Agility 101

Last night was the start of Pixels first "official" agility class. It was weird to be a student! I haven't been a student in a class for a really, really long time. I couldn't refrain from adding a few suggestions here or there, but mostly I focused on my own dog, and it was wonderful.

Pixel did great, and wasn't distracted at all by the other dogs in the class. She was very feisty and focused on me.

She did great with the one jump work, and is looking to be a good "natural" jumper. She looks for, and recognizes the jump now.

We practiced our nose targets on the ground- I've been working very hard at home with this and she is coming right along. She is driving to the target and has a solid bop.

We also did some "Happiest Place" on the end of the contacts- we have only done this a few times, so I was happy when she seemed to remember the game. I did discover that I need to work more on rear end awareness- she doesn't understand to shuffle her back feet backwards to get back on the board.

And we ended on the tunnel- she was pretty excited about this!

It is nice to get going in her training, and it is even nicer to be in a class setting- I think it will really benefit us as a team. Pixel is so fun to work and train with. She is very quick to pick things up and I love how "into" things she gets. She is very cute this dog.

Collar-holic

I have an addiction. I love collars. I will buy a collar even if I don't really need one, just to have it. Last year I went through my assorted collar drawers and threw a bunch away. I also have given lots to foster/rescue dogs over the years. Somehow I still have plenty. :o)

Here is my "collection." I separated them into colors so you could actually see the patterns (for those who also like collars)











A few weeks ago my friend Liz gave me this collar. It looks great on Wicca.

I love it so much I couldn't resist looking to see what other treasures the company had to offer. Christine at Nearly Naked Neckware has LOTS of fabulous patterns. It was really hard to decide and it took me a good couple days to narrow it down. She shipped it to me in a matter of a few days, and I received them ONE DAY later!!! (she is out of Calgary, so not too far- but still!!!)

This one is for Boone.


and this sexy collar is for Vito. :o)

Nationals Performance

I have had a week or so to think about Nationals. Specifically our performance there.

Things that were great.
Her Contacts- even when I quick released her she still waited for the release the next time.
Discrimination- she has always been decent at this, but I was pretty thrilled with her correct choices.
Turn- she is pretty solid on this, although I sometimes feel the need to follow up with an arm- which is bad...
Out- her distance work is still very good.
My Memory- our biggest issue sometimes is me. i have a crappy memory for real, and I really have to focus on remembering the course. If I have to think about where we are going on course we get lost. I need to know it before I run it. I felt confident, and knew it. It felt good. :o)

Things that sucked.
Weaves. Specifically soft sided, or open entries. We have lots of work to do.
Start Lines- this has been an ongoing battle for the past few months. We need to fix it asap.
Lead Out Pivots- if she won't stay, this is difficult. However, I need to work on my timing
Handling Bad Wicca- when Wicca starts blowing me off things go from bad to worse. I get ticked off, and then she gets worse. I need to take a deep breathe and refocus.

I tried a few different things on the weekend-

first, I tried to use my ipod (thanks sarah!) to stay focused while walking the course. It was weird, and actually distracted me a bit I think. I didn't use it at all on Sunday (except to drown out the yelling....) and I still felt focused and confident. I did like it in the breaks- and when I was trying to chill at the set up.

Warm ups- It was really hard to judge how much time there was before your dog, and how long it took you to get to the ring etc. So I found that I had Wicca out earlier than normal- we were at the gate sometimes 6-8 dogs before. Usually I go around 3-5. The extra few minutes didn't seem to bug her, although it was hard for me because I can't focus on the course when I have her out. But we managed.

Course Walking- the courses were hard, and the walk through crowded so I walked it more than I would normal. I didn't get lost all weekend (except for steeplechase finals) so it must have worked. I am going to try and walk my regular courses one more time aswell, and see if that will help my memory.

Imagine. After my walk through I stood outside the ring and pictured me and my dog running the course. I think that this too contributed to my good memory skills.

Now that Nationals is over for another year I am going to go back to basics for a bit with Wicca. Work on the foundations of Front Crosses, Rear Crosses, Lead Outs, and all that stuff. Also I plan to do lots and lots of weave entry work. Three poles will become the norm and I am going to keep very specific records of training. I need to see improvement, or I need to change something I am doing.

There are two trials coming up in September. I think that if we plug away at our weak spots, and keep reinforcing where we are good we should have some pretty great weekends. I am feeling very confident after Nationals it seems!!! We are only one Standard Q away from our MAD. And 2 Snookers, and 4 Jumpers away from an ATCH. Pretty Amazing Stuff.

Nationals Video

Sarah put together a few videos of each of our runs at Nationals. We only video taped on Saturday because the weather was so icky on Sunday.

We rock.

Thanks Sarah for putting it all together....

Writing On Stone Provincial Park

Wendy and I were both bored Sunday mid morning so decided on the spur of the minute to go out to Writing On Stone Park. We woke Jo up and trekked out there for an adventure.

We almost died. Serious. It was SO HOT. Thankfully we packed enough water for the dogs, and found access to the river for them to cool off.

It is a beautiful place though. I had never been there before and it was neat to see all the stones, and the carvings. I took only the girls (the boys got to go to agility in the morning) and of course we had to stop for some photos...

:o)



This is going to be 52 Weeks Photo project photo this week.


and this was the runner up. I laughed out loud at her face.

Training

This afternoon a few friends and I met at the park and did some obedience. It was fun to get out and train. I don't train Obedience as often as I'd like and today was perfect. We found a great spot at the park, and I think we all enjoyed ourselves.

Wendy came along and took some GREAT photos of the dogs working. I don't have many (if any) pictures of my dogs doing obedience so I was pretty pleased when she sent them to me.






Wicca's open stuff is coming along. I've been playing around with her fronts for a few months and they are getting better. And I did some straight recalls with, and without a drop. Her heeling is as good as always. She's very keen to work.

Pixel did lots and lots of heeling. She is very eager, and is heads up/attentive the whole time. I am slowly adding more and more duration and she is up to about 50 feet (straight) with no rewards. I also worked on left turns, and finishes.

Vito came out to play too and had fun doing some heeling, and some playing. He is so cute and gets really into it. He has always liked heeling, and it has been ages since I did much with him.


We were at the park for about two hours, and the dogs are nice and tired now!

This is a Guard Dog

I am dogsitting my sisters dog for the week. Hurley is a German Shepherd cross who came through Rescue as a pup. He is over 2 years old now, and is a Giant. He is about 28 inches at the shoulder and is a very solid looking dog.

Although he looks intimidating he really is a mush ball and is very sweet and affectionate. But no one else needs to know that!

One Last Touristy Post

Monday we had time to kill before my flight so we trekked over to Hogs Back Park. It was pretty beautiful there. We walked around, ate lunch and let the dogs have a good romp. Wicca got to chase/swim after ducks. Which is now her favorite thing ever. She is getting pretty good at it, and can almost catch up to them. She is a fast swimmer for a dog with little legs!

The Falls



The Ducks.


Wicca Swimming After Said Ducks


The Obsessive Border Collies. Throw the stick. Throw the stick. Throw the stick....



And that's pretty much the last photos I have from the trip. Back to real life now I suppose!

Steeplechase Pics

Photos taken by the Ottawa newspaper. Thanks for Angela for telling me about them!

Final Thoughts

Planning and Hosting such a large event can't be easy. Truly, I understand how difficult it is. But it doesn't stop me (and everyone else) from being pretty annoyed about some of the stuff that happened.

First off- opening ceremonies. The speech given by the President of the AAC was awful, bitter, and very inappropriate. Not a lot of people like her, and she let it be known her thoughts on that. It was not a very good start. I was embarrased that this is how the AAC represents itself. It left a bad taste in my mouth and I wanted to leave.

Everything was on schedule. To the minute. If you veered off the schedule it was a punishable offense. They yelled. A lot. Not even just to competitors, but to spectators, and at judges. Again, very inappropriate.

A group of Albertans waiting...
There were speeches given throughout the day- at briefings, at the banquet, at opening and closing ceremonies etc. And mostly it was "we are great, pat us on the back." I think that once is enough, and at the end of the weekend preferably. There was a lot of time wasted on that sort of thing.

The banquet. For 25$ I got cold soup, a salad, burnt chicken, and cold potatoes. Oh, and we ate in the dark.



You see, the banquet was in a tent, and was supposed to start at 6:30 (remember the schedule) but it didn't, and the tent got really dark. Some people were fortunate enough to have lanterns, or candles. Not us, we used our cell phones the best we could. It sucked. Our table had fun despite the darkness, and we pretty much laughed most of the night. At one point I almost choked on a tooth pick that was in my salad...it was pretty funny stuff...

6AM start time. Yeah. It was rough. But with 581 dogs running I get it. Why then did the walk throughs not start till 6:30ish? What happened to the schedule??

The rain delays. Some of us ran in buckets of rain (6" specials ran two runs on sunday in the torrential rain) The regular rings were put on hold until the rain lightened a bit.

The Steeplechase Finals. We waited around for an hour and half, waiting, wondering when we were going to start. Finally we get going, three dogs run and then it screeches to a halt for half an hour, and then continues again. Steeplechase lasted for almost three hours.

Closing Ceremonies. By the time Steeplechase ended it was almost dark. Again, they packed us into the tent with no light. It was pretty awful. Everyone was talking, and it was a pretty dissapointing end. There was no "podium" (not that you could have seen it in the dark) and it was sad that you didn't get to go up and get your placement so your friends could clap and cheer. We were still excited, and did cheer when our friends names were called, but it really was the worst closing ceremonies ever. I think what annoyed us most was they knew from the previous night how dark it was in the tent. Could they not have gone out and purchased a string of lights? Cheap Lanterns? Something. But no. They read the results by flashlight, and we all fumbled in the dark to get our ribbons. There were also rude comments made when someone who usually wins, did not, and placed lower in the class (3rd I think) The comments were not polite, and I thought it was very inappropriate.

I think that the group who hosted did a good job for the most part- the rings were beautiful, everything was great equipment and volunteer wise. Where they lacked in planning was the other events- which is too bad as it is hard not to focus on those things- especially something as important as Closing Ceremonies.

Anyway, mostly the event was great, mostly I had a great time in Ottawa. It was nice to spend time visiting with friends. The College were we stayed was fantastic- we had lots of fun laughing at Aaron and Pete, and watching them drink until they nearly exploded. The dogs all were awesome. Being a Tourist was fun, and we got to see a lot of cool stuff. It was a great experience, and although I didn't find Ottawa particularily friendly- the competitors at the event were awesome. I talked to a lot of new people, and it was nice that even at a huge event people are friendly. So mostly, it was great.

Next year Nationals are going to be in Calgary. I am super excited about this- less traveling, and I know that Training Troop (and friends) are going to do a kick ass job of hosting. Spruce Meadows won't know what hit em! :o)

Nationals Results

I almost cried when Wicca's name was announced for 2ND PLACE in the 6" Specials Class.

I went to Nationals with the goal of placing in the middle of the pack- 13 dogs, and I am thrilled with our final placement. There were a lot of great dogs in her class this year, and we worked hard to dig ourselves out of the hole we were in on Saturday morning. I still can't believe it. Second. At Nationals!!!

Saturday we started with Jumpers. I knew the course, and I knew how I was going to handle it. I figured we'd nail it. Wicca had other ideas. She was very naughty and every time I tried to fix it, it would get worse. We finished the course with less than five points out of 75. I was pretty upset with her, and with myself.
Official Results
Course

The next class was Standard. We had a great run- with just one bar, earning us 4th place. This course ate up a lot of dogs- the start had everyone in a tizzy, and there were quite a few off courses. I am very proud to have nailed that course.
Official Results
Course

Gamblers was last, and we had a rough opening- earning only 39 points in the opening(which is low for us) but nailed the end gamble. We placed 2nd.
Official Results
Course

We ended the day in 10th place overall (which I didn't know until today!)

Sunday was probably her best day of agility ever. We started with Gamblers and had a wicked opening, and nailed the end gamble. We had 52 opening points!
Offical Results
Course

Our next run was the Standard. I knew we needed to run this clean to make up for Saturday. It was a tough course- and lots of dogs had crashed and burned. I was stoked when we ran it clean. We placed 1st.
Official Results
Course

My last Nationals run of the day was Jumpers. I was so nervous. I literally could have thrown up. I tried to stay focused, and not freak out. It was a nice course, and I knew I wouldn't get lost. We had ONE bar, on an otherwise beautiful run. It felt amazing. It was done so fast, I thought I'd forgotten a part! The bar was totally my fault- a badly timed front cross on #3...but wow. Lots of other dogs in my class ran that one clean, so I wasn't surprised to come in 10th place.
Official Results
Course

I was very nervous at the end of the day. I wanted to know, but I didn't. I knew that my chances of placing in the top half were pretty good- but the other dogs in her class ran well all weekend- not just for part of it. When the winners were announced, and my name still hadn't been called I got goosebumps. I had tears in my eyes when I went up to get her ribbons (thankfully it was so dark, no one could see- which is a whole other story)

Final Aggregate Scores

My little dog ran her heart out for me. We pulled it together after a very rough start, and I couldn't be any happier with her. What a dog.

On top of her Nationals Results she also WON 1st place in the Steeplechase Finals Prequalifier- and at the same time earned her Steeplechase Title!! The actual finals didn't go quite aswell though- I get so nervous, and just like last year we had a few bobbles caused by me. Geesh. Only the whole world watched. But even with the bobble we placed 2nd and won 50 bucks. :o)

I am so lucky to have such a great dog.

oh- stay tuned for the post about the drama and the shitty stuff that of course happened...

Just a Quick Update

Wicca playing at the beach on Ottawa River near the Quebec Border....

Check out the Go Dog Go Agility blog for updates on our trip!

Leaving on Jet Plane

I told Vito that I am leaving him for 8 days. He was sad.

And then I told him he was going to Wendy and Marlins house.

He thought he'd better practice his toy stealing/tugging maneuvers...



If you want updates while I am gone don't forget to check out the Go Dog Go Blog

Wish Us Luck!!!

Chicken!

The goal was to succesfully train the chicken to peck a target. Placement of Reward, Rate of Reinforcement, and Timing of the click are all key to getting this.

On top of all of that, there was the chicken. Some hadn't been handled at all, and were reluctant participants. Others, were uber smart chickens and very food motivated. Oh, and I should mention I had never actually touched a chicken before. I was a bit nervous about it. Kim however was a pro and was the first to grab her chicken out of the crate.

We were split into pairs, and each person had two chickens to rotate through.

Before the chickens came out we practiced our "click and delivery" - it is much harder than you'd think as you have to be careful not to spill any or the chickens will just eat off the ground.

The next step was to get the bird on the table, and relaxed. So we fed them from the cups. My black bird figured this out right away. My brown bird not so much.

Once the chicken was comfortable on the table we introdcued them to the target, and the click. We started shaping our chickens to peck the target. Kim had the most success out of all of us. After just a few turns she figured out that the target is what was earning her the food. She got to the point where we introduced a colored target (red) and the next step would have been to teach her discrimination between the colors. It was very interesting to see the chickens thinking about it. Kim's chicken was moving all over the table wherever the target went- she followed.

My own chickens didn't fair as well. My black chicken did figure it out at the end- but she was a total gawker, any noise or movement and she'd forget what she was doing. I joked that I got the Flatcoat of the Chicken world. :o) I had to lower my criteria back to basic each turn as she didn't seem to remember where we left off the turn before. So each turn was started with rewarding a look or head bob towards the target. But I was getting solid pecks at the end. My brown chicken ended up not even willing to take berries from me- never mind the chicken feed. She was a wash out. :o(

Kim's Brown Chicken

It was a pretty fun way to spend the afternoon. Donna showed us a video of Bob Bailey's about the history behind Operant Conditioning and it was neat to see the progression and how it was used. The actual training of the chickens was fun, and I am looking forward to going again. It really is a great way to fine tune your timing, and rate of reinforcement. I can see how it would benefit all clicker trainers as you really have to be super aware of what exactly you are rewarding. I was rewarding my chicken for being precise and careful- whereas Kim was getting frantic, target throwing, pecks. We had to get a replacement at one point because Kim's black chicken ripped it almost in half!

I will totally be up for going again- even though I smelled like a barn and had to have two showers to get rid of the chicken smell... :o)

Party!

So I am a complete nerd and had a party for Pixel. Well, it wasn't really a party as much as it was a chance for the dogs to play while we visited. Everyone had lots of fun- there was lots of fetching, wrestling, and playing. And there was cake! There was cake for dogs, and cake for people!

I didn't get very many good photos. They were moving pretty fast, and I was visiting and stuff. But here are the best ones!

neena the border collie
sophie the baby vizsla, and Sun'ar the cardigan.
Kort the collie and baby Sophie checking out the castle
Lacey, looking very giant!!
Jolene and Perkins were cuddling, and then Lacey came in for kisses..
Snap, a baby greyhound who is LOOKING FOR A HOME. She is available through PDCR rescue...
Esmae, and her baby blue eyes. She is an aussie pup.
and Kort- looking very happy with himself!

Pixel says thanks to everyone who came, and for the fun toys and goodies!!!

If Looks Could Kill

Pixel was not impressed with her party hat. I think she looks cute. She disagrees.

Happy Birthday

I can't believe she is a year old. Wow. She has been a great little dog, and I feel very lucky to have her.

Happy Birthday Pixely....

Clicker training Chickens

Ever since I heard about Bob Baileys Chicken Camp I've wanted to go.

You think Timing, Criteria and Rate of Reinforcement are important with a dog? It is even more important with a Chicken. I think that by working on getting your timing right, and actually breaking down complex behaviors even more will make better dog trainers of us all. The Chickens can't really be influenced by pressure, or tone. It is all about the science behind the training.

No, I am not going to a Bob Bailey Chicken Camp. I wish. But my friend has gone to his clinics, and now has chickens at her place. She has invited a few people out to play. I am so excited.

Saturday afternoon, instead of packing for my trip I am going to clicker train a chicken or two...how fun!

I found a great article on the Clicker Solutions website about Chicken Camp and what it really means...

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Yes. I will be bringing my camera. :o)

Pitbulls

Dreameyce posted this on her blog, and not to be a copycat, but well, I love the message, and I think that the more it is spread the better.

I love pit bulls. I would own a pit bull. but then i would live in fear. one day my dog could be taken away from me- just because of what she is. I wouldn't be able to travel. Imagine not being able to take your dog on holidays with you. Or having to put a muzzle on the dog to go for a walk. Owning a pitbull is a huge responsibility. That dog would have to be on her best behavior everywhere, all the time. There is no room for error when the whole world is waiting, watching for you to snap. I couldn't deal with the stares, the fear in people, and the issues that would arise when I defended the dog i love. I don't think I have the heart to do it.

I love and admire the breed and Pitties will always have a soft spot in my heart for them. I can't resist saying to hi to any I see on the street, and am always on the lookout for cuteness. But it is highly unlikely that I will ever get to own one.

Not to get into the whole breed specific ban, but it's a bunch of Bullsh*t frankly, and i have no patience for anyone who judges a whole breed based on a few bad owners. I am with dogs ALL DAY LONG. Big groups of them. The best "Greeter" is a pitbull. A cute little dog that I would take home in a heartbeat (he is much loved however, and has a great home) It is funny to me that the some (if not most) people who are afraid of the breed have never even met one. Serious. I can tell you I've had far worse experiences with shih tzu's and cockers than Pitbulls. It is all about the owner. There are bad dogs in every breed. A good owner makes a great dog, and a bad one, well what do you think happens??

Anyway, off my soapbox now, Enjoy!

The Best We Can

Wicca and I just got home from the best training session we've had in weeks.

We worked on everything on my short list and ran three sequences perfect- the first time. No bars, no bad handling. It was an amazing feeling. Her start lines were solid, and she is definitely paying attention to me. Our threadle, serp, and 270's were nearly perfect. My lead out pivots were mostly well timed, and we had a good connection tonite. I am so proud of her, and of me.

It is a feeling that I have missed the past few weeks. Like my heart wasn't in it or something. I didn't know what was missing, or why I was feeling so blah and stressed. But now, that it finally worked..I discovered the answer.

This morning I spent a few minutes emailing a friend advice in an effort to calm her down about Nationals. She was stressed about it, and how big her class is, and just being at such a large event. In my advice to her I found the answer to my own issues.

I am competing against myself. My goals are just that. My goals. They have nothing to do with any other dog.

I am doing this because it is fun. My dog loves it- screw ups or not. It is a great experience- one that many never get the chance to feel.

My dog is what she is. At this point (6 days before we leave) nothing is going to change. I need to handle her the way she is now, not the way that I wished she was. I will handle for my dog and what we understand as a team together.

These small pieces of advice that I gave out so freely really made me think about it. My little dog is amazing. She is a great dog, and has tremendous skill and heart. I have a good handle on her. I understand how to break down and walk a course. I am confident in my ability, and will keep calm and focused. We will be just fine, and we will do the best we can. That's all we can really ask for isn't it?