Never too late to teach an old dog.

Crystal and I have recently started to foster for Gulf Coast Cocker Spaniel Rescue .  Our first foster is Cali a 6 plus year old Red/Buff girl who had all sorts of medical issues.  I am proud to report that she is doing excellent in the health department!!  So now that we have that out of the way we have decided to start doing some basic obedience training with her.  Cali is a really good dog; she is not aggressive, she minds her manners for the most part, and she is house broken; but why not try and improve an already good thing! 

Our version of Basic Obedience includes the following:

• Focus/Name Recognition
• Sit
• Off
• Down
• Stay
• Stay w/more distance
• Come
• Come w/mild distraction
• Wait
• Leave It
• Settle
• Touch

So you may be wondering how Cali is doing....Fantastic of course!  This past Tuesday was our first formal session (6:30 pm in the Garage)  We started with Sit, something that she already understands but wasn't very consistent with.  Well with a little food motivation she was all over "Sit"!! So we quickly moved on the down, this proved to be a little bit more challenging for her.  With the help of the trusty treat and some fancy coxing I had her down in no time.  We repeated the exercise several times with great success, she needed the coxing each time but she will learn the verbal command soon enough.

The next session was last night, Thursday.  We repeated Tuesday's exercises...she was on it.  Sit....no problem.  Down.....you bet!  (still coxing but much faster response)  So then we moved on to Sit Stay, this was rather challenging for Cali, as soon as I moved she wanted to follow; but with a little bit of patients she soon learned that if she wanted the treat she needed to stay put!  We also worked on Leave it.  To test her on this I dropped a big ole piece of treat on the floor and told her "Leave It"  if she went for it I simply blocked her with my body.  Every time she stopped looking at the treat and looked at me she got a treat reward.  Soon she was no longer interested in the treat on the floor and would "Leave It" with no issues.  We also discovered (entirely by accident) that Cali could "Take a Bow".  While trying to get her to "down" I put the treat back between her front paws, instead of lying down she lowered her front and kept her butt in the air like she was "taking a bow"  So she officially has a trick!!!  Good Girl.....see you can teach an old dog new tricks!  And it is NEVER too late!

For-Sale: Practice Bar Jumps and Stick-in-Ground-Weaves!

Well it's official, decided today that I would start selling Practice Bar Jumps and Stick-in-Ground-Weaves.  I have placed an order for some supplies to make a few jumps just as samples.

The Jumps

Pricing:
- 3/4" x 36" - $25.00
- 3/4" x 48" - $27.50
-  1"   x 36" - $30.00
-  1"   x 48" - $32.50

Each Jump will consist of:
2 - Uprights (30" H)
2 - Jump cups that easily move up and down to each jump height
6 - Caps - for uprights and leg supports
1 - Jump bar (36" or 48")
1 - Base (made up of 4 leg supports (6" or 8") 1 base bar (36" or 48") and 2 4-way tees)
Colored Vinyl Tape (Royal Blue, Teal, Red...more to come I am sure)

Stick-in-Ground-Weaves

Pricing:

6-Poles

- Straight Set - $35.00
- Channel Set - $40.00
- Straight/Channel Combo - $45.00
- 2 x 2's - $35.00
12-Poles
- Straight Set - $60.00
- Channel Set - $65.00
- Straight/Channel Combo - $70.00

Channel Set

Each set of weaves will consist of: 

6 or 12 - Stick in Poles (made up of 2 caps, 1 6" peg, 36" pole)
1 set - Pole Placers (see details below)
Colored Vinyl Tape

Pole Placers will be made as follows:

Black webbing - 12' for 6 poles, 24' for 12 poles
- Straight set - Marker grommets placed every 24"s
- Channel set - 2 sets of webbing with marker grommets every 48"
- Straight/Channel Combo set - 1 straight set and 1 strip from a channel set
- 2 x 2 set - 3 sets of webbing 24" in length with marker grommets @ either end.

If you would be interested in purchasing any of the above items please feel free to let me know!

Practice Jumps

Practice jumps are a handy thing to have around when you are into agility, they are easily dismantled, not too bulky so you can use them in the house and they clean up really nice too.  The trouble is they aren't exactly easy to find, you usually have to order them online which costs a small fortune if you are only looking to buy one or two.  So I am toying with the idea of making and selling practice jumps.  I did a bunch of research today and I think I have found a decent supplier for all the parts required...now I just need to find out if  there is a market for them.

I checked out a few online ads for Practice Jumps for sale and they range anywhere from 35.00 - 60.00 a piece so I believe I can be more then competitive in the price range. 

My prices:

3/4" for 27.50

1" for 32.50

I may even offer 2 different sizes:

1. 30"H x 36"W - smaller and easier to move around.
2. 30"H x 48"H - similar in size to competition jumps.

Each jump would consist of:

2 uprights that are 30"

2 jump cups that easily move up and down to each jump height,

1 jump bar (36" or 48")

1 base (made up of 4 leg supports (6" or 8") 1 base bar (36" or 48") and 2 4-way tees)

I am not going to bother with caps or plugs on the ends, this would drive the price up alot and it is just one less thing to lose when you move the jumps in and out of storage.

I am also considering applying colored tape to dress them up.

Looking for any feed back I can get on this one, let me know your thoughts.  What do you think of the idea? How about the prices?

Having troubles switch from treats to toys in your training?

Do you have dogs that are not toy motivated?  Have you ever wanted to train your dog but have found it to be limiting because they will only work for food?  For example, training 2x2's....wouldn't it  be much easier if your dog would respond to toys instead of treats.  That is exactly what sparked me to try and convert my dogs from treats to toys.  I thought I would use today's blog to explain how I trained my dogs to respond to toys instead of treats.  (well actually now they respond to either)

First off what tools do you need?  Have you ever seen Tug N Treat toys?  They are basically a pouch that holds treats attached to a rope.  See the below image, these are available from Clean Run online.

If you have watched the video's of the dogs practicing weaves in previous blogs you may have noticed that I was training with a black bag that looked a lot like a bean bag.  I didn't actually buy a tug n treat toy, I used a pouch that I had that closed securely, it is actually a fabric drawstring pouch that Crystal had in her craft stuff.  I have also used a fabric pencil case before which also worked great. 

So you will start by taking your pouch and filling it with your dogs favorite treats, make sure they are soft and smelly, I used Bill Jac.  Next, practice a trick that your dog already knows, maybe sit or down, ask them to do the command, when they have done it successfully open the pouch and give them a treat.  Do this a few times so they learn that good things come from the bag.

The next part of this exercise will teach several things to your dog:  Retrieve, Tug, and Drop.

So the next step will be to practice some retrieve with your dog, if they do not have a good retieve you will want to do this on leash so that if they hesitate to come back you can gently reel them in.  Also I find it best to do this in the house with you sitting on the floor with no other distractions so only work one dog at a time and pick up all other toys.  Ok to begin I throwing the pouch just a foot or two and use the "bring it here" or "go get it" command.  If your dog does not have a good recall you will want to get out your excited voice to help them get excited about this game, if they pick up the pouch but are not wanting to return with it simply reel them in on the leash.  Once they have returned grab the pouch and start to tug on it to encourage them to tug.  After a few seconds of tugging ask them to "drop it" or just "drop" then open the pouch and reward with a treat!

If you have a dog who does not even want to pick up the pouch you will want to work on this before starting the retrieve step.  To practice this you will sit on the floor with your dog infront of you, start to move the pouch around on the floor, toss it in the air a little, get them interested in it.  The first time they try and touch it with their mouth give a "click-treat" (if you are clicker training) or a "good dog" then a treat as I often use.  Continue the game uping the anti as they start to catch on, so first it could be simply touching the bag with their nose, next could be mouthing it, then they could be putting in mouth a little longer, etc etc.  Once you have the dog successfully holding the pouch in their mouth you can move on to the retrieve step unless you have a dog that doesn't know how to tug, then you will want to try out the steps in the next paragraph first.

If you have a dog that does seem to want to tug you will want to work this after the last step but before retireve.  I have found the easiest way to get my dogs to tug is to rough house with them, I will be down on the floor with them pushing and pulling them until their energy level is up.  Then using a similar method to the paragraph above, tossing and wiggling it on the floor, I get the dog really excited about the pouch but don't let them have it on the first few attempts they make to get it.  Now here you need to understand, I don't tell them they can't have it, remember this is fun game they are playing.  All I do is push them away and/or block them from it with my body, this is all so they want it even more.  Then when they are good and excited about the pouch I let them get it and I don't let go, then I start to shake it side to side and up and down.  I even growl a little if it helps them get excited about it.  After a few seconds, ask them to drop it, then give them a treat.  Once you have achieved this you can move onto the retrieve step above.

What the Retrieve Tug Drop steps will do for you and your dog is ensure that when they retrieve they will bring it to your HAND and not drop it at your feet.  All of my dogs return the toys to our hand and not our feet, I prefer it this way because I want THEM to retrieve....not me.  Often dogs will traing their owners to retrieve...they will drop the toy a foot away...the owner moves and picks it up....next time it it two feet....then three...then before you know it the owner if throwing and retrieving the toy!  Smart Dogs!  If they have to return it to your hand every time you will not have this issue. LOL.

So now that you have your dog successfully working with a tug n treat, you should be able to start to use this to train or shape other things....like the 2 x 2 Weaves.

Cali Update

Love this picture Crystal did of Cali......




Cali's journey - a video of her from this past saturday.

Cali playing for the first time.  We found a toy that gets her attention.  Plus proves that she can hear, even if it is only a little.

Meet Cali

Check out Crystal's blog about Cali our foster dog, I was going to blog about it but she did such a good job with this post that I thought I would just pass it along.

Mi Vida Loca: Meet Cali: "Some of the open wounds on her neck. Yesterday Rhonda & I did something to save the life of one little dog named Cali. Cali was sentenced..."

SHAG - NADAC trial Video!

Ok here is the video from the SHAG - NADAC Trial.

The trial was October 16, 2010 @ the Fort Bend County Fair Grounds near Rosenberg, TX

NADAC, AKC, USDAA and AAC Quick Reference Post

I have often had to go searching for answers online about the different agility organizations so I thought I would blog about it so that we all would have a reference place for future use.  First off the 4 organizations that I compete in or will compete in are:

AAC - Agility Association of Canada

AKC - American Kennel Club

NADAC - North American Dog Agility Council

USDAA - United States Dog Agility Association

The Basics

Dog Heights: 

Classes:

Levels:

Obstacles

Weaves:

As of September 1, 2010 AAC went from 20" - 21" to 24" spacing.

As of January 1, 2009 USDAA went from 18" - 21" to 21" spacing.

Table:

 A-Frame: 

Note: In AAC the A-Frame is set @ 60" for vets.

Broad Jump:

Having some fun with the Girls and my new Flip Video Camera!

Pyper has been doing weaves for about a year and a half, but we still continue to practice and proof.  She gets so excited when we practice that she insists on barking at me....somewhat annoying but I am glad she is so enthusiastic.  Well since I won the Flip Video camera I have been taking some videos of the girls, I just set the camera up on the tripod and go.  Well this past week I downloaded a new program for my computer called Windows Live Movie Maker, it is so much fun.  This is the first video I made.

Hallie has been on the weaves for a year this month, I looked back at past blog posts and she started her 2x2 training in October of last year.  She is still doing really well, needs more proofing but she also has such a good time practicing I don't think she will object to more proofing.  Here is her video. 

Well I have finally taken the time to train Mia on the weaves and yes course I used the 2x2 method.  While training I discovered that if she gets frustrated she shuts down in a way, looses interest in the game because it isn't fun.  This was different with the other two girls, if Pyper got frustrated she would start to talk back, and Hallie....well I don't think she gets frustrated!!!! LOL  Gotta love that girl.  Mia did not get the same treatment that Pyper and Hallie got, I did not train 3 times a day with her like I did with them, I only trained once or twice in an evening.  This wasn't a strategic move or anything I was just being lazy.... :)  The other challenge with Mia is the fact that she really does not like the feel of the grass on her feet...especially if it is wet.  So to start off we had to do all our training on concrete in order to make it rewarding enough, training on grass at first was out of the question because it was very demotivating.   Well all challenges aside I think we are finally getting somewhere, check out the video and let me know what you think. 





Baby dogs first Trial....way to go Girls

This past Saturday all three girls and I went to Fort Bend County Fairgrounds to compete in the SHAG NADAC trial.  This was the first trial for both Mia and Hallie and I would have to say they had a blast.

 

First up was Tunnelers.

Mia ran first, she did really well all things considered, she completed the course over time because she had a bad case of the sniffies, but she did compete! 

Next up was Hallie, she ran like a champ!  She placed 2nd and qualified.  Here is picture of her very first set of Ribbons!  Way to go Hallie!

Hallie with her 2nd place qualifying ribbons from Tunnelers

Next was Jumpers.

First up was Pyper, she scooted around a jump and when I called her back she back jumped it for an off-course, however, she did really well considering she has not trialed in 10 months.

Next was Mia, she did fantastic!  She only had a little episode of sniffies which I managed to call her back and got her back on track.  She finished in 1st Place!

Last was Hallie, she started up real nice....but.....I guess she had to poop!!!  oops.

Last was Standard.

First up was Hallie, right off the bat we had a tunnel dog walk discrimination.....unfortunately the tunnel sucked her right in!  Oh well, the rest of the run was great!

Last run of the day was Pyper's and she did really great, I managed to get her to take the tunnel instead of the dog walk which was my worrisome spot and she completed all her contacts successfully, she placed 1st!



Pyper with her 1st place qualifying ribbon for Standard



Mia with her 1st place qualifying ribbon for Jumpers



Here is a picture of all the girls showing of their ribbons! 



The Color of Contacts

The answer to my Question....what color do I paint my agility contacts....has finally been answered!!!

I do not have much for agility contact equipment, actually I only have 2 things, a teeter and now a table.  For a long time now I have been trying to figure out what color's I would like to have as my agility color scheme, well today I figured it out!  Blue and Yellow!  You may think wow Rhonda how original but I have made this decision with the dogs in mind.  Turns out these are the colors that dogs see best....see chart below.

I was considering Red and Yellow until I saw this chart...good thing I did not pick these colors, the dogs would not have seen a difference.  So I guess that is why blue and yellow contact equipment is so popular....nope wasn't a paint sale!

Classic Recall - continued...

Well last night I took a little time to practice our classic recall over a jump, I really wanted to focus on achieving true collection with all the girls.

Pyper - she is pretty good with her jumping skills however she does have a tendency to touch or even drop bars so I thought I would us this opportunity to help her remember to pick up her feet.  To set this up I brought the jump into the living room...well this was really due to the fact that it is 95 degrees outside more then anything...anyway with the jump set up at her jumping height of 12" I practice the classic recall over a jump.  She was not collecting as well has I would've liked so I moved the jump parallel to the couch roughly 16-20" away.  Then I repeated the classic recall drill, this made a huge difference but still not exactly what I wanted.  Next I knelt down beside the jump facing the bar, with a treat on the landing side of the jump (opposite side Pyper was on) I asked her to jump rewarding her from my hand on the floor (so very very low)  Then I would repeat but back to the opposite side.  If she touched or dropped the bar she did not get the treat.

Hallie - well she was a little different story....I brought her out to start practicing and she decided that she was not going to listen so she went right back into her kennel.  She did eventually get her turn.  So Hallie knows to pick up her feet so she does not usually drop bars but she does have a tendency to jump with extension a lot so I really wanted to concentrate on her jumping with collection.  She received the exact same exercise as Pyper, the only thing done differently was to move the coffee table to the opposite side of the jump from where I was kneeling as she was going around the jump instead of over....silly girl.  And I added Crystal to the equation, I had her stand 16" away on the landing side so that it would encourage her to give true collection, it worked but not without some challenges.

Mia - she is really starting to get the feel for agility, I think she is beginning to understand that it is fun and rewarding.  Now having said that she did have some challenges.  :)  She had the same drill has Hallie including moving the jump parrallel with the couch, with this she decided instead of jumping collected she would just us the couch as an object to bounce off of back to the treat....so then I added Crystal 16" away.  This proved to be very challenging for Mia.  She tried to go around, so we moved the coffee table opposite me so she couldn't, she even tried to go through the jump which obviously failed because the bars fell but eventually she figured out that she needs to go over.  And she started jumping collected with really nice form.

On another note, last night Crystal and I went to the book store and I came  home with a new book. "51 Pyppy Tricks" by Kyra Sundance, great book!  Totally recommend it!  I am now in the process of teaching all the girls to figure 8 between my legs....they loved it!

Foundation Recall - Linda Mecklenburg Style.

This past Saturday night I attended a 3 hour foundation jumping clinic hosted by Martine @ J-Canine Pet Resort (http://www.j-canine.com/).  I had a really great time working with Mia and Hallie and I think they had a good time also!  :)

So today I thought I would blog about the clinic, sharing with you what I learned.  As all of you know I am focusing on learning Linda Mecklenburg's agility methods so it was rather fitting that the clinic was all about her foundation recall variations.  There are 6 variations; Classic, Serpentine, 270, Directed, Back-up, and Extension.  Today I want to talk about Classic.  (If you would like to read the entire article that I am getting my information from please see July 2008 Clean Run article Handling Your Dog in Awesome Style, Part 4 by Linda Mecklenburg.)

Classic Recall over a Jump

Dog is in a sit-stay on the take off side and
 the handler is on the landing side facing the dog.

The dog and the handler are the same distance from the jump, this distance should be the same as the dogs jump height, so in my case 16".  This will help ensure the dog jumps with collection over the jump.  Cue the dog using your jump command and hand signal, once the dog has committed to the jump turn toward the outside of the jump luring your dog into a heel position.  Treating at your side low to the ground.

Same set up as above however add handler motion

The next step is to add motion, starting with handler motion.  Set  your dog and you up the same as above, however once the dog has committed to the jump turn to toward the outside of the jump take a few steps forward luring your dog into a heel position.  Again treating at your side and low to the ground.

Now add dog's motion. Please note that when you add dog's motion you will not have handler motion. Baby steps, one thing at a time.

 

Lastly you will have dog and handler motion.

These exercises are ones that you will want to practice off and on for the rest of your teams career as it never hurts to get back to basics. Also be sure to practice all of these recalls on both sides, left and right, they will feel different to you and your dog so you will want to practice.

Front Cross vs Read Cross

This week I have decided to practice my crosses, front and rear.  I found this nice article in the April 08 Clean Run magazine, Backyard Dogs by Mary Ellen Barry.  This course is small enough for a back yard and only requires a handful of equipment, you can substitue the tunnel for a jump set  vertically.

As you can see in the below examples you can practice both front and rear crosses with the same sequence.  This is something that would be great to practice with your dog as it will help you decide what you should do when these types of sequences are presented, understand how your team should handle it.  Should you Front Cross or Rear Cross....?

Meet Willow.

When we lived in Canada we had a Congo African Grey parrot named BeeJay but we had to rehome her when we moved to the US.  The people who we rehomed her to said that we could get her back if we ever moved back to Canada.  So since it was determined that we would be moving back to Canada, Crystal and I have been really excited about having a parrot back in our lives.  Well Crystal emailed with the lady and I guess BeeJay has really settled into her new family so we will not be getting her back after all.  We are really happy that BeeJay is happy but also sad as we miss her.

So after some discussion Crystal and I decided that we do indeed still want a parrot....So meet Willow.

4 1/2 weeks old

We are not sure if it is a male or a female but we have already started calling it a "her" and its name is Willow.

I am really excited about the new addition for many many reasons, one being the training challenge.  Since moving to the US I have really taken a liking to animal training and think that a parrot will be a fantastic challenge.  Parrot, especially African Greys, are very intelligent animals and can learn unbelievable things.  They can learn colors, shapes, numbers, letters;  they can also play memory games, learn to shoot hoops and ride skateboards.  So as you can imagine my little training brain is now in overload.

If you like African Greys then you should check out The Alex Foundation http://www.alexfoundation.org/  Also search youtube.com for Alex the African Grey to see just how smart he was.

Also I am sure you have seen Einstein, she was on Animal Planets "Pet Star"  check out her youtube.com video also.

Small Back Yard Fun

I found the exercise below online @ http://www.cleanrun.com/ (called April Foolin' by Kathy Keats) , as soon as I saw it I was thrilled because it is an exercise I can do in my backyard and it is a great way for me to practice wraps and timing.

Setup 

Exercise #1 will be harder then you expect if you have a fast dog, staying in front of him on such a long streach might prove to be challenging.  Try it different ways, figure out which way would be the most successful for your team.  Try running all 5 jumps with your dog, try a lead out (don't lead out too far as it might prove to make your dog slower then faster)

For Exercise# 2, break it into steps if you have too, try 1 - 4 first then if successful try the entire 9 steps.  You could also try a lead out past #2 if you want.

Exercise# 3.  Pretty straight forward, but the dummy jump might get you so be aware.

For Exercise #4 you may want to break it into pieces, try 1 - 9 first then if successful try the entire 13 steps.

You could also try a lead out here.

Tonight is agility practice at my house so I thought this would be a great exercise for everyone.  Danielle will be over to work Vito, I think Jamie will come with Chloe and I will also be working the girls.  All the teams are different so it will be interesting to see what works best for each team.  There are 3 more exercises that go with this article but I thought these 4 would prove to be challenging enough for tonights practice.  If you want to see the entire article I have included a link below.  Enjoy.

http://www.cleanrun.com/images/features/04_10_Exercise.pdf

Working Three Dogs.

Since getting back from Canada we have been very busy working on fixing up the house.  We are painting the entire inside including ceilings, walls, trim, doors and cabinets; it is going to be worth it but it is exhausting.  Crystal works all day, then I come home and we both work some more until 8 or 9 at night.

As you know Danielle, Zac, Crystal and I are in the middle of a "teach a dog a new trick" challenge.  Originally I was going to teach Mia to Speak and Pyper know the difference between her toys, Crystal was going to teach Hallie to put her toys in the basket....so here it the progress.  Hallie now knows how to speak and get into the toy basket (sit and lie down), Pyper knows how to put her toys in the basket and get into the toy basket (sit and lie down), and Mia knows how to get into the toy basket (sit and lie down).  Crystal taught them all of these tricks, well except for Hallie's speak which happened entirely by accident when I was trying to teach Mia to speak.  Anyway....Great job Crystal!

This challenge really brings things back into perspective.  All dogs learn at different rates and somethings come easier to some dogs then others.  When working agility with our three dogs I have to be very aware of where each dog is at in their training.  For example; Pyper has been training the longest so she is a lot stronger with all of the equipment and with running a course then Mia.  Mia has had little to no formal training so she is green....really green.  She does not yet understand the point of it all and if I try and work her the same as I work the other girls she eventually stops and looks at me completely dazed and confused.  She tries very hard because she knows that it pleases me and that it appears to be fun when the other girls do it.  Funny as this seems it actually could be very damaging to try and work a dog above their level, not only because an accident could happen because the dog is not comfortable with all of the equipment but also because the handler could teach the dog back cues due to the effort in trying to teach the dog to run a course and learn equipment at the same time.  Get your dog familiar with all the equipment individually and work a lot with your dog on the flat (without equipment) before you try and sequence so that you do not accidentally learn or teach bad handling/cues.  You want the dog to follow your natural cues as much as possible, if you are concentrating on the dog on the equipment while sequencing there will be nothing natural about how you cue your dog :)  Honestly if you could see yourself attempting this you would know that there is nothing natural looking about you at all. :)

Just remember that there is no such thing as short cuts, you can try but it will take way more effort in the long run, invest in your team in the beginning so that the rewards will be plentiful long term.  Oh yeah and don't be afraid to make small investments along the way, they will pay off just the same as large installments. 

Reliant Park World Series of Dog Shows.

Every year there is a large dog show held at Reliant Center here in Houston, this will be the 3rd one since we moved here but the 1st one we have been able to attend.  It runs from Wednesday to Sunday with all sort of events; there are Agility, Obedience, Flyball, Confirmation rings set up all across 700,000 sq/ft hall.  There are also a bunch of vendors and rescues set up with displays.  They have meet the breed rings set up, along with a strong dog competition, disc dog demo's and freestyle dance demo's.

We went yesterday afternoon for a quick peak and it was impressive.  We are going to go back on Saturday to take it all in again in detail.  Also since I can't pass up the training opportunity I am going to bring Mia along.  I think it would be really good for her to be exposed to the entire event, all the people, dogs, smells, sounds, sights etc.  I am sure it will be very overwhelming for her but she will get all sorts of attention so she will get over it fast.

If you are in the Houston area this weekend I would suggest you try and take in the show, it will be worth it.

Take a Mile - Update.

It amazes me what a little effort will do.  Mia is doing much better with her potty habits, I think we are slowly getting her to have the same potty schedule as the other 2 girls.  We will continue to potty her on leash for the next few weeks to ensure she continues to be successful.   Walking Mia on leash is also getting much better.  She definitely understands that she must walk nice but still has to learn how to control herself in excitable situations, so we will continue proofing.

I think we have had a small break through with Hallie's barking.  This week Crystal, Zac, Dani and I have challenged each other to train a new trick to our dogs.  I decided that my trick for Mia would be "Speak", which by the way has turned out to be rather challenging. :) Anyway, I was working on my training with Mia the other day (I was in the girls room with them all in their kennels), I would get Pyper to start barking, hoping it would get Mia going....well it got Hallie going instead....so I pulled her aside and now Hallie knows how to speak.  Because Hallie knows how to speak she also knows how to stop speaking, we can turn it on and off if you will.  It is great, I think it will go a long way to curb her bad barking behavior. It also appears I picked the right trick for the wrong dog...oh well. 

As for jumping up, all 3 girls are doing much better inside the house with us, they all know that they are not supposed to do it and for the most part control themselves.  We still need lots of work outside and with other people.  Danielle and Zac were over last night and they helped a lot by not allowing them to jump up but it proved to be too much for the girls so they had to be taken back to their kennels.  I am not worried, this is something we can overcome with a little time, patients and practice.

How are you doing?  Did you make your list and come up with a plan?  Can you see a difference in the behavior yet?  If not, don't worry, be patient...it will happen.

A Brand New Name.

As you can tell I decided to rename my blog.  Crystal and I tossed around names all day yesterday and this is what we came up with..."Wooches Corner"  We think it suits me better.

The blog content will not change, no worries there.  I just wasn't satisfied with the old name and blog appearance.  I hope you like the new look.

Give an Inch they WILL take a Mile!

Crystal and I have had an OFF rule in our house from the instant Pyper came into the house, 7 years ago now.  However, it seems we have given some leniency on this rule somewhere along the way as now it is getting out of hand.  Every time we have company we are forever saying OFF, over and over again it is annoying and rather embarrassing.  So we have decided to put a stop to it!  In fact we have made a list of a few things that we would like to improve.

Jumping up
Mia's ability to walk on a leash
Hallie's Barking
Mia's potty habits

By identifying the areas that need improvement we have taken the first step toward change.  My suggestion to you is to do the same, make a list of the things you would like to improve with you and your dog(s).  This could be things like; crate manners, barking, whining, begging, potty habits, jumping on the furniture, jumping on people, pulling on the leash, bolting out the door, not coming when called, etc, etc.  Sit down with your spouse/family and discuss the areas that you would like to improve, write them down, and post them on the fridge.  This will be your first step to improving your relationship with your dog!

Second step is to determine how you are going to curb or change the behavior.  As a team (you and your spouse/family/friends) determine what changes you are going to make in order to achieve your goal.  This may mean discussing rules that need to be in place or a routine that needs to be followed.  If you are unsure of what needs to be done please let me know as I would be happy to join your team so I can try and help!

Now it is time to put your new plan into action, but don't forget to follow through!!  Life often gets in the way of plans we have set in motion so please try and stick to your plan no matter how complicated life can be.  If you just take the time now, no matter how complicated, you will see results sooooo much faster.  By seeing these results you will be much happier with your dog which will make your home life happier and easier, making life soooo much less complicated!

This is the action plant that Crystal and I came up with:

Jumping up - When we play fetch in the house we ask that the dogs bring the toy to our hand, which often is on the couch, so they jump up to give it to us.  Because of our LAZINESS the dogs have been slowly getting worse and worse.  So we have made the rule, if they jump up on the couch to give us the ball we don't play the game, but in return to them we will make an effort to lean off the couch to allow them to give us the ball.  Also, going forward we are going to have the dogs lie down to be greeted by company.  This way the company can lean down to pet them without being mauled and it will curb the jumping up behavior.  This is going to be very challenging to achieve, not because our dogs can't learn it but because company often do not understand your house rules which in turn they are "giving an inch" which help the dogs "take a mile".  So to help this we will explain the rules to the company before introducing the dogs so they can help with the training.

Mia's ability to walk a leash - this is a challenge I have taken on with Mia.  This is something that I will just take some time and practice.

Hallie's barking - Hallie is our barker of the family, I don't mind if she barks to warn me of something or someone, that is not the issue.  The issue is, if I say leave it, I mean it.  Hallie has gotten WAY better, trust me, but we think she could do even better.  So the rules are the same, if you bark once we say leave it and you bark again you go to your kennel for a time out, simple.  The improvement we need to make is our follow through; we are going to make a real effort to follow this rule, every time.  We are also going to buy a kitchen timer so that we can time her kennel time (5 minutes) so that we remember to be fair.

Mia's potty behavior - since the day Mia came home with us we have struggled with this, she no longer has house accidents but she continues to have accidents on the patio.  Truly they are not accidents anymore, she knows full well that she is not supposed to go potty on the patio but the consequence of her actions have not deterred her.  Mia has real issues with the feeling of the grass on her feet and this has only gotten worse since we have given her summer haircut (we shaved the dogs completely down); so she would rather suffer the consequence of going potty on the patio then walk on the grass....pathetic really.  So we are taking the puppy approach, she will be leashed when she is taken potty and we will walk her back and forth on the grass until she goes, if she does not go she will be taken back to her kennel and the cycle will be repeated.  She will not have patio privileges until she learns.  She is smart but stubburn so it will take a little time but she will learn.

I am very relieved that Crystal and I have come up with our plan, I can see an end in sight!

So what behaviors do you want to change/curb?  How are you going to address them?  Are you up for the challenge?

Working on the Flat.

Well I originally thought I would work on crosses with Danielle this week but I fished out my Linda Mecklenburg articles from Clean Run; Handling Your Dog in Awesome Style, and I have rethought this.  I think I need to start back at the basics with her, which will be a great refresher for me also.

Linda's methods focus on communicating with your dog in a way that they understand best instead of learned cues.  She uses six different cues - motion, shoulders, location, hands, verbal and eye contact, these may be used alone or in combination.  These cues will tell your dog which direction they will be going (before and/or after an obstacle), which side they should be on, how to jump (extension, relative collection and true collection), how quickly they should be moving, etc.  This is a VERY high level explanation of what the articles contain, if you are interested in the articles they are in Clean Run from April 08 to August 09, they are entitled Handling Your Dog in Awesome Style and there are 16 parts.  This week I am going to tackle part 1 (Direction Cues) and 2 (Side Cues).

I have chosen to follow Linda's method's because I believe this is the simplest and most effective way to work as a team, my natural body cues along with some trained cues make me and my dogs a great team.  It also helps that my instructor follows the same method :).

Well wish us luck....Rhonda

We are back!

Well it has been a very long time since I have posted anything but I think I am ready to start at it again.

Before I left for Canada for a month my friend Danielle approached me about helping her with her pup, Vito. So we have agreed to get together once a week to train, this will be really great for both of us.
Vito is an energetic Yorkshire Terrier, honestly, energetic is too simple of a word for Vito! However, he has a ton of energy and drive, which of course create their own challenges. He is a good dog and teamed with Danielle who has the willingness to learn and massive amounts of determination, they will make a great team one day.

This week we are going to work crosses, front and rear. Danielle has not yet been exposed to crosses and both my girls need proofing. I think I will work on proofing crosses on the weaves and tunnels as these have proven to bite me in the rear in the past. I have learned in the past to never underestimate the tunnel, most dogs (not all) LOVE the tunnel so we often underestimate it's complexity.

The tunnel from a dogs point of view: long, dark, smelly, muffled, cave-like thing that is sometimes straight or curved, hard to tell until you are all the way in! My owner wants me to run through this thing (by the way I can't stop and sniff, she hates that) all while anticipating where she is going to be. I try and figure this out by where she is when I enter but sometimes she sends me mixed signals and I turn the wrong way when I exit. I really do hate the look on her face when I do that, but really it is all so confusing.
Ok so there are 3 morals here;

1 - never give your dog that look unless you are certain they did not do what you asked them, and in agility more often then not it is us the handlers who should be getting that look.

2 - be sure to practice rear and front crosses with tunnels to ensure your dog has a clear understanding of where you will be when they come out, so they can be sure to not see that look on your face!

3 - give your dog clear messages on where you are going to be when they exit the tunnel. If you suddenly change sides on the tunnel wfter they have entered do not expect them to know where you are. They can only see slight shadows and hear muffled sounds so they will have troubles figuring these things out.

Well wish us luck!

Pyper's Red Eye

Pyper went to the Vet yesterday, she has had a red inflamed eye for a few days now. The Doctor checked to make sure she had not scratched her cornea or had anything stuck in behind her third eye lid. Thankfully neither of these was the case. So we came home with some medicine, it is a gel that you apply just under the eye lid.

The best part of the trip was what the vet said, she said..."she is such a good natured dog" Both Crystal and I were amazed. But really she is becoming a really good girl!

Oh yeah and Pyper weighed in @ 23 lbs....guess we need to cut down a little. :) Now that we are not doing Agility she isn't getting as much exercise. :(

Pyper NA NAJ

Well this past weekend Pyper titled in Novice A JWW. So proud! She is officially Pyper NA NAJ! :)

We had a couple of good runs in Open on Saturday and Sunday but not enough to Q, which is OK, I believe we had success in other ways! However, I do think I was kind of bummed that it was our last trial for a while cause our last run of the weekend was awful, I had to walk off. Not really Pyper's fault, I was off so she was off! Oh well!

Anyway, I do hope to keep up with the blog over the next few months despite the fact that we will not be taking classes or trialing. I hope to do more with the dogs at home.

So stay tuned!

The New Year!

Well I am sure everyone has wondered where we have been! Busy of course! So far 2010 has been a full year, and it is only day 23!!


Well @ new years we packed the dogs up and went camping @ Mustang Island, which is close to Corpus Christi, TX. Had a great time, the girls got to play on the beach and run like the wind, it was fun. Crystal and I went to the Texas Aquarium and the USS Lexington Museum, both fantastic! All in all we had a GREAT time!


Back to work after a couple of long weekends was a little tough but I quickly got back into the swing of things, not that you have much choice when you work where I do! :) But seriously work has been good, busy so the days go by quickly!


Being back to work meant back to regular routine, which also means Agility Class! Pyper and Hallie were really glad to be back in class, they always have such a great time. Hallie has really shown to me that she is ready to do agility. She and Pyper are alot alike but Hallie has the benefit to learn from my experience with Pyper. And it shows! I think she is going to do very well. Can't wait to see how she does in February @ the SHAG show that Mom and Dad are coming too. It's going to be fun!


It looks like we finally have Pypers skin condition under control. Her big bump on her side is almost gone! All it took is a bunch of baths and sponge baths, both of which she is not really fond of, but she deals. Oh yeah, still doing ok with the Cocker Spaniel Grooming. They still look like Cockers! :) So glad.....saves us a bunch of cash on hair cuts and it really isn't that difficult.


On another note, we finished the wedding invitations and they are sent in the mail.....well mostly....got some back already because they did not say CANADA! ugh....oh well guess it will be an ongoing process.


Made a big decision this week. We decided to stop taking Agility lessons @ J-Canine and stop trialing until after the wedding. It was a very difficult decision but one that was necessary. We need to try and save some cash for the wedding. Just going to finish the 2 trials that we are entered into and then that is it. The 2 trials are the GSP (German Short-haired Pointer) trial this weekend and then Flashpaws Trial next weekend, both of which are in Crosby.


We have some exciting news. Pyper got her 3rd Standard Q in AKC which means she got her Novice Standard Title! So Proud. Plus it is Pyper's Birthday today...she's 7. This also means we are moving up to Open Standard. So Exciting. We also got her 2nd JWW Novice A leg today, hoping to get her 3rd tomorrow which would be her title. This would also mean we could move up to Open next weekend. Cross your fingers.



I will try and post again soon so you know if she got her Title.