Excellent Brit

My video camera is dead, and Jolene had to run home to get hers. So although I really wish I had the Obedience videos from the morning all I've got is this Excellent run of Brits. She did great- first time doing such a hard and long course, or doing a jump in rally. I love the wagging tail, and her pivots and left turns are awesome. Love, Love, Love this dog. She is so adorable. I mean, really- see the waggy tail?


Thanks for videoing Jo!!!!

Herding Lesson and Obedience

I am sad that it's Sunday afternoon already. This weekend went by so fast!! It was a good weekend though- lots of dog stuff! Only a few moments of sad, and a minor (hopefully) issue with my van...

Saturday morning Sarah and I went for a herding lesson. It was a good lesson- Brit listened pretty well, and the final fence exercise was perfect and fast! Our stops and "come bye" flank could be better but I think with experience those will just continue to get better. Brit has really figured the sheep out and reads the stock well. She knows how much space to give them, and is just a very good natural dog. I don't have to do much to make it look good! I still don't really have a very good picture of what it's supposed to look like all together for the trial though. lol.

Sunday I hosted an Obedience and Rally Match. It was a great morning- although early (stupid time change!)... I am so proud of Brit!!! She did a whole Novice Obedience routine, and two Rally run throughs. She was awesome! Her heeling is getting better and better. She is still a bit wide, and we need to work on our Stand- but everything else was pretty great. I am very pleased with her. I have entered her in Rally at the Red Deer dog show- just one run on Saturday. If she does as well as she did today I will be thrilled! We have some fine tuning and proofing to do before we hit the actual obedience ring. I need to build up duration for the reward, and she doesn't have very much actual ring experience yet. Maybe this summer she will be ready for Novice.  Pixel was great- she anticipated her drop but everything else was good.

I've got lots of great photos from our walk on Friday-  I took the dogs to the beach where everyone got muddy and had a good time. I'll do a whole post of photos tomorrow, in the mean time this photo of Pixel cracked me up... lol

A Rough Week. Over.

I promise that I will be more upbeat next week. This week has been hell. Full of sadness, grief, tears and hugs. I have reached my yearly quota for death, and tears, and hugs. And it's only March. (I don't like to cry, or hug- but both are kinda expected in situations like this....)

On Saturday morning a student and friend lost her dog suddenly and tragically. Chase was nine years old. A Sheltie with an attitude as big as his bark. The life of the party, the kind of dog that would work forever, a type of dog that is hard to forget. In one day he went from being normal, to feeling under the weather, to deathly sick with no hope for recovery. Renal Failure is what the vets have said. I've said before on this blog (not too long ago when two other dogs I loved died) but it's just not very fair. Nine years old. Is not old. He still has so much life to live. As expected his owner is heartbroken. And the whole Go Dog Go family is mourning for the loss.

And then the End of an Era. The passing of Jane was not unexpected but it still is heart wrenching. I've known Jane since forever. Sarah and I started our friendship with our two socially retarded bitchy girl dogs. Go Dog Go was built from that. Jane was the last of the oldies. The last of the originals. She was everything a terrier should be- a true queen who ruled with just a look. The promise of an ass kicking was all that was really ever needed. A fighter till the end.  She was gracious, and sweet, and fiery, and tenacious. Her never give up attitude was the best part.  She was the original smarty-pants. She knew so much- from obedience, to agility, to tricks, to the english language. lol. I remember the good old JRT Terrier days- Jane was always the best behaved dog there, and had the best tricks. Although Jane has been in the background for a few years-  she was still always there. And there is this strange emptiness now where she used to be. Janie is a dog that will not be forgotten anytime soon.

I'm not normally at a loss for words. But I do find that death is one thing that is hard to talk about. What to say to the grieving owner, how to express your feelings of sympathy. It's just kind of awkward and sad.

Loving dogs is so hard. Our GDG family is great though and we've all come together to support our friends. I think that what really helps to pull people through losses like these is the support of friends. The thoughtful words and sincere sympathy from people who get it. Dog people are good people.

I don't like feeling sad, and I'd much rather be celebrating these great dogs lives, but sometimes it's just hard.  I'm hoping a busy weekend of dog stuff and friends will help.

The story of 8.

This is late, was supposed to be posted this morning. But it was hard to write, and it has been a very emotional week.

In any case here goes:

Blog Action Day: If I knew then, what I know now....

I would appreciate my dog(s) more. I would always put them first. Their feelings, their physicality, their mental stability.  I would never take for granted my dogs ability to play this game. I would love them always for who they are, and not who I want them to be. 

I have owned 8 dogs in my life. They have all helped me to become the person, and the trainer I am today. Each of them have taught me about training, and about life. But looking back over their lives, in real life, and in agility they almost all have one thing in common. I didn't listen.

My first agility dog was fat, and out of shape. And still she played for as long as I asked her. I am embarrassed that I allowed my dog to jump, and twist, and play agility when she clearly was not in the shape to do it. She was taught obedience with a choke chain. And still loved me. Dogs are so forgiving. Despite my stupidity she lived to be old, and died a normal old dog kind of death. 

My second agility dog was another Shepherd- who mentally was not able to cope in a trial setting. And yet I persisted. Until she told me in no uncertain terms that she was not playing- by literally leaving the ring every time I put her in one.  Poor Kate. She was completely devoted me. So much in fact that she would face her biggest fears just because I asked her to. I was young, and didn't know that I should always listen to my dog. 

My next dog was Wicca. Wild and Crazy from the start. I loved the rush, the adrenaline. I was so in love with her intensity and willingness to work. But more than half of her career was spent in frustration. Her lack of foundation skills set us up for failure right from the start. And my lack of understanding didn't help either. Finally, more than half way through we started to figure it out. And now it's over. Physically she is broken. In part to her break neck speed, and no care for herself. If I could go back in time I would kick myself in the ass. I would have trained my dog better, safer, and appreciated every time we stepped to the line together. It bothers me that I can't remember our last run together.

And then came Sam. Lots of heart. He was the dog I have the most regret for. Rescued as an adult. Loads of potential. Until he was lame. And I gave up when the vets couldn't find an answer. Until it went on for more than a year. And then I tried again. And then it was too late. That sucked. I will never give up again. I will never just take one persons opinion and treat it as the correct one. I know in my heart that I did what I could for him. But my mind took a lot longer.  I still wonder had I known to look for people like Dr.Devall, or Canine Bodyworkers would I have been able to save him?

Vito was next. This is another kick in the ass. First off, I really should not have kept him. But I loved him, and didn't trust that I could find him the right home. So he stayed. And again I did not listen to the dog. When he said that tugging, and collar games were too intense for him I ignored it. When he said that he would rather not try and get it wrong, I encouraged him to work through it. Vito is way smarter than me, and again it took me a while to listen to my dog. But I listened, and have let him be who he wants to be.

Boonie. I have no regrets with this dog at all. He was the first dog that I got it right with. A damaged soul that took time, patience and unconditional love. When he told me he couldnt' handle the stress I stopped immediately. I am proud of what I was able to accomplish with him, but I am even more proud of our relationship. He was not an easy dog to figure out.

The Princess. I so badly wanted to do everything right and help her to be the best that she could that I often forgot who she was. I did every crate game, every motiovational game, every bit of ground work and foundation that I could. And I ended up with a pretty great dog- but it took a while to build an actual relationship with her. Relationship needs to come before foundation. Duh. I've since fixed that- but wow, that was a pretty big thing to skip.

And finally Brit. Everything that I've learned from my other dogs, and experiences have been put into her. And so far I've not screwed her up. I've allowed her time to love me, and have confidence, and mature, and finally had patience. And it feels good. To have done something right. lol. 

So basically if I had do-overs I would listen to my dogs. That's the single most important thing that I've learned in all the years I've been training dogs. And had I learned that at the beginning I think that my life, and my dogs lives would have been very different.

Agility, I missed you even though I never really left you...

Slowly but surely I am getting back into agility with my dogs. Last week Sarah and I went early to class and I worked Brit and Pixel on just a few little things, and yesterday I did a bit more with them. I've created a plan for Brit, and a list of things that Pixel and I need to work on before Regionals.

Yes, I am going to Regionals. I really debated about it, but I think I will kick myself in the ass if I don't go. As a warm up I even entered a trial in April! I am not going to go to Nationals though- instead I will do the big outdoor show in Calgary and take my holidays the week before. Do some camping, touring around Alberta with the pooches.

I am feeling excited about training my dogs, and am looking forward to the move outdoors for training! The little bits of training I am doing right now are perfect- just a small amount to keep me interested, without it being overwhelming.

Yesterday I went to Medicine Hat for a few private Rally Obedience lessons. And afterwards I had an opportunity to do a bit of training with my dogs in their building- Brit did the dog walk!!! We've had the end behaviour for quite a while but had not successfully done the whole thing. She was doing this weird leaping in the middle, and was not quite sure of what I was asking her to do. Yesterday we did about six dogwalks- and all of them were pretty great!!! Full out running to the end and into position. I was super stoked! She's so cute even when she's galloping across the dogwalk. lol

I will have blog posts later this week with Pixel's To Do Before Regionals list, and Brit's Stuff She Needs To Learn Because I'm A Slacker.

In the end...

Because all we have left in the end are photos and memories, I've decided that I don't take enough photos of the important things in my life. (my dogs and my family). So you can expect more photos of four legged, and two legged family members....

Hug your dogs, and cherish every moment. Every. Moment.

Herding Lesson

Like an addict, I can't stay away. lol. I am convinced that the more I can get my dog on sheep the worse the addiction is- but at the same time she is getting better and better each time. Her Lie Downs were a non issue this time- sometimes a little creepy- but better than before! Brit was a super star and did really great overall I think. She continues to impress me. lol. She looks like she knows what she is doing and I'm still fumbling around. On the plus side I didn't forget my flanks, and I was able to watch my sheep, and the dog, and still walk backwards and think. lol. 

We started just with working on our Come Bye side- that flank is more pear shaped vs. a C like it is supposed to be. She really struggles to understand that we want her to move farther away before turning to the sheep.  On the Way side she is beautiful- head snap and gone. It's interesting that it is such a struggle to get the exact same behaviour on the opposite side. We did have progress though, I need to remember to point my stick at her head and don't give her the flank until she's already turned. In effect the verbal flank cue is a reward for doing it right. If she is wrong she has to stop and do it again. We did this for most of the lesson. When she would get it we would reward her with a few of the other side. 

The lesson ended with more fence work. She was a pro, and it was smooth and fast. She is taking flanks better (at Louannes she even took multiple flanks!) but she still is a bit too fast sometimes. 

And finally!!! Photos! Sarah and I went together so the photos are courtesy of her. Thanks Sarah!!! 

Next time I will video. I have a tripod I got for Christmas that I haven't really used yet. I think it would cover the whole arena. I am a very visual learner so I think it would be helpful to watch. 

Starting in May we will be able to go out and practice by ourselves. Which is exciting and terrifying at the same time. lol. Maybe Jenny will leave us a dog that knows what he's doing. lol. 

 This is Alaska's (the guardian dog) handiwork. She is a menace. lol. In all fairness I forgot to get Timbits for her and Togo so it's really my own fault. I thought that the pink stuffed toy would suffice as a bribe for safe passage. ;)

You can't always have what you want..

i don't share 2/12/2012 Pixel, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

so if you wanted this yummy looking rawhide chewy with one end all gooey, and dog hair stuck to the other end you'd be right outta luck. ;)

8/52

Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart. 8/52, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

Vito's Life Lessons:

Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart
---------

Vito is the bestest.

Visting, Herding, and Magic

Yesterday I spent the day in Calgary- it was a busy day. But I got to do three cool things. 

Visit with a good friend, that I don't see often enough and haven't talked to in what feels like a long time. Because I haven't been to a trial in what feels like forever I don't get to talk much with all my agility friends. It was a nice visit- although too short. Next time I will plan better!!!

Have a Herding Lesson at Louanne's.
Which was really good. Her stops were way better than before (at least to start), and she worked really well. We did a Y chute for the first time- which was difficult. LOL. And did fenceline work with actual obstacles. That was cool. The sheep we used were super flighty and fast- Brit liked that. It was very apparent we have a long way to go though. I struggle with watching my dog, my sheep, and thinking about what I am supposed to be telling my dog. With time it will come together but right now we are both very novice. At least I have a good novice dog- she tries hard to please me, and is way smarter than me. lol.

And I took Wicca to a different rehab person. Well, a Canine Body Worker. Sarah is apprenticing under Tina from Inhand Equine Therapy and I had the chance to take Wicca to be a guinea pig. I jumped at the chance- another set of eyes on her can't hurt!  Right off the bat Tina could see two things. And as she went over her she told me that she thinks that Wicca has an old, chronic Iliopsoas injury. Interesting eh? She did her magic and by the end of the hour Wicca was walking like a normal dog- without her legs tucked under her, and her topline had leveled out a bit. So I came home with a different set of exercises to do with her every day. Exercises specifically to a Psoas injury- which she may or may not have. But at this point I am willing to try anything. It can't hurt for sure, and if how Wicca was after the appointment is any indication then I am sold.

The hard part about this sort of thing is that I've already been working with a vet who has done lots of good for Wicca. As with everything in life there are always opinions and different thoughts. But I'm a believer in exploring options. And Tina is pretty confident in her observations. She certainly sounded like she knew what she was talking about!  So I'll give it a go. This means that Wicca is back to no fun. Leash walks only. No Running, Twisting, Turning, Jumping, Stairs, or Fun. lol. But Tina thinks that after 7-9 months of Rehab she will be better. That's right, Better.

Even if I could get her better I still won't go back to agility with her. I will be forever scared of hurting her. I couldn't handle that at all. But it would be fun to go back into the Rally ring with her! But being who I am I am still remaining pessimistic about the whole thing. lol. I will be happy if one day she can return to normal life.

Brit in Training

Just a quick update about Brit and her training in various things. This is more for me to be able to look back and see where we are/were at our training.

Scenthurdle
She LOVES this game. She has the jumping down pat, and the fetching. She is speedy, and really pulls for her turn. She is fast on the box, and is very confident in her job. Now the discrimination is what we are focusing on- she doesn't always think carefully at the box so we've been doing lots of box work. She is getting it though, and I suspect she will be racing on our second team by the summer.

Obedience/Rally
She is so fun to train. We've straightened out (literally) her heeling, and we've made a lot of progress in the past few months. She has the best "front" of any dog I've ever trained. Her sit, down and stand are pretty solid, and she has great finishes. Often she is a little too eager in her finishes and is a bit out of position. Her stand for exam is pretty great, and I've been working on lots of right turns, and big loopy circles.  We've been doing lots of work against fences, and walls to encourage her being straight. I've just started pairing rally signs together and we actually did a pretty tough course last week. She has some work to do on duration but I am pretty pleased!!

Sheepherding
I blog about every lesson because there is so much to learn and absorb. She has taught me so much, and I am completely addicted to it. We are very very novice still, but we are novice together at least. :) I filled out my first ever Herding trial entry form. It was pretty exciting. The trials are in June- and I entered all four. I am super nervous and it is still months away. She is a natural though, and as long as I can keep my head we will do just fine. She has the skill. Mostly. lol

Agility
I have not done much at all. She has the ground work, and the mechanics for contacts, and handling. She can front and rear cross, understands a serp cue, and a threadle. But doesn't have the actual training on equipment. She is still at the backchaining on contacts, and jumping 16". She can weave, sort of, not really. And I have a list a mile long of things she still needs to learn. First on the list is jump work.

Despite this list I do not spend all that much time actually training with her. Mostly we play and train little bits here and there. I am really enjoying her. She is so sweet, and happy, and eager to do whatever I ask her. I really love that about her. I am in no hurry with her in any venue- we'll get there when we get there. I think Rally will be her first actual ring experience of any sort. But time will tell!

Mister Freeze

 This has been a pretty mild winter. We've only had a few days of really cold winter.Temperatures dipping below -40 C. For my American friends- that's FREAKING COLD. On one of those nights this cute little kitten was left outside and in the morning was FROZEN to someones doorstep. They had to use warm water to pull him off.

The people who found him contacted me by accident- thinking I was a cat rescue. His story was sad, and they were desperate. So he came home with me even though I am definitely not a cat rescue. lol.

He is about 4 months old and is fiesty, playful, a huge trouble maker and is mostly a pain in the ass. He is a little on the wild side, and attacks any unprotected feet. He's very sneaky and launches onto one of the dogs nearly every day. He's bad.  But he's here to stay. He and Bruce have become friends already.  He is ultra confident with the dogs and he and Vito actually cuddle on the couch. It is the cutest thing ever.

Thankfully there have been no ill effects from his near death experience. His feet are in good shape, his ear tips fine, and he got a clean bill of health from the vet. He'll be neutered in a few months.

I had a hard time naming him. I mostly call him Mister. lol. Mister Bad Ass, Mister Confidence, Mister Freeze. He will be a purely indoor cat, I've been succesful in keeping him away from the dangerous outdoors so far, and intend to keep it that way.

he's crazy so he fits right in...

Herding Lesson

Today Brit and I headed out to Alta Pete for another lesson. We have found our groove and for the first time I felt a little bit confident in what I was supposed to do. lol. Brit's outruns are very nice all of a sudden, and although she can still cut in a bit on the top it is still 100x's better than before. What really sucked were the lie downs. And I was using a non-grumpy voice and everything. They actually started out pretty well, and then went to shit. So we worked on some lie down drills, and she worked through her little pout pretty well. Other than her crappy stops she was pretty wonderful. Listening, and trying hard.

 Oh and for the first time we picked up the sheep from where Jenny was standing and Brit circled right around them- and of course she wouldn't stop when I asked her. So we worked on that a bit more- gather and stop, gather and stop.

She is a sensitive girl and today was the first time that we really pushed her to the point where she wasn't so happy to work. But we let her flank a little bit to rebuild some confidence and ended on a pretty decent down.

I'm not sure how I can really work on that anymore at home. I can down on her on the way to a toy, on a recall, and playing with a dog. We'll have to work a bit harder on it though- throw in some new challenges or something. I need for her to have a solid stop so that I can think. lol.

On the way home we went to PetSmart and she got to pick out a new toy, and I bought cookies, and cat treats. She had a good time sniffing stuff and meeting people, and I felt the disapproving stare of the store "dog trainer" as my cute little border collie jumped all over me and pulled on her leash. It made me smile.

Husky Power

Yesterday my boss (Wendy) took us all Dog Sledding as a surprise Fun Day. It was SUPER fun!!! I've never been before so it was completely new for me. The place we went was small, family run, and best of all they really do care about their dogs. The dogs were all happy, and friendly. We each got a turn to drive, and be a passenger. Driving a dog sled is harder than it looks. lol. But I managed not to fall!! Being a passenger was a lot less work. ;)

Inspiration

"It's a great big world, and you'll see

It could pass you by at light speed
You got one life, one life
Don't stop; don't stop live it up" 

Sometimes you can find inspiration even when you're not looking. 

Last night I went to a Hedley concert. And it was fantastic. I loved it. I didn't want it to end.  I've been a fan from the beginning- drawn to his energy, killer voice, and messages found in his songs.

He is seriously talented.

c-r-a-z-y

c-r-a-z-y, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

vito cracks me up.

Wicca Update

Wicca is continuing to be limp free- which makes me SO SO SO happy. She still gets a little shaky in the rear after exercise, but it doesn't last long. She is still a little twitchy in spots, but I've been massaging her every night. Overall she is feeling pretty good I think. We've been slowly increasing her exercise- we went for an hour and a half today!!! She is still not allowed to play or wrestle with the other dogs, or jump. But she has been doing lots of off leash walks- nothing crazy, no fun dogs to play with (No Pixel!) but I think that has helped her to get rid of some pent up energy.

We are very religious with her exercises- every morning we do stretches and her little tricks- wave, take a bow, weave through my legs, crawl... In the afternoon we do our ball stuff every second day, and alternate off leash walking, or hill walking...The hill stuff is a killer. lol. For me. And in the evenings we do more stretches, some training (working on signals, go backs, and more tricks), and cavelleti's twice a week. The Cavelleti's are ridiculous really- she smashes through them. I saw a photo on someone elses blog that I am going to try. Pylons with holes drilled in them to keep the pole from moving...It's a worth a try because my way certainly is more time consuming and a pain in the butt.

Leash walking has been pretty impossible. She is my naughtiest dog on leash and pulls like a psycho- not good for her body at all. I had an easy walk for her that worked well but she can't have her shoulders restricted like that. I bought this pretty pink harness for tracking- but it is the only one I've found that doesn't pull on her neck or shoulders. We don't do a ton of leash walking- but when we do she is stylin' :)

A Different Light

Last week I decided that maybe it was time to take a break from agility with my dogs. I was feeling completely depressed about Wicca, and just couldn't seem to get past it. Everytime I tried to train Pixel or Brit in agility I couldn't really get into it. I was stuck.

So I decided that a break was in need. Some time off from training (even though I have already not been doing much I had been trying to make myself...) A break so that I wasn't training my dogs when my heart wasn't in it. Pixel is so sensitive to that sort of thing- she's not a dog that you can fake it with.  A break to give me a chance to see if Agility is as important to me as I think it is. I have no timeline.

I'm still teaching- right now only one agility class every second week. Enough to keep me in the loop. And stay connected with my friends. I also taught a Seminar this weekend with the Medicine Hat group- it was awesome. I had a good time, and was excited about agility! I even worked Brit a little on the breaks- and enjoyed myself!

So I know the passion is still there- I just need to get over myself. Feel better about myself.  Get focused, and I think that the love I have for agility will come back. I can feel it a little bit just from the weekend. As I gave my pep talk at the end of the weekend- talking about being confident, trusting your training and pushing to be better, it dawned on me that I never take my own advice. lol.

Interestingly enough I have had no problem in Obedience or Scenthurdle. In fact I am on an upswing Obedience wise and have been doing lots of training with both Pixel and Brit. I do think that most of my issue with agility is Me. My own lack of confidence, and issues that go along with that. And Wicca. I have guilt. Lots of guilt. But I've been reading some books about confidence, guilt, and emotions, and trying to be a better, healthier person. It's completely out of character for me. lol. But I'm trying.

Agility has been a huge part of my life for more than 10 years. That's a long time. I am not ready to throw that away, or quit. I think that with time, and thought, and some good old fashioned helpful words from friends I'll be back at it in no time.  With a better attitude, and a new light.

Boonie

As I read through my blog posts for the last few weeks I realised I hadn't posted about Boone very much! He's not any of my flickr projects this year, and combined with the "hard to photograph" factor I don't have many new photos.

This is from one of our beach walks last week- Boone blended into the sand a little too well, and I barely got any decent photos of him. I have a very hard getting good photos of him. He doesn't stop moving ever, and because of his fuzzy face I can't seem to focus on him very easily...

Boone and Scamp have formed the cutest friendship. None of my foster dogs have remained friends with Boone once they discovered how fun everyone else is. That is until Scamp. They cuddle on the couch together, play together, tug together, and run together. It is very cute.

I include this photo only because it made me laugh out loud. I do realise it's not in focus. But the teeth are awesome! ;)

Breaking the Rules

I've been taking the dogs to a beach not too far away. It's the off season so it is deserted, and we can walk for a long time and not see any people. The dogs have a great time playing in the sand- and Wicca's even been able to do one of her presrcibed exercises (digging!).

Although she is still not supposed to run, she got a serious case of the zoomies and I did let her rip around for a few seconds. She was so excited, and had a huge smile on her face. I loved seeing that.





                                                   She finished the zoomies off with a celebratory roll in goose poop. ;)