ResqTails

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.

My cold seems to be giving me a little break during the days now. Just recurring at night to keep me awake coughing, but I’m grateful for the improvement!

In the meantime, I’ve had time to do some thinking. I know that one of the areas my training can use improvement is in taking the dogs to places away from home (other than classes), to help them generalize behaviors. For some of the dogs, it isn’t a huge problem, but for others…I think it has the potential to really make me regret my lack of motivation. So, I’m challenging myself to take the dogs to a different place to train, once a week.

Today we went to a place we’ve never trained before. It was great! I took the weaves and jump for Layla, and my friend brought her ring gates to work obedience. Layla came out and did the weaves like a pro. I put her away and worked with Dare for a bit on some obedience and then got Layla out again. I asked for my friend to stand close to where we were weaving to serve as a distraction. I’m super happy to report that Layla went to visit her quickly right away, but once we started weaving, she stayed focused and did great! So, maybe we’re on to something. It may not be the newest theory on how to treat acne but I think it might be a successful theory on how to improve our training.

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

So, there is discussion on one of the lists that I’m on about how entries/support in some of the various Obedience venues in Utah seems to be dwindling lately. Specifically in regards to ASCA and UKC obedience. The discussion seems to branching out into the other dog sports too though, including agility, and field trials.

When Zoe and I first got involved in Agility we competed in NADAC/ASCA. It was a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere and we had enough trials within driving distance to make it possible to title and progress. Then those two venues split. In Utah it seemed that most of the clubs decided to still offer ASCA, not NADAC. That was fine with me. However, by that time, I’d ILP’d Zoe and had started competing in AKC. Although AKC intimidated me initially, I found that it actually was a great fit for us. There is more of it offered in Utah than anything else, (in fact more than I can afford to do now). So we switched our focus to AKC, and it’s been a good decision for us. We’ve had a lot of fun and success in AKC.

When I got involved with Obedience, I stuck with AKC. I did try other venues, but I didn’t really pursue it. I’ve tried to figure out why, but I don’t really know. It’s certainly not that I don’t like them. I like the variety of exercises in UKC and I like the fact that in ASCA obedience the stays are first, rather than last. But in the end, I’ve stuck with AKC.

In agility, we have AKC, USDAA, ASCA, DOCNA, and now there is another new agility venue attempting to start up here, UKI. I am going to take Layla to their funmatch in June, but I honestly I’m doing it more for the experience of getting Layla to a funmatch than to really get involved in another venue. Maybe if I saved a ton of money on whole life insurance quotes I’d have enough money to branch out into more venues again. LOL

Sadly, though I don’t expect any miracles and I don’t think I’m alone in my lack of extra finances or time right now. I love the options of all the venues and I don’t want to see any of them disappear, but I don’t realistically think that I will be doing much to support them. This year I am doing all three of the local ASCA agility trials with Zoe, and I did the DOCNA agility trial to qualify for Championships, but that’s going to be the extent of my entries into other venues I’m afraid. Anyway, those are my rambling thoughts for this morning. Back to training this afternooon…

Talk about a grab bag of stuff today. LOL First, I got a call from a friend that is trying to get her puppies out and about to as many new places as she can. She heard there was a carnival in town and thought it would be a new experience for the puppies. So, I drove into town and met her there. Well, the problem was that even though they set up the carnival yesterday, they weren’t opening it till 4:00 pm today. Bleh. So, the carnival was somewhat of a bust, except that we got to walk around some really odd looking things in that park.

Then we went to another park to train for a while. All the dogs did well and we had a few distractions which is always nice.

Then back to the house for lunch and to take care of the boarders. I figured I better keep working on the Distance Drills, so I did take Layla out and did the same drill as yesterday, but with a different obstacle. The weave poles were already out in the yard, so I decided to try to accomplish two things at once. I’ve been working on Layla’s weaves, thankfully…she did great on both the distance and the weaving part. Woot! I didn’t have time to set up the camera though. Sorry. I think tomorrow I’ll try then next step of the distance drills and I’ll try to get video.

Later in the afternoon I went down and picked up my friend and her puppies and we went to Parowan for a puppy play day. It was fun. Nothing really formal about it, but it’s a nice opportunity to get together with other puppies and work on whatever everyone feels they need help with. I have to say, I enjoy the play days, but it sure does make for a long day by the time I get home. I feel like I’ve been running all day. No need for Lipofuze today.

So, I’ll start off with “the good”. We got to spend yesterday at another Stacy Peardot-Goudy workshop. The weather was pretty nice in the morning…while I was auditing. That all changed though as soon as the afternoon session was about to begin. A rain and hailstorm rolled in and stayed the rest of the afternoon. Thankfully, they had the workshop at a location with the option of moving inside a barn if needed. I was so grateful for that! Regardless of the weather, the training sequences were challenging and fun. I have to say that Stacy really has a talent for making you feel at ease, and yet being able to push you outside your comfort zone in your normal handling.

Another good thing from yesterday was that Layla seemed to be back to herself in regards to people. She was more than happy to go visiting everyone. I had been really worried that she was going to have trouble with this because on Sunday we had gone out of town for the day. I had a friend stop by the house to let the dogs out and she said that Layla gave her trouble when she tried to get her to come back inside the house. Even with treats, she apparently was slinking up and grabbing the treat and then jerking backwards, so she couldn’t touch her. I still don’t understand what is going on. I mean I would have assumed that she would have been more comfortable here on Sunday with someone that is familiar, than up at the workshop yesterday, but it wasn’t the case. Go figure.

Now for “the bad”. Even though Layla seemed comfortable with the people at the workshop, she didn’t seem relaxed to me when we were running the courses. She got a little sniffy a couple times, which I think were signs of stress, and she had problems weaving again. Everyone at the workshop is really sweet and they kept saying that her weaves looked better than last time. The thing is that the last time we were there, she did 3 sets of 12 weave poles without any trouble, and then she started bobbling. This time, she never did do a complete set of 12 on the first attempt and eventually Stacy just had me take her through 6 poles to help her be successful. So, in my mind, her weaves were much worse this time. I finally asked Stacy if I should put the guides back on the weaves at home for a while and see if that helps. She said that would be a good idea. I think it’s just a green dog problem and the fact that we haven’t been able to weave in places other than at home hasn’t helped. Now that the weather is getting better I’m going to make a point of getting out and training other places again.

And for “the ugly”. I have decided after my drive home last night that the “ugliness” is mostly coming from inside my head. The last few weeks with Layla acting strange have really freaked me out. I know it’s not reasonable, but I get so worried that these recent sensitivities and quirks that are showing up might be an indication of her becoming more reactive like Rogue. I don’t think I could handle going down that road again. In fact, I know that I just don’t have it in me to deal with another reactive/sensitive dog right now. I wish there was some easy way to change a thought process once your stuck in it, like just clicking a button. I guess that kind of solution only works if you’re looking to clear up your acne problem though. click here Since I know there isn’t a magic button, I’m just trying really hard to remind myself to live in the present, not relive things that happened in the past. Too bad my mind doesn’t work more like the dogs in that respect. LOL

So, we went back up to my friend’s house to train today. I was hoping to see if we would have a repeat of last week, or if she’d be back to her normal self. So, same building, same people as last week, and just as I was hoping…the same little girl stopped by after school to visit with the dogs. The good news is that today, Layla was much more focused. She was still very, very noise sensitive today, but she was eager to work. It was a huge improvement over last week.

There was one little incident that was pretty unexpected. One of the Malinois puppies, grabbed the string on the helium balloon that was serving as a distraction on the edge of the area where we were training. The puppy took off running as fast as she could with her prize, but then the string tangled around a hind leg and then she spooked. Ugh! She was darting around the building with the balloon “chasing” her. With Layla being sound sensitive, she was a little spooked. Fortunately, both Layla and the puppy were confident enough to investigate the balloon after a while. So, I don’t think any permanent damage was done. My friend said that she thinks Layla is probably just going through a stage where we need to take it easy and not work on anything new, just work on maintaining things that she’s already confident about.

These puppies are sure making training days more lively. I sure am glad they are past that really wild, chewing and biting stage. No protective clothing is necessary anymore. LOL The last male in the litter is flying out to his new home on Sat. I get to ride along to take him to the airport. He’s going to a great home, I’m really happy for him.

It’s shaping up to be a great week in lots of ways! For one, the weather is getting better. Walks for the last two days have been really nice. Today I only wore a fleece jacket and midway through the walk, I took it off. This is the first day this year that I’ve be able to be outside in a t-shirt! Woohoo!

My husband’s new job is going really well too. I guess the employee that he replaced did nothing, so everyone is absolutely thrilled that something is finally getting done. One of the first things that the principal of the school said she’d like to see happen is to have the tv taken out of what is now my husband’s office. Apparently the old head custodian just sat in there and watched tv instead of working. Can you imagine?! I can’t, and neither could my husband. He took the tv that day. Anyway, the schedule is working well too. He’s got lots more time in the afternoon now. He keeps talking about trying to lose weight, so I asked him if he wanted to join us on our walk today, but he said he’d done enough walking at work. I think that he’d rather just find some miraculous weight loss products that didn’t require exercise and eating well. Wouldn’t we all? LOL

I’m still working on Layla’s contacts and weaves. I need to get started back up on her jump work too. (Maybe next week) I’m also thinking about entering her in the Utah Sheltie Specialty in Rally the first part of May, so I guess I better dig up some sample courses and see what we need to work on. Tomorrow we are supposed to go train with my friend that had the litter of Malinois puppies. Training should be returning to normal now that she’s down to the puppies that she’s keeping for herself.

I’m trying to convince myself about trying out a new schedule starting tomorrow. I was thinking that it’d be a good idea to try to get up earlier with my husband and maybe walk the dogs first thing in the morning. The problem is that I’m not great at getting up early. Odd, really because I’m not really a night owl either. Add to that, the fact that they are forecasting more storms for tonight, tomorrow and Tues. isn’t giving me any needed motivation. I sure wish spring would come and stay. Instead we seem to be getting storms every couple of days and in between wind and just enough sun to help the weeds grow, but not enough to make it pleasant to be outside.

A couple years ago I got into a really good habit of walking the dogs everyday, regardless of the weather. We went rain, snow, wind, whatever. The dogs didn’t care and really once I got in the habit, neither did I. Since then though, I guess I’ve gotten lazy. Why is it so darn hard to get into a good habit, and so easy to slip back into the old bad ones? LOL Well, one thing is for sure. Whether I get myself out the door to walk the dogs early in the morning or not…I probably won’t be online looking for any pronexin acne cures. If the weather is really yucky, I’ll just work on my schoolwork and the dogs will have to settle for training inside again.

So, I spent the better part of yesterday trying to figure out how to edit video to play in slow motion. I downloaded a couple programs, couldn’t figure out what I was doing and finally looked again at the program I had, and noticed that it was an option on there, but I’d just overlooked it before. What a dork! Seemed to be a theme yesterday. I was absolutely oblivious. I got the funniest video of Dare training that shows just what I mean.

I did get around to editing Layla’s video from the last couple days into slow motion though too. I think that I really like her striding better with just 2 stride regulators than 3. The slow motion really does help so that you can see things better. Here is that video.

In other news, my husband decided he’d better try to finish up the project for his mom that he was working on. So, he called her to see if he could come down today and install the cabinets. She said no. She hasn’t painted the wall behind where the cabinets go yet. It drives me crazy. She’s been asking him to do this job for a while now, and he didn’t have the time when he was working full time. Now that he has the time, she just keeps coming up with things to stall the progress. I don’t think she’s even thinking that if he does get the part time job at Home Depot it’s going to make it harder for him to come down to install the cabinets and cut out the countertop for her Franke sinks. Oh well, once again, I’m worrying about something that no one else seems to even give a second thought about. You’d think I’d learn, but apparently not. LOL