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.

Back to the Basics!

Well Christmas is over....phewww. It was great! We all had a great time relaxing and playing! Below is a video of the girls opening gifts. They had a blast!

As you can tell they had a really great Christmas!

Well now that Christmas is over I think it is time to start some training. Don't get me wrong, we did do some training over Christmas, we did some basic jump training with Hallie. But I think it is a good time to revisit the basics.

Recently I listened to a couple of seminars Dr Ian Dunbar gave at this years APDT Conference; he said something that really made me re-look at the basic training my dogs have recieved. He said that dogs learn hand signals more reliably then voice signals, and he is so right. Our dogs will often respond to hand signals before they respond to the voice command. A good example: Mia will "Down" almost all the time when the hand signal is used, but if you use the voice command she will often not listen.

So we are getting back to the basics. I am going to work with all 3 dogs on 2 things. Sit and Down. My expectation when we are finished: they will Sit and Down with both Hand and voice commands, also with just Hand, and with just voice. They will also do Sit and Down at a distance, also with distraction, on leash, off leash, inside, outside, on the bed, on the floor, in the tub, on the grooming table, etc etc. My goal is to have a very reliable, no correction, extremely reliable Sit and Down.

These 2 commands are the very first behaviors that they were trained....and also the 2 commands we did not proof before moving on....simply because we wanted to do the "fun stuff" The mistake most owners make.

This weekend we are packing up the camper and going to the beach, camping on New Years! Weird! We are used to 20 below and snow for New Years, the beach will be a nice treat. Anyway, this weekend will be a good time to start with "Getting back to Basics" Wish us luck!!

Christmas Pictures!

Well it is that time of year again. Time to take Christmas pictures. Every year Crystal makes covers for all the pet's collars out of Christmas material and we take pictures of everyone looking beautiful!!!


This is Pyper, she really likes to get her new collar, she know's she is beautiful! :)

Hallie with her gift, I wonder if she will remember how to open presents? She got to last year!

Mia being a good girl....it is a small victory to capture a picture of her....she has a hard time sitting still! :)

Christmas Time

Well Christmas Day is fast approaching! Christmas @ our house is going to be a little modest this year, with the wedding next year we are pinching our penny's. That does not mean we do not have presents under the tree, we do, hand made ones. Sometimes they mean the most. Crystal and I have made our gifts for each other this year, not that that is entirely uncommon, Crystal is so crafty/artistic, she often makes me gifts!

The dogs will also be getting something special this christmas, we did buy them gifts but the best gift we can give them is the gift of Opening Gifts! Each year we let the dogs help us open gifts, they LOVE to tear the paper! Last year was Hallie's first try, at first she thought she was going to get into trouble, but when she didn't she relaxed and really enjoyed it. This will be Mia's first year trying to open gifts, I am sure she will love it also. Pyper is a seasoned veteran in the present opening department, she loves it! She not only helps open them she also continues to tear the paper into tiny little pieces. We will be sure to post pictures!

Have you ever noticed that our pets will often pick something to play with that is NOT the toy we bought in the store? An empty pop/soda bottle, paper, leaves....etc. Sometimes frustrating.....but often Cute. Hmmmmm this reminds me of a story from my past.....

Back when Crystal and I lived in Canada we had the pleasure of raising a Canadian Lynx, he lived at Crystal's Uncles Zoo. Kenya was his name, he was amazing! We tried to buy him toys, he really didn't like them that much. Some of things he did like were: a Pop bottle (plastic 2 L), he especially liked/hated it when you stood it up, he HAD to knock it over! He also liked it when we would pick a handful of really long grass and tie it in a knot. He loved to bite and pull on the grass. One of his other favorites, I would take a tassle out of crafting rafia and tie it to a long string....he loved to chase it. We actually played with this toy with many different captive wild animals. Cougars, Wolves, Tiger, BobCat, Fox....etc

Any way the point is....some of the best things life are free! At least our pets thing so!

Challenge to fellow Dog Agility folks!

Look at the world from your dogs perspective! I was @ a trial on the weekend watching some friends compete. I watch several Novice dogs cautiously attempt the dog walk, you could tell they were anticipating the board to start moving like the teeter.

Challenge - look @ all obstacles from a lower perspective, to be more specific, from your dogs height, get down on all 4's if you have too! things look very different!!! The dog walk/Teeter is just an example. What about the weaves, as I have said in previous posts, if you approach the weaves head on, they look like 1 pole! Winged vs non Winged jumps; winged jumps are easier to see then not winged jumps.

Also note: it happened more then ones that the novice handler left the novice dog on the upside of the dog walk, just a piece of advise don't leave your novice dogs alone on these pieces of equipment, especially if you have not been trialling long and not sure how your dog is going to react. I know it is often easier said then done, I have only begun my journey in the dog agility world and am still a novice myself, so I understand how much you have running through your mind when running around in 50 seconds or less. :)

Agility @ Howard's Place

This afternoon Crystal and I went to Howard's place to play with the dogs! Howard has a lot in El Campo that he has set up as his personal agility field. It is fantastic. He has everything we would ever need to practice.

We showed just before 2 and didn't leave until 4:30. We didn't spend the entire time practicing, most of the last half we spent visiting with him and his wife Jennifer, who by the way is very nice. :)

Howard had a nice course picked out for us to practice, so we set it up and started to play.

Pyper went first, doing really well (especially since I forgot the course! haha) The course had some nice challenges in it, but mostly I wanted to practice our rear cross, weaves and 2 on 2 off touch. Pyper had a really good time! Hallie also got to play, she did the course really well, it still amazes me how much further she is then Pyper was at this stage in her training....so fun! Also would like to add that it is official....Hallie is doing 12 poles! Woohoo. She still has a long way to go but the had part is over, she has the concept down now we just need to start proofing.

Howard ran Sean, Skinner, Dana and Fox. All very different dogs but all very sweet. They each have something special when it comes to agility, and they have all come a long way. Way to go Howard!
I can't wait until our next visit to Howard's Agility Field!

Here are some picture for everyone to enjoy! :)