Christmas Greetings

A day late. But still heartfelt. I hope that all my friends, family, and strangers ;) who read this blog had a wonderful Christmas full of love, laughter, family and friends. I know I did. <3

Thoughts about Weirdos

Out of my six dogs only two of them are what I would consider "normal." Normal as in your typical, average sort of dog. Those would be pixel and Wicca. While they are certainly naughty they are very typical house dogs. The kind of dog you could take anywhere and not worry about bad reactions, or quirks, or just general stuff. Those two have the qualities that most people are looking for in pets. I'm not talking drive or anything, just general personality and temperament.

The other four are dogs that certainly would not have been okay in your average home. And it's probably no coincidence that they are all rescue dogs- that clearly were not okay in an average home. Of course through training and such there have been improvements with behavior- but the base temperament and personality. That hasn't been changed in any of them. I find it interesting.

Vito was surrendered to rescue for growling, and biting. At 14 weeks old!!! Definite danger signs. He came to my house and never left. And still he is my least social dog, and needs a slow and careful introduction if I expect him to Interact with a person. He has learned (behavior) how to ignore and cope with the presence of people. But his underlying mistrust of strangers will never go away.

Boone came to me as a 4 year old dog. He had been owned by people who did the best they could for him but couldn't handle his issues. I've met a handful of Pyr Sheps and know quite a few online- and I do feel that it's safe to say that the breed in general is not normal. They are bred to be aloof- originally this was so they couldn't be stolen when they were up in the hills with the shepherd and sheep... The breed is still very natural and raw and I think that's why it is such a strong trait. Aside from being nervous to meet people, Boone is easily overwhelmed and goes Into panic mode. This is how he was lost for two days a few years ago. When he is scared he is not a rational thinker. He is hard to live with because of this- and because his triggers are things that can't always be avoided. Through training he has learned how to recover- but the initial reaction is still often there. He is a very high maintenance dog to live with. Even at 10 years old.

Brit came to rescue for being too active for her family. More like being completely neurotic, with many OCD type behaviors well established. It took a while for some of it to show up- but when it did I was pretty surprised. She would follow light and shadow, sniff the ground frantically while screeching, and of course stare at things. All the things. Moving or non moving. Training and behavior modification and countless hours have improved these things greatly. But a day without exercise or an outlet for her energy and she easily falls into that again.

Leo came to me after being surrrendered to a shelter for biting, and sitting there for a long long time... It's hard to know if his weirdness came from before the shelter, or after. He is very impulsive and frantic. In all things, (except shepherding which I find completely fascinating!!). In the house he would pace and move all the time, and is quick to get riled up. Self control does not come naturally. Even in cuddling (which he wants to do all the time), he is forceful and frantic. Pushing himself onto your lap or smearing himself against you. It's cute for like two seconds. His behavior problems- the biting for example, are pretty under control. I feel pretty comfortable saying that at this point I would see it building long before it happened. Gone is the unpredictable reactiveness. But the actual personality quirks are alive and well.

So interesting. To me anyway. The weirdos I live with. It's too bad they couldn't talk to us, or understand us better. Communication could clear up a lot of problems. I guess that good training is at least some form of communication , but it sure would be cool to hear what, and why they they think/react like they do. And I wonder about all the weirdo dogs out there, in incompatible homes- that eventually give up or don't. Not everyone is equipped to deal with a weirdo. They certainly are more work than the normal dogs! In Life and in training!

Dog behavior and such is interesting. Especially to a weirdo like me. ;) maybe that's why I apparently seek out the weird dogs. Lol. We have common interests...

It's really real

I was so nervous today. To send out an email. To post on Facebook. I had indigestion. Lol.

I was afraid that it was just a dream. And that the second I hit send the world would come crashing back down.

But no. Turns out its really real!

A lot of planning, hard work, and even more planning and finally. A new agility training business is born. Sundog Agility. An equal partnership. A new beginning.

Anyway. Yay! Classes set to start in January. A new beginning for a new year. Couldn't be more perfect really!

Falling Behind

I'm falling behind in blogging again.

So much to do these days. I am completely busy every single moment, I'm getting to the point of overload. Good thing I have some holiday time coming in a few weeks!!!

I took the dogs (all of them!) to a fundraiser photo session with Santa. It was not as bad as I thought, and the pic turned out cute. I had to do some editing as it was very dark, but it's still a good momento and it was for a good cause!

 

new header

I've had the same header for over a year. Mostly because it's always a big pain in the butt to change it. i can never get the size quite right, and it just annoys me when it's not centered. Like right now for example.

However, I wanted something Christmaslike. So this is just one of the photos that the very talented Lorelei Hoffarth did for me last year! She does fantastic work and I love all the photos she took of my crew!

One more, of just Wicca. <3

Jacket Rich

Last week I found out that Leo was the Alberta Stock Dog Associations Novice Champion for 2014.

We won a jacket and our name on this little trophy.

I'm very proud of him. He's sure come a long ways and I am excited for what the future will bring. I'm itching to get out of the lower level classes and Leo is just the dog for that. Jenny assures me he could be an Open dog one day.

He is hampered by being owned by a novice person, but despite me he does a pretty great job.

Jenny and I were just talking the other day- and She said that dogs like Leo are perfect for novice folk. Honest, Biddable, and smart enough to know when to listen and when to ignore us. Lol. Leo is a dog who will save me without getting into trouble.

I am lucky to have stumbled upon such a good boy.

Dog Show Weekend

Well another weekend of NQ's for Pixel. Brat. This time she didn't FETCH! Of course she did the drop that time. Corgis sure know how to keep you humble. What a brat. It's a good thing she is very cute. And mostly good.

Brit on the other hand was a total rockstar. She was confident and happy to be working in the ring, and did everything I asked. Had I taught her the Broad Jump she would have been perfect all weekend... It completely slipped my mind that there was a possibility of a broad jump in advanced. Oh Well. She didn't know she messed up, and I have since done a bit of training with it. lol. An NQ is very motivating apparently. ;)

 Jolene was nice enough to video all weekend for me. So here are Brit's Rally Advanced runs. If you are only going to watch one then I would watch Sunday. Because that's when she got a perfect score *her first!, and a High in Class. Which is amazing as she is in the B stream and it is very competitive. Lots of perfect scores all weekends, and fast times. So I was thrilled for her to do so well.

Friday- the broad jump was a bridge, but otherwise she was perfect.

 

Saturday- 99/100. A slow sit on the left pivot. Which was my fault as I have been working hard on getting her to actually pivot, and not scoot on her butt which is what we had before. I haven't added the sits back in yet.. .


Sunday- 100/100 and High in Class. Love that wagging tail. You will notice though that she was a little nervous- especially when there was screaming coming from the conformation end of the building. And one of her tell-tail signs of stress is sniffing my pant leg. Which she does once in this video. But huge progress from the summer for her so I am thrilled.


I am itching to get back into the Novice Obedience ring with her- the last time she was in she did great one day- earning a 190something, and then the next day she melted into a pile of melty border collie. I think she has improved mentally since then- all my confidence building stuff is really paying off. So I may do a few winter shows... As long as she stays sound that is... ;)

A training sort of weekend.

Saturday I participated in a clicker training workshop. This workshop was all about perfecting timing, mechanics and understanding. The species we worked with? Chickens!

This is the second time I've worked with chickens and this time I was a lot more successful. People have asked me what do chickens have to do with dog training, an why clicker train a chicken??!!!

Well it's not really about the chicken. The chicken is a tool. You see chickens wont try to make you happy, and they are clear proof of your ability, or lack of. Lol. If your timing is wrong with a chicken you won't get anywhere. It really is a great way to fine tune your dog training ability.

I'm lucky enough to have a friend who is very into clicker training and has taken more than six chicken camps with the master of clicker training- Bob Bailey. So while the information is not right from the source it is definitely from someone who knows their stuff.

Anyway it was a lot of fun and my partner and I worked with four different chickens. We taught them targeting, discrimination and he beginnings of cone work. It was super cool. And I can't wait for the next one.

Sunday morning I held a training fun match for my obedience students. Quite a few of them braved the blizzard and came out to work their dogs. My own dogs did great. Pixel did a full run through for the first time in ages and nailed it. Even the stays. I mean we even had ears! Amazing. Brit did great and was very enthusiast. She is such a happy working dog. Leo didn't get to play. He's not really at the point where that sort of thing is going to be beneficial. He did come and watch though- its good for him to just chill in the xpen. The best part of the day was when I let Wicca do the novice rally course. Omg. The cuteness. She had a blast. It was very cute. Vito too attempted the novice course however he was mostly doing his own thing. Lol

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and hibernating from the winter that's arrived.

manymuddypaws

Nothing makes then happier than a muddy walk. ;)

Years ago when I was trying to come up with a cool email address I came up with manymuddypaws. Little did I know then how appropriate that would be!

Friends

Friends are awesome. I'm very lucky to have a great bunch of them.

Boone has a friend too. His name is Frosty.

Where the spooky things are...

Brit isn't afraid of the spooky woods, and the fog, and the goblins that may be lurking.

She has a secret weapon

 A magic stick. 

Poor Leo is unconvinced that a simple stick can protect him.. 

I tried to tell him that Goblins and Witches and Zombies and such are just make believe. He didn't believe me...

Have a Happy Halloween :) And stay safe. Find yourself a magic stick and you'll be just fine....

Princess in th Fog

We had the coolest fog today! On our walk today I couldn't resist stopping for some photos... So SPOOOOKY, just in time for halloween...

Pixel was bored by the whole thing and would have preferred we kept playing and walking. ;)

On training for obedience...

I've been training training and training some more. Pixel, Brit and Leo are all in various stages of training for the obedience ring. So I try to squeeze in at least one session a day.

I typically train them all in the same session- and it is often a bit of a challenge for me. Switching between their personalities and needs is a lot of work. But it certainly keeps me sharp!

Pixel can work for long periods of time for one larger reward. She is able to switch between exercises and such quite easily and likes a lot of physical grabbing and tugging as rewards. Cookies bring her a bit lower than a toy- which brings out the best amount of drive. Especially for heeling. I normally start with her weakest thing and end on the easiest.

Brit is a softie and I need to always be sure that I am being clear about what we are working on. She is easily overwhelmed by challenges and would like to quit if the pressure is high. We work on short, fast bits of exercises. Rarely putting them together. Her rate of reinforcement is high- but super variable. I need to keep her guessing or she is the type of dog who thinks she deserves the reward and can sulk about it. The toy brings out the best- but it's a challenge to use it with her for heeling. She is so literal in her thinking that placement of rewards is super important for her- the toy clouds that a bit. I also need to be careful not to overdo my enthusiasm as it weirds her out.

Leo can work for longer periods of time but on one or at most two different things. He does not switch gears very well and struggles to change to something different. He can be a frantic learner so when I am teaching him something specific or mechanical I use food and a clicker as it tends to slow him down a bit. For heeling though we use a toy. For that I want pushy and in full drive mode so it works well because that's how he is when the toy is the reward. I have to be careful to not be too physical with the rewards or he gets careless and the lesson becomes about impulse control- not on whatever we started with.

All so different. And all so awesome. I love dog training!

I'm going to try and get some video this weekend of heeling. I love heeling. Teaching it. Training it. Watching it. Definitely one of my most favorite things.

Cypress Hills

Last field trial of the year. First successful time in intermediate for Leo. Biggest outrun ever! He placed second both days. And first overall. I'm proud of us. It's been a lot of work. Like a lot of work. It feels good to have progress. Of course I want more progress. The driving especially. And for whatever reason he would not take a flank on the fetch. We will be working on that!

Brit was terrible. And then not. She crossed over the first day. I think she lost sight of her sheep... Second day was better. I sent her on the flat side- up the hill. Hard to miss them that way.

Good times with good friends. As always I had a good time. It was a small trial and everyone was super friendly and helpful.

I really need to remember my camera. Video of that outrun would have been awesome!

One thing I learned from the weekend. Whistles. I need them. Like yesterday. Too bad it's dark now at 6pm so I'm super limited about when I can train...

Dogs and Sheep

Just some dogs. And Sheep.

:)

Thankful

Today's Message. Be Thankful.

And not just because it's Canadian Thanksgiving. Well maybe mostly because of that. But also because it is important- to be grateful. For everything you have, and all the people, and pets, and health, and stuff, and just well everything. Don't be one of those people who complain about what they don't have. Take a second and look at what you do have. Appreciate it. Because there are always people who have it worse, or would be happy with even a 1/4 of what you have. So be Thankful. I know I am.

Instagram

I joined, I mean re-joined Instagram! Apparently I joined when 200 weeks ago, posted two photos and then never went back (I only know this because it told me.)

I've been actively posting away. I actually enjoy it only because then I don't need to bore all my Facebook friends with my obsession with sky photos. ;)

Anyway. Find me if you want. ;)

Wicca

I love this dog more each day. As if that were possible. 

Frog in Underwear

Apparently this is actually a thing. A kids show, or cartoon, or something. Animals wearing underwear. It is a little creepy, and a lot funny. I bought it at the dollar store of all places. I figured the dogs would enjoy it. I didn't take into account the awesomeness of photos with the creepy little fella. lol

So I present the Frog-In-Underwear series.

That last one is highly inappropriate. But hilarious. Really.

Birthday Girl

Today is Brits fifth birthday! I can't believe she is five already. I got her when she was two so I sort of feel ripped off. Lol. Maybe I can just pretend she is three?

Today she got to do some fun things. And I even gave her some presents! The best part was that she got to come to class tonite as a demo dog and mooch food off of everyone. And of course we stopped for ice cream on the way home..

So anyways, Happy Birthday to Brit. The dog who brought forth many changes into my life. She is a great dog. And I am so lucky. <3

Sometimes things are hard

Sometimes things are hard. Life, work, family, dogs, stuff. It can all be really good. Or it can be hard. And lately for me things are hard.

It's not one thing. Or one big thing. It's a lot of little things. I relate it to something I refer to as "walking in the dark syndrome". You know, when you are walking in the dark and you think you hear something and then you are sure there is something and then every little rustle of leaves or sound freaks you out more and more until you are running home. What started as one little thing got worse. A combination of no recovery time, and not enough coping skills. (This happens to dogs too by the way- and I use this analogy a lot when explaining fear and reactivity. Lol. )

Anyway, I am not a "share my feelings" sort of person and instead internalize things. Keeping my worry to myself. This is not healthy. Lol.

Soin an effort to cope and recover before the next thing this is what I do. To help myself.

I use music. To express myself and work through stuff. I've been listening to lots of music. Some angry teenage-angst music, but mostly calming uplifting folksie sort of music. It helps quite a bit. Cheapest therapist ever, and it never asks you how that makes you feel. Lol. I appreciate that. :)

And words. Reading. Writing. It's all a great way to cope and work through stress and worries. The Internet is full of hidden gems. So here. I found this on the Internet today. It's my new wallpaper on my phone. A good reminder.

Here's to better days. And continued sunshine.

Busy weekend. Busy week.

I had a busy weekend. And even though its already Wednesday I'm gonna talk about it. ;)

Took my nephew and a friend to the corn maze. It was fun. Nolen had a fantastic time. It was creepy because it was sort of dark. I think it would be a lot fun and scarey! In the actual dark though. So I'm trying to convince some friends to come with me. Closer to Halloween....

Spent the weekend at Louannes. Helping with farm stuff. I love that stuff. I seriously could do that every day. Leo did a good job and was pretty tired at the end of the day. Lambs are difficult. And many lambs are even more so. It was a good experience for him though. We did just some training the next day. Brit was wild , so we worked on pace. Lol. And we are still working on driving. Driving and driving and driving. It's coming though. I got a few good pointers from Louanne. I'm excited about the progress! There is a field trial coming up. I entered Leo in intermediate for the first time!

This week has been busy. New classes started so I'm busy with lesson plans and organizing and such. It is a lot of work beyond what actually happens in class.

The weather has been nice. So we are cramming in as much outside training as possible. I love fall training. The brisk air. The crunch of the leaves. Perfect.

And some random photos from my phone. The app won't let me put them in place. So you'll have to use your imagination as to where they go. Lol