Meatball - Animal Control

"Meatball" is a 50 lb black pit bull that runs loose in the woods almost every day for the past 3 weeks or so. He loves visiting the back fences of all the yards in our subdivision, especially mine, which sets off a huge ruckus with all the dogs in the neighborhood.  When he comes by, Max and Willow go crazy with their high shrill barking, Fooh Fooh growls and barks like mad, and Lucky just sails over our 5 foot cow fence and runs off in the woods to chase Meatball away.  Whatever I'm doing at the moment, I have to quit immediately and go deal with "the Meatball issue".

How did I learn Meatball's name, you might wonder. Well, two days ago a young man sachets by looking for his dog -- about 24 years old, living with his grandmother about 5 houses down, with his girlfriend and baby, and of course, no job.  A seemingly intelligent young man, well spoken and mild mannered.  I had just put treats in my pocket, boots on my feet, gotten Fooh Fooh's slip leash, and was headed to the woods with Lucky at my side, to catch Meatball.  The man joined me, and we finally got control of his dog.  I asked him why he didn't bring a leash, and why Meatball wasn't wearing a collar.  He said he had a collar but leaves it attached to the chain around the tree, doesn't have a leash, doesn't have a fence, the dog is not neutered, doesn't have his rabies shots "because I can't afford it".  He chains the dog up, but either he keeps getting tangled up in the chain or he slips out of the collar, so he "doesn't like to use that".

I gave him my schpeal about "Responsible Pet Ownership" and sent him on his way, with the warning that if I saw Meatball roaming free again I would have to call Animal Control.

I had a one day reprieve.  Then today, the ruckus started again and before I knew it, Lucky was over the fence again and disappeared into the woods.  On with my boots, out the gate, into the woods, calling "Lucky, come".  She was already far, far off but she came to my call.  We've been practicing that. I couldn't fuss her for coming when called but I brought her in the yard and put her on her 10' wire.  About 10 minutes later the ruckus starts again, Lucky takes a running leap off the porch towards the fence without realizing she is tethered, gets caught by her collar and her whole body flips up about 3 feet in the air and around in a big circle.  I saw it happen and was afraid her neck would snap.  I bet she is bruised.  Then I saw Meatball along the fence line, still with no collar, and I was instantly furious.  Didn't I just warn that idiot what I would do?   I called Animal Control for directions.  They want me to find out the guy's address, they will send someone out to "talk to him". Or, I can capture the dog and they will come pick him up.

A few hours later, visiting with a neighbor on my front porch while pottying my dogs, here comes Meatball and all hell breaks loose again.  Had to crate Lucky in a hurry, and by the time I came back out with the slip leash Meatball was gone. But I learned from Laura that he had her and her kids pinned in their car a few nights while "a big black dog" without a collar circled around them.  Not knowing his demeanor, they played it safe.

I just want to slap this guy.  I hope Animal Control slaps a huge fine on him, and if he doesn't conform immediately, takes the dog away.  He said he had "rescued" Meatball from the pound about 3 weeks ago.  Some rescue, eh?  It doesn't tally. Doesn't the pound give shots and neuter all their dogs before letting them go?  Don't they screen prospective owners and charge them a fee?  My hunch is Meatball was found on the side of the road, like Lucky, and passed from owner to owner, and has not yet seen a vet, a clinic, or a pound.  He is probably full of worms.

People think they can just "have a dog".  First, a dog is an intelligent being. Second, there is a social responsibility.  Animal care has such a pivotal effect on civilized society, I think "responsible pet ownership" should be taught in grade school.  Isn't "civilization" what we teach in school?  You are taught to read, write and cipher so you can support yourself, vote, and serve your community?  We are taught how to sing, play an instrument, manage our computers, manage our tempers, calculate.  We learn about human rights.  What about animal rights? If they put me in charge, this course would not be "optional" or left to the private sector to teach.

This was not how I intended to spend my day.  But it has got me to thinking about the importance of Animal Control's job in a civilized society.  How nowadays we don't see packs of hungry dogs running the streets like in India, or individual mangy ones like I used to see when I was a child growing up in rural Slidell.  I bet the Romans had some version of Animal Control, though I've never read a thing about it.  Why not?

A Magical Sunday Night

It's always disappointing when Monday night class is cancelled, especially just before an upcoming trial.  So I was very glad I went out to the field Sunday night (last night)  at 5:30 to help set up a 50 x 100 course with Nedra and Polly.  On my way there Nedra called, said it was raining at her house, and they weren't going out.  I needed to put the Field 4 course map in the shed anyway, so I went on out for that.  On the drive down Airline Highway I noticed a pocket of white in the dark clouds up ahead and prayed that it would be right over the field, that it would not be raining, that I could set up the course and run my dogs.

My prayers were answered.  As soon as I got there, it quit raining right over the field -- not even a sprinkle.  It felt like magic.  The air looked kind of purple, too, you know that look.  I was in a protective bubble.  I had the course map, which required 10 wings.  I was alone.  Aha!  I could do an experiment!  Rather than dragging all the wings and jumps and poles all over Field 1, 1 or 2 at a time the way it's always been done, I stacked them all up, criss cross style, on the yellow wagon, then pulled the wagon around to where I needed to offload the various equipment.  Just as I suspected, it took very little effort and a lot less time.

I had offered all the instructors a few months back, via email, to build a wagon for this purpose, but that email was completely ignored. Not one response.  So I let it go.  I wasn't sure the big yellow wagon would work and I wouldn't dare try it with anyone else there for fear of ridicule or censure -- we need the exercise, they won't fit, don't be so lazy, come on forget about it -- but I learned just how to stack the wings so they fit perfect, and have cut the work load in half.

I wasn't able to set up the A-frame, dog walk, or see-saw by myself.  So I got to thinking about a solution for that, too.  The A-frame will need only 2 people instead of 4.  I think I have it, for next to no cost, but I'll need some more alone time on the field to play with that.

I didn't set up the tunnels either, because we have some 15', some 18', and some 20', and none are marked as to length.  I haven't yet learned to recognize them by appearance. I doubt there are many who know.

Meanwhile, it still wasn't raining so I took the time to run the exercises set up on Field 4, a 14 obstacle jumpers course with many twists and turns.  I didn't think either Maxie or Lucky would be able to do it, but Maxie made no errors, and Lucky only 2.  I was amazed.  Just as Lucky completed her 2nd run, it began to drizzle.   My bubble was popping. Time to go.

Nedra had invited me to come see her workshop's progress, but I had declined in favor of practicing in my magical bubble.  The invite was a bit of magic in itself, though, because we so rarely get invited to people's homes any more. John and I will go later in the week.  Since her retirement, Nedra is completely remodelling her workshop in her back yard, and we are very interested in seeing that.

I'm so glad I was able to squeeze off a practice at the Saturday night bonfire, and another one Sunday night, because the Lake Charles trial is in 10 days and tonight's class will most likely be cancelled.  It's been raining all night and most of this morning.  Maybe if I pray for another bubble?

P.S.  Didn't work this time.  Rained Monday night.  No class.  We sat around and watched TV, and I iced my knee.

Bonfire

Last Saturday night was our annual bonfire, a tradition I've kept up for over 30 years, mostly as a way to celebrate Halloween, get together with neighbors, introduce the neighborhood kids to  campfires, weiner roasts and semores, share food and scary stories, and also, and not least, to burn off a lot of the twigs and branches that fall from our trees all year.  With 2.25 acres of forrested yard, we have no shortage of wood to burn.

It's always fun, and since Portia was born on Halloween day, we usually have a cake for her and sing Happy Birthday.  She has come to think of my bonfire as her birthright.  This year it was 85 degrees on Halloween weekend, so she agreed I could put it off a few weeks hoping for cooler weather.  Turns out, it was still warm but at least an acceptable 70 degrees.

Jonathan couldn't come from New Orleans, the first bonfire he's missed since his first in 1998, but also missing were Christa, Garrett, and Schuyler.  But Alex, now 19, brought a friend, and Luis came.  He has missed the last 6 or so, so that was a real treat.

Laura also brought her friend, Lyn, who has moved up north so we haven't seen in 3 or 4 years, and that also was a treat.  We brought out her scarecrow boyfriend, Jack Spratt, whom I jokingly declared to be her "date" at her last 2 bonfires, and who has been in the shed "pining away after her" for 3 years, "without a single love letter or phone call".  We toyed with burning him up (he's old), but Jack looked so good, seemed so large and sturdy and happy to see her, everyone had so much fun adding their bits to the heartfelt love story, we finally decided to keep him.

Lyn has never met Maxie or Lucky, so at some point she asked for an agility demo. I quickly arranged the equipment into a sort of long course, everyone moved to the back yard, and I put both dogs thru their paces for about 10 minutes.  Max was rarin' to go, but he had screaming fits when I handed him to Audrey and gave Lucky her turn.  Lucky did okay, too, but at one point knocked me down.  I was able to roll, and catch myself, so no damage done. John said the comments were very positive.  I had a blast and it was the highlight of my evening.  I was really happy to be able to squeeze off a practice session.

Portia, age 8, took great interest in learning the hand signals for Maxie's tricks (sit, down, stay, go around, roll over), then even more interest in playing retrieve with Lucky.  She handled herself well and stuck with that for about 30 minutes in the side yard, all by herself.  I told her mom she showed great potential, that very few kids are that interested in training dogs.  Perhaps I could be interested in working with her, as I would with Jonathan if he were closer and more interested. 

We'll have to see what pans out next year. Yet another thing to look forward to.

"The Cognitive Edge" Online Course

In 5 more days I'll be 64. It's Michele's "birthday season", my friends say. So I bought myself another birthday present a few days ago (with my husband's blessing so we've agreed it's from him) -- Susan Garrett and John Cullen's joint venture in sports psychology -- to help atheletes develop a pre-game routine that sets up consistently calm, focused performances. The course has a 14 day money back guarantee, and it all comes to you online.

Just to recap. For the $197 price tag you get:

1) The "Pre Competition Routine for Big Events" video
2) The "Pre Competition Routine for Big Events" companion ebook
3) Access to the gurus: Three hour long webinar/coaching calls with John Cullen and Susan Garrett to really help you to unlock the power of your mental game.
4) Bonus #1: my "Without Pressure You Get No Diamonds" ebook.
5) Bonus #2: John's "Finding Your Ideal Performance State" ebook.
6) Bonus #3: The "Pre Competition Routine for Big Events" MP3 recording for your ipod.

So far I've received:

• Pre-competition Routines for Big Events,a 20 page e-book to download and print out, by John Cullen
• Pre-competition Routines for Big Events, a video you download which repeats verbatum the same thing,
• Without Pressure, We Get No Diamonds, a 10 page e-book to download and print out, by Susan Garrett
• Determining your Ideal Performance State (IPS) - a series of charts for studying and ranking your performances, by John Cullen.

Okay, so I woke up yesterday very excited to get this course. I downloaded everything, printed out everything, read everything, listened to everything, and did all the exercises.

My impression so far: it's good, but hardly worth $200. Susan's revolutionary 2x2 Weave Pole training DVD was $79 and am still studying and learning from it a year later. I bought her Success With 1 Jump DVD for $69 and the things I learned in there I use every training session and in my teaching. Will this course contain twice the value or just be twice as expensive?

I'm still waiting for the 3 hour-long webinars to show up. I don't need Bonus #3 as I don't have an ipod.

While I'm waiting, let me state my BIG GRIPE with e-book publishers.

• Color: Why do they insist on putting so much color in their E-books? We have to print this out! Why do they make their customers' use up their $75 color ink cartridges printing out stuff that doesn't look worth a crap on bond paper anyway, and conveys NO information? PLEASE, any of you e-book publishers out there, go light on the half-page color photos, full color backgrounds and borders, 72 point bold red letters in your headlines. A touch of color here and there is acceptable, but be respectful of your audience's purse.
• Fine print/grey print. Why all the fine print/light print? Not everybody has 20/20 vision. Some of us need a minimum of 10 point type to see it, even with our 2.75 reading glasses on. On some printers, the grey print prints out so faint it is barely visible. And ink jet printers tend to blur the edges just a bit so the smaller, tighter the letters the more they run together. It costs no more to send things over the internet in 12 point type, black ink, and using a font (Verdana for example) where the letters are spaced further apart than with Arial. Perhaps you sacrifice a bit of "design", but at least it is readable.

For $200 and all the hype about it, I expect a whole lot from this course. At this point and from other e-books I've purchased thru the years, I think it is worth about $29.  Let's see what the 3 Webinars bring me.  I'll post my notes as they come in.

Webinar #1 - Visualization

Webinar #2 - Pre-Competition Routine

Webinar #3 - Power Phrases,

Okay, it's December 28 and I just finished the 3rd webinar.  Based on the 3 of them, I do think the uique tips I received is worth the price I paid for it.  There is a lot of homework. I have taken notes on each webinar and saved them in my drafts on this blog, but am wrestling with the ethical question of whether I can share them with my readers (current and future), in effect, give the information away.  My notes from each webinar are linked to above, but the links won't work until I resolve this issue.

What I can share for now is, if I do even half the exercises they recommend, this course definitely will help me move upwards and onward!

Maxie's Worst Run Ever

So, today I'm playing with the "embed" feature from my new FoohMaxAgility YouTube Channel.  Of all the videos I took (and so far I've not missed one of Maxie's runs - 16 Q's out of 24 runs), all but the last 2 of them are off my computer and stored solely on my Picasa Web Albums.  I recently discovered I can't transport them to this blog, nor can I ever get them back on my computer!  As I said before, loudly and vociferously, BUMMER!  The only 2 videos I still have on my computer I uploaded to YouTube last night.  I embedded the best one in my last post, and the only one left, it turns out, is truly Maxie and my worst run ever (to date).  But, it's all I've got to work with until Lake Charles at the end of this month.

So, hey, I'm taking advantage of what I've got, and posting MAXIE'S WORST RUN EVER.  It will be a good one to comment on anyway, for all the things that went wrong.  It will help me analyze my problems and get better.  It will help me figure out the judge's calls as recorded on the Scribe Sheet. So here it is:

Maxie and Michele, XS, Saturday October 23, 2010, Kiln, MS
NQ, Eliminated, SCT 74 seconds, Dog's Time: 71.39 sec.
2 Refusals, 2 Wrong Courses, 2 Failure To Performs/Eliminations 

To start with, all 11 8" dogs were eliminated (you can see their videos and scores under my Links (Maxie's Competition Videos - Kiln).  There was not a single Q.  There were a few especially tricky spots:

1. the jump right before the table points straight to the chute (a trap), you have to call D hard to get that left turn to the table.  A lot of large dogs missed this turn and took the chute.
2. The jump right after the table is on a steep angle, easy for D to knock the bar that way, then requires a tight wrap to the chute.

The rest seemed pretty easy, except for those dreaded weaves with the deep divits.  Not all of our rough spots were faulted, and frankly I can't see all the faults that were listed on the scribe sheet.  But I shall comment on each mistake I can see.

1. Maxie broke his start line stay (very rare for him) and had to be repositioned.  I did have enough presence of mind not to cross back over the start line, or I would have had to take off with him from behind the line.
2. Maxie wouldn't come when I called him thru the 1st jump.  I had to move closer in.  What was he waiting for?  Where was his mind?
3. WC, E. Jump after the see-saw, Maxie ran a wide circle backwards, opposite direction of the chute/table problem I had anticipated, and opposite of my body cue.  To make matters worse, I panicked and instead of running behind the jump to pick him up, I ran in front and he took the jump backwards and knocked the bar besides.  My extremely dumb mistake. Where was my mind?
4. Maxie was making mighty wide turns, after the tunnel, after the dog walk.  What caused that?  Was I running too slow to keep him interested? 
5. R, R. Maxie would not do those weaves for anything.  Kept popping out.  They let you try 3 times, even though the run is already an NQ, I'm not sure why but guess it's because you paid $22 for the run and it's bad practice to let D get away with popping out of the weaves, ever.
6. I appear to be walking through half of the run.  Where was my get-up-and-go?

One of these days I'm going to have a more experienced person view this video and tell me where my 2 R's, 2 WC's, and 2 E/F's were.  I truly don't see them all.

And now, from Susan Garrett's blog:

"We are never as omnipotent as our biggest fan may envision– nor are we as incompetent as our worst critic would have us."

Not that I have any fans except a few family and friends rooting for us, but I am sure I have critics, myself included.

So much to learn. Upward and onwards!

YouTube Channel

I just discovered I can have my very own Video Channel on YouTube  and store my videos there for free!  AND, I can embed them in this blog any time I want.  I spent most of last evening poking around Youtube and learning the system - how to upload, set captions, etc., because I am very disappointed with my Picasa Web Albums at the moment.  I had uploaded all of Maxie's agility videos to date to Picasa (a good thing) -- then deleted them from my computer altogether (a bad thing).  Then I found out I can never download them back to my computer again.  They are up there for good.  I can't edit, combine, take a snippet, nothing. I am really bummed out with Google.

This morning I successfully watched my first uploaded video, and now I am going to try to embed it right here:

Michele and Maxie,
XJ, Saturday Oct. 23, 2010, Kiln, MS
Score: 100, 2nd Place, 2nd leg
SCT 46 sec, our time: 46.95 seconds (the visit with the photographer cost us 7 seconds).
A slow, wabbly run, but we made it. 

Okay, so it embedded and centered.  Great!  Now I can post detailed comments about my runs while they are still fresh in my mind.  Only thing is, I can't seem to size the video any larger or smaller.  Humm!  Still, pretty cool.

So in my next post I will embed my "Worst Run Ever" to date, and comment on it.  It's pretty sad, but we haven't had any brilliant runs yet, so I'll have to wait to post one of those. 

I am visualizing us running perfectly together, though -- a correographed ballet, perfectly timed, no wabbles, lots of speed and precision, no confusion such as "where the hell do I go next?", or "why did Maxie spin or run way out there and how do I get him back?", or "I'm so exhausted, please don't let me trip over myself or my dog and make a total fool of myself!"

It's harder than it looks, folks, so the bad runs (even if they are Q's) are, so far, far more commonplace than the wonderful ones.  I intend for that to change.

Monday Night "Competitive Handling" - New Format

Due to the increasing number of agility competitors in our club, our Monday Night Competitive Handling class has grown to 10 students.  This is really too many for a 1 hour class, with each team wanting to run the course at thrice and work on specific problems they are having, setting so many bar heights, etc.  We kinda resolved that by letting the class run from 8-9:30 or even longer, which suited me fine.  So, instructor Nedra came up with the idea of dividing the class into "small dogs" from 7-8 p.m., and "large dogs" from 8-9 p.m.  Unfortunately, there are only 4 small dogs (Maxie, Tango, Casey and Jenny), and since Casey's owner is also the Monday night instructor of the Beginners class at 7 p.m., and they only have 2 students, it was decided to combine our classes together.

I'm sorry to say, it is extremely boring to watch Beginner dogs try to run an excellent course when I'm paying for my own hour of "excellent" instruction.  They are all over the place, it's too hard for them, their handlers are unsure of themselves, and while there are only 2 of them, I don't feel like my time is well spent sitting around watching them take their long, long turns.  I also miss the excitement of being around the "big dog" teams.  Their runs are so dynamic, handler comments so helpful, their problems so illustrative of what the sport is about -- getting accuracy and team communications.  Out of respect for Nedra, I'm going to stick with this for the rest of this session, but if it continues, I will try to move to Tuesday night, tho this is not as convenient for me. John's BRAS meetings are Monday night so we are out on the same evening and get to spend Tuesday evenings together.  If I have to move to Tuesdays, and I also have class on Wednesday nights, that's 3 nights a week we're going our separate ways.

I got there at 6:30 and had time to run Lucky thru the whole course, and practice on some difficult areas of it.  She was fast and motivated, didn't do the sequence perfectly, but did every obstacle she did very well.  She is weaving faster now, and taking the dog walk at a gallop.  Her down contacts are transforming from a 2 on/2 off sit, to a 2 on/2 off stand, which is what I'm working on at home.  I can "steer her from the rear" at last.  She still loves her tug toy and is highly motivated to do agility if she knows I have it. 

Maxie's 3 runs in class were good, not perfectly accurate due to my own handling errors, but he ran very fast and took the weaves from a great distance.  If we could run the same course 3 times, we'd get it right.  I believe in that method, by the way.  Repetition builds confidence and knowledge, which eventually leads to more accurate "first trys" at trials. There are only so many patterns.  Like anything else (chess, checkers, backgammon, tennis, fire fighting, human relations) once you've encountered them all enough and know how to handle them, "first trys" aren't new or surprising any more!  Of course, others would disagree.

One breakthrough. Nedre tried to run Maxie thru the 1st 9 obstacles to the table, and he ran for her.  Not very well as he knew she had his treats in her hand and if she slowed down he ran over to her and jumped up and down for a treat.  Once he ran back over to me as I was straight ahead, but on the whole I think he could run for her with enough practice.  It was fun watching my own dog run!  I never get to see that unless I watch the videos.  Little bugger swashbuckles along!  Makes mommy's heart melt!

Fast Contact Obstacles

D can lose a lot of speed if they lolly-gag over the dog walk, A-frame or see saw.  If a whole run's Standard Course Time (SCT) is 60 seconds, and D stops on the apex of the A-frame to survey the arena, or sniffs its way across the dogwalk, or stops half-way across the see-saw and waits leisurely for it to tip and go down, you've just added maybe 10-20 (or more) seconds to your run time.  You absolutely can't afford slow contacts.

So, how to get fast contacts?  As always, FOOD!

Start with floor work with your puppy.  Sit D or have someone hold D on leash.  Walk away with a good treat or toy in your hand.  Call D to you.  "Maxie, come!"  Encourage them to run fast.  Increase the distance until D is running to you from 50'.  If you have a training partner, both of you can take turns calling D and treating at each end. Increase the difficulty so there is NO TREAT if they walk, run slower than top speed, run a crooked line, sniff or get distracted.

Interspurse a jump (or straight tunnel) midway along the straight path.  "Maxie, over, come!"

Interspurse a contact obstacle in the middle of the path.  See details below.

All of these exercises assume D knows the contact and isn't afraid of them, has a good sit/stay . . . .

SEE-SAW:
I've already covered how I train a fast reliable see-saw in a previous post: See-Saw Training.
Every dog I observe who has poor see-saws doesn't do this training, or doesn't do it with precision.

DOG WALK:
Assuming D knows the dog walk and isn't afraid of it and has a good sit/stay . . . . .
Position D about 4-6 feet out from one end of the dog walk in a sit/stay, or have someone hold them.
Walk to the other end.
Show D the treat in your hand and say "Walk it", or whatever you say for the dog walk.
They will come charging over the dog walk to get a good treat.  If not, encourage with verbals such as "come on, hurry up, come get it".
Decide what kind of contact behavior you are looking for (2 on/2 off, 4 on, 4 off), and just before they reach the end of the down contact say "Halt", "Stop", "Wait", or whatever you say for them to pause at the end. 
At the very moment you get the desired behavior, present your treat down close to the board.
"Good Halt"  "Good running"
Train D's head to be DOWN at the end of every contact.  This prevents D from leaping off the boards and missing the contacts altogether.
After you get the speed you are looking for, begin positioning D a wee bit off to either side of the up contact, what folks call "Around The Clock" exercises.
Begin positioning yourself around the clock of the downside contact and further and further away from it, and delaying the treat until the contact behavior is given and you call D off the obstacle and to you.

A-FRAME:
Do the same as for the dog walk, only most D's can't manage to stay on the steep slope in a 4-on.  Little D's with weak front shoulders can't even do a 2-on/2-off position.  With Maxie, I don't make him stop on the board at all because, with his 12" stride, he isn't capable of leaping completely over the yellow contact zone.  I just make sure and treat in the very middle of the bottom of the board, about 2 feet out.  Lucky, with her 5' stride, could easily leap over the yellow zone.  I make her do a 2-on/2-off, and she has strong front shoulders to handle it.  Some handlers make their large D do a DOWN ON THE GROUND at the bottom of the A-frame.  In all cases, make sure and treat in the very middle of the bottom of the board, never near the outside edges.  You want D to get used to staying in the middle all the way to the bottom.

If you want precision and consistency from your D, your D needs precision and consistency from you.

#9 Practice with Sheryl, Threadles, Serpentines, String Cheese Disaster

I don't actually know if I'm numbering these Sheryl sessions right because they don't include practices at the field, only the ones at my house.  So, we've practiced a lot more together than the numbers indicate.  And it has paid off handsomely for Sheryl in her recent 3-out-of-4 Q trial weekend in Kiln.  It's paid off for me in other ways besides improving my handling.  I enjoy figuring out lesson plans, setting up problems to practice, analyzing how to improve on the training methods others have taught me.  I enjoy observing and teaching.  It's what I've done all my life.  It motivates me in ways I wouldn't do just for myself.

Threadles and Serpentines: For today's practice, with both our legs injured and not wanting to stress them much, I set up 4 jumps end to end in a straight row for Threadle  and Serpentine Practice.  The illustration of this exercise is self-explanatory.  Anybody with a doggie can do this at home, and would be surprised how D's are programmed to follow arm change ques.

Divits: I also set up 12 weave poles right over a divit in the ground at the 3rd dog step thru.  I have to teach Maxie to be comfortable with the inevitable divits the larger dogs dig on soft courses, especially in the weaves.  He's NQ'd at least 3 times refusing to step into a deep divit at the weaves.

Practice went fine thru serpentines and weaves until my mostly whole, still wrapped in plastic, string cheese fell out of my pocket, Charlie ran off with it and the harder we tried to catch him to take it away, the harder he tried to scarf it up, until he finally swallowed it whole.  Charlie, mind you, is a 12" high Boston Terrier that weighs about 12 lbs.  The string cheese is 1/3 the length of his whole body.  We were teriffied he would choke to death or need surgery to remove it. 

I called the vet, who recommended 1 tsp. hydrogen peroxide to make him throw up.  We tried administering that a few times with a Cajun Injector, with Sheryl holding him on his back and mouth open, but he coughed it up.  It went flying in the air and landed in his eye, so we had to get a damp rag and wipe it out for fear of blinding him as well.  We were afraid to give more and he never threw it up, but I found out at class last night we could have given much more hp.  The vet also said Charlie would probably pass the item within a few days with no problem.  So now we wait. 

That ended our training session prematurely, though, and Sheryl just wanted to take him home.  Can't say as I blame her for that.  I would be beside myself if Maxie swallowed an entire string cheese, still in the plastic wrapper!!!!!  I would be wanting desparately to reach in and get it out of there.

You just never know with kids, cars and dogs!

Doggie Birthdays

We know Max and Willow's birthdays for sure, but since Fooh and Lucky are rescues, basically found on the side of the road as wee puppies, we had our vet determine their approximate age by their teeth, then we picked a day to celebrate their birthdays not too far off from their actual birth dates.  Here's the lineup:

FoohFooh - Valentine's Day, February 14
Maxie - June 17
Willow -
Lucky Lucy - Thanksgiving Day

For their gifts, we always give a nice dog bone, which they appreciate as very special because they are the only dog who gets one at that time.  Believe me, they know they are special then.  They chew while the others watch on in envy!

But with Maxie, for some reason, I like to throw him a party.

Here's a slideshow of Maxie's first birthday.


I can't remember what we did for his second birthday.

Here's some photos of his third birthday.