Tag Archives: Raven

Training Challenge…Week One

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As planned we went somewhere different to train on Friday. Not part of the plan was the rain. So, Dare and Raven got to do some agility in the rain, and the good news is that none of us melted even though we got pretty wet. LOL Actually I think the dogs liked it being a little cool. Dare has been to this place before, but just as an observer when Layla was working at the agility field. Raven has never been to this site. Both took it in stride. I was really happy with them both. :-)

I do have to say that even though it was a new location for the girls…I don’t think it was a huge challenge, because the only other person there was a friend of ours. I think for Raven especially I still should try to get to more typical park settings, with new people milling around and kids, etc.

Today was the UKI funmatch. Raven was the only one entered. It was held at a place she’s never been, but again she did well. Her biggest issues where not with the new location, but with the judge moving in closer to be able to see her contacts. Raven came to a near standstill on both the A-frame and the dogwalk. I think it’s just a matter of getting her used to someone else being out on the course with us. Definitely one of the disadvantages to training alone a lot. Other than the space issues with the judge though Raven did a really nice job. :-) I didn’t get any video. Sorry!

We were going to let Dare meet some sheep today, but the person with the sheep was sick. :-( So, that will have to wait for another day. We did have a good lesson with our obedience instructor yesterday though.

There is also progress on the fence project. I’ll try to get some pictures tomorrow. :-)

Distance Drills With Motion

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So, today’s drills proved to be quite a bit more difficult than the previous ones. Isn’t that always the way it works when you start adding motion and a little speed to things? What was once so clear and simple can turn into a real mess. :-) All in all though, the girls did really well.

On her first run through, Raven apparently thought that my hand signal for the “out jump” looked enough like the obedience hand signal to drop into a down, so instead of going “out”, she went “down”. I had a devil of a time convincing her that we weren’t doing obedience signals. LOL Once she figured out what I was asking for though, she did great.

Zoe on the other hand, is still convinced that she already knows everything. So, I got another earful of her opinionated banter in between each portion of the drill. Amazing to me how quiet my younger girls are when I work with them. Despite her sass though, Zoe is still my favorite dog to run.

Layla did good for such a youngster. I think as she matures more and we run together more she’s really going to be lots of fun! One thing that I do notice in watching Layla’s videos, (not just in this one), is how much I lose her in between training. :-( I could really do a better job of keeping her engaged with me in between going from the finish of one thing to the start of the next. It seems to me that the new book I got, Agility Right From the Start talks about that training issue. I haven’t had much time to read anything lately though. Guess I need to make some time. I’ll let you know if I find anything helpful. At any rate, here is Layla’s video.

With all these videos that I’ve been taking lately, I’ve been thinking that I need to sort through my pictures and videos. They are both really starting to get out of control. Maybe make up some slide show of the pictures, and just get the videos organized into a better filing system. It sure does turn into a daunting task in a short period of time. LOL

More Distance Drill Stuff

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Today I thought I’d set up a different obstacle to work on the second drill some more with the girls. I was lazy as usual, and I thought that I’d cheat a bit. Instead of hauling out two different obstacles, I thought I’d make use of one with two ends. LOL Actually, I thought it would be a good idea anyway, since a lot of times you have to discriminate between ends of a tunnel on course, even when it’s not a gamble. So, this is just basically the same drill as I posted last time with the jumps, using the tunnel entrances.

First, Layla…

Then Raven…

Then Zoe…

Sorry, if it’s so repetitive. Don’t feel like you have to watch the same drill over and over and over with each of the dogs. I just like being able to see the similarities and differences of each one doing the same drill. The next part of the drills start to incorporate motion on the handlers’ part. Should be fun! I really should spend some time inside cleaning house at some point too, rather than just out playing with the dogs. Next thing you know I’ll need some hospital disinfectant to get things clean around here.

Distance Drill 1

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So, if my memory and notes serve me correctly…the first distance drill only involved one obstacle. In this case I used a jump, but I also remember him having several stations set up and one would be with a tunnel, one with a tire, etc. So, I should probably make a point of switching obstacles out so that the dogs generalize what we’re doing to any obstacle.

Anyway, back to the drill. It just involves setting the dog almost in line with the obstacle, with enough space left between for you to set yourself up in what forms almost a triangle with the dog and the obstacle. You are a little ways out to the side of where the dog is positioned. I don’t know if that makes sense or not now that I’m typing it. Once you’re in position you take a step in the direction of the obstacle and the dog, hold your arm out and tell the dog “out over”. As soon as they’ve committed to the obstacle you toss a reward in front of it.

Gradually you increase the distance to the side of the obstacle where the dog is and also where you are, so that they have to actually seek out the obstacle. Still with me? I’m not the best at explaining this. Anyway, I took Layla, Zoe, and Raven out and did this drill. They were all doing really well. Raven especially. Here’s the video…

First Layla…

Then Zoe…

Then Raven…

I have Dare to thank for all the obnoxious barking commentary in the background of the videos. She wasn’t happy in the least that she was inside while they were playing. I don’t think any eczema treatment will help with barking, or maybe I’d be looking into buying some.

I need to look at my notes, but I think all the girls are ready to move on to the next distance drill. If I remember right, they got much more difficult pretty quickly. Stay tuned…

Sheltie Ears

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Everyone knows that if you’re looking for those appropriately tipped, beautifully groomed sheltie ears, you won’t find it here. Twist and Layla both have prick ears, Raven has these really heavy, almost Aussie looking ears and Zoe has one tipping and one not most of the time. The only thing I can say in my defense is that they are all brushed and you won’t find any mats in those ears. You can see what I mean in this picture from back in December. I can almost feel the real sheltie people out there cringing already. LOL

When Dare came along and her breeder showed me how to get her ears to tip nicely, I was happy to oblige, although I really don’t think having tipped ears or not is earth shattering in and of itself. I really kind of figured that if I got the ears to tip, (which we did) that would be the last of the ear discussion I’d hear. Well…I was wrong. As of late, the hair on her ears has gotten a bit out of control. Here’s what I mean…

Several people have recently brought it to my attention that I really need to trim up these out of control ears. :-P I find the thought a little daunting. I have visions of how my own hair has looked after I’ve attempted to “trim” it myself. LOL I’m convinced that if I tackle this on my own, Dare is going to look like the moths have been chewing on her ears.

No more procrastinating though. Today is the day. Nope, we’re not in a quest for diets for quick weight loss today. Today Dare is having pictures done with her friend Jet and I decided to break down and get her groomed up and get those cute little tipping ears looking proper again. I will tell you that I’m not doing it myself though. I’m taking her to a groomer friend and hopefully she’ll give me a little hands on tutorial on what to do. Stay tuned for how the ear “make-over” turns out…

Utah Sheltie Specialty

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I have such good news! Twist earned his first CDX leg today! Not only that, but he also took High in Trial today! I am so proud of my boy. He has come so far from the dog that we first brought home from the shelter 6 1/2 years ago. I would have thought you were crazy at that point if you had told me that he would be doing Obedience, and that he would have TWO High in Trials. I’m just thrilled. :-)

Raven also qualified in Rally today. So, that finished her Novice Rally title. She finished with a first place too! Best of all, she was comfortable and happy in the ring. It’s so nice to see her looking like she does at home when she’s working. She can do some really cute work, but I think her nerves were just getting the best of her for a while there. Maybe she’s grown out of that now.

So, one of the really fun things about the Specialty is all the special prizes. Our friend that organizes the Obedience portion of the specialty each year does a fantastic job! She makes sure that no one goes home empty handed, and usually you leave with so many things that you have trouble getting it all in the car! Makes for a nice relaxed, cheerful atmosphere at the show. No need for wrinkle creams to get rid of frown lines at this show! Everyone leaves with a smile on their face. This year, Twist got the special prizes, (but he’s sharing with his sisters). Here’s some pictures from today!

Twist getting his High in Trial ribbon!!!

Twist and Raven posing with all their goodies

I Need Another 24 Hours

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It’s nearly 11 pm and I still don’t have everything ready that I need to get done before I leave in the morning for the Sheltie Specialty. Bleh. It wasn’t like I sat around all day reading noxycut review. Things just didn’t go smoothly today. On a good note though, I did get the dogs nails done and they are all clean and ready to go. We did get to the park and did some training with Raven and Twist. Twist had some bright spots, and some not so bright spots. I’ll just have to hope he got all his goofiness out today and that he’ll be ready to show tomorrow.

Anyway, I think I’ve had about all the fun I can take for today. Gotta try to get some rest so I can get up early and drive to Salt Lake. I’ll post tomorrow about how everything goes at the specialty! :-)

Off and Running

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This week is off to a running start. I think I got lulled into a nice zone of relaxation after the stretching seminar this last weekend. Now it’s hit me…I only have today and tomorrow to get everything together to leave again for the Sheltie Specialty on Wednesday. LOL I have to finish getting the two prize baskets done that I agreed to make up for the Obedience trial. I can’t even remember what prizes they are for. High Scoring Sheltie with a Herding title and maybe the High Scoring Sheltie that is a therapy dog? Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter as long as they have something fun to receive for participating in the trial. :-) Here’s what I’ve got so far.

I also have to remember to pack up the items that were donated for the Sheltie Rescue of Utah raffle. Good thing I’m writing this post, since as I’m writing I’m adding to my packing list. LOL I got to serve as the Southern Utah drop off point for people this year and we got some nice dog beds and fleece blankets donated. I think it was a small pittance of what the Northern Utah drop offs received, but that’s ok. The person in charge said there was such a great response, she may have enough items to do more than one raffle. So, that’s good news for Sheltie Rescue!

I suppose I should probably try to get in some last minute training with both Twist and Raven, since he’s in Open A Wed. and Thurs. and Raven is entered in Rally. Which reminds me…I need to get to the post office and see if my trial confirmation has arrived for Thurs. yet. If not, I better contact Onofrio and see what’s going on. They’ve cashed my check for my entry, so I assume I’m entered, but it’s getting pretty late to not have the judging schedule and confirmation here yet.

I need to get the boarders information organized so I can get some help in here mid day on Wed. and Thurs. while my husband is at work. Bleh. That’s always a pain. I won’t complain too much though, since it’s nice to have boarders. I don’t think there is going to be much extra time to sit around and learn more about the latest acne treatments, that’s for sure.

I have to call my house cleaning account and see if they want me to come clean this week too. I kind of hope they want to wait a week, but at the same time, the extra money is always nice. Anyway…enough rattling on for now, I’ve got to get busy finishing up some of these things before it’s Tues. night and I’m wondering what happened to all my time.

We’ve Had Company!

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So, it’s been a busy week so far. We had a friend come visit and she brought her adorable girl Maizey along with her. We spent the week taking walks, doing a little bit of training, taking pictures in the mountains, visiting my parents farm and just relaxing in the evenings! I think we talked about every topic pertaining to pets that you can possibly think of.

Maizey and Layla hit it off like they’d known each other forever. Here’s a picture of Layla, Dare and Maizey up the mountains.

Then we went to the lake. Maybe we could have packed some lifejackets for pets, but everyone seemed to do just fine without them. Penny didn’t seem to want to swim much, but I don’t think she needed a lifejacket. I just think she got sick of Zoe and Raven barking out instructions on how to swim out and retrieve the sticks, while they waited at the shore. :-)

Then we went to my parents farm and visited all the spring babies and also all their dogs. Do you think we could find a few more professional beggers to join this motley crew?

After such a busy day, we came home exhausted. Well, I guess not all the dogs were exhausted, but I know the people were. LOL I spent a good portion of the rest of the evening searching for the best shampoos for pets, after all the sights and smells that the dogs had been busy investigating that day.

Anyway, we sure did enjoy being able to get out and enjoy the nice sunny day with good friends!

Weird, Weird, Weird

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Today was just weird. It didn’t start out that way though. In fact, this week has been going pretty well really. It all seemed to get weird in the afternoon. I guess it all started about 1:00. I was waiting for a client to come and drop off their dogs. They finally came about 1:30, but when I came in I had huge puddle of water on the kitchen floor. From the soaking wet legs on Raven, I figured that she must have dumped the water, but the weird thing was that the waterer was still upright, so she apparently just dug a couple gallons on water onto the floor. WEIRD!

I let the dogs outside to play for a while in the nice sunny weather, and I went out to clean up the yard about 3:30. This time I was greeted by a totally muddy Raven. Her legs, belly, and even her nose were muddy and gross because she had gotten into the pond that was drained and that has accumulated rain and guck and leaves and disgusting goo over the winter. I thought that was really bizarre too, I mean what in the world is up with her? WEIRD!!

When I let the dogs back into house, I washed Raven’s still muddy legs and then went out to train with Layla and Dare. Well, this time when I came back in, my husband was doing exactly what I had done earlier in the afternoon, he was mopping up a lake of water in the kitchen again. While we were standing there Raven went right back over the waterer and started digging in it. That was just too weird for me. None of our dogs dig in the water. Granted Raven is an odd duck sometimes, but she doesn’t dig in the waterer. Anyway, it occurred to me while I was standing there watching her, that she seemed to be trying to get a drink, but was not able to. Like she was digging at the water out of frustration. I had a thought. I wondered if she was able to move her mouth correctly. So, I offered her a treat. She tried to take it, but there was definitely something wrong. Like her mouth wouldn’t open right. WEIRD!!!

So, by this time it was 6:00 (of course). Nothing like this ever happens during normal business hours. Anyway, I scooped her up, didn’t bother to call the vet, just thought if I drove fast enough, I might still catch someone there. I was in such a hurry that I forgot to grab a leash, and when my phone rang at the vet’s office, I couldn’t answer it. Come to find out, I had my own phone, but had also grabbed my husband’s phone too. Then I didn’t know which one was ringing and couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t answer when I pushed the buttons. LOL What a dork!

Well, turns out that it was something relatively simple. Thank goodness. It turned out to be a piece of what I think was a cow hoof. It was wedged between a couple of her back molars which kept her from being able to close her mouth. I am so relieved that it wasn’t something more. I can only imagine how uncomfortable she must have been though. Poor girl. While she was sedated, I had them pull another tooth in the front that was loose and had been growing out past all the other teeth. So, Raven is spending a quiet evening recovering tonight, but I imagine she’ll be much happier tomorrow.

In other weird news….my husband finally got a call from Home Depot for a second interview. They told him that they’d like to hire him, he just needed to do their drug test and have a background check. So he agreed, but here’s the weird part. I asked him what position they were offering him for, he didn’t know. I asked him how much they pay, he didn’t know. Am I the only person out there that would ask those things? I mean I understand those aren’t the first question you burst out with in an initial interview maybe, but I think they are certainly reasonable if they offer you a job. LOL I think it’s just WEIRD!!!! Oh, and they only hire part-time for like a three month period. Which I guess is fine, as long as it doesn’t affect the unemployment. Who knows…maybe it will be a good thing to do right now, while he looks for something else.

Anyway, that’s my weird day.