Clicking Chickens

There is a program you can go to if you are very very very into clicker training where you learn to clicker train a chicken. The theory is that chickens make very quick, small movements, and if you can learn to reinforce chicken behavior, it will improve your clicker training with other animals. This course is not held that often, and who has the time to take a week off to click chickens?
I saw this link posted on another blog and had to check it out. It's an online Chicken Clicking game. You get to choose from behaviors like pecking, jumping, flapping wings, etc. It keeps track of how many times you successfully reinforce each behavior as it happens. Pretty fun. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Early Earthdog Instinct

This little JRT puppy is showing excellent instinct-at only 10 weeks old!
You see the typical behavior of biting the cage, digging at the cage and barking.
Some dogs will "stalk" the prey with their eyes, which in AKC isn't considered "working" the rats, but it is acceptable in other venues, like the American Working Terrier Association, I think.



Some dogs seem to have an innate interest in getting the quarry, while in others it takes a couple years for them to mature before they are interested. I've seen some little pups that are scared of the rats! Shelby was a little interested when first shown the rats at about a year old. She's gotten a bit more interested, but not so much that she cares to go through the tunnel to get to them. I'm going to see if she shows more interest this season. She has seemed to be more into barking at the neighborhood cats, squirrels and even birds, so who knows, this might be her year!

This is why the pups and I will never move to Australia

Python eats Australian family dog
February 27, 2008

BRISBANE, Australia --A 16-foot python stalked a family dog for days before swallowing the pet whole in front of horrified children in the Australian tropics, animal experts said Wednesday.

The boy and girl, ages 5 and 7, watched as the scrub python devoured their silky terrier-Chihuahua crossbreed Monday at their home near Kuranda in Queensland state.

Stuart Douglas, owner of the Australian Venom Zoo in Kuranda, said scrub pythons typically eat wild animals such as wallabies, a smaller relative of the kangaroo, but sometimes turn to pets in urban areas.

"It actively stalked the dog for a number of days," Douglas said.

"The family that owned the dog had actually seen it in the dog's bed, which was a sign it was out to get it," he added.

"They should have called me then, but (the snake) got away and three or four days later, I was called and went around and removed it" after the dog had been killed, Douglas said.

By the time Douglas arrived, all that could be seen of the dog was its hind legs and tail.

The zoo manager, Todd Rose, said pythons squeeze their prey to death before swallowing it whole. The 5-year-old dog would have been suffocated within minutes.

"The lady who was there threw some plastic chairs at the snake, but you've got to remember that this is about 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of aggressive muscle," Rose said.

Removing the half-swallowed dog could have harmed or even killed the python, Rose said, because dogs have sharp teeth and claws that could do the snake internal damage if it were wrenched out.

The snake was still digesting the dog at the zoo Wednesday. It will soon be relocated to the bush, Douglas said.
© Copyright 2008 Associated Press.
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2008/02/27/python_eats_australian_family_dog/

Spot's favorite spot

It's always challenging to find dog beds the dogs will actually sleep in. The couch and my bed are generally much more attractive. I've tried round beds, poufy beds, flat beds, even a bed with a built-in snuggle cover.


It seems I've finally found a bed that Spot prefers. I bought it at the Christmas Tree Shop for $9.99. It has fleece on one side and a satin-like fabric on the over. It doesn't have that much stuffing in it. But Spot loves it. Every day, that's where I find him when I get out of the shower or when I get home from work. The dog walker says she has a hard time getting him to leave that bed when it's time for a walk! Spot has added an accessory to the bed. It was a fleece mat I bought on clearance. I thought it might be a good training tool to take along to different places and reward the dogs for staying quiet on the mat. Spot likes to use it as a little blanket.

The funny thing is, this bed is in the den/dining room. Spot will even use that bed when I'm home sitting in the living room watching some tv.

Spot figures out how to turn around!

We had the first class in another session of earthdog on Sat afternoon. Spot loves going there. He is like a rat-seeking missile!

We have been working on the "Recall" portion of the Senior test. In the Senior level, once the dog works the rats, they remove them from the tunnel, and the handler calls the dog to them and has to grab them within 90 seconds I think it is. Well, Spot has been backing out through the long tunnel, which he wasn't too happy doing. But on our last practice, he figured out that he can turn around at the first corner and come out head first. Yay Spot! He's also been very good about letting me grab him and get the leash on before we go look to see where the rats went. I'm very confident he'll get his Senior Earthdog title this summer.

Do you think this dog owner has a little too much time on his hands?

It is a pretty cool idea, but the execution leaves a bit to be desired. I don't think my two would wait as patiently and quietly as his dog once they heard that thing start cranking!

Another great commercial

This one has an Irish Wolfhound in it too!

Welcome International Visitors!

Wow, people are starting to find my blog. I've had visitors from Finland, Russia, Bulgaria, Canada, Hungary, Ireland, England, Italy, Spain and Greece! Plus from all across the US. I hope you enjoy my postings on adventures in dog sports and living with two Parson Russell Terriers.
Thanks again,
Liz

CPE Clinic part 2-Snooker and Jumpers

Last Saturday Shelby and I headed over to Gemini for the second of three clinics on CPE games. This one focused on Snooker and Jumpers. As I suspected, we ended up spending the most time on Snooker, just because it's more complicated and there are so many ways to run it "successfully".

A quick refresher on the rules: There are 4 single jumps, called "reds" and they are worth 1 point. All the other obstacles are numbered 2 through 7 and are worth the corresponding number of points. For example, if the tunnel is obstacle #4, it is worth 4 points. The game is divided into two parts: an opening and a closing. During the opening, the dog must take one red jump and then any obstacle, then a different red jump and any obstacle, then a third different red jump and any obstacle. The obstacle taken after each red jump can be the same if you so choose. So your opening could be 1 red, tunnel #2, another red, tunnel #2 and a third red and tunnel #2 again. They have a fourth red jump out on the course in case you drop one of the red bars, in which case you have to move on to another red jump.

Once you complete the opening successfully, you move on to the closing, which is simply completing the remaining obstacles in the order they are numbered. Depending on the level of competition, you need to get a certain number of points.

On our first run we did really well, actually completing the opening and the closing through #6, so we would have had plenty of points to Q. The only problem was that Shelby disengaged at #7, so I had a hard time getting her back to the table to finish. Then we did a second run and Denielle wanted me to click and treat every couple of obstacles and I totally forgot my plan. Then we set up a slightly different course and I made the classic mistake of using obstacle #2 as my last color, and then forgetting to repeat it as the first obstacle in my closing. A lot of people often forget which reds they have already used and take the same one twice, which disqualifies them.

So then we had about 20 minutes to take on Jumpers. Jumpers is great because there are no contact obstacles-only tunnels and jumps! So you can go fast! Which Shelby likes! So we went first, and if I do say so myself, we schooled them on how to run Jumpers. We were so in sync, it was awesome and fun. Plus, we were in a rush, so we didn't number the course, we just had to remember it, and it was kind of twisty. But I had no problem. I seem to have really good spatial memory and find it easy to read courses and know where I need to be. The course was especially fun because it ended with a tunnel to a jump, and the jump was far away from the tunnel, so we could really run fast and end on a high note. All the dogs loved it. We have one more session in March which will probably be Standard and Full House.

SPOT video

This is so cute-I am admittingly copying this from Terrierman's blog, but I couldn't resist!

Shelby and her red ball

Shelby loves to chase things. Running is her favorite activity. So I wanted to find something she could play with outside that would be fun for her. I found this red ball at Target. It had no price on it, so they charged me $1.00. A fair price, I think.

Shelby loves it when I kick the ball for her. Then she can chase it and push it around the yard. It's good way to tire her out a teeny bit.

Here are a couple videos from today when it actually stopped snowing after being nasty for the past week.

The horse is no more

Well, that didn't last long-Spot already destroyed his new horse.

Spot's new toy

Spot got a new toy a few days ago. It's a stuffed horse that whinneys when you squeeze it. He really likes the noise it makes. I make sure he gets quality time with his toy when Shelby isn't around to try and steal it. Here's a video. Turn up the sound! (it is a little long though)

My grooming helpers

Spot and Shelby are very aware of my morning routine.

They know:

wake up
let them out

they come in

I take a shower

I get dressed
I feed them

I dry my hair

I brush my teeth
They get toys

I leave for work

Shelby often oversees my morning ironing, and follows me around as I gather my shoes, etc.

She also will always come into the bathroom while I dry my hair.

She usually sits near my feet, or sometimes lays down touching my feet.

Lately Spot has joined in, and some mornings I have both of them sitting at my feet.

And they always face the door for some reason.

If you look at the pic on the right, you can just see my toe!

Vote for Spot so I can get a new vacuum!

Hi all
Please take a second and cast a vote for Spot. I entered him in a Bissell contest so I can win a new vacuum. You all know I really need it!

Here is the link:
HTTP://www.BISSELL.com/Redirect.asp?RP_id=51124

Thanks!
Liz