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

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.

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…

I thought I’d set up the first drill today from the beginner’s day of that Jim Basic distance seminar that we audited last year. For sure I’ll work it with Layla, and I might even see what Zoe thinks of it too. We’ll see how it goes. I have every intention of my younger dogs having better distance training than Zoe got in the beginning. I’ll try to set up the camera and post something later on this evening.

Here’s one of the Standard runs from Saturday.

And here is one of her Jumpers runs from Saturday.

In other news…my husband went into the cabinet shop the other day to pick up something, and he got some really sad news. I guess they are finishing up a couple final jobs, and then they are closing their doors permanently. I’m so relieved that my husband was able to find a job when he did. At the same time, it’s just heartbreaking to think of the situation that his old boss is in now. He and his family are absolutely wonderful people. I really, really hope that something works out for them soon!

It’s always fun to catch with everyone and hear all the new dog news. A friend of ours is expecting puppies. That’s always exciting news, but at the same time, I’m glad it’s not me having to worry about prenatal vitamins and all that kind of stuff. I just like getting to play with the puppies that someone has to do all the work and worry about.

Zoe q’d in 5 of the 6 classes we ran today, one of them even being a Gamblers class. That’s the hardest one for us. I was really happy about that run. I did get some video of a few of the classes, but I haven’t had a chance to upload what we got yet. Maybe tomorrow after I get home, I’ll get the runs up for the weekend.

After the trial I took the dogs on a walk, thought I’d give Dare a chance to burn off some energy since she didn’t get to do much while Zoe was running at the trial. I got some fun pictures of Zoe along the way. I think she had a pretty good day.

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. 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…

Anyway, I think if Zoe could speak to me she’d probably tell me “Mom, why don’t you just relax, maybe spend some time searching for some equestrian clothing or dog agility equipment, or youtube videos…” Pretty much anything else that might distract me from bathing her. LOL Sadly for Zoe, I was able to fight the gravitational pull of the computer chair today long enough to get the girls bathed. I couldn’t resist taking a picture because I think she’s she’s so funny when she’s all wet though. She didn’t think it was quite as funny as I did.

Fortunately, both Zoe and Twist are in really great shape for their age. Some of the dogs that were also 9 years old looked lethargic and arthritic, and I probably would have assumed that they were much older than 9 if I didn’t know them personally. I don’t know if I’m just in denial that my dogs are getting older or what, but I don’t think either Zoe and Twist look like that. Zoe is starting to get a few white hairs in her muzzle, but she can still give me a run for my money on the agility course. Twist for his part is just ageless. I don’t think the passing of time has any effect on him. LOL He seems the same today as he did the day I got him from the shelter.

For that matter, Penny and Lucy are doing really well for their age too. Penny is 12 now and Lucy is 11. I can see on long walks that Penny doesn’t have as much energy as she used to, and she doesn’t seem as interested in giving jack rabbits a good game of chase like she did when she was younger, but she’s still very active. No signs of arthritis for her. Lucy is like Twist. I don’t think she’ll be needing any life insurance leads any time soon. She can still clear the 3 foot fence with ease, (much to my dismay!)

Anyway, I guess it should just be a wake up call for me to appreciate the good health that all our dogs seem to be enjoying. I really shouldn’t take it for granted.

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!