had champagne to celebrate Shelby's level 1 title!

Forgot to mention I also won a raffle item

They had a few raffle items at the trial. I volunteered on Sat and Sun, and on Sun I won a raffle prize that included a hat (ehn) plus 2 tendons, a trachea and some freeze dried tripe (yippee). The doggies liked those!

I found out that I'll be working most of the day at the ARFF trial on Sat. Looks like I'll be assistant scribe and gate steward. I've never gate stewarded for agility. Not sure if I'm loud enough to get people to the gate. And I really don't want to deal with moving people around in the running order. Sigh. I'll give it a try I guess.

Gemini CPE Trial-August 23-24, 2008

Last weekend was our "home" trial at Gemini Dogs in Littleton. I had been looking forward to it, hoping Shelby would have a home field advantage. :-)

The weather was sunny and warm-hot but bearable. Thankfully there was nowhere near as much humidity as last year. The heat definitely affected the dogs, but Shelby was fine. She was a little slower than usual, but willing and ready and having fun. She pretty much zonked out in the X pen when she wasn't running.

Saturday started out with Fullhouse. Our run was a little crazy, with Shelby missing the dogwalk in the beginning, so I had to compensate and ended up doing an extra tunnel in order to get back on the dogwalk. I think because we don't usually practice the dog walk at full height. I didn't think we Qd, because at the end, Shelby was really fast and ahead of me, so I thought she missed the required 3rd single jump, but when they posted the scores, we got a Q.

Next up was Standard. We were still in level 1! We started out, took a couple jumps, then Shelby went around the third jump and skipped the tunnel, but I just kept it going. She got with it and took the rest of the obstacles, missing one more jump, so we didn't Q. We had 78 fault points!

Next up was Wildcard, which Shelby usually does very well. We were in level 3, so it was a change to needing 1 A and 2 Bs, rather than 2 As and 1B, so I was worried I would mess it up, but I did great and remembered what to do! We were humming along no problem through the first 4 obstacles, but then we got to a corner where a bunch of dogs had peed and Shelby stopped in her tracks. I got her going towards the tunnel and she got stuck again. I get her back, she goes through the tunnel, comes out and gets sidetracked sniffing again! Finally we get going up the A frame and finish the course, but at the end she blows by the last jump and she back jumps it, giving us one fault. We were over time, so no Q, but Shelby did perform 6 poles on my right with no hesitation, so I was really happy. It was our first set of poles in competition.

Last but not least was Snooker. I like snooker a lot. I think it's really fun and challenging. At first glance this course seemed like it would be hard to get a high score, but I realized we could take the first red at a really sharp angle, since we had practiced in class. Shelby did great, we got 50 out of a possible 51 points and came in less than a second over time. I was really pleased. We Qd and got first place!

On Sunday we started with Jackpot. Of course, I was running late by about 10 minutes and missed the judge's briefing and the walk through! I was a little pissed actually that they started before 7:45. It was a non-traditional Jackpot, so that made it harder. And they were out of course maps! It was crazy. I definitely think when the judge is a hyper type, it affects everyone. I felt bad for the people who ran first because no one was really clear on the Jackpot rules and the judge was rushing to get the day started and it was not pleasant. One person actually had an argument with the judge after their run when they didn't Q!

When it was our turn, I had a good plan to get points and use up the necessary time. We executed it well and when the gamble whistle blew we were in good position. I look to see where the gamble is and then turn back to Shelby and I see her stopped and sniffing. As I go to her she drops and rolls around on her back, loving it. Everyone gets a good laugh as I try to get her up. Finally I get her up and we complete the gamble but we're way over time, so no Q! But we had fun. Always expect the unexpecgted I guess...

Next was our 2nd chance at Standard level 1. This time Shelby was a little more tired, so a little slower, which is good for me. She did really well, but dropped a bar, which is unusual. I think I crowded her, trying to get ready for a rear cross. But we finished the rest no problem and got our Q. I was so happy!

Next up was Colors. Shelby also does well in Colors. She was super slow on this run. I was able to get a video of this run and it looks like slow motion! We had a clean run-it was a simple course, I didn't even do any crosses.


Last run of the weekend was Jumpers. This was a level 1/2 course and I thought it was pretty complicated. The opening was challenging and a lot of people didn't really handle it well. I was planning a lead out pivot, but Shelby stood up before I was in position, so I just started and did a front cross between 2 and 3. Then I did a front cross between 5 and 6, then another front cross after the tunnel and before jump 8. Then I did a rear cross between 13 and 14. Shelby was perfect other than breaking the stay.

Overall it was a positive weekend, but very long, especially since I volunteered and didn't have a lot of downtime. Spot was not really happy being in the pen all day, either. Our next trial is Bo Gee in October, and we'll be in level 3 Colors and Wildcard and level 2 everything else.

Nutting Lake Sweet Spot SE!!!!!!!

We had a great weekend at the GBAEC Earthdog trial in Garder. Spot qualified in senior both days, getting legs 2 and 3, earning his SE title on Sunday. He was focused and on target both days. His recall was admired by many-taking less than 10 seconds. Now the decision is do we travel to CT and try for Master in October, or train over the winter and start next summer? Dana and Carolyn want me to keep going, since we're on a roll. Maybe if I can get someone to come with me for the weekend!

Last ED Practice in Gardner

Today was the last earthdog practice of the season at the Gardner Fish and Game Club. It was also the AWTA Fun Day.

We got there around 10:30 and headed over to the senior den. They were just getting set up, so we were second. Lucky us! Spot was textbook, as usual. The only hiccup was that he started leaving the tunnel before I called, so when he came out the entrance, I was closer than usual, just outside the entrance, so I wasn't ready to grab him and he turned around and went right back in. But I just called again and was ready this time and grabbed him no problem. He was really biting at the bars today and growling! Usually he barks and whines and digs.

Shelby I tried in IQ again, and she did ok, but still didn't want to go into the tunnel. I don't know what the deal is. She wants to get the rats, and she should be catching on that they are sitting at the end of the tunnel. We got her to do it a couple times, but I'm not going to waste money entering her in IQ next weekend.

Then we did a couple of the fun day activities. Spot did the chuck draw up the tree, but I was disappointed because Spot was obviously into it, and the guy running it, was all, "ok that's enough, he gets it" so we only got to do it a little bit. Other dogs got to jump and try to get it a lot more. Then Shelby did the urban rat hunt, which is a rat in a tube, hidden in a pile of fake trash. Shelby enjoyed it-she got to find it 3 different times, which was nice.

Of course Shelby got to swim. It's good conditioning for agility. She swam for about an hour. She even retrieved a stick. She was playing and rolling in the grass, having a great time. We were lucky that it didn't rain until we were leaving. The forecast was for isolated T storms starting at 10am, then scattered t storms starting at 2pm.

Bay Colony Daschund Club Earthdog Trial-Day Two

On Sunday, I slept in a little bit and arrived at the site around 10:30. Still, Senior didn't start until about 12:30. A few people didn't show up, so there were only 5 of us. Of course, Spot was last. They had changed up the tunnel a bit, and had switched the location of the den and the false exit. Spot just made it to the rats in time after going in and out of the entrance and false exit 2-3 times. I heard the judge say "yes!" when he got to the rats, and when I heard that I figured we were good. Well, for some reason Spot decided to work the false den. The only thing I can think of is that the false den was the actual den the day before, so maybe he was confused. They removed the rats and Spot didn't even notice-he kep working the false den! I called and called, and finally when he stopped for breath, I called again and he came to me. A very weird day. The judge had never seen a dog do that before, so it was a learning experience all around!

There was a camera crew on site, but they weren't filming earthdog. It was a crew filming for Animal Planet. They were filming all the daschunds for a show called Dogs 101. They certainly got a lot of film-there were lots of different colors, coats and sizes.

Bay Colony Daschund Club Earthdog Trial-Day One

Today I arrived in Brimfield around 9:20 to a parking area of dubious suitability. I could see some tire marks in the turf where it seemed someone had already been stuck. However, I had no choice but to enter, so I bravely plowed through the trench to park the Passat. In actuality it was ok, but the ground squished disconcertingly underfoot. I wasn't sure what that foreshadowed for the day ahead.




















I left Shelby at home, knowing that it wouldn't be a super long day. I had to wait for Master to finish, and that took some time, even though there were only 4 braces. Then the judge decided to relax for a bit (the very idea!). Finally they started Senior around 12:15. Spot and I were #14 out of 15, so we didn't get to go until around 1:30. It was agony waiting and waiting. At least the weather and the company were good.

This was our first attemp at Senior at a trial. The judge made a point of saying that once you recall your dog, you may call from the entrance, and once they exit the earth you can go and get them. However, and this is important, you can not call once you go to get them. You can only call from the entrance.

When it was our turn, Spot was ready to go-he almost slipped my hands and passed the markers, which would have sucked. Once I released him he ran directly to the entrance, popped his head in, turned around and looked at me, then went in again. He went directly to the rats and started work. He worked the full 90 seconds, barking and biting and digging. Then they removed the rats. The judge didn't immediately say "call your dog". He waited a minute then gave me a signal. So by that time Spot was already leaving the rats, and I only called once before he was out the false exit. He saw me and wanted to come, but there was brush in the way, so I tried to get him, but realized I couldn't. I saw that Spot was turning around to go back into the tunnel, but knew I couldn't call him from where I was or we wouldn't Q. So I turned and ran back to the entrance, hoping Spot would follow. Once I got back to the entrace I called him again, since you can call as much as you want from there. Spot came and I grabbed him and we Q'd. Yay! I think the judge got a kick out of it, he said "good for you!" Out of 15 dogs, there were 4 Qs.

H-H-H-Hot

Sunday we had earthdog practice in Boxboro. It was a hazy, hot and humid day. It didn't seem too bad when we started at about 10, but it got progressively more oppressive as the day went on. Thank god the sun wasn't full yout, or it would be been over 100 degrees I think.

I treid Shelby in IQ again. Honestly, she doesn't do as well when we train with Nancy-she does better with Gloria. I guess I feel like Nancy rushes. I would have worked her a couple more times. She worked the rats, but hesitates going into the tunnel, so I might contact Carolyn and see if we can do a 30 minute session with her rat.

Spot did well in SE. He went into the tunnel like a rocket-no issues this time with bouncing out. He came out the false exit, but turned right around and went back in and worked the rats the full time. When I did the recall, he was a little slower. He came out the false exit, but because of the layout, I couldn't go around and grab him, so I called him through the tunnel and he came out the exit. I wasn't sure if I could keep calling, but they said yes, you can call as much as you want, and once he's above ground you can go over and grab him. So I have high hopes for next weekend!


In this photo, the person on the right is at the entrance, and the people on the left are at the rats. The tunnel kind of goes straight, then left, then right, then left. :-)

Snugglies

Spot and Shelby both love to sleep under the covers and cuddle. I got a chuckle when I looked over to see Shelby borrowing under the pillows on the couch!

The perils of off leash

Check out this video of a British JRT who was stuck in a pipe for a week after chasing a rabbit.

A good week of agility class

This week we were back to class after having last week off due to the July 4th holiday. Spot and Shelby were both excited to be back at Gemini.

Spot had class on Thursday. We worked on contacts, the teeter, the chute and tunnels. I added a jump before and after the tunnel to work on a short sequence with a landing side front cross. Spot did well. Then Carolyn had us work on a pinwheel sequence. Spot was awesome as usual. He didn't need too much help figuring out the path to take. At one point he started doing it on his own, I didn't even really cue him. He just loves to work so much.

Tonight Shelby had class, and we had decided to do the same couse we worked on last time, since it was quite challenging. We worked on the opening tonight. The opening was the chute, to jumps in a line, then a third jump to the A frame. For the third jump, we needed to do a flip. Shelby loves flips! So our run went very smoothly. After the A frame, we did two jumps to the table. We had a choice of doing a front cross after the second jump, or doing a rear cross and bringing the dog around the other side. I did the front cross the first time, since that's what came most naturally, but Denielle had us work on the rear cross, since the timing was a little trickier and she felt it's motivating for the dog to be able to jump extended, rathern than having to collect themselves. We did it 4-5 times before I got the timing down. Then we got to run the end section once, which had the 4 rear crosses, and that was no problem. Then we got to run the entire course, which was a treat. Shelby did wonderful-she's really liking agility itself now. She's staying much more engaged and wants to take obstacles.

So all in all, it was a good agility week.

Shelby's favorite toy

Years ago when Holly got her dog Cara, she bought her a unique toy that looked kind of like a mace-one of those medieval weapons with a spiked ball on the end of a chain. Well, Cara wasn't really a "toy" dog. When I got Spot he liked playing with it, but it was nothing special.

When I got Shelby it became on of her favorites. As a puppy she would drag it around behind her. As she got older, she started shaking it and she would hit herself in the head, on the side, all over! I had never seen another dog with this toy, or seen it in a store. But-on Sat I was in Petco and I saw the toy! And it was 50% off! So of course I bought one. Here is a video of Shelby playing with the toy.
I took it with my cell phone, so you may want to take a hit of Dramamine first. :-)

Not even a crack

Wow, the stupidity of people continues to amaze. Yesterday it was about 85 degrees with high humidity and someone leaves their dog in the car on a North End street. Bad enough they leave the dog, but they don't even crack the windows at all. Kudos to the Fire Dept. and their response to help get this dog out of the car. The video is a little long.

Death in the afternoon

Today I finally got around to doing some weeding in the raised bed along side the house. The dogs were outside with me. The beds are fronted by fieldstone and the dogs usually like to nose around in there. As I was weeding, I noticed Shelby getting really excited-her tail started going like crazy. Soon Spot joined in and they were digging at the stone. Before I could stop them, they managed to loosen some stones and a few fell. As I went over to fix them, Shelby started rooting around at the base of the wall and I heard squeaking.

Next thing I know, Shelby has a rodent in her mouth! She drops it and it starts to run away, but Spot jumped on it and started chomping. Ewww. I got him to drop it, but before I could pick it up, Shelby was on it again and I couldn't get it back. I think it was a vole. It looks a lot like a mouse. It was dark gray with pink feet. Don't worry, the picture above isn't of my dead vole. I guess that solves the question of whether or not Shelby's prey drive has developed.

Thank God the 4th is over

Not that I don't appreciate the freedoms we have as Americans or anything, but I am glad the 4th is over. It seems every yahoo in my town likes to stock up on illegal fireworks and set them off for a period of about 6 hours straight. This drives Spot crazy. He hates loud noises. So all these fireworks in combination with the thunderstorms we've been having have me at the end of my patience!

Take Your Dog to Work Day

On Friday June 20th, I organized a small group for Take Your Dog to Work Day. I also brought Spot along, just because we had more small dogs than large participating and I was a little worried about how Shelby would react.


It was a fun but hectic day. I only got the ok on Wed, so I had to get the schedule together in a rush. We ended up having 8 dogs come in and we had a little party in the afternoon where we bobbed for hot dogs, tried to see who could catch the most "pupcorn" and showed off tricks.

The goal was to get some PR for my company that would help in recruiting. We did end up getting pics on Boston.com, which was great.

I'm hoping we can do the event again next year.

Rear cross time

At Shelby's class on Friday we had a really interesting course. It opened with a chute, and I wanted to do a lead out, but Shelby hasn't been trained to do the chute with a lead out, so I ran it with her on my right. I thought it went ok, but Denielle said we all should have run it with the dog on our left.

The end was a series of jumps to a tunnel, then 4 jumps staggered, so you really could only do rear crosses. For Shelby I think it was easier since she's small. It was more difficult for the larger dogs because jumps 2 and 3 were really close together. Basically we had to stop forward motion and almost do a flip to get the jump. Shelby did well. She's always been good at rear crosses.

The Escape Artists

This morning I let Spot and Shelby out around 7 and went to lay down for a few minutes. Well, an hour later, I go to look for them and they are not in the yard. Panic! I get dressed and hop into the car to drive around the neighborhood calling them. My only thoughts are hoping they don't get hit by a car or attack someone's cat. Thankfully it was early Sunday morning, so not much traffic.

I drive around, but don't see them. As I pull into the driveway and turn off the car, I hear barking, so I drive off again, but find nothing. Just as I'm heading home, I hear Shelby barking and it turns out a neighbor was able to get a leash on her, but Spot ran away. She told me which way he went so I grab Shelby and drive over and see Spot in someone's yard. I called him and he came right away, which was great.

I don't know what I would have done if I couldn't find them. Thank goodness for the woman who found them. I know they've been digging around the fence a lot, but I didn't think they were able to break through. It turns out they escaped the same way Spot did before-through the corner of the gate. They were able to squeeze through the gate and the chicken wire. I did some more work and hopefully they can't do it again.

late to class

Last night Spot and I were late to agility class. It was only partly my fault. I left a couple minutes late, but then they were doing construction on 495, and it was down to 1 lane, so I got stuck. We were about 15 minutes late.

We warmed up and then did some dog walks, some tires, some chutes and a few jumps. Then Carolyn set up a jumpers course for us that had 10 obstacles. There was a wing jump and a front cross. Spot did ok, but I wasn't looking where I was going and mis-directed him a few times! Totally a case of handler error. He did have some trouble with the wing jumps and going around them instead of over.

I think the issue is he needs me to be closer to the jump to support him, but he's so fast, I'm not used to getting there. Shelby is slower, and I don't need to be as close, so it's a challenge.

I'm a little concerned that Carolyn isn't as disciplined as Denielle. Like with Denielle, we did jump practice sending from all angles, around the clock, and also worked more on weave entries. We're kind of winging it with Carolyn. She seems more concerned with enthusiasm, which is valid, I think. With Shelby I was always very serious about training and I think that put a lot of pressure on her which would cause her to disengage and/or slow down. So we'll see what happens. I think next week we're moving up to Intermediate!

Bo-Gee CPE Trial, Deerfield, NH-June 21, 2008

Yesterday I packed up the car and headed to Deerfield NH for the Bo-Gee CPE trial. I had to leave the house by 6:30. Ugh. I was so tired. I got there by 7:30, mainly because there was no traffic.

Shelby was entered in Wildcard, two rounds of Standard, Jackpot and Colors. Wildcard went well. It was the first run of the day, so Shelby was a little excited. She ran off course to check out the photographer, but I called her back and we finished without any faults. We got a Q, but no placement because we took so long to finish.



















They divided standard into level 1 and level 2, and ran both rounds of level 2, then both rounds of level 1, so we had to wait about 2 hours. That's what I hate about trials-the waiting and waiting around. Anyway, finally it was our turn. Round 1 was a challenge. The course was easy, but Shelby seemed unsure and I really had to work to keep her with me, cheering her on a praising her like crazy. We got it together towards the end, but we ran out of time. Denielle pointed out that I needed to support Shelby more and run much closer to each obstacle and take the course one obstacle at a time. So the next run I did just that and we had a clean run and a 4th place finish. It seemed like I was babying her, but if that's what I needed to do, I would do it. It feels like regressing when we get such great distance in practice, but a trial is more stressful I guess.




















Our next run was Jackpot. The jackpot was actually pretty easy. Deneille helped me think about how to run the course in order to get my points and be in good position when the whistle blew for the gamble. We had one bobble. The opening was a jump, then tire, and I intended Shelby to take 2 jumps to the right, but she headed toward the A frame and we almost collided. Shelby went to right past the jumps, so I kept going and called her to the tunnel, then a double jump, a single jump and the teeter. I was mildly worried she would bail from the teeter because sometimes with a strange teeter she gets unsure. But she did great. After that I planned a single jump and into the tunnel. I don't know if the teeter banging or the judge's voice on the microphone but she looked back for a second and missed the jump. But she went right into the tunnel. We still had time, so I send her throught the tunnel again and the gamble whiste blew. I would have thought since we were in the tunnel we would get points for that, but we didn't. The gamble was a jump to the near tunnel entrance, back to the jump then to the table. Shelby did great, but hesitated at the table, and then the whistle blew so we ran out of time. But I was proud of Shelby anyway-she did great.




















The last class of the day was Colors, which is simply 2 courses and you have to choose which one you want to do and take it in order. It was late in the day and everyone was hot, so most people were choosing the course with 2 jumps instead of the A frame, but I knew Shelby liked the A frame, so I did that course. I heard people at the judging table say "ooh, she's brave"! Shelby did great, no bobbles, and we finished in 25 seconds. I know we Q'd, but don't know what place we got because after waiting around for over an hour for the score sheets, I just needed to leave.

I think the level 1 and 2 courses were pretty easy, when looking at some other courses I've had. They were all very flowing and you could do them with only 1 or 2 side changes. I almost was over analyzing, looking for traps, like "it can't be this simple."

Saturday Earthdog Practice

On Saturday we had practice up in Gardner at the Fish and Game club. I love that site. There's a lot of grass, shade and a pond for the dogs to cool off in.

We were running late (of course!). I just could not make myself get out of bed. Anyway, we got there at 11 and it was in full swing. I saw that they were working IQ and starting JE. So I decided Shelby could go first. Gloria was doing the training. She decided not to break up the tunnel and put the rats where Shelby could see them. She wanted Shelby to want to go all the way. So I put Shelby's head in and waited, but she really wasn't getting it. Gloria and I switched places and I called Shelby through the tunnel and she came right in. And she worked the rats really well. She was scratching and digging and barking and whining. So we switched back and ran her a few more times. The last time was tough-Shelby really didn't want to go in, and I felt bad holding her there, but we didn't want to end on a failing note either. So I was patient and eventually Shelby went in one last time. As a reward, I let her swim and try to catch frogs for half an hour.

Then it was time for Spot to practice Senior. I released him, and instead of going right in, he ran over to a couple of tunnel pieces that were sitting on the ground. After that he ran over to the entrance but popped out and looked at me, then finally went in. He went into the false den, then came out the entrance again, back in to the false den, then finally found the rats. He worked like a champ and did a perfect recall, so I'm very confident he'll have an SE title by the end of the summer. Spot had a great time in the pond as well. He was loving chasing all the frogs and tadpoles. I almost thought he was going to actually swim, but it didn't happen.

Friday night agility with Shelby

Friday night's class was good. There were only 3 of us there. I brought my video camera and had Patricia take a couple videos. The opening was a jump to a tunnel, then an angled jump to the weaves. Then a series of jumps to a tunnel and we were supposed to have the A frame, but we didn't, so we did the tunnel twice. Then a jump and the broad jump. I had planned to do the tunnel, then a front cross to do the weaves on the right, then a jump and a rear cross to the next series of jumps, then a reverse flow pivot-ish move to get Shelby to the far entrance of the tunnel, then a front cross on the take off side of the jump, then back to the tunnel and run like hell to the end. What happened in the first attempt was I directed Shelby to the wrong end of the tunnel, and then she was sniffing all over, which the other dogs did too, so there must have been something there. Then to get her back, I ended up doing the weaves on the wrong side. The jumps went ok, and Shelby didn't totally read my RFP, because I was running toward to tunnel, not straight ahead, but I managed to pull her off the wrong entrance and into the correct one, and then the ending was fine.

The second time was better and I worked on a few things with Denielle.

Spot the superstar

Spot had agility class last night, and I'm really happy with his progress. He's totally comfortable with the other dogs now and only barks periodically. I think I'm also learning how to keep his attention by being more excited myself. The one thing Spot doesn't really do too well is practicing rear crosses. However, I think that's because I'm trying to do them right up at the jump and not giving him room. So I want to practice that at home a bit more. We practiced contacts a lot last night and he's really good at staying in place even when I'm in varied positions, like behind him, to the side, turned away from him, etc. So last night I started having him hold the contact while I moved over to a jump and then released him over the jump. He's so easy to work with-he loves to work and get rewarded. Carolyn said he's doing really great, especially since he'll be 10 next month.

We ended the night with a 6 obstacle sequence of wing jump, bar jump, bar jump, chute, bar jump and bar jump. The first 2 jumps were in a line, with jump 3 being almost 90 degrees to the left, then a line to the chute and the two final jumps almost 90 degrees to the left again. The first time, Spot ran around the wing jump when I released him, so we re-set and I tried again, this time leading out a bit more in front of the jump and that was fine. He did fine over the next jump and then wasn't 100% sure about the chute, but he took it. Then I did a front cross, Spot missed the next jump, but I kept going and he took the final jump. The second time we ran it, he did it perfectly.

Carolyn also used Spot as the demo dog to demostrate how to use a toy to build some excitement. Coincidentally I had made sure to bring Spot's jackpot tug toy to keep him occupied. He got a little too excited I think! One of the other people in class said she wonders if Spot ever sleeps! It's funny, he's a total couch potato at home, but knows when to turn it on, I guess.

In other good news: I found out I did get in to the Bo-Gee trial next weekend in NH. I'm excited because there are 2 rings, and they are going to run levels 1 and 2 separately from level 3. That means no Cinders issue! The only thing is that it's an hour away from my house, so I'll have to get up at the crack of dawn.

Hot dogs!

Wow, it was hot today! I took Spot and Shelby to Boxboro for GBAEC practice. The temps were in the 90's with high humidity to go along. Thankfully there was some shade, but it was still pretty uncomfortable. Also there was a trough the dogs could immerse themselves in. Shelby was all over that! She was trying to dunk herself in the bowl of water I had for them to drink out of. Spot even got in, which is rare, so I know he was hot too. I even made sure to get photographic evidence!


I tried Shelby in IQ to see if last month's performance was a fluke or not. She wasn't as excited as she was last time, and we had to break the tunnel down and put the rats where she could see them, but she eventually warmed up to it. We needed to put the rat cage right up to the bars, then take out the bars and let her crawl through that opening as well. She did bark and growl and scratch, so I count that as success!

Spot was his usual perfect self. He is like a machine out there. I release him, he goes like a rocket into the tunnel, sometimes pops out the false exit, but then goes right back in and works until the rats are taken out. Then I don't even need to call him, he starts coming out on his own and usually comes out the false exit and comes to me. Everyone was like "wow, what a recall" which is nice, but I really take very little credit! For Spot, once the rats are gone, the main attraction is too, so why not get out of there?

Hopefully I will be able to go to practice next week in Gardner. The weather should be much better-in the 70's and Shelby can swim in the pond rather than the trough.

Friday night agility with Shelby

Well, Friday was the fitting end to a weird and confusing week. Things just hadn't been going quite right all week. I was late to class, so we didn't really get to warm up and then the course was quite challenging and I hadn't really decided how to run it and I was up first! I did ok in the opening and through the middle to the weaves, but then I was way behind in the ending and we totally screwed up. I had it in my head how I thought it would go, but Shelby was really fast and messed me up. :-) But no one really did it well, so it was ok.

Tomorrow we are heading to Boxborough for earthdog training. I haven't been to this site before, but it's only 30 minutes from home, so why not? We also have earthdog training next weekend, which is nice.

But there aren't any trials coming up I don't think. The one that's usually in July in Brimfield isn't on the schedule yet. That would be a bummer. Last year it poured rain and the judge said Spot's run was the first time she ever wrote "splashing" as work. The tunnels were pretty flooded and some dogs didn't quite know what to make of it. But Spot went for it.

I'm hoping Shelby will still show promise in the IQ class. I would love to enter her in the next trial. I don't think I would try her in JE this season. I would want to do some training over the winter first with Carolyn at Gemini.

More Advanced Beginner Class for Spot

Last night was the first night in a new session of advanced beginner agility at Gemini with Carolyn Barney. I think this will be our second adv. beg. class. We've been outside the past 2 weeks, which surprised me. With Denielle we didn't go outside until intermediate class.

As a whole, I think Carolyn is moving us along a lot faster. We're already doing sequences of 4-8 obstacles, including front and rear crosses. It's an unusual class in that we have a mix of experienced handlers and beginner handlers, but they seem to be keeping up ok. Spot is doing great with his start line stays and his contacts. He loves all the obstacles as well, including the tunnel, chute, dogwalk and A-frame. He's doing well on the teeter, but we have it very low right now.

He still needs to work on control and focus. He tends to be very fast, but doesn't always know how to pay attention to me and where I want him to go, rather than just running. One thing that surprised me last night. We had a sequence of two jumps then a tunnel, and I didn't even cue the tunnel before he was off and through the tunnel from about 5 feet away. So on the one hand, I like that because I want my handling to be setting the dog up in the correct position so they know to take whatever obstacle is in front of them, rather than cueing every jump. But on the other hand, I want him to be checking in at this point in training.

Dogs of Greece

Hi all
Sorry for no posts-I've been on vaca in Greece. We went to Athens, Santorini and Crete. Before I went, I had read in my guide book that there are lots of stray dogs and cats there. I was pleasantly surprised-there were dogs and cats on the street, but most of them had collars and were looked like they were pretty well fed, so I didn't feel too bad for them. Usually at each monument there were one or two lounging in the shade. At a few places they collected money to pay for the care of stray animals. It was hard not to interact with them because they all seemed friendly, but I didn't want to risk bringing back any parasite or something to my own two waiting at home.

Act-Up Agility trial at Canine Mastery in Seekonk MA

Today Shelby and I entered the Act-Up agility club's CPE trial at Canine Mastery in Seekonk MA. We almost didn't get to enter because of the incident in Jan. The owner of the other dog told the trial secretary he didn't feel safe with Shelby there. Can you believe that? Thankfully I got to tell my side of the story, and there was only one instance where we needed to adjust the running order to keep us apart.

Anyway, we were entered in 2 rounds of Snooker level 1, Wildcard level 2, Fullhouse level 2 and Standard level 1. We Q'd in 1 round of Snooker and in Wildcard. I was so excited to get the Snooker Q! During the second round of Snooker we did the opening no problem but then had an off course at #4, so we ended up being 2 points short. For our Wildcard run, everything was perfect except I cued one jump too late, so Shelby took it the wrong way, but we are allowed one off course. Also, they forgot to put the jumps up to 12 inches, so us and 2 other dogs ended up jumping at 8 inches. They said we could keep our Q or run again. I'll keep the Q, thanks! Not going to press my luck.

Then we had Fullhouse. We did all the requirements, but then we were finishing up and Shelby entered the tunnel under the A frame, and for some reason stopped inside, then came out the entrance, so we didn't complete the tunnel, just the A frame and then time was up, so we were short 2 points for our Q. Bummer!

Then finally it was time for Standard. We were second in the level 1 class. The dog ahead of us pooped in the ring (twice!) and then was zooming around and they couldn't catch it. Shelby's prey instinct kicked in and she was focused on the other dog. I set her up and I thought I had her attention, but then she ran off, so I grabbed the leash and got her back. We didn't even get one jump in. Another bummer!

But I am so glad I went. Everyone was nice, there was no drama, and the weather cleared up in the afternoon. But it was a long day and I'm glad to be done. :-)

A video of our friend Reece learning Earthdog

I came across this video of Reece, a daschund, training in Earthdog with Carolyn at Gemini Dog. It's a long video, but it gives you an idea of the progress and how you go step by step with getting used the tunnel, then adding length, then adding rats and finally putting it all together.

First earthdog practice of the season

On Saturday the GBAEC opened the training and trial site at the Gardner Fish and Game Club. I was planning to get there around 9, but slept in and got there around 10:15. By that time, all the tunnel digging was pretty much finished! I was surprised so many people showed up since it was cold and rainy. But they had finished the IQ, Junior and Senior tunnels by 10:30.

I had brought Shelby with me just so she wouldn't stay home alone, but when I realized that it would be a while until Senior, so I tried Shelby in IQ. She had shown a little interest, so I wasn't sure how she would react in the field. She was excited just seeing the other dogs going for the rats, and hearing all the praise. When it was our turn, I had them move the rats to the end of the first section of tunnel so she could see them. That went well-she was pawing at the cage, etc. So then we tried the whole tunnel. At first she didn't to make the turn, but I was mean and stood in the entrance so she couldn't get out. She turned back around and found the rats at the end and started scratching. And she actually whined and barked! I was so surprised. She didn't work for long, so I ran her a few times and tried to take her out while she was still excited. So that was a nice surprise and not something I expected to get from the day.

When it was Spot's turn at Senior, we tried the whole shabang, figuring he would do well since we had been practicing. Spot ran to the entrance and it was at an angle, so he kind of bounced out again and it seemed he wasn't sure if he had done the right thing, so I had to encourage him. In a trial, that would be a disqualification, since you can only give one command at release. But he went back in the entrance, then got stuck at the false den. He came back out the entrance and back to the false den again! He ran back in and finally made it to the rats just under time. He worked like a champ, just like always, and did a nice recall, coming all the way out to me. Other people were jealous! So it was actually a good day even though I didn't want to go in the morning. I'm kind of sad I won't be able to go to the trial on the 11th.

Coyotes!

I knew there were coyotes in the suburbs, but somehow I didn't think that meant my neighborhood. Last night I was up around 4am and saw my neighbor's motion-sensor light had gone on, so I peeked out and saw an opossum. No biggie. But then-walking down the middle of the street was a coyote! And then a few minutes later another one came by. I was very freaked out. It looked like a cross between a dog and a fox. I think that's probably what tore the head off that poor robin a few weeks ago. Makes me wonder where they hide during the day. Should I warn my neighbors to keep their cats and children near home?

Terriers are tenacious

Even wonder what they mean when they talk about terriers being tenacious and single-minded? This video certainly shows it.


Terriers will go to the ends of the earth in pursuit of prey, often to their own detriment. Some think it's a good thing that they pursue prey even while not being self-preserving, but sometimes I think it can be a bad thing. A lot of times they get themselves into strange situations!

Shelby was never this bad!

Shelby has been known to rip open a pillow or two, but this takes the cake!

What a wake up!

My plan was to sleep in this morning. Well, the dogs wanted to go out around 8, so no problem. I left them out and go back to bed. After a few minutes I hear Shelby making this excited whining noises, so I go look, and I see Shelby, but no Spot. Then I see Spot running through a neighbor's yard. I run in and put on some clothes then grab a leash. By the time I get over there, Spot is running in the yard, and he comes over and I put the leash on. Then this guy comes over and starts yelling at me about how Spot attacked his cat and his mother, biting her face! I was freaking out. Turns out what happened is that the woman let her cats out, and Spot saw them and burrowed under the fence. The cats ran home, Spot chased them up onto the porch. The woman heard them and opened the door to get her cat. Spot came in too and had the cat by the neck. When she separated them she got scratched on the face. Thankfully she came out and I was able to talk to her. From the look of it, her cat scratched her. Spot didn't have and blood or anything on his paws. I gave them my name and number just in case, but I hope nothing comes of it. I went out in the yard and put some chicken wire up in a couple of places to make it more escape-proof.
One good thing did come out of it. Since I was already up, I went to the 9:30 power dance class at the gym and it was a lot of fun.

PS. I got a call from Animal Control on Monday morning. The woman went to the police! She said she was concerned that my dog wasn't secure because her grandchildren come over frequently and she was worried Spot might get out again and hurt them. So I got in trouble for not having him licensed yet this year, but she didn't fine me, which was nice. So now I have to be sure and get their applications in this week along with the proof of rabies vaccination and it should be fine. I told the officer that I had secured the weak area of the fence and she seemed happy about that. Hopefully this is the end of it!

Layering!

Shelby had agility class last night. The course was interesting, but at first glance not too difficult. Except when you think about adding layering! We haven't really done too much layering up to this point, but Shelby can certainly handle it. Layering is when you cue your dog to an obstacle, but not the obstacle that is right next to you. There is another obstacle between you and the obstacle you want to dog to take. In the video below, the dog takes a jump and then the handler layers the A frame when cueing the weave poles.



Here's the course recreated as best as I can recall. I think there might be a jump missing at the end, but it's mostly correct.


The first layering opportunity was taking a jump and a tunnel while I was on the other side of the dogwalk. So the opening was jump, dogwalk, 180 to a jump, then tunnel. So you could definitely handle the opening on your left. I did the opening on the right, then flipped Shelby over the jump and into the tunnel and ran on the other side of the dogwalk. This took a few repetitions because we don't generally do flips. I kind of think of them as short-cuts and not very graceful, but I guess they do have their uses.

After the tunnel, it was 2 jumps to the teeter and the tunnel. We did a front cross at the end of the teeter, then into the tunnel and another front cross at the other end of the tunnel to the A frame. After the A frame was another layering opportunity. There were 3 jumps, and we tried to do the second one as layered. Shelby wasn't quite able to do it, so I ended up not layering, but I did stay very close to the jump, so we were able to get nice distance. Then after the third jump, I did a front cross to the weaves and a pull to the chute. There was some discussion of doing a front cross to the chute in order to avoid a collision. I just made it, but could have run faster. I just beat Shelby to the end of the chute. Then there were 2 more jumps to end.

So it was a productive night.

Spot's last session of beginner agility at Gemini

Last night was the 6th and last session of beginner agility for Spot. We worked on front and rear crosses on the flat and over a jump. Spot doesn't quite get rear crosses over a jump, so I need to work on that at home. Plus, he's not very good at getting into position and staying there. He wants to do something now! So he's always moving. I need to work on that as well. Front crosses are no problem.

We also started backchaining the contacts. Spot is already pretty familiar with this, and I've been practicing having him stay at the contact until I release for a while. Now I need to start having him stay at the contact when I am in various positions, not just beside him.

We also started rear crossing tunnels. I had started doing this already also, when we were working on the tunnel as a station. Spot was doing pretty well getting this as well, but he did pop out the wrong end once or twice.

So we start advanced beginner next week! Unfortunately we will miss 3 of the classes because I have plans one night and then 2 sessions will be while I am on vacation, but that's ok.

I have to say, it seems like all the dogs in class are doing really well. None of them seem to have issues with any of the equipment. Although, we haven't introduced the teeter yet! And a couple of them did get nervous when all the daycare dogs started barking at one point.

Spot has gotten a lot better with the barking. He's gotten used to the other dogs in class and pretty much ignores them, which is great!

ARFF Fun Day

Today was ARFF's fun day at American K9 Country in Amherst, NH.

I volunteered, so I got myself out of bed at the ungodly hour of 6:45 am so we could get there by 8:30. I ended up being ring crew for the first Standard runs. It was easy. I had to fix the chute and reset a couple of jumps.

It was interesting to see the varied handling techniques. There were a lot of novices, including me. I noted that even though this was a fun match, so you could use toys and food, a lot of people didn't really reward their dogs. In a few cases, dogs were refusing a jump multiple times, and after a few times, the dog finally takes it and the handler doesn't reward!?

I signed up for the second round of Standard. I wasn't really going for perfect performance. I just wanted Shelby to work with me. So we ended up missing a few jumps and the teeter, but I just kept going forward, keeping Shelby with me. I didn't use up my full 2 minutes trying to work out the kinks. I just made sure it was a positive experience. We weren't the best, but we weren't horrible either.

I have to give kudos to the raffle committee. The raffle prizes were awesome. Hopefully I won something, but I'll have to wait and see, since I had to leave before they pulled the tickets.

I got to see Mary and Mattie, and Leslie and Bethoven were there too!

After that we headed to Holly's new barn for a barn-warming party. Spot was off leash and had a great time. Shelby I kept on leash mostly. They were both really friendly to everyone and everyone said how cute they were.

So, it was a long, long day and we are all glad to be home!

Things that go bump in the night

Lately, Shelby has been waking me up in the middle of the night to let her out. Normally if I have let her out before bed, I ignore it. But I've been slacking, so I've been getting up to let her out around 3-4 in the morning. I don't really mind, except when she starts barking at something. I don't think my neighbors appreciate that either, although one of them gets up at 4am to do a paper route, which I think it sometimes the reason Shelby wakes up at all.

Anyway, the other night I opened the door and outside the fence I saw a glimpse of an animal. It had a big fluffy tail and was white, so I assumed it was a cat. The next morning, Shelby was pacing around and trying to poke her head through the fence to get at something on the ground.

I went over to check and saw a dead bird. Then I took a closer look and got freaked out because the bird had NO HEAD!!!! It was totally gone. It looked like it got chopped off. So of course I had to take a photo. My neighbors must think I'm weird.

Three great classes this week

Spot had his third agility session this week. He did really well. He barked so much less than before. It's possible that's because Surf the Great Dane wasn't there. I think he makes Spot nervous. Spot tends to not like bouncy young dogs or really large dogs, and Surf is both!

It was also interesting to see the differences in trainers. Caroline had people run the entire A frame. With Denielle, we back-chained the whole thing for months before she let us run it.

As usual, Spot was fearless. He did everything I asked. We worked on a jump chute, the A frame, the tunnels and the table.

On Friday, Shelby had agility class. The course was 20 obstacles and tricky, with some difficult approach angles and sections requiring lateral distance. I've recreated it to the best of my ability. Some of the angles are off a little bit.



The first jump was set up at an extreme angle, probably a 270. So the dog needed to jump left, but then head to the right to get jump 2. Shelby handled it like a pro. Then there was jump 2 and 3 with Shelby on my left, then a front cross into the right end of the tunnel.

Coming out of the tunnel, it was over jump 5, then to the A frame. The handling choices were to push out of the tunnel exit to the right in order to get a nice line over jump 5 to the A frame, or run up and be on the landing side of 5 laterally and pull the dog toward you then over the A frame. I chose to run up past the jump, just because it motivates Shelby more to see me ahead. For a small dog like Shelby this wasn't too difficult, but for the larger dogs it was necessary to give them a good approach to the A frame.

So, Shelby goes over the A frame on my right, then a front cross to the tunnel underneath the A frame and onto the teeter, then another tunnel to the right of the teeter. This was also a place where you needed to choose between two handling options. You could do a front cross after the tunnel, then the teeter with another from cross at the end, then into the tunnel. Or, you could handle the the teeter on your right, being sure to be in a position at the end of the teeter that indicated the dog needed to exit to the right. That's what I did.

After that there was a double jump to the dogwalk, then a jump staight ahead, a jump to the left and a 180 to another jump. At the end of the dogwalk, you needed to move laterally to the left to indicate the turn. Then you needed to do a post turn for the 180. After that, there was another jump, somewhat angled, then 6 weave poles. Shelby did execellent in this section. I was able to run really fast, and she read all my cues. I was so into going fast that I didn't even have time to be concerned about the weave poles. I knew I was running the right line, so I just went with it and it was no problem!

After the weaves, it was a tunnel under the A frame, to a jump, then another jump and one last jump to finish. Denielle recommended doing a front cross at the end of the weaves and having the tunnel on your left, running around the A frame and doing a rear cross after the tunnel. But I figured why bother with all those crosses? The dog is on your right in the weaves and exiting towards you and the tunnel, so why not handle the tunnel on your right? I guess the thinking is that if you didn't run fast enough, the dog might exit the tunnel and turn back towards you, which would be bad. But I knew if I hoofed it, I could make it. So that's what I did and it was fine, and we breezed through the exit.

We re-did the opening once, but other than that, I ran the whole thing, but did stop and click and treat at a few places. But Denielle didn't have us re-do any of the sections, which was great!


On Saturday Spot had Earthdog class. We're working on Senior. Spot is super fast at entering the tunnels, and this week he was also super fast exiting. I didn't even really have to call him. Once he saw the rats were being taken out he started backing out of the tunnel. Plus, the great thing is, once the rats are gone all he wants are his treats! He doesn't even care where the rats went. I guess in his mind, his job is to get in the tunnel, bark his head off until the rats leave, then exit for treats! In any case, it's really nice to just stand back and let him do his thing. He is one happy dog after getting to do Earthdog.