Dog Community, Dog Pictures, Dog Forum & Information – Dog.community

Helloooo all!!!

akyramoto82 — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:50:00 GMT

Hi, gonna try this blogging stuff...........

I tried to write a bit before but for some reason it only saved half of what I wrote

Today it's pretty hot, the doggies are outside, checked their water, hosed them down and hosed down the dirt areas they like to lay in. They particularly like laying next to the house where the vents are - it's like A/C air coming out from under the house.

Bella was all excited she got doused, she loves rolling in the dirt afterwards, my little dirty puppy.

Last night the girls got to hang out on the back porch with us. We finally got perimeter fencing up around my yard in the back so now the doggies can't get out. At night I'll let them back there becuase they'll stay close to the patio. There are some foxtails out there so I dont want them wandering into the pasture area - thats one reason that they're not out there during the day. Also they're not allowed out there becuase Bella thinks chickens are fun to attack.

It doesn't seem like we are going

jdata — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:46:00 GMT

Chloe is really favoring her leg so going to the run thru is a wash. I don't even know we'll be going to agility class next week.

No more Mr. Nice guy anymore!

jdata — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:31:00 GMT

No, it isn't a rottie mix or a pit this time aroun, its was golden retreiver that was tie out to a freaking stool! Since today was sunny and I wanted to get an agility session in, I wanted warm up the dogs with a walk on the hill. And as you know, I have been with several encounters with loose dogs and dogs breaking their tie outs in this neighborhood. It has been awhile for an attack and we were at the bottom of the hill and I see a GR barking away so I figured to start feeding the treats but I guess it wasn't fast enough so I decided to turn around and by this time this dog pulled his stool and and his lead was in the street. He ran straight for Chloe and Scout went for the dogs shoulders. I went for the dog's scruff and yank that SOB in the air and threw that dog down to the ground. I was way past my threshold and this was enough of this BS. I can't walk in this neighborhood because of stupid owners!

This lady comes to me and asks if i am alright and I answered her really smart in front of her toddler. I really could careless what the kids hears it was in fact her stupidity because of all this BS. Sorry for the words, I am so hot. So where was Chloe? Well, since I broke after the GR, she bolted behind the car. A neighbor tried to catch her but it was too late she was gone. So Scout and I ran after her going back up on this high grade hill. I stopped running a quarter of the way as I was so winded but I saw Chloe in the middle of the street and then to the sidewalk and it looked like she was headed home.

A guy down the street saw her heading up the hill and he followed me. Once we made it to our street, our neighbor told us Chloe was sitting on the porch. I saw her and she was bleeding from her front paw - ah great! We have a run through this Saturday! - So I rinsed offending toe.

She's lying on the couch winding down and I am debating whether or not to train her.

These past 4 attacks were based upon assumption that owners knew what they were doing. Well enough is enough. Next assertive and vocal dog that comes into my space I am kicking the living the crap out of it!

CU or not CU, I can't trust the other people with dogs out there.

Fixed 2nd test video

jdata — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:33:00 GMT

Corrected the interlacing lines when there was a moving object

http://vimeo.com/1018396

Relearning software is so fun.... NOT!

Been busy for the past several days

jdata — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:15:00 GMT

Monday:

Chloe and I had agility class which went well but we still need to work the 270s a little better. I think Chloe isn't understanding from a distance - in this case, push to a lead out of one jump, she isn't collecting or isn't reading my lack of motion for her to slow down. She does this perfectly as long there is only one jump so I guess I am going to have add another jump so she can learn to control herself. At the end of class, Denise mentioned to me to watch one of the advance classes on Tuesday. And she let me borrow one of her X-pens to help with Scout's anxiety issues - we're going bigger in space and see if that calms him down.

When we get home from an errand or class, he will not stop with the whining, crying, howling and barking even after 20 minutes. At one time, he went on for nearly an hour when we were home. I usually wait until the dog settles down - typically 20 minutes or so - to let him out of the crate. I have tried positive methods and now went to negative methods (spray water) which seems to work for him for a short stint. if he can get over this, the gentle leader and vitamin B12 is coming and last resort anti-anxiety medication.

Tuesday:

I went to the 9:30 morning advance class at Countryside to see what it entailed and they had teams there that were already showing. The class consisted of 3 Jacks although 2 showed up, 1 Papillion, and a Min-Pin. I recall that the afternoon class consisted of aussies, BCs and a jack. Anyhow, they were working on European style course and it looked pretty advanced. As class started, Denise asked me if I brought Chloe which I did not and there was a miscommunication on my part as she wanted me to bring her in to get more experiences working on harder courses. Lesson learned, I am bringing her and more in likely we'll have two classes per week.

After we got back from our customer appreciation dinner from the dealership where we bought the FJ, we had a setback with Scout. We had been home for about an hour and he ran upstairs. I knew he was due for a #2 and I had negative thought as he didn't come downstairs. So I walked to the foot of the stairs and he came running down. The telltale sign when he does something bad is his tail and he goes under a table which he did. I go upstairs and I can smell the fresh aroma. Ugh! I find it but just remnants of it and an ugly thought went through my mind, he was eating it! Sick!

Is this Scout being Scout? I don't think so as for as long as we had it and during his training whether it be potty, obedience, or agility he has this pattern about him. He goes awesome for 2-3 weeks (yeah, he was using the bell or sits in front of the door if he has to go) and then the set back is he either goes on the floor or completely what he forgets what we were working on! I don't know what exactly happened to him when he was young but something is not right about him. During this setback, he has trust issues and does not want to be held at all.

When we first got him, he had no hair on his chest like it was not growing at all or he was wearing it off because he does drag himself on the floor. But now the hair is growing back! I clearly remember Denise pointed out that he had no hair on his chest when I first showed Scout to her. Another thing, his nose, when we first got him, his nose was dry and gray at the end. now his nose is black and moist. Something is certainly going on with him healthwise and I wonder if it is the raw food? For sure, he is health is going for the better. But you know he was one sensitive gut and I jump on him when he starts eating stuff in the yard because that explosive diaherra outbreak is still fresh in my mind!

Wednesday:

Chloe had an appointment with the Vet because she started breaking out all on her chest and her armpits. Since Spring the dogs have been feasting on weeds. She definitely has an allergic reaction to something. So the vet prescribed the canine version of penicillin and told me to use the remaining Animax I have on her sores. I didn't like the carefree attitude of the Vet even though we have seen several times last year. I really felt like I was being blown-off. So I am going to be looking for another Vet.

Oh yeah, in the morning, I did catch Scout doing one of his odd behaviors and I just uploaded at Vimeo. Here's the link:

http://vimeo.com/1016271

Tomorrow is suppose to be sunny and slightly cool and I am going to be training the dogs since we have another run through on Saturday. Hopefully, Laurie will be able to record us with errors and all. It will be at Oakmont Pa that starts in the evening. I am pretty much assuming that we will get home late around 1am.

A Shorthair's life

jstrawbri — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:35:00 GMT

If you've noticed my profile I mentioned that I co-own a German Shorthair Pointer with my ex-hubby. That was my first GSP, Scout. Once you own a one, they steal your heart. I now own another GSP, Snickers, with my boyfriend, Keith. I'm going to attempt to stick with this blog and post little things about Snickers and in a few weeks, our new edition, which will be another 8 week old GSP.

Snickers is a male, he's 2 years old and was welped on 2/13/06.

He just recently has earned himself freedom in the house while we are away at work! He likes to ball-up the throw rugs by the doors and use them for a bed while we're away.

Second test vid is up

jdata — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:30:00 GMT

I am still learning how work with the camcorder while I am training the dogs. I had planned a long recording but I forgot we were going to have company over for an early Mother's Day celebration.

Here's the link to the second video

http://www.vimeo.com/999318

Save your post, before you publishing

alanspap — Sun, 11 May 2008 01:41:00 GMT

Just learned a valuable lesson.

Always save your post. Before publishing.

Learning the camcorder and I even upload a test vid

jdata — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:25:00 GMT

So it has been a couple of days with the new camcorder and I am slowly getting the workflow of it. However, I still need to fine tune the settings of where I want it. - Means nothing on automatic settings. You'd be amazed how much more detail you can get when you manual adjust the controls.

I did manage to record and upload one short clip on Vimeo since it is one of the few places that support HD resolution. I could have uploaded to Youtube though but it wouldn't be in HD.

Here's the link
HD Video Test

Don't mind the grass, I mowed it after I recorded the video.

I'll probably recorded some sessions between the two dogs tomorrow provided the weather holds up.

Whats a Dog to do ?

alanspap — Fri, 09 May 2008 03:42:00 GMT

Ahhhhhhh, Hmmm, looks sunny out. Wonder what I'm gonna do today.
I don't really know but first things first, wheres that doggie door. Oh yea
there it is, hey Brewster get out of the way, I gotta go. La-dee-dee,
La-dee-daa. Ohhhhh, that feels better. mmm looks like some of the
chipmunks are out, wonder what those little guys are do'en scurrying
around. Hey Frankie look at that, what the heck is that ?

Whats the matter Pete, you never seen one of those before.
I think those are Nicky the Corgi's cousins. The farmers up here call
them Woodchucks, I don't know why. The rest of the world calls
them Groundhogs. Anyway there harmless little critters,
but they sure on fun to chase.

** Yea, I know. Pretty lame, I'm trying to learn a little creative writing.
It looks like, very little creative writing, judging by this.

But what the heck, Lets

Camcorder is here!

jdata — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:28:00 GMT

YESSS!

Too bad I have to work out first!

Good sessions today

jdata — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:38:00 GMT

Since it was predicted that the weather is going to be rainy until Saturday, I decided to do work on two areas with Chloe and keep the ongoing groundwork and 2o2o with Scout. I could have done a session but we had the roof done which was a stressful day in itself. Its interesting following up the clean up they did, I found nails and staples in the yard!

Chloe's session started with jump work, followed by contact work and some small sequences. The jump work wasn't that complicated as it was mainly lead out/come to heel, wraps, 270s, and continued work on the "Out" command using one of the jumps which started shakey at first but got better as timed moved on. Contact work involved lateral distance some 7-10' away and calling her to the contact. I didn't send her to the contact yet even though we started working on areas (send, come, lateral) back in December. My main goal was to break her habit of sitting when doing her 2o2o.

During her session, Scout was in the crate chewing a bone while the agility audio cd was playing which didn't work because he was constantly howling, whining and barking. When it was his turn, we started off on heel work then jump work and ending with 2o2os. He'll do anything for food! He has such a work drive for food! Like yesterday, as we were walking the backyard, he would offered 2o2o position as we walked past the DW and the teeter. Today was no different in fact he kept on getting on the teeter which is now set at full height and doing his 2o2o. He only bailed off the teeter twice and his confidence is growing on it. But he won't hold the 2o2o position more than 3 seconds. So we still have work to do. His come to heels are awesome and I wish Chloe had the same enthusiasm about them. And he loves his table!

Today was good but its time for the rain to come but not such a big deal because the camcorder is coming in today so I'll be busy.

Hello Dog Lovers

alanspap — Wed, 07 May 2008 03:36:00 GMT

Hi, everybody; you know I stumbled upon the DOG COMMUNITY by accident. This place looks like the cats meow, oops, I mean the dogs bark. Sorry about that.

It will be nice to have some fellow animal lovers to share with. You see in my job, I get to meet some really good animal folks. And unfortunately I get to meet some of the dogs, that come from the absolute worst dog owners.

So this will be nice, reading and seeing photos about happy and well cared for animals.

I hope to get to talk to some of you.

Have a great day.

the Good, the Bad, the ugly

jdata — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:53:00 GMT

the Good:

Last weeks training sessions went very well for both dogs even though we only did two days excluding class.
Our Weave Pole was started last Sunday at Roche Park! It was a major success! I brought 2 jumps. Chloe wasn't phased by the location (baseball diamond). We did have a crowd. Footing wasn't that great for me but her it seemed fine as the grass and ground was still wet. It was like a marsh in someways.
Our camcorder, HV30, should be here on Wednesday
Relaxation Protocol exercises for Room 2 are done.
Scout's sensitive stomach syndrome is over thanks to Cuturelle.
Knees and fasiciitis got better.
Thinking about attending a run through coming up in June in Buffalo.

the Bad:

Scout's anxiety and excitement is really bad when going to the park (took nearly 30 minutes to settle down if you can call it that) and when in the crate. I have discussed my training and behavior experiences on the CU list and I told that it might be best to put him on medication so training can continue. We're stilling about it and also another alternative the Gentle Leader. You can litterally watch him build himself up and getting into a frenzy especially in the crate.
Chloe was completely spooked by the teeter in class yesterday. Denise thinks is the location because she moved it and aimed towards the barrier. She did manage to get back on it several times after class.
Setting up a PVC-based weave pole system blows! I need to get a 3.5" base set.

the Ugly:

Sore knees and fasiciitis is back
The roofers are here this morning and noise is everywhere. The noise got both dogs on-guard and barky. Chloe settled down after 5 minutes and Scout about 45 minutes on and off.
I put gas in the FJ yesterday after class.
It is going to rain majority of the week!
Scout is chasing his tail - not a good sign.

We 3 dogs

3dogsrunnin — Tue, 06 May 2008 03:08:00 GMT

Katie, Toller NSDTR. Alpha dog to the pack.

Zorra, Beagle/Foxhound mix.

Sam Wire Fox terrier. WFT

Canine MENSA: Test Your Doggies IQ

fings — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:39:00 GMT

Bo (woof) In Commentary:

Why are our owners so obsessed with finding out how intelligent we are? All they need to know is that we got it going on upstairs. How else to explain us living in their homes, eating their food and having them pick up our ***? And all of that without us paying them a dime.

In the interest of giving my parents some bragging rights, I decided to take this Canine IQ test from an article on NBC26 news, by Mike Conroy. Let’s go question by question and see how I fared.

Test 1: Food under can

This is a test of your dog’s problem solving ability.
How to do the test

1. First sit the dog, if it won’t stay you’ll need someone to hold the dog by the collar.
2. Show the dog the tidbit of food and let it sniff it.
3. With the dog’s full attention, slowly place the tidbit on the ground about two meters away and place the can over the tidbit.
4. Start timing and encourage the dog to get the food.

Scoring: If the dog knocks the can over and gets the tidbit in 5 seconds or less 5 points; 5 to 15 seconds 4 points;15 to 30 seconds 3 points; 30 to 60 seconds 2 points; [over 60 seconds and it’s still looking for the treat? Then we’ll give the dog a point for being able to breath on its own]

No need for a stop watch on this one. I’ll sit and wait until my owner picks up the can and gives me the treat underneath it. No energy exerted, maximum treat scored = genius but the scoring on this test will give me:

+0 points for being lazy

Test 2: Dog under towel

This is another measure of your dog’s problem solving ability.
How to do the test

1. Your dog should be awake and reasonably active
2. Let the dog sniff the towel
3. With a quick smooth motion throw the towel over the dogs head so its head and shoulders are completely covered (you may want to practice this without the dog first). Start timing and watch silently.

Scoring: If the dog frees itself in 5 seconds or less 5 points; 5 to 15 seconds 4 points;15 to 30 seconds 3 points; 30 to 60 seconds 2 points

I think the test results on this one are hinged on ‘your dog should be…reasonably active’. At my age, if someone throws a towel on me it’s because I’ve wet myself not because my teacher sprung a surprise quiz on me. I’ll gracefully bow out of this question. That way I don’t have to worry about someone throwing a towel at me and ‘turning out the lights’ as I’m walking toward a stairwell. Canine IQ score for this question:

+0 points for being safety conscious

Test 3: Can your dog recognize a smile?

This is a test of social learning.

How to do the test

1. Pick a time your dog is sitting about 2 meters away from you
2. The dog must not have been told to stay or sit
3. Stare intently into your dogs face, when your dog looks at you, count silently to 3 and then smile broadly

Scoring: If your dog comes with tail waging 5 points; If your dog comes slowly or only part of the way with no tail waging 4 points; If your dog stands or rises to a sitting position but does not move toward you 3 points; If your dog moves away from you 2 points; If your dog pays no attention 1 point

Why should I start wagging my tail if I see my owner smile? The only reason I can think of is if he’s got spinach or pesto between his teeth that he’s going to let me pick clean.

A more appropriate test would be to see if, after a dog farts, his owner’s facial expression changes. If Rover wags his tail in less than 10 seconds, not only is he capable of social learning but he’s also the proud owner/operator of a highly efficient fart power plant. Resulting Canine IQ score:

+0 points for being emotionless

Test 4: Retrieving from under a barrier

This is a test of your dog’s problem solving and manipulation ability.
How to do the test

1. Make sure your dog is watching you from nearby
2. Show your dog the tidbit of food and let it sniff it
3. With the dogs full attention, slowly place the tidbit just far enough under the table that the dog can use its paws to retrieve it
4. Start timing and encourage your dog to get the food

Scoring: If your dog uses its paws to retrieve the food in 60 seconds or less 5 points; If your dog uses its paws to retrieve the food in 1 to 3 minutes 4 points; If your dog uses its muzzle only and fails to get the food or if it uses its paws and hasn’t retrieved the food after 3 minutes 3 points; If your dog doesn’t use its paws, simply sniffs and gives one or 2 points wo tries with its muzzle; If your dog has made no attempt to retrieve the bait after 3 minutes 1 point

Why would I want to lift a couch, table or any other object to get a treat when I can just stare my mother in the eyes and will her to give me bologna? Manipulation, yes, but not how this test wants to see it. Regardless, I’m on the scoreboard:

+1 point for being spoiled rotten

Test 5:This is a test of language comprehension

How to do the test1. Your dog should be settled comfortably around two meters in front of you
2. In the voice tone you use to call your dog call “refrigerator”

Scoring: If the dog shows response to come 3 points; If the dog does not come, call “movies” in the same tone. If the dog comes 2 points; If the dog still has not responded call its name. If the dog comes or shows any tendency to move to you 5 points; If the dog has not moved, call its name a second time. If the dog comes 4 points;If the dog still doesn’t come 1 point

When I hear the word ‘refrigerator’ I always respond with, “Could you bring me the tub of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream?” If the answer is yes, I’ll move to an upright sitting position. If the answer is no, I’ll continue to lay flat like a bear rug. Canine IQ points scored:

+1 point for waiting to be served

So let’s tally that up…nuthin, nuthin, nuthin, woof, woof = 2 woofs. Impressive. Most impressive.

Let me look at the scoring chart to see where that places me…Oops, it appears our reporter forgot to include it. Nice move genius!

How'd you score?
(For all your doggie bloggin needs www.boknowsonline.com)

Awesome class today!

jdata — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:41:00 GMT

There was only three of us today since Michele (Molly the Corgi's Mom) so it would mine more time for each of in class. Well one would think so anyways! We worked on 270 and we're introduced to the backy uppy. The latter is a maneuver that was invented by Linda M in which the handler walks backwards and continues to handle the dog.

We first started with the 270 with two jumps spaced at 90 degrees, Denise first taught us in baby steps on how to do it and then started to add more jumps which ended up being a sequence. She showed us multiple ways on how to do it and then critiqued us when were doing the exercise. We did OK but having a small dog, she cited issues with small dogs because they have a tendency to go between the jumps which Chloe was doing. So we have some homework to do.

Next was the threadle in which we were going to do the backy uppy. And like the 270, we learned in baby steps and then started to add more obstacles thus being another sequence. It was bit awkwarding trying to move backwards at speed. I was so worried about running into something. But like the 270 segment, Denise was giving us more information like what the dog would be doing. In this case, the dog would be tight making this turn around the column into a jump and then send to a tire. We had rocky start but she pointed out again how smooth my handling has gotten and she pointed out how well Chloe was reading my body language. So this will be added as homework.

We also have start training the go out command. So we have 3 items for homework.

Once class ended, I decided to turn up the wick with Chloe so I showed her the soft disc toy and she immediately got jacked up. So we did some contact work on the AF, dogwalk and teeter. She blew by the obstacles once and I think it is due to Roscoe being out there but once he was gone, she was hauling some butt on them! I threw in the tunnel and weaves as well. And then I noticed something, her weaves resemble something like a doberman or a great dane because they look as they their rear end has its own mind. Chloe would go through fine with the front but the rear would swing out way too wide. I think something is wrong with her footwork so I am going to see what happens when she does them here. I haven't seen her do the poles like that before. It looks so awkward.

Training continues.....

Anyhow, Denise mentioned to me that she wanted to move me up a class and I told her I was fine where I was but she told me I could go up to the Novice Class where people are already showing or getting ready to. She mentioned there were more JRTs in these classes. This is the third time she has mentioned this to me. That's a big compliment coming from her that I really appreciate. I just don't want to miss out out on anything I suppose hence my relunctance to move up.

But you know, I wouldn't mind trying it for one night and see how things go. She keeps hinting, ya know.

Chloe was wondering the facility and got a little too close to Zippity (she was in her crate) and Zip snapped. Chloe's tail went down so Denise told me to get the ball and work her up and make things positive and fun. So I threw the football and ran some obstacles with her and it was time to go home.

Yard work and training .... got scared

jdata — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:19:00 GMT

Ugh! I love the wamer weather but I can't stand the yard work that comes with it. Yesterday, I mowed the grass and ran the weed eater for the first time this year. Of course there were obstacles in the way but I managed to get the grass around and underneath them as I maneuvered around in the backyard.

Two hours later my task was completed and then took a little break for which afterwards it was time to train the dogs. Chloe was first and we worked on 2o2os; its an ongoing thing currently to make sure she gets the correct finishing position. Since the dog walk was set at three feet it was nice to see that she didn't loose any speed over the height change. So I sent her to the tunnel onto the DW, 2o2o, and ending with a jump. NICE! Her AF speed picked up as well. Whew! I was getting worried there. When we moved to the teeter, I had set it at 16" with a recycle bin on the entry side thus having it level. What the plan here was for her to jump onto the end of the board and land and give me the 2o2o position. She got that quickly and we swapped sides. Then I started at the end of the teeter where the bin was located and got her all jacked up and made her run and stop at the end of the plank and give me the 2o2os. She those very well and so her session ended.

During Chloe's session, Scout was inside whining and barking, basically driving Laurie nuts. He wanted to go outside bad because he saw me grab the disc when I went outside with Chloe. As the dogs swapped positions, the first thing I worked with is the 2o2o position on the DW. Then I wanted to work on the tunnel with him. He was still sort of shy about it but it is slowly coming along. We proceeded to the AF to work more on 2o2os. I send him on the AF about a total of fours and then the teeter was next. Going through the same sequence as I did with Chloe, he kept on getting off the teeter. He would jump fine but just get off of it. So more work to do....

Several hours later, we played fetch in the backyard for about 20 minutes or so. During one of the throws, the Kong ball bounced high and Scout jumped up and caught it. He jumped to a height about 5'10" but he landed weird which scared me. He wasn't limping or hasn't been lame since then so I learned my lesson to keep ithe balls on the ground.

Boy, was I worried! We went through the same thing with Chloe last year. Perhaps I should just stop playing fetch?

Long overdue update/trial report

KarissaKS — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:03:00 GMT

Whoops! I didn't realize that it had been THAT long since my last update/post!! I brought my new puppy, Kaiser, home on the 1st of April and I guess things have just been nuts since then.

This weekend was our only trial of the month and our first trial since Kaiser came along. I didn't think that Luke would suffer any jealousy issues over the puppy since he's had all month to get used to him (everything is super!). My only worry was that Kaiser would have a complete meltdown from the noise & stimulation and that I would be completely stressed because of it. As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about!

Luke started out at his usual crazy self Saturday morning. The day started with Regular 1. This was Luke's first time doing the 20+ Proficient courses with jumps. Long story short, his zooming crazy speed caused him to jump flat and bring down three jumps. He also took an off course jump on the way to the dog walk, but the judge must not have noticed because we didn't get marked off for that. Luke was so fast that he came in 10 seconds under Elite time, but with 15 faults for a NQ and fourth place.

For some reason the Regular 2 class wasn't just a reverse of the first class and, IMO, the second course just did not flow well. Luke and I were totally not in sync and I ended up throwing in the towel halfway through and making up our own course to the end. Obviously we were eliminated in this class.

We were SO CLOSE to getting our final open Chances Q on Saturday!! Luke was doing great with the distance and even -- get this -- got the frame contact at a distance! He then had to go take an "out" jump, but he started to come in to take the nearer jump to me. When I tried to pull him back to push out to the correct jump he backjumped it, so there went our Q for that class. I was still so proud of him for that lovely frame performance.

Up next was Touch-n-Go. Luke took an off course tunnel that was totally my fault. We ended up with time faults because of that, for a total of 14.71 penalties and 6th place. I feel this is as good a place as any, though, to brag that Luke GOT EVERY SINGLE CONTACT THIS ENTIRE WEEKEND!!!!! I am so, so, so proud of him for that.

Saturday was our chance to test out Weavers on the home turf. I am desperate to see if Luke can make time on a set that he's familiar with. Unfortunately Luke popped out of the 10th pole on the very first set, so we ended up with 16.73 time faults. The rest of the course ran just fine for him, though, so I still wonder about ever coming close to making time...

Elite Jumpers was our sixth class of the day. To this point we hadn't managed to Q in any class this day, so my expectations weren't too terribly high for this one. Can you believe it, but Luke jumped flawlessly! I even managed to squeak in two front crosses while sending him out at a distance. Luke came in four seconds under time and earned first place in a very competitive class!!

The day ended with Hoopers. I figured this was a given Q for Luke considering that he ran it so well at the last trial. Well, my brain was fairly fried by class number seven and I got a bit lost on the course. We ended up coming in 4.82 seconds over time, so no Q for us. Who would have thought that an elite Jumpers class would be our only Q of the day?!

Sunday ended up being a really good day for us. It was a reverse order of classes, so we started out with Hoopers. Luke was insanely crazy for this first class, as ususal, and he came VERY close to bypassing many hoops, only to catch himself at the last minute for the correction. I have to admit that this impressed me -- he obviously has a clear understanding of the hoop obstacle! We came in 14 seconds under time and had the fastest of all of the Hooper runs of the day! This Q earned Luke his Novice Hoopers Title.

Luke put in another fabulous Elite Jumpers run, but unfortunately he hit a bad take-off spot coming out of the tunnel and he brought down one bar. The course flowed really nicely otherwise and had excellent speed. These Elite Jumper courses are wicked to remember, but they are fun to run!

We had a flawless tunnelers run again. Considering how nice (and FAST) the run felt, I was again amazed that he came in less than 1.5 seconds under time and finished in 3rd place. This was the final Q needed for our Elite Proficient Tunnelers title. This is Luke's first Elite Proficient title and the first big step towards his Versatility NATCH.

Chances was up next and it was the perfect course for us, provided that Luke could manage to leave all of the bars up. Luke was absolutely flawless, getting a solid contact on the a-frame and then sending out with a switch to a line of jumps at a distance AND avoiding the tunnel discrimination test. This beautiful run earned Luke his Open Chances Title -- but more importantly, his OPEN VERSATILITY AWARD!!!! Yes, Luke earned his Open Versatility on his one year anniversary of trialing. Yay!!

They decided to run the Regular classes before Touch-n-Go, so Elite Regular 1 was up next for us. Luke and I were a little out of sync for that whole run. He brought down a bar on a tight twisty maneuver and then surprised me by taking off up the dog walk totally unexpectedly in the middle of the course. This gave us time faults for a total of 44.1 penalties.

We clicked for the Regular 2 run. Luke was definitely starting to get tired, so it wasn't the fastest run, but it was really smooth & flowing. We came in seven seconds under time for 3rd place. This was Luke's first Q at the Elite Proficient 20"+ regular level.

Touch-n-Go was the 7th run of the day and the 14th of the weekend. I think Luke was just done. Luke took an off-course tunnel straight away in the beginning and then argued with me about a few tunnel entrances on course. With the off course and time faults, we ended up with 16.69 faults and 5th place. I couldn't blame Luke; I was done, too! It was a very long weekend for everyone.

So to summarize, Luke ended up with a total of five Q's for the weekend -- one on Saturday and four on Sunday. He finished his Novice Hoopers Title, his Open Chances Title and his Elite Proficient Tunnelers title PLUS earned his Open Versatility Award! He is now an entirely Elite dog only one year into trialing. This is an amazing accomplishment.

I'm also very proud of how well Kaiser handled the weekend. I was so worried that the noise and atmosphere would cause him to have a meltdown, but he settled right into things and wasn't bothered by it at all. We played pass the puppy all weekend long, so he got a ton of socialization with new people. Kaiser also made many new dog friends and started to get so bold as to start approaching & playing with new dogs on his own! This was a great experience for him and I feel a lot more confident about how he will handle trials in the future.

Our next trial is in Savage, MN on May 18 followed immediately the next weekend in Zumbro Falls. Training classes start up on May 5th for Kaiser (puppy preschool!) and May 7th for Luke (competition agility). It should be a lot of fun!!

They did good yesterday

jdata — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:29:00 GMT

We primarily worked on increasing the speed on the contacts. Chloe did an awesome job on the dog walk as she was running at full speed Going to the teeter, she is starting to show signs that she wants to go to the end of the plank for a fast ride down as before she just happy to be at the breaking point on the plank. The breaking point is the area where her weight begins to move the plank down. A-Frame work was mostly OK as she was starting to run instead of hopping or skidding on the descending side. I am still not confident about it. If he runs, more likely she blow her 2o2o in which she does them off the obstacle. Here 2o2o performance also continues to need correcting as she sits. The saga continues...

I did run her several times on the weave poles just to watch her footwork and I see that she was stumbling at first to get her rythm.

Scout's session was trying to get more speed out of the dog walk so that he gets comfortable running on the obstacles. He did grreat on the dog walk and AF. I was trying to get him to do his 2o2os which as expected with all his excitement, he just hops around for a bit and starts to settle down. Once settled, he does a lot better in the thinking department. He starts to do them but does them in the same behavior where he sits. I better nip that in the bud as well.

When it is time for the teeter, (still set at 24") his confidence shows as he walks up the plank and then realizes he bit more than he can chew and jumps off to the side. After doing that he starts riding on the plank all the way down but bails off the board too quickly to even to do his 2o2os. He also likes to come back to the board after he jumped off and he does not realize that the board is comiing back up! He has already got knocked in the jaw twice! I have to watch him each time he gets off because he likes going back to investigate. Time to get serious and start training him on it as he is starting to get some very bad habits.

So after their sessions were done, I decided to increase the height of the dog walk, I think its around 3 feet now and I dropped the teeter back to my 16" height. So we'll see what the next session brings.

Missing them already...

Poodle_luvr — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 04:40:00 GMT

I am leaving town on Monday and will be gone for 6 days. I am already missing and worrying about my dogs. My husband will be home to care for them but it is just not the same. He is good to them but not as careful or attentive as I am. My older daughter is coming over every morning and afternoon to help feed and let them out, so that's really nice. I just worry that they will get out and get away, or that they won't remember to fill their water bowl, etc., etc., etc. I know they'll survive, but it sure is going to be hard on mom!

THE OTHER DOG'S NAME IN THE POUND NOW

Enrico Galloni — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:37:00 GMT

Rasta, Diana, ester, zighi, matilde, pandora, amleto, christmas, little easter, ginevra, bartolo, myne, monny, bubu, dumbo, iolanda, queen, lucky, gigi, pina, girly, raul, esa, chicco, circe

What an interesting day!

jdata — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:31:00 GMT

We did RP Day 9, did a walk on the hill in the other neighborhood, and more training on 2o2o on the dog walk, AF, and teeter ending with a weave pole session. Chloe is starting to understand that she isn't suppose to sit during a 2o2o and Scout is slowly progressing as long he isn't a jumping bean but he is understanding it as he is starting to offer it. Chloe is starting to pick up speed on the dog walk - I only have it some 18" off the ground - and on the teeter. As for the AF speed, I'll work on that some other day. Scout was getting brave and wanted again to go up on the teeter, its set at full height. First attempt, he bailed off to the side before it landed. The attempts after that were much better and we even started working on 2o2os. Just 3-4 reps on each side no more. For the last of the contacts, it was the AF and we just worked the bottom.

Next, were the weave poles. I didn't work much on drive with Chloe today but more or less looking at her foot work and her head and trying to figure out why (again) she does the weaves all funky in class. I didn't time her in this session either and with an 1.5" gap, she does the weaves single legged. It has to be the mat. Because at both places, class and at the run thru, had the same type of mat. She did the weaves all contorted she was bending all out of place and out of sync. I have already tested out my poles on the same mat and compared them to those used in trails and the times were identical however, she does not look comfortable going through competition style poles.

Anyhow, Scout's turn, what was different was there was no guides up. He would pop up on the 9th and 10th poles and then start missing entries. So I had to slow him down and use the lead to walk him through it. He did better after he was retaught. He did really good today.

He is greatly improving on our walks too. He hasn't pulled since the early days. I think the 'monkey see, monkey do' - reframing is working as Chloe knows what to do on these treks. However, in the yard, she is a pushy little bugger.

We did have a setback today as Scout did a number two on the floor! He has not done this in weeks. At times I think he doesn't really remember; I mean he really has brainfade! He knows to ring the bell when to go out because he has done it numerous times and today it was not raining. I really thought we were getting this behind us but I suppose he still understanding to learn? It can't be as he has been here more than two months. I guess I'll go back and treat him like a puppy. This is upsetting. I think he tries to hold it too much and then puts himself in a situation gets dire. He does this same behavior just be building himself up for nothing. He gets himself all worked up for.... nothing. Chloe was like this when she was a puppy to 1 year old as she would not relax and had to watch where ever I went. Nowadays, Chloe just stays where she is and watches Scout follows me like he was my tail. She has this "sucker" look on her face as she watches him get up from a nice nap or something and follow me. Well see what happens in a year once he learns what his role is. He knows he isn't top dog and he knows Chloe is above him. So I don't know why he is anxious. That's the only time he is like this, when someone gets up other than that, he is perfectly fine!

Crazy dog!

Please help!

Lovemyfurkids — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:02:00 GMT

A Call Out To All Animal Lovers!!!

Man burned raccoon alive.

Police say this baby raccoon survived being burned in a tar-heating machine. Most of its fur was singed off.
PINELLAS PARK - A Pinellas Park roofing company owner was arrested Wednesday after police said he intentionally killed a raccoon by burning it alive inside a tar machine.
Investigators say Eric L. Hill was turning on a machine used to heat tar when he and his employees heard animals screeching from the exhaust pipe.
They stopped the machine and pulled out a partially burned baby raccoon.
When they could not get the adult raccoon out, police say Hill turned on the machine anyway, and the animal was burned to death.
The baby raccoon is being treated by veterinarians and is expected to recover.
Hill was arrested and is charged with felony cruelty to animals. He was released from the Pinellas County jail on $5,000 bail.

OK FOLKS HERE IS HIS ADDRESS:

Let him know how you feel about his horrible cruelty to animals, I know I will be!

HILL, ERIC L
3738 67TH AVE N
PINELLAS PARK
FL 33781

A light day of training

jdata — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:54:00 GMT

Today it was forecasted for some rain and it did come in as drizzles which did not last long. So I was planning to take it light today and just retrain contacts indoors while I rested my foot and knees. We started our session at mid-afternoon after I worked out and their RP session. I started with Chloe and put Scout in Chloe's crate. He was actually quiet because I would throw a treat in there before he built himself up. I took the tippy board and out and started to work Chloe's 2o2o position on my left and right sides. She would not get rewarded if she sat down as she has to keep her back level to the ground. I went back to basics with her with no sends, recalls, and lateral 2o2o drills.

Some 10 minutes later, I took Scout out of the crate and put Chloe in place of him. Since the rain really never came, I decided to work Scout on the tippy board outside. Then we went to the dog walk and worked on the 2o2o position and even worked on the table.

Hey, it was a light day. I hope my knees and feet heal.