Class Course - Aug 26 & 27, 2009

Last week we pushed out to the #2 jump and this week we pulled to the take-off side. It was nice to compare and contrast the handling for these options.

Another skill that seemed a bit lacking was the turn away from the handler from #6 to the #7 tunnel. A great skill for dogs from beginner through advanced to work or have a refresher on.

Additionally, being my sneaky little self, I put in a rear cross at #8 which worked the opposite side as we did last week at this same jump (but going a different direction).

Remember, if you learn a skill, work it on both sides : )

Lisa

Class Course - Aug 18 & 19, 2009

This was last week's class course. I'll admit, I threw out the numbered cones and when I came back to practice with my own young dog, was VERY surprised by the challenge I had created in #1 - #6. Actually, I liked it!

Before introducing this course to class, I worked on the beginning sequences with my young and inexperienced dog, Ru. Working with a young dog on a tough sequence really forces me to break the challenge down into manageable parts and I feel makes me a better trainer when it comes to teaching my students.

When I initially started this sequence, I considered keeping Ru on my left and doing a R/C at #4 and another at #5. Seriously, this wasn't so smooth or natural feeling, which surprised me! What I did come up with is marked on the course in both a red path and boxes to outline the steps at each phase.

First, I lead out to #2. After releasing my dog, I faced her path and pushed her out to the take off side of #2 and then F/C to ensure she would take the jump. Next, I found that with practice, she was very reliable on the push out and so I was able to leave a bit earlier to ensure I was ahead of her as she landed after the #3 jump, which put me in a great spot to cue #4 and ultimately #5 - which included a R/C so the dog landed going to the right of the jump. By staying still for just a moment, it allowed my dog to curl in tightly over the right side of the #5 stanchion which set up an amazing line for the weave poles.

Numbers 7 - 20 were much easier and were practiced with both front crosses and rear crosses to keep our skills fresh.

Practice the opening sequence, you may find the subtle body language between #1 & 2, very interesting : )

Lisa

Football Season & Dog CHIC DNA Blood Draw

OK, so this post doesn't exactly start off dog related, but even doggy parents need a bit of fun here and there.

Last night we had pre-season tickets to the Seahawks vs. Bronco's football game. The seats were INCREDIBLE (courtesy of a friend who has season pass tickets).

Once they got warmed up, the game was pretty exciting and the Seahawks did a nice job.

The Chicago Bears are in town in a few weeks and we probably could have had tickets to that came as well. Imagine my dumb luck when I looked at the calendar and realized I had booked an out of town judging assignment for that weekend. Ah, I was sooooo disappointed when I saw that! For those that don't know, I'm originally from Chicago and a Chicago sport's team fanatic....ugh, I'm still kicking myself!

OK, on to the doggy portion of this blog.

Today Rouge showed in Conformation and to say she got dumped is an understatement. Seriously, it was clear the judge had written her off immediately as he didn't even watch her during the go-arounds, but literally turned his back to look at the other dogs. Oh well, Ru had fun and she showed well. We already have a plan for the future and regardless of what the judge may think, she'll always be #1 to me.

She's been staying at Angel's during this weekend of showing so today after she was done and saw me, she could NOT contain herself and spent a good 5 minutes ferociously licking me to death. What an amazing feeling to know that as much as she loves Angel and has fun at her home, she is ecstatic to see her Mom : ) Rouge is very happy to be home and gave each dog a very warm greeting and has been cuddling up with each of them this afternoon while I've been watching movies.

Ok back to dogs....today at the Conformation show, they had a CHIC DNA blood draw for Dalmatians. Apparently this is the last year the Dalmatian Club of America will be paying for the draws and I had committed to bringing Rouge over. It was suggested I also bring Pinky over as they get just as much genetic information from the old dogs as the new ones, so Pinky came along for the vein poke as well.

I'll admit that I'm pretty wrapped up in performance and aren't as up to speed with the local Dalmatian Club as I probably should be. The local club is VERY warm and inviting and has openly welcomed me and Angel and has been very supportive as well. So besides supporting the DNA blood draw, I also donated 3 hours of Agility lessons to their Auction to help raise money.

As a way of supporting the local Dalmatian Club, I also told them that I would be happy to sponsor a meeting at my home and do an Agility introduction & skill learning workshop so new Agility Dalmatian folks can give it a try. This is my way of supporting my breed and to give back to the dog community in a way that is passionate to me.

I'd like to challenge each of you to do something for your breed each year. The last several years I've donated to both Dalmatian & Border Collie rescue, but this year I'm taking a more active role and doing something personally.

What will you do to support your breed or pet?

Myth: Dalmatians Aren't Good With Kids...

I've had three Dalmatians so far in my life-time and have been asked all kinds of questions about the breed.

My three top favorites:

1. After asking what type of dog I have and being informed I have Dalmatians, Border Collies & Labs, the general public will almost ALWAYS say "Dalmatians...I heard they're hyper..." My usual response is "Have you SEEN a Border Collie???" Disclaimer: BC's BEG to work whereas Dalmatians make great couch potatoes.
2. "I heard Dalmatians aren't good with kids..." To which I nicely explain that just like humans, if you're not used to kids, they can be overwhelming. With that said, after shooting the first picture in today's blog, I can share that Rouge does not look the least bit overwhelmed by her new found playmate. This adorable young lady came up to play with Rouge and they immediately hit it off. Isn't that a wonderful shot?
3. Now this is my personal favorite. Rouge is a liver (brown) spotted Dalmatian. I've been asked no less than two dozen times "When will her spots turn black?" Now if you're not into the breed, believing there are only black spotted Dals is a fact so I've had to turn this little surprise question into a very brief education on the hidden gem in the Dal color world.

Onto another topic...

Today was Day 1 of the Puget Sound Dalmatian Club Specialty.

Conformation is a bit of a blessing and a curse for me. A blessing because without it, we'd have garbage structure in the Dalmatian breed. It's a curse because they tend to like their dogs heavier in weight and larger boned.

The preferences in the breed ring are NOT in line with the trim and athletic dog that I personally prefer to keep. The challenge then becomes that each time Rouge goes in the ring, she looks like a tiny, tiny girl. To also make matters a tad bit more difficult, she was the only Dalmatian with chiseled muscle tone showing.

The Dal height range is 19-24" at the withers and Rouge stands around 20.25 - 20.50 which is over an inch into the standard. However, the dogs that often win are topping the range and coming in at the 24" marker. Now don't get me wrong, they are beautiful dogs who are worthy of their winnings and titles, I'm just saying it's a challenge that we will continue to face in the breed ring.

In response, I'm going to have to eventually plump up my girl as she matures so she looks more substantial. On the bright side, she is an incredible mover and can free-stack like a champ, as seen in the second picture. For the record, I was hiding behind a chair wwwaaaayyyy at the other end of the ring and using a very nice telephoto lens to get this shot.

Gotta love technology!

So Many Updates, So Little Time!

Ah, there is so much to write and so little time!

Not surprising, I've been spending quite a bit of time with the dogs, and especially client dogs, lately.

First there is Buddy (1st picture) who will be going for his Delta Certification at the end of the month. We're brushing up on some basic skills and I have to admit, I really look forward to time with Buddy in his work environment which is at a very nice local retirement community. Buddy is such a sweet dog and he is so good at what he does!

Next is Thor. Thor and his owners are amazing and of course another client I just love to work with! When we first started, Thor lacked confidence and tested his owner's patience with his constant alarm barking. We've worked hard to give Thor an alternate job and his owners have been incredibly dedicated to his work plan. The picture of Thor is of us (his Mom and me) working him at the entrance of Costco where shopping carts, kids, car noises, the auto department and much more, were the backdrop to strengthening his new skills & behaviors.

In this picture, Thor is anticipating his hot dog treat and knows it's about to come!

The last picture is of another one of my favorite clients, Jake. I just love Jakey and his family and feel blessed to have been able to spend so much quality time with them.

Jake is an amazing family dog who is incredible with the kids and is generally very easy going. However, he's somehow gotten the impression that it is his responsibility to chase away the neighboring dogs and to oversee the outdoor action around his home.

We've worked hard to desensitize Jakey to other dogs while out on a walk in the neighborhood and had reached a point where their 8 year old daughter could handle him on the family walks.

However, Jake's main issue is that he is overly enthralled with the neighbor's newer puppy and feels it's his job to oversee this little guy in a way that's not so positive. What doesn't help the situation is the neighbors allow their pup to hangout without a leash on. It's really a no win situation for either side so it's my job to help Jakey be successful in an unfair world .

Another client dog whose picture is not attached, that I've been working is Zoom. Today I ran him at an Agility Trial in Novice JWW. He's such a great dog and has such a happy-go-lucky attitude.

Last, but certainly not least are my own dogs.

Pinky, my older Dalmatian, is aging gracefully and I feel so lucky to have had the time and experiences I've had with her. She is my once in a life-time dog and is my heart and soul. To have spent the last 13.5 years with her is such a blessing and every day beyond today is additional time I never thought I'd have. She is my opportunity to be thankful for what I have in this moment and to appreciate the here and now.

Spot, my older Border Collie is as wonderful as can be and has matured so nicely. Having the younger dogs around has given him a sense of maturity, although he still hasn't lost his playfulness. it's a nice balance that I can't imagine I'll ever find in any of my pups again.

Burton is as loving as always and is such a goofy dork! Dan is really appreciating him more and more as he matures and is feeling that Burton is now ready for some serious Hunt Test and Agility Training. In other words, he and Dan have matured enough together to make the leap into team sports !

Rouge is a very funny girl and is so full of herself! She is so confident, loving and athletic. It's a rare and unique mixture that I just love! My first goal is to get her finished in Conformation and to really work on basics in Agility. I have to admit, that I have not been very good about working the middle steps with her or my last pup for that matter. Bad me, bad handler, but unfortunately a common occurrence in Agility. Hey, at least I'm human !

Zulu has been having a ton of experiences and I'm so impressed with how this little guy has been handling things. This past week he accompanied me to a retirement community and was as mellow and loving as a 10 year old pro. He also came along with Dan and I to the Agility Trial today and took all of the people, dogs and exciting environment all in stride. Later we went for a walk on an open trail and actively worked his recalls. It seems cheese is his new best friend and he is so excited to receive that reward!

It's always amazing to me just how much we interact with our dogs and communicate with them on the most basic levels. Yet most of the time we don't even recognize it. That's one of the reasons I love writing this blog - it makes me aware of the little things.

SCAT - 8/9/09 Course Maps

Coming into Sunday, Dan and I were focused on keeping the trial going so folks would easily be able to get home for dinner : ) Besides, we wanted to see each dog RUN and not be tired from hanging out in the sun all day!

Today I had the honor of judging Excellent Standard (as well as Novice & Open FAST & JWW).

The first surprise for several handlers was #2 to #3. Specifically, dogs were going off course to the #4 jump. Also, some dogs landed after the tire heading to the right, toward the table instead of to the left and toward the #4 jump.

The off course tunnel after #7 didn't attract many dogs, however the off course #13 jump did get a few. The more difficult part seemed to be getting the #9 jump. Those handlers that left their dog at the a-frame so that they could get ahead to better handle #9 (either a front or a rear cross) seemed to be the most successful overall.

Once through that sequence, the rest of the course came naturally to most teams.

Dan judged Excellent JWW and Excellent FAST, also shown here. As usual, I was judging elsewhere and didn't get to see the courses run. I have to admit, I'm feeling like a broken record every time I say that! LOL

Dan did say it was a fast running course and from the looks of it on paper, I know I would have loved to have run this one! I heard several exhibitors mention how they loved the fast flowing courses and Dan's JWW really looks like he embraced that.

At any rate, we had a wonderful time in Southern California. Beautiful weather, a terrific club, wonderful volunteers and excellent hospitality.

SCAT - 8/8/09 Course Maps

Attached are the Excellent Courses from Saturday's SCAT Trial in Southern California.

It was a llllloooonnnngggg day as the club was kind enough to host a RAD, now known as TTB (Time To Beat), Demo of the new AKC's upcoming class slated for some time next year. I'll talk about that class later.

The first course is Excellent JWW, which I had the pleasure of judging. From my point of view, it was a fun course to judge and moved along quickly.

The biggest surprise was the #16 jump. Dogs were moving with such speed, that some of the dogs went wide and missed this jump when handlers left too early and began running the last line of jumps

Next is Excellent FAST.

For a bit of excitement, I added the Dog Walk in. Most judges don't have it in FAST because it requires the judge to really have to be on their toes in deciphering where the handlers are headed and be in position to judge both ends of the Dog Walk as needed. Not always an easy task!

As for the Send Bonus, quite a few teams made this look easy. Most folks did the Bonus in the beginning and spent the remainder of their time collecting points.

The last course below is Dan's Excellent Standard course. As usual, since I was judging, I wasn't able to observe what was happening in that ring or where the challenges were.

This is my first time really looking at the course and on paper, it looks like fun!

OK, onto the TTB (formerly known as the RAD) class. First and foremost, the rules are being enhanced as we speak so anything written here could change and I suggest you keep an eye on the AKC website for the latest.

In summary, think of this class as Jumpers With Weaves with a contact obstacle AND that either the contact or the weaves will be taken twice.

The scoring and judging are a bit different and will be up on the AKC website very soon. In terms of judging, you cannot have an off-course, a missed contact or a knocked bar as those are automatic failures. Runouts and Refusals are not judged and you may attempt the contacts up to 3 times.

Also, there is only ONE course for all levels so Novice, Open and Excellent dogs all compete in the same height class against each other.

For the handlers, I heard a lot of positive comments and they really liked running it. From a judge's view point, I feel like a slacker out there since I'm not calling Runouts or Refusals!

Overall, I think it will be a fun class for everyone.

The Big SHOCK!!!

If you know me, you won't be surprised that the topic I'm about to engage in is controversial for many dog owners. Wait, let me get my flame suit on....okay the topic is....using an electric shock to train a dog (for example via a collar or an 'invisible fence').

Now before you get your hackles up, this conversation is going to be about my own PERSONAL experience with an electric shock. Let me clarify here to be sure you read the last sentence correctly - I'm not going to talk about using an electric shock on a dog or any other animal. I'm going to talk about when I (me, myself) was shocked. It's a different point of view, but I think it is well worth the discussion.

Let me start off by saying I'm not a fan of shock collars and prefer other training methods. However, as a trainer, I always keep an open mind to different techniques so that I can understand the pros and cons of each method and make an informed decision. In political terms, I'm neither a Liberal or a Conservative.

With that said, here's what happened to me personally.

First, I was in a familiar place and somewhere I felt at ease and comfortable. I'd gotten there early so I wasn't feeling stressed from the drive and it was a beautiful sunny day. In other words, I was in a great mood.

As I was walking my usual route, I noted an electric fence along my path (a first). Unfortunately, I had to deal with it to get to my destination and after not being able to get to the power source, I was left to try and figure out if it was 'hot'. Note for others, using a stick does NOT work as an accurate indicator!! I was doing a great job in removing the fiberglass end post of the fence when the potentially 'hot' wire inadvertently touched me.

There was a moment of nothing and so I thought I was safe. Personally, I think the wire was just gearing up to shock the living *@#% out of me because then IT happened. I swear time froze and went into slow motion. I could hear the electricity coming my way, but by then it was too late to avoid the impact. Much to my surprise, there was an INTENSE stab to my thumb that shot rapidly up my arm and through to my lower shower blade. I vaguely remember the loud & painful howl that came from mouth. I also don't vividly recall the intense instinct that told me to immediately drop the rod and 'hot' wire. What I do remember is being very surprised at the incredibly strange sound I made.

More importantly, I distinctly remember my emotion.

I was PISSED. Mad as all hell and definitely not thinking rationally. Mentally I kept coming back to the pain in my thumb and the surprise of how the electricity had traveled through my arm and into my back area. Again, I was PISSED. I kept coming back to that feeling and I'm very glad nobody else was around. Now this is important...I have no doubt that if the owners of the electric fence would have been there, I wouldn't have been a nice person because logic was out the window. I hurt, it hurt and I was PISSED!

In reality and from the view-point of a trainer, I'm not at all upset with the owners and am actually glad that the situation happened (although I wouldn't volunteer to relive the event!). It is moments like these that are so educational, you just can't learn certain lessons from a text book and they define you as the type of trainer you're going to be.

Bottom line, it better be a life and death situation in order for someone to try and rationalize the use of an electronic shock on ANY living creature. While I would gladly comply with not going near an object that would elicit an electronic shock, it definitely also elicited intense feelings of pain and anger - both of which I view as a negative emotion that could easily fall under the category of intimidation.

The lesson I learned is that I can't help but wonder, is this how a dog feels when it's shocked? PISSED! Wouldn't it naturally blame the owner for putting that darned collar on them? Would or could they potentially turn on their owners...which was my first instinct? These are all interesting questions and I have no doubt the answer is "Depends on the Dog...." Ah, yeah, that's a little too vague for me to swallow as a trainer since I prefer more black and white answers.

As has been said in many studies, Aggression begets Aggression. As a trainer, I would be a fool to ignore the first impulse I had when I was shocked, which was intense and immediate ANGER. While I may have looked compliant on the surface (in an effort to avoid additional & future pain), the fact is that the underlying emotion was there (as the effects of my previous pain continued to throb) and it was quite strong.

It's something for all of us to think about, but I know that based on my personal reaction, I would avoid negative training methods if at all possible.

It's Taken Me Years to Publically Say...

I'm a diabetic. Oh yeah, and I have Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Basically, these came on due to a viral infection when I was 23 years old that has forever weakened my Immune System. But this isn't intended to be a sob-story post, so let's just focus on me coming to terms with my Diabetes. There, I said it publicly again - heck, I might even get good at this!

Sure, I've talked with select individuals about being a diabetic, but overall I have tried very hard to hide it because Diabetes has had such a negative stigma in the past. Did you know that Mary Tyler Moore has Diabetes? So does Larry King, Randy Jackson, Nicole Johnson Baker (Miss USA '99) and the Seattle Mariners pitcher Brandon Morrow. Did you also know that most of these people hid their disease for fear it would derail their careers by giving the impression that they were damaged goods, high-maintenance or be seen as unable to keep their commitments.

In this day and age, it seems strange that people have been denied jobs, promotions, access to airplanes, treated as if they had the plague, looked at as an oddity and dumped in relationships because the other person "couldn't handle it." All because they were labeled 'Diabetic'.

I remember the first time my doctor said "I'm certain you have Diabetes, but we need to run a test to confirm it." I began to cry and quickly refused the test, explaining that if I was diagnosed with Diabetes, I could be dropped or denied future health insurance (which is true in many states). The negative stigma related to Diabetes is strong and it is still in existence.

There have been countless times that I've started to write about my experiences with Diabetes, but didn't want it to come out in a 'poor me' kind of way. I just think it's time I state the facts, not just for myself, but for everyone around me and for those who may be facing the same scary issue.

• First, I am a Diabetic. I'm a Type 1 so that means I will ALWAYS be a Diabetic
• Yes, I can have deserts & carbs, but only in moderation
• Next, if you see my 'pager' it's really my insulin pump (a medical device). If you hear a beep, it's probably my insulin pump. If I'm pushing some buttons on it while we're talking, please continue on, I'm not ignoring you or taking a call
• I'm sorry (I'm apologizing in advance), but when my blood sugar is low or high, my moods aren't my proudest moments. It's a chemical thing in the body and I really, really can't help it. Please don't take these moments personally, but rather as a clue that something is going wrong in my body and I need help.
• Oh yeah, when my blood sugar becomes too low, I have discovered that my breathing becomes very quick, shallow and labored. I become very hot & sweaty. I also become incredibly task-oriented and can no longer multi-task. As mentioned previously, I might be a bit short in our conversation. This means I need sugar NOW so please ask if I need to check my blood sugar level or just hand me some sugar.
• If I need sugar you need to know it comes in all types of forms such as sugar packets, orange juice, regular soda, a candy bar and my favorite for traveling, gummy bears.
• My sugar can drop quickly when I'm exercising, it's hot out, when I eat a high carb meal (which I generally try to avoid) or for no apparent reason at all. What a pain it is!
• Does Diabetes scare me? Of course it does. I know that statistically, the chances of me dieing at a much earlier age because of this disease is a very real future for me. I'm more susceptible to organ failure, limb amputation, blindness and much more.
• With that said, I'm certainly not going down without a fight! I have heart, I have gumption and I work hard to focus on other things besides the negative what-could-be.

Having Diabetes is a challenge and there are days I'm just tired of it. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of taking a vacation from it, although I so wish I could just have 1 week a year! But on the flip side, Diabetes has put a lot of things in perspective for me. I don't sweat about a lot of things I used to and I feel like I live in a great place that supports a healthy diet - which is key for my daily living.

Diabetes has also shown me that my husband loves me unconditionally. He was there for the diagnosis, the 3-day hospital stay that followed and for all of the education 'we' have had to endure! I say 'we' because the first thing Dan said when I was diagnosed was "What do WE need to do..." I wouldn't have blamed him if he would have chosen to run far, far away - it's no secret that I wish I could have had the option to run from Diabetes!

After almost 5 years of living with this disease, the one thing that continues to surprise me is how my friends and family accept and support my Diabetes life. It started when my mother-in-law took an entire day of her personal time to come & support me at an informational Diabetes Conference. She doesn't have Diabetes, but boy did she jump in to help me get educated that day!

More recently, I went on a long hike with some friends and with the exercise and heat, it was challenging to get my blood sugar stabilized. I had to keep stopping along the trail to bring my sugars back up and in my embarrassment, kept apologizing. My friends didn't think it was a big deal and my husband was his usual supportive & patient self (which also meant he carried a loaded backpack full of supplies for me).

Taking that hike was a big deal to me and a bit of a milestone. I've read about real people who do triathlons, long distance cycling and marathons, so accomplishing my 9 mile hike (which really turned into a 12+ mile hike) was a start. Next I really want to get back to swimming, which means having my insulin pump injection patch in plain sight thanks to the swimsuit. Since being diagnosed with Diabetes, I've been playing it safe when it comes to physical activity, I've been living in fear of the sudden drop in my blood sugar and I've been hiding my patch. I think it's time to move forward, get back to full living and to remember that the what-ifs are going to happen whether I'm sitting at home on the couch or climbing a mountain.

I may have a disease that requires intensive daily management, but I can still make & accomplish goals - it just takes a little extra planning and a contingency plan.

I know I'm not the only one out there with Diabetes who is trying to keep their chin up each and every day. I just hope that my story will inspire someone else to keep going, to stay engaged and most importantly, know that you're NOT alone.

Thanks for letting me write this.

What Would You Do on a 106 Degree Day?

Our friends Steve & Laurie invited us over for dinner and fun on their lake with the dogs - a perfect day for it since the high was at or above 106 degrees here! Ah yeah, a new city record...

Any way, the water was wonderful! With all of the hot weather, the water was a comfortable temperature which is good, because I'm a wimp.

I wasn't sure how Zulu would be in the water so we brought bumpers to throw, a long line "just in case" and my bathing suit so I could coax him in if needed.

Well, the joke was on me because little did I know that our little Zulu is a water fanatic! Within moments of spying the water he had me on my butt!!!

It all happened so fast. One minute he was diving in the water to fetch a toy screaming with delight the entire time. As I was checking to be sure my ears weren't bleeding from the high pitch, he came in, gave me the bumper, proceeded to wrap me in the long-line and then before I could calculate my predicament, he dove back in and down I went!

I just have one thing to say...remind me to talk to his breeder on the lack of warning regarding his water fetish - LOL.

After a good 30-45 minutes of hard swimming (I did keep the long line on him the entire time), I went out in a raft and Zulu came up to join me and get some rest. The first picture attached was after we settled in. The second picture was us trying to settle in!

Last, but certainly not least, Burton is pictured doing one of his many water retrieves. He too is a water fanatic!

We're going back on Saturday and plan to bring Ru in the hopes that Zulu can get her to graduate from the baby pool to the adult lake. Should be fun!

Dog Days of Summer

The Seattle area is under a major heat wave with temperatures into the 100's.

While this may seem normal to folks from the South, last night was the first night in Seattle's history that the temp didn't drop back down below 70. Today we're in for another record high of 105+.

So the plan for the week has been to get the dogs out early so they can peacefully spend the day inside with the A/C going.

On Monday, we had an early play date with our friends Dave & Heidi and their pups. Dave is an amazing photographer and all of these pictures are courtesy of him - Thank you Dave!!!!!

The first picture has Ru & Zulu cooling down in the pool, which was also known as 'home-base' for the dogs while playing. They'd run and run and run, then jump in the pool to cool down and then go off to run again.

The next picture is Ru & Zulu playing a great game of tag.

In the third picture, Dylan is a part of the game and witnesses Ru being taken down by Zulu...not that that stopped the fun as they all played for a good 45 minutes to an hour without a break.

Next we've got Zulu & Ru tugging on the Frisbee and last but not least, a picture of Zulu framed in by an Agility Tire. Don't worry, my 6 month old puppy wasn't jumping it, but rather he was standing at attention just waiting for the other dogs to start the next game of chase.

His breeder asked what I thought his ear set would be, prick, semi-prick or a combination. It's so hard to say at this point! There are moments they're as prick as can be, then there are the times they're semi-prick and then there's that lazy left ear of his that just wants to hang around while the other is straight up. It will be interesting to see which way they end up : )

Stay cool everyone. I know I'm going to take advantage of the heat and take a siesta later with the pups.

Update on Zulu 7-26-2009

It's been a little while since I did an update on Zulu so I thought I took a few updated pictures to share.

Zulu's been with us for about a month now and we're still so glad we got him. Unlike in the beginning when he thought Dan was the best, Zulu's since warmed up to me and can often be found acting as my personal shadow. Of course since I work from my home, I have an advantage, but more importantly, Zulu likes to work for me and is always ready to go.

His adult coat is coming in and it's just beautiful. He still looks like a baby coyote, but his face and mannerisms are maturing and his eyes are incredibly expressive and are now a warm brown color (hard to see in these twilight pictures).

This next week our temperatures are going to be in the 100's, which is unheard of in Seattle. Poor Zulu's going to think we're back in Louisiana!

The dog room has it's own A/C unit so they'll be nice and cool. However, with temps like that, I'm probably going to have to cancel my classes as NOBODY is used to such heat, including the dogs. I guess if I'm going to practice, I need to get up at about 5:00 a.m. and get my butt out there!

For Zulu, I've got a 2x12' board inside so we can practice our contacts. I also need to bring a cone in so we can start working on some turn work...see, there's lots to do in the air conditioned house!

Hope everyone has a great week. Stay cool!

Class Course - July 22 & 23, 2009

This week I thought I'd do a course featuring contacts and a whole lot of other stuff going on.

I lulled my students into a sense of confidence by using the first 4 jumps from last week's opening sequence, but put the table out there as an appealing off-course option.

This is a good refresher for my advanced folks on the art of 'pulling' while still moving forward and it's a great opportunity to introduce the younger pups to multiple body language cues (i.e. the pull AND forward motion). I think this is a long lost skill not mentioned in the latest of handling systems that personally, I think is a fancy term for basics and allows the marketing wheels to churn and offers a place for cash to flow. But, that's just my opinion although I'm getting the sense that people are getting bored with the whole topic.

Back to the course...the contact obstacle placement and course flow gave handlers an opportunity to see whose dogs really knew their contact performance and whose dogs were dependent on their handlers for correct placement. It was an eye-opener to many and gave us a chance to work on 'the fix' and give each appropriate homework.

The superstar on Wednesday was Beth and Cassey. Beth semi-recently had 2 partial knee replacements so part of her lesson each week includes a reminder on how to appropriately use her body and how to run. Remember, she's spent the last decade compensating for knees that wouldn't bend and has really embraced the learning curve on body usage & placement. It showed on Wednesday when she kicked butt and had several absolutely gorgeous moves that I wish I would have been able to video. Kudos to this team for not only getting out there for the mental challenge, but for the physical one as well.

Weave Exercise - July 15 & 16, 2009

After having come back from judging in Louisiana, were the weave-pole performance was to die for, I decided to setup a nice little weave exercise for my class last week.

When folks first saw my concoction, there were definitely moments of shock, which then turned to dismay and a few who said it looked like I had puked up a few weaves and then tossed in some jumps . But as usual, there is a method to my madness...

The spacing on this course is intentionally tight for two reasons. First, it allowed the baby dogs to stay focused and not get too far ahead of their owners. Second, it forced the experienced dogs to collect.

There was plenty of flow through this course and the speed was anything but slow which forced handlers to be right-on with their timing and cues.

Since spacing was tighter, I required my advanced folks to stay ahead of their dogs. This included:

• a front-cross between #5 & 6,
• handlers to be in the middle of the #8 weaves so the dog had to find their entry with the handler 3+ poles ahead (a great skill we don't often practice)
• a TIMELY front-cross between #10 & #11 requiring handlers to pick-up their dog immediately and wrap them around the last pole
• to have the handler be ahead and between the #12 & #13 obstacle so the dog had to seek out the #12 jump
• I did require a rear-cross after the #15 weaves to the #16 jump AND
• a well executed & timely rear-cross between #17 & 18 which resulted in the dog wrapping to the right of #18 and still make the #19 weave entry

There certainly were a ton of skills going on here and a multitude of weave pole entries to boot!

A couple of side notes. The #8 & #10 weaves were also channel weaves to help my baby dogs out a bit (although we didn't open them up more than 2 inches) and once folks were timely with their cues, the teams did GREAT and had a ton of fun!

Hiking Tiger Mountain

Today we finally had a chance to hike Tiger Mountain. As the name suggests, it's a mountain, which means it's up-hill. Then there's more up-hill and have I mentioned steep up-hill?

The 'trail' is a series of old logging roads which, as we soon found out, are unmarked which meant there were a few critical decision making intersections. Our 4.5 mile (one-way) hike turned into a 6.5 mile (one-way) trek as we took the wrong path not once, not twice, but almost 3 times! This added a lot of extra mileage, but it was a beautiful day and the exercise was good.

Along the way there were a ton of butterflies and I was able to get the shot of the one pictured. Ru often liked the sporadic behavior of them and often ran to try to catch either them or their shadow - it was very cute to watch.

Once we hit the top, we were greeted to some great views, including the one of Mt. Rainier pictured here. We sat and let the dogs cool off in the shade and that's where I took the picture of Ru inspecting the Daisey's and of Burton falling asleep on Dan's backpack.

Now that we're home, I think Burton had the right idea and I'm ready for an early bedtime myself!

In total, we did at least 12 miles and had a ton of fun. Our friends Lisa and her husband and their dog Annie joined us, making for a ton of laughs and support like "We're almost there!" just as us some of us were starting to fade.

We're already planning our next hiking trip!

Zulu, Spot & Pinky stayed home. Zulu's too young for such an extreme 'walk', Pinky's in retirement and Spot's on the injured list (not sure what he did, but crate rest is doing him wonders).

Summers here in Washington are gorgeous and it's wonderful to get out and enjoy the trails and nature.

Oh, did I mention we saw a few piles of Bear scat & Cougar poo? Luckily these guys made their natural deposits and were out of site by the time we came across their remains. An NO, I didn't take a picture of it, although I'll admit I thought of it...

Any way, happy hiking everyone!

Update on Zulu, the Dogs & Life

Since I LOVE pictures to accompany my blog posts, I thought I'd share the attached of Zulu when he was younger. The breeder sent us a wonderful packet with a ton of Baby Pictures so we can see him from a mere rat-like-pup to the young adult he is now. It's so nice to have all of that stuff!

Things have been semi-quite around the house. I'm trying to take it easy since I'm coming off of 2+ months of being sick and RuRu had some sort of allergic reaction last week that had us taking some drastic measures to get her better.

For some unknown reason, her front feet swelled up, she started to get sores on them, on her lips and red bumps all over her belly which was spreading. To top it off, she had a fever of 104. Dogs generally top off at 101.5 so we knew something was going on, not to mention she just radiated heat.

We began dosing her with Benedryl, changed her food, sterilized her environment and tried to figure out the source of her discomfort. We'd had topsoil brought in, used a pesticide a few days prior (although we thought we'd kept the dogs separate), opened a new bag of dog food and later found a tick on her. In other words, lots of directions to investigate. After calling the dirt company to find out if they added any weed control or non-local ingredients, the pet food company to see if there was a change in their formula (none of our other animals showed any symptoms) and stripping her food and environment down to basics, we're still left wondering what the trigger was, but she is now doing great and back to her playful self.

In the meantime, Dan and I are slowly working on some of the many little projects we need to do around the house. I've begun staining some of the new kitchen cabinets and need to get motivated to strip, sand and stain the remainder of the older ones. We also have a few details to finish up on the dog room and need to build shelves in the garage to better organize that space as well. Oh yes, and all of this while watering, watering, watering our new hydroseeded areas.

It's so nice to be taking time-off from Agility. The last few weekends we've been sleeping in, making breakfast, eating nice and healthy, working out and spending a TON of time with each other and the dogs.

While out judging, some have mentioned they envy our life together in the dog world. I agree, it's really great to share that common interest with each other. The other thing that I think makes our marriage work so well is that we have a life together outside of Agility. Dan and I work with each other on house projects, have common friends, like similar things such as sitting around a bonfire and we'll often do nothing and relax together (the dogs fit in perfectly on this last one!). We're also comfortable enough to go do things on our own. Dan likes to golf with his Dad & his buddies and I like to go to breakfast or lunch with my friends or just do 'girl-stuff'.

I don't want to give the impression that we're perfect because we'd both start rolling on the floor after having been taken over by a laughing fit. To be honest, there have been a few moments when I found myself daydreaming about the various ways I could suffocate him while he slept and I'm certain there have been a few moments were he's planned my demise as well. The good news is we can joke and laugh together about it and face the situation for the reality it is.

The better news is we have more highs than lows. I wouldn't trade my marriage for another any day. : )

Zulu Visits a Ranch & Starts Agility

Zulu's been a busy pup the last few days. Besides his usual play time at home, I've also had him accompany me to one of my client's home.

My client has 2 children, a very intelligent young lady who loves animals and her younger brother who is so curious and loves to be a part of things. Perfect training for them to handle a young and obedient pup and excellent training for Zulu to learn that kids = food!

Today we expanded Zulu's horizons when I brought him with to the arena where I teach Agility. The bonus is that it is on a working ranch so there was a ton for Zulu to check out.

Zulu's favorites were the chickens which are pictured in the first two photos. As you can see, he thought they were WAY, WAY, WAY interesting. Next were the sheep. He was interested when they moved and showed some beginner interest, but since these sheep are pretty tame (they're quite used to dogs and humans), they didn't move so much and were not as interesting as the chickens who were always on the go.

While I don't have any pictures of Zulu's first introduction to Agility, I was so proud of him!

In preparation, this past week I've been working on his body position relative to me. Since Zulu's habit is to come around in front, I'm teaching him to be comfortable next to me so the two of us are parallel and in close proximity. I also did a quick lesson on a flat board for a beginner 2-on-2-off contact performance. He's a quick and eager learner and it's a pleasure to work him.

Zulu has also taught himself the tunnel which was out in our Agility pasture. It's funny how my last two dogs have initiated equipment training on their own...makes a Mom proud!

In the arena, Zulu followed a friend's dog up the very low a-frame (approx. 3' off the ground) and later followed her into a tunnel as well. Ah, Border Collies are so darned easy to train (y'all know I'm going to eat those words later...).

In all seriousness, my only goal for Zulu this evening was to work attention and to see how reved up and excited he would be with the other dogs running about.

The answer was 1) Yes, he was very excited by the other dogs running and 2) He had beautiful attention. Another benefit was that his recall was to die for! When I called him, he spun around on a dime and came in for his treat.

I began some tugging on the leash as well (which had been done previously) so I could fade the treats and have another means to interact with him.

Zulu was very excited to be there and working. He is a very happy dog with us and as expected, we're so enjoying him.

The last picture is of him after he fell asleep laying next to me on the chair. As you can see, he is a tired little puppy!

Night-night Zulu...

L& D Dog Club

You've seen lots of photos of Zulu, our new pup, so I thought it would be fitting to show a few of the rest of our clan.

As I mentioned in my previous note, the dogs spent the day outdoors with us. As you can imagine, that gave me some time to take pictures of the rest of the clan to share - so here they are!

The first is Pinky, our oldest. It's tough to get good pictures of her these days. Age is catching up with her and I'm treasuring every moment with her because I know my time is limited.

Next is Spot, our next oldest. Spot will be 9 in a few months and although in great shape, he has developed a heart murmur over the last year. However, thanks to Agility, he is in terrific shape and so we've been advised to keep his life as is. This means he still gets to enjoy romps and agility, his favorite things!

Next is Ru, who just turned 18 months a few days ago. I'd have to say she's the most photogenic of the group, although Burton comes in a very close second. He's the best at portrait shots while Ru is great in action shots : )

Speaking of Burton, his striking pose brings up the rear on this page. Burton is now 2 years, although we got him just a short 7 months ago.

It was great to get such wonderful shots of the gang.

Zulu & the 'Big' Apple

Zulu had a fun-filled day yesterday with the rest of the clan. While Dan and I were tending to our yard work duties, the dogs spent 6+ hours outdoors with us having full access to both the wooded and pasture area for the day.

After running, exploring and romping for the majority of the day, all of the dogs were barely able to keep their eyes open by dinner time.

Just as Zulu was slowing down for the day, he discovered an apple on the ground from one of our fruit trees. Of course it's not close to being ripe and Zulu agreed it wasn't edible material. However, it made a GREAT 'ball' to play with and had just the right amount of squishiness to chew on and hardness to withstand his puppy teeth.

Zulu proceeded to take his new toy on top of one of our downed cedar logs to play with. The logs are very large and he was able to easily settle in comfortably to check out his new toy.

Soon, he began to occupy himself by flipping the ball around in his mouth and at times, let it roll off the log so he'd have to go chase and retrieve his new toy.

I'm not sure what eventually happened to the 'big' apple, but Zulu had a great time with his new toy and it allowed me some wonderful photos to add to his scrapbook as well.

Happy Fourth of July!

It's been a few days since I wrote. It's been busy/hectic around the house, but Dan and I have also been focusing on our home, our pups and the wonderful weather. It's a happy time for us and we're really enjoying it.

First, a quick update on Zulu. Simply put, he's wonderful, he's happy and he's become a part of our clan very easily.

Zulu and Spot had a 10 second scuffle yesterday. Basically in play Spot nipped Zulu and Zulu came back at him and Spot grabbed his collar and scared him. The good news is all was forgiven in 1.5 minutes.

Over all, Dan and I are thrilled to have Zulu and it brings us joy to watch him playing, hanging and snuggling with us and the dogs. Today he'll come with over to a friend's house to celebrate the Fourth. Oh, another bonus, thanks to his breeder, fireworks don't bother him in the least - thank you Barb!!!!

So yesterday we had 60 tons of dirt delivered - 6 dump truck loads to spread around our property . I hired 3 laborers to help us and they were amazing. I would highly recommend this type of help for anyone who tackles such a large project like we did. Most of the dirt went out to the pasture area since there were several places that were hilly and holey. My goal has been to bring in dirt to flatten and level a few places, especially in the Agility area. Amazingly enough, I'm afraid we may need more dirt, but we'll figure it out tomorrow when we're done spreading the last 1.5 truck loads.

As for today, we're doing NOTHING! To say we're sore is an understatement. The laborers completely put us to shame on the physical work. Just another reason to hit the gym!

We've had a nice day relaxing and playing with the dogs. It's fun to see Zulu blossom and to see Ru play so much and continue to build muscle. With her body structure and short coat, it's easy to see each chiseled muscle and she looks so darned good! Wish someone would throw a ball for me and ration out my food : )

Any way, Happy Fourth everyone!