Why's Vito all wet?

because Vito rolled in poop. And had to have a bath yesterday. It tried to tell him he's an adult and should start acting like one. He said he's embarassed and will start acting mature...I don't believe him.

A little Windy..

It was SO freakin' windy tonite that we could barely have class. Tuesday nights are supposed to be the Regionals Prep Class. With the wind as strong as it was we could only use wingless jumps, heavily sandbagged tunnels, and weaves. No contacts, or anything that a dog could blow off of.

So we modified the plan and set up two gambles- one from an Ontario Regionals last year, and one made up.

Despite the wind we had fun- and got in a little training.

I didn't work Wicca a lot- but was specific about what we did do.

She has issues with hidden tunnel mouths- so we worked on that- and finally she started looking, and not just running around, and around, and around the tunnel...It's very odd that a dog who loves tunnels so much would be like that...

We also did a hard gamble with tunnel mouth discrimination and a really long Go On, with a dummy jump close to us...I was pretty happy with that! I also did it backwards and used my "turn" to turn her over the jump and down the line...

The other gamble was a straight tunnel and 12 poles with a jump at either end. I did it a few ways- using my "turn" again to turn her either towards the tunnel, or to the weaves, depending on what side I was on.

I thought it would be too much for Boone -with the blowing wind, and the traffic combined so I brought Pixel out instead. She had never been out the field before and after getting used to the noise, the wind, and the smells did great!

We did some running- on both the left and the right, and we did some pole work with a jump standard. She is wrapping the pole tightly and driving back into me for the toy. We also did a stay/lead out and then run...she was very excited but still focused. We ended with some nose touches, and some no mugging games. She's so smart!

Hers.

Pixel plays pretty well at daycare- she isn't a bully, she gets along with everyone, and has lots of little friends. She has always been a collector of toys though- she doesn't guard them, but will carry around the same toy for an hour so that no one else can have it. Today she liked "the bone." Which is meant for big dogs and is B-I-G and heavy....she still managed though...

FAIL

So I took the dogs to the dogrun yesterday after work. I wanted to get my 52 weeks photo in a new environment....ha!

The walk was stressful- the park was FULL of people and dogs. So we went to the other side of the park. I wanted to take the dogs to the river part so we walked along the super scary edge. I pretty much made the dogs walk right with me the whole time because they kept going over to look over the edge. Talk about a heart attack. Then we get to the river and the dogs are having fun- playing, fetching, barking...

and then Vito sees the Pelicans in the River. Yeah. He decided that it was his job to scare them away. Vito is mostly afraid of water- he doesn't really swim- which is a good thing or I am sure he would have swam after them until he got tired and drown. Instead he just chased them down the beach...he finally came back when he was just little speck.

But- for the most part the river part of the walk was great- Pixel waded, Wicca fetched, Boone barked and ran back and forth chasing Vito (who was still obsessed with the Pelicans) But it was fun, and I got some really good photos.

Or so I thought.

In the car I started looking through- and was puzzled by how dark they appeared to be. I got home, looked on the computer and sure enough- almost every single photo was too dark. Even though I had it on an auto sports setting I had changed the shutter speed for indoor photos the day before...yeah.

So I got crap, crap, and more crap. I tried to lighten some on photoshop but mostly it looks awful. Only the one of Vito with the stick turned out...weird eh?

Popular

I have never been "popular." In highschool I was a nerd with few (very few) friends. As an adult I have quite a few dog friends. But in blogger world I am down right popular!

My first blog post was May 20, 2005. When I first started my blog I started it with the intention of using it to keep track of my training. My first blog post was nothing special. Just a short note about what the dogs were doing. I started out slow, and then even slower, and then in the last year have become a blogger addict. As of yesterday I had published 588 blog posts.

My blog is my outlet- and has helped me through lots of stuff- I recently went through and read almost all of it. And yes, it took me a long time! I found posts that I had forgotten about, and it was so cool to be able to see the changes in myself, my dogs, and my training. I thought it would be neat to read about my life- and it was; Almost losing Wicca to Parvo, Wicca's First trial, the passing of my old dog Tina, Sam's first AAC trial- resulting in a Title, a new dog- Vito, the first Terry Simons seminar, and frustration of Sam's injury- all in one post!!, another new dog- Boone, our first Nationals Event, the devastating loss of Sam (I cried when I read his post), and more recently the happiness and excitement of baby Pixel....

I write about whatever I want- my dogs, my life, my job, and my interests(which are usually dog related!) My main reason for the blog is still training. I am not an organised person by nature and the blog has helped me with that. Saying that, I have always loved to write, and consider myself funny. I am sarcastic, bossy, and opinionated. Which usually makes for interesting reading! You keep coming back don't you??? It can't be just for the cute dog photos...can it?

I have no idea how many total visitors I've had to the blog- I wish that I would have installed a counter when I first published the blog. It would be interesting to know. I do know that I have a lot of readers. To be honest- some days it creeps me out. And other days I think it's cool. Mostly though, I don't really think about it.

Anyway, I reinstalled something called Google Analytics just a few weeks ago. It tracks all sorts of things- total visitors, how often visitors return, if they were referred from another site, etc. etc. (Again, kind of creepy if you think about it...)

From April 16 until May 2 I have had 2,089 visits to the blog. Pretty astounding. Now, not all of those are new people- lots of them are "frequent readers" so to speak. But still. I feel popular.

It makes you wonder how people find you. I mean, I have my blog address in my email signature- so essentially everyone I email could check it out. Lots of people are referred from a different site- reading other peoples blog-rolls have certainly increased the ones I read regularly! I remember when I first started blogging I could only find two or three cardigan blogs- Now there are a ton! And then other people google me. Cool. And creepy all at the same time.

Even people that I know, but aren't really "friends" with, read the blog. People at trials come up to me and tell me how entertaining I am. Customers at work tell me how cute my dogs are. I am usually too flabbergasted to say much except "Thank You."

So Thanks to all my readers. For being a part of something that started out so small, and has since become a great outlet for me. Blogging has made the world so small, and I feel that I know so many more people. Oh, and I won't lie and say that it doesn't feel good to be "popular" - because it totally does! :o) So thanks again! You guys rock!

I haz Collie on my butt...

This dog is a little nutso at times and LOVES Kort the Collie.
p.s. It is Korts' first birthday today!!!
Happy Birthday Kort!

Training Boone

Boone tagged along to calgary even though he wasn't entered in the seminar portion. I had made arrangements with Paula from Hairy Barkers to attend their agility practice on Friday night. It was a great chance to do some training.

We worked on weave entries. AND 12 Poles. He loses his rhythm and gets lost- I went back and split the 12 into two sets of 6 and had him weave from one set, to the other. And then gradually moved them in closer and closer. After a few reps he was weaving 12 again just fine!

We also did some backchaining on the dogwalk. He was very good- and I was super impressed with even his first attempt.

And we did some double box work- I need to work on rear crosses with him and this was a great opportunity for that. I think my timing with him still needs to improve and I need to make sure he is committed before crossing.

We ended on a speed circle- which he LOVED. We played lots of tug, and he got lots of cookies- which makes for a very satisfied Boonie!







I adore this dog.

meat and potatoes

A seminar from Terry is always so refreshing. He is a great speaker, has a good sense of humour, and likes to keep things simple. He can be heard comparing himself to "meat and potatoes" at every seminar.

It is totally true. Where other seminar instructors complicate things and change ideas frequently- Terry remains the same. Go On, Out, Come, and left and right are the cues he teaches- and each has their place. He teaches consistent handling and is not afraid to challenge and question current fads.

Every seminar I have taken from him I have come away knowing what I have to work on, but also knowing that I have a great dog, and have done a good job training. That is a nice feeling.

This seminar was no exception. I had Pixel in the Friday morning puppy session. It was a small group and we got lots done. Pixel worked well, and I am in the works of planning the next six weeks of training for her. Terry had some neat ideas, and we did things that I have already been doing- it is nice to know that I am on the right track.

The saturday seminar was something completely new. There were four sanctioned runs- two standards, a gamblers, and a jumpers. We all walked the course together with Terry and talked about handling strategies, and finding the best path for you and for the dog. And then ran it, while we ran it Terry took notes, and once the whole class was done we talked about the issues, and got a chance to re-run either a portion, or the whole thing. It was a great idea for a seminar- a first for Terry, and for the host club. The courses were designed to give as much challenge as was legal! :o) Stew outdid himself with the gamble!


Standard 1- Unfortunately I lost my course map with the notes. At this point I don't remember much about this one! Maybe it will come back to me if I think about it long enough!

Standard 2- On this one my front cross off the teeter was good- but I went too far forward for the pinwheel- 5-6, and then was late for my serp cue over 7- i.e I was in her way over the bar...I rear crossed to nine, and then used my decel to get a tight turn over 11 and up the frame. When I ran this the first time I forgot where I was going after the frame and sent my dog straight instead of turning to go to 13...We had problem with the weave entrance at first- but I took her back and tried again and she did it. Ended with a rear cross between 18-19...Terry had me rerun the first part- getting a better turn to five, and practice the serp...


you can click to enlarge!

Gamble-
This was a tough gamble. When we walked it as a group Terry asked about independant contacts, and a verbal cue to turn away. Wicca has both of those. Kind of. Her contacts are fine- but the verbal turn cue is still not as strong as I need it to be. When we ran the class I had planned on doing each mini twice- but Wicca dove into the wrong entrance of the tunnel the first time so we only could get the wall/tunnel mini once. But- we managed to get the weave chute mini twice! I was thrilled that she did it. I did it back to back too- using my "turn" cue to turn her out of the weaves and to the chute. But we didn't get the gamble when it came to that. We tied for the third highest points though! We got to rerun the gamble part at the end- and I got her to do it but had to be about 6 feet away. I know that I have to work on that though- and Terry gave me some ideas.



Jumpers- although this looks complicated I didn't even get lost. really. I initially walked it with a lead out to the second jump and a rear cross to the tunnel. Then a front cross to five. I was a going to then "pull her through the gap" and continue. Terry reccomended first off a front cross to the tunnel (which I ended up not doing, and had a wide turn) and then a front cross at five, and a second one at six with a rear cross to seven...wow eh?! It was really, really nice, and worked beautifully. And then my dog launched her self over nine and was almost to the tunnel before she listened to me...brat. which then put me too far behind to handle the rear cross at 12, and the following front cross at 13. I ended up doing a rear cross at 13 which did not work. So although the last part of the course wasn't pretty I still drove (i.e ran fast) and we had NO bars down. Amazing eh? I was pretty thrilled!




I got a LOT of great information from Terry- he had some suggestions about the bars- making her more aware of them. He suggested zip ties around the poles so that they stick out and she will feel them if she bumps it. Also I will be able to see when she ticks them. I am going to give it a try. Her bar knocking is much better- and it does have a lot to do with me and my handling- but she needs to be responsible for her own feet!

He had words of wisdom for everyone, and took the time to get to know the dogs and the people- and really understood what the issues were and was able to help everyone. The thing with Terry is that he is very personable- I mean, it's hard NOT to like the guy. He puts people at ease, and they are able to understand what he's trying to say. And if they don't he'll explain it a different way. I for one am a huge Terry fan. But then I've always been a fan of good old fashioned Meat and Potatoes!! ;o)

A Break

Friday afternoon I didn't participate in the seminar and had a great afternoon with the dogs. We went for a walk, took some photos, did some obedience, read a book, and even napped. It was pretty wonderful!

I am too tired to blog about the actual seminar tonite- but will do so tomorrow! (for all you agility freaks! :o) )

Exhuasted

We are home, but tired....will blog tomorrow morning about seminar stuff...

The Tail End

Pixel has an amazingly full tail. Think Sheltie. Uh Huh. It is one of my favorite parts of her...

Happy Friday!

Wicca says that although little sisters can be fun...they can also be annoying...






She blames this grey on Pixel....