Most Favorite Toy Ever! 11/52

Most Favorite Toy Ever! 11/52, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

Last week the 52 week Flickr group had a challenge- Your dogs favorite toy....

I don't know why, but i didn't think about this right away- wendy suggested it! This was probably the easiest photo of Boone yet! He really does love his Manners Minder!!!

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Boone's most favorite toy in the world is the Manners Minder. He thinks it is pretty darn amazing that food magically appears, and sometimes for no reason at all!

The Manners Minder is probably one of the best dog training inventions ever. It dispenses treats via remote, or totally random.

I use the Manners Minder for all sorts of things- sometimes I use it on top of the crate when I am not home (great for random reinforcement). Also I use it for agility (distance and contacts) and Obedience (go outs and stays). It really is a great tool.

Boone obsesses about the MM and will alternate between staring at it, and looking at me as if to say- make the cookies happen!

Fail

Fail, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

Pixel has never really caught on to the whole catching cookies thing....

*photos by Paws on the Run Photography. (i just made the collage)

More Pictures

I went with Wendy this morning to an off leash dog park in Ft.Macleod (a small town about half an hour away). The dog parks here are kind of boring after a while so we wanted something new. We had the whole park to ourselves and didn't see a single person or dog the whole time. The area is huge and is very natural with mostly game paths to follow. Lots of wildlife call this area home but thankfully we only saw deer from a distance!

The dogs had a blast and are exhausted after running for almost two straight hours. Wendy and I both brought cameras although I mostly got crap. :o) Wendy got some great shots of my dogs so thought I'd share them. I will post my photos tomorrow maybe.












Thanks for the great photos Wendy!

Rollin'

 

We went to a new dog park today- one that is full of wild life. Wicca found no shortage of good smelly spots to roll in. Needless to say she is getting a bath today. :o) Click to view large. She is one happy (but gross) dog!

Naughty Friday Fun

So I finally got around to looking at the video from the weekend, and you know- Boone wasn't as bad as I thought- his issues were either before or after the a-frame and teeter...which says a lot. Wicca was naughty- in each of her runs she either broke a start line, didn't stick her contacts, or blew me off...

So for entertainment purposes here is the Gamble from first thing Saturday morning. She was especially naughty.



Here is Boone's run on that same course. I had chosen the same path for both of them although Wicca altered hers, and i didn't attempt the mini gamble with Boone.


hope everyone has a good weekend!

Where's Waldo...er, Amanda?

This morning someone on Facebook tagged me in this photo.



It took me a good ten minutes to find myself. This would have been in Grade 7 (1995).

Click on the photo to make it bigger and then see if you can find me....

Pixels' list...

As I mentioned in my last post I entered Pixel in her first trial in May. I am very excited for her, and it will be great to see all my training in action.

There are a few things I need to work on more.

Contacts. I have a month to finish and proof her teeter, dogwalk and aframe. Her table is pretty solid. I only get on contacts with her maybe once every two weeks so it has been a slow process but the progress we have made has been good. I need to start proofing on the dogwalk and need to start making the approach angles a bit harder.

Handling. She recognizes all the patterns- pinwheels, 180's, 270's, serps, threadles. Now I need to piece more together and do longer sequencing. I also need to work on her finding a line. She doesn't always take what is in front of her.

I also need to work on my start set up. She prefers to start in a stand, which is fine by me- but she is sometimes slow to switch sides on cue. I need to go back and make this fun for her.

Weaves. She won't be weaving by May but I intend to weave every day with her at home (at least while the weather holds). I've been lax in the weave department lately...so I need to make up for that.

Sounds like a lot of stuff but really its not. When I think of how far she's come in her training its pretty amazing!

This and That

Dakota left this morning for her new home. I am so excited for her, although I will miss her alot. She is a wonderful dog and her new owner is very lucky.

A few like minded people started a rescue a few weeks ago. I jumped in head first of course. I know that this time around will be better for me, and for the dogs. The website is up and running- http://windycityrescue.com and we are accepting donations of stuff, and of course money. The focus for Windy City will be mature dogs- and showcasing those wonderful older dogs that often sit in rescues and shelters for way to long. I am very excited about this new venture and am glad to be a part of such an amazing group.

Wicca was extra stiff on Monday. I am trying not to think about constantly but it is hard.

Boone is back to his normal goofy self. I am going to take him to class tonite and work on bits and pieces.

Vito and Pixel are back from their respective dog sitters. Vito was thrilled to see his momma, Pixel not so much. She's such a snot. :o)

Filled out Pixel's very first agility entry form. It was SO exciting. Her first trial will be in May. Just a few things as she won't be weaving fully yet by then. I also entered Vito in a few things. He is coming right along and I think can handle a bit more. I am taking him to class tonite aswell.

And that's it.

Naughty and Nervous

I don't know where to start....;o)

It actually wasn't that bad and both of the dogs had some good moments, but they were overshadowed by nervousness and naughty-ness.

First the Naughty dog. She was very wild on her first run Saturday. She wouldn't hold a start line and just did a whole lot of doing her own thing. She barked and spun, wouldn't take equipment that I asked and flicked away...we didn't get the gamble, which is probably for the best as we didn't have enough points in the opening. Her standard was no better, except her startline was better and I made her stick her dogwalk contact. She knocked a bar (or four)..jumpers was just bad. Some bars, some launching and just general naughtiness. Sunday was no better- except for the start lines. I think she heard me saying that if she broke I'd take her off course. ;) Steeplechase was a disaster, mostly due to the surface and weavepoles. The surface is very deep sawdust/dirt and Wicca really has to struggle through in some spots. The weavepoles had huge divots and Wicca actually had to jump the bases. I had to stop her and take the sawdust out of her ears..I pulled her from Snooker at the end of the day. After the crazy, naughty Wicca the rest of the weekend I figured it wouldn't be worth my stress. I initially wondered if she was being so wild because she felt good- but during her after run/cool down massage she was very twitchy and had spasms in her back leg...

Now on to the nervous one. Sarah and I talked a lot about him on the way home. I wondered if it was a physical issue, but he doesn't show any signs of being lame. We both think it is a confidence issue related to the ring. Training and warming up outside the ring he is fine- happy, tail wagging, and even barking at me in excitement. And then he gets in the ring and disconnects. He actually avoided the A-Frame a few times this weekend, and only weaved succesfully once. There were some good moments for him, and times that he would try very hard to make me happy- he did some beautiful rear crosses, and read my decel over jumps- so I am happy with the prgoress on those things. But its the rest of the stuff that's falling apart now. I don't really get it- his contacts were SO good. His weaves were getting better and better. But he gets nervous and that's how he deals with it- some dogs run away, some dogs sniff, and Boone just avoids.

So it was an odd weekend, one that I didn't enjoy all that much. The courses were fun (or would have been if my dogs were being good.) I got to run Gyp and Kaleb which was fun. Sarah managed to run the a few times over the weekend but wisely decided not to run them Sunday afternoon. Her knee held up pretty well all things considered.

It is hard not to feel dissapointed or at least annoyed after a weekend like this. I know that they are both capable of so much more. I was in the right mindset going into this weekend and was actually in a good mood for the majority of the weekend. :) Such is life I guess!

My plan for Boone is to add stress to training- there will be no shortage of that in a few weeks when we move outside, but until then I will just work on making things more difficult for him.

And I am not sure with Wicca. I am worried about her still- she only ran three times on Saturday and once on Sunday and was very stiff and sore Sunday afternoon. She felt better after a massage but still. I am seriously considering not doing agility with her anymore. It is an upsetting thought- and not one that I've ever said out loud before. I have to do some serious soul searching about this. In the mean time I am going to go back and work on some ground work and founfation- startlines, decel, front cross, rear crosses and other handling can all be worked on with no equipment...we need to work better as a team and I think it will be good to go back to that.

I have no trials or anything planned for all of April. We will still train but it will be nice to have a month off of trialing. At the very least it will give me time to think.

The Road Less Traveled 10/52

The Road Less Traveled 10/52, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

I took this photo at the trial today...

More on the trial in a seperate post tomorrow...

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Not quite the photo I had in mind for this week but the message is pretty symbolic of who Boone is.

He is so different than any other dog I've met or owned. He is quirky, super smart, and very sweet. But he is also timid, easily spooked, and often overwhelmed.

I love him to pieces and am always proud of him when he shows how brave he can be. He has really made me a better dog trainer and has taught me patience and perseverance. At the same time it can be SO frustrating.

We were at an agility trial this weekend, and although he has been super in training the past few weeks he was very "off" this weekend.

He has been, and will continue to be a challenge. More work to be done that's for sure!

Perfection and Weekend

Last night was the "Graduation" for my Rally obedience class. I set up a killer long course and everyone did awesome!

I added pressure by videoing, and actually using a score sheet. I just had to post this video of Maggie the Bernese Mountain Dog, and her handler Kim. Looking back on the video they should have gotten a perfect score, but I was being a hardass and took a point off for a crooked stand....



This dog went from being shut down and bored in class to having fun ALL THE TIME. She is so upbeat and her heeling is incredible. Kim has done a fantastic job training her, and I think that lots of people could learn from a team like Kim and Maggie.

On that note I am heading off to another agility trial this weekend- a semi local one (2 hours). Boone and Wicca are entered and I am feeling pretty optimistic about Boone this weekend. He had a great class this week and last week. Cross your fingers!

oh, and one more thing...

Happy Birthday to the most obnoxious dog around..



:o) It is Kaleb's (from digit, fetchit, herdit) 8TH Birthday today.

On a Jet Plane...

So after much debate Dakota is going to fly to her new home! Which means that she can go sooner, rather than later.



Yay for Dakota!

p.s Any lethbridge folks heading to calgary willing to help out with transport? email me!

She's a Nut...

I sent this video to Dakota's new owner, but thought I'd share it here too. She is such a funny dog.



You can expect more home videos now that I have my own fancy little video camera!

Oh, and if anyone from Alberta is heading to BC anytime soon and would be willing to help transport a slightly nutty border collie email me!

Second Place

As with the rest of you I watched Olympics pretty well every day. I even watched most of the hockey game...and well, I'm not a hockey kind of girl...

I saw this photo today and had to laugh...


photo by: Robert Gauthier (Los Angeles Times)

Don't they look thrilled with being in second place out of the rest of the world? Seriously. I missed the end of the game and watched a bit of the replay. I assumed that they'd be upset to lose, but a happy face during the medals would have been nice...

Second is better than not placing at all! And at least in the US they won't be forced to quit the team because of it (like the Russian Athletes)

I know that I was THRILLED with my second place at Nationals last year. Second is pretty darn amazing!

CKC Agility weekend

I don't play CKC agilty very often. I did one weekend last year in September and prior to that I can't even remember.It is a very different organisation than the one I play in normally. The courses are quite different and the rules are also a bit different.

Wicca needed one novice standard q to move to intermediate...she didn't get it but we sure had fun! Novice CkC courses are Very simple- no weaves, 13 obstacles and very much straight lines with a side change in a tunnel or off the table. As you can imagine Wicca thought it was pretty fun to get to run in a straight line...the heights are different though so she had to jump 2" higher then her normal height. It was very noticeable for her but she did really well. She knocked four bars- one in each run. ;)

She was naughty too- start line issues, she self released on the dogwalk twice (the second time I made her fix it and she was better after. But she had a good time and wasn't lame or sore at all. I think it is good for them sometimes to be able to just open up and run- wicca sure enjoyed herself!

I bought myself a video camera on Friday so got to try it out- kim videoed my runs for me. Here are three runs of the naughty dog. :o)



In the end I didn't take Boone- I pulled him because I thought the travel would be too stressful for him. It was a six hour drive each way. He would have really loved the courses, but there is another few CKC trials I hope to get to this summer...

So overall a nice, easy going weekend. The handling was entertaining to say the least, and it was nice to see some new dogs, and breeds I don't see often.

A Spring in his Step (and mine)

A Spring in his Step 9/52, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

I took the dogs for a walk yesterday and hoped to get an action shot of Boone- and I did! Woohoo! Go ME! :o)

I really suck at action shots, and it has been a goal to consistently get action that's not fuzzy...so I am pretty impressed with myself!

One of Boone's favorite things to do is fetch. But he is particular about what kind of toy, and it has to be thrown just so, and their can't be any competition. So I put the others in a down stay and let Boone have a game of his own.

I love pretty much everything about this photo. He just looks so happy.

oh, and as you can see his haircut wasn't too drastic, just took about two inches off all around his body...he's meant to be a shaggy dog.

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On that note, I too am feeling much happier these days. The sun is out, my yard is nearly dry, and I've got some real life stuff sorted out. Makes for a happy Amanda. :o)

I am taking Wicca to a CKC Agility trial this weekend. She needs one more novice standard Q....i think!

Wish us luck...

and on the way to Edmonton we are stopping in calgary so Wicca can see Dr.Devall again...

Have a good weekend everyone!

Novice

haha

Agility Content- Finally!

I've been too busy to blog the last few days, but things are going well. The dogs get full of mud nearly every day, and every day I hope to come home from work with just a little less mud in the yard...

but- it looks like Spring is here (for a few weeks anyway) I am sure we will have one more blast of Winter, but for right now I am enjoying the sun, the birds, and the green grass poking up...

Boone seems to be over whatever it was that happened at the trial a few weeks ago. I had given him a few weeks off of no agility and took him to class the first time this week. He was super- very happy, excited, and listened well. Sarah designed a great class set up last week, thought I'd post it for some agility content. :o)




The top exercise is from clean run, though Sarah made up the black numbers. The white numbers we ran as a warm up, and then ran the outside with 180's and threadles. It was pretty fun. Boone is really starting to get the threadle now and is reacting faster. It helps when i have BIG food. :o) The black numbers were fun, although it was a bit confusing at first

I lead out and front crossed 2-3, front crossed 6-7, serp'd 9 to push out to 10. Boone did really well, although wanted really badly to take the tunnel after 4- I don't think I rotated enough the first time as he shouldn't have even looked at it.

The bottom section was also really fun- Boone's weaves were great, and I used targets to get his confidence up on the dogwalk (remember i think that part of his problem at the last trial was that he isn't sure about the contacts for some reason) He slipped once on the way up- but seemed fine and was happy to go back on.

I front crossed 2-3, the rear cross just felt too tight, and Boone wasn't able to find the entrance (something to work on!). Front crossed after the teeter, post turn at 8 into a front cross, I attempted to rear cross 10, which didn't work for boone- and then I tried rear crossing 11, again, no go. In the end I front crossed after the poles.

I think Boone handled the challenge really well. Rear crosses continue to be a bit of a challenge for him lately. All the snow is gone in my yard so I hope to get out there and start training more.

Wicca stayed home, but is going to run at league tonite. It's a really fast, open Jumpers w/ Weaves course...I'll probably pass out or have a heart attack. Blame Sarah.

the torture continues

Pixel had a bath yesterday, and hated every second of it. But she looks so wonderful now- all fluffy and soft.




She has the most amazing amount of coat in her pants and tail. Seriously it is so thick that it took double the amount of time to dry!


She won't stay clean for long of course but was long overdo for a little clean up!

Little Boys

Little Boys, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

This is my 14 month old Nephew, Nolan. He had a great time playing in the mud puddles on our walk today.

He would go WAY out of our way in search of mud...our walk around the block took nearly half an hour with all the puddle detours. :o)

He's not really a baby anymore, and has really become a little boy. He is seriously cute, and already very naughty....

Blah

Kinda feeling blah these days. Worried about Wicca's health, worried about real life (i.e money, and all that entails), bored with Obedience, and not really feeling Agility all that much either...

I think in part it's the weather. I hate this time of year- one day cold, snowy, and grey. The next day Sunny, Windy, and MUD. And the other part is I'm just a moody kind of girl...

Hopefully I'll start feeling better soon!