May 2008Monthly Archives

Flyball Demo Today

Today Chase, Tatum and I went and did a flyball demo with the Thunder Paws, our flyball team here in Utah. It was a lot of fun! Chase did a great job, and we even recruited someone to take some pictures while Chase was running! I usually am taking the pictures and so I don’t get any of Chase. So I’m excited to have these of Chase doing flyball.

He is such a good boy, and so very fast! We went to Strut Your Mutt.. which was okay, but my dogs don’t usually do very well there. Tatum didn’t like the loud music. She didn’t want to take treats, either. But we walked around some and when the loud music stopped she was okay and took treats. And she liked the Bearded Collie who we met who wanted to play with Tatum!

Chase only snarked at a couple of dogs that got in his face when we were walking around. Unfortunately many people don’t understand that other dogs may not be all that friendly, even when their own dogs are friendly. Chase is a good boy, though, and I usually watch him and control him pretty well. And we didn’t walk around too much. I did get lucky with him, though.. he is a good boy, the sounds didn’t bother him, and he loved the flyball and Course A Lure. He also did the little agility field they had set up, and his contacts were great! I’m glad when I can practice his contacts!

And I do like to get Tatum out as much as I can to get her socialized. Poor dear. Her tail was sucked under her a bit, but she was very brave. Oh, and I have to post about her agility obstacle training last night! She did great, I was so excited! That’s for a post of it’s own, though. Tonight I’m going to a movie with a friend, hopefully I won’t eat too much popcorn… but I do need some time without the dogs. As strange as that is! I do love them all, though!

Tomorrow, Sunday, I actually have no dog things planned. Plus, it’s a down day for me. I haven’t had a down day in like six weeks. So tomorrow is it. I’m sorry to everyone who I said no to about doing things, but I really do need to take some time for myself! I might take the border collies jogging, though. In the morning. It’s so nice outside. I love being outside. Maybe I’ll even do some yard work.. or clean the bathroom. Even though I don’t really like cleaning the house, I like having a clean house… and sometimes I just enjoy being in the house and experiencing it. And cleaning it up works for that. LOL

Cynthia

May 31, 2008

Chase, Flyball, Tatum

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Chase, Flyball, Tatum

Chase in Course A’ Lure

We went to do a flyball demo today at Strut Your Mutt, the local big huge dog walk for raising funds for No More Homeless Pets in Utah. Our flyball team, Thunder Paws, had fun and everyone did great! Chase had a good time, too.

Chase got to do Course A’ Lure as well, and he just loves it! Maybe he has some sight hound in there after all. Good thing this is on grass, because indoors would need steam cleaners when it’s all over, those dogs are a mess!

Check Out Resq Tails!

So my good friend who I often do agility with, and travel with, has started her new blog! I hope you will all go and visit. She trains shelties, and mostly rescue shelties, and she’s going to be blogging about her training experiences. She is an awesome trainer and a great dog person!

I hope you will go and check out her blog and leave her a comment! Her blog is called Resq Tails. And you can meet her crew, she has more dogs than I do. And maybe using a Chanel J12 watch will keep us up to date on all the cool Sheltie things!

Mini A-Frame and Tatum

Okay so today I only have to work 2 hours, from home, because it’s a holiday week and I get 8 of my 40 as the holiday. Woot. So I brought Tatum out back and we did some work on the little A-Frame my husband and I built a couple of years ago. Doesn’t she look cute? First I laid it on the ground flat, because it’ll do that, and got her on it with clicks and treats. She thinks walking on things is great fun and is eager to do it. Her first couple attempts were not too straight, but we will be working on that. Gotta get her lined up straight and early and two on two off right from the get to. Foundation work is so important!

After she was getting on it with confidence and gusto, I held her back on the other side of the frame and said “Ready…” and then let her go, and off she went! And she was pretty fast too, for her first time. No slowing her down! We want speed speed speed for this collie girl’s agility.

So four our foundation work, we really want speed on the A-Frame, while we have control at the same time. And a good solid 2 On 2 Off. Yeah… I’m going to do the 2o2o method, because I think it’s so very clear for the dogs to learn and adhere too. I know Tatum’s back isn’t all that flexible for her to be posed like that, but I think she’ll be okay.

We also did some jumps to the target, which was fun. And I know I know, I need to practice handling her on the flat. Having her watch my body language. And eye contact. We are working on eye contact in the mornings before work a lot. And I need to trim her goofy long nails, so now at dinner all the time I’m feeding her and handling her feet.

So much to do! I hope she’s not 10 by the time I get it all done!

Cynthia

May 28, 2008

Agility, Daily Posts, Tatum

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Agility, Tatum, Training

Itching, Scratching, and Sneezing

Okay I admit it, our house isn’t the cleanest in the world. LOL.. it’s not that it’s filthy or there is food laying around and rotting. That’s just gross. But we have six dogs and two cats, and we do have a lot of animal hair floating about because we really hate to vacuum. And I wonder, often, if our air is dirty and we could use and air purifier for pets. And for people, too, of course.

Maybe an air purifier for pets would help my husband and I, too, with our stuffy noses. And he has allergies which bug him quite often. But he loves the cats and the dogs and so he puts up with it.

There are a lot of different kinds of air purifier for pets, I wonder what is the best.. I’m going to have to go and do some research to find out.

Training Plans

First off… this is Kiwi. Isn’t he a doll? I love Kiwi, he lives with a friend of mine from Colorado. This is just a lucky shot, I do think. The weather was bad and there was so much going on this weekend I didn’t get many pictures taken. I needed some shower chairs because I was sitting in a rain shower all day Monday. But it sure was pretty.

Anyway so I have to have a training plan for Levi and Chase in agility. I need to fix Levi’s weaves up again… which I am confident I can do. He’s already in the June trial, but I don’t know if I’ll enter him in July or not. It depends what I can do with him in the next couple of weeks. And my obedience instructor (who also helps me with agility) has some ideas too, I get to hear them tomorrow as we are going to go to the practice field and try them out. Levi would, seriously, Q every run if he would weave!

And Chase… Chase has a couple of problems I need to work. Well, actually, three. For the first time he broke his start line stay this weekend. On a couple of runs. So we need to work that. We also need to work weaving into a tunnel, he’ll pop his weaves to get into that tunnel. And we have to work contacts. These things are all pretty cut and dried. And doing this, I’m pretty darn sure we’ll start doing better too! I am really starting to figure out how to handle him. How much to push and pull, and really I have to figure it out on the fly, in the ring, because I just never know how energetic, and bratty, he’s gonna be in any particular day.

Too much fun. Work gets in the way!

Weaves, Articles, Money, Oh My

Well, it’s a three paycheck month for me, which is super nice. Plus I get some oncall pay this coming check, too. So… I’m going to be buying some extra agility and obedience equipment.

I am going to invest in a nice competition set of weaves. Metal base and all. And I think I’m also going to get some 2x2s for training. Mostly Tatum. And they are good to have and will last just about forever.

Also… I’m going to buy some articles for obedience. Scent articles, because me and the dogs need a good set! Plus, I’d love to start doing scent work with Levi with a good set. So much to do, so little time.

And if I have any money left over, I’m going to get some swimwear for my cruise in the fall.. however, I need to drop a few pounds first!

No Weaving for Levi

Ugh… doing AKC this weekend, AKC agility with my goofy collie boy Levi. And I entered Chase today and tomorrow. Chase did really well. His FAST run was beautiful, except that he fell off the dog walk. I think he was going to fast. But also, many of the dogs fell off, so something was going on with that darn dog walk. Chase is in excellent FAST and he tunnel sucks… the send was the dog walk, then he had to turn away from me to hit the tunnel. Well, he is a tunnel suck so it was perfect for him! But alas.. since he fell off, he didn’t get the send. But I did send him to that tunnel and he hit it perfect and I didn’t step over the line, either. LOL goof ball.

Levi isn’t weaving again. I actually wish I could pull him out of the June AKC agility trial. But it’s too late. He’s such a good boy, he knows how to weave, but we’ve always had weave problems and so they come back now and again. I need to work them, we haven’t all winter. And I need a good set of weaves. I have a recommendation from a guy who makes them in Idaho, so I’m hoping to get some from him pretty soon.

Other than that Levi is running great. Though today he had a bug, or something, and he stopped to itch on course and had a couple of refusals too, the dork. Oh well, it was a non-run. I even had on my designer jewelry, the necklace I got of Tatum… dangit I need to post a picture of that! It’s very gorgeous.. I hoped it would give me some good luck but… perhaps now. No Qs for us yet this weekend. One more day tomorrow!

After we went to dinner with some new friends from Colorado. They were all very nice! I gave then this blog address so maybe they will come visit and drop a hello in the comments!

I’m super tired now… going to bed!