Crates, Ex-Pens (X-Pens), and Harnesses

SUMMARY: The topic goes on and on

From comments on my posts from the previous 2 days--

RATZ -- I'm sure that I have some relevant photos, but they're old enough that they'd be on film, so I'll have to look thru albums and boxes and scan them in. Which I'm not going to do tonight, sooooo no photos mostly for now.

I responded to a comment on my post "About Crates vs X-Pens For Dogs, My History Thereof"  about a friend's dog and crates and all that, and that her Katie was annoyed that she didn't get to sit loose in the front seat--

Mean humans! 

I didn't start using crates in the car until I adopted Tika. 

Four or five years previously I had finally become smart about restraining dogs in the car, given how many miles I traveled with them and at odd hours and in all weather and a long way from home. Remington and Jake started riding in very sturdy, well-tested seatbelt harnesses and by the time Tika came home, they had become used to that restraint. They were getting up in age and so I didn't want to start trying to get them used to traveling in crates, although by then they were plenty accustomed to staying in crates at trials. (And Remington loved standing up the entire time we were driving, particularly looking for cows-- couldn't take him away from that.) 

In fact, getting Tika and deciding that all future dogs would travel in crates was the impetus to get a minivan instead of a fun-to-drive car like my prior ones. Sigh. Soooo practical--because a crate wouldn't fit into my four-door sedan along with 2 other dogs on seatbelts and all that agility gear. 

About whether to leave a dog in the car while, say, walking courses, or working in a different ring or whatnot: Getting a dog accustomed to being crated for longer times I think requires that the dog receive plenty of practice while they are aware of where you are and then gradually increasing times when they can't see you. At least, that's how it has worked for my previous dogs. Zorro and my late Chip haven't had nearly enough of that kind of practice. They'll sleep in crates in my bedroom at night, but if I get up and go downstairs, say in the middle of the night, without them, I don't trust them to not claw holes in the mesh of the soft crates. 

Which Remington did the first time I left him alone (with Jake) in my tent to walk to the nearest water faucet in the campground. 

Dogs.

But, yep, like Katie, they'd all rather be in the seats, preferably the front, if they had a choice.

Still, for a long time, if I were simply tooling around the area on errands, the  dogs could usually be trusted to be loose in the car so they could look out the windows. Although--lesson learned--one errand I thought would take me 15 minutes and instead became more like 3 hours, and Tika, alone in the car, explained that she didn't care for that so much.

I lived with this reminder for the next 11 years.

Then I noted:  Hmmm, this feels like I just wrote another related blog post right here! ... and so here it is--rewritten and expanded a bit! 

Things That Super Frightened My Pups

SUMMARY: Brave dogs, scardey dogs

I'm talking about things that are way outside the norm, things that could flat-out terrify them.

Who	What	Notes
Amber	Nothing that I remember
Sheba	Loma Prieta Earthquake and aftershocks	She'd lie on my chest for hours (45-lb husky), panting and shaking, eyes looking like she was going into shock. (Amber would just look up and go back to sleep)
Remington	Smoke alarm testing	He'd go hide in the farthest point of our long half-acre yard and not come out for ages
Jake	Nothing that I remember
Tika	Vet's office	In her last few years, would give her a little sedative ahead of time to take the edge off
Boost	Pet stores. Unfamiliar uncarpeted floors.	Various other random things
Chip	Thunder, fireworks	O...M...G
Zorro	Nothing that I can think of

Updating History

SUMMARY: Recreating photos of yesteryear.

Do you love the photos that people take while trying to recreate photos from their youth? Like this site(43 people who flawlessly recreated their childhood photos)--which has ads galore and you have to click to see each next one rather than them being on the same page, but wonderful photos!

Seems to me that I've attempted these things at random times in the past, but remember only a couple of recent ones, and they're not complete attempts to match clothing and location, just positions.

Fair warning, there is melancholy in these posts, as well as fun.

(1) Even 2 years ago we knew that we wouldn't be able to get my mom up to the top of this dome. Even less likely now.  Dad really wanted it to happen (he took the photo), but now he'll never see it even if we do successfully recreate the whole thing.  Above Olmsted Point in Yosemite.

1962-----

2013--

We had to convince dad 2 years ago that it was not the stroll in the park that he remembered from when he was in his 30s, and that he'd have a rough time of it and mom just wouldn't be able to do it unless someone carried her.  You ever think, in retrospect, that Dad wanted this photo so much that we should've found a way to get them  up there?  Well, I had a wonderful time the day that we found this spot and took this photo and I'll at least cherish that.  I wonder--any chance that we could get all 3 of the oldest of us up there AND find someone(s) to carry mom up?


-----------------------------------
(2)  When I learned that Boost would not be around much longer, I wanted to redo some of the old photos. This one, not in the same location, not with the same clothing, but the main characters are here.

2005

2015

And, of course, these (which I already posted back in January):

2002: Tika, Jake, Remington

2015: Tika, Boost, Chip, taken as I knew that Tika couldn't be around much longer. Already having trouble sitting comfortably--but she managed it for me, briefly. All three of them were such good dogs on this day.

So Many Things To Compare

SUMMARY: Comparing and contrasting. In a general sort of way.

I seem to spent a lot of mental energy--not at the forefront of my mind, but right behind it--comparing my various dogs and their behaviors before or after this that or the other thing.

Greeting me at the door:

• Tika, excited shrieking at the garage door
• Boost, barking and wagging like crazy at the garage door
• Chip, happy and wagging but no noise at the garage door as far as I can tell
• Chip after the other two are gone, wagging gently  at the garage door
• Chip after Luke arrived and is kept in his crate, standing at the top of the stairs near Luke's crate and watching me come in from the garage.

Stuff like that.

I sat on the glider in my yard briefly today. Poor thing, the wood is wearing out and probably should be replaced, but I'm not likely to do it. I used to sit on it all the time back at the previous house with a nice view of my garden and things going by in the street.  

Way back then, the late great Remington liked it, too, for sitting next to me or hunting—feet on the seat, paws on the back, scouting for squirrels (or barking at them if they were in the tree overhead). He remained oblivious to the rocking and shaking of the glider—scared the heck out of me, though, every time he'd see a squirrel in the distance and explode off of the glider, sending it reeling and crashing from side to side.

Chip--doesn't like things moving under him. Took weeks for him to finally get all 4 feet onto a wobble board (wouldn't stay there long or move much), and months for him to walk across a very low teeter.

But today, while I sat on the glider, he came on up next to me, one careful foot and one careful rebalance at a time. Stood there, legs shaking to try to stay balanced, then leaped off again. For a moment I had a flashback!

More Finchester Yellow Photos

SUMMARY: Such cuties.

Previous Finchester Yellow comparisons:

• Introducing the Finchester Yellow

Amber	Remington	Chip

The ears really tell the story.

Harder to tell in this photo: Amber is all yellow (no black on face), while Rem and Chip both have black muzzles.

Introducing: The Finchester Yellow

SUMMARY: Finally figured out my favorite breed's name.

In order: Amber (in 1981), Remington (in 1994), and Chip (in 2014).

(See photos of their faces.)

Lisa's Remington

SUMMARY: Well-taken care of.

I just saw this, posted on FB by the late Lisa's friend Mitzi:

As all of my agility friends know, we lost one of my best agility buddies yesterday. Lisa Pomerance was not only an agility friend, but a true friend in every way. I have shed many many tears, and I will continue to mourn the loss of my dear friend. Lisa had always said to me, if I die you have to take care of Remington for me.

I struggled yesterday trying to figure out what was best for him. Since [my current dog] and Remington are both "high needs" dogs, and I am getting a puppy in a few weeks, I knew I would not be the best choice. I have found him a loving home with my friend [name] who will treat Remington with the love and "cushy" life he is so accustomed to. I will also get to see my little Buddy Remington all the time!!! Thank you [Lisa's sister?] for allowing me to give Remington the life Lisa would have wanted for him.

Rest In Peace my beautiful friend Lisa, I will always love you, and I will always watch over Remington!

UPDATE April 20:

Lisa collected hedgehog toys and accessories for Remington (I didn't know this until yesterday), so a friend suggested that we post hedgehog photos in our Facebook profiles in her memory. Here's mine--some of Jake's leftover favorite nubbie squeakies.

A sad Saturday

SUMMARY: R.I.P. Lisa P.

One of our agility friends signed up for this weekend. Posted on facebook that she'd be there today. Checked out the field ahead of time to be sure that the nasty burr-weeds wouldn't be there to hurt her Papillon, Remington's, feet and posted about that.

August 2013

She didn't show up this morning. One of her friends became concerned when she couldn't get in touch with Lisa, and left the trial to go all the way out to her house to check on her.

All I know at this point is that Lisa passed away sometime after Thursday night and it's a good thing that the friend went to check on her. What a shock it must be to be the first to find your friend.

I didn't know her well, but talked to her at almost every trial. We originally started talking because we shared a common love for our Remington dogs, even though mine has been gone 11 years now. Then we kept talking because she was taking a larger interest in photography, so we talked about that quite a bit and I helped her figure out things on her camera. Plus she was a friendly, cheerful, sociable person and lots of folks knew Remington from trials and from his own Facebook posts. She loved that little guy like crazy and took him everywhere with her.

How suddenly things change.

It's hard to believe.

This was in a batch that Lisa sent to me
in January.
Don't know who photographer is.

Hmmmmm

SUMMARY: A gorgeous face.

Backfill: Added March 30.

I see SO many photos of dogs who need homes. That comes from having hundreds of dog contacts on facebook and from being in a dog agility club in which people care greatly about dogs and many do rescue work (as in, rescuing the dogs, not search and rescue).

But this.

I understand that Franz Mesmer had a compelling gaze, but I think he'd lose here.

Sent to the Bay Team club list by another member.

"He is 3 yrs, mix breed most likely Whippet. He is medium size 33 lbs, with a slight build. Chipper is super sweet, fast and agile, and settles nicely when he had some exercise. He is great with people and kids, and has been in his current home since he was tiny puppy. He is also crate trained, and rides nicely in the car. Chipper is a little cautious and has some anxiety when he first meets new dogs but is not reactive. He would make a great companion for someone who likes to go for walks or could also potentially make a great agility dog."

Not that I'm quite ready for a third dog--or so I keep saying. Two hands, two dogs. Peaceful household. Tika getting older. Money. Never enough time to do everything. Etc. I've said it before.

But then, there's this.

Remember my late lamented Remington?  (He was less than a year old in these photos.)

Well, I have to get more info, obviously.

Hold Me Back! I'm Gonna Kill Him!

SUMMARY: Fences don't always make good neighbors.

Let me say first off that this isn't a horror story about some psychopathic neighbor. It's not even a horror story. But I remembered it just now, so am plugging it into this hole that my blog has become lately.

Twenty years ago I lived in a different house, big old half acre, a very long and narrow lot. The north side had an old wooden fence backing up against about 4 different houses. They all had dogs--one had a beagle (who howled all day while his family was gone). One had a big German Shepherd--like, tour bus sized. Big. The next one over had a huge Rottweiler. Maybe I've known only female Rotties up close, because this boy I swear loomed twice their size.

Here's how Remington was about little dogs: Loved them. Wanted to play with them. Kept getting his nose bitten because he'd stick his big face right up to them. He never retaliated or fought back.

Here's how Remington was about big dogs: Had a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Would stiff-leg up to them with hackles up and tail stiff. Got into a tussle a time or two, when I wasn't paying attention, with random dogs (no blood shed, just noise). (He and Jake also fought way too often, but the only time blood was shed was once when I tried to interfere.)

Anyway, Rem and those big neighboring dogs used to fence fight all the time. You've never seen so much righteous anger and hurled invectives and screaming as those huge bodies (Rem's 55 pounds was nothing in comparison) slammed against that old crumbling fence. This went on for a couple of years. My original obedience instructor thought that this was one of the reasons why Rem became more dog aggressive over time and suggested that I put a stop to it. Well, I didn't confine him and I wasn't there most of the day, so that didn't happen.

Anyhoo, one day, came home from work to discover that a huge section of the old fence between my house and the other two yards had finally given in to termites and rot and had collapsed--and Remington was nowhere to be seen. My heart rammed itself into my throat as I ran around into the back quarter acre--

--where Rem and the two ginormous dogs were just hanging out together, wandering around the yard in a little group, acting like the oldest BFFs ever. They all looked up at me as one, and when Rem casually said "Hi, Mom," (you know how kids always act more subdued with their parents when friends are around), the other two also give a little hello wiggle and they all went back to investigating random weed patches.

You think maybe *all* of us would be better friends and neighbors if we didn't wall ourselves up the way we do?

The Photographic Record

SUMMARY: Counting JPEGs, plus dogs on chairs.

I have this many mostly unique JPEGs labeled with the following names of my dogs:

	Boost	2786
	Tika	2720
	Jake	336
	Remington	37  210
	Sheba	10
	Amber	26

The numbers make some sense, because Amber and Sheba were before I became a photography monster and before digital, so I don't have that many to begin with, and I've scanned only a few of those.

Amber was my first dog and my special pal, whereas Sheba, although an important part of the family, always treated us like a nice place to visit between excursions into the wild, so either I didn't take as many of her or I didn't feel inclined to scan in as many as for Amber.

Remington, as my first agility dog and the first one I really thought about documenting in photos--and probably my main Heart Dog so far--has quite a few more than the earlier dogs in my photo albums, but still many fewer than the later dogs. Somewhere around 2003 I started having my film photos scanned to disk at the same time they were processed, so have a few digitized photos of him, but the rest I scanned in one at a time, and that's time consuming, so haven't done many.

(But...huh...there are a bunch more photos on his assorted web pages, and they don't show up in my disk search that found only 37. Hm. Wonder how I labeled them? Early in my digital photo age, I had a tendency to label photos like "Rem" or "dog" or "R". Aha! Yep, that revealed a lot more than 37.)

Anyway, he died in 2003, a few months before I bought my first digital camera in December of 2003, when Tika was almost 3. My dog photo count started going up faster and faster.

Jake was around just long enough (he died in 2007) for me to also get my first digital SLR in 2006 -- and that's when things really started taking off.

How I've managed to have more of Boost than of Tika, not entirely sure--except that by the time I got the digital camera, the fascination with Tika as a "new dog" was long gone, whereas I've been shooting digital like crazy for Boost's whole life.

Makes me want to go lounge in a chair with my dogs. Or a bed. Oooh, that sounds good.

Snooker Point Averages

SUMMARY: While I'm having fun with my database--

NOTE: In USDAA, you need 37 points for a Q; in CPE, only 32 at the highest level, down to merely 24 at the lowest level.

The maximum points in a CPE Snooker is 51; in USDAA it might be 51 or it might be 58.

Boost's Snooker stats:

• CPE: 45% Q rate (10 of 22--8 of those >=37 so Qing in USDAA); average points/run: 29.5
• USDAA: 13% Q rate (16 of 120); average points/run: 25.5 [deep sigh]

Remington:

• CPE: 33% Q rate (2 of 3); average points/run: 24.3
  
• USDAA: 20.5% Q rate (8 of 39); average points/run: 27.4

Tika:

• CPE: 73% Q rate (43 of 59--38 of those >=37 pts); average points/run: 38.15
  
• USDAA: 50% Q rate (88 of 176); average points/run: 32

Jake:

• CPE: 63% Q rate (19 of 30--17 of those >=37 pts); average points/run: 31.8
  
• USDAA: 61% Q rate (37 of 61); average points/run: 35.12 

You can see why I always expected Jake to make Top Ten in Snooker, at least in performance where his Q rate was 66% and SuperQ rate was 25%. Just not enough dogs competing in performance in our area at the time to get the Top Ten points. But I can still picture him running through a course, ears flying in the breeze--and never* knocking bars!

*What, never? No, never! What, NEVER? Well...hardly ever.

New Member

SUMMARY: A brief bio.

I've been a member of The Bay Team since not long after I started agility lessons, without ever really intending to become an active member (ha! we know how that turned out!). I joined SMART when that club formed, although I consider myself more a supporting member. I attend several other clubs' events regularly but never joined; finally decided that I really ought to join more of them both as a sign of general support and to keep up on the news.

So I joined more clubs (aren't we lucky to have so many with members located nearby?). And one asked for a photo and a new member bio. Well, I hardly think I'm new to most of their members, but OK, I'll indulge:

My obedience instructor suggested agility to me as I was running out of other things to try with my smart and energetic rescue Squirrelhünd, Remington (competitive obedience, tracking, tricks). I fell in love with the sport from the instant that I saw the brilliantly colored obstacles on the emerald green lawn with dogs doing unbelievable feats before my very eyes. I signed up for classes at Power Paws Agility (except back then, in 1995, they hadn't come up with that name yet). My instructors finally convinced me to try a competition, and I did, at a mudful NADAC trial in January 1996 in San Martin. And we got some Qs and some ribbons! And you know what happened next: More agility, and more and more and more! I had to keep my day job as a technical writer to pay for the agility entry fees, the agility training, the agility shoes, the agility videos, the agility gear bags, the agility team shirts, the agility canopy, the agility obstacles for the yard, the agility minivan MUTT MVR, and, of course, the agility house Taj Mutthall in San Jose.

I've competed with four very different dogs and we've earned Qs in NADAC, ASCA, CPE, and USDAA. My second dog, Jake the Semidachshund, earned Championships in all four, but now there are so many trials available that I've concentrated on USDAA with some CPE; my third dog, Tika the rescue Craussie, has Championships in both of those. My fourth dog, Boost the nonrescue Border Collie (littermate to locals Bette, Beck, and Derby and Top Ten dog Gina (sibling envy? what sibling envy?))--well, let's say that she loves to do agility, or any other active and interesting job. She particularly excels at bringing in the newspaper every morning so I don't have to step outside no matter the weather.

I've watched the sport and my own skills change. I'm delighted (in retrospect) how I went from huddling in a dark corner many years ago, cursing the dog gods and myself because we couldn't get even the easiest gambles, to thrilling about Tika's position as the #2 Gambling dog in USDAA Performance 22" for the year 2011. Having great instructors and, yes, sigh, practicing really helped with that.

Tika turns 11, Boost turns 7, and I turn [mumblety-mum] at the end of January; and I'm still shaping up my thoughts on what's next for all of us. I know that photography fits in there somewhere, and hiking, and yeah, sure, someday I'll get back to that budding fiction-writing career that I abandoned 16 years ago for the slings and arrows of dogwalk contacts.

I blog about all this at TajMutthall.org.

Funny, What One Remembers (Or Not)

SUMMARY: Big Qs in (my) history.

I guess some things DO get to be old hat after a while. Especially as agility has been around longer and longer, and there are more and more trials where people can earn Qs, and as I earn more and more titles at higher levels with more dogs.

I can remember so clearly when Jake earned his MAD, landing on the table at the end of the gamble (who uses tables for gambles any more in USDAA? gone!). I floated for days. People I barely knew rushed over to give me hugs. A MAD was a huge deal back then--for me, because it was my first, and for everyone, because they still weren't all that common.

I remember most of the NADAC Standard run on which he earned his NATCH. I remember thinking that he'd been slow and wasn't sure whether he'd actually made time, so didn't even know whether to celebrate. And I remember that the people at the score table told me to go away and not bother them and shielded the score sheets with their bodies so I couldn't even look over their shoulders, and wouldn't even tell me what the Standard Course Time was so I could compare the run on my video. That's when I decided never to go back to that club's trials. That was up near Placerville, in a beautiful little park whose name I no longer recall. [video appears below, after some delay to think about it, apparently--from 2001. Starts out looking funky but it will display a course map and then our run:]

I also remember clearly the exact gamble on which he earned his ADCH. A gamble that I had been chasing up and down the state, driving hundreds of miles in a weekend to try to get, and I finally got it on a course I didn't walk, right here at one of our own trials on the soccer practice lawn at Cal State Hayward (before it became Cal State University, East Bay).

I remember where I finished Remington's NATCH--also a gamble--up in Eureka at a pleasant site, the only time I went to that trial, desperate for

I remember Tika's first-ever USDAA run, which was a Novice Jumpers run (back when there were Novice and Starters, depending on whether you'd ever titled with a dog before). I halfway remember the whole course. I remember that she was super-fast and knocked a single bar. Since that was back when only Standard was titling in Novice/Starters, Jumpers was time plus faults--and she *still* came in 2nd with the 5-fault bar penalty! That was in the covered arena at the horse park in City of Industry in southern California.

I remember where I finished Tika's ADCh, on a Snooker course at Nunes Agility Field in Turlock, watching Rachel Sanders and her dog once again do our course but much much faster, and thinking that once again we'd be one out of the SuperQs as we had been so often. But then, woo-hoo, turns out everyone else didn't do so well, so we came in (2nd to rachel) but picked up that final Super-Q. (Ah, ha, see the course map and read about it in this blog post ... videos below:)

But the things I DON'T remember these days are telling: Although I thought that Tika took forever to get her first Jumpers Q (ha! maybe 18 nonQs?), I have no recollection at all of where or when it finally came. I have no idea when or where I finished her ADCH-Silver, although I do know it was a Standard Q that she needed. I have no idea where or when or even what class it was when she finished her ADCH all over again in Performance--perhaps because it was coming so easily to us by then. F'rinstance, when she moved to performance, she started getting SuperQs in snooker more often than not. She stopped knocking bars pretty much and started Quing in almost everything all the time (sometimes seemed that way, anyway).

I don't even remember anything about the time, place, or circumstances of her more advanced titles, the bronze performance ADCh, the bronze lifetime, the silver lifetime, dang, not even the gold lifetime although that was only earlier this year! It's all just whipping by, pleasing me, but not with the emotional intensity needed to burn it into my memory banks.

I remember where Boost first earned a Masters Jumpers Q, after more than 40 attempts--at Dixon May Fairgrounds. It completed her MAD, but I was more excited about the simple fact of getting a Jumpers Q. I bought a cake the next day for everyone to share. But i don't remember WHEN it was or anything about the course itself.

Will I remember the course, time, and place of Boost's first-ever Super-Q this last weekend? It was so amazing to me to have finished that course clean, and then for it to be a Super-Q, too. At the moment, it's seared into my brain, but will it be in another year? Or two? or three? I think it might be--the emotional impact was huge. Of course only time will tell.

Meanwhile--thanks, susan P, for this gift of a photo (honoring our Super-Q) from the trial photographer Bamfoto (so typical, one ear inside out and the other flying!):

A Little Nostalgia

SUMMARY: USDAA Nationals, 2001

Have been loading some old photos onto my computer and organizing them. Fond memories.

This is before all the Tournament finals were combined into one event. Only the Grand Prix finals took place in Del Mar; the rest was filled with fun games and a regular qualifying DAM team event.

Jake the Semidachshund and I teamed with Mysti the Border Collie and Haley the Zimbabwe Retriever.

 The back side of a DAM team. (Really, so you could see our Dream Weaver shirts, each with a photo of our own dog weaving.)

 Remington the Squirrelhund teamed with Spike the Border Newf  and Boomer the Border Collie.

 Remington and me.

Jeez, who ARE all those young handlers with our dogs?

CPE Trial This Weekend

SUMMARY: Maybe my only CPE for this year.

There is SO much USDAA available now, and I am trying SO hard to cut back on weekends in agility, that there's not enough room for CPE, too. Which is too bad--means Tika will probably never get her C-ATE and Boost will never get her C-ATCH. If we keep up with just one CPE trial a year, I mean.

But this weekend, it's a Bay Team trial, and it's pretty close to my house; less than half an hour away. Yay! In the covered horse arena in San Martin where Remington and I attended our first-ever agility trial, and where he earned Q ribbons, thereby hooking me, despite the abysmal storm and mud on that first Saturday in January 1996. Fortunately I returned that Sunday and it was a lovely day.

...Our first-ever competition, on film, thanks to Bill Newcomb!  Note the mud-covered Aframe, and the handler's arm sticking stiffly out...

There's been no agility there since, and I've had no reason to go back. It'll be interesting to see whether it brings back memories that I haven't already brought back many times.

...14 and a half years ago! No wonder I felt more spry when I started. Note your basic cross-trainer shoes (no cleats), the handler's stiff arm pointing the way, and the dog-awful mud glistening along the fence--and covering the equipment and my jeans...  Oh, jeez, and our old original wood-frame tire! Wow! 

I'm looking forward to what I hope will be a relaxing weekend, despite probably being overworked at the score table--seems to happen at CPE trials, and despite temps that are supposed to be well into the 90s F (32+ C).

I'm particularly looking forward to Full House--my favorite CPE game, like a free-for-all gathering points. Is it no wonder that this is the only class in which Boost has advanced to Level C (the highest level)?

For the first time ever, Tika and Boost will be competing against each other, in the two Full House classes this weekend, because for the first time in CPE I've moved Tika down to 20" instead of letting her go at 24". And although Boost is eligible straight up for 16", I'll keep her at 20" as long as she has to jump 22" in USDAA.

My hope is to pick up a bunch of ribbons for both dogs, but particularly Hi C-Era Interstellar Propulsion herself, to salve my wounded pride at her usual iffy showing at USDAA trials. CPE is just excellent for bringing home ribbons, although some excellent competition awaits us this weekend; for example, Chaps (same dog who often beats us in USDAA unless we're teamed together) will be there. Don't remember the others, but in looking at the running order, I saw some definitely high-level competitors. So it won't be a cakewalk! But at least it won't be a mudwalk. I hope.

...You can really see how muddy parts of the ring were (and the jeans and the jacket--can you tell my dog put his paws on me?). Also note--the handler's stiff arm pointing the way. And the metal-frame lawn chairs in the background! Everyone had that kind back then! Now almost no one brings chairs like that; they're all the fabric collapsible camp-type chairs.  Ah, technology...

Why Agility?

SUMMARY: My sport of choice, but why?

Many Muddy Paws passed along this topic from another blogger and made her own post on the subject. What got you into your sport of choice...why that one, why not another type of dog sport? What else have you tried, but don't care for? What haven't you tried but would like to? 

 Sometime in my teens, I decided that I wanted to train an Obedience Champion dog someday. When I got my first dog, Amber, I taught her come, sit, heel--but I had no real concept at all of how demanding obedience standards were. Not that it mattered; when I signed up my mixed-breed dog with an AKC obedience class, they told me essentially that, if I wanted an obedience champion, I should get a purebred dog. I gave up on that idea for many years.

When Remington came along, I took up the competitive obedience thing again; Mixed Breed Dog Club of America and UKC (and others?) provided same titles with same rules for non-AKC dogs. Learned a lot. Took private lessons from an instructor with a lot of successful students. Remington did very well. 

But I didn't find it exciting, really, or particularly active, although the ideas for training intrigued me. Practice was dull dull dull. And, the more I found out about the rigid SUBJECTIVE performance standards, the less thrilled I became. But I kept with the training with that "obedience champion" goal in mind until I broke my foot in early 1997. 

 I loved teaching him tricks; taught him everything I could think of, bought books and taught him more; tested out of "acting" level 1 and went into level 2 where we already knew several of the tricks. Tricks are a great crowd pleaser and turned out to be handy when he had to spend a lot of time at the doggie hospital for his cancer. Made him popular there and gave him something to do besides worry. We took a couple of 6-week sessions in scent tracking. Oh, mannnnn talk about dull practice! Although it's fun to see the dog start to get the idea and follow a track through a field, practice was: Find a seldom-used field (around here? tough). Spend about 10 minutes setting up a track. A couple of minutes following the track. Now, if the field is big enough, spend 10 minutes setting up another track. A minute or two following it. And then you're out of field. And not supposed to use the same field again for a week. Bleah. 

 
When I broke my foot, a friend arranged the loan of a sled-racing training cart with wheels. Remington was less than thrilled and preferred to have someone else do the pulling. 

The year before my broken foot, I had started competing in agility. Just 6 trials that year. As my foot healed, I discovered that I wanted to spend time doing agility. Never went back for more obedience lessons, tracking lessons, or "acting" lessons. 

I like agility because it involves both of us acting as a team at all times on the course, it's exciting, it's physically active and calorie-burning for both of us, it's mentally challenging for both of us, I can practice in my yard (now that I have enough equipment and almost enough space), judging is largely objective, not subjective [mostly], and all of my dogs have seemed more than eager to do it any time, anywhere. I've watched flyball, dock diving, freestyle (dance), rally-O, disc dog, herding, and lure coursing, and have read up quite a bit on all of these sports. 

•  Obedience and rally-O work you as a team and you can practice in your yard, but none of the rest (for me and my dogs, anyway). 
•  Tricks fill several of the items but not the physically active or calorie-burning bit, and "judging" is very subjective if you enter any kind of contest. 
• Dock diving and flyball are all about the dog; all the handler does is get the dog excited and then watch him go. (Sorry, fans of these sports, I know there's training involved, but really--the handlers are watchers, not participants.)
• Scent tracking--nothing there for me.
• Lure coursing: Boost will do it sometimes but sometimes not; it terrifies Tika; and it's VERY expensive for what you get IMHO. And no teamwork, no training, nuthin' except fast running for the dog.
• Disc dog: Maybe if I thought I could throw a frisbee worth beans, it would be OK, but physically it's still more about the dog and performance standards are largely subjective.
• Freestyle: Just doesn't appeal to me.
• Herding: Have had Boost on goats/sheep a few times. It is a complete blast watching the instincts guide her. If I had a lot more time and money, I'd probably pursue this just because of that. But--can't do it in my yard, not even in my city--too urban, there's just nowhere available! 

The mentally challenging part of agility is important for me; every course is different, so you're designing strategies during the walkthrough even for numbered courses. And the execution is done with your partner moving at 5 yards per second and you have to adjust on the fly as Things Happen. 

And one big thing: even after all these years, when I walk up and see an agility course with its brilliantly painted equipment in glowing rainbow colors spread out across the bright green lawn, it gives me the same Disneyland thrill and awe that hit me the first time that i ever saw an agility course, that night at Power Paws when I drove up to see what it was all about.

A Brief Moment of Fame

SUMMARY: Remington's cast revisited--

Remington made animal-in-a-cast Of The Day for July 14.

It Sucks or It Soars

SUMMARY: Why some classes I like better than others for some dogs.

Just thought I'd share with you Remington's least favorite class (and a model for my perseverance) and Tika's most favorite class (one that I can really relax at).

Note the Q or n (not Q) history for each.

The single Q for Remington was under time by less than a second. The single non-Q for Tika was a required obstacle that didn't get written down on the scribe sheet, and although I had it on video, the judge said he couldn't use the video as evidence. Oh, well! We got a few more Qs after that anyway.

Remington's Least Favorite Class

					Qual?	Time faults	Course faults	Place	Dog qty
USDAA	Standard	10/9/1999	Placerville	Masters	n		E	12	20
USDAA	Standard	10/10/1999	Placerville	Masters	n		5	7	19
USDAA	Standard	3/18/2000	Madera	Masters	n	10.69		14	16
USDAA	Standard	3/19/2000	Madera	Masters	n	8.02		9	17
USDAA	Standard	4/15/2000	Placerville	Masters	n	4.15		7	25
USDAA	Standard	4/16/2000	Placerville	Masters	n	3.94		7	24
USDAA	Standard	5/6/2000	Hayward	Masters	n		E	17	22
USDAA	Standard	5/7/2000	Hayward	Masters	n	.57	5	8	24
USDAA	Standard	9/2/2000	Hayward	Masters	n	5.94	5	14	28
USDAA	Standard	9/3/2000	Hayward	Masters	n	5.77		12	26
USDAA	Standard	9/30/2000	Ventura	Masters	Q			9	31
USDAA	Standard	10/1/2000	Ventura	Masters	n	7.09		17	28
USDAA	Standard	10/14/2000	Placerville	Masters	n	.09		6	21
USDAA	Standard	10/15/2000	Placerville	Masters	n		E		21
USDAA	Standard	10/21/2000	Madera	Masters	n
USDAA	Standard	10/22/2000	Madera	Masters	n
USDAA	Standard	3/17/2001	Madera	Masters	n	8.38		8	18
USDAA	Standard	3/18/2001	Madera	Masters	n				18
USDAA	Standard	4/21/2001	Placerville	Masters	n		E
USDAA	Standard	4/22/2001	Placerville	Masters	n		E
USDAA	Standard	5/5/2001	Hayward	Masters	n		E
USDAA	Standard	5/6/2001	Hayward	Masters	n		E
USDAA	Standard	5/19/2001	Ventura	Masters	n		E
USDAA	Standard	5/20/2001	Ventura	Masters	n		E
USDAA	Standard	8/18/2001	City of Industry	Masters	n		5
USDAA	Standard	8/19/2001	City of Industry	Masters	n		E
USDAA	Standard	9/1/2001	Hayward	Masters	n		E
USDAA	Standard	9/2/2001	Hayward	Masters	n	.46		4	26
USDAA	Standard	9/3/2001	Hayward	Masters	n		E
USDAA	Standard	10/20/2001	Madera	Masters	n	7.89		20	40
USDAA	Standard	10/21/2001	Madera	Masters	n	5.44
USDAA	Standard	3/16/2002	Madera	Masters	n		E
USDAA	Standard	3/17/2002	Madera	Masters	n
USDAA	Standard	4/20/2002	Placerville	Masters	n
USDAA	Standard	4/21/2002	Placerville	Masters	n	6
USDAA	Standard	8/24/2002	City of Industry	Masters	n		E
USDAA	Standard	8/25/2002	City of Industry	Masters	n		E
USDAA	Standard	10/12/2002	Placerville	Masters	n		E
USDAA	Standard	10/13/2002	Placerville	Masters	n
USDAA	Standard	10/19/2002	Madera	P3	n		E
USDAA	Standard	10/20/2002	Madera	P3	n		E

Tika's Most Favorite Class

					Qual?	Got Pts	Lost Pts	Time faults	Place	Dog qty
CPE	Full House	2/9/2003	Elk Grove	1Lev	Q	45			1	6
CPE	Full House	6/8/2003	Elk Grove	2Lev	n	30			2
CPE	Full House	8/10/2003	Elk Grove	2Lev	Q	39			1	2
CPE	Full House	11/8/2003	Livermore	2Lev	Q	42			1	2
CPE	Full House	1/11/2004	Elk Grove	3Lev	Q	41	-3	3	1	3
CPE	Full House	3/27/2004	Sunnyvale	3Lev	Q	42			1	6
CPE	Full House	5/8/2004	Elk Grove	4Lev	Q	49			1	3
CPE	Full House	6/6/2004	Turlock	4Lev	Q	46			1	1
CPE	Full House	6/11/2004	Elk Grove	5Lev	Q	37	-1		3	6
CPE	Full House	10/23/2004	Turlock	5Lev	Q	41	-1		1	4
CPE	Full House	3/12/2005	Turlock	5Lev	Q	49	-2		3	3
CPE	Full House	3/27/2005	Sunnyvale	5Lev	Q	41	-2		2	4
CPE	Full House	5/7/2005	Elk Grove	CLev	Q	35			1	2
CPE	Full House	5/8/2005	Elk Grove	CLev	Q	44			1	1
CPE	Full House	5/21/2005	Elk Grove	CLev	Q	34			1	2
CPE	Full House	7/3/2005	Elk Grove	CLev	Q	48			1	2
CPE	Full House	7/4/2005	Elk Grove	CLev	Q	50			1	1
CPE	Full House	7/23/2005	Sunnyvale	CLev	Q	42			1	4
CPE	Full House	3/11/2006	Turlock	CLev	Q	46			1	1
CPE	Full House	3/25/2006	Sunnyvale	CLev	Q	46			1	2
CPE	Full House	6/2/2006	Elk Grove	CLev	Q	38			5	9
CPE	Full House	6/17/2006	Madera	CLev	Q	35	-1	1	1	3
CPE	Full House	8/5/2006	Elk Grove	CLev	Q	41	-1		1	1
CPE	Full House	2/24/2007	Elk Grove	CLev	Q	49			1	3
CPE	Full House	3/10/2007	Turlock	CLev	Q	50			1	3
CPE	Full House	3/24/2007	Sunnyvale	CLev	Q	41			1	1
CPE	Full House	7/21/2007	Petaluma	CLev	Q	49	-1	1	1	1
CPE	Full House	11/23/2007	Elk Grove	CLev	Q	50			1	2
CPE	Full House	11/24/2007	Elk Grove	CLev	Q	53			1	3
CPE	Full House	3/8/2008	Turlock	CLev	Q	35			1	1
CPE	Full House	3/22/2008	Twin Creeks	CLev	Q	46			2	3
CPE	Full House	3/23/2008	Twin Creeks	CLev	Q	46			1	4

Remington's Tricks Repertoire

SUMMARY: A ten-minute video of Remington's tricks.

Remington was my tricks dog. Before I'd ever heard of agility, before I started practicing for competition obedience (in which we never actually competed), it was tricks for us. He was so eager to learn--and so eager to get treats--and I could barely keep up with him. When I learned how to do clicker training, it sped up his learning process even more.

This is not a complete set of behaviors that he'd do on command, but it covers most of them. In my experience, simply executing the tricks is only half of the entertainment value; the rest is how to use the tricks unexpectedly with entertaining verbal patter.

This video was my attempt to quickly capture a dying dog's legacy. At the time, I regretted not having filmed them while he was healthy (but how was I to know? He was only nine), because the whole time I noticed how slow and low-key his responses were, where he usually danced, pranced, and bounced through his routines. A couple of weeks later, he was gone, so I'm glad to have anything at all.

This is the first time I've dared to view the videos. His death has always felt too recent and too raw; I've feared that I'd plunge into a bawling jag and ruin my whole day. It has just recently occurred to me that it has been five years. Five. Years.

So I pulled out the tapes last night and watched the whole hour. I didn't cry once, although a pocket of tears kept tapping me in the gut (what an image, huh?). I did kick myself for not moving those agility jumps out of the way of the cameraman. Where was my sense of artistry? (Probably completely exhausted, as was the rest of me, waiting for Remington's cancer to become irretrievably bad.) Mostly, while watching, I smiled and laughed. So then I sat down with iMovie and put together these highlights. This isn't a Performance as such; it's just an Inventory. But for what it's worth, here it is. (And here's a text list of Rem's tricks.)

(The original video, with subtitles--doesn't work so well any more)


(Video w/out subtitles, now on YouTube:)


(Thanks to my housemate-at-the-time, who offered encouragement in the background, and her teenage son, who did a lovely job of videotaping.)